Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
HETEROTIC AND GENETIC EFFECTS IN INTRASPECIFIC POPULATIONS OF BRASSICA NAPUS L .

Eight parents viz., Rustam Canola, Abasin-95, NIFA Gold, Durr-e-NIFA, Punjab Sarsoon, Faisal Canola, Rainbow and Dunkled were crossed in a complete diallel fashion in rapeseed (Brassica napus L.). The resultant 56 F1 hybrids along with eight parental genotypes were grown in a randomized block design with two replications and evaluated for genetic variability, heterosis and combining ability through earliness, morphological and yield traits. The F1 hybrids and their parental cultivars revealed highly significant differences for all the traits which revealed that breeding material has greater genetic variability and scope for further improvement through intensive selection. Mean squares due to general combining ability (GCA), specific combining ability (SCA) and reciprocal combining ability (RCA) were found highly significant (p≤0.01) for days to maturity, secondary branches per plant, pods per plant, seeds per pod and seed yield per plant which signifying the equal shares of both additive and dominance genetic effects. However, the variances due to σSCA were higher in magnitude than σGCA, and the ratios of σGCA/σSCA were also below than unity which revealed the predominance of non-additive gene action for inheritance of all the traits. Parental cultivars Punjab Sarsoon and Dunkled were identified as best general combiners and performed better for the majority of the traits. Therefore, these general combiners produced some best specific cross combinations with the promising mean performance which involve high × high, low × high and high × low GCA parental genotypes. The F1 hybrids Dunkled × Rainbow, Abasin-95 × NIFA Gold, Durr-e-NIFA × Punjab Sarsoon, Rustam Canola × Punjab Sarsoon and Punjab Sarsoon × Abasin-95 revealed best mean performance for earliness, morphological and yield traits hence these genotypes could be used in the future breeding programs.
Cooperative output regulation for a class of nonlinear heterogeneous multi-agent systems

This paper considers the cooperative output regulation problem for a class of heterogeneous multi-agent systems with linearly parameterizable nonlinear matching uncertainties, which can be used to model electrical energy storage systems. Such a problem cannot be solved by the existing control approaches due to the heterogeneity and multi-input multi-output property of the agents' dynamics. To overcome the technical difficulties, we propose two distributed observer based control approaches which integrate the distributed observer/adaptive distributed observer techniques with the certainty equivalent adaptive control design. Sufficient conditions are given on the convergence of the estimated errors of the uncertain system parameters. Simulation results show the application of the proposed control approaches to the energy management of a battery energy storage system.
Knowledge sharing among Malaysian academics: Influence of affective commitment and trust

Knowledge resides within a human being and it is hard to be transferred to others. Unwillingness to share is one of the main impediments of knowledge sharing. In a university setting, this situation could be more alarming as universities are knowledge centric organisation. Knowledge sharing will help universities to strengthen its research and teaching activities. Despite the importance of knowledge sharing, many academics still hoard their knowledge. The aims for this paper are (1) to evaluate the influence of these two emotional factors towards knowledge sharing intention; (2) to examine whether the perception of knowledge sharing in public universities differs from private universities. The research model includes the theory of planned behaviour (TPB) and the two affective components. In order to examine the research model, a survey was conducted with a total respondent of 545 academics from 30 universities in Malaysia. Multiple linear regression was used to examine the research model. On the other hand, t-test was used to examine the differences between public and private universities. In general, the findings revealed that emotional influence is crucial for knowledge sharing behaviour. The t-test analysis shows that there are significant differences between public and private universities. This paper contributes to the existing literature by evaluating the impact of emotional factors (affective commitment and affective trust) towards knowledge sharing behaviour. It also provides a greater depth of understanding on how knowledge sharing in public universities deviate from private universities. University administrators need to implement policies and activities to strengthen the emotional bonding between academics in order to facilitate knowledge sharing in Malaysian universities. This is exceptionally crucial for private universities as the results shows that knowledge sharing intention is lower than the public universities.
BRAND RECOGNITION AND IMPULSE BUYING BEHAVIOUR OF AUTOMOTIVE LUBRICANTS IN LAGOS STATE, NIGERIA

Brand recognition is an awareness level that reveals consumers’ ability to confirm prior exposure to a brand when given a cue. This study addressed the challenges of brand recognition as a determinant of customer impulse buying behaviour in the automotive lubricants markets of Lagos State, Nigeria. The study employed a descriptive survey design to examine 2, 824, 047 vehicle owners registered with the Lagos State Motor Vehicle Administration Agency (MVAA) between 20032013. The sample size determination for a finite population as expressed by Krejcie and Morgan (1970) and used by Research Advisors (2006) was used to draw a sample of 1,890autotechnicians through the proportionate sample technique (a variant of stratified sampling method) to reflect the proportions of autotechnicians in each of the 20 local government areas of the state. A research questionnaire was constructed, validated and administered to obtain the primary data. The Factor Analysis, Simple Regression Analysis and Pearson Product Moment Correlation (r) statistical techniques were used to test the hypothesis. The findings of the study revealed that there is significant relationship between brand recognition and impulse buying behaviour (p < 0.05, R= 0.786, R 2 = 0.618). It was concluded that high levels of awareness positively influence the choice of lubricants by consumers. The study therefore recommends that marketers of lubricants should develop innovative packaging strategies that will appeal to and attract consumers in an exceptional way to trigger impulse buying.
SHELF-LIFE DETERMINATION OF DRY FERMENTED POULTRY MEAT SAUSAGE USING ARRHENIUS MODEL

The effect of commercial starter cultures and essential oils (EOs) on the shelf-life of dry fermented poultry meat sausage was investigated. A total of 30 sausages were inoculated with two different mixed starter cultures and two different EOs: 10 UFC.g L. sakei + S. carnosus (starter A), 10 UFC.g L. sakei + S. carnosus + S. xylosus (starter B), 0.25% (v/v) of oregano EO (EO 1) and 0.25% (v/v) of thyme EO (EO 2), and stored for 28 days at three different temperatures 15, 25 and 35 °C. Shelf-life evaluation was determined by using Accelerated ShelfLife Testing (ASLT) method of Arrhenius model. Fecal coliforms counts were used as a parameter in this research. The results indicated that storage time affected (P < 0.05) the evolution of fecal coliforms counts whereas no significant differences were observed (P > 0.05) among the samples inoculated with starter cultures and added with EOs. Based on the microbial counts, the prior addition of mixed starter cultures A or B to dry fermented sausages, incubated at 15 °C, has improved their shelf life for about 12 days against 7 days for sausages added with oregano or thyme essential oils, and this compared with a shelf life of 20 days noted on control sample.
Tracking ion irradiation e ff ects using buried interface devices

We discuss how a buried interface device, specifically a metal-oxide-semiconductor (MOS) capacitor, can be utilized to track effects of ion irradiation on insulators. We show that the exposure of oxides within unfinished capacitor devices to ions can lead to significant changes in the capacitance of the finished devices. For multicharged ions, these capacitive effects can be traced to defect production within the oxide and ultimately point to a role for charge-dependent energy loss. In particular, we attribute the stretchout of the capacitance-voltage curves of MOS devices that include an irradiated oxide to the ion irradiation. The stretchout shows a power law dependence on the multicharged ion charge state (Q) that is similar to that observed for multicharged ion energy loss in other systems.
A Genetic Algorithm Approach for Discovering Tuned Fuzzy Classification Rules with Intra- and Inter-Class Exceptions

Abstract Fuzzy rule-based systems (FRBSs) are proficient in dealing with cognitive uncertainties like vagueness and ambiguity imperative to real-world decision-making situations. Fuzzy classification rules (FCRs) based on fuzzy logic provide a framework for a flexible human-like reasoning involving linguistic variables. Appropriate membership functions (MFs) and suitable number of linguistic terms – according to actual distribution of data – are useful to strengthen the knowledge base (rule base [RB]+ data base [DB]) of FRBSs. An RB is expected to be accurate and interpretable, and a DB must contain appropriate fuzzy constructs (type of MFs, number of linguistic terms, and positioning of parameters of MFs) for the success of any FRBS. Moreover, it would be fascinating to know how a system behaves in some rare/exceptional circumstances and what action ought to be taken in situations where generalized rules cease to work. In this article, we propose a three-phased approach for discovery of FCRs augmented with intra- and inter-class exceptions. A pre-processing algorithm is suggested to tune DB in terms of the MFs and number of linguistic terms for each attribute of a data set in the first phase. The second phase discovers FCRs employing a genetic algorithm approach. Subsequently, intra- and inter-class exceptions are incorporated in the rules in the third phase. The proposed approach is illustrated on an example data set and further validated on six UCI machine learning repository data sets. The results show that the approach has been able to discover more accurate, interpretable, and interesting rules. The rules with intra-class exceptions tell us about the unique objects of a category, and rules with inter-class exceptions enable us to take a right decision in the exceptional circumstances.
African Continental Free Trade Area: Challenges and Opportunities of Tariff Reductions

he African Continental Free Trade Area is widely seen as a crucial driver for economic growth, industrialization and sustainable development in Africa. Despite the opportunities, challenges need to be addressed. Fears of significant tariff revenue losses and an uneven distribution of costs and benefits are among the main obstacles to the continent's integration. Flanking measures and flexibilities should be explored for a fair sharing of costs and benefits, to reduce adjustment costs and to attain the full long-term benefits of the CFTA. In the long-run, trade liberalization in the CFTA lowers trade costs and allows consumers to access a greater variety of products at lower prices. Lower costs for imported raw materials and intermediate inputs increases competitiveness of downstream producers and promotes the generation of regional value chains. Trade liberalization also allows firms to access a large continental market and gain from economies of scale. In the long run, increased competitive pressures may improve firm efficiency. However, market consolidation may arise when smaller firms are exposed to stiffer competition. While most of the potential benefits of trade liberalization accrue in the long run, short-run structural change through the relocation of labour, capital and other factors of production entails costs of adjustment. Short run and long run effects of trade agreements should therefore be distinguished.
"Who is the culprit: The structure or the culture?" Indirect sexism: Linguistic representation of women in Egyptian print media

This paper aims at investigating the more subtle ways of linguistic sexism in Egyptian print media. The paper examines three types of indirect sexism: collocations, transitivity, and presupposition and visibility, in Al-Ahram newspaper Headline and Front Page report coverage of June 30 th , 2013 events. The paper has shown that it is not just the androcentric nature of the Arabic language that posed structural limitations that led to the linguistic invisibility of women as shown in a previous study (Nayef, 2014a). Such obscuration of women here is also induced by the masculine supremacy beliefs in the patriarchal culture. The paper investigated how the reporters used certain lexical items in collocation with female participants in the political activities during that period. These collocations were either negative in meaning or used in a negative context, creating a negative image of women in both cases. The study has pointed out that even in events where women were key 'Actors', they were represented as 'Goals' rather than 'Actors'. It was also shown that the male reporters reproduced the culturally accepted division of public and private spheres, the presupposed role of women and men and the stereotypical characteristics assigned to members of the two genders.
Enhancing Eco-effi ciency in Agro-ecosystems through Soil Carbon Sequestration

Global cereal production must be increased by ~50% by 2050. Crop yields in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia have either stagnated or declined since the 1990s because of the widespread use of extractive farming practices and problems of soil and environmental degradation. Yield potential of improved varieties and elite germplasm is not realized because of soil degradation. The concept of eco-effi ciency implies effi cient and sustainable use of resources in agronomic production and soil management. However, it is not enough to merely minimize the environmental impact. It is also important to maximize agronomic production while enhancing ecosystem services. Most degraded and depleted soils of agro-ecosystems contain a lower soil organic carbon (SOC) pool than in those under natural ecosystems. Thus, restoring the SOC pool is essential to improving soil quality, increasing eco-effi ciency, and enhancing numerous ecosystem services. Increasing the SOC pool in the root zone can enhance agronomic production (kg grains ha−1 Mg C−1) at the rate of 200 to 300 for maize (Zea mays L.), 30 to 60 for bean (Phaseolis vulgaris L.), 20 to 40 for wheat (Triticum aestivum L.), 20 to 50 for soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr. ], and 20 to 50 for rice (Oryza sativa L.). Not all improved management practices are applicable to all soil and ecological conditions. However, no-till farming along with application of crop residue mulch, manuring, legume-based complex rotations, and integrated nutrient management should be applicable under most conditions. Global food insecurity, affecting 1.02 billion people in 2009, can only be alleviated by improving soil quality and eco-effi ciency through restoration of degraded/depleted soils. Carbon Management and Sequestration Center, The Ohio State Univ., Columbus, OH 43210. Received 5 Jan. 2010. *Corresponding author (lal.1@osu.edu). Abbreviations: INM, integrated nutrient management; SOC, soil organic carbon; SA, South Asia; SSA, sub-Saharan Africa. Published in Crop Sci. 50:S-120–S-131 (2010). doi: 10.2135/cropsci2010.01. 0012 Published online 8 Feb. 2010. © Crop Science Society of America | 677 S. Segoe Rd., Madison, WI 53711 USA All rights reserved. No part of this periodical may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. Permission for printing and for reprinting the material contained herein has been obtained by the publisher.
Changing for the Better? Longitudinal Associations Between Volitional Personality Change and Psychological Well-Being

Recent research has found that a vast majority of people want to change their personality traits—and they may be able to find some degree of success in doing so. However, desires for self-change have been theoretically and empirically linked to reduced well-being. The present study utilized a longitudinal design to better understand the associations between people’s desires and attempts to change their personality traits and their psychological well-being. Results indicated that possessing change goals did not necessarily predict growing deficits in well-being over time. In contrast, people who were able to change their personality traits in ways that aligned with their desires tended to experience increases in well-being over time. These findings are consistent with theory that dissatisfaction can precipitate change goals, and successful change can ameliorate dissatisfaction.
Prognostic value of biomarkers in malignant melanoma

Biopsy specimens from 12 patients with metastatic melanoma were longitudinally analysed to evaluate changes in proliferation activity and CD4+/CD8+ ratios during the course of the disease. The primary tumours of the patients who subsequently had metastatic disease were also each matched with tumours from two controls whose disease remained localized, and were compared with regard to tumour proliferation. Immunohistochemistry was performed using the avidin-biotin complex (ABC) immunoperoxidase technique, using bcl-2, p53, mdm-2 and Ki-67 as the primary monoclonal antibodies, and the percentage of positively stained melanocytic cells was calculated. Frozen sections were also available from metastatic lesions excised from eight of our patients before treatment initiation and at the time of disease progression. These specimens were prepared for microscopy, and quantitative characterization of CD4+ (OKT 4a) and CD8+ (OKT 8) cells was performed. Compared with the localized melanomas bcl-2 expression was higher in those primary melanomas that later metastasized (P=0.068, Wilcoxon; P=0.038, median test). Mdm-2 and Ki-67 expression did not differ in the primary tumours of patients and controls, but a statistically significant trend was observed towards increasing expression with the progression of the disease (two-sided exact P-values: 0.04 and 0.05, respectively). Patients with a low Ki-67 index in their first metastasis had a better prognosis when compared with patients with high indexes (P=0.008, log-rank). Furthermore, most patients with decreasing CD4+/CD8+ ratios had increasing p53 immunoreactivity. Our findings suggest that Ki-67 and bcl-2 may be useful for predicting the prognosis of melanoma patients. Mdm-2 is a new but promising marker in melanoma and deserves further evaluation.
Adductor pollicis muscle: potential anthropometric parameter in hospitalized individuals

This study evaluated the measurement of adductor pollicis muscle thickness as a parameter for the assessment of nutritional status in patients admitted to a University Hospital in Campo Grande, Mato Grosso do Sul State. This is a prospective cross-sectional study with 64 adults and elderly patients. We evaluated the percentage of weight loss based on the usual weight, arm circumference, triceps skinfold thickness, arm muscle circumference, laboratory parameters and measurement of adductor pollicis muscle thickness. The measurements were performed only once, in the first 72 hours of hospitalization. Data were analyzed using statistical software BioEstat 5.0, with a significance level of 0.05. The average thickness of the adductor pollicis muscle was 17.5 + 5.3 mm. We found a significant negative association of muscle with age. There was a significant association between the measure of muscle and parameters such as body mass index, arm circumference, arm muscle circumference, albumin and nutritional status assessed by physical examination. The adductor pollicis muscle allows easy measurement, direct assessment, fast results, low cost and good correlation with anthropometric parameters. However, further studies should be conducted to validate this new method.
High Luminosity LHC Experiments Workshop : Physics and Technology Developments Summary submitted to ECFA

M. Abbrescia, A. Affolder, P.P. Allport, E. Anderssen, A. Apyan, O. Arnaez, P. Aspell, A. Ball, S. Bally, I. Bejar Alonso, A. Belloni, O. Beltramello, I. Bergstrom, S. Bertolucci, L. Betev, F. Bordry, P. Braun Munzinger, O. Bruning, H. Burkhardt, J. Buytaert, P. Campana, M. Campbell, T. Camporesi, A. Canepa, A. Cardini, S. Caron, F. Cavallari, D. Charlton, J. Christiansen, P. Clarke, P. Collins, J. Christiansen, D. Contardo, G. Corti, A. Dainese, P. de Barbaro, N. De Bortoli, B. Di Girolamo, P. Dupieux, K. Einsweiler, F. Faccio, P. Farthouat, D. Ferrere, M. Ferro-Luzzi, M. Garcia-Sciveres, C. Gargiulo, T. Gershon, M. Girone, P. Giubellino, P. D. Giugni, V.V. Gligorov, E.W. N. Glover, B. Gorini, T. Grassi, L. Gray, G. Graziani, I. Gregor, A Grillo, C. Grojean, M. Hansen, F. Hartmann, A. Henriques, F. Huegging, P. Iengo, G. Isidori, C. Joram, A. Kluge, M. Klute, N. Konstantinidis, O. Kortner, M. Krammer, M. Krzewicki, D. Lange, F. Lanni, C. Lippmann, M. Mangano, J. Mans, V. Manzari, F. Meijers, I. Melzer-Pellmann, P. Moreira, D. Muenstermann, F. Nessi-Tedaldi, N. Neufeld, A. Nisati, G. Passaleva, G. Perez, P. Petagna, D. Petyt, J. Proudfoot, R. Richter, W. Riegler, I. Riu, F. Ronchetti, L. Rossi, R. Rusack, J. Rutherfoord, G.P. Salam, R. Santonico, O. Sasaki, B. Schmidt, A. Sharma, D. Silvermyr, W.H. Smith, W. Snoeys, G.A. Stewart, A. Straessner, T. Tabarelli De Fatis, P. Tropea, V. Vagnoni, P. Vande Vyvre, F. Vasey, S. Veneziano, H. Vincke, J. Virdee, U.A. Wiedemann, A. Weiler, P. Wells, J.P. Wessels, G. Wilkinson, S. Willocq, K. Wyllie, K. Zabrzycki, W. Zeuner
Demographic problems of the Republic of Belarus and their solutions

Last year the realization term of the National Program of demographic security of the Republic of Belarus for 2007–2010 was over. The author of the article analyzes the implementation of the program paper from the angle of some certain indices. Some current demographic problems of the country are also considered, short-term and long-term perspectives are estimated. The author suggests some ways for further protection of demographic security of the Republic of Belarus.
Government size , institutional quality , and capital flows across regions in China : a specific exploration on the failure of capital flows across Shanhai Pass

Using panel data of 31 provinces during 1997-2014 in China, this paper fills the void of examining the determinants of capital flows across regions within China specific attention is given to the role of government size in capital flows across Shanhai Pass. Based on the fixed-effect model, the impactors of classical capital flows are tested. While government size is the main hinder impeding capital flows, capital return, institutional quality, human capital is conducive to capital inflow. However, when the components of the aggregate government expenditures is divided into two parts of productive expenditures on physical infrastructure and on education, it is proved that productive expenditures on physical infrastructure negatively correlate with capital inflows. In particular, there is strong impact of Lucas paradox that is the negative correlation of TFP and GDP growth with capital inflows; more importantly, lagged saving rate has a significantly positive impact on capital inflows namely the Feldstein-Horioka puzzle indicates the severe capital market segmentation. Overall, the main findings are that oversized government, especially government expenditures on physical infrastructure are major impediments to china’s capital inflows among regions. Therefore, it is urgent to let market play a fundamental role in resource allocation, especially capital allocation.