Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Understanding the small-scale agricultural sector as a precondition for promoting rural development in South Africa

Economic development in South Africa (SA) has been an issue that has been on top of the government’s agenda for many years now. Whilst SA as a nation is well endowed in terms of natural resources, the skewed distribution of these resources has left rural economies at a great disadvantage when compared to the urban ones. Questions have thus been asked about how best to address this imbalance and boost rural economies so that every citizen enjoys an adequate share of the nation’s resources. One common suggestion for achieving this goal has been that of promoting smallholder agriculture, especially since this form of farming is dominant in the country’s rural areas where at least 70% of the country’s poorest households dwell. The basis for such an argument has been that smallholder agriculture can stimulate rural development as it is labour-intensive which in turn translates to high employment opportunities being created. The sector also dominates in the deepest corners of the nation where poverty is rife and their survival means enough food could be produced to sustain these households. A healthy smallholder sector has also been proven to facilitate backward and forward linkages between various industries with income flowing both ways. Nevertheless, the success of the smallholder sector is dependent on the removal of certain barriers that have, in some cases, forced some farmers to seek alternative livelihood strategies other than farming. This paper therefore seeks to discuss the characteristics of smallholder agriculture which are crucial to understand prior to using the sector to develop rural SA. It also brings to light some of the factors that have limited the growth of this sector and concludes by recommending a few solutions that could help eliminate or at least reduce the impact of these barriers. Keys words: Smallholder farmers, poverty alleviation, economic development, rural income, employment creation.
BENEFITS FROM ENTERPRISE SYSTEMS IMPLEMENTATION IN SMALL AND MEDIUM-SIZED ENTERPRISES

The market for enterprise systems (ESs) continues to grow as business becomes increasingly global and competitive. Increasingly, the market focus for ES vendors is on small businesses. The purpose of this study is to provide a unique ES vendor/consultant perspective on (a) the business benefits small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) expect from their ES investment and (b) to examine current practices of ES implementation in SMEs through a conceptual framework that considers the organisational, process and strategic context of the implementation. This study does so with interview data collected from ES vendors, ES consultants and IT research firms, who are the key players in the New Zealand ES industry. A distinctive contribution of this research is the vendor/consultant perspective as the unit of analysis, rather than the SME perspective commonly used in similar research. The vendor/consultant perspective offers a comprehensive viewpoint that extends across numerous SMEs in a variety of industries. Findings from interviews with these professionals indicate that although many ES implementations are several years old now, SMEs have only recently started tracking benefits through analytical processes in expectation to realise business value from their ES investment. The results also identify how ES implementation practices are adapting to be more suitable to the SME sector, an important market for ES vendors given the saturation of the large enterprise market for ES implementation.
Confirmed Sighting of a Spawning Aggregation of the Brown-marbled Grouper, Epinephelus fuscoguttatus, in Kenya

The occurrence of spawning aggregations at fixed sites and times is well documented for several species of reef fish. These aggregations are known to attract fishers and such species may therefore be vulnerable to overfishing. This is particularly true in the case of groupers which have intrinsically vulnerable life history traits. The brown-marbled grouper, Epinephelus fuscoguttatus, distributed throughout the Indo-Pacific region and classified by IUCN as Near Threatened, is reported to form spawning aggregations but little is known about its spawning behaviour; in the Western Indian Ocean this has only been reported for the Seychelles. This study confirmed spawning aggregation behaviour in E. fuscoguttatus in Kenya based on underwater observations and fishers’ knowledge of the phenomenon. We showed that E. fuscoguttatus forms short aggregations for ~5 days linked to the new moon for a 3-4 month period during the northeast monsoon (austral summer). The numbers of aggregating fish appear to be low, however, and the species is currently not managed in Kenya. Considering the fact that only small areas of the Kenyan coastline are under total protection (8.6% of the country’s coral reefs), these factors suggest that there is an urgent need for additional management of E. fuscoguttatus if it is to survive in Kenya.
Global hydro-climatic biomes identified via multitask learning

Abstract. The most widely used global land cover and climate classifications are based on vegetation characteristics and/or climatic conditions derived from observational data. However, these classification schemes do not directly stem from the characteristic interaction between the local climate and the biotic environment. In this work, we model the dynamic interplay between vegetation and local climate in order to delineate ecoregions that share a coherent response to hydro-climate variability. Our novel framework is based on a multitask learning approach that discovers the spatial relationships among different locations by learning a low-dimensional representation of predictive structures. This low-dimensional representation is combined with a clustering algorithm that yields a classification of biomes with coherent behaviour. Experimental results using global observation-based datasets indicate that, without the need to prescribe any land cover information, the identified regions of coherent climate–vegetation interactions agree well with the expectations derived from traditional global land cover maps. The resulting global hydro-climatic biomes can be used to analyse the anomalous behaviour of specific ecosystems in response to climate extremes and to benchmark climate–vegetation interactions in Earth system models.
A PANEL DATA ANALYSIS ON EASTERN-EUROPE AND ROMANIAN COMPANIES' CAPITAL STRUCTURE AND PROFITABILITY

This paper analyses company capital structure using a sample of listed companies on a ten year period. It mainly tackles one of the most debated issues in corporate finance, the relationship between profitability and debt level of a company. Shareholder funds are considered at book value, while profitability is counted as profit on total assets. The study tries to answer the question of whether the structural changes in Romanian economy, regarding cost and availability of capital, have affected, or were affected by the profit making capacity of companies. After analyzing Romanian companies sample, the new objective to compare it with a set of listed companies from emerging economies of Eastern Europe member states. By this it was supposed to compare the results and see if there is any particularity for Romanian companies. Linear regression method is used through a panel data random effects model. Results confirmed past studies as negative relationship between leveraging and profitability was found. This finding is in line with pecking order theory of capital structure and contradicts tradeoff and signal theory for Romanian listed companies.
Simulation of Natural Deduction and Gentzen Sequent Calculus

We consider four natural deduction systems: Fitch-style systems, Gentzen-style systems (in the form of dags), general deduction Frege systems and nested deduction Frege systems, as well as dag-like Gentzen-style sequent calculi. All these calculi soundly and completely formalize classical propositional logic. We show that general deduction Frege systems and Gentzen-style natural calculi provide at most quadratic speedup over nested deduction Frege systems and Fitch-style natural calculi and at most cubic speedup over Gentzen-style sequent calculi.
Stock valuation effects of bond announcements for financial firms based on dividend and growth

We examined the effect of bond announcements on the stock price of financial companies. Two theories are important to explain possible effects. The first theory is the free cash flow theory used by Jensen (1986). In this theory new issuances of debt imply new control mechanisms for shareholders. The second theory is the cash flow signaling theory by Ravid and Savig (1991). For this theory new issuances imply a larger total commitment package of cash outflows for firms in the future. Empirical research for nonfinancial companies by Johnson (1995) follows the free cash flow theory. We used two-day excess returns to calculate the effects of bond announcements. The theory by Jensen does not hold for our results, but the results are in line with the theory by Ravid and Savig. Regression results show both growth and dividend as important determinants to explain the effects of bond announcements. As a sidestep we researched the underwriting of bond issuances. We did not found a significant book runner effect.
Effects of injection marination with various calcium sources and molar concentrations on display color life, tenderness, and microbial inhibition of beef loin steaks

Beef strip loins were assigned to one of 11 treatments that included injection marination (10% by weight) with three calcium salts at three molar concentrations, a distilled water control, and a nonmarinated control. The effects of calcium salt and concentration were tested for retail display color life, tenderness and sensory traits, and microbial growth. Calcium lactate marinated steaks had longer color life and less microbial growth than those treated with calcium chloride or calcium ascorbate. Increasing molar concentration (.1M to .2M to .3M) caused faster color deterioration, and did not significantly improve microbial inhibition. All calcium treatments improved tenderness; however, calcium chloride treatments induced off-flavors. Considering a whole system approach that accounts for color life, microbial inhibition, shear force, and sensory traits, we recommend injecting beef longissimus with 10% of a . 1M solution of calcium lactate, and do not recommend other calcium salts or concentrations.
Analysis of the Social Meanings of the Second Person Pronoun SEN in Turkish1

Bu çalışma, üniversite öğrencilerinin ikinci tekil şahıs adılı SEN’i ne zaman ve kime hitap ederken kullandıklarını incelemekte ve kullanılan ikinci şahıs adılının araştırmaya katılanlar için hangi toplumsal ve anlatımsal anlamları taşıdığını bulmaya çalışmaktadır. Çalışmada ayrıca, Brown ve Gilman’ın (1960) ortaya koydukları “Güç ve Dayanışma” modelinin Türkçe’de gözlenen SEN kullanım çeşitlerini ve bunların taşıdıkları anlamları açıklayıp açıklayamadığını da araştırmaktadır. Çalışmada kullanılan veriler anket yardımı ile ana dili Türkçe olan, farklı coğrafi bölgelerden ve değişik toplumsal durum ve sınıfl ara ait 191 (95 Kadın, 96 Erkek) üniversite öğrencisinden toplanmıştır. Araştırma, ikinci tekil şahıs adılı SEN’in Türkçe’de iki işlevinin olduğunu göstermektedir. Birincisi, Brown ve Gilman’ın (1960) ön gördüğü gibi, karşımızdaki bireylere onları kendimize yakın bulduğumuzu ve onlarla dayanışma içinde olduğumuzu göstermek için kullanılmaktadır. İkinci işlevine ise bazı bireyleri kendimizden uzak tutmak istediğimizde başvurulmaktadır. Bunun yanında, sonuçlar ‘Güç ve Dayanışma’ modelinin SEN’in Türkçe’de tüm anlamlarını tam anlamıyla açıklayamadığını göstermektedir. Anahtar sözcükler: ikinci tekil şahıs adılları, SEN, toplumsal ve anlatımsal anlamlar, dayanışma, antagonizm, mesafe ve yakınlık, kan bağı, yaş, konuşulabilirlik
A three-dimensional phase field model for nanowire growth by the vapor–liquid–solid mechanism

We present a three-dimensional multi-phase field model for catalyzed nanowire (NW) growth by the vapor–liquid–solid (VLS) mechanism. The equation of motion contains both a Ginzburg–Landau term for deposition and a diffusion (Cahn–Hilliard) term for interface relaxation without deposition. Direct deposition from vapor to solid, which competes with NW crystal growth through the molten catalyst droplet, is suppressed by assigning a very small kinetic coefficient at the solid–vapor interface. The thermodynamic self-consistency of the model is demonstrated by its ability to reproduce the equilibrium contact angles at the VLS junction. The incorporation of orientation dependent gradient energy leads to faceting of the solid–liquid and solid–vapor interfaces. The model successfully captures the curved shape of the NW base and the Gibbs–Thomson effect on growth velocity.
Evaluation of anti-Mycobacterium tuberculosis activity of fractions from selected medicinal plants used traditionally for treating cough and respiratory disorders in South West of Nigeria

Tuberculosis is a contagious airborne infection that mostly affects the lungs. The causative agent of tuberculosis in human is Mycobacterium tuberculosis. The emergence and dissemination of M. tuberculosis isolates that are resistant to multiple antimicrobial drugs represent a growing public health threat. Fractions from Alafia barteri, Chasmanthera dependence, Chrysophyllum albidum, Emilia coccinea, Mezoneuron benthamianum, Phyllanthus muellerianus, Secamoni afzeli, Senna alata, Xylopia aethiopica and Acalypha fimbriata were screened for activity against drug susceptible M. tuberculosis H37Rv and the local isolates using proportion and nitrate reduction methods. The organisms used were M. tuberculosis H37Rv strain and the local isolates from TB patients. The standard antitubercular drugs used were isoniazid and rifampicin. No fractions from A. barterii, C. dependens, E. coccinea, S. afzeli, S. alata and X. aethiopica showed sensitivity against the M. tuberculosis strains. The hexane fraction of C. albidum, butanol fraction of M. benthamianum, ethyl acetate fraction of P. muellerianus and ethyl acetate fraction of A. fimbriata showed sensitivity with minimum inhibition concentration of 0.5 mg/ml. The ethylacetate and hexane fractions of M. benthamianum together with hexane fraction of P. muellerianus showed sensitivity with MIC value of 1.25 mg/ml. The highest MIC value of 2.5 mg/ml was obtained from hexane fraction of A. fimbriata. Thus, C. albidum, M. benthamianum, P. muellerianus and A. fimbriata possessed antimycobacterium tuberculosis activity and further research work would be required to assess possible antitubercular agents present in the four medicinal plants. Key words: Tuberculosis, anti-mycobacterium, fractions, sensitivity and inhibition.
Processing of “unattended” threat-related information: Role of emotional content and context

Unpleasant, pleasant, or neutral visual scenes served as a context for the presentation of threat-related, positive, and neutral words. On each trial, 2 simultaneous prime words (one foveal, i.e., at fixation, and one parafoveal, i.e., 2.2° apart) appeared for 150 ms, followed by a foveally presented probe word in a lexical decision task. Results showed facilitation in response times for probe threat words when primed by an identical parafoveal word, in comparison with priming by an unrelated parafoveal word, and this effect was enhanced in an emotionally congruent unpleasant context. In contrast, no parafoveal effect appeared for positive words, even in a pleasant context. This reveals parallel processing of threat-related words outside the focus of attention.
Effect of chromium and cobalt ions on primary human lymphocytes in vitro

Cobalt-chromium (Co-Cr) alloy metal-on-metal hip resurfacing is increasingly common among younger more active patients suffering from osteoarthritis. Recent reports have increased awareness of metal ions leaching from metallic articulations; this ion exposure may have adverse effects on the immune system. As previous studies reported alterations in lymphocyte number and function in patients with Co-Cr implants, we investigated effects of clinically relevant concentrations of Cr6+ and Co2+ on primary human lymphocytes in vitro. Here, both resting and activated (anti-CD3 ± anti-CD28 antibodies) primary human lymphocytes were exposed to Cr6+ or Co2+ (0.1–100 µM). Following 24 or 48 h of exposure, cell viability, proliferation, cytokine [interferon-γ (IFNγ and interleukin-2 (IL-2)] release, and apoptosis (with and without pre-treatment of cells with a caspase-3 inhibitor) were assessed. Exposure to 10 and 100 µM Cr6+ significantly decreased cell viability and increased apoptosis in both resting and activated lymphocytes. Cell proliferation and cytokine release were also significantly reduced in activated lymphocytes following exposure. The exposure of resting lymphocytes to 100 µM Co2+ resulted in significant decreases in cell viability accompanied by a significant increase in apoptosis. Activated lymphocytes also showed this response after exposure to 100 µM Co2+; in fact, activated cells were significantly more sensitive to Co2+ toxicity. Exposure to 10 µM Co2+ led to significant decreases in cell proliferation and cytokine release, but no significant increase in apoptosis, in activated cells. The results indicate that exposure to high concentrations of metal ions initiate apoptosis that results in decreased lymphocyte proliferation. IL-2 release is inhibited by both metal ions at concentrations that are not overtly toxic. However, metal ion concentrations not directly cytotoxic to lymphocytes may affect events at a molecular level, thereby impeding lymphocyte proliferation. Hence, this may contribute to altered immune system function in patients with Co-Cr implants.
Structural Learning Difficulties Implicate Altered Hippocampal Functioning in Adults With Autism Spectrum Disorder

Structural learning is fundamental to the formation of cognitive maps that are necessary for learning, memory, and spatial navigation. It also enables successful navigation of the social world, which is something that individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) find particularly difficult. To master these situations, a person needs to bind pieces of information to one another and to consider the context in which experiences happen. Such binding is a capacity of the hippocampus. Although altered hippocampal function has for long been suspected to play a role in the etiology of ASD, the relevant evidence has remained inconclusive because few behavioral tests that are known to specifically necessitate preserved hippocampal function have been employed in studies of ASD. To address this gap in the literature, a total sample of 57 pairs of age and ability matched ASD and comparison participants was divided into 3 subsamples who were asked either to complete structural learning, or 1 of 2 configural learning control tasks (biconditional discrimination and transverse patterning) drawn from animal research. As predicted, ASD adults demonstrated specific difficulty with structural learning but not with other forms of configural learning. These differences were not attributable to decreased attentional shifting or increased perseveration, which would have indicated atypical frontal modulation of hippocampal processes. Instead, the observations implicate atypical hippocampal functioning as the source of structural learning difficulties in ASD. The data suggest that disturbances in domain-general cognitive processes such as structural learning, caused by altered hippocampal function, play a critical role in the etiology of ASD.
Quench Propagation in 1-D and 2-D Models of High Current Superconductors

The understanding of quench, or the sudden transition to the normal state of a high-current superconductor (SC), is fundamental for the design of a SC magnet, and it is widely discussed in the literature. This paper presents some simple COMSOL™ models, which are compared with well-known approximate formulae and some experimental results. These models allow a more precise description than it is usually done by means of the analytical expressions, and may describe more difficult scenarios, like those involving magnetic diffusion.
Effect of Storage Condition on Seed Quality of Some Dhaincha ( Sesbania spp.) Accessions

An experiment was conducted at the Seed Pathology Laboratory, Department of Plant Pathology, Bangladesh Agricultural University, Mymensingh, to understand the effect of storage conditions on seed quality of different accessions of dhaincha ( Sesbania spp.). Seeds of twenty accessions were collected and stored in a refrigerator (4°C) and laboratory at normal room temperature (25-30°C). Sprouting (%), germination (%), vigour index and the incidence of seed-borne pathogens were recorded following ISTA procedures. Germination and emergence were higher when seeds were stored in the refrigerator than those in room temperature. The vigour index was also high when the seeds were stored in a refrigerator. Fungi belonging to genera Aspergillus , Fusarium , Rhizopus , and Penicillium were associated with seeds of the different accessions of dhaincha . Seed borne infection of Fusarium sp. was highest (14%) in G-13 when seeds were stored at room temperature. It was evident from the results that the quality of the seeds of dhaincha accessions was retained for a long time when they were stored at low (around 4°C) temperature. The Agriculturists 2016; 14(1) 83-91
The Impact of Semantic Memory Loss on Phonological Representations

Three patients with semantic dementia, involving progressive deterioration of semantic memory, performed immediate serial recall of short sequences of familiar words. On the basis of their performance in other tasks of word comprehension and production, the stimuli were selected individually for each patient as either known or unknown words. All patients showed a marked advantage in recall of known as compared to familiar but now unknown words. Errors consisted primarily of incorrect combinations of correct phoneme sequences in the stimulus string, with a large number of errors preserving onsethime syllable structure (e.g., mint, rug reproduced as rint, mug). Discussion focuses on the implication of these errors for the structure of phonological representations, and in particular on a hypothesis that meaning plays a crucial role in binding the elements of phonological word forms.
Inhibitory Control and Its Relation To Theory of Mind, Parental Discipline, and Parental Self-Control In African American Preschool Children

INHIBITORY CONTROL AND ITS RELATION TO THEORY OF MIND, PARENTAL DISCIPLINE, AND PARENTAL SELF-CONTROL IN AFRICAN AMERICAN PRESCHOOL CHILDREN by Ruthea Danielle Walker The purpose of this study was to examine the cognitive and social domains that contribute to the development of impulsivity and self-control in African American preschoolers. Following the work of Carlson and Moses (2001), preschoolers were assessed on a battery of inhibitory control and theory of mind tasks. Parental discipline and parental self-control were also examined through two maternal self-report measures. The hypothesis was that theory of mind and parental discipline and parental self-control each make independent contributions to preschoolers’ development of inhibitory control. The results revealed that age was not significantly correlated with any of the inhibitory control or theory of mind variables. Also, these data suggest that the relationship between inhibitory control and theory of mind is not very strong. In regards to parental discipline, the results showed that African American parents in this sample were more likely to use verbal reprimand instead of physical punishment. In reference to inhibitory control and parental discipline, parent’s disciplinary styles varied and their choice of discipline may be in response to the child’s behavior. INHIBITORY CONTROL AND ITS RELATION TO THEORY OF MIND, PARENTAL DISCIPLINE, AND PARENTAL SELF-CONTROL IN AFRICAN AMERICAN PRESCHOOL CHILDREN