Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
KERNEL DENSITY ESTIMATORS FOR GAUSSIAN MIXTURE MODELS

The problem of nonparametric estimation of probability density function is considered. The performanceof kernel estimators based on various common kernels and a new kernel K (see (14)) with both fixed and adaptive smoothingbandwidth is compared in terms of the symmetric mean absolute percentage error using the Monte Carlo method. The kernelK is everywhere positive but has lighter tails than the Gaussian density. Gaussian mixture models from a collectionintroduced by Marron and Wand (1992) are taken for Monte Carlo simulations. The adaptive kernel method outperforms thesmoothing with a fixed bandwidth in the majority of models. The kernel K shows better performance for Gaussian mixtureswith considerably overlapping components and multiple peaks (double claw distribution).
Linking Protestant Work Ethic to Workplace Ostracism: The Mediating Effect of Subjective Well-Being

In this study, the present paper examined the relationship between Protestant Work Ethic (PWE) and Workplace Ostracism by focusing on the mediating effect of Subjective Well-Being (SWB) which is a construct with three components that include life satisfaction, positive affect and negative affect. Our theoretical model was tested using data collected from employees in different firms from different provinces in China. Analyses of multisource and lagged data from 677 employees indicated that as predicted, life satisfaction, positive affect and negative affect mediate the relationship between PWE and Workplace Ostracism. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.
The Relationship Between Parental Rearing, Self-Efficacy and Resilience in the Development of a Coping Style

The current study investigated the relationship between self-efficacy, resilience, perceived parental rearing and the use of adaptive or maladaptive coping strategies. The Brief Coping Orientation to Problems Experienced Inventory (Brief COPE; Carver, 1997) was used to assess participant's coping styles. The General Self-Efficacy Scale (GSES; Schwarzer & Jerusalem, 1995) was utilized to assess a participant’s self-efficacy. The Brief Resilience Scale (BRS, Smith et al., 2008) was used to measure resilience, and the Parental Authority Questionnaire (PAQ; Buri (1991) was used to assess perceived parental rearing. A between-subjects design with two multiple regressions was used to evaluate the relationship between these factors. One hundred and twenty nine participants participated in the study. Results of the study found that participants who reported low self-efficacy, low self-esteem and low resilience utilized maladaptive coping strategies. Results, however, did not support the idea that perceived authoritarian or permissive parental rearing influenced maladaptive coping. Additionally, results did not support the hypothesis that high self-efficacy, high self-esteem, high resilience or perceived authoritative parental rearing resulted in adaptive coping. Findings from this study highlight the need for interventions aimed at increasing individuals’ self-efficacy, selfesteem and resilience in order to aid individuals in using more adaptive coping strategies. Findings from this study also highlight the difficulties that arise when attempting to dichotomize coping; they also highlight the need for future research to examine specific stressors and look qualitatively at how individuals deal with those specific stressors.
The impact of a primary school physical activity intervention in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the impact of a physical activity intervention incorporated within classroom-based lessons, during lunch-breaks and after school. A convenient sample of eleven primary schools in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa participated in an 18-month school-based intervention programme. Learners (n=798) aged 10-15 years completed a nutrition and physical activity questionnaire and participated in a battery of fitness tests pre- and post-intervention. Principals and educators volunteered and were trained to implement the intervention in their respective schools. Educators were interviewed pre- and post-intervention. The intervention was designed to introduce various methods of physical activity within the existing school curriculum. Incremental changes and instructional strategies were made to lessons and not the entire lesson plan changed. Classroom-based intervention materials were developed to provide cost-effective and more importantly, a sustainable intervention. Post-intervention results showed that physical activity participation among learners ranged from 45-215 minutes per week of moderate to vigorous physical activity during school hours, excluding lunch-breaks. A significant increase (p≤0.05) in number of sporting activities learners engaged in during Physical Education / Life Orientation lessons was demonstrated. Minimal increases in flexibility (sit-and-reach test) scores and significant (p≤0.05) increases in abdominal strength (sit-ups) for both boys and girls were measured post-intervention. A school-based physical activity intervention can promote positive short-term effects on learners' physical activity participation, as well as increase physical activity participation during formal instruction and lunch-breaks.
Investigation of E2, E5, and E6 gene expression and DNA in situ fragmentation findings associated with progressive and regressive changes in benign neoplastic cutaneous lesions arising naturally from bovine papillomavirus-1 infection

Bovine papilloma and fibropapilloma are among the benign neoplastic changes observed in cattle (1). Notably, several types of papillomavirus have been implicated in the etiology of viral-induced papillomas (2), including bovine papillomaviruses (BPVs) -1 to -6 (5). More recently, the family Papillomaviridae has been expanded to include 13 members (BPV-1 to -13), and BPV infection has been found to not only affect cattle but also humans and several other domestic and wild animal species (24, 25). Papilloma and/or fibropapilloma are characterized by progressive and regressive phases. The progressive phase almost always follows the regressive phase in immunocompetent animals, mounting an immune response to BPV-1 infection, during which mononuclear cells, lymphocytes, and macrophages are activated to protect host cells from the virus (6). The progressive phase is characterized by hyperplastic stratum spinosum and acanthosis, hyperkeratosis, apoptosis, and occasional inflammatory reactions; Investigation of E2, E5, and E6 gene expression and DNA in situ fragmentation findings associated with progressive and regressive changes in benign neoplastic cutaneous lesions arising naturally from bovine papillomavirus-1 infection
WHAT IS FAMILIAR IS BEAUTIFUL: A NOVEL APPROACH INVESTIGATING THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN AESTHETICS AND PERCEIVED USE

OF THESIS WHAT IS FAMILIAR IS BEAUTIFUL: A NOVEL APPROACH INVESTIGATING THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN AESTHETICS AND PERCEIVED USE Objective: This study investigates the application of aesthetic principles to designed objects with which we interact, specifically looking at the impact of perceived function of the objects on perceptions of visual appeal. Background: Previous studies have demonstrated that a product’s judged beauty or visual appeal is related to perceptions of its usability. Arguments have been put forward for both directions of causality leading to “what is beautiful is usable” and “what is usable is beautiful” hypotheses. Explanations for the relationship between usability and beauty judgments include stereotype effects, ecological explanations, and cognitive processing viewpoints. The current studies contribute to this debate by manipulating usability and aesthetic principles independently to determine whether well-established aesthetic principles are contingent on perceived function. Method: 248 participants were recruited for two experiments. In Experiment 1, participants viewed sixteen illustrations that varied in ways that frequently increase the beauty of objects (i.e., basic principles such as symmetry, balanced massing, curvature, and prototypicality) and rated their degree of visual appeal. In Experiment 2, participants rated the appeal of the same stimuli as in Experiment 1 but were primed by instructions describing the illustrations as either alternative designs for microwave control panels or designs of building façades. Results: Strong support for the aesthetic principles of symmetry and spatial massing, but not curvature, were found in both experiments. Participants generally preferred stimuli that were symmetrical and evenly massed (i.e., "balanced"). Additionally, the manipulation of a functional prime significantly interacted with several aesthetic principles that relate to the match between the supplied prime and the prototypicality of the stimulus for the primed class of objects. Conclusions: Aesthetic principles of symmetry and spatial massing can be considered very potent ways to influence a user’s degree of perceived visual appeal that are resistant to specific use cases or situations. Other principles, such as curvature preferences, seem to be limited by the prototypicality of curvature for a primed class of objects. So when considering whether “what is beautiful is usable” or “what is usable is beautiful," the results from the current study demonstrate that it may be more appropriate to say "what is familiar is beautiful. "
Vocational interventions and supports following job placement for persons with traumatic brain injury

Previous research on vocational rehabilitation after traumatic brain injury (TBI) has suggested that coaching and other services provided following job placement are particularly important for successful work re-entry in this population. Methods of defining and measuring these services are needed to estimate more precisely their effects on vocational outcomes. In this study we developed a measure of the type, amount, and location of post-placement interventions that could be completed by treaters in "real time". Treatment was measured prospectively for 6 months after job placement for 65 people with moderate to severe TBI treated at 5 TBI Model System centers. Centers were found to differ substantially in the amount and location of treatment provided following job placement; centers providing more intensive treatment and treatment at the workplace also served more severely impaired clients at a longer interval after injury. Within centers, participants' cognitive speed and emotional distress predicted certain aspects of amount and type of treatment provided. Three-fourths of the sample were still working at the placement job after 6 months. Due to the confounding between case mix and treatment variables, unique effects of treatments on outcomes could not be determined.
Physalis angulata L. (Bolsa Mullaca): A Review of its Traditional Uses, Chemistry and Pharmacology

Physalis angulata is a specie of the Solanaceae family, which edible fruit is used in several countries of tropical and subtropical regions of the world as medicinal and fruit-tree. This review shows research over the last 30 years, about traditional uses, chemical constituents and pharmacology of this specie. The studies related to traditional uses show that P. angulata is known for its antimalarial, anti-inflammatory and post-partum treating properties. It presents the different pharmacological experiments in vitro and in vivo models that have been made, also the identification of phytochemical constituents with medicinal importance, the main being physalins and withanolides. Pharmacological studies have shown antiparasitic, anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, antinociceptive, antimalarial, antileishmanial, immunosuppressive, antiasthmatic diuretic, and antitumor activities, thus validating its traditional uses and demonstrating the great potential of this specie for further development within the pharmaceutical industry.
Gender-transformative approaches to address inequalities in food, nutrition and economic outcomes in aquatic agricultural systems

Over the past few decades, scholars and practitioners working on gender and development issues have advocated for more in-depth analyses that explore and foster change in the social institutions that create and perpetuate gender inequalities. Gender integration approaches in a research and development context are thus not something new. However, mainstream agricultural research and development programs often apply a rather simple understanding of gender to the design of such approaches, resulting in poor implementation. The CGIAR Research Program on Aquatic Agricultural Systems uses gender-transformative approaches to help achieve the goal of enhancing development outcomes of resource-poor women and men and their families in a sustainable manner. This paper details the approaches the program utilizes and is beginning to implement in its five learning hubs, which are located in areas where dependence on aquatic agricultural systems is high. The paper provides guidance on how other programs could prepare themselves to design and operationalize gender-transformative approaches and highlights some early learning on their application.
Thermal Comfort Characteristics of Knitted Fabrics for Abaya

Fabric material plays an important role in the thermal comfort of Abaya because it is the outer garment of Muslim women. Abaya is black in colour and covers the whole body except the hands, feet and face. It is mandatory to wear Abaya in the Saudi Arabia and certain parts of Middle East countries irrespective of the outside environmental temperature which could be up to 45°C. Therefore, the thermal transmission characteristics of the abaya are extremely important as human body responds to the external thermal environment through clothing. In a hot environment, it is extremely uncomfortable to wear several layers of clothing under the Abaya. Hence it is essential to enhance the thermal comfort of fabrics used for Abaya. This study investigated five selected knitted fabrics that could be used as Abaya fabrics for thermal resistance, air permeability, thermal comfort and vapour resistance. The results indicated that the fabrics with different knit structures, fibre composition and fabric weight have greater influence on thermal comfort performance.
GPR Signal Enhancement Using Sliding-Window Space-Frequency Matrices

Ground penetrating radar (GPR) has shown to provide useful results for detection of buried objects. However, its performance sufiers from strong re∞ection from ground surface especially for shallowly buried targets. In such cases, the detection problem depends on the separation of the target signal from the ground backscatter such as landmines and unexploded ordnances. In this paper, we discuss and analyze the use of space-frequency time-reversal matrices for the enhancement of ground penetrating radar signals and potential clutter reduction. Through the use of sliding windows, submatrices from a given B-scan (radargram) are utilized to extract localized scattering information of a given detection scenario. Each sub-B-scan is decomposed to its singular vectors and later used to render synthetic aperture time-domain singular vector distributions corresponding to difierent scattering mechanisms. Later, they are weighted by the singular values and subtracted from the full B-scan to achieve reduced clutter and enhanced target response. The method shows satisfactory results for shallowly buried dielectric targets even in the presence of rough surface proflles.
A study of storage behavior of okra fruits (Abelmoschus esculuntus L. Moenth cv. Khnesri )

This study was conducted during 2009-2010 season to investigate the effect of some antioxidants on storage behavior of okra fruits (Abelmoschus esculuntus L. Moenth cv. Mahaly). Okra seeds were planted under plastic tunnels in winter season at Abu-Al-Khaseb ,south of Basrah, Iraq. Fruits were soaked in ascorbic and citric acids at three concentrations for each of them (0,50,100) mg/l and a mixture of both of them ( 50+50),(50+100),(100+50),(100+100) mg/l for 5 minutes. Fruits were packed in perforated polyethylene bags (1 kg weight, 16 holes ,6.2 mm diameter for each of them) and stored at (10°C ± 1) for 12 days. The experimental results showed that Fruits treated with ascorbic acid and citric acids in the concentration of (100 mg/l ) for both of them were the best in retaining the fresh weight of fruits. Treating with citric acid in the concentration of 100 mg/l was the best in reducing the loss of total chlorophyll, protein and phenolic substances. The interaction between ascorbic acid (100 mg/l) and citric acid (50 mg/l) significantly decreased the loss of vitamin C. The results also indicated to the reduction of vitamin C , total chlorophyll, protein ,phenolic substances and fresh weight of fruits with the continuation of storage period.
SACRA – a method for the estimation of global high-resolution crop calendars from a satellite-sensed NDVI

To date, many studies have performed numerical estimations of biomass production and agricultural water demand to understand the present and future supply–demand relationship. A crop calendar (CC), which defines the date or month when farmers sow and harvest crops, is an essential input for the numerical estimations. This study aims to present a new global data set, the SAtellite-derived CRop calendar for Agricultural simulations (SACRA), and to discuss advantages and disadvantages compared to existing census-based and model-derived products. We estimate global CC at a spatial resolution of 5 arcmin using satellite-sensed normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) data, which corresponds to vegetation vitality and senescence on the land surface. Using the time series of the NDVI averaged from three consecutive years (2004–2006), sowing/harvesting dates are estimated for six crops (temperate-wheat, snow-wheat, maize, rice, soybean and cotton). We assume time series of the NDVI represent the phenology of one dominant crop and estimate CCs of the dominant crop in each grid. The dominant crops are determined using harvested areas based on census-based data. The cultivation period of SACRA is identified from the time series of the NDVI; therefore, SACRA considers current effects of human decisions and natural disasters. The difference between the estimated sowing dates and other existing products is less than 2 months (< 62 days) in most of the areas. A major disadvantage of our method is that the mixture of several crops in a grid is not considered in SACRA. The assumption of one dominant crop in each grid is a major source of discrepancy in crop calendars between SACRA and other products. The disadvantages of our approach may be reduced with future improvements based on finer satellite sensors and crop-type classification studies to consider several dominant crops in each grid. The comparison of the CC also demonstrates that identification of wheat type (sowing in spring or fall) is a major source of error in global CC estimations.
Drainage in Cholecystectomy: Required or Not? A Comparative Randomized Study in Northern Indian Subjects

Background: Routine abdominal drainage after laparoscopic cholecystectomy is an issue of considerable debate in surgical fraternity. So a comparative study was planned as an effort to solve the controversy regarding the need of drainage in cholecystectomy. Aim: The aim of the study was to evaluate merits and demerits of drainage vs nondrainage in patients undergone cholecystectomy. Materials and methods: Study was carried out in the Department of General Surgery, MM Institute of Medical Sciences and Research between June 2009 and October 2011 on 40 cases of symptomatic gall stone disease. Cases were divided randomly into two equal groups. Group A containing 20 cases with drain placed and group B containing 20 cases without drainage. Subjects were observed for postoperative morbidity in the form of pain–incidence and severity, duration of postoperative hospital stay, analgesia requirement, postoperative nausea, vomiting and antiemetics required. Results: Mean operative time in groups A and B was 93 and 86 minutes respectively. Gallbladder rupture was most common complication encountered in both the groups. At 12th postoperative hour, 90% of patients of group A and 95% of patients of group B had pain in abdomen. Conclusion: We found no significant advantage of using drainage after laparoscopic cholecystectomy, as there was higher incidence of postoperative pain and longer duration of hospital stay with its use. Therefore, its routine use cannot be recommended as a means to reducing postoperative morbidity.
The symbolic impact of women’s representation on citizens’ political attitudes

Women’s political presence is expected to impact on citizens’ political attitudes by symbolizing that women are just as capable to govern as men, which provides a rolemodel effect to female citizens and signals the inclusiveness of the political system to all social groups. Research on whether women’s representation enhances the legitimacy of, closeness to and satisfaction with political institutions, as well as levels of political engagement is still in its infancy, not least because of several empirical and methodological challenges, including issues of spuriousness, reversed causation and endogeneity. We use an experimental online survey specifically designed to examine whether exposure to distinct scenarios about greater women’s representation and its concomitant effects have an impact on citizens’ political attitudes. Our results show that respondents’ evaluation of the political system is positively influenced by the use of framing on greater women’s representation whereas their political engagement remains rather unaffected. Symbolic effects are found for both men and especially for women respondents. The results hold for the two countries where the experiment was administered, Spain and Portugal, which provides our study with an increased external validity.
Karyotype Analysis of Ocimum basilicum in South-Eastern Nigeria

Ocimum basilicum is widely distributed in the tropical and subtropical regions of the world, with greatest variability in Africa and India. It is valued in many countries for its culinary, medicinal, industrial and religious importance. Although cytogenetic entries on the plant have been made in other geographical locations of the world, in Nigeria, such entries, prior to this report, have been limited if not completely unavailable. In this analysis, axillary buds, obtained from growing plants, were used to conduct mitotic study. Results from this study showed chromosome counts of 2n = 48 and 60, thus bringing to light the existence of chromosome number variation and the possibility of polyploidy at different levels in the plant species in this agro-ecological zone. This research has, therefore, established that at least there are two cytotypes in the population of Ocimum basilicum growing in the humid forest vegetation zone of Nigeria. Analysis of the two cytotypes revealed asymmetrical karyotypes, indicative of advancement in the evolutionary trend of the plant species.
The Promise of Entrepreneurship as a Field of Research

To date, the phenomenon of entrepreneurship has lacked a conceptual framework. In this note we draw upon previous research conducted in the different social science disciplines and applied fields of business to create a conceptual framework for the field. With this framework we explain a set of empirical phenomena and predict a set of outcomes not explained or predicted by conceptual frameworks already in existence in other fields.