Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Batch adsorption of heavy metals (Cu, Pb, Fe, Cr and Cd) from aqueous solutions using coconut husk

This study was carried out to evaluate the efficiency of metals (Cu, Fe, Pb, Cr and Cd) removal from mixed metal ions solution using coconut husk as adsorbent. The effects of varying contact time, initial metal ion concentration, adsorbent dose and pH on adsorption process of these metals were studied using synthetically prepared wastewater. The percentage removal of metals increased with increasing weight (0.4-1.2 g) in 50 ml of adsorbent dose and the observed trend was: Cr>Cu>Pb>Fe>Cd. The adsorption efficiency increased with increasing initial metal ion concentration (0.3-0.9 mg/l) and the observed trend was: Cr>Cu>Cd>Fe>Pb. Similarly, percentage removal of metal ions increased with increasing pH of the mixed metal ions solution (pH values of 2, 6 and 10). The observed trend of percentage adsorption of metals by varying pH was: Cd>Fe>Cr>Cu>Pb. The effect of contact time on the adsorption efficiency at different time intervals of 20, 40 and 60 min in mixed metal ions solution showed that the removal of tested metals was rapidly achieved during a short interval of 20 min. Generally, the study showed that coconut husk (a waste material) is a viable material for removal of metals from waste water as the percentage adsorbed varies from 95.2-98.8, 91.1-99.3 and 75.0-98.5% for Cd, Cr and Cu, respectively while the percentage removal of Fe and Pb from the waste water varies from 84.9-97.0 and 81.1-98.7%, respectively. Isothermal studies showed that the experimental data are best fitted on Langmuir model. Key words: Batch adsorption, heavy metals, wastewater, coconut husk.
The sources of income inequality in Indonesia: A regression-based inequality decomposition

Growing inequality is one important problem for a developing country, and Indonesia is no exception. Narrowing the gap between those at the top and the bottom of income distribution has become one of the government’s main concerns. To achieve this goal, the sources of income inequality must be identified appropriately. Given the availability of household level data in Indonesia (Indonesia Family Life Survey), we are motivated to investigate the source of income inequality in Indonesia. The approach employed in this study is regression-based inequality decomposition using the Shapley value decomposition framework. The results show that education, wealth, as well as the employment sector are significant contributors to income inequality in Indonesia. These findings suggest that any policy aimed at reducing unequal access to education and finance is important to improve income inequality in the future. JEL Classification: D31, D63, O53 ADBI Working Paper 667 Wicaksono, Amir, and Nugroho
Biodiversity survey for myxomycetes in the mountains of central Cuba

The results of a biodiversity survey for myxomycetes, carried out in montane rainforests of the Ecological Reserve "Alturas de Banao" in the Macizo Guamuahaya Mountains of central Cuba, are reported here. The survey yielded more than 200 field collections of myxomycetes, and 56 species were identified, from these field collections and moist chamber culture collections. Amongst these were 23 species recorded for the first time from Cuba: Arcyria afroalpina, A. globosa, Badhamia melanospora, Ceratiomyxa sphaerosperma, Clastoderma debaryanum, Collaria lurida, Comatricha laxa, C. nigra, C. tenerrima, Craterium concinnum, Cribraria microcarpa, C. tenella, Diderma corrugatum, Didymium iridis, Echinostelium bisporum, E. minutum, Hemitrichia pardina, Licea bulbosa, L. erecta var. erectoides, L. scyphoides, Perichaena vermicularis, Physarum crateriforme, and P. galbeum, Dead leaves of the palm Roystonea regia were an especially productive substrate for myxomycetes, with members of the Trichiales particularly abundant. The myxomycetes recorded from this most recent survey, increases the total number of species reported for the Reserve to 69.
ENSO reconstruction based on documentary data from Ecuador, Peru and Chile

tually was. Moreover, though many of the documents represent the reporting of events and experiences as they took place, they also reflect the positionality, and purpose of the author and the intended audience. Subjectivity and bias will also influence the validity of the information conveyed and used for constructing climatic chronologies. It is difficult to establish from documentary sources, for instance, what constituted normal climatic conditions. There may also be some cases (for example during political upheavals) when unusual climate goes unreported in either the documentary or instrumental record. Whether a climate event is recorded is also dependent on the size of the potentially affected population and its level of economic development. Climatically-induced agricultural failure, for instance, is only likely to be recorded if a significant number of people are affected by harvest losses. It is also likely that the frequency of singular events might be relatively under recorded in comparison with recognised severe climatic phases, where bad conditions persist over several years. Such interpretative problems can compromise the value of archival records of climate change. The collections of historical documents available for Latin America as a whole are extremely rich and diverse. Used carefully, these archives can provide us with an invaluable and as yet still under-exploited medium for the reconstruction of detailed regional climate histories. REFERENCES Butzer, K.W. and Butzer, E.K. , 1997: The ‘natural’ vegetation of the Mexican Bajio: archival documentation of a 16th-century savanna environment. Quaternary International 43/44, 161-172. Endfield, G.H. and O’Hara, S.L. , 1997: Conflicts over water in ‘The Little Drought Age’ in Central Mexico. Environment and History 3, 255-272. Florescano, E. and Swan. S. , 1995: Breve historia de la sequía en México. Universidad Veracruzana, Xalapa. O’Hara, S.L. and Metcalfe, S.E. , 1995: Reconstructing the climate of Mexico from historical records. The Holocene 5, 485-490. Prieto, M. , R. Herrera and Dussel, P., 2000: Archival evidence for some aspects of historical climate variability in Argentina and Bolivia during the 17th and 18th centuries. In: Southern Hemisphere Paleoand Neoclimates. W. Volkheimer and P. Smolka (eds). Springer –Verlag, Berlin-Heidelberg, 381 p. Quinn, W.H. , V.T. Neal and Antúnez de Mayolo. , S. , 1987: El Niño occurrences over the past four and a half centuries
EXPERIMENTAL INVESTIGATION OF AIR CONVECTION EMBANKMENTS FOR PERMAFROST-RESISTANT ROADWAY DESIGN

Air convection embankments have been proposed as a method for avoiding thaw-settlement of roadways in regions of warm permafrost. These embankments are constructed of poorly-graded open aggregate, resulting in a very high air permeability. Unstable air density gradients that develop within the embankment during winter result in buoyancy-induced pore air convection. This convection increases the heat flux out of the embankment and foundation material during winter months. During summer, the air density gradient is stable and convection does not occur. The net effect is an increase in winter cooling without a corresponding increase in summer warming and thawing is prevented in the permafrost layer beneath the embankment. The present study discusses thermal data collected from an experimental air convection embankment that was constructed at BrownOs Hill Quarry near Fairbanks, Alaska and monitored over a two-year period. The results show a large cooling influence due to air convection within the embankment during winter.
9 TEN STRATEGIES FOR SUCCESSFUL DISTRIBUTED DEVELOPMENT

This paper presents an overview of the field of distributed development of software systems and applications (DD). Based on an analysis of the published literature, including its use in different industrial contexts, we provide a preliminary analysis that structures existing DD knowledge, indicating opportunities but identifying threats to communication, coordination, and control caused by temporal distance, geographical distance, and sociocultural distance. An analysis of the case and field study literature has been used to identify strategies considered effective for countering the identified threats. The paper synthesizes from these a set of 10 general strategies for successful DD which, if adopted, should lead to increased company resilience.
MULTIOBJECTIVE EVOLUTIONARY ALGORITHMS APPLIED TO MICROSTRIP

This work presents three of the main evolutionary algorithms: Genetic Algorithm, Evolution Strategy and Evolutionary Programming, applied to microstrip antennas design. Efficiency tests were performed, considering the analysis of key physical and geometrical parameters, evolution type, numerical random generators effects, evolution operators and selection criteria. These algorithms were validated through design of microstrip antennas based on the Resonant Cavity Method, and allow multiobjective optimizations, considering bandwidth, standing wave ratio and relative material permittivity. The optimal results obtained with these optimization processes, were confirmed by CST Microwave Studio commercial package.
Turbine blade platform film cooling with simulated stator-rotor purge flow with varied seal width and upstream wake with vortex

Turbine Blade Platform Film Cooling with Simulated Stator-Rotor Purge Flow with Varied Seal Width and Upstream Wake with Vortex. (May 2007) Sarah Anne Blake, B.S., University of Maine Chair of Advisory Committee: Dr. Je-Chin Han The turbine blade platform can be protected from hot mainstream gases by injecting cooler air through the gap between stator and rotor. The effectiveness of this film cooling method depends on the geometry of the slot, the quantity of injected air, and the secondary flows near the platform. The purpose of this study was to measure the effect of the upstream vane or stator on this type of platform cooling, as well as the effect of changes in the width of the gap. Film cooling effectiveness distributions were obtained on a turbine blade platform within a linear cascade with upstream slot injection. The width of the slot was varied as well as the mass flow rate of the injected coolant. Obstacles were placed upstream to model the effect of the upstream vane. The coolant was injected through an advanced labyrinth seal to simulate purge flow through a stator-rotor seal. The width of the opening of this seal was varied to simulate the effect of misalignment. Stationary rods were placed upstream of the cascade in four phase locations to model the unsteady wake formed at the trailing edge of the upstream vane. Delta wings were also placed in four positions to create a vortex similar to the passage vortex at the exit of the vane. The film cooling effectiveness distributions were measured using pressure-sensitive paint (PSP). Reducing the width of the slot was found to decrease the area of coolant coverage, although the film cooling effectiveness close to the slot was slightly increased. The unsteady wake was found to have a trivial effect on platform cooling, while the passage vortex from the upstream vane may significantly reduce the film cooling effectiveness.
Defending Mail Markets Against New Entrants: An Application of the Defender Model

In this paper we analyzed the strategic competition between incumbent postal operators and market entrants in liberalized letter markets based on the “defender consumer model” pioneered by Hauser and Shugan (1983) and derived qualitative normative implications on how an established firm should defend its profits when facing an attack by a new competitive product. Our results extend the literature on competition in liberalized mail markets by combining pricing and positioning strategies from a marketing perspective. Our analysis highlights that incumbent postal operators can defend their market shares by differentiating their services along one or more quality dimensions. Postal services are not necessarily homogenous. If postal operators focus solely on pricing strategies they will run into the more serious problems than if they compete on quality too.
Neutron Radiative Capture Cross Section of 232Th in the Energy Range from 0.06 to 2 MeV

Abstract The neutron capture cross section of 232Th has been measured relative to σ(n, γ) for 197Au and σ(n,f) for 235U in the energy range from 60 keV to 2 MeV. Neutrons were produced by the 7Li(p,n) and T(p,n) reactions at the 4-MV Van de Graaff Accelerator of CEN Bordeaux-Gradignan. The activation technique was used, and the cross section was measured relative to the 197Au(n,γ) standard cross section up to 1 MeV. The characteristic gamma lines of the product nuclei 233Pa and 198Au were measured with a 40% high-purity germanium detector. Above this energy, the reaction 235U(n,f) was also used as a second standard, and the fission fragments were detected with a photovoltaic cell. The results, after applying the appropriate corrections, indicate that the cross sections are close to the JENDL-3 database values up to 800 keV and over 1.4 MeV. For energies in the intermediate range, our values are slightly lower than those from all the libraries.
Collusion, Delegation and Supervision with Soft Information

This paper shows that supervision with soft information is valuable whenever supervisors and supervisees collude under asymmetric information and proceeds then to derive an Equivalence Principle between organizational forms of supervisory and productive activities. We consider an organization with an agent privately informed on his productivity and a risk averse supervisor getting signals on the agent's type. In a centralized organization, the principal can communicate and contract with both the supervisor and the agent. However, these two agents can collude against the principal. In a decentralized organization, the principal only communicates and contracts with the supervisor who in turn sub-contracts with the agent. We show that the two organizations achieve the same outcome. We discuss this equivalence and provide various comparative statics results to assess the efficiency of supervisory structures. Copyright 2003, Wiley-Blackwell.
TAIL BEHAVIOR OF REGRESSION ESTIMATORS AND THEIR BREAKDOWN POINTS

A measure of finite sample estimator performance based on the probability of large deviations is introduced. The tail performance of the least squares estimator is studied in detail, and the authors find that it achieves good tail performance under strictly Gaussian conditions, but performance is extremely poor in the case of heavy-tailed error distributions. Turning to the tail behavior of various robust estimators, they focus on tail performance under heavy (algebraic) tail errors. Perhaps most significantly, it is shown that the authors' finite-sample measure of tail performance is, for heavy tailed error distributions, essentially the same as the finite sample concept of breakdown point introduced by D. L. Donoho and P. J. Huber (1983). Coauthors are Jana Jureckova, Roger Koenker, and Stephen Portnoy. Copyright 1990 by The Econometric Society.
Schizophrenia - From Devilry to Disease

Symptoms of psychotic diseases historically instilled fear and distrust in onlookers, who associated them with witchcraft, demonic spirits, and the devil. From Egyptian medicine to medieval witch hunts, psychotic diseases have been associated with the supernatural throughout history. Yet even with advancements in neuroscience and improvements in our understanding of mental illness, stigma surrounding mental health remains prevalent today. Schizophrenia is a psychiatric illness which has evaded a clinical definition until relatively recently; even now, the precise features that constitute a schizophrenic patient are open to dispute. This article explores the ancient history of mental health with a particular emphasis on psychosis, and also considers the changing attitudes and understanding of schizophrenia throughout the last century, leading to its clinical definition as a treatable condition.
Mechanical Properties of Tempered Nanobainite Steel

The mechanical properties of 62 SiMnCr 4 steel transformed isothermally at 280oC for 5-hours were investigated. The hardness of nanobainite steel was equivalent to tempered martensite steel. The hardness decreases significantly at high tempering temperatures in excess of 500oC. Yield strength of about 2GPa and ultimate tensile strength of 2.3GPa have been achieved for nanobainite steel. Furthermore, the high strength is frequently accompanied by relatively good percentage elongation of 8.25%. The strength decreases and the ductility increases with increasing tempering temperature. Nanobainite steel has a high charpy impact energy of 170 J which decreases linearly with increasing tempering temperature. Fatigue strength of nanobainite steel is higher than tempered martensite, its decreases with increasing tempering temperature. Keyword: Nanobainite steel; Tempering; Mechanical Properties
Comparing dynamical and photometric-stellar masses of early-type galaxies at z ! 1 !

Aims. The purpose of this study is to explore the relationship between galaxy stellar masses, based on multiwavelength photometry spectral template fitting and dynamical masses based on published velocity dispersion measurements, for a sample of 48 early-type galaxies at z ∼ I with HST/ACS morphological information. Methods. We determine photometric-stellar masses and perform a quantitative morphological analysis of cluster and field galaxies at redshift 0.6 < z < 1.2, using ground- and space-based multiwavelength data available on the GOODS-S field and on the field around the X-ray luminous cluster RDCS 1252.9-2927 at z = 1.24. We use multi-band photometry over 0.4-8 μm from HST/ACS, VLT/ISAAC and Spiher/IRAC to estimate photometric-stellar masses using Composite Stellar Population (CSP) templates computed with PEGASE.2 (Fioc & Rocca-Volmerange 1997) models. We compare stellar masses with those obtained using CSPs built with Bruzual & Charlot (2003, MNRAS, 344, 1000; BC03) and Maraston (2005, MNRAS, 362, 799; M05) models. We then compare photometric-stellar mass and dynamical mass estimates as a function of morphological parameters obtained from HST/ACS imaging. Results. Based on our sample, which spans the mass range log M phot ≃ [10, 11.5], we find that 1) PEGASE.2, BC03, M05 yield consistent photometric-stellar masses for early-type galaxies at z ∼ I with a small scatter (0.15 dex rms); 2) adopting a Kroupa IMF, photometric-stellar masses match dynamical mass estimates for early-type galaxies with an average offset of 0.27 dex; 3) assuming a constant IMF, increasing dark matter fraction with the increasing galaxy mass can explain the observed trend; 4) we observe that early-type galaxies with significant disk components (Sa/Sab) or with signs of dynamical interaction tend to have the largest deviation from a one-to-one M dyn vs. M phot relation.
CEP Discussion Paper No 1452 October 2016 Quantitative Spatial Economics

The observed uneven distribution of economic activity across space is influenced by variation in exogenous geographical characteristics and endogenous interactions between agents in goods and factor markets. Until recently, the theoretical literature on economic geography had focused on stylized settings that could not easily be taken to the data. This paper reviews more recent research that has developed quantitative models of economic geography. These models are rich enough to speak to first-order features of the data, such as many heterogenous locations and gravity equation relationships for trade and commuting. Yet at the same time these models are sufficiently tractable to undertake realistic counterfactuals exercises to study the effect of changes in amenities, productivity, and public policy interventions such as transport infrastructure investments. We provide an extensive taxonomy of the different building blocks of these quantitative spatial models and discuss their main properties and quantification.
Does Offshoring Affect Industry Employment? Evidence from a Wide European Panel of Countries

Th is paper contributes to the literature on the possible impact of international outsourcing on domestic labour markets. We focus on off shoring-employment relationship. Th e analysis is performed for a wide European panel, composed of 27 EU countries and 13 manufacturing sectors, observed in the period 1995-2009. Th anks to the use of input-output tables from the WIOD project, we measure the intensity of off shoring in the sectors, as well as its decomposition into the domestic and foreign components. Th eoretical background for our analysis is rooted in recent trade-in-tasks models of international trade. Our empirical results, based on the estimation of panel data model, suggest that indeed domestic employment in EU manufacturing can be pushed down by increased off shoring. More specifi cally, low skill workers are the ones to be aff ected the most because of shrinking labour demand at home.
Common fixed point results in b-cone metric spaces over topological vector spaces

In this paper we introduce the notion of b-cone metric space over topological vector space (for short b-TVS cone metric space) and prove some common fixed point theorems in complete b-cone metric spaces over topological vector spaces. These results generalize, extend and unify several well-known recent related results in literature. 2000 Mathematics Subject Classification: 47H10, 54H25.
Antioxidant Research in Asia in the Period from 2000-2008

Problem statement: Plant antioxidants are natural plant products that inhibit the adverse effects of the Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS) produced in plants. Thus, antioxidants enable plants to survive. Depending on this principle, human beings started using some plants’ parts to cure from diseases many centuries ago, even before the discovery of microbes or disclosing the etiology of many human diseases. Shed light on the importance of diet and natural products that have proved of great health impact on human traditionally and scientifically, disclosing the central role of natural antioxidants in this matter. Moreover, this review tried to give an overview on the research has so far done in Asian countries particularly in the field of natural antioxidants during the period 2000-2008. Therefore, the aim of this review is to present a comprehensive index for the antioxidant property of herbs and plants that have been traditionally used as well as experimentally proved beneficial in these countries. Approach: We had compared Asian and other nation's diet in the popularity of the traditional medicine and the type of daily meal in respect to their antioxidants contents and valuable health promoting effects. Many literatures had been collected using online search engines and the main library of University Putra Malaysia. The gathered data had been arranged alphabetically in a table depending on the plant’s scientific name, common name, the used part(s) and the family name. Results: The research had shown that there were seventy-six plants with proved antioxidant activity which had been well studied by Asian scientists in the chosen period of time. Conclusion: The antioxidant components of the natural products constitute the major source of human health promotion and maintenance. The nature is still the perfect source for health promotion and for the supplementation of safe drugs. Great attention is mandatory from all the scientists around the world to explore many underestimated plants with highly effective antioxidant activity.