Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Opportunities and Challenges for Mixed Day Secondary School Headteachers in Promoting Girl-Child Education in Kenya: A Case Study of Kisumu Municipality.

Despite Kenya Government’s commitment to enhancement of girl-child education, their participation rate at secondary school level is still notably low. Many studies on the girl-child education have concentrated in the rural populations with the assumption that the situation in the urban setting is nearly ideal. This was not the case as was evidenced in the period 2004-2007 whereby, mixed day secondary schools in Kisumu Municipality were averagely made up of only 43% girls. Headteachers as implementers of government policies are well placed to enhance girl child participation in mixed day secondary schools. The purpose of this study was therefore to investigate the opportunities, challenges and coping strategies for headteachers in the promotion of secondary school girl-child education. The findings of the study were that headteachers had several opportunities such as financial resources, government policies, political goodwill, personnel and facilities to promote girl-child participation in secondary education. Headteachers faced challenges including indiscipline, inadequate facilities and personnel, poverty and girl-child drop-out. Strategies to cope with the challenges were government policies, parental involvement and availing resources and personnel for the girl-child education. Based on the findings, the study recommended that the government should formulate appropriate educational policies whose implementation would be monitored and evaluated to improve Girl child education. Besides, the headteacher should facilitate the affordability of girl-child education in mixed day secondary schools.
PENGARUH CITRA MEREK, KUALITAS PRODUK DAN PERSEPSI HARGA TERHADAP KEPUASAN DAN NIAT BELI ULANG

Repeat intention is one of the important factors for the company. The re-purchase intention of a product arises because the consumer is satisfied with the product purchased previously. One of the keys in creating a buy-back intention is to increase customer satisfaction. This research was conducted in Denpasar City involving 120 respondents. The purposive sampling method is chosen as the method of data collection. Data collection was done by distributing questionnaires containing statements relating to brand image variables, product quality, price perceptions, customer satisfaction and re-purchase intentions. Furthermore, data from the results of collecting the questionnaire is processed by using the validity test, and reliability test to determine the feasibility and consistency of indicators in the questionnaire. In addition to the validity test and reliability test, another test is performed path analysis. The results of this study found that, brand image, product quality and price perception have a positive and significant impact on customer satisfaction. Brand image is the most dominant variable affecting customer satisfaction. Customer satisfaction also has a positive and significant impact on repurchase intentions. So it can be concluded that creating the intention to buy back on consumers can be done by increasing customer satisfaction.
Modeling of Hydrological Processes Using Unstructured and Irregular Grids: 2D Groundwater Application

Para mejores heterogeneidades manija del paisaje en la modelizacion hidrologica distribuida, una obra anterior propuso una discretizacion basado en niveles anidados, que conduce a las mallas de modelado totalmente desestructuradas. Tras una discretizacion tal, soluciones numericas tradicionales deben adaptarse, especialmente para describir el flujo lateral entre los elementos de malla no estructurados. En este articulo, ilustramos la viabilidad de la solucion numerica de la ecuacion de difusion, lo que representa el flujo de las aguas subterraneas, utilizando mallas no estructuradas. Por lo tanto, se desarrollo un modelo de dos dimensiones (2D) de las aguas subterraneas (BOUSS2D), adaptado a convexo mallas no estructuradas e irregulares. Se basa en la aproximacion de la ecuacion de Boussinesq 2D utilizando tecnicas numericas adecuadas para rejillas no ortogonales. El manejo de las heterogeneidades acuiferos verticales y horizontales tambien se aborda. Los flujos a traves de las interfaces entre los elementos de malla unidas se estiman por el metodo de volumenes finitos y el metodo de aproximacion de gradiente. Las comparaciones entre las predicciones BOUSS2D y soluciones analiticas o predicciones de los codigos existentes sugieren que el desempeno aceptable del modelo BOUSS2D. Por tanto, estos resultados animan a un mayor desarrollo de modelos hidrologicos usando mallas no estructuradas que son capaces de una mejor representacion de las heterogeneidades del paisaje.
Extreme Saharan dust event over the southern Iberian Peninsula in september 2007: active and passive remote sensing from surface and satellite

Abstract. This study investigates aerosol optical properties during the extreme Saharan dust event detected from 3 to 7 September 2007 over Granada, southern Iberian Peninsula, with both active and passive remote sensing instrumentation from surface and satellite. The intensity of the event was visualized on the aerosol optical depth series obtained by the sun-photometer Cimel CE 318-4 operated at Granada in the framework of AERONET from August 2004 until December 2008 (level 2 data). A combination of large aerosol optical depth (0.86–1.50) at 500 nm, and reduced Angstrom exponent (0.1–0.25) in the range 440–870 nm, was detected on 6 September during daytime. This Saharan dust event also affected other Iberian Peninsula stations included in AERONET (El Arenosillo and Evora stations), and it was monitored by MODIS instrument on board Aqua satellite. Vertically resolved measurements were performed by a ground-based Raman Lidar and by CALIPSO satellite. During the most intense stage, on 6 September, maximum aerosol backscatter values were a factor of 8 higher than other maxima during this Saharan dust event. Values up to 1.5×10−2 km−1 sr−1 at 355 and 532 nm were detected in the layer with the greatest aerosol load between 3–4 km a.s. l. , although aerosol particles were also detected up to 5.5 km a.s. l. In this stage of the event, dust particles at these altitudes showed a backscatter-related Angstrom exponent between –0.44 and 0.53 for the two spectral intervals considered. The results from different measurements (active/passive and ground-based/satellite) reveal the importance of performing multi-instrumental measurements to properly characterize the contribution of different aerosol types from different sources during extreme events. The atmospheric stabilization effect of the aerosol particles has been characterized by computing the solar heating rates using SBDART code.
Wage distributions by wage-setting regime

"Collective wage contracts impose restrictions on wage-setting. We utilize German linked employer-employee data for blue-collar worker to compute the dispersion of wages and wage components within and across firms under three different wage-setting regimes: Establishments applying sectoral collective contracts, establishments with firm-level contracts and uncovered establishments. The empirical analysis confirms a lower dispersion of wages and wage components for firms applying sectoral collective contracts compared to companies in the other two wage-setting regimes. Implications for policy are discussed. " (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))
Varied phenologies of Batrachospermum gelatinosum gametophytes (Batrachospermales, Rhodophyta) in two low-order streams.

The freshwater red algal species, Batrachospermum gelatinosum, is common in temperate/borea regions North America and Europe. In southeast Ohio, gametophytes of this taxon were observed to have two different phenologies; in one stream the gametophytes were present only during the spring months and in another stream they were present year-round. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to determine environmental parameters associated with occurrence, peak vegetative growth and reproduction for B. gelatinosum gametophytes in these two streams. Field sampling was conducted for 18 months with both streams being sampled every three to four weeks, when possible. Physical and chemical parameters of stream depth, current velocity, pH, conductivity and nutrients were measured each sampling date. Algal thalli were measured for changes in both vegetative and reproductive characters. In both streams, algal reproductive structures were positively correlated with stream depth (7-52 cm), but there was no correlation of vegetative characteristics with environmental variables measured. Algal cover (0-50 %) in each stream was positively correlated with stream depth (7-52 cm), current velocity (BDL-1.08 m.s-1) and day length (10.3-15.1 hrs). The site with the least canopy cover and greatest water depth had the highest algal cover and gametophytes present year-round; whereas the site with lower water depth had lower algal cover and gametophyte present only during spring and early summer. This result suggests that stream size and amount of riparian vegetation may play a role in determining phenologies observed. Contrasting phenologies have been reported for B. gelatinosum from sites that are geographically distant, but this study has found that local physical factors may produce differing phenologies in streams only a few kilometers apart.
Architecture of the growth and development of the two alpine rhododendron species Rhododendron hirsutum and Rhododendron ferrugineum as a basis for the verification of the assessed relative and absolute age of aboveground shoots

The two species of alpine rhododendrons: Rhododendron hirsutum and Rh. ferrugineum, growing in natural conditions (Hohe Tauern and southern Tirol) were studied. The studies were aimed, among others, at the elaboration of a method allowing the assessment of the relative and absolute age of these plants using an algorithm based on the average length of annual increments, and next, at the verification of these data on the basis of the morphological structure of aboveground shoots and the architecture of the growth and development of individuals.
Managerial Ownership, Controlling Shareholders and Firm Performance

On Swedish data I examine the relation between both managerial ownership as well as controlling shareholders and firm performance measured by Tobin s Q. I first establish a U-shaped relation between managerial ownership and Tobin s Q. Thereafter I find a negative effect of having a controlling shareholder on Tobin s Q, that diminish with his equity fraction in the firm. This effect though, appear to originate from the managerial effects as a large part of the controlling shareholders also are
Transport of mercury in the Arctic atmosphere: Evidence for a spring‐time net sink and summer‐time source

In the Arctic, atmospheric concentrations of gaseous elemental mercury (GEM) can decrease strongly in spring when mercury is deposited to the snow. Some studies suggest mercury can accumulate in the snow while others suggest rapid reemission after atmospheric mercury depletion events. We have combined measurements of GEM at the Arctic site Zeppelin (Ny Ålesund, Spitsbergen) with the output of the Lagrangian particle dispersion model FLEXPART, for a statistical analysis of GEM source and sink regions. We find that the Arctic is a strong net sink region for GEM in April and May, suggesting that mercury accumulates in the Arctic snow pack. For summer, we find the Arctic to be a GEM source, indicating reemission of previously deposited mercury when the snow and/or ice melts, or evasion from the ocean through sea ice leads and polynyas. Our results are corroborated by a related analysis of ozone source and sink regions.
Impact of HIV on the Severity of Buruli Ulcer Disease : Results of a Retrospective Study in Cameroon

Background. Buruli ulcer (BU) is the third most common mycobacterial disease after tuberculosis and leprosy and is particularly frequent in rural West and Central Africa. However, the impact of HIV infection on BU severity and prevalence remains unclear. Methods. This was a retrospective study of data collected at the Akonolinga district hospital, Cameroon, from 1 January 2002 to 27 March 2013. HIV prevalence among BU patients was compared to regional HIV prevalence. Baseline characteristics of BU patients were compared between HIV-negative and HIV-positive patients, and according to CD4 cell count strata in the latter group. BU time-to-healing was assessed in different CD4 count strata and factors associated with BU main lesion size at baseline were identified. Results. HIV prevalence among BU patients was significantly higher than the regional estimated prevalence in each group (children, 4.00% vs 0.68% [P < .001]; men, 17.0% vs 4.7% [P < .001]; women, 36.0% vs 8.0% [P < .001]). HIV-positive individuals had a more severe form of BU with an increased severity in those with a higher level of immunosuppression. Low CD4 cell count was significantly associated with a larger main lesion size (beta-coefficient, -0.50; P = .015; 95% confidence interval [CI], -0.91 – 0.10). BU time-to-healing was more than double in patients with a CD4 cell count below 500 cell/mm (hazard ratio, 2.39; P = .001, 95% CI, 1.44 3.98). Conclusion. HIV-positive patients are at higher risk for BU. HIV-induced immunosuppression appears to have an impact on BU clinical presentation and disease evolution. by gest on M ay 3, 2014 http://ofidordjournals.org/ D ow nladed from
Increasing incidence of paediatric eosinophilic esophagitis in the southwestern of the region of Madrid

Objectives: The incidence of eosinophilic esophagitis is unknown in our area. The aim of our study is to determine the incidence of diagnosis of eosinophilic esophagitis and its possible association with the most frequent absolute annual pollen counts. Methods: A descriptive retrospective multicenter observational study was designed to calculate the incidence of eosinophilic esophagitis in children under 15 years in the southwest of the region of Madrid in 2002-2013 (provided by the Statistics Institute of Madrid). We collected patient data on age, sex, clinical presentation and date of endoscopic diagnosis. Relative risk estimation was performed (Stata v.11) using negative binomial regression models to assess the association between the incidence and pollen counts (provided by Subiza Clinic). Results: Two hundred fifty-four patients, 75.6% male (n = 192) aged between 0.5-14.99 years were diagnosed. The clinical presentation was esophageal impaction 23.6%, dysphagia 22%, “gastroesophageal reflux-like symptoms” 44.9% and others 9.4%. The annual incidences from 2002 to 2013 per 100,000 children under 15 years / year were respectively: 0.81; 1.5; 0.37; 3.17; 3.07; 4.36; 6.87; 7.19; 8.38; 9.05; 9.14 and 9.68. The incidence of eosinophilic esophagitis increased by an average of 19% annually (RR 1.19, 95% CI: 1.14-1.25, p <0.001). In the overall analysis the relationship between incidence and absolute annual and monthly counts during times of pollination of pollen types analyzed only Platanus spp had a RR> 1 (1.17 and 1.06, respectively) (P <0.05). Conclusion: The incidence of diagnosis of pediatric eosinophilic esophagitis has increased by an average of 19% annually. No significant association was found between the incidence and pollen counts, except for a weak association with Platanus spp.
Effect of Silibinin in Lowering the Intraocular Pressure in Normotensive Rabbits: Interaction with Betaxolol

Previous reports demonstrated the effectiveness of silibinin hemisuccinate as a potential intraocular pressure-lowering agent. The exact mechanism by which silibinin exerted this effect has not yet been documented, but might suggested to interfere with aqueous humor formation. The present study was designed to evaluate the comparative efficacy of silibinin as IOP lowering agent to that of betaxolol in normotensive rabbits, and the interaction of silibinin with betaxolol as a way for investigating the possible mechanism of action of silibinin in this respect. The effects of instillation of 0.75% silibinin solution and 0.5% betaxolol eye drops in the eyes of normotensive rabbits were evaluated using indentation tonometry. The results showed that 0.75% solution of silibinin was more potent than betaxolol (0.5%) in lowering IOP in normotensive rabbits. Furthermore, the effect of pre- and post-instillation of silibinin-betaxolol combination showed a characteristic antagonistic feature. In conclusion, silibinin appears to be more potent than betaxolol in lowering IOP in normotensive rabbits; the pre- and post-instillation of silibinin provide experimental evidence for the possible antagonistic effect of betaxolol with the IOP-lowering effect of silibinin. Key words: silibinin, betaxolol, cAMP, PDE-inhibitors
Mediation analysis with structural equation models: Combining theory, design, and statistics

Statistical tests of indirect effects can hardly distinguish between genuine and spurious mediation effects. The present research demonstrates, however, that mediation analysis can be improved by combining a significance test of the indirect effect with assessing the fit of causal models. Testing only the indirect effect can be misleading, because significant results may also be obtained when the underlying causal model is different from the mediation model. We use simulated data to demonstrate that additionally assessing the fit of causal models with structural equation models can be used to exclude subsets of models that are incompatible with the observed data. The results suggest that combining structural equation modeling with appropriate research design and theoretically stringent mediation analysis can improve scientific insights. Finally, we discuss limitations of the structural equation modeling approach, and we emphasize the importance of non-statistical methods for scientific discovery.
At-sea behaviour of three krill predators breeding at Bouvetøya—Antarctic fur seals, macaroni penguins and chinstrap penguins

Interspecific competition is an important structuring element in marine ecosystems, especially in the Southern Ocean which offers few prey choices to comparatively large predator populations. We present the first simultaneous observations of at-sea behaviour and attendance patterns of 3 synchronously breeding, central place, krill foragers at Bouvetøya — a small, isolated, sub-Antarctic island in the South Atlantic. Time depth recorders and satellite transmitters were deployed during the austral summer of 2007/2008 on 47 lactating Antarctic fur seals Arcto-cephalus gazella (AFS) rearing pups and on 20 macaroni Eudyptes chrysolophus (MAC) and 30 chinstrap Pygoscelis antarctica penguins (CHIN) rearing chicks. All 3 species showed a strong preference for the west side of the island, and their foraging ranges overlapped markedly. Solar elevation influenced the timing of departures from, and arrivals to, the island with markedly different patterns between the seals and the penguins. Diving patterns also showed significant differences among the 3 species, with the frequency of diving being higher at night for the AFS, while both penguin species dove more frequently during the day. But a common, vertical diel pattern occurred in all 3 species, with shallow diving occurring at night and deep diving during the day, consistent with the vertical migration of krill. MACs targeted 2 depth layers for feeding, including a deep prey layer at ~70 m, which was not exploited by AFSs and CHINs. The results suggest that there is potential for competitive overlap among these 3 krill predators at Bouvetøya, but that it is reduced via both spatial (horizontal and vertical) and temporal partitioning of foraging areas.
Rethinking the shadow economy in terms of happiness. Evidence for the European Union Member States

AbstractThis paper’s goal is to highlight how happiness affects the level of shadow economy, by using many control variables within different types of potentially determining factors of shadow economy. Another main contribution consists in the systematic comparison between old and new European Union member states in terms of determinants of shadow economy, including happiness. Our findings consist in the fact that happier people are more likely to act honestly, thus causing a decrease in the size of shadow economy and this result is valid both for old and new European Union countries. In addition, we found that the quality of public governance and the richness of a country are associated with a lower propensity towards shadow economy for all the member states. However, the relationship between public governance and shadow economy are never significant when the happiness and richness variables vary simultaneously. Our research reveals that the shadow economy in European Union countries is explained in perc.
A Method to Improve PLL Performance Under Abnormal Grid Conditions

Phase tracking system or phase locked loop (PLL) is an important part of the control unit of a grid connected power converter. Popular methods such as zero crossing detection (ZCD) and synchronous reference frame (SRF) PLL do not produce accurate phase information when grid is non-ideal. In this work a method to obtain accurate phase information when the grid voltages are unbalanced by adding a moving average filter to a SRF PLL has been proposed. The performances of the PLL have been experimentally verified for abnormal grid conditions such as unbalance, harmonics, voltage sag and swell, faults etc. Generally, during a fault phase voltages become unbalanced so this method can give better fault ride through capability to a power converter.
The daytime cycle in dust aerosol direct radiative effects observed in the central Sahara during the Fennec campaign in June 2011

The direct clear‐sky radiative effect (DRE) of atmospheric mineral dust is diagnosed over the Bordj Badji Mokhtar (BBM) supersite in the central Sahara during the Fennec campaign in June 2011. During this period, thick dust events were observed, with aerosol optical depth values peaking at 3.5. Satellite observations from Meteosat‐9 are combined with ground‐based radiative flux measurements to obtain estimates of DRE at the surface, top‐of‐atmosphere (TOA), and within the atmosphere. At TOA, there is a distinct daytime cycle in net DRE. Both shortwave (SW) and longwave (LW) DRE peak around noon and induce a warming of the Earth‐atmosphere system. Toward dusk and dawn, the LW DRE reduces while the SW effect can switch sign triggering net radiative cooling. The net TOA DRE mean values range from −9 Wm−2 in the morning to heating of +59 Wm−2 near midday. At the surface, the SW dust impact is larger than at TOA: SW scattering and absorption by dust results in a mean surface radiative cooling of 145Wm−2. The corresponding mean surface heating caused by increased downward LW emission from the dust layer is a factor of 6 smaller. The dust impact on the magnitude and variability of the atmospheric radiative divergence is dominated by the SW cooling of the surface, modified by the smaller SW and LW effects at TOA. Consequently, dust has a mean daytime net radiative warming effect on the atmosphere of 153Wm−2.
No . 08-29 The Human Cost of Economic Crises

Policy makers rely on a mix of government spending and tax cuts to address the imbalances in the economy during an economic crisis, by promoting price stability and renewed economic growth. However, little discussion appears to focus explicitly on the costs of economic crises in terms of human lives, especially the lives of the most vulnerable members of society, infants. This paper quantifies the effect that economic crises, periods of prolonged economic recession, have on infant mortality. Moreover, we investigate whether different levels of public spending on health across advanced industrialized democracies can mitigate the impact of crises on infant mortality. We find that economic crises are extremely costly and lead to a more than proportional increase in infant mortality in the short-run. Substantial public spending on health is required in order to limit their impact.