Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The persistence of quantum coherence in dipole dimer states in an environment of dipoles: implications for photosynthetic systems?

Quantum states which retain their coherence for sufficiently long to potentially affect biological processes are currently topical, for example in photosynthesis. It is argued here that, when addressing these issues theoretically, the usual focus on decoherence times may be inappropriate if the system retains non-zero residual coherence in the long term. It is suggested that this could be the generic behaviour for systems whose relevant internal coupling strength (e.g., the Forster coupling) is large compared with the strength of the interaction with the environment. This is illustrated for the case of a dipole dimer interacting with an environment of dipoles. Whilst not intended to be a model of any particular biological system, the illustrative parameters are intended to bear a crude resemblance to photosynthetic units at 300 K. The persistence of non-zero coherence is therefore potentially significant.
Stability for approximation methods of the one-dimensional Kobayashi-Warren-Carter system

A one-dimensional version of a gradient system, known as “Kobayashi-Warren-Carter system”, is considered. In view of the difficulty of the uniqueness, we here set our goal to ensure a “stability” which comes out in the approximation approaches to the solutions. Based on this, the Main Theorem concludes that there is an admissible range of approximation differences, and in the scope of this range, any approximation method leads to a uniform type of solutions having a certain common features. Further, this is specified by using the notion of “energy-dissipative solution”, proposed in a relevant previous work.
Productivity and Convergence Trends in the OECD: Evidence from a Normalized Quadratic Variable Pro…t Function

This paper empirically investigates aggregate productivity convergence among 15 European Union countries plus Canada and the United States, during the 1960-2002 period. Using a normalized quadratic variable pro…t function (within a multiple-output and multiple-input framework), we obtain total factor productivity estimates and then test for total factor productivity convergence, using both cross-section and panel data unit root tests. Our results support total factor productivity convergence for all countries. We also …nd that more countries converge to Germany than the United States, and that within the European Union more countries converge to Germany than France.
Technological Capabilities, Technological Dynamism and Innovation Offshoring

In this paper we analyze the conditions under which firms decide to offshore innovation. We consider the role of internal technological capabilities and technological dynamism in the firm environment, distinguishing speed and uncertainty of technological change. Using unique data from the German Innovation Survey we find that while high speed of technological change tends to drive innovation offshoring, high uncertainty about future technology developments results in more innovation offshoring only for firms with low internal technological capabilities. Firms with high technological capabilities instead are less likely to offshore innovation when uncertainty is high. We argue that these differences in offshoring behaviour reflect differing strategic objectives. We show that for firms with low technological capabilities asset augmentation is more important while for firms with high technological capabilities asset exploitation is more important. When faced by high technological uncertainty firms with low technological capabilities offshore innovation strategically in order to reduce uncertainty by augmenting their asset base. For firms with high technological capabilities asset augmentation is less important. When faced by high technological uncertainty, they prefer to innovate onshore in order to keep stronger control of their key assets.
PCR-Based Detection of Parental Origin of Extra Chromosome 21 in Down Syndrome

Abstract Down syndrome (DS) is one of the most frequent chromosomal abnormalities in humans and is associated with mental retardation . It is usually caused by the presence of an extra chromosome 21.The parental origin of the extra chromosome has been studied in twenty families each with a clinically suspected trisomy 21 proband.The trisomy 21 was confirmed by both chromosomal and molecular analyses.Molecular analysis was carried out by PCR based method, using polymorphic microsatellite markers D21S11 and D21S2055 situated on the long arm of the chromosome 21 at 21q21 and 21q22 respectively. The amplified products were subjected to polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and alleles were scored by staining with ethidium bromide. Trisomy 21 Down syndrome was detected by the presence of three distinct alleles and transmission of alleles from parents to the offspring was determined in all but six families . Parental origin was found to be maternal in nine families and paternal in five families . The mean maternal and paternal age of our subjects were 29±6.9 and 35±6.9 years respectively. Our results further demonstrate the usefulness of highly polymorphic microsatellite markers for the accurate determination of parental origin of the extra chromosome 21 in Down syndrome and also emphasize the fact that the trisomy 21 was due to meiotic errors in maternal chromosomes.
Determining Factors of Farm Exit in Agriculture in Switzerland

Over the past 30 years, the number of farms in Switzerland decreased by an average of almost 2% per annum. The average area per farm rose from 10 ha to over 19 ha. In order to analyse the forces driving farm exits, this study uses data from the Swiss Farm Structure Survey (FSS) between 2001 and 2011. These data are used in binary logistic regression models to estimate exit probabilities and determining factors of structural change. The logit results show that the probability of farm exit decreases for younger but increases for older operators. Organic farming, farm size, number of manpower units per hectare and farming full-time are also found to have a significant negative influence on exit. By contrast, work intensity and sex of the farm operator positively influence farm exits
Antibacterial and antioxidant activities of seedlings of Rumex vesicarius L. (Polygonaceae)

The present work has been carried out to investigate both the antibacterial and antioxidant activities of seedlings grown in vitro and in vivo. Only ethanol extract of in vitro germinated seedlings on solidified Murashige and Skoog (MS) hormone free medium, had antibacterial activity. Activity was high in case of Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Escherichia coli and Streptococcus pneumoniae (inhibition zones = 55.00 ± 0.00, 55.00 ± 0.00 and 26.25 ± 1.58 mm; activity index = 4.15, 1.67 and 0.48, respectively). The effect was moderate in case of Staphylococcus aureus (inhibition zone = 15.75 ± 1.58 mm, activity index = 1.67). The extract had no effect against Klebsiella pneumoniae and Streptococcus pyogenes. Total antioxidant activity studies (GAEs in ppm) showed that 20 days old in vivo grown seedlings were highest in total antioxidants (1810.00 ± 60.12), followed by 30 days old in vivo grown seedlings (1133.13 ± 55.35). Results of 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) scavenging activity showed that the least IC50 in mg/ml was obtained using 30 days old in vivo grown seedlings extract (IC50 = 1.16 ± 0.02), followed by 20 days old in vivo grown seedlings extract (IC50 = 1.26 ± 0.02). The study shows the possibility of producing biological activity from early developmental growth stages of Rumex vesicarius. Key words: Biological activity, in vitro seedlings, in vivo seedlings, anthraquinones, phenolics, flavonoids.
Investigation of Health Hazards in Vehicle Refueling Stations Attendants at Malakand, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan

Vehicles refueling station workers are a class of labors prone to long term petroleum product toxicity due to their routine work at vehicles refueling stations. Health problems posed by the pollutants at the work environment of an individual are closely linked to the nature and level of exposure to these hazardous chemicals. The adverse effect of the toxicants in such environment is a common phenomenon in all the developing countries. The awareness about this problem is lacking in Pakistan, particularly in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. In present study, blood biochemical parameters like calcium, cholesterol, glucose, magnesium, potassium, phosphorus and triglyceride levels were determined among workers and control individuals. The results of the workers showed an increase in glucose, cholesterol and phosphorus level; while significant decrease was observed in calcium and potassium level as compared to the control group of individuals. While the level of magnesium and triglyceride level was same in both groups. In comparative picture, the blood biochemical parameters were normal in control as that of workers. Further study may be conducted to investigate the effect of such environment on other blood parameters and large size population may be included in the study.
Determinants of under five mortality in Gilgel Gibe Field Research Center, Southwest Ethiopia

Background: In developing countries like Ethiopia where there is no vital events registration system and laboratory diagnosis is lacking, causes of death in under-five children and its determinants could not be well known. The objective of this study was to investigate causes of death and its determinants in under-five children in Gilgel Gibe Field Research Center. Methods: A case-control study was conducted from December 12 to 27, 2005. Cases of under-five children who died between August 27, 2004 and September 22, 2005 and controls of alive children with the same age (+/-2 months) as cases were identified by a survey as the study population. Data were collected by trained enumerators using structured questionnaire adopted from World Health Organization (WHO). Causes of death were determined using the expert algorithm based on verbal autopsy data. Results: Neonatal and infant mortality rates were respectively 38 and 76.4 per 1000 live births. The two most common causes of death during neonatal period were prematurity (26.4%) and pneumonia (22.6%). Whereas the top causes of death in post-neonatal period were pneumonia (42%), malaria (37%) and acute diarrheal diseases (30%). Maternal education, practice and perception of mothers on the severity of illness and benefits of modern treatment were found to be independent predictor of child survival. Conclusion: Neonatal causes, pneumonia, malaria and diarrheal diseases were the major killers of under-five children in Ethiopia. In this study, practice of mothers and perceived benefits on the modern treatment are identified as the key predictors of child survival which are amenable to future intervention. The Ethiopian Journal of Health Development Vol. 21 (2) 2007: pp. 117-124
Does Trade Credit Facilitate Access to Bank Finance? Empirical Evidence from Portuguese and Spanish Small Medium Size Enterprises

This paper examines if trade credit is as a substitute and/or a complement to bank credit in order to assess the existence of credit rationing. Using a panel dataset of 468 and 7019 Portuguese and Spanish small medium size enterprises for the period 1998-2006, and controlling for endogeneity problems by using GMM estimators, the results confirm the existence of credit rationing, since the substitution hypothesis is confirmed. This effect is particularly strong for firms that maintaining an exclusive relationship with one bank, which indicate a greater severity of adverse selection problems for those firms. Although the substitution hypothesis is confirmed, the results also indicate that the substitution and complementary hypothesis are not mutually exclusive, especially for a specific group of firms: the younger and smaller firms. In line with the theories that emphasize the informational role of trade credit, due the informative advantage of suppliers, our empirical results confirm that trade credit allow the younger and smaller firms to improve their reputation, as trade credit reveals the private information of the supplier to the bank, in turn, banks can update their beliefs about customer default risk and agree to increase bank credit.
Characterization and antimicrobial activity of vaginal lactobacillus isolate

The aim of this study was to investigate the probiotic potential of bacteriocin-producing lactobacilli strain Lactobacillus plantarum G2 isolated from the vaginal mucus of healthy women. The antimicrobial effect of G2 was confirmed in the mixed culture with pathogenic Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Salmonella abony and Pseudomonas aeruginosa, while bacteriocine activity was detected against S. aureus and S. abony only. The strain showed an excellent survival rate in low pH and in the presence of bile salts. The percentage of adhered cells of L. plantarum G2 to hexadecane was 63.85±2.0 indicating the intermediate hydrophobicity.
Wealth and wealth transfer taxation: a survey.1

This paper provides a survey of the theoretical literature on wealth and wealth transfer taxation. Both forms of taxation are highly controversial and we present arguments in favor and against them. We adopt a theoretical and normative perspective. Our approach is comprehensive in the sense that wealth taxation is discussed as part of an overall tax system, dominated by income and commodity taxation.We show that a crucial factor in designing the tax structure is the motive underlying wealth accumulation and transfers.
The growth companies puzzle: can growth opportunities measures predict firm growth?

While numerous empirical studies include proxies for growth opportunities in their analyses, there is limited evidence as to the validity of the various growth proxies used. Based on a sample of 1942 firm-years for listed UK companies over the 1990–2004 period, we assess the performance of eight growth opportunities measures. Our results show that while all the growth measures show some ability to predict growth in company sales, total assets, or equity, there are substantial differences between the various models. In particular, Tobin's Q performs poorly while dividend-based measures generally perform best. However, none of the measures has any success in predicting earnings per share growth, even when controlling for mean reversion and other time-series patterns in earnings. We term this the ‘growth companies puzzle’. Growth companies do grow, but they do not grow in the key dimension (earnings) theory predicts. Whether the failure of ‘growth companies’ to deliver superior earnings growth is attributable to increased competition, poor investments, or behavioural biases, it is still a puzzle why growth companies on average fail to deliver superior earnings growth.
A Business Cycle Analysis with Large Factor Model. Construction of a smooth indicator free from short run dynamics

In this paper, a large factor model is utilized with the aim of isolating the medium-tolong-run component (MLRC) from a large data set which could potentially describe the underlying data generating process, in this case gross domestic product (GDP). The central idea is to extract a few common factors from all the data set with as much variance as possible. To do so, the use of a particular kind of principal components analysis is employed, which is specifically designed to extract from the data set the common information of the data. More precisely, the linear combinations of the data. Removal of the short-run dynamics from a stationary time series to isolate MLRC can be done with a simple bandpass filter. Quarterly GDP is not timely, it suffers from heavy short-run component and is under constant revision. The main objective of this paper is to construct a timely indicator which could better describe the current economic state than GDP does. For this to be reliable, the data set is made contemporaneous and synchronized in a way that all time series in the data set are describing the same process at the same time. Further, the data set is on a monthly basis which makes it even more timely than the quarterly GDP. Therefore, the Icelandic Coincident Indicator (ICI) is on a monthly basis which is an estimate of the MLRC of GDP, in real time. The main findings are that ICI captures the underlying data generating process of GDP rather nicely, it is smooth with less volatility but still manages to describe the average growth of GDP.
Does Working Capital Management Influence the Performance of Wholesale and Property Industry in Malaysia

This study provides the impact of working capital management (WCM) on the performance of public listed wholesale & retail industry and property industry in Malaysia from 2002 to 2011. Regression model is employed by using two measures of firm s performance namely Return on Assets, ROA (proxy to measure the firm’s profitability) and Tobin s Q, TQ (proxy to measure the firm s market value) as the dependant variables. WCM components include Current Assets to Total Assets Ratio (CATAR) and Current Liabilities to Total Assets Ratio (CLTAR) with three control variables which consist of Firm Size (SIZE), Sales Growth (SLGR) and Financial Leverage (LEV) are used as the independent variables. The results to a very large extent indicate that CATAR and SIZE have significant positive impact on the firm’s performance. It suggests that wholesale & retail industry and property industry in Malaysia should pursue conservative investment policy by having high level of short term investment in order to make profit and create value for their shareholders. It also reveals that the larger the firms are, the more profitable they are; recommending the firms shall expand their business to achieve higher profit and accomplish shareholder wealth maximisation.
The Study of Morphological Traits and Identification of Self-incompatibility Alleles in Almond Cultivars and Genotypes

The evaluation of an almond collection using morphological variables and identification of self-incompatibility genotype is useful for selecting pollinizers and for the design of crossing in almond breeding programs. In this study, important morphological traits and self-incompatibilities in 71 almond cultivars and genotypes were studied. Simple and multiplex specific PCR analyses were used in order to identify self-incompatibility alleles. Based on the results, cultivars and genotypes including ‘Dir Ras–e-Savojbolagh’, ‘D-124’, ‘D-99’, ‘Shahrood 12’, ‘Tuono’, ‘Nonpareil’, ‘Price’, ‘Mirpanj-e-Tehran’, ‘Pakotahe-e- Taleghan’, ‘V-13-34’, ‘V-16-8, ‘V-11-10’, ‘Zarghan 10’, ‘Uromiyeh 68’, ‘Barg dorosht-e-Hamedan’ and ‘Yazd 60’ were late flowering and had the highest quality of nut and kernel characters. The result of the PCR method using combined primers AS1II and AmyC5R showed amplification of ten self-incompatibility alleles (S1, S2, S3, S5, S6, S7, S8, S10, S12,and S unknown allele) and three Sfalleles. Moreover, S1 had the highest frequencies in comparison with other known S-alleles. Also, unknown alleles with different sizes were detected and 58 new bands were found in some cultivars.
Self-regulated Processes as Predictors of Students' Achievement in Music Theory in Slovenian Elementary Music Schools

The aim of the present research was to examine the relation between processes of self- regulated learning and achievement in Music Theory (MT), a basic and obligatory subject in Slovenian music schools. A total of 457 fifth- and sixth- grade students (153 boys and 303 girls) from 10 different elementary music schools in Slovenia participated in the study. Students completed a questionnaire about affective-motivational processes and a questionnaire about (meta)cognitive processes of self- regulated learning in MT, as well as achievement test. The final grades were collected at the end of the school year. The results showed that significant correlation exists between almost all affective-motiva - tional and (meta)cognitive processes of self-regulated learning and achievement. Affective-motivational factors emerged as better predictors of students' achievement than (meta)cognitive factors. The most important individual predictors were anxiety and competence. It was also found that self-regulated processes explain a greater amount of variance for final grades than for the achievement test.
Role of weather on Alternaria leaf blight disease and its effect on yield and yield components of mustard

Alternaria leaf blight disease caused by Alternaria brassicae in mustard ( Brassica juncea (L) Czern and Coss) was studied in two crop seasons, 1992 and 1993 in Nepal at Nawalpur, Sarlahi (Tarai) and Khumaltar, Lalitpur (mid hill). At Nawalpur, epidemics of the disease was recorded for both seasons. Weather conditions like humidity, temperature and frequent rainfall played key role for the epidemics. In experimental fields, the disease appeared first in mid-December when the relative humidity was more than 80% with maximum temperature ranging between 18-25°C and minimum between 10-14°C. At Khumaltar, incidence of the disease was low in both seasons due to low average temperature from December to February. Among cultivars, Krishna and Pusabold were less susceptible than Varuna. Both mancozeb and iprodione had effectively reduced disease in the sprayed plots and increased seed yield by 48% and 130% respectively. The correlation between disease severity and yield, and yield components was negative and highly significant. Average yield loss was estimated to be in the range of 32 to 57%. Seed infection was also significantly higher in non sprayed treatment than sprayed one. The disease showed a negative effect on oil content causing losses on oil between 4.2 to 4.5%. Key words: Alternaria brassicae ; epidemics; iprodione; mancozeb; mustard; oil content DOI: 10.3126/narj.v6i0. 3366 Nepal Agriculture Research Journal Vol.6 2005 pp.62-72
Where do the highly educated migrate? Micro-level evidence from finland

This paper analyses the role which migration of highly educated labour plays in human capital reallocation. The study focuses on actual migrants, examining the direct effect of educational attainment on destination choices. The paper uses the ordered probability model and a micro-level data set in econometric analyses. Individual level investigations of migrants show that highly educated migrants are likely to move to urban regions. As a result, the reallocation of highly educated labour, and thereby also the redistribution of human capital, seems to be taking place in Finland.
Technological Growth, Asset Pricing, and Consumption Risk over Long Horizons

In this paper we develop a theoretical model in order to understand comovements between asset returns and consumption over longer horizons. We develop an intertemporal general equilibrium model featuring two types of shocks: small, frequent and disembodied shocks to productivity and large technological innovations, which are embodied into new vintages of the capital stock. The latter type of shocks affect the economy with significant lags, since firms need to make irreversible investments in the new types of capital and there is an option value to waiting. The model produces endogenous cycles, countercyclical variation in risk premia, and only a very modest degree of predictability in consumption and dividend growth as observed in the data. In the model, the conventional consumption CAPM holds conditionally. Yet, by conditioning down we show that its resulting unconditional version takes a form that resembles closely the version of the CAPM used in the literature on eventual or long run risk, and most closely Juliard and Parker (2005). We then use the model as a laboratory to show that in our simulated data the unconditional consumption CAPM performs badly, while its long-horizon version performs significantly better.