Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
DE-1 versus Cluster spectral density observations: the effect on ion outflow above the polar cap

Wave-particle interaction is a very important mechanism in describing the outflow of ions at high latitudes and high altitudes. Quasi-linear perpendicular velocity diffusion coefficients are used to describe the effect of wave-particle interactions, therefore it is essential to determine the correct diffusion coefficients that must be used to model the outflow of ions. In this study a Monte Carlo method is used to assess the role of different diffusion coefficients for O+ and H+ ions at high altitudes above the polar cap. Two different sets of diffusion coefficients obtained from Barghouthi [1997]; Barghouthi et al. [1998] and Nilsson et al. [2013] are used. Barghouthi [1997]; Barghouthi et al. [1998] used spectral density measurements from Dynamic Explorer 1 spacecraft (DE-1) observations to calculate the diffusion coefficients, while Nilsson et al. [2013] used spectral density measurements from the Cluster spacecraft to obtain the diffusion coefficients. It was found that diffusion coefficients from Barghouthi [1997]; Barghouthi et al. [1998] in the cusp (aurora) and central polar cap (polar wind) respectively, describe well the observations of ion outflow at altitudes lower than 5 RE, but yield unreasonably high parallel velocities and temperatures at higher altitudes. Also diffusion coefficients from Cluster spectral density measurements produce reasonable results for high altitudes and unreasonably low parallel velocities and temperatures for the low altitude region. Therefore it is suggested that a combination of these diffusion coefficients is used where the diffusion coefficients given by Barghouthi [1997]; Barghouthi et al. [1998] are used at low altitudes and the diffusion coefficients obtained from Cluster measurements are used at high altitudes.
How do consumption and asset returns react to wealth shocks? Evidence from the U.S. and the U.K

In this work, I analyze the response of consumption and asset returns to unexpected wealth variation. Using data at quarterly frequency for the U.S. and the U.K., I show that: (i) while housing wealth shocks have a very persistent effect on consumption, financial wealth shocks only have transitory effects; and (ii) similarly, unexpected variation in housing wealth delivers a reasonably persistent response of real returns while financial wealth shocks have just a temporary effect.
International Risk Sharing and Currency Unions: The Cfa Zones

This paper explores income and consumption smoothing patterns among the member countries of each of the CFA zonesthe CEMAC and the WAEMUduring the period 1980-2000.I find that for the CEMAC only about 15 percent of shocks to GDP are smoothed through the standard channels (that is capital market credit market and remittances). On the other hand. I find that 44 percent of shocks are smoothed via foreign aid from France and 5 percent via central bank contributions while reserves pooling provides no shock smoothing. For the WAEMU I find that only 13 percent of shocks are smoothed through the standard channels while 63 percent are smoothed via foreign aid from France 7 percent via central bank contributions and no smoothing via reserves pooling. I compare these results with the risk-sharing pattern in the Unites States. I argue that creating public venture capital at a regional level might help promote free capital flows within each zone and alleviate the apparently insufficient degree of risk-sharing observed through the standard channels.
Challenging hegemonic femininities? The discourse of trailing spouses in Hong Kong

Abstract While the notion of hegemonic masculinity has received a lot of attention in recent scholarship, hegemonic femininity remains largely underdeveloped. We aim to address this gap by illustrating the benefits of using the concept of hegemonic femininities in sociolinguistic scholarship. Conducting a case study on the discourse of trailing spouses in Hong Kong, we analyse hegemonic femininities at the local, regional, and global level and explore how they are interlinked with each other. Findings show how these trailing spouses often challenge and reject hegemonic femininities on the local level, but largely accept and reinforce them on the regional and global level. The specific femininities that are considered to be hegemonic are highly context-dependent, and, unlike masculinities, the hegemony of femininities is a matter of internal degree—that is, certain femininities take hegemonic status compared to other femininities but do not take a dominant position in the gender order. (Hegemonic femininities, hegemonic masculinities, trailing spouses, Hong Kong, gender order)*
Assessment of URANS and DES for prediction of leading edge film cooling

This paper describes the assessment of CFD simulations for the film cooling on the blade leading edge with circular cooling holes in order to contribute durability assessment of the turbine blades. Unsteady RANS applying a k-epsilon-v2-f turbulence model and the Spalart and Allmaras turbulence model and detached-eddy simulation (DES) based on the Spalart and Allmaras turbulence model are addressed to solve thermal convection. The CFD calculations were conducted by simulating a semicircular model in the wind tunnel experiments. The DES and also the k-epsilon-v2-f model evaluate explicitly the unsteady fluctuation of local temperature by the vortex structures, so that the predicted film cooling effectiveness is comparatively in agreement with the measurements. On the other hand, the predicted temperature fields by the Spalart and Allmaras model are less diffusive than the DES and the k-epsilon-v2-f model. In the present turbulence modeling, the DES only predicts the penetration of main flow into the film cooling hole but the Spalart and Allmaras model is not able to evaluate the unsteadiness and the vortex structures clearly, and overpredict film cooling effectiveness on the partial surface.
Second Language Acquisition of the Spanish Tap and Trill in a Contact Learning Environment

Second Language Acquisition of the Spanish Tap and Trill in a Contact Learning Environment Andrew M. Weech Department of Spanish and Portuguese Master of Arts The purpose of this thesis is to study whether target-like articulation of the Spanish tap [ɾ] and trill [r] is achieved by second language learners who have lived in a Spanish-speaking environment for an extensive period of time. The subjects of this study were students at Brigham Young University (BYU) who had spent 18 months to two years in a Spanish-speaking country. Most of the subjects had little to no previous Spanish instruction, but rather learned the language primarily through their contact with native speakers while abroad. In addition to whether or not subjects achieved target-like pronunciation of these two Spanish sounds, this study sought to observe whether or not certain linguistic factors (e.g., neighboring sounds, syllable stress, etc.) and extra-linguistic factors (e.g., previous Spanish instruction, instructors who were native speakers of Spanish, articulation in formal or informal speech, etc.) had influence on their articulation. The results of this study reveal that the subjects were generally successful in articulating the Spanish rhotic sounds. The majority of the subjects pronounced the rhotics in a target-like manner over 80% of the time. Furthermore, while previous studies have claimed that the transfer of the American English approximant [ɹ] is the most common error when acquiring the Spanish tap and trill, the current study suggests that the most common error of L2 speakers who have lived abroad is developmental: the production of the tap [ɾ] in place of the trill /r/. Lastly, it reveals, through the results of a variable rule analysis, that the two most significant factors in accurate tap and trill articulation are its phonetic context and whether or not the participants had received adequate Spanish instruction prior to having lived abroad.
How Ownership Structure Influences Firm Performance in Relation to Its Life Cycle

Ownership structure is considered to be the most influential component in corporate govern-ance; it is also closely related to firm performance. The current research analyzes the effect of ownership structure (both insider ownership board and managerial ownership, blockholder ownership and institutional ownership concentration pressure-insensitive and pres-sure-sensitive) on firm performance (industry adjusted return on asset/IAROA) based on its life cycle. Life cycle is incorporated into the research to examine whether the effect of own-ership structure on firm performance differs at each stage of the life cycle. The current re-search uses imbalanced panel data consisting of 695 observations of sample firms from the manufacturing, IT, and multimedia firms during the 2005-2010 period. The results show that: (1) insider ownership has a significantly non-linear influence on IAROA, indicated by a U-shaped curve (2) blockholders have a significantly positive effect on IAROA in firms at the mature stage; on the contrary, the effect is significantly negative in firms at the growth stage (3) institutional ownership concentration has a significantly negative effect on IAROA across the samples and a significantly positive effect on firms at the mature stage, and (4) pressure-insensitive and pressure- sensitive institutional ownerships have a positive and sig-nificant effect on IAROA in firms at the mature stage; on the contrary, the effect is negative and significant in firms at the growth stage.
The effect of Roferon A and TFX on the selected subpopulations of the peripheral blood lymphocytes in patients with chronic hepatitis C

Chronic hepatitis C (CHC) is a vital medical problem. The inflammatory process in the liver may lead to life threatening consequences, such as cirrhosis or hepatocellular carcinoma. Pathogenesis of CHC has not been fully recognized which influences the efficacy of currently used methods of treatment. Aim of the studies: Evaluation of the changes in percentage values and absolute number of selected subpopulations of the peripheral blood lymphocytes in the course of the therapy in relation to the obtained results. Material and Methods: The study was carried out on adult patients (16 females and 20 males), aged 21-63 years treated with combination of IFN-α and TFX for 24 weeks. Evaluation of absolute numbers and percentage of subpopulations of peripheral blood lymphocytes was done before and in 12 th and 24 th weeks of the therapy. Evaluation of lymphocyte subpopulations was performed on peripheral blood cells using standard techniques for whole blood immunofluorescence labeling. Twenty four months after the end of the therapy the patients were divided into two groups: group 1 patients with sustained viral response (SVR) (negative HCV-RNA in the serum 6 months after the end of the therapy), group 2 patients without SVR. Changes in each subpopulation of lymphocytes were compared before and during the treatment in relation to viral response. The results were analyzed statistically. Results: Statistically significant higher percentage of lymphocytes with phenotype CD3+/DR in the investigated group as compared to the control group was found. The changes in the number of T lymphocyte subpopulation in favor of cells with cytotoxic potential were observed in group1. Percentage and absolute numbers of CD4+ lymphocytes decreased in both investigated groups (group 1 and group 2). Conclusions: 1. Treatment of CHC with combination of IFN-α and Thymus peptides may be a valuable supplemention of therapy to currently used methods. 2. T Lymphocytes are effector cells of this therapy and during this therapy their redistribution in the organism may return to normal state.
Alternative methods of measuring hazard perception: Sensitivity to driving experience

Drivers’ ability to perceive and react to hazards has been a focus of much research over the past two decades, and hazard perception testing is an increasingly important part of the driver licensing process world-wide. Hazard perception appears to be sensitive to crash-involvement and driving experience. However, the methodological approach and conceptual basis of these experiments has varied considerably. This may account for why the effects observed in some studies have not always been replicated in others, and why development of truly parallel versions of hazard perception tests has proven difficult. Comparison of different methods to test hazard perception is theoretically important – to gain a better understanding of the psychological processes which underpin hazard perception, and practically important – to driver training, education, and licensing. Outcomes of various methods of assessing hazard detection with still and moving images of traffic scenes are presented here. Novice (N=86) and Experienced (N=20) drivers were asked to detect any hazards or potential hazards, tested under distraction and non-distraction conditions, in photographed traffic scenes. Objects identified as hazards and the time taken to make such responses were the basis of several different analytical approaches. Comparisons were made between experienced and novice drivers using experts’ ratings. Experienced drivers detected hazards significantly faster than Novice drivers. Whilst no significant effect was found for hazard perception accuracy as a function of driving experience, qualitative analysis indicated that lane type and whether the object was fixed or moving did show differences. Implications of these results for understanding hazard perception are discussed.
Deep learning methods for recognizing signs/objects in road traffic

In this thesis the authors have used three different neural network structures, Convolutional Neural Network (CNN), Capsule Network and Faster R-CNN, to detect and classify traffic signs from the German Traffic Sign Recognitionand Detection Benchmark (abbreviated GTSRB and GTSDB). The networks were implemented using machine learning libraries for Python such as TensorFlow and Keras. The results obtained were a classification accuracy of 98.61 % for the CNN and 99.62 % for the Capsule Network. The aim was to attain results close to the results of the best network listed at GTSRB, which is 99.71%. Another goal was to use a deep learning networks to locate and classify a traffic sign within an image. This was done with an implementation of a Faster R-CNN, which was able to successfully detect and classify signs with an mAP of 0.56. It was noted that the network was able to detect most of the signs, however it struggled with classification. For this reason a version that combined Faster R-CNN with a Convolutional Neural Network trained on GTSRB was created, which outperformed the Faster R-CNN.
Bankruptcy Around the World: Explanations of its Relative Use

The recent literature on law and finance has drawn attention to the importance of creditor rights in influencing the development of financial systems and in affecting firm corporate governance and financing patterns. Recent financial crises have also highlighted the importance of insolvency systems - a key element of creditor rights - to prevent and resolve corporate sector financial distress. The literature and crises have highlighted the role that creditor rights play in not only affecting the efficiency of ex-post resolution of distressed corporations, but also in influencing ex-ante risk-taking incentives and an economy's degree of entrepreneurship more generally. Yet, little is known on how much formal insolvency systems are actually being used, how the use of the courts to resolve financial distress relates to creditor rights, and whether any specific creditor rights matter more. This paper starts with documenting how often bankruptcy is used in a panel of 35 countries. It next investigates the relation between specific design features of insolvency regimes and the use of bankruptcy, considering also the quality of countries’ judicial systems. We find, controlling for overall development and macroeconomic shocks, that bankruptcies are higher in common-law countries and in market-oriented financial systems. Stronger creditor rights are generally associated with more use of bankruptcy, except for the presence of a "stay on assets" that is associated with fewer use of bankruptcy. Greater judicial efficiency is associated with more use of bankruptcy, but there is some substitution between stronger creditor rights and greater judicial efficiency. These findings suggest that the relationship between specific creditor rights features and the use of bankruptcy systems is more complex than perhaps thought. It may also help clarify the relationships between creditor rights, the development of financial systems, corporate ownership, and financing patterns.
Anti-Epileptic Effect of Imperata Cylindrica on a Drosophila Melanogaster Model of Seizures

Background: Epilepsy is one of the most prevalent non-communicable neurologic conditions and an important cause of disability and mortality in the East African region alone. It is estimated to affect almost 70 million people worldwide. The prevalence of epilepsy in low- and middle-income countries is about twice that of high-income countries (Nabukenya et al., 2014). The aim of this study: was to evaluate the anti-epileptic activity and the mechanism of action of Imperata cylindrica extracton bang-sensitive Drosophila melanogaster. Methodology: This was an experimental study in which toxicity of the extract was measured by increasing concentration, after which the concentration below the lethal dose were tested for antiepileptic activity followed by side effects and finally the mechanism of action. Results: The extract had reduction in seizures by 25-30% at doses that were generally safe for the fly. Imperata cylindrica had minimal toxic effect on Drosophila; most importantly it had anticonvulsive activity. There was also minimal side effect of the extract to the general health of the flies. Discussion and conclusion: Though the extract showed some toxicity the extract ameliorated symptoms generated by increased activity of sodium and potassium channels. Therefore, these results show that Imperata cylindrica has the potential to ameliorate seizure at safe therapeutic doses, it may also provide a solution to patient who do not respond to the current available AEDs. In future studies for precise determination of the origin of both toxicity and activity, independent analysis of the fractionated active compounds is recommended.
Testing a nitrogen fertilizer applicator designed to reduce leaching losses

Conventional practices for nitrogen fertilization of corn produce soil conditions that are conducive to preferential water flow and nitrate leaching. A new fertilizer applicator is proposed that will more effectively protect the fertilizer from infiltrating water and thus reduce the potential for leaching. The device forms a small compacted layer of soil above the subsurface fertilizer band and then mounds soil into a surface dome directly above the fertilizer band. This new localized compaction and doming (LCD) method is evaluated by measuring soil physical properties around the fertilizer band and comparing them with measurements made within the conventional knifing system. The LCD applicator increased penetration resistance from 0.50 to 0.75 MPa at the fertilizer band. As the knife slit above the fertilizer band was closed by the LCD applicator, soil bulk density was increased from 1.2 to 1.4 g/cm3 in the region. The ponded infiltration rate through the fertilizer band was reduced from 19.7 cm/h at the conventional knife slit to 10.1 cm/h at the LCD surface. Reduced water flow through the fertilizer band will result in reduced NO3-N movement. Nitrate movement was measured during a growing season in a corn field, and NO3-N applied by the LCD applicator moved approximately 60% as deep as NO3-N applied by a conventional knife applicator. The ability to restrict NO3-N movement by modifying the surface soil at N application represents a simple yet effective strategy to reduce NO3-N leaching losses and possible impacts on groundwater quality.
Pattern of foreign direct investment in developing economies: a comparative analysis of China and India

Qualitative information and data show significant differences in the magnitude and type of foreign direct investment inflows among developing economies. An explanation of these differences requires an analysis of market institutional factors as well as an analysis of the supply and demand side conditions. This paper adopts the approach that different the configurations of supply and demand and that market institutional factors explain the type of investment flows into developing economies. The argument is illustrated through a comparative study of China and India.
The Ser128Arg polymorphism of E-selectin gene is not associated with polycystic ovary syndrome (E-selektin genin Ser128Arg polimorfizmi polikistik over sendromu ile ilgili değildir)

Objective: Low-grade chronic inflammation and endothelial dysfunction have important role in the pathogenesis of polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). E-selectin is a cell adhesion molecule involved in first attachment and transmigration of leukocytes to activated endothelium in conditions with chronic inflammation. This study examined for the first time the possible association of Ser128Arg (c.561 A>C) single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) of E-selectin gene with the occurrence of PCOS, and evaluates the relationship between genotypes and clinical/ biochemical characteristics of PCOS. Methods: The Ser128Arg polymorphism of E-selectin gene in DNA from peripheral blood leukocytes of 169 PCOS patients and 259 healthy control women were investigated by real-time PCR combined with melting curve analysis using fluorescence-labeled hybridization probes. Results: It was found that insulin resistance (IR) was present in 85 (50%) of women with PCOS. Additionally, insulin (72.8%) levels and HOMA (82.3%) value were higher, and QUIKCI (13.2%) was lower in PCOS women when compared with controls. No significant association between PCOS and the variant allele of E-selectin Ser128Arg (OR: 1.17, 95% CI= 0.751.82) was observed. This polymorphism was found not to affect insulin resistance (IR) indices and lipid profile parameters significantly. Conclusion: These preliminary results suggest that the E-selectin Ser128Arg polymorphism is not a significant risk factor for PCOS alone. However, further studies on the same topic are necessary to support our observation before any statement can be made about the relationship between PCOS and E-selectin polymorphism.
The Role of Media Framing in Crime Reports: How Different Types of News Frames and Racial Identity Affect Viewers’ Perceptions of Race

This experiment examined how racial identity and different types of media frames affect viewer’s perceptions of suspects of criminal acts and the entire racial group to which the suspect belongs. After reading a randomly selected mock-up news crime article, participants were asked to complete a questionnaire that assessed their attitudes towards the suspect and the suspect’s race as a whole. The articles showed either a black suspect or a white suspect that was framed in terms of sympathy or scrutiny, creating four possible conditions. The findings indicate that people who read a scrutinizing news frame have more blame for the suspect and more negative feelings towards the suspect’s race as a whole. Results also revealed that participants are more likely to be sympathetic towards a suspect when they share the same racial identity.