Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Impact of health indicators on maintenance management and operation of power systems

This article proposes a maintenance management and risk reduction approach. The approach introduces two reliability-based indexes called condition indicator and risk indicator. Condition indicator is a unit-less parameter that comes directly from monitored condition of a component and converts the categorical condition into a numerical value. Risk indicator in megawatt represents the risk imposed by the health of a component onto the system. To demonstrate application of the indicators, they are implemented through an hourly network constraint unit commitment problem and applied in a test system where the analysis of impact of condition of the generators to the operation is the new contribution. The results demonstrate how addition of such indicators will impact the operation of the grid and maintenance scheduling. The results show the benefit for the system operator as the overall failure risk in the system is taken into account, and the benefit for the asset owner as the direct impact of the maintenance to be carried out can be investigated. Two of the main outcomes of the maintenance management and risk reduction approach are as follows: asset owners can analyze their maintenance strategies and evaluate their impacts in the maintenance scheduling, and system operators can operate the grid with higher security and lower risk of failure.
The role of adherens junctions in the developing neocortex

The disproportional enlargement of the neocortex through evolution has been instrumental in the success of vertebrates, in particular mammals. The neocortex is a multilayered sheet of neurons generated from a simple proliferative neuroepithelium through a myriad of mechanisms with substantial evolutionary conservation. This developing neuroepithelium is populated by progenitors that can generate additional progenitors as well as post-mitotic neurons. Subtle alterations in the production of progenitors vs. differentiated cells during development can result in dramatic differences in neocortical size. This review article will examine how cadherin adhesion proteins, in particular α-catenin and N-cadherin, function in regulating the neural progenitor microenvironment, cell proliferation, and differentiation in cortical development.
Effects of Inhaled Corticosteroids on Metalloproteinase-8 and Tissue Inhibitor of Metalloproteinase-1 in the Airways of Asthmatic Children

Background: The effects of corticosteroids on the level and expression of matrix metalloproteinase-8 (MMP-8; collagenase-2) and tissue inhibitors of metalloproteinases (TIMPs) in airway tissue are poorly characterized in vivo. Methods: We compared MMP-8 and TIMP-1 levels in induced sputum and their expression in airway inflammatory cells of healthy children (n = 27) and of children with newly diagnosed asthma with mild (n = 20) or moderate symptoms (n = 19), before and after 6 months of treatment with inhaled budesonide. Results: At baseline, MMP-8 was higher in asthmatic children with moderate symptoms, TIMP-1 was lower and the MMP-8/TIMP-1 ratio was higher in both groups of asthmatic children compared with controls. Inhaled budesonide increased TIMP-1 levels in both groups of asthmatic children and normalized the MMP-8/TIMP-1 ratio, and this paralleled the improvement in forced expiratory volume in 1 s in children with mild symptoms. At baseline, asthmatic children had significantly more MMP-8-positive macrophages than control children, whereas the number of TIMP-1-positive macrophages was almost the same. Budesonide decreased the percentage of MMP-8-positive macrophages and increased that of TIMP-1-positive macrophages; these changes were significant in asthmatic children with mild symptoms. Conclusions: Inhaled budesonide normalized the MMP-8/TIMP-1 ratio in asthmatic children by upregulation of TIMP-1 production and downregulation of MMP-8 production by airway macrophages. This change may be a biochemical marker of an effect on airway inflammation and possibly of an ongoing remodeling process that should be further investigated using biopsy specimens.
Identification of CEACAM5 as a Biomarker for Prewarning and Prognosis in Gastric Cancer

MGd1, a monoclonal antibody raised against gastric cancer cells, possesses a high degree of specificity for gastric cancer (GC). Here we identified that the antigen of MGd1 is CEACAM5, and used MGd1 to investigate the expression of CEACAM5 in non-GC and GC tissues (N=643), as a biomarker for prewarning and prognosis. The expression of CEACAM5 was detected by immunohistochemistry in numerous tissues; its clinicopathological correlation was statistically analyzed. CEACAM5 expression was increased progressively from normal gastric mucosa to chronic atrophic gastritis, intestinal metaplasia, dysplasia and finally to GC (p<0.05). In gastric precancerous lesions (intestinal metaplasia and dysplasia), CEACAM5-positive patients had a higher risk of developing GC as compared with CEACAM5-negative patients (OR = 12.68, p<0.001). Besides, CEACAM5 was found positively correlated with invasion depth of gastric adenocarcinoma (p<0.001). In survival analysis, CEACAM5 was demonstrated to be an independent prognostic predictor for patients with GC of clinical stage IIIA/IV (p=0.033). Our results demonstrate that CEACAM5 is a promising biomarker for GC prewarning and prognostic evaluation.
Proposal for a standard system for drawing structural diagrams of N‐ and O‐linked carbohydrates and related compounds

Symbolic diagrams are commonly used to depict N‐ and O‐linked glycans but there is no general consensus as to how individual constituent monosaccharides or linkages are shown. This article proposes a system that avoids ambiguities inherent in most other systems and is appropriate for both hand drawing and computer applications. Constituent monosaccharides are depicted by shapes modified to show OAc, deoxy, etc. Linkage is indicated by the bond angle and anomericity by solid (β) or dashed (α) lines.
Effect of Integrated Nutrient Management on Productivity and Profitability of Maize

Maize (Zea mays L.) is the third most important cereal crop next to wheat and rice belonging to family Poaceae. In India, it is cultivated in an area of 9.43 m ha with a production of 24.35 m t and productivity of 2583 kg ha -1 (GOI, 2012). It is used as a source of carbohydrate to humans and animals due to its high feeding value (Undie et al., 2012). Maize is used as food, feed and nowadays it is gaining tremendous importance on account of its potential uses in manufacturing starch, rayon, adhesives, resins, dye, boot polish etc. and due to this it is rightly called “miracle crop” and also known as “queen of cereals”. Intensive cultivation, use of unbalanced and inadequate fertilizers accompanied by restricted use of manures have made the soils not only deficient in the nutrients but also deteriorated soil health resulting in decline in crop response to recommended dose of fertilizers. Thus, Integrated Nutrient Management (INM) has assumed a great importance and has vital significance in maintaining soil productivity. Organic manures viz. FYM, vermicompost etc. not only supply macronutrients, meet the requirements of micronutrients, improve soil health and also increases water holding capacity of the soils. The organic fertilizers in addition to nutrients contain microbial load International Journal of Current Microbiology and Applied Sciences ISSN: 2319-7706 Volume 6 Number 12 (2017) pp. 3878-3882 Journal homepage: http://www.ijcmas. com
Harmonic Radar: Assessing the Impact of Tag Weight on Walking Activity of Colorado Potato Beetle, Plum Curculio, and Western Corn Rootworm

ABSTRACT The impact of electronic dipole tags on the walking activity of three insects was determined using video tracking software. Results varied within and between the three species studied. The heaviest tag mounted on the pronotum of the Colorado potato beetle, Leptinotarsa decemlineata (Say), reduced its mean horizontal speed slightly but significantly. The mean horizontal speed of plum curculio, Conotrachelus nenuphar (Herbst), was significantly reduced by a light tag but not by heavier tags. The mean horizontal speed of the western corn rootworm, Diabrotica virgifera virgifera (LeConte), increased slightly when a tag was attached. A tag mounted to the dorsum of the Colorado potato beetle and the plum curculio slightly changed their climbing speed. Changes in the walking speed were variable but remained well within the range of values recorded in the literature. The impact of the additional tag weight was within the range of constraints to movement (e.g., slopes, barriers, etc.) normally experienced by insects in their environment. The results confirm that tags presently available will have minimal impact on the walking behavior of Colorado potato beetle, provide an estimate of the optimal tag weight for the plum curculio and show that a lighter tag and a better attachment method are required for the western corn rootworm. Because of the ability of insects to adapt to a wide range of landscapes and to their own body weight changes, the additional tag weight had a limited impact compared with the value of the ecological information gathered using this technology.
The Effect of Disclosure and Prices on Uninformed Traders' Beliefs and Trading: An Experimental Study on Public Forecasts

We study how uniformed traders (defined as strategic traders not endowed with private information) use public disclosure and prices to form beliefs and trade. We manipulate the availability of public forecasts (e.g. earnings forecasts) of forthcoming public signals (e.g., earnings announcements). Forecasts preempt the majority of information in earnings and become redundant after earnings announcements. This unique information structure allows us to detect two interactive effects of public disclosure and prices on uninformed traders’ beliefs. First, disclosure can reinforce learning from prices. We find this effect dominates when earnings informativeness is high. As forecasts lead to more informative prices, uninformed traders have more accurate beliefs after earnings announcements because they glean more information from prices. Second, disclosure can hinder learning from prices. We find this effect dominates when earnings informativeness is low. Uninformed traders overuse information in public disclosure and underuse information in prices. Such misweighting of information is more severe when forecasts are available.
Abschätzung des Photovoltaik-Potentials auf Dachflächen in Deutschland

Martin Lödl(*), Georg Kerber(*), Prof. Dr. Rolf Witzmann, Dr. Clemens Hoffmann, Dr. Michael Metzger 1 TU München, Fachgebiet Elektrische Energieversorgungsnetze, Arcisstr. 21, 80333 München, Deutschland, Tel. +49.89. 289.22017, Fax: +49.89. 289.25089, martin.loedl@mytum.de, http://www.een. ei.tum. de 2 Siemens AG, Corporate Technology, Otto-Hahn-Ring 6, 81739 München, Deutschland, Tel. : +49.89. 636.49720, Fax: +49.89. 636.49767, michael.metzger@siemens.com
Service quality gap analysis to improve public water service delivery in Lilongwe city: tapping customer’s voice

For a long time, high urbanisation rate, poor revenue collection, high levels of non- revenue water coupled with erratic rainfall have been affecting water supply services in Malawi’s capital, Lilongwe city. Even though efforts have been put on supplying potable water to the majority of the residents, water intermittence still remains a common characteristic in the city. Information on how water is delivered and whether its supply meets customer expectation has not been explored. Therefore, a water SERVQUAL model was used to identify specific areas in which customers' expectations were not being met and provide information on customers' needs to enable public water utility supplier to improve its services. A total of 266 customers were sampled from Southern, Central and Northern water supply zones of the city. The results indicated that customer expectations are not met as there are negative gap scores for all service quality dimensions. Overall, results indicated that central zone had the widest gap score of -2.76 followed by -2.50 for northern and -2.18 southern zone. The service quality dimensions such as reliability, responsiveness assurance and tangibles had the widest gap even though they were viewed as very important by customers. There is a need for the Lilongwe Water Board to improve its service delivery by focusing on the dimensions that have the widest gap while taking into account those with nearest gap scores for sustainable water supply. Keywords: SERVQUAL, Lilongwe Water Board (LWB), water service quality delivery, expectation, perception
Adoption of agrochemical management practices among smallholder cocoa farmers in Ghana

This study explores smallholder cocoa farmers’ adoption decisions of agrochemical inputs in the Ghanaian cocoa industry using farm-level data collected from a sample of 838 farm households in four cocoa producing regions. Multivariate probit and Tobit models were used to examine the determinants of agrochemical inputs adoption and the extent of adoption, respectively. The result of the study showed that agrochemical management practices are complementary and thus the adoption of an agrochemical input is conditional on the adoption of others. Different household characteristics, household assets, institutional variables, and the perception of soil fertility status and the incidence of pests and diseases influence the adoption of individual agrochemical inputs. Furthermore, the result of the study showed that intensity (or extent) of agrochemical adoption (measured as farmers’ expenditure on agrochemicals) is also influenced by some socioeconomic and institutional variables such as extension services and farmers’ visits to demonstration farms. The implication of this result provides empirical guidelines necessary for farm-level programmes designed to improve adoption and intensity of adoption of agrochemical management practices in the Ghanaian cocoa sector.
PENGARUH LEVERAGE, LIKUIDITAS, UKURAN PERUSAHAAN TERHADAP PROFITABILITAS PADA PERUSAHAAN OTOMOTIF DI BEI

This research is meant to find out the leverage, liquidity and firm size variables have significant influence to the profitability at Automotive companies which are listed in the IDX. This research applies quantitative research method. The population of this research is the entire of automotive companies which are listed in Indonesia Stock Exchange in accordance with the publication of Indonesian Capital Market Directory (ICMD), which are 12 companies in the automotive sector and components. The sample collection technique has been done by using saturated sampling, is a sampling technique when all members of the population used as a sample. The data collection method uses documentation research, there are two kinds of documentation data are primary data and secondary data used in this research is secondary data. The data analysis technique has been done by using multiple linear regressions, classic assumption test, fit model test, hypothesis test. The result of the model feasibility test shows that the model which is stated feasible so that hypothesis test can be carried out. The result of hypothesis test shows that the leverage has significant and negative influence to the profitability; liquidity does not have any significant influence to the profitability and firm size does not have any significant influence to the profitability. keywords : Leverage, Liquidity, Firm Size, Profitability.
Relationship between visual field sensitivity and retinal nerve fiber layer thickness as measured by scanning laser polarimetry.

PURPOSE To evaluate the strength and pattern of the relationship between visual field (VF) sensitivity and retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) thickness measurements by scanning laser polarimetry (SLP). METHODS Fifty-four eyes of 54 normal subjects (age, 42 +/- 15 years; VF mean deviation [MD], -0.69 +/- 1.01 dB) and 51 eyes of 51 glaucoma patients (age, 66 +/- 14 years; VF MD, -6.92 +/- 5.43 dB) were imaged with an SLP using fixed corneal compensation (FCC) and variable corneal compensation (VCC). VF sensitivity was recorded in the dB and the 1/L scales. Linear and logarithmic relationships were sought globally and in six VF sectors. Relationships of VF and RNFL thickness with age were sought in normal subjects. RESULTS Both VF sensitivity and RNFL thickness declined with age (as determined by the regression slope): -0.13% (P = 0.0005) and -0.64% (P = 0.0001) per year for dB and 1/L VF sensitivity, respectively, and -0.25% (P = 0.003) per year for VCC RNFL thickness. FCC RNFL thickness was not statistically significantly related to age. The relationship of VF sensitivity to VCC global (R(2) = 0.49) and sectoral (R(2) = 0.00-0.47) RNFL thickness was greater than for FCC global (R(2) = 0.12) and sectoral (R(2) = 0.00-0.21) RNFL thickness. Relationships were curvilinear with the dB scale, with logarithmic regression of dB VF sensitivity against RNFL thickness being significantly better than linear regression. Logarithmic regression of 1/L VF sensitivity against RNFL thickness was no better than linear regression for all sectors. There was no relationship between VF sensitivity and RNFL thickness in the temporal peripapillary RNFL sector. CONCLUSIONS The strength of the structure/function relationships compare well with previous reports in the literature. The relationships were curvilinear with the dB scale and linear with the 1/L scale, and were much stronger with VCC than with FCC RNFL thickness measurements.
Factors Affecting Intentions to Use Social Commerce in Shopping for Fashion Products

The purpose of this study was to examine factors affecting millennials’ attitudes and intentions to purchase fashion products through social commerce. The current study adopted the technology acceptance model (TAM; Davis, 1989) to develop a theoretical framework. A total of 531 college students completed an online survey at a university. The sample was appropriate because millennials are a highly educated generation (Goodman, 2015) and most college students are social media users (eMarketer, 2015). The sample was predominantly female Caucasian American students (71%) who are daily visiting social media networking sites over four times. Results of exploratory factor analysis with varimax rotation confirmed one factor for each variable. Reliability was supported for all variables based on Cronbach’s α values (>.83). Sufficient correlation coefficient range (.60-.79) confirmed discriminant validity of all constructs. Results of confirmatory factor analysis confirmed convergent validity of all constructs based on significant confirmatory factor loadings (>.85) and the average variance extracted of each construct (>.50). Both measurement and structural models were found to fit to the data well. The proposed paths in the SEM model were positive and statistically significant (p ≤ .001), except for the path between perceived ease of use and attitudes. Further structural model analysis uncovered that usefulness impacted on enjoyment. The results confirmed that perceived ease of use, usefulness, and enjoyment of social commerce had a positive impact on millennials’ attitudes and intentions to use social commerce in apparel shopping. These findings imply that utilitarian and hedonic benefits are important to augment young consumers’ attitudes and intentions to purchase apparel on social media. While both perceived ease of use and usefulness positively influenced enjoyment, usefulness had a stronger impact than ease of use. Compared to usefulness, enjoyment had much stronger impact on attitudes. These findings suggest that utilitarian benefits from an efficient, time-saving experience may engender positive feelings (e.g., enjoyable, fun, and exciting), which are crucial to increase millennial shoppers’ apparel purchasing on social media.
Financial restatement and firm performance in family controlled and CEO duality companies: evidence from post 2007 Malaysian Code of Corporate Governance

Do financial restatements dampen firm performance? One argument about this is that restatements hurt investor confidence in the credibility of a firm’s disclosure, resulting in a decline in demand for the firm’s securities, thereby, leading to a significant drop in asset price. On the other hand, agency theory suggests that family ownership could have potential benefits to a firm’s performance. An increase in family ownership will have a greater concern for reputation to the controlling family in producing high quality accounting information and, thereby, reduce the likelihood of financial restatements. We evaluate these arguments by distinguishing the effects of restatements on firm performance under two corporate governance environments; family-controlled and CEO duality companies. Based on a sample of Malaysian listed companies in 2008 after the post MCCG 2007 initiative, our findings suggest that (1) restatements dampen firm performance, (2) the dampening impacts of restatements are completely mitigated in family-controlled companies, and (3) the dampening effects are more pronounced in non-family controlled companies than family-controlled companies in non-CEO duality companies. Using this evidence, we recommend that Malaysian regulators develop policies that are unique to the Malaysian markets so as to curtail accounting irregularities. They should reconsider the relevance of requiring CEO nonduality as a practice of good corporate governance and encourage more investment in family-controlled companies.
Organizational culture towards quality management practices considering pro-ecological view

Scientific literature review suggests that out of four organizational culture types – hierarchical, developmental, rational, and group – developmental and group cultures are best for the implementation of quality management practices (QMP). QMP are categorized into two groups: infrastructure (top management support, workforce management, supplier involvement, customer involvement) and core (quality information, process management, product design). The infrastructure practices relate to behavioral attributes of quality management, where the core practices pertain to the technical aspects. The aim of this study is to reveal the organizational culture best suited for implementation of QMP. Also, employees’ pro-ecological view is considered to be an important factor that influences organization’s culture. Quantitative research was carried out in Lithuanian agricultural organization. Validated instruments from scientific literature were used to design an instrument measuring organizational culture, QMP, and pro-ecological view. Survey results showed that there is a correlation between developmental, group, and rational cultures and QMP. Surveyed organization has integrated culture of development and group cultures. It also displays hat organization already applies some of the QMP which makes it easier for further implementation of quality management practices and systems. Survey resulted with no significant correlation between pro-ecological view and organizational culture or QMP. Broader research sample might exhibit different results because literature shows that there is a relation between environmental awareness and organizational culture.DOI: http://dx.doi. org/10.5755/j01.erem. 73.3. 19116