Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Stress appraisal and coping in siblings of children with special needs

Self-reports from siblings of children with special needs are considered important additions to the disability literature. Twelve sibling dyads from the greater Montreal area were interviewed. Participating siblings of children with special needs were between the ages of 8 and 12, with a mean age of 9.5 years. Siblings with special needs were a mean age of 10.08 years. Sibling daily hassles, uplifts, and coping strategies were examined and analyzed using descriptive statistics. Family coping strategies and parental assessments of sibling relationship quality was also assessed. Children reported that most frequent daily events were when their siblings with special needs cry, scream or yell when they do not want to do something, and when they give hugs or kisses. Siblings reported being most stressed when embarrassed by their siblings with special needs in front of friends, and happiest when playing together with their sibling with special needs. Wishful thinking was reportedly commonly used by all children as a coping strategy during stressful times. Sibling results were also assessed by age and gender. In addition, families reported using acceptance of stressful events to cope, whereas family support was minimally used. Parent perceptions of their children's sibling relationship were generally positive, with loyalty, sharing, and controlling behaviour reported occurring most commonly.
Abundance, Production and Viability of Bacterioplankton in the Seto Inland Sea, Japan

The abundance, specific growth rate, estimated production rate and viability of bacterioplankton were determined in surface waters of the Seto Inland Sea, Japan. Bacterioplankton were counted by epifluorescence microscopy, stained with either acridine orange (AO) or two-color dye mixture to differentiate live/dead cells based on membrane integrity. The AO-based abundance showed area-to-area variation corresponding to eutrophication levels of the areas. The abundance varied from 4.0 × 108 to 2.2 × 109 cells l–1, and the overall average was 9.0 × 108 cells l–1. Specific growth rate varied from 0.037 to 0.174 h–1, with an overall average of 0.125 h–1. Bacterial production rate, estimated by multiplying the abundance and growth rate, was within the range of 24 to 172 μg C l–1day–1, with an overall average of 67 μg C l–1day–1, which may correspond to or exceed phytoplankton primary production. A correlation of chlorophyll-a concentration with bacterioplankton abundance was shown, but not to bacterioplankton growth rate. The viability of bacterioplankton based on membrane integrity varied slightly from 61.8 to 75.1%, with an average of 69.7%. This viability estimate is in good agreement with those measured in coastal and inland waters by other protocols. The technique employed can serve as an alternative for estimating bacterial viability in natural waters. It is concluded that a large fraction of bacterioplankton in the Seto Inland Sea is viable and involved in bacterial production which may exceed the primary production of the area.
Determinants of Rural Households’ Vulnerability to Poverty in Chencha and Abaya Districts, Southern Ethiopia (Microeconometric Analysis)

This study primarily aimed to examine the determinants of rural households’ vulnerability to poverty and to profile the households according to their level of vulnerability using Feasible Generalized Least Square (FGLS) and Logistic Regression analysis with the help of data collected from a sample of 500 households in two Woredas. The general poverty line of the study area was determined to be Birr 248 per month per adult equivalent and 29.8 percent of the population in the study areas were found to be poor. The projected consumption percapita after the three step FGLS estimation revealed that, the incidence of vulnerability to poverty in the area was 34.2 percent and therefore, vulnerability was more spread in the study areas than ex post poverty.Using the two vulnerability thresholds, observed poverty rate (0.298) and vulnerability of 0.5, about 28.6%, 5.6% and 65.8% of households were highly vulnerable, low vulnerable and not vulnerable respectively. Most importantly, from the total poor households about 81.75%, 3.25% and 15% were highly vulnerable, low vulnerable and not vulnerable respectively. About 36.06% of female headed households were highly vulnerable while 27.56% of male headed households were highly vulnerable.The logistic regression after the three steps FGLS estimation revealed that being female headed households, large family sizes and low access to all season roads and local markets statistically significantly increased the vulnerability of rural households to poverty. But, credit uses, number of livestock, land size, annual farm income and participation in safety net program statistically significantly reduced the vulnerability of rural households to future poverty.Thus, so as to alleviate ex post poverty and prevent ex ante poverty, government should provide credit services, infrastructures, markets services and promote family planning and participation in non-farm activities like micro and small enterprises by rural households. Provision of such services may help rural vulnerable households to build assets thereby resilience to future poverty. Keywords: Poverty, Vulnerability, Feasible Generalized Least Square, Logit Model and Ethiopia
Empirical determinants of relationship lending

Abstract We study the determinants of the incidence of relationship lending. For our study, we combine established insights from the study of Elsas with empirical banking relationship lending literature. We relate loan contract and borrower characteristics to self-assessments of Tunisian banks with respect to the existence of close relationship. Using detailed loan contract information from Tunisian banks and a questionnaire addressed to loan officers, we report the first comprehensive evidence on the development of relationship lending. We find that access to information, the ability to influence the manager, and the solvency of the company are relevant factors. While the exclusivity and the duration of the relationship, classic measures of the existence of close ties with the bank, are not determining factors. So these proxy measures should be used with caution in future empirical works.
The Distribution of Surface Winds In Pacific Typhoons

Low-level wind data from the WSR-88D in Guam obtained from Typhoon Dale (1996) and Typhoon Keith (1997) were analyzed for coherent structures known as roll vortices. Consistent with the results of previous observational studies of rolls in the hurricane boundary layer, velocity anomalies associated with rolls were found in the boundary layer of both storms (Wurman and Winslow (1998), Katsaros et al. (2000), Morrison et al. (2005), Lorsolo et al. (2008)). The results presented here can be used to help validate theoretical and numerical models of coherent structures within tropical cyclones (Foster 2005). Moreover, the wind variations documented in this study have application for wave run-up and the structural wind damage potential in tropical cyclones.
The second generation of the GFZ Reference Internal Magnetic Model: GRIMM-2

We present the second generation of the GFZ Reference Internal Magnetic Model (GRIMM-2), that was derived for the preparation of the GFZ candidate for the 11th generation of the IGRF. The model is built by fitting a vector data set made of CHAMP satellite and observatory data, spanning the period 2001.0 to 2009.5. The data selection technique and the model parametrization are similar to that used for the derivation of the GRIMM model (Lesur et al., 2008). The obtained model is robust over the time span of the data. However, the secular variation above spherical harmonic degree 13 becomes less controlled by the data and is constrained by the applied regularization before 2002 and after 2008.5. At best, only the spherical harmonic degrees 3 to 6 are robustly estimated for the secular acceleration. The problem associated with the first two spherical harmonic degrees of the secular acceleration model arise from the difficulty in separating the core field signal from the external fields and their internally induced counterparts. The regularization technique applied smoothes the magnetic field model in time. This affects all spherical harmonic degrees, but starts to be significant at spherical harmonic degree 5.
Heterogeneous Structural Breaks in Panel Data Models: Application on Population Growth

This paper revisits the hybrid estimation method, GAGFL, which is a combination of the grouped fixed effects approach and the adaptive group fused Lasso, described by Okui & Wang (2018). This estimation method takes into account the heterogeneity of individuals as well as heterogeneity of coefficient estimates in panel data. It aims to model individual heterogeneity by estimating an underlying grouped pattern in the data, such that all the individuals within a group share the same slope coefficient estimates. Allowing for multiple structural breaks in the regression coefficients models the heterogeneity of the slope coefficients. However, the break date estimates as well as the number of breaks can differ among the groups. By means of a Monte Carlo simulation, it is shown that this method performs well in finite samples. Many studies have been conducted relating to panel data sets, however, the incorporation of heterogeneity in both the observations and the coefficient estimates have not been done before. These characteristics are, nonetheless, desirable as in practice it is possible that not all individuals are affected in the same way by some event. An empirical application concerning population growth relating to the rate of natural increase and international migrant stock illustrates this property.
Emission ratio and isotopic signatures of molecular hydrogen emissions from tropical biomass burning

In this study, we identify a biomass-burning sig- nal in molecular hydrogen (H2) over the Amazonian tropical rainforest. To quantify this signal, we measure the mixing ra- tios of H2 and several other species as well as the H2 isotopic composition in air samples that were collected in the BARCA (Balanco Atmosferico Regional de Carbono na Amazonia) aircraft campaign during the dry season. We derive a rela- tive H2 emission ratio with respect to carbon monoxide (CO) of 0.31± 0.04 ppb ppb 1 and an isotopic source signature of 280 ± 41 ‰ in the air masses influenced by tropical biomass burning. In order to retrieve a clear source signal that is not influenced by the soil uptake of H 2, we exclude samples from the atmospheric boundary layer. This proce- dure is supported by data from a global chemistry trans- port model. The 1H2 /1CO emission ratio is significantly lower than some earlier estimates for the tropical rainfor- est. In addition, our results confirm the lower values of the previously conflicting estimates of the H 2 isotopic source signature from biomass burning. These values for the emis- sion ratio and isotopic source signatures of H2 from trop- ical biomass burning can be used in future bottom-up and top-down approaches aiming to constrain the strength of the biomass-burning source for H2. Hitherto, these two quanti- ties relied only on combustion experiments or on statistical relations, since no direct signal had been obtained from in- situ observations.
A Cross Sectional Study on the Incidence and Risk Factors for Abdominal Surgical Site Infections: At Halibet National Referral Hospital, Asmara, Eritrea

Introduction: Abdominal Surgical Site Infections (ASSIs) are infections that occur commonly within 30 days after an operation and related to the operation in general surgery. Methods and Materials: A cross-sectional study was conducted to assess the incidence and risk factors of ASSI: at Halibet National Referral Hospital (HNRH), Asmara, Eritrea. The study included all patients (140) who underwent abdominal surgery from September 4 to December 23, 2017. Results: The study results revealed an overall incidence of 5 percent; 71.4 percent as superficial and 28.6 percent as deep. ASSI was observed in patients with prostatectomy (42.8%), appendectomy (28.6%), cholecystectomy (14.3%) and colonic surgery (14.3%); being more prevalent in males (61.4%). Preoperative hospital stay was also observed to be longer (6.86 days) in patients with ASSI. The study results indicated a significant association with preoperative hospital stay (p – value = 0.026), type of surgery (p-value = 0.039) and duration of operation (p-value = 0.01). Out of the seven samples with ASSI, five (71.4%) were found with culture growth of S.aureus, E.coli and Klebsella spp. that were mainly resistant to ampicillin, cephalexin, ceftazidime but sensitive to chloramphenicol and nitofurantoin. Conclusion: ASSI at HNRH was found to be low as compared to other hospitals. Therefore, the study recommends decreased preoperative hospital stay and the use of sensitive antibiotics, in order to reduce the rate of infection to a lower level than the existing prevalence.
Indonesian EFL Students’ Proficiency in Writing and Ability in Speaking across Personality Learning Styles

This research aimed at examining Indonesian EFL students ’ proficiency in writing and ability in public speaking across personality learning styles : extroversion and introversion . It involved 7 4 undergraduate students who took an Essay Writing course in the English Department of Universitas Negeri Malang, one of the leading universities in Indonesia. The students were distributed into three classes . The y were taught how to write essays. Then, the students were made aware that they had to complete two tasks: writing and presenting a cause and effect essay on topics related to English language teaching. The students’ cause and effect essays were scored to know their proficiency in writing and their presentation was assessed to know their ability in speaking. Two scoring rubrics were used and two raters were involved in the scoring process for interrater reliability. The results of the research showed that the Indonesian EFL student s’ proficiency in writing is strongly related to their ability in speaking for both groups of students . In addition, the Indonesian extrovert EFL students’ proficiency in writing is strongly related to their ability in speaking. The Indonesian introvert EFL students’ proficiency in writing is also strongly related to their ability in speaking. However, there is no significant difference of the proficiency in writing and ability speaking between the extrovert and introvert students.
Performance and Egg Quality of Laying Hens Fed Diets Supplemented with Herbal Extracts and Flaxseed

In this experiment, the effects of fennel and thyme extracts with and without flaxseed were investigated on performance and egg quality of Leghorn-type laying hens (Hy-Line W-36). 200 laying hens from 26 to 38 weeks of age were assigned to five dietary treatments with five replications. The treatment groups were: 1) Control (a diet without any additives); 2) control diet plus fennel (40 mg/kg feed); 3) control diet plus thyme (40 mg/kg feed); 4) a diet containing flaxseed and fennel; and 5) a diet containing flaxseed plus thyme. There were significant differences in feed intake and egg weight between the treatments (p < 0.05). The egg yolk color index in hens that received thyme extract and flaxseed treatment was significantly higher than other treatments (p < 0.05). Hens fed control diet had lower Haugh unit compared to other treatments that contained herbal extracts. The eggshell strength was significantly higher in hens that received thyme extract and flaxseed treatments than control (p < 0.05). The eggshell weight in treatments containing flaxseed was significantly higher compared to the other treatments (P < 0.05). The lowest egg yolk cholesterol concentration was found in hens fed thyme and flaxseed treatment. The hens fed plant extracts and flaxseed diets had eggs with low palmitic and stearic acids and high α-linolenic acid. It is concluded that thyme and fennel extracts, as well as flaxseed, improved the performance and egg quality of laying hens. The use of flaxseed and thyme extract improved egg yolk omega-3 fatty acids and decreased yolk cholesterol content.
Does Entrepreneurial University Support Entrepreneurship Education

This study aims to develop the model of character-based entrepreneurship education in an entrepreneurial university. Entrepreneurship education was viewed from the aspects of curricular and non-curricular learnings. This study employed a mixed method and described the empirical facts using a descriptive analysis. Data from 278 university students and 6 lecturers was collected using questionnaires and interviews. Data of curricular aspects show that: 1) theoretical matters of entrepreneurship are more emphasized than the practical ones; 2) a student-centered approach has been employed, but lack of practical varieties; 3 entrepreneurial learning resources, like seminars, workshops, trainings are required. Of non-curricular matters, it is found that: 1) the infrastructure is restricted and thus, requires the development of business incubators and laboratories for students to empirically gain experience of entrepreneurship; 2) university-business relationship has not yet accommodated entrepreneurship cultures, even though they have been truly academic and incidental events; 3) leader’s commitment towards entrepreneurial culture is inconsistent. Entrepreneurial culture has not been institutionalized within the entire organization of the university.
Ipomoea Involcrata as an Ecofriendly Inhibitor for Aluminium in Alkaline Medium

The corrosion inhibition of aluminium by Ipomoea involcrata (IP) in 1 M NaOH was rapidly assessed using the gasometric technique at 30 and 60 o C . Results obtained showed that Ipomoea involcrata acts as an inhibitor for aluminium corrosion in 1 M NaOH. Inhibition efficiency increased with increase in concentration of IP up to 55.0 % at 50 v/v% and decreased with increase in temperature. The adsorption of IP was in accord with Langmuir adsorption isotherm at the studied temperatures. A mechanism of physical adsorption is proposed from the calculated values of a E , ads Q and ads G Δ .
Attracting Chinese FDI in Africa: The role of natural resources, market size and institutional quality

The purpose of this paper is to examine the effect of natural resources, market size and five major institutional factors (voice and accountability; political stability and absence of violence; regulatory quality; rule of law and control of corruption) on Chinese foreign direct investment (FDI) in Africa. ,This study uses regression analysis on panel data across 22 countries for the period 2008-2014. ,Natural resources did not play a significant role in attracting Chinese investments, but market size did. Among the institutional factors, only voice and accountability had a significant and positive effect on attracting Chinese FDI; the effects of rule of law and control of corruption were not significant and political stability and regulatory quality had a significant and negative effect. ,Chinese investment in Africa is only a recent phenomenon, and is growing rapidly; further studies should examine factors that are unique to the context such as bilateral political link. ,African countries that are struggling with improving their poor institutional quality in the short term could effectively attract Chinese investment by reducing investor psychic distance, e.g. establishing a closer political link with China. Nevertheless, in the long term, measures of improving institutional quality are important. ,This study reveals for the first time that what attracts Chinese investment is market size rather than natural resources, and different institutional factors of an African country show varying effects on attracting Chinese FDI.
Home Range and Landscape Use of Coyotes in a Metropolitan Landscape: Conflict or Coexistence?

Abstract An understanding of how top mammalian carnivores respond to urbanization is important for conservation and management of human–wildlife conflicts. Coyotes (Canis latrans) have recently become more prevalent in many metropolitan areas; however, their apparent success is poorly understood. We estimated home-range size and selection of land-use types for coyotes in a heavily urbanized landscape, with a particular focus on responses of coyotes to those parts of the urban landscape with high levels of human development or activity. Mean (± SE) annual home ranges of transient coyotes (X¯ = 26.80 ± 2.95 km2) were larger than those of resident coyotes (X¯ = 4.95 ± 0.34 km2), and home-range size for resident coyotes did not vary among seasons or between age and sex classes. Although most home ranges were associated with natural patches of habitat, there was considerable variation among coyotes, with some home ranges entirely lacking patches of natural habitat. Within home ranges, coyotes typically avoided land-use types associated with human activity (i.e., Residential, Urban Grass, and Urban Land) regardless of coyote characteristics, seasons, and activity periods. Few coyotes were nuisances, and conflicts occurred when coyotes were sick or exposed to wildlife feeding by humans. We found little evidence that coyotes were attracted to areas associated with human activity, despite at times having home ranges located in heavily developed areas.
Exploring Students' Skills and Attitudes on Effective Use of ICTs: Case Study of Selected Tanzanian Public Secondary Schools

This study was conducted purposely following various initiatives and programmes by the Government of Tanzania to incorporate ICT in education since 2007 with the National ICT policy theme "ICT for improved education". The study provides insights regarding secondary school students' skills and attitudes in effective use of information and communication technology. The study was a co-relational and cross-sectional survey biased to the quantitative approach involving students, ICT teachers and school administrators. A total of 246 students from six public secondary schools in Tanzania were involved in this study. Primary data were collected using a self-administered questionnaire. Using inferential and descriptive analyzes, results show that, secondary school students do not have enough skills on effective use of information and communication technologies. However, students have basic knowledge in different aspects of ICTs particularly Internet and various hardware and software available in Tanzania. The implications to the approach of teaching and learning of ICT subjects in secondary schools, its evaluation and assessment and future initiatives related to ICT educations and infrastructure development have impacts towards creating a well-connected society. It is therefore recommended that secondary schools should provide enough ICT tools for students' hands-on experiences. The utmost end result of integrating ICT in secondary education system will eventually be the economic engine of Tanzania by preparing her students for the knowledge based economy.