Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Corporate Governance and Profitability of Listed Food and Beverages Firms in Nigeria

At its core, the goal of a firm is to create sustainable profitability. And corporate governance should work to ensure this steady increase in corporate performance. Understanding the impact of corporate governance on firm profitability has warranted a special attention over time by different fields of scientific knowledge. This study was aimed to explore the relationship between corporate governance and profitability of firms, employing eight food and beverages firms listed in the Nigerian Stock Exchange from 2004 to 2014. The data were analysed using basic descriptive and inferential statistics with Ordinary Least Square multiple regression in a panel data setting. The results revealed that at 5 per cent level of significance, board size has positive relationship with return on equity and net assets per share. However, board composition has negative relationship with return on equity but with positive association with net assets per share. Board skills and competence has negative relationship with return on equity and net assets per share, while board gender diversity results indicated positive relationship with return on equity and net assets per share. Despite the mixed results, it can be argued that the empirical results support the contention that corporate governance has a positive relationship with profitability of firms. The study recommends among other things, that Nigerian food and beverages firms should adopt effective corporate governance practice as a panacea to firm growth and survival. Further research using corporate governance processes and profitability will not only add value in explaining performance of firms, but also add value to the academic literature.
Climate and phenology: behavior of autochthonous Italian grapevine varieties in the uplands of Southern Brazil

The present study aimed to characterize the mesoclimate of the municipality of Agua Doce, Brazil, and its influence on the phenological development and thermal requirements of autochthonous Italian varieties (Vitis vinifera L). The climate data were provided by a local automatic weather station. The principal phenological stages of red varieties (Aglianico, Ancellotta, Lambrusco, Malvasia Nera, Negroamaro, Nero d’Avola, Primitivo, Sangiovese, and Rebo) and white varieties (Fiano, Garganega and Vermentino) are analyzed. Results show that the mean temperature measured during the phenological cycles from September to April were higher than the climatological average (1961 to 2012). According to the Winkler, Huglin, and Cool Night bioclimatic indexes, the region is classified as “Region II”, cold and with cool nights, respectively. The average heat summation for the phenological cycles of the varieties was 1740 GDD (205 days, 2009-2010), 1463 GDD (187 days, 2010-2011), and 1408 GDD (176 days, 2011-2012). The Lambrusco variety presented the longest phenological cycle (203 days), while Garganega presented the shortest one (178 days). The lower temperatures of Agua Doce, when compared to those in other regions where the varieties are traditionally produced, determine longer growing cycles and a shift in the timing of the phenological stages.
Vertex operators and 2-representations of quantum affine algebras

We construct 2-representations of quantum affine algebras from 2-representations of quantum Heisenberg algebras. The main tool in this construction are categorical vertex operators, which are certain complexes in a Heisenberg 2-representation that recover vertex operators after passing to the Grothendieck group. As an application we categorify the Frenkel-Kac-Segal homogeneous realization of the basic representation of (simply laced) quantum affine algebras. This gives rise to categorical actions of quantum affine (and toroidal) algebras on derived categories of coherent sheaves on Hilbert schemes of points of ALE spaces.
Outcome of Supraglottic Horizontal Laryngectomy

Introduction: Nowadays the main objective on treatment for laryngeal carcinomas is to achieve function preservation in addition to cancer cure. The Horizontal Supraglottic Laryngectomy shows adequate outcome in both. Objective: Evaluate the outcome in a group of consecutive patients undergoing HSGL. Methods: Between 1997 and 2016, 15 patients treated for supraglottic and base of the tongue Squamous Cell Carcinoma (SCC) with HSGL were retrospectively studied. Results: There were 9 patients with T2 and 6 with T3 tumors. Among these, 3 patients had clinical negative neck disease. All patients underwent HSGL. Ten patients were submitted to bilateral radical neck dissection, where as 4 patients were submitted to ipsilateral radical and contra lateral neck dissection. Adjuvant radiotherapy was given to all patients. The follow up ranged from 12 to 60 months. Five-year disease-specific survival and loco regional control were 73.3%. All patients recovered a close to normal function after the treatment. A median of 16 days (7–60) was necessary to recover a close to normal diet. Decannulation took a median of 17 days (8–65). One patient died from aspiration. There was no permanent tracheostomy or total laryngectomy for functional purposes. Conclusion: HSGL remains an adequate therapeutic alternative for supraglottic SCC. Good laryngeal function recovery is the rule.
Jellyfish decomposition at the seafloor rapidly alters biogeochemical cycling and carbon flow through benthic food‐webs

Jellyfish blooms have increased in magnitude in several locations around the world, including in fjords. While the factors that promote jellyfish blooms and the impacts of live blooms on marine ecosystems are often investigated, the post‐bloom effects from the sinking and accumulation of dead jellyfish at the seafloor remain poorly known. Here, we quantified the effect of jellyfish deposition on short‐term benthic carbon cycling dynamics in benthic cores taken from a cold and deep fjord environment. Respiration was measured and 13C‐labeled algae were used as a tracer to quantify how C‐flow through the benthic food web was affected over 5 d in the presence and absence of jellyfish carcasses. Benthic respiration rates increased rapidly (within 2 h) in the jellyfish‐amended cores, and were significantly higher than cores that were supplied with only labeled phytodetritus between 17 h and 117 h. In the cores that were supplied with only labeled phytodetritus, macrofauna dominated algal‐C uptake over the 5 d study. The addition of jellyfish caused a rapid and significant shift in C‐uptake dynamics: macrofaunal C‐uptake decreased while bacterial C‐uptake increased relative to the cores supplied with only phytodetritus. Our results suggest that the addition of jellyfish detritus to the seafloor can rapidly alter benthic biogeochemical cycling, and substantially modify C‐flow through benthic communities. If our results are representative for other areas, they suggest that jellyfish blooms may have cascading effects for benthic ecosystem functions and services when blooms senesce, such as enhanced bacterial metabolism and reduced energy transfer to upper trophic levels.
Asymptotic behaviour of the solutions of a strongly nonlinear parabolic problem

The authors consider the problem ut−div(|∇u|p−2∇u)=0 in (0,∞)×RN, u(x,0)=u0(x). They show that if N≥2 and 1 1 or N≥2, p≥2N/(N+1) then conservation of total mass holds, i.e., ∫u(t,x)dx=∫u0(x)dx. Moreover the regularizing and decay estimate for ∥u(t)∥m (1<m≤∞) is proved for u0∈Lm0 with m0≥1, which is the extension of the corresponding result for bounded domains by L. Veron [same journal (5) 1 (1979), no. 2, 171–200] to the case of whole space. Finally the finite extinction time problem is discussed for the problem in a bounded domain, extending the result by A. Bamberger [J. Funct. Anal. 24 (1977), no. 2, 148–155].
Radio structure of the blazar 1156 + 295 with sub-pc resolution

Aims. 1156+295 is a flat-spectrum quasar that is loud at both radio and gamma-ray wavelengths. Previous observations of the source revealed a radio morphology on pc to kpc scales consistent with a helical jet model. We carried out VLBA observations at centimeter and millimeter wavelengths to study the structure of the innermost jet and understand the relation between the helical structure and astrophysical processes in the central engine.
A retrospective analysis of variability of clinical presentations and brain imaging findings in children with neurocysticercosis in rural population of West Bengal

Background: Neurocysticercosis (NCC) is a common, widely prevalent parasitic infestation of the central nervous system in children of developing countries leading to neurological morbidities. Objectives: To study the variability of initial clinical presentations and brain imaging findings in children with NCC in the rural population of West Bengal. Methods: A retrospective analysis was done in the Department of Pediatric Medicine, Burdwan Medical College, Burdwan, India from August 2011 to August 2013. Results: Out of 952 admitted children with seizure, 113 children were diagnosed as having NCC (11.9%). Out of them, 62 (54.9%) were boys and 51 (45.1%) were girls. The age of presentation varied from 3 years to 12 years, with mean age 9.4 years. The commonest age of presentation was between 10 to 12 years (n=62; 54.9%). The maximum number of patients were from Burdwan district (n=72; 63.7%) followed by Birbhum (n=25; 22.1%). The commonest initial presentation with seizure (n=93; 82.3 %); partial seizure were present in 76 patients (81.7%). On brain imaging study, the commonest location of lesions was found in the parietal region (n=69; 61.1 %), the right parietal region being more common. Single lesions were found in 102 patients(90.3%). Conclusion: NCC is a major cause of neurological morbidity in children of developing nations and it should be suspected in any children presenting with a first episode of afebrile partial seizure. A screening brain imaging should be performed earlier to prevent undue mortality and morbidity. DOI: http://dx.doi. org/10.3126/ajms.v6i5. 11628 Asian Journal of Medical Sciences Vol.6(5) 2015 31-35
What favors convective aggregation and why?

The organization of convection is ubiquitous, but its physical understanding remains limited. One particular type of organization is the spatial self‐aggregation of convection, taking the form of cloud clusters, or tropical cyclones in the presence of rotation. We show that several physical processes can give rise to self‐aggregation and highlight the key features responsible for it, using idealized simulations. Longwave radiative feedbacks yield a “radiative aggregation. ” In that case, sufficient spatial variability of radiative cooling rates yields a low‐level circulation, which induces the upgradient energy transport and radiative‐convective instability. Not only do vertically integrated radiative budgets matter but the vertical profile of cooling is also crucial. Convective aggregation is facilitated when downdrafts below clouds are weak (“moisture‐memory aggregation”), and this is sufficient to trigger aggregation in the absence of longwave radiative feedbacks. These results shed some light on the sensitivity of self‐aggregation to various parameters, including resolution or domain size.
SPATIAL AND SEASONAL VARIATION IN PHYSICO-CHEMICAL PROPERTIES OF GODAVARI RIVER WATER AT AMBAD REGION , MAHARASHTRA

Of all the natural resources, water is unarguably the most essential and precious. It is the elixir of life, a precious gift of nature to mankind and millions of other species living on the earth. Water resources comprising of surface water (river and lakes), ground water, and marine and coastal waters support all living organisms including human beings. Surface Rivers have always been the lifelines of development and with the course of time have borne the impacts of development and industrialization in the form of abstractions of water besides other wastewater releases. The quality of water in any ecosystem provides significant information about the available resources for supporting life in that ecosystem. Good quality of water resources depends on a large number of physicochemical characteristics. Physico-chemical analyses of water provides a good indicator of the quality of the aquatic system and gives discrete information on the effects of pollutants (Venkatesharaju et al., 2010).
Morphofunctional analysis of the feeding apparatus in four Pomacentridae species: Dascyllus aruanus, Chromis retrofasciata, Chrysiptera biocellata and C. unimaculata

Abstract Pomacentrids display a significant biodiversity through a variety of sympatric species with various feeding habits. The use of ecomorphological methods, based on the study of skeletal and muscular structures of the feeding apparatus could result in a better understanding of the adaptive radiation of this family. Significant differences in teeth and in the shape and thickened areas of the different bones were observed. The strongest structures occur in species which had teeth characteristic of suction feeding, and the weakest structures in species with biting teeth.
Immersion Freezing of Kaolinite: Scaling with Particle Surface Area

AbstractThis study presents an analysis showing that the freezing probability of kaolinite particles from Fluka scales exponentially with particle surface area for different atmospherically relevant particle sizes. Immersion freezing experiments were performed at the Leipzig Aerosol Cloud Interaction Simulator (LACIS). Size-selected kaolinite particles with mobility diameters of 300, 700, and 1000 nm were analyzed with one particle per droplet. First, it is demonstrated that immersion freezing is independent of the droplet volume. Using the mobility analyzer technique for size selection involves the presence of multiply charged particles in the quasi-monodisperse aerosol, which are larger than singly charged particles. The fractions of these were determined using cloud droplet activation measurements. The development of a multiple charge correction method has proven to be essential for deriving ice fractions and other quantities for measurements in which the here-applied method of size selection is used.
Accelerating the Academic Achievement of Students Referred to Developmental Education. CCRC Working Paper No. 30.

Acceleration, which involves the reorganization of instruction and curricula in ways that facilitate the completion of academic requirements in an expedited manner, is an increasingly popular strategy at community colleges for improving the outcomes of developmental education students. This paper reviews the literature on acceleration and considers the quality of evidence available on the effects of acceleration on student outcomes. After examining various definitions of acceleration to better understand what it is and how it works, the paper describes and categorizes the different acceleration models in use. Then, the recent empirical literature on acceleration is reviewed to assess the effectiveness of these approaches. While the empirical basis for acceleration is not as strong as is desirable, existing evidence suggests that there are a variety of models of course redesign and mainstreaming that community colleges can employ to enhance student outcomes. The paper closes with a discussion of the challenges involved in implementing acceleration strategies and recommendations for policy, practice, and research.
Liquid Chromatography in Studying Lipophylicity and Bioactivity of Pesticides

During the past decades the interest of new bioactive compounds for applications in medicine or agriculture has increased dramatically (Gocan & Cimpan, 2005; Kaliszan, 1987; Kaliszan, 1992; Krieger et al., 2001; Lipinski et al, 2001; Nasal et al., 2003; Sangster, 1997). Physicochemical properties of new bioactive compounds like pesticides, such as solubility, lipophylicity (hydrophobicity), stability and acid-base character, should be determined in the early stages of development. These properties affect absorption, distribution and transport of xenobiotics in biological systems. The hydrophobic effect is assumed to be one of the driving forces for the passive transport of xenobiotics through bio-membranes and to a certain degree responsible for interactions with receptor. The expressions “lipophylicity” and “hydrophobicity” are frequently used as synonymous, but in scientific use their meaning should be distinguished. According to IUPAC suggestions (Pliska et al., 1996) hydrophobicity means the association of nonpolar species in aqueous environment arising from the tendency of water to exclude nonpolar molecules. Lipophylicity as a measure of relative affinity of a molecule for a lipophylic environment has a broader meaning than hydrophobicity because may be connected with polar interactions. Lipophylicity as a property determining biological activity of substance was firstly recognized by Overton, Meyer and Baum (Kaliszan, 1987; Kaliszan, 1992). During the time hundreds of articles, among them some review papers, of lipophylic properties of different bioactive compounds in medicine, agriculture or environmental chemistry have appeared (Heberger, 2007; Kah & Brown, 2008; Komsta et al., 2010; Poole & Poole, 2003; Valko, 2004; Wang et al., 1999; Sherma, 2003). Lipophylicity is commonly measured by solute distribution in biphasic liquid system and universal lipophylicity scale is formed by the logarithms of partition coefficients (log P) in the case of neutral species or distribution ratio (log D) for ionisable compounds (Kah & Brown, 2008; Pliska et al., 1996). In early seventies octanol-water was proposed as reference system for lipophylicity measurements and to this day it remains as a standard for experimental and theoretical investigations. Due to experimental limitations connected with direct measurements of log P (log D) parameters by shake-flask method, chromatographic techniques are getting more and more popular in studying lipophilic properties of organic substances. Though partition parameters produce more universal scale of lipophylicity,
Molecules as tracers of galaxy evolution: an EMIR survey I. Presentation of the data and first results

Aims. We investigate the molecular gas properties of a sample of 23 galaxies in order to find and test chemical signatures of galaxy evolution and to compare them to IR evolutionary tracers. Methods. Observation at 3 mm wavelengths were obtained with the EMIR broadband receiver, mounted on the IRAM 30 m telescope on Pico Veleta, Spain. We compare the emission of the main molecular species with existing models of chemical evolution by means of line intensity ratios diagrams and principal component analysis. Results. We detect molecular emission in 19 galaxies in two 8 GHz-wide bands centred at 88 and 112 GHz. The main detected molecules are CO, (CO)-C-13, HCN, HNC, HCO+, CN, and C2H. We also detect HC3N J = 10-9 in the galaxies IRAS 17208, IC 860, NGC 4418, NGC 7771, and NGC 1068. The only HC3N detections are in objects with HCO+/HCN 0.8). The brightest HC3N emission is found in IC 860, where we also detect the molecule in its vibrationally excited state. We find low HNC/HCN line ratios (<0.5), that cannot be explained by existing PDR or XDR chemical models. The intensities of HCO+ and HNC appear anti-correlated. No correlation is found between the HNC/HCN line ratio and dust temperature. All HNC-bright objects are either luminous IR galaxies (LIRG) or Seyferts. Galaxies with bright polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) emission show low HNC/HCO+ ratios. The CO/(CO)-C-13 ratio is positively correlated with the dust temperature and is generally higher than in our galaxy. The emission of CN and (CO)-O-18 is correlated. Conclusions. Bright HC3N emission in HCO+-faint objects may imply that these are not dominated by X-ray chemistry. Thus the HCN/HCO+ line ratio is not, by itself, a reliable tracer of XDRs. Bright HC3N and faint HCO+ could be signatures of embedded star-formation, instead of AGN activity. Mechanical heating caused by supernova explosions may be responsible for the low HNC/HCN and high HCO+/HCN ratios in some starbursts. We cannot exclude, however, that the discussed trends are largely caused by optical depth effects or excitation. Chemical models alone cannot explain all properties of the observed molecular emission. Better constraints to the gas spacial distribution and excitation are needed to distinguish abundance and excitation effects.
Tectonic calibrations in molecular dating

Molecular dating techniques require the use of calibrations, which are usually fossil or geological vicariance-based. Fossil calibrations have been criticised because they result only in minimum age estimates. Based on a historical biogeographic perspective, I suggest that vicariance-based calibrations are more dangerous. Almost all analytical methods in historical biogeog- raphy are strongly biased towards inferring vicariance, hence vicariance identified through such methods is unreliable. Other studies, especially of groups found on Gondwanan fragments, have simply assumed vicariance. Although it was previously be- lieved that vicariance was the predominant mode of speciation, mounting evidence now indicates that speciation by dispersal is common, dominating vicariance in several groups. Moreover, the possibility of speciation having occurred before the said geo- logical event cannot be precluded. Thus, geological calibrations can under- or overestimate times, whereas fossil calibrations al- ways result in minimum estimates. Another major drawback of vicariant calibrations is the problem of circular reasoning when the resulting estimates are used to infer ages of biogeographic events. I argue that fossil-based dating is a superior alternative to vicariance, primarily because the strongest assumption in the latter, that speciation was caused by the said geological process, is more often than not the most tenuous. When authors prefer to use a combination of fossil and vicariant calibrations, one sugges- tion is to report results both with and without inclusion of the geological constraints. Relying solely on vicariant calibrations should be strictly avoided (Current Zoology 57 (1): 116-124, 2011).