Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Fast simulators for satellite cloud optical centroid pressure retrievals; evaluation of OMI cloud retrievals

Abstract. The cloud Optical Centroid Pressure (OCP) is a satellite-derived parameter that is commonly used in trace-gas retrievals to account for the effects of clouds on near-infrared through ultraviolet radiance measurements. Fast simulators are desirable to further expand the use of cloud OCP retrievals into the operational and climate communities for applications such as data assimilation and evaluation of cloud vertical structure in general circulation models. In this paper, we develop and validate fast simulators that provide estimates of the cloud OCP given a vertical profile of optical extinction. We use a pressure-weighting scheme where the weights depend upon optical parameters of clouds and/or aerosols. A cloud weighting function is easily extracted using this formulation. We then use fast simulators to compare two different satellite cloud OCP retrievals, from the Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI), with estimates based on collocated cloud extinction profiles from a combination of CloudSat radar and MODIS visible radiance data. These comparisons are made over a wide range of conditions to provide a comprehensive validation of the OMI cloud OCP retrievals. We find generally good agreement between OMI cloud OCPs and those predicted by CloudSat. However, the OMI cloud OCPs from the two independent algorithms agree better with each other than either does with the estimates from CloudSat/MODIS. Differences between OMI cloud OCPs and those based on CloudSat/MODIS may result from undetected snow/ice at the surface, cloud 3-D effects, cases of low clouds obscurred by ground-clutter in CloudSat observations and by opaque high clouds in CALIPSO lidar observations, and the fact that CloudSat/CALIPSO only observes a relatively small fraction of an OMI field-of-view.
Mid‐infrared study of stones from the Sutter's Mill meteorite

The Sutter's Mill meteorite fell in northern California on April 22, 2012. Several fragments of the meteorite were recovered, some of them shortly after the fall, others several days later after a heavy rainstorm. In this work, we analyzed several samples of four fragments―SM2, SM12, SM20, and SM30―from the Sutter's Mill meteorite with two infrared (IR) microscopes operating in the 4000–650 cm−1 (2.5–15.4 μm) range. Spectra show absorption features associated with minerals such as olivines, phyllosilicates, carbonates, and possibly pyroxenes, as well as organics. Spectra of specific minerals vary from one particle to another within a given stone, and even within a single particle, indicating a nonuniform mineral composition. Infrared features associated with aliphatic CH2 and CH3 groups associated with organics are also seen in several spectra. However, the presence of organics in the samples studied is not clear because these features overlap with carbonate overtone bands. Finally, other samples collected within days after the rainstorm show evidence for bacterial terrestrial contamination, which indicates how quickly meteorites can be contaminated on such small scales.
A Knowledge System Approach to the Multinational Company: Conceptual Grounding and Implications for Research

The role of knowledge, organizational learning and innovation as levers of competitive advantage is now a commonly acknowledged insight in research in international management, specifically in the emerging ‘knowledge-based view’. However, this view has not yet developed into a unifying framework and there are significant holes in the understanding of how knowledge may be turned into a source of competitive advantage for MNCs. In order to advance the knowledge-based view of the MNC – and particularly of the metanational company – we develop the notion of the MNC as a global knowledge system that links local knowledge structures and combines local knowledge elements that are complementary in order to achieve strategic advantage. These ideas are used to frame the changing environments, strategic intents and learning stances that characterize MNCs, and to derive a set of research challenges for MNC research.
The Use of Nonstationary Panel Time Series Data in the Analysis of Farmland Values ∗

Time-series methods based on panel data are used to increase the power of conventional econometric tests of present value models commonly applied to studies of asset valuation. A second contribution is to allow for the presence of frictions in farmland markets by allowing for threshold nonlinearities in the empirical model. Using countylevel data on Iowa farmland prices and cash rental rates between 1987 and 2010, panel data unit root models that allow for switching-regimes provide evidence in favor of the present value models. In one regime, where a threshold in the spread between rents and values is yet to be reached, deviations are persistent and contribute to drive land prices away from their intrinsic values. Conversely, the other regime is characterized by strong mean reversion in which market valuation becomes closer to fundamental determinants of values.
COMBINING ABILITY ANALYSIS OF SOME YIELD CHARACTERS OF SUNFLOWER (Helianthus annuus L.) / ANÁLISIS DE APTITUD COMBINATORIA DE ALGUNAS CARACTERÍSTICAS DE RENDIMIENTO DE GIRASOL (Helianthus annuus L.) / ANALYSE DES APTITUDES COMBINATOIRES DE QUELQUES CARACTÉRISTIQUES DE RENDEMENT DU TOURNESOL (Heliant

SUMMARY The experiments comprising 25 sunflower hybrids were conducted in three locations in 2000 and 2001. These hybrids were evaluated for combining ability of 6 important yield components. Based on observations in this research, the average flowering duration of the hybrids ranged from 69.6 to 71.8 days, physiological maturity from 98.7 to 104.2 days, hectoliter weight from 355.2 to 408.5 g, 1000-seed weight from 32.5 to 43.5 g, plant height from 98.3 to 134.3 cm and head diameter from 12.6 to 14.0 cm. Based on all combining ability analyses performed in this research, the cross 2453-A × R-1001 was determined as the best hybrid in the experiment. Among the parental lines, HA89-A and 2644-R were chosen as first female and male testers, respectively; BAH8-A and 2280-R were chosen as second testers for testing combining ability of lines for use in future breeding programs in sunflower. RESUMEN Los ensayos con 25 híbridos de girasol, se realizaron en tres ubicaciones, en los anos 2000 y 2001. Esos híbridos fueron evaluados a la aptitud de combinación para 6 componentes de rendimiento importantes. Sobre la base de las observaciones realizadas, fue determinado que la duración de floración promedia era desde 69,6 hasta 71,8 días, la madurez fisiológica desde 98,7 hasta 104,2 días, el peso hectolítrico desde 355,2 hasta 408,5 g, el peso de 1000 granos desde 32,5 hasta 43,5 g, la altura de la planta desde 98,3 hasta 134,3 cm y el diámetro del capítulo desde 12,6 hasta 14,0 cm. Sobre la base del análisis de aptitud de combinación realizado, el cruzamiento 2453-A × R-1001 fue evaluado como el mejor híbrido en el ensayo. Entre las líneas parentales, HA89-A y 2644-R fueron elegidos como los primeros testers femeninos y masculinos, mientras que BAH8-A y 2280-R como segundos testers para la prueba de la aptitud de combinación en los futuros programas de selección de girasol. RÉSUMÉ Des expériences comprenant 25 hybrides de tournesol ont été effectuées dans trois localités en 2000 et 2001. L’aptitude combinatoire de ces hybrides a été évaluée pour six composants de rendement importants. Les observations effectuées ont établi que la durée moyenne de la floraison était de 69,6 à 71,8 jours, la maturité physiologique de 98,7 à 104,2 jours, le poids d’hectolitre de 355,2 à 408,5 g, le poids de 1000 graines de 32,5 à 43,5 g, la hauteur de la plante de 98,3 à 134,3 cm et le diamètre de la tête de 12,6 à 14,0 cm. L’analyse des aptitudes combinatoires a évalué le croisement 2453-A x R- 1001 comme étant le meilleur hybride de l’expérience. Parmi les lignes parentales, HA89-A et 2644-R ont été choisis comme premiers testeurs mâle et femelle et BAH8-A et 2280-R comme deuxièmes testeurs pour l’analyse des aptitudes combinatoires dans les futurs programmes de sélection du tournesol.
The Impact of Enquiry-Based Learning on Academic Performance and Student Engagement

Previously, we reported qualitative fi ndings showing that students who experienced a problem- or enquiry-based course (EBL) in a fi rst-year seminar program had greater confi dence in their academic abilities, were more engaged, and were better prepared for upper-year courses. In the current paper, we provide quantitative data to substantiate the students’ qualitative conclusions. We present results to show that these students do perform at a signifi cantly higher level compared with members of the control group who did not experience an EBL course. Using survey data, we show that the EBL students shift the way they access information compared with peers: they preferentially use more sophisticated resources for research. At the same time, students report greater engagement in the community, and student engagement is known to contribute to increased academic performance. RESUME Dans un article precedent, nous avons rapporte les resultats de nos analyses qualitatives, qui demontraient que les etudiants inscrits dans un programme de premiere annee utilisant une methode d’apprentissage par explication ou par l’action (enquiry-based learning ou EBL) avaient une plus grande confi ance en leurs capacites scolaires, etaient plus engages socialement et se sentaient mieux prepares pour les cours de niveau superieur. Dans l’article qui suit, nous presentons des donnees quantitatives pour justifi er les conclusions subjectives des etudiants. Nos donnees demontrent une performance nettement plus elevee de ces etudiants que ceux du groupe temoin, qui n’employaient pas la methode d’apprentissage par l’action. Grâce aux donnees recueillies a meme le sondage, nous demontrons que les etudiants du groupe dont l’apprentissage
PENGARUH LABA, ARUS KAS BEBAS DAN PEMBAYARAN DIVIDEN KAS SEBELUMNYA TERHADAP DIVIDEN KAS YANG DITERIMA OLEH PEMEGANG SAHAM (STUDI PADA PERUSAHAAN MANUFAKTUR TERDAFTAR DI BURSA EFEK INDONESIA)

PENGARUH LABA, ARUS KAS BEBAS DAN PEMBAYARAN DIVIDEN KAS SEBELUMNYA TERHADAP DIVIDEN KAS YANG DITERIMA OLEH PEMEGANG SAHAM (STUDI PADA PERUSAHAAN MANUFAKTUR TERDAFTAR DI BURSA EFEK INDONESIA)
Determinants of Bank Profitability: Evidence from Syria

This study investigates the determinants of bank profitability in the Syrian banking sector. It seeks to identify significant bank-specific, industry-specific, and macroeconomic determinants of bank profitability in Syria. We utilize the Generalized Method of Moments (GMM) technique on unbalanced panel data set the covers the period from 2004 until 2011. The empirical results reveal that profitability persists to a moderate extent. All bank-specific determinants (liquidity risk, credit risk, bank size, and management efficiency) with the exception of bank capital, affect bank profitability significantly. However, no evidence was found in support of the Structure Conduct Performance (SCP) hypothesis, since the concentration ratio found to have no impact on bank profitability. Finally, the study shows that macroeconomic variables (inflation rate and real gross domestic product growth rate) affect bank profitability significantly.
Quantum-Spacetime Scenarios and Soft Spectral Lags of the Remarkable GRB130427A

We process the Fermi LAT data on GRB130427A using the Fermi Science Tools, and we summarize some of the key facts that render this observation truly remarkable. We then perform a search of spectral lags, of the type that has been of interest for its relevance in quantum-spacetime research. We do find some evidence of systematic soft spectral lags: when confining the analysis to photons of energies greater than 5 GeV there is an early hard development of minibursts within the burst. The effect is well characterized by a linear dependence, within such a miniburst, of the detection time on energy. We also observe that some support for these features is noticeable also in earlier Fermi-LAT GRBs. Some aspects of the comparison of these features for GRBs at different redshifts could be described within a quantum-spacetime picture, but taking into account results previously obtained by other studies we favour the interpretation as intrinsic properties of GRBs. Even if our spectral lags do turn out to have astrophysical origin their understanding will be important for quantum-spacetime research, since any attempt to reveal minute quantum-spacetime-induced spectral lags evidently requires a good understanding of intrinsic mechanisms at the sources that can produce spectral lags.
Language Proficiency and Method of Instruction as Determinant of Grade 9 Students’ Academic Performance in Algebra

Abstract This study sought to investigate language proficiency and method of teaching as determinant of grade 9 students’ academic performance in East London. A 2X2 pre-test, post-test quasi-experimental factorial design was adopted in the study. Respondents numbering 109 represent the sample for the study. The instruments adopted for the study were Language of Instruction Questionnaire (LIQ); Method of Instruction Questionnaire (MIQ) Problem Based Learning Strategies in two parts (PBLSa) and (PBLSb), Conventional Teaching Guide (C.T.G). The data were analysed using ANCOVA. The findings showed that students exposed to the PBLS achieved higher than their counterparts exposed to the Conventional method. Multiple Comparison Analysis and Tukey post-hoc were employed to detect the source of variation and the direction of significance. Hence, it is recommended that teachers need to keep abreast of current teaching methods and problem solving skills that can help to savage the downward trend in students’ performance in mathematics.
New Records of Microcystins in Some Bulgarian Water Bodies of Health and Conservational Importance

Microcystins cause acute hepatotoxicity and chronic liver tumor promotion. This study presents the results of HPLC DAD analyses and their LC-MS confirmation of samples from five Bulgarian water bodies (reservoirs Stoudena, Pchelina, Bistritsa and lakes Dourankoulak, Vaya). The total concentration of microcystins in water samples ranged from 0.1 to 26.5 μg/l. The amount of microcystins in the biomasses ranged from 11.4 to 49.6 μg/g (d.w.). The high percent of positive samples in which the most toxic microcystin-LR is recorded, can serve as a strong alarm for the necessity of a serious study and relevant discussion of the problem with responsible authorities at national level.
The Impact of Monetary Policy on Economic Growth and Inflation in Sri Lanka

Based on a vector autoregressive (VAR) framework and utilising both recursive and structural specifications, this study analyses the effects of interest rate, money growth and the movements in nominal exchange rate on real GDP growth and inflation in Sri Lanka for the period from 1978 to 2005. The results of the recursive VARs are broadly in line with the established empirical findings, especially when the interest rate is considered the monetary policy variable. Following a positive innovation in interest rate, GDP growth and inflation decrease while the exchange rate appreciates. When money growth and exchange rate are used as policy indicators, the impact on GDP growth contrasts with established findings. However, as expected, an exchange rate appreciation has an immediate impact on the reduction of inflation. Interest rate innovations are persistent, supporting the view that the monetary authority adjusts interest rates gradually, while innovations in money growth and exchange rate appreciation are not persistent. Several puzzling results emerge from the study: for most sub-samples, inflation does not decline following a contractionary policy shock; innovations to money growth raises the interest rate; when inflation does respond, it reacts to monetary innovations faster than GDP growth does; and exchange rate appreciations almost always lead to an increase in GDP growth. The results from the semi-structural VARs, which impose identification restrictions only on the policy block, are not different from those obtained from recursive VARs. The results show that none of the sub-samples since 1978 can be identified with a particular targeting regime. In contrast, the interest rate, monetary aggregates and the exchange rate, contain important information in relation to the monetary policy stance. Based on this premise, a monetary policy index is estimated for Sri Lanka. The index displays that unanticipated monetary policy forms a smaller portion of monetary policy action in comparison to anticipated monetary policy. It is also observed that a decline in GDP growth is associated with anticipated policy with a short lag, while reductions in inflation are associated with both anticipated and unanticipated components of monetary policy with a longer lag of 28 to 36 months. DOI: 10.4038/ss.v38i1. 1220 Staff Studies Volume 38 Numbers 1& 2 2008 p.1-44
Impoliteness: The Ghanaian Standpoint

This paper highlights the folk perception of impoliteness among Ghanaians in view of Watts’ (2003) notion of first order impoliteness. The study showed that impoliteness is not just an opposite of politeness, but the manifestation of non-cooperation, disapproval, and mutual antipathy through certain communicative behaviours that signal disrespect. These communicative behaviours include ‘interrupting others’, the use of ‘invectives’ and the use of ‘offensive non-verbal forms of communication (NVCs)’. The use of these impolite communicative behaviours destabilizes interpersonal relationships and shows that a speaker is communicatively incompetent. The study also proposed the ‘pardonability scale of impoliteness’. This scale showed that among Ghanaians, the use of invectives is the most offensive and least pardonable impolite communicative behaviour while the use of offensive NVCs is the least offensive and most pardonable impolite communicative behaviour. It was also noted that the degree of offensiveness or pardonability in the order of the arrangement displayed on the scale, is not strictly tied to all speech events.
Models of governance of public services : empirical and behavioural analysis of ' econs ' and ' humans ' Book section

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Transparency Through Recognition of Intangible Assets in Business Combinations Revisited

In today’s economic environment, intangible assets are seen as one of the key drivers of enterprise performance, however, how they should be accounted for is a rather controversial issue. The standard IFRS 3Business combinations, released by the International Accounting Standard Board and adopted in the EU the year 2005, states that listed companies are obligated to recognize acquired intangible assets instead of reporting them as goodwill in completed business combinations. This is in order to increase the disclosure level and the transparency, thus the usefulness of the financial statements. Within economic theory, it is suggested that such an increase may contribute to a reduction of the cost of equity, arising due to asymmetric information in the capital market. Thus, the following research aims to firstly empirically examine whether there are any differences in the recognition of intangible assets between companies that can be explained from an information asymmetry framework, and secondly to empirically examine whether there is a correlation between this recognition and the cost of equity, arising from asymmetric information. This study provides empirical evidence from the listed companies on the Nasdaq OMX Stockholm Stock Exchange’s, Small, Mid, and Large Cap lists during the years 2005 to 2012. The study was made possible by several statistical tests, both non-parametric and parametric. The non-parametrical tests, that were mainly used to examine the differences in the recognition, exhibit that the proportion of intangible assets recognized in business combinations not only differs between the examined years but also between, different sized companies and acquisitions, industries, and companies with various financing needs. In the study three different proxies for the cost of equity were used and tested in separate parametric statistical models. A significant negative correlation between the recognition of intangibles, in accordance with IFRS 3, and the cost of equity is exhibited in one of these models, when it is controlled for various firm characteristics and incentives for disclosure. This finding demonstrates that companies, which recognize a larger share of intangible assets, in business combinations, generally experience a lower cost of equity. Further on, this finding serves as evidence for that it is not only the total level of disclosure that matters, but also the level of compliance with the specific standard, IFRS 3.
Performance of composite sawdust briquette fuel in a biomass stove under simulated condition.

In this research, composite sawdust briquette fuel were produced and utilized in order to simulate cooking. Within a time frame, a known amount of water was boiled to simulate cooking by burning composite sawdust briquettes in a biomass stove. The composite sawdust briquettes were produced using sawdust and charred palm kernel in percentage compositions of 50:50, 60:40, 70:30, 80:20 and 90:10, respectively. Starch gel was used as a binder. The boiling of water using the fuels was characterized into 3 namely the intermediate phase (initial boiling), high power phase (15 min after the initial boiling) and the low power phases (30 min after the high power phase). From the experiment, in respective of the percentage composition of the composite sawdust briquettes, the Percentage Heat Utilized (PHU) was found to increase from the intermediate phase through the low power phase. For other parameters like the Specific Fuel Consumption (SFC), Power Output and Burning Rate respectively, there was a sharp decrease from the intermediate phase through the low power phase.