Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Factors that determine the corporate image of South African banking institutions : an exploratory investigation

The view that a visually appealing corporate identity is the most important contributor to a good corporate image is a myth. The process of corporate image formation is regulated by the corporate personality which consists of three groups of elements: conscious behavioural identity cues, such as customer service; need‐satisfying products or services; and visual cues, such as the corporate name, logo, and slogan. Makes a major assumption that a visual design cue, such as a corporate logo, recalls impressions or perceptions in the minds of audiences. These perceptions are based on corporate behaviour which constitutes an overall corporate image. Perceptions measured through a semantic differential subsequently revealed that the following factors contribute to the corporate image of South African banking institutions: dynamism, credibility/stability, customer service, and visual identity. The research results therefore confirmed the assumption that corporate behaviour and corporate visual identity contribute.
ON A NEW GENERALIZATION OF THE EXPONENTIAL DISTRIBUTION

This paper introduces a two-parameter family of distri- butions which includes the ordinary exponential distribution as a special case. This distribution exhibits monotone hazard rate and may be a competitor to the families of two parameter gamma and Weibull distributions. Various statistical and reliability aspects of this model is explored. Several numerical examples based on real data show the ∞exibility of the new distribution for modeling proposes.
EXPERIMENTAL STUDY TO EVALUATE THE HYDRAULIC PERFORMANCE OF BASTORA DAM STEPPED SPILLWAY

This study aims to evaluate the performance of proposed design for Bastora dam stepped spillway project. Experiments are conducted on a physical model, which is constructed at the laboratory of hydraulic engineering/ college of engineering/ Salahaddin University, ErbilIraq using an appropriate scale to avoid potential effects governing the model. The evaluation includes determining the flow regime passing the structure, length to and flow depth at the inception point, the efficiency of the structure to dissipate the energy at the toe, the height of side wall required for both the spillway chute and stilling basin at the downstream of the spillway and discharge coefficient. The results presented in the design report are compared with those measured/determined in this study and the design formulae of stepped spillway available in the literature. Although the comparisons show few discrepancies between the results, especially in terms of the energy dissipation rate and chute side wall dimension, the design report can be said acceptable and reliable.
Modeling Solidification Phenomena in the Continuous Casting of Carbon Steels

In recent years the quest for advanced steel quality satisfying more stringent specifications by time has forced research in the development of advanced equipment for the improvement of the internal structure of the continuously cast steels. A relatively important role has played the better understanding of the solidification phenomena that occur during the final stages of the solidification. Dynamic soft-reduction machines have been placed in industrial practice with top-level performance. Nevertheless, the numerical solution of the governing heat-transfer differential equation under the proper initial and boundary conditions continues to play the paramount role for the fundamental approach of the whole solidification process. Steel properties are critical upon the solidification behaviour. Different chemical analyses of carbon steels alter the solidus and liquidus temperatures and therefore influence the calculated results. Shell growth, local cooling rates and solidification times, solid fraction, and secondary dendrite arm-spacing are some important metallurgical parameters that need to be ultimately computed for specific steel grades once the heat transfer problem is solved.
Applications of the hyperbolic

In 2014, Pila and Tsimerman gave a proof of the Ax-Schanuel conjecture for the jfunction and, with Mok, have recently announced a proof of its generalization to any (pure) Shimura variety. We refer to this generalization as the hyperbolic Ax-Schanuel conjecture. In this article, we show that the hyperbolic Ax-Schanuel conjecture can be used to reduce the Zilber-Pink conjecture for Shimura varieties to a problem of point counting. We further show that this point counting problem can be tackled in a number of cases using the PilaWilkie counting theorem and several arithmetic conjectures. Our methods are inspired by previous applications of the Pila-Zannier method and, in particular, the recent proof by Habegger and Pila of the Zilber-Pink conjecture for curves in abelian varieties. MSC classification (2010): 11G18, 14G35.
Effects of a 1-Blockade on the Forearm Vascular Resistance Responses to Lower Body Negative Pressure in Young Borderline

To determine whether a1-blockade affects the forearm vascular resistance responses to lower body negative pressure (LBNP) in borderline hypertensives, six hypertensives (HTN; mean arterial pressure [MAP] 5 109.9 6 1.7 mm Hg, mean 6 SE) and seven normotensives (NTN; MAP 5 81.5 6 1.4 mm Hg) underwent exposures of LBNP at pressures of 210, 220, and 240 mm Hg during systemic a1-receptor blockade (BLK) and during placebo (PLA). Resting forearm vascular resistance (FVR) was greater in HTN than in NTN during PLA (34.8 6 5.4 v 17.5 6 3.1 units; P < .05), but not during BLK (28.1 6 5.2 v 25.3 6 9.9 units). When expressed as a percentage of resting FVR, LBNP evoked an increased FVR (P < .001) that did not differ significantly between BLK and PLA in either group. FVR was higher (P < .001) in HTN than in NTN throughout both trials; at 240 mm Hg of LBNP during BLK, the increase in FVR was greater (P < .05) in HTN than in NTN (131 6 42 v 48 6 15%). MAP (relative to resting) was maintained throughout LBNP during PLA but, at 240 mm Hg, was lower (P < .01) during BLK for both groups. HR was elevated in BLK and was increased at 240 mm Hg (P < .01) for each group in each trial. This increase was greater during BLK (P < .05). These data suggest that borderline hypertensives have a greater vasoconstrictor response to LBNP than do normotensives and a1blockade does not appear to attenuate this response. Am J Hypertens 1997;10:893–898 © 1997 American Journal of Hypertension, Ltd.
P OLLEN REMOVAL AND DEPOSITION BY POLLEN-AND NECTAR-COLLECTING SPECIALIST AND GENERALIST BEE VISITORS TO I LIAMNA BAKERI ( M ALVACEAE )

Up to 60% of the bee species of a region are oligolectic; they collect pollen only from a closely related group of plants though nectar-collecting choices are often broader. Bee specialists are expected to be superior to generalists in gathering pollen from their host plants and perhaps in transferring pollen to host stigmas. We used the oligolege Diadasia nitidifrons and its pollen-host Iliamna bakeri to ask if specialists 1) were more efficient than generalists as pollen-collectors; 2) deposited more pollen on stigmas than generalists; and 3) if pollen-collectors removed and deposited more pollen than did nectar-collectors. We found support for the first and third hypotheses. Diadasia pollenand nectar-collectors removed more pollen per flower-visit than did their primary generalist competitors (Agapostemon spp.). The superior pollen-gathering efficiency of Diadasia exceeded differences that might be attributed to size: although Agapostemon females are, on average, 12.5% smaller than Diadasia females, pollen-collecting Agapostemon left 22.9% more pollen in flowers than did Diadasia. We found no difference between taxa in time spent foraging on a single flower. Diadasia and Agapostemon pollen-collectors deposited significantly more pollen on I. bakeri stigmas than did nectar-collectors; there was no difference between taxa in pollen deposition. Diadasia was superior to generalists as a pollinator in two ways: Diadasia was 1) a more reliable presence in I. bakeri populations; and 2) always most abundant at I. bakeri flowers. The association between D. nitidifrons and I. bakeri appears to be another example of a highly specialised bee affiliated with an unspecialised host-plant.
A comparison of fertility with a Cosynch protocol versus a modified Ovsynch protocol which included estradiol in lactating dairy cows during the summer season in Jordan

A total of 332 postpartum (pp) lactating Friesian cows allocated in two treatment groups at a commercial dairy farm were used to study the effect of a modified Ovsynch protocol supplemented with exogenous estradiol (E2) on fertility in lactating dairy cows during the summer season. All cows were injected with gonadotrophin releasing hormone (GnRH), followed 7 days later by an injection of prostaglandin (PGF2α). Then cows were randomly assigned to receive GnRH and TAI 72 h after PGF2α (CO-72; control group) or E2, GnRH and TAI at 48, 56 and 72 h, respectively after PGF2α (OV-56+E2). Estrus response for cows in the OV-56+E2 (59.8%) group was higher (P < 0.05) than for cows in the CO-72 (40.2%) group. Pregnancy per insemination (P/AI) at two diagnoses (days 30 to 35 and confirmed at days 45 to 50 after AI) were similar between the two treatment groups, but were higher (P < 0.05) for cows that showed estrus (59.8 and 41.2%, respectively) than for cows that did not show estrus (45.5 and 7.9%, respectively). Moreover, P/AI at the two diagnoses were higher (P < 0.05) for cows with a body condition score (BCS) >2.5 (60.1 and 36.4%, respectively) compared to those with BCS <2.5 (44.3 and 16.5%, respectively). Pregnancy losses were higher (P < 0.05) for cows that did not show estrus (82.6%) or with BCS <2.5 (62.8%) than for cows that showed estrus (31.0%) or with a BCS >2.5 (39.5%). No differences were observed in P/AI or pregnancy losses between primiparous and multiparous cows. Results indicate that the OV-56+E2 synchronization protocol resulted in a higher expression of estrus than the CO-72 without improving fertility as measured by P/AI and pregnancy losses. However, cows with high BCS had higher estrus expression, pregnancy rates, and lower pregnancy losses than cows with low BCS during the summer season.
Screening for Genetically Modified Maize in Raw and Processed Foods Sold Commercially in Southern Nigeria Boarder States

Genetically Modified (GM) foods hold the key to ending hunger and malnutrition in Africa. Due to the increasing number of GMOs cultivation and delay in the approval of biosafety law in Nigeria, it has become necessary to screen maize products in order to determine the identity of the consumed daily foodstuffs. In this study, DNA extraction from raw and processed maize foods sold commercially in Sourthen Nigeria was carried out using the cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) method, followed by qualitative PCR to detect genetically modified maize. The recombinant DNA target sequences were detected with primers highly specific for each investigated transgene such as CAMV35S, nopaline synthase (NOS) terminator, Bt-176 and NK603 genes separately. Certified reference materials were used as positive controls while 2008-DTMA-W-STR Federal University of Agriculture Abeokuta (FUNAAB) organic maize grains and absence of template DNA, served as negative control. Based on the gel electrophoresis results, Bt- 176 maize event for insect resistance was detected in two samples, with 420 bp and, the NK603 Maize event for herbicide tolerance was detected in 3 samples, with 320 bp fragments. The GM-positive samples were found in 4 imported raw maize samples, 4 cereal food brands (2 manufactured in Nigeria, 2 imported) and 3 imported canned corn brands. The results confirm that Nigerians are already consuming GM maize, despite the absence of a biosafety law.
EFFECT OF TAXES ON CORPORATE FINANCING DECISIONS AND FIRM VALUE IN NIGERIA 1 BY

The study sets out to measure how the taxation of dividend and debt affects firm value. Tax hypothesis predicts that firm value is negatively related to dividends and positively related to debt. The study covered 1197 firm-year observations of manufacturing firms in Nigeria from 1984 to 2000. To achieve the objective, the study estimated the model on the average values for each firm and tested for industry effects using the ordinary least square (OLS) method. We found the opposite of tax hypotheses predictions from the regression results. We hypothesized that the relationship between dividends, debt and firm value will be affected by the size of the firm. We therefore partitioned the firms into two on the basis of size measured as market capitalization. We estimated separate equations for each sub-sample and found positive relationship between dividend and firm value and negative relationship between debt and firm value in both small-sized firms and big firms’ sub-sample. The study concludes that dividend and debt convey information about profitability of firms. This information about firms’ profitability obscures any tax effect of financing decisions. However, we found that earnings and investment are key determinants of firm value in Nigeria. 1.1 The Problem Tax constitutes a potentially important consideration in firms’ financing decisions. If a company is financed by debt capital, there will be tax relief available on interest payments. Alternatively, if the company is financed with shareholders’ fund (that is equity capital), then dividend will be paid on the equity from the profit after tax, which will in turn give rise to a liability for personal income tax. 1 The author acknowledges the comments and supervision of the work by Prof. Ademola Ariyo as well as financial support from The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN). The finding, interpretations, views, conclusions and policy suggestions are those of the author. Any flaws in the study remain the author’s express responsibility. 2 Lecturer in Accounting and Finance, Dept. of Economics, University of Ibadan. All correspondence to Dept. of Economics, University of Ibadan. Ibadan. Nigeria. e-mail:olatundunja@hotmail.com
THE EFFECT OF MONETARY POLICY ON FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE OF THE COMMERCIAL BANKS LISTED ON THE NAIROBI SECURITIES EXCHANGE

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to establish the effect of monetary policy on the financial performance of commercial banks listed in the Nairobi securities Exchange in Kenya Methodology : The study adopted a descriptive survey of the commercial banks listed on the NSE. The total population consisted of all 11 commercial banks listed on the NSE as at 30 June 2015. Since the population of the study was small, the study used secondary data which was readily available from both the Central Bank of Kenya and the Nairobi Securities Exchange. All the listed commercial banks were included hence a census study. Results: The findings from the study confirmed that monetary policy tools such as CBR, CRR and OMO had varying degrees of relationship with the financial performance of the commercial banks listed on the NSE. The study also revealed that OMO rates positively influenced returns of the listed commercial banks at the NSE . This study also established that OMO rates were positively correlated with the financial performance of the commercial banks listed on the NSE while the Central bank rate and the CRR rate negatively influenced the financial performance of commercial banks listed on the NSE. Unique contribution to theory, practice and policy : This study therefore recommended that the Country should handle its macroeconomic policies appropriately as the changes in the macroeconomics like CBR, CRR and OMO bring about devaluation of the currency and affect the performance of the commercial banks listed in NSE.
A noise reduction approach based on Stein's unbiased risk estimate

This paper proposes a new wavelet-based shrinkage function for 1D signal noise reduction. This shrinkage function adopts the intrascale correlations between wavelet coefficients and exploits Stein's unbiased risk estimator to achieve the optimal parameter. Unlike the methods based upon Bayes estimators, the proposed method does not use any prior hypotheses on wavelet coefficients. Experiments performed on simulated signals clearly indicate that our method outperforms conventional noise reduction methods in the sense of the signal-to-noise ratio.
CAKE FLOUR: FUNCTIONALITY AND QUALITY (REVIEW)

Many components are used in the production of cakes such as flour, water, sugar, milk, salt, leavening agent, flavors, additives and other food are allowed in the specifications. The quality and quantity of these components are important and influence on the properties of the final product as well as the stability of quality during shelf life. The most important factor in cakes making is the availability of soft wheat flour and the proportions of its components (8%) protein, gluten quality, strength and ash contents nearly (0.4 %). After mixing of cake flour and other ingredients form dough which accomplished to retain the leaved gas to reach the final soft structure of crumb and crust, volume, flavor and other quality parameters of cakes.
Human-wildlife conflict in Zegie Peninsula (Ethiopia) with emphasis on grivet monkey (Cercopithecus aethiops aethiops)

Data on conflict between human and wildlife in Zegie Peninsula were collected during July, 2008-April, 2009. Face-to-face questionnaire, census of wild animals, direct estimation of crop damage by wild animals and faecal analysis of grivet monkeys were the components of the study. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics; Chi-square test and one-way ANOVA. Crop loss in 2007/2008 harvest year was 26.78%. Damage estimation of ripened crops in the field by wild animals was equivalent to about 13,000 Ethiopian Birr per day in the study area (1150 ha). There was no significant difference in damage among crops (F = 0.147, df = 3, 16, P > 0.05) and damage in different habitats (F =1.41, df = 4, 15, P > 0.05). Among the faecal samples of grivet monkeys, 34.28% had the seeds of citrus fruits. Wild animals were killed in response to the damage they cause to crops or for consumption. Trees were cut down and sold to support livelihood. The estimated population of grivets in the study area was 1157, which is about one grivet monkey/ha. Grivet population was not significantly different between the wet and dry seasons (x 2 = 0.44, df =1, P > 0.05). But there was a significant difference in the population of grivets among habitats (F = 5.36, df = 4, 15, P 2 = 5.6, df =1, P < 0.05). Grivet monkey, squirrel, porcupine and bushpig were the four major pest mammals in the area. Leopard, duiker and hares were minor pests.
The landscape context of the Antonine Wall: a review of the literature

The landscape, environmental and land use changes before, during and after Antonine occupation are examined for the region of central Scotland between the Southern Uplands and the Grampian Highlands, principally from the published literature. The purpose is to synthesize and make available a range of new palaeoenvironmental data, to evaluate critically these new data-sets, to search for significant shifts in landscape or land use and to characterize their timings and effects, thus placing the Antonine occupation in a coherent landscape context. It is established that economic expansion in the region occurred in the later Iron Age, demonstrably before Roman military occupation. This expansion developed from Bronze Age and earlier Iron Age small-scale farms and gathered pace in the last cal 200–300 years BC, for crop growing as well as pasture, and was continued rather than intensified in the first two centuries cal AD. It is difficult to see differences in this economic expansion north and south of the Antonine Wall itself, or east and west of the Forth–Clyde isthmus, but it is tentatively suggested that in the foothills of the Southern Uplands the Romans entered a landscape already decaying. Roman influence is perhaps recognizable at some localities in a reduction of cereal production and the expansion of grazed pasture, assumed to represent a restructuring of the native economy to support a new market. It is presumed that imports of foodstuffs continued to be important to Roman forces during Antonine occupation, although possible reconstructions of the sediments in the Forth and Clyde estuaries suggest these may not have provided ideal harbours. There is little evidence that this increased pastoral economy imposed stresses on soils or plant communities, and the market seems to have been readily supplied within the agricultural capacity of the landscape. Nevertheless, the native economy was probably artificially buoyed by the Roman presence, and withdrawal eventually led to what is best described as an agricutural recession, not population collapse.
Absolute absorption spectroscopy based on molecule interferometry

We propose a method to measure the absolute photon absorption cross section of neutral molecules in a molecular beam. It is independent of our knowledge of the particle beam density, nor does it rely on photoinduced fragmentation or ionization. The method is based on resolving the recoil resulting from photon absorption by means of near-field matter-wave interference, and it thus applies even to very dilute beams with low optical densities. Our discussion includes the possibility of internal state conversion as well as fluorescence. We assess the influence of various experimental uncertainties and show that the measurement of absolute absorption cross sections is conceivable with high precision and using existing technologies.
Distributional boundary values and the tempered ultra-distributions

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Additions to the Turkish Discomycetes

In this study, Mollisia ventosa P.Karst. , Hymenoscyphus herbarum (Pers.) Dennis, H. immutabilis (Fuckel) Dennis, H. robustior (P.Karst.) Dennis, Ciboria amentacea (Balb.) Fuckel, and Peziza fimeti (Fuckel) E.C. Hansen have been recorded in Turkey for the first time. Comments on their morphological and anatomical features, geographical position, locality, collection date, and distribution and short descriptions and photographs related to macro- and micromorphologies of the taxa are provided.
Electrodynamic Coupling in the Solar Wind-Magnetosphere-Ionosphere System ∗

This paper presents a brief summary of our recent work based on global MHD simulations of the Solar wind-Magnetosphere-Ionosphere (SMI) system with emphasis on the electrodynamic coupling in the system. The main conclusions obtained are summarized as follows. (1) As a main dynamo of the SMI system, the bow shock contributes to both region 1 Field-Aligned Current (FAC) and cross-tail current. Under strong interplanetary driving conditions and moderate Alfven Mach numbers, the bow shock's contribution may exceed more than fifty percent of the total of either region 1 or cross-tail currents. (2) In terms of more than 100 simulation runs with due southward Interplanetary Magnetic Field (IMF), we have found a combined parameter f = EswPswM − 1/2 A (Esw, Psw ,a ndMA are the solar wind electric field, ram pressure, and Alfven Mach number, respectively): both the ionospheric transpolar potential and the magnetopause reconnection voltage vary linearly with f for small f , but saturate for large f . ( 3) The reconnection voltage is approximately fitted by sin 3/2 (θIMF/2), where θIMF is the IMF clock angle. The ionospheric transpolar potential, the voltage along the polar cap boundary, and the electric fields along the merging line however defined they may be, respond differently to θIMF, so it is not justified to take them as substitutes for the reconnection voltage. Keywords Earth's magnetosphere, Ionosphere, Electrodynamic coupling, Numerical simulation