Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Systematic studies on Cucurbitaceae family at Rajshahi division, Bangladesh

Systematic investigation on the family Cucurbitaceae growing throughout the Rajshahi Division situated in the northern parts of Bangladesh was carried out. A total of 24 species under 13 genera of the family Cucurbitaceae were collected and identified. A complete taxonomic account of each species has been given along with their current name, local name, brief description, phenology, basic chromosome number and voucher number. A new system of classification of the family Cucurbitaceae has been proposed on the basis of morphological, cytological and floral characters.
Possibility of Detection of Exomoons with Inclined Orbits Orbiting Pulsar Planets Using the Time-of-Arrival Analysis

The perturbation caused by planet-moon binarity on the time-of-arrival (TOA) signal of a pulsar with an orbiting planet is derived for the case of the orbit of the planet-moon system inclined of an angle with respect to the plane of the orbit of the planet-moon barycenter around the pulsar. We also consider both the orbits of the moon and the planet-moon barycenter as circular. The signal consists of three sinusoids with frequency, respectively, of , , and , where and are, respectively, the mean motions of the planet and moon around their barycenter and the planet-moon system around the host, respectively. The amplitude of the signal is equal to the fraction of the system crossing time , where and are, respectively, the mass of the planet and the mass of the moon, is their orbital separation, is the distance between the host pulsar and planet-moon barycenter, is the inclination of the orbital plane of the planet, and is the speed of light.
Talent Management Predictors that Adversely Affect Job Satisfaction at a South African Parastatal

The purpose of the study was to quantify talent management predictors that adversely affect job satisfaction (JS). The literature review revealed that talent management predictors (i.e. neglecting experience during recruitment and appointment of managers, and supervisors’ lack of confidence in the achievement of goals) adversely affected JS. The research design was cross-sectional, pre-experimental, and a survey. Data were collected at a parastatal business unit with a population size of 800.Using calculating statistics, the appropriate sample size was n=204. The sample was stratified by gender and occupation. Data were collected by means of a validated questionnaire and analyzed by means of frequencies, and logit analysis. Bayesian analyses were used to test the hypotheses. The three hypotheses were supported; showing that employees are more likely to be dissatisfied if their experience was not considered during recruitment, if their experience was neglected when managers were appointed irrespective of their gender, and if supervisors lacked confidence that the organizational strategic goals would be achieved. Recommendations for future research are made. This study has implications for managers in the sense that if they do not factor in experience, i.e. during recruitment and appointment, they might have supervisors who do not have confidence in expressing the strategic goals of the parastatal. This study adds value to the existing body of knowledge by quantifying talent management factors using odds ratios to determine talent management predictors that adversely affect JS.
Fair value and audit fees

This paper investigates the effect of fair value reporting and its attributes on audit fees. We use as our primary sample the European real estate industry around mandatory IFRS adoption (under which reporting of property fair values becomes compulsory), due to its unique operating and reporting characteristics. We document lower audit fees for firms reporting property assets at fair value relative to those employing depreciated cost—a difference that appears driven, in part, by impairment tests that occur only under depreciated cost. We further find that audit fees are decreasing in firms’ exposure to fair value and increasing both in the complexity of the fair value estimation and for recognition (versus only disclosure) of fair values. We corroborate our findings in two alternative settings: contrasting UK and US real estate firms and using UK investment trusts. Overall, the results suggest that fair values can lead to lower monitoring costs; however, any reductions in audit fees will vary with salient characteristics of the fair value reporting, including the difficulty to measure and the treatment within the financial statements.
The relation between radio and X-ray luminosity of black hole binaries: affected by inner cool disks?

Context. Observations of the black hole X-ray binaries GX 339-4 and V404 Cygni have brought evidence of a strong correlation between radio and X-ray emission during the hard spectral state; however, now more and more sources, the so-called “outliers”, are found with a radio emission noticeably below the established “standard” relation. Several explanations have already been considered, but the existence of dual tracks is not yet fully understood. Aims. We suggest that in the hard spectral state re-condensation of gas from the corona into a cool, weak inner disk can provide additional soft photons for Comptonization, leading to a higher X-ray luminosity in combination with rather unchanged radio emission, which presumably traces the mass accretion rate. Methods. As an example, we determined how much additional luminosity due to photons from an underlying disk would be needed to explain the data from the representative outlier source H1743-322. Results. From the comparison with calculations of Compton spectra with and without the photons from an underlying disk, we find that the required additional X-ray luminosity lies well in the range obtained from theoretical models of the accretion flow. Conclusions. The radio/X-ray luminosity relation resulting from Comptonization of additional photons from a weak, cool inner disk during the hard spectral state can explain the observations of the outlier sources, especially the data for H1743-322, the source with the most detailed observations. The existence or non-existence of weak inner disks on the two tracks might point to a difference in the magnetic fields of the companion stars. These could affect the effective viscosity and the thermal conductivity, hence also the re-condensation process.
Influence of initial conditions and climate forcing on predicting Arctic sea ice

The recent sharp decline in Arctic sea ice has triggered an increase in the interest of Arctic sea ice predictability, not least driven by the potential of significant human industrial activity in the region. In this study we quantify how long Arctic sea ice predictability is dominated by dependence on its initial conditions versus dependence on its secular decline in a state‐of‐the‐art global circulation model (GCM) under a ‘perfect model’ assumption. We demonstrate initial‐value predictability of pan‐Arctic sea ice area is continuous for 1–2 years, after which predictability is intermittent in the 2–4 year range. Predictability of area at these longer lead times is associated with strong area‐thickness coupling in the summer season. Initial‐value predictability of pan‐Arctic sea ice volume is significant continuously for 3–4 years, after which time predictability from secular trends dominates. Thus we conclude predictability of Arctic sea ice beyond 3 years is dominated by climate forcing rather than initial conditions. Additionally, we find that forecast of summer conditions are equally good from the previous September or January initial conditions.
Recent changes on Greenland outlet glaciers

Abstract Aircraft laser-altimeter surveys during the 1990s showed near-coastal parts of the Greenland ice sheet to be thinning; despite slow thickening at higher elevations, the ice sheet lost mass to the ocean. Many outlet glaciers thinned more rapidly than could be explained by increased melting during the recent warmer summers, indicating dynamic imbalance between glacier velocity and upstream snow accumulation. Results from more recent surveys, presented here, show that thinning rates have increased in most coastal regions. For almost half of the surveys, these increases might have resulted from increases in summer melting, but rapid thinning on others is indicative of dynamic changes that increased with time. In particular, thinning rates on the three fastest glaciers increased to tens of m a−1 after 2000, and other observations show an approximate doubling in their velocities. The deep beds of these glaciers appear to have a strong influence on rates of grounding-line retreat and thickness change, with periods of glacier acceleration and rapid thinning initiated by flotation and break-up of lightly grounded glacier snouts or break-up of floating ice tongues. Near-simultaneous thinning of these widely separated glaciers suggests that warming of deeper ocean waters might be a common cause. Nearby glaciers without deep beds are thinning far more slowly, suggesting that basal lubrication as a result of increased surface melting has only a marginal impact on Greenland outlet-glacier acceleration
Customer experience management and business performance

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine how essential dimensions of customer experience management (CEM) drive business performance in Danish companies. Design/methodology/approach – An empirical study is conducted to investigate the relationships between seven CEM dimensions, differentiation, market performance and financial performance. The conceptual model is operationalized by a structural equation model, and the model is estimated and tested by using the partial least squares method. A survey among 484 companies in Denmark forms the empirical basis for the study. Findings – The findings provide evidence that the seven CEM dimensions influence differentiation, market performance and financial performance. High-performing companies differ significantly from low-performing companies with regard to how they master the CEM, meaning that those companies which incorporate superior customer experience into their products and service enjoy measurable financial success. Research limitations/implicati.
Efficient contracting, earnings smoothing and managerial accounting discretion

Purpose - – The purpose of this paper is to examine whether the contracting incentives (i.e. bonus plans, debt covenants, political costs hypotheses), and income smoothing can explain accounting choices in an emerging country, Egypt. Design/methodology/approach - – The paper uses the ordinary least square regression model to examine the relationship between earnings management and reporting objectives. A sample of 438 non-financial firms listed on the Egyptian Exchange over the period 2005-2007 is used. Findings - – The paper finds that the contracting objectives explain little of the variations in accounting choices (i.e. discretionary accruals) in the Egyptian context. However, the paper finds that mangers are likely to smooth the reported earnings by managing the accrual component in an attempt to reduce the fluctuation in reported earnings by increasing (decreasing) earnings when earnings are low (high) in attempt to reduce the variability of the reported earnings. Research limitations/implications - – The empirical results rely on the ability of earnings management proxies to adequately capture earnings manipulation activities. Practical implications - – The findings of the study should be of substantial interest to regulators and policy makers. The results implicitly contribute to the ongoing argument in relation to the optimal flexibility permitted by standard setting and the argument that tightening the accounting standards and mandating International Financial Reporting Standards are likely to improve reporting quality and reduce opportunistic earnings management. The results reveal that many of the weaknesses related to corporate reporting in emerging countries may result from the inadequate enforcement of the law and the weak legal protection of minority shareholders. The results also highlight the crucial role of understanding the reporting incentives, which is mainly shaped by institutional and market forces and the legal environment, in explaining accounting choices. Originality/value - – Unlike previous studies that tested an individual objective, this study examines the trade-offs among various reporting objectives in an emerging economy.
Nonlinear iterative methods for linear ill-posed problems in Banach spaces

We introduce and discuss nonlinear iterative methods to recover the minimum-norm solution of the operator equation Ax = y in Banach spaces X, Y, where A is a continuous linear operator from X to Y. The methods are nonlinear due to the use of duality mappings which reflect the geometrical aspects of the underlying spaces. The space X is required to be smooth and uniformly convex, whereas Y can be an arbitrary Banach space. The case of exact as well as approximate and disturbed data and operator are taken into consideration and we prove the strong convergence of the sequence of the iterates.
A Bayesian Estimation of a DSGE Model with Financial Frictions

Episodes of crises that have recently plagued many emerging market economies have lead to a wide-spread questioning of the two traditional generations of models of currency crises. Distressed banking system and adverse credit-markets conditions have been pointed as sources of serious macroeconomics contractions, so introducing these imperfections into standard economic models can help to explain the more recent crises. This paper introduces financial frictions a la Bernanke Gertler and Gilchrist in a two-sector small open economy, suited to analyze an emerging country. The model is estimated on simulated data applying both Bayesian techniques and maximum likelihood method and comparing the results under the two di¤erent estimation procedures. First, I analyze the influence of the prior on the estimation outcomes. Results seems to confirm that one of the main advantages of Bayesian approach is the ability of providing a framework for evaluating fundamentally mis-specified models. Second, I test the sensitivity of estimation outcomes to the sample size, showing how, for large samples, results under Bayesian estimation converges asymptotically to those obtained applying maximum likelihood. A further extension would be to perform the estimation on historical data for an emerging economy that have recently experienced a financial crisis.
Analyzing Clustered Data with OLS Regression: The Effect of a Hierarchical Data Structure

A previous study by Mundfrom and Schultz (2002) has shown that coefficient estimates between Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) regression and Hierarchical Linear Models (HLM) for clustered data are, for all intents and purposes, equivalent. However, when comparing these two methods, the standard error estimates are the true cause for concern. A simulation study is conducted to demonstrate that the standard error estimates between OLS and HLM are quite different for clustered data, and to show that the differential standard errors leads to inflated Type I error rates using OLS under such conditions. requently, in social science research, observations have a hierarchical structure (Raudenbush & Bryk, 2002). Students are nested within classrooms, workers are nested within organizations, or patients are nested within hospitals. While this hierarchal structure may seem obvious, it has a large impact when analyzing the results of data from such a structure. Methods comprising the general linear model, such as multiple linear regression (MLR), are extremely versatile for analyzing and modeling data. However, a key assumption of these methods is that observations are independent (Cohen, Cohen, West, & Aiken, 1983). When data are clustered and come from a hierarchical structure, this assumption is often violated. Observations coming from the same higher level unit are more like one another than observations from a separate higher level unit. For example, in education, students in classroom A are more like one another on reading ability than students in classroom B since students in the same class receive instruction from the same teacher who has particular strengths and weaknesses. This creates some dependence in the data for which MLR cannot account. To determine whether MLR may be unsuitable for the data, a quantity called the design effect (DEFF) can be calculated. DEFF is a measure that addresses how the sampling variability is affected as a result of departures from simple random sampling (Hahs-Vaughn, 2005; Kish, 1965). DEFF values greater than 1.0 indicate that the sampling variability is greater as a result of a hierarchical structure, with DEFF values greater than 2.0 generally being considered to indicate that the hierarchical nature of the data should be taken into account to avoid underestimated standard errors (Satorra & Muthen, 1995). Should DEFF values be above 2.0, the statistical literature has developed methods for addressing data that come from a hierarchical structure and can account for the dependence among observations. One commonly implemented method in social science research has many names and acronyms, but is often referred to as hierarchical linear modeling (HLM, used in this paper), multilevel modeling, or mixed effect models (Bickel, 2007; Raudenbush & Bryk, 2002; Singer & Willet, 2003).
Effect of the minimum void ratio on the vertical intercept of the steady state line of non-plastic soils

DR LUIS ALBERTO TORRES-CRUZ obtained his BSc in Civil Engineering from the Universidad del Valle in Cali, Colombia, and completed his PhD in Geotechnical Engineering at the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits). His doctoral research focused on the use of the cone penetration test to assess the liquefaction potential of tailings dams. He is currently a lecturer in Geotechnical Engineering at Wits.
Efficiency and Profitability in The Indonesian Islamic Banking Industry

The aims of this study are to know the level of efficiency and profitabilityamong Islamic full pledge Banks in Indonesia. Using parametric approach namelyStochastic Frontier Approach (SFA) to calculate efficiency and using ROA’s ratioto calculate profitability. The result showed that the BMS was the greatest level ofefficiency among Islamic Banks in Indonesia which influence the input and outputlevel of efficiency of BMS are personnel expenses, cost-sharing expenses, and totalfinancing which owned. Besides, the result showed that it was the greatest levelof profitability which factors influencing of profitability of BMS is BOPO’s ratio.The result also showed that the BMI had low efficiency but sufficient profitability.It has sufficient efficiency and high profitability, the BMS have sufficient efficiencyand profitability, the BRIS have low efficiency and profitability, and the BSB havehigh efficiency and low profitability. DOI: 10.15408/aiq.v8i1. 2507
Configurations of Capacity for Change in Entrepreneurial Threshold Firms: Imprinting and Strategic Choice Perspectives

Imprinting theory suggests that founding conditions are ‘stamped’ on organizations, and these imprinted routines often resist change. In contrast, strategic choice theory suggests that the firm can overcome organizational inertia and deliberately choose its future. Both theories offer dramatically different explanations behind an organization's capacity for change. IPO firms provide a unique context for exploring how imprinting forces interact with strategic choice factors to address organizational capacity for change as a firm moves from private to public firm status. Juxtaposing imprinting and strategic choice perspectives, we employ fuzzy set analysis to examine the multi-level determinants of organizational capacity for change. Our cross-national data reveal three effective configurations of organizational capacity for change within IPOs, and two ineffective configurations. Our results suggest that the antecedents of organizational capacity for change in entrepreneurial threshold firms are non-linear, interdependent, and equifinal.
Corporate Investment and Corporate Taxation During the Economic Crisis in Slovenia

Abstract: The article examines the relation of corporate taxation to corporate investment in Slovenia during the economic crisis in a microeconometric and a microsimulation setting. Based on the error-correction model of investment behavior, we found that investments were significantly affected by financial constraints during the economic crisis that hit the economy in 2009. Thus, only the effect of corporate income taxation on corporate investments that materializes through cash flow was active, while there is no evidence of the effect of the user cost of capital. The direct loss of budget revenues caused by the increased investment tax allowances since 2012 is greater than the expected increase in corporate investments related to those tax allowances.
CVD graphene-based low pump threshold bidirectional mode-locked fibre laser

A passively mode-locked femtosecond erbium-doped bidirectional fibre laser with low pump threshold using chemical vapor deposition grown graphene saturable absorbers is demonstrated. Two synchronised and counter propagating soliton output pulse trains with a repetition rate of ~10.38 MHz and pulse widths of 660 fs and 860 fs are obtained simultaneously from the fibre laser. Simultaneous mode-locking of the fibre laser has been realised with a threshold pump power of 56 mW from a single pump laser diode, indicating a ~62% reduction in pump threshold compared to previous results.
PURIFICATION AND IDENTIFICATION OF ANTIOXIDANT PEPTIDES FROM GELATIN HYDROLYSATES OF UNICORN LEATHERJACKET SKIN

Antioxidant peptides from a gelatin hydrolysate of unicorn leatherjacket skin prepared using a partially purified glycyl endopeptidase were purified using Sephadex G-25 gel filtration, DEAE-cellulose anion-exchange and reverse phase high-performance liquid chromatography. The fractions with the highest ABTS radical scavenging activity were analyzed using UPLC–ESI-MS/MS to identify the peptide sequences therein. Four of the identified peptides, Glu-Pro-Gly-Pro-Val-Gly (555.27 Da), Leu-Pro-Gly-Pro-Ala-Gly (511.29 Da), Leu-Asp-Gly-Pro-Val-Gly (557.30 Da) and Glu-Gly-Pro-Leu-Gly (472.24 Da), were subsequently synthesized. Glu-Gly-Pro-Leu-Gly exhibited the highest antioxidant activity (4.95 μmol TE/g solid). Therefore, peptides from unicorn leatherjacket skin gelatin hydrolysate could be further employed as functional food ingredient.
Phase transitions of H2 adsorbed on the surface of single carbon nanotubes

By means of Diffusion Monte Carlo calculations, we obtained the complete phase diagrams of H$_2$ adsorbed on the outer surface of isolated armchair carbon nanotubes of radii ranging from 3.42 to 10.85 \AA. We only considered density ranges corresponding to the filling of the first adsorption layer in these curved structures. In all cases, the zero-temperature ground state was found to be an incommensurate solid, except in the widest tube, in which the structure with lowest energy is an analogous of the $\sqrt{3} \times \sqrt{3}$ phase found in planar substrates. Those incommensurate solids result form the arrangement of the hydrogen molecules in circumferences whose plane is perpendicular to the main axis of the carbon nanotube. For each tube, there is only one of such phases stable in the density range considered, except in the case of the (5,5) and (6,6) tubes, in which two of these incommensurate solids are separated by novel first order phase transitions.