Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Importance of Asphaltene Content in Petroleum – Revision of Some Persistent Stereotypes [ a shortened version of the title : Importance of Asphaltene Content in Petroleum ]

A “common knowledge” in petroleum science and technology is that the bulk properties of a crude oil are monotonic functions of its asphaltene content. However unbiased analysis of world’s crude oil databases reveals common peaking of oil density as well of a frequency of oil appearance at specific asphaltene contents, close to structural phase boundaries observed in asphaltene and oil solutions. Another result of database analysis is a new analytical expression for the general trend of density-asphaltene relationship in world’s recovered (dead) crude oils.
Silage for managing weed seeds.

Reducing the number of viable weed seeds entering a field is critical to successful weed management. Viable seeds can result from weed survivors that reach maturity, or can be imported into the field via livestock, grain, fodder, or machinery. Few reports exist on the survival of seeds in silage, or the consequence of feeding the silage to livestock. Seeds from five grass weeds, six broadleaf weeds and three pasture species were ensiled, underwent 48 hour in sacco digestion or both. Seed germination was determined after incubation at 25/15°C on a 12 hour temperature cycle. Tetrazolium staining was used to determine the viability of ungerminated seed. Seed germination and viability were compared with untreated seeds. Seed from all grass weeds except annual ryegrass were rendered unviable after being ensiled, whereas some broadleaf weed seeds remained viable. Digestion had a similar effect as ensilage on reducing seed viability, except for silverleaf nightshade and prairie ground cherry where no reduction in viability was observed. The viability of marshmallow seed and the three pasture species was not significantly reduced by either ensilage or digestion. Ensile or digestion can provide non-chemical options for effective weed management for certain weed species.
Adolescents' attitudes towards foreigners: Associations with perceptions of significant others' attitudes depending on sex and age

Abstract The present study examines associations between adolescents’ attitudes towards foreigners and their perceptions of the same attitudes among their parents, friends, and teachers. Questionnaire data from a sample of 518 students attending 6th, 8th, 10th, and 12th grade of German high-track schools addressed students’ own attitudes and their re-ports on the reference persons in their proximal contexts. Analyses of individual profile correlations suggest strong correspondences between adolescents and their perceived contexts which slightly decrease depending on age. Processes of projection are discussed as a possible explanation of the strong associations observed as well as to the age-graded pattern of correlations. Keywords: Adolescence, ethnocentrism, false consensus
Musculoskeletal Disorders and Its Relation with Job Stress in Midwives

ORIGINAL ARTICLE The incidence of occupational stress in midwives may lead to increase in the prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) and decreased work efficiency and quality of care. This study was conducted to determine the rate of MSDs in different body parts and its relation with stress in midwives. This was a cross-sectional (descriptive and analytical) study. The population under study was midwives working in governmental and private hospitals in Nayshabur, Khorasan Razavi Province, Iran, in 2015. All eligible midwives (78 women) entered the study. The standard Nordic Questionnaire and the Altmaier occupational stress questionnaire were used. Data was analyzed by descriptive statistics, correlation, t-test and chi-square. In this population, 67.6% had at least one musculoskeletal disorder. The highest prevalence in the last year was in the shoulder region with 44% and the lowest prevalence was in the elbow (8%). Furthermore, 54% of the midwives had average and 46% had severe occupational stress. There was a significant association between MSDs in some body parts and midwives occupational stress (P<0.05). Both MSDs and occupational stress are prevalent among midwives and they are associated with each other.
The Use of Some Traditional Herbs to Activating the Immunity of Diabetic Rats

There are five categories of patients with diabetes, or impaired, glucose metabolism : Type 1 diabetes, type 2 diabetes, gestational diabetes mellitus, impaired fasting glucose, and impaired glucose tolerance. The vast majority of diabetes cases fall into two broad categories, type 1 diabetes and type 2 International Journal of Current Microbiology and Applied Sciences ISSN: 2319-7706 Volume 5 Number 6 (2016) pp. 856-874 Journal homepage: http://www.ijcmas. com
Teacher Education in Transition: Re-forming professionalism

The title of this book, Teacher Education in Transition, is well chosen. The authors take as their focus policy changes in the form, content and provision of initial teacher education in England and Wales and ask for the reasons behind the changes which have dominated teacher education since the mid 1980s. Re-forming professionalism is the answer they come up with. Furlong et al. turn to Bowe and Ball’s analysis of the policy process and their discussion of the ‘context of in uence’, ‘the context of text production’ and the ‘context of practice’ to help understand the changes they describe. Whilst the authors primarily address the latter they also identify key in uences on the production of various government circulars which have prescribed the format of teacher education and the kind of professional desired by the state. Amongst the voices they highlight have been protagonists for change from neoLiberals and neo-Conservatives of the New Right. There have also been in uences from within the profession, and in uences from those within the state or those appointed directly by it. Readers are therefore provided with a lens through which to view the direction of change but are left to draw their own conclusions as to the relative in uence of these groups on the policies that have emerged. Despite changes in government, Furlong et al. show a measure of continuity in the direction of reforms. For example, they point to the position held by the neo-Liberals during successive Conservative governments. Apparent throughout has been their desire for greater diversity of provision in order to reduce the monopoly of teacher education within higher education, to enable schools to enter the market and, as with neo-Conservatives, for professionals to model themselves on practitioners in schools. Whilst the authors document particular instances of this through the greater role of schools including the establishment of School Centred Initial Teacher Training Schemes, I suggest there are now further examples in the Labour Party’s Green Paper proposals for Training Schools. In other words teacher education remains in transition and the authors’ analysis continues to offer important insights beyond the time scale addressed in this text. The main focus of the book is, however, a retrospective analysis of the ‘context of practice’, with Furlong et al. drawing on data from their Modes of Teacher Education
Aşılı ve Aşısız Patlıcan Bitkilerinin Su Noksanlığı Koşullarındaki Bazı Fizyolojik Özellikleri ve Verim Parametrelerine İlişkin İncelemeler

Bu calismada; 4 patlican kalem genotipinin (tuza tolerant: Mardin Kiziltepe, Burdur Merkez; tuza duyarli: Artvin Hopa ve Kemer), 2 adet anac cesit (Koksal-F1, Vista-306) uzerine asili ve asisiz olarak olusturduklari anac/kalem kombinasyonlarinin kuraklik stresi altindaki performanslari arastirilmistir. Ayrica asilamanin patlicanda kuraklik stresinin olumsuz etkilerini azaltma uzerindeki etkisi de incelenmistir. Calisma sicaklik ve nem kontrolunun otomatik olarak saglandigi cam serada (25 o C sicaklik, %50-55 oransal nem) yurutulmustur. Kuraklik stresi saksilarda yarayisli su seviyesinin %50 duzeyinde tutulmasi seklinde olusturulmustur. Kuraklik uygulamasi suresince 15 gunluk aralarla bitkilerin stoma iletkenligi ve yaprak su potansiyeli (YSP) degerleri olculmustur. Verim, ortalama meyve agirligi ve meyve capi olcumleri; kuraklik uygulamasinin 44. gunundeki ilk hasattan itibaren baslatilmis, son hasada kadar devam etmistir. Stoma iletkenligi ve YPS degerleri, kuraklik stresi altinda tum uygulamalarda azalma gostermistir. Verim parametrelerinden meyve capi, meyve agirligi ve bitki basina toplam verim ozellikleri de su noksanligindan olumsuz etkilenmistir. Doksan gun suresince uygulanan stres sonucunda, asisiz bitkilerin asili bitkilere oranla kuraklik stresinden daha fazla etkilendigi belirlenmistir. Ticari anaclar uzerine asilama uygulamasi bitki basina toplam verim, ortalama meyve agirligi ve meyve capi ozellikleri bakimindan, kuraklik stresinin olumsuz etkisini hafifletmistir. Kuraga tolerant kalem genotiplerle olusturulan kombinasyonlarda bu etki daha belirgin gerceklesmistir. Sonuc olarak; kullanilan anaca ve kalemin genotipine bagli olarak anaclar uzerine asilamanin, kurakligin olumsuz etkilerini azalttigi tespit edilmistir.
Effects of four annual applications of manure on black chernozemic soils

Assefa, B.A., Schoenau, J.J. and Grevers, M.C. J. 2004. Effects of four annual applications of manure on Black Chernozemic soils. Canadian Biosystems Engineering/Le genie des biosystemes au Canada 46: 6.39-6.46. The influence of four annual applications of cattle and hog manure on soil pH, electrical conductivity (EC), sodium adsorption ratio (SAR), organic carbon, bulk density, aggregation, aggregate stability, crust strength, and water infiltration was investigated at two field sites, Burr and Dixon, in Saskatchewan under canola-wheat-barley-canola crop rotation. The average annual precipitation of these sites over the 4-year period was 400 mm. Manure application rates were 7.6, 15.2, and 30.4 Mg/ha (dry basis) for the cattle manure and 37.5, 75.1, and 150.2 m/ha for the hog manure. Cattle manure increased the EC of the Dixon soil from 0.30 to 1.60 dS/m and the aggregate stability of the Burr soil from 0.75 to 0.84. Hog manure reduced the pH of the Burr soil from 8.0 to 7.6 and the crust strength from 3 to 0 kPa. Cattle and hog manure increased the SAR by 148 – 354% and decreased the bulk density and aggregate size by 8 9% and 30 40%, respectively, but did not significantly affect the total organic carbon content. Cumulative water infiltration tended to increase with manure application but the increase was not significant. Overall, the effect of manure application on the soil chemical and physical properties after four annual applications were relatively small and variable suggesting that several years of repeated application may be required to produce changes in soil properties that would significantly influence soil productivity.
Effects of thermophoresis on mixed convection flow from a moving vertical plate in a parallel free stream in the presence of thermal radiation

This article is focused on the numerical investigation of a steady two-dimensional mixed convection boundary layer flow along a moving semi-infinite vertical plate. The plate is assumed to move with a constant velocity in the direction of the flow. The influences of thermophoresis and the thermal radiation are also included in the analysis. The governing boundary layer equations for the flow, thermal and species concentration fields are transformed into a non-dimensional form by a group of non-similar transformations. The resulting system of differential equations is solved by an implicit finite difference scheme in coupled highly nonlinear partial combination with the quasi-linearization technique. The effects of various parameters on the velocity and species concentration profiles and the wall thermophoretic deposition velocity are presented in terms of graphs. The present results are compared with previously published work and are found to be in excellent agreement.
Assessing the Effects of EU Trade Preferences for Developing Countries

Since the 1960’s, the EU has offered trade preferences to developing countries in a complex set of systems. Broadly these systems can be divided into preferences for African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries, Mediterranean preferences and the Generalised System of Preferences (GSP). We construct a detailed database over these trade preferences and use it to assess whether they have had an effect on developing countries’ exports and whether the systems have had different impact on exports. To achieve this we also estimate the effect of the successive EU enlargements on exports from developing countries. A gravity model taking into account the evolution of developing countries’ exports is estimated on a large sample of EU importers and developing country exporters over the period 1960-2002. The main findings are that certain preference systems have had large effects—the largest are found for the ACP countries, where the preferences increase exports by about 30 %, followed by Mediterranean countries—and that, countries joining the EU, ceteris paribus, import less from developing countries as they become members.
3T MR-based treatment planning for radiotherapy of brain lesions

Purpose. The aim of this work is to develop a complete treatment planning procedure for radiation therapy of intracranial lesions based solely on 3T magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), i.e. MRI simulation. Methods. The proposed 3T MR-based radiotherapy treatment planning procedure consists of converting the MR images into CT-like images by assigning electron density information (related to CT values) to organ structures. Firstly, the 3D distortion field present in the MR volumes is determined and rectified by using an in-house developed distortion correction method. The MR volumes are segmented into anatomical structures, i.e. brain, bone and scalp, by using a combination of the »Profile« and »Autocontouring« tools available on Pinnacle (Philips Medical Systems) treatment planning system (TPS). Bulk electron density values are assigned to the 3D volumes in Pinnacle by overriding their default MR values. Once the MR images contain the target volume along with the electron density information, they are ready to be used for dose calculations. The resulting CT+MR and MR only based plans were compared in terms of isodose distributions and dose-volume histograms (DVHs). For plan ranking we use a tumor-control probability (TCP)-based procedure for heterogeneous irradiation, which does not require the knowledge of radiobiological parameters. Results. For all patients investigated, the 3T MR only and CT+MR-based plans are in good agreement in terms of isodose distributions, DVHs and TCPs (within 1%) following our clinical criteria. Conclusions. The proposed 3T MR only based treatment planning procedure performs as good as the standard clinical procedure that relies on both CT and MR studies. MRI simulation can significantly reduce the patient treatment cost and save staff and machine time, and avoid any errors that may be associated with the image fusion process.
Impacts Of National Institutions On Trust-Outcome Relation In R&D Alliances

Although it has been found that trust, in general, are beneficial to RD the effect surrounding national institutions (i.e. formal versus informal) have on the level of benefit observed has often been left unattended. In this paper, we examine how various national institutions; intellectual property protection and individualism in particular, impact interorganizational trust and its benefits to alliance performance. We propose that the positive effect of trust on alliance performance magnifies under weaker formal institutional contexts. Further we propose that national cultural values, particularly individualistic orientation; diminishes the level of trust observed in R&D alliances across countries.
mproving soil organic carbon parameterization of land surface model or cold regions in the Northeastern Tibetan Plateau , China

Most current land surface models (LSMs) show poor performance in soil water and temperature simulations for cold regions because of the inappropriate model structures and ill-parameterizations. This study aims to explore how to parameterize soil organic carbon (SOC) in term of soil moisture simulations using the Community Land Model version 4.0 (CLM4.0) model and the Dynamic Land Model version 1.0 (DLM1.0) model. Firstly, we discuss the sensitivities of modeled soil moisture to SOC based on observations. The SOC parameterizations in both CLM4.0 and DLM1.0 were proved poor against the measured SOC through sensitivity analysis for the Heihe River watershed area (cold but with high SOC). A SOC parameterization was developed and tested based on multiple year observations. Our findings are twofold: (i) the soil organic parameterizations in CLM4.0 and DLM1.0 are inappropriate for simulating soil moisture in cold regions with high SOC, and the modified SOC parameterization significantly improves the soil moisture simulations; (ii) the impacts of SOC on soil moisture vary significantly with seasons, which is largest for JJA (June, July and August) followed by SON (September, October and November), MAM (March, April and May) and DJF (December, January and February). This study highlights that the impacts of SOC should be fully considered for LSMs soil moisture simulations, especially for cold areas with high
Do Mature Companies Pay More Dividends? Evidence from Pakistani Stock Market

Dividend policy is among the most important unresolved issues in modern corporate finance. Several researches have tried to solve the dividend puzzle yet; the results are inconclusive as to what determines the optimal dividend policy. Present study has analyzed the impact of firm’s age on its dividend policy. Using the financial data of 120 companies listed at Karachi Stock Exchange (KSE), Pakistan during 2002 to 2007, this study has explored the non-linear relationship of company’s age with dividend policy. A cubic form of model has been designed by using age, age-square and age-cube as independent variables while controlling for leverage and profitability. The estimated results are consistent with maturity hypothesis and free cash flow hypothesis. The study also supports the impact of trade cycle on dividend policy of listed companies of Pakistan. The results are robust to the alternative proxy of dividend policy i.e. dividend intensity.
The Relationship Between Movement Imagery and Online Control in Typically Developing Children

The ability to mentally represent actions is suggested to have a role in the online control of movement in healthy adults. Children’s movement imagery ability and online control have been shown to develop at similar non-linear rates. The current study investigated the relationship between movement imagery and online control in children by comparing implicit and explicit movement imagery measures with the ability to make online trajectory corrections. Imagery ability was a significant predictor of children’s online control of reaching once age and general reaching efficiency were controlled for. These findings extend the proposed relationship between movement imagery and online control. MI & ONLINE CONTROL IN CHILDREN iii
Dynamic Analysis of Electric Arc: From the Single-Phase State Approach to the Three-Phase Clarke Approach

In the present paper the analysis based on state equations method is applied to the transient study of interrupted single- and three-phase networks. The proposed approach is independent on the mathematical model adopted to represent the electric arc. In the three-phase case, the Clarke transformation allows us to perform the energy analysis of the three-phase electric arc during any balanced or unbalanced transient conditions. The Clarke energy balance related to the imaginary power concept permits to design the breaker under study without the use of empirical coefficients normally adopted in literature.
The Effect of Salinity on Solamargine and Solasonine Contents of Solanum incanum Plants Grown in Oman

In addition to its traditional medicinal importance, Solanum incanum (thorn apple) is also a rich source of important cytotoxic glycoalkaloids such as solamargine and solasonine. The effect of salinity stress on solamargine and solasonine production by Solanum incanum plants grown in soil has been investigated. Salinity stress has been applied by adding NaCl to the soil, in concentrations: 0.0 (control), 75, 150, and 225 mM for 8 weeks. HPTLC method was used for analysis of solamargine and solasonine in leaves, stem and roots. A positive correlation was observed between 150 mM NaCl salinity and production of solamargine and solasonine in leaves. In roots, solamargine content was not affected by NaCl treatment, whereas solasonine content increased with a short-term salinity treatment. However, salinity seems to reduce the production of solamargine and solasonine in the roots of Solanum incanum . The possibility of using NaCl as an efficient and economical elicitor of glycoalkaloid production in Solanum incanum plants is rejected on the basis of the results obtained.
The rarity of star formation in brightest cluster galaxies as measured by WISE

We present the mid-infrared star formation rates of 245 X-ray selected, nearby (z 1 × 1044 erg s⁻ ¹. The Wide-Field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) All WISE Data Release provides the first measurement of the 12 μm star formation indicator for all BCGs in the nearby Universe. Perseus A and Cygnus A are the only galaxies in our sample to have star formation rates of > 40 M⊙ yr⁻¹, indicating that these two galaxies are highly unusual at current times. Stellar populations of 99 ± 0.6 per cent of local BCGs are (approximately) passively evolving, with star formation rates of < 10 M⊙ yr⁻¹. We find that in general, star formation produces only modest BCG growth at the current epoch.
Ethnobotanical Survey of Medicinal Plants used by Ayta Communities in Dinalupihan, Bataan, Philippines

Objectives: This study documented the species of medicinal plants used by Ayta communities in Dinalupihan, Bataan. The plant parts used for medicinal purposes, preparations, mode of administration of these medicinal plants were determined. The most important species based on use values and informant consensus factors were also calculated. Methods: A total of 26 informants were interviewed regarding the plants they utilize for medicinal purposes. Free and prior informed consents were obtained from the informants. Taxonomic identification was done in the Botany Division of the National Museum of the Philippines. Informant consensus factor (FIC) and use values (UV) were also calculated. Results: Ayta communities listed a total of 118 plant species classified into 49 families used as herbal medicines. The Family Fabaceae was the most represented plant family with 11 species. Leaves were the most used plant part (43%). Majority of medicinal preparations were taken orally (57%). It was found that Psidium guajava L. and Lunasia amara Blanco were the most commonly used medicinal plants in the three communities with the use value of 0.814. Conclusion: This documentation provides a catalog of useful plants of the Ayta and serves as a physical record of their culture for the education of future Ayta generations.