Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Optimization of cellulase production for Bacillus sp. and Pseudomonas sp. soil isolates

This investigation deals with optimizing the cellulase producing bacterial isolates for better enzyme yield. Cellulose degrading bacteria were isolated from garden soil (Aurangabad, MS, India). Amongst 40 different bacterial isolates, two of the bacterial isolates, 2b and 38b, were processed for preliminary identification with morphological, cultural and biochemical characterization. Based on these studies, strain 2b was qualified to belong to Pseudomonas sp. and strain 38b was qualified to belong to Bacillus sp. Optimization of the fermentation medium for maximum cellulase production was carried out for both strains of 2b and 38b. The culture conditions such as: pH, temperature, substrate concentration and incubation time were optimized. The optimum conditions found for cellulase production were 30°C at pH 5. Studies on partially purified cellulase, a high cellulolytic activity was observed in Pseudomonas sp. The Km 22.11 and 14.36 were obtained for cellulase from 2b and 38b, respectively. The Vmax was found to be 1 and 1.121 mmol (min mg)−1 for cellulase from 2b and 38b , respectively. Key words: Bacillus sp. , cellulase production, pH, Pseudomonas sp.
MICROFINANCE INSTITUTIONS’ SUPPORT AND GROWTH OF SMALL AND MEDIUM ENTERPRISES

This paper investigates the relationship between microfinance institutions’ (MFIs’) support and growth of small and medium size enterprises (SMEs) in Nimule, South Sudan. We use descriptive analysis, Pearson’s linear correlation coefficient (PLCC) analysis, and ordinary least square regression analysis to evaluate the responses obtained through questionnaires and interviews. The estimates of descriptive analysis show that majority of the respondents were females (53.7%); majority (33.7%) of the respondents had secondary education; and that the majority of respondents (46.3 %) have between 6-8 years experience. Results of the quantitative analysis using PLCC revealed that positive linear relationship exists between loan provision, savings account provision, managerial skills provision and growth of SMEs in Nimule, South Sudan. Similarly, results of the regression analysis indicate that loan provision, savings account provision, and managerial skills provision have positive and significant effect on SMEs growth in Nimule. These findings indicate, amongst others, that MFIs support contributes significantly to growth of SMEs in Nimule, South Sudan. The study recommends, among others, that MFIs should adopt Microfinance-group model as well as increase provision of non-financial services, such as managerial skills trainings, for SMEs.Keywords: microfinance institutions, SMEs growth, correlation, South Sudan.
Dusty Universe viewed by AKARI far infrared detector

We present the results of the analysis of multiwavelength Spectral Energy Distributions (SEDs) of far-infrared galaxies detected in the AKARI Deep Field-South (ADF-S) Survey. The analysis uses a carefully selected sample of 186 sources detected at the 90 μm AKARI band, identified as galaxies with cross-identification in public catalogues. For sources without known spectroscopic redshifts, we estimate photometric redshifts after a test of two independent methods: one based on using mainly the optical—mid infrared range, and one based on the whole range of ultraviolet—far infrared data. We observe a vast improvement in the estimation of photometric redshifts when far infrared data are included, compared with an approach based mainly on the optical—mid infrared range. We discuss the physical properties of our far-infrared-selected sample. We conclude that this sample consists mostly of rich in dust and young stars nearby galaxies, and, furthermore, that almost 25% of these sources are (Ultra)Luminous Infrared Galaxies. Average SEDs normalized at 90 μm for normal galaxies (138 sources), LIRGs (30 sources), and ULIRGs (18 galaxies) show a significant shift in the peak wavelength of the dust emission, and an increasing ratio between their bolometric and dust luminosities which varies from 0.39 to 0.73.
Abundance analysis of Am binaries and search for tidally driven abundance anomalies — I. HD 33254, HD 178449 and HD 198391

It is suggested that if the tidally induced meridional circulation of Tassoul & Tassoul existed, it might successfully compete with diffusion processes and rotationally induced meridional circulation. This could affect the chemical composition of an Am binary component. The main goal of this paper is to start a systematic abundance analysis of a sample of Am binaries in order to search for possible observable abundance anomalies driven by tidal interaction in these binary systems. A synthetic spectrum analysis of CCD observations in two spectral regions (6400–6500 and 6660–6760 A) of HD 33254, HD 178449 and HD 198391 was carried out. Basic stellar properties, atmospheric parameters and abundance patterns were derived. HD 33254 is the star with pronounced Am anomalies, while HD 198391 is found to be an extremely sharp-lined hot Am star. HD 178449 is a controversial and extremely highly rotating star. We have succeeded in detecting a very faint secondary spectrum. The most probable explanation is that we have discovered the new spectroscopic Ab component of this spectroscopic and visual multiple system.
The Evaluation of Chief Executive Officer Performance: A Stakeholder Theory Perspective

The debate about board role in the evaluation of CEO performance has attracted the attention of many researchers in the last decades. However, past research examined the determinants of CEO performance evaluation based on agency theory. In addition to that, such studies neglected the fact that CEO performance evaluation is a very complex phenomenon and consequently ignored the processes and procedures which are associated with such phenomenon. Therefore, the aims of this paper are to make a comprehensive review of the existing literature regarding the determinants of CEO performance evaluation and justify stakeholder perspective of corporate governance, explore board members role in evaluating CEO performance evaluation and proposing a stakeholder model conceptual framework to the evaluation of CEO performance. The study found that most studies which investigated the determinants of CEO performance evaluation consider corporate governance variables based on agency theory. Also, the study found that board of directors play an essential role in CEO performance evaluation in particular in the strategic performance measurement process and CEO performance evaluation process. Furthermore, the CEO performance evaluation is influenced by the politics between board members and CEO and the orientation of board members such as shareholder values and stakeholder values. The findings suggest that companies which adopt stakeholder model of corporate governance are likely to have stakeholder based CEO performance evaluation. Therefore, future studies should go beyond agency theory and postpositivist view to more holistic views of modern corporations which enhance theory building in corporate governance literature based on real perceptions and practices of practitioners.
The size structure of the Mesodinium rubrum population in the Gdańsk Basin

The ciliate Mesodinium rubrum Lohmann 1908 (= Myrionecta rubra Jankowski 1976) is an important phototrophic organism in the Gdansk Basin. In June 2002 the vertical distribution and size structure of the M. rubrum population were studied. Its presence was generally observed in the whole water column (one exception was the anoxic near-bottom zone in the Gdansk Deep) at all stations studied. Maximum abundance (18 300 cells dm−3) was recorded at 26 m depth at the station located in the inner Gulf of Gdansk. Analysis of the size structure of the counted organisms demonstrated the co-existence of small and large cells of M. rubrum in the upper layer of the water column and a gradual increase with depth of the prevalence of large specimens. This shows that at least two forms of M. rubrum exist in the region studied. Deep migrations are probably undertaken only by relatively large organisms. For many years the common marine ciliate Mesodinium rubrum Lohmann 1908 (=Myrionecta rubra Jankowski 1976) has astonished researchers with its unique symbiosis with cryptophytes (Lindholm 1985, Crawford 1989, Gustafson et al. 2000). This species complex is an important phototrophic organism in the marine environment (Crawford 1989). In the Gdansk Basin it makes up on average 6–9% of the annual biomass of phototrophs (Witek 1998). M. rubrum is also known for its migrations in search of nutrients to deeper parts of the water column below the euphotic zone. Migrating organisms usually descend no deeper than 30 m (Olli The complete text of the paper is available at http://www.iopan. gda.pl/oceanologia/
Using the Literature to Test Pollination Syndromes — Some Methodological Cautions

“Pollination syndromes” are specific combinations of floral traits that are proposed to evolve convergently across angiosperm lineages in response to different types of animal pollinators. In spite of their long history, pollination syndromes have not been tested adequately–they rarely have been examined critically to determine how well they describe floral trait diversity or predict pollinators. In a recent meta-analysis of data from the literature, Rosas-Guerrero et al. (2014) provide a welcome test that draws on insights from past studies. At the same time, their study illustrates several difficulties of meta-analysis approaches in general, and for pollination biology in particular. Here we discuss those difficulties and propose some solutions. We first consider how to gather studies from the literature without introducing unintended bias, such as the old-fashioned method of working backward from cited literature. We next consider how to deal with difficulties that invariably arise when extracting and analyzing often-incomplete information from heterogeneous studies. Finally we discuss issues of interpreting and presenting the results in the most informative manner. We conclude that although Rosas-Guerrero et al. (2014) and other studies such as Ollerton et al. (2009) have arrived at different conclusions about the utility of pollination syndromes, their results are not necessarily incompatible.
Maternal Depressive Symptoms and 6-Month-Old Infants' Sensitivity to Facial Expressions

We examined 6-month-old infants' abilities to discriminate smiling and frowning from neutral stimuli. In addition, we assessed the relationship between infants' preferences for varying intensities of smiling and frowning facial expressions and their mothers' history of depressive symptoms. Forty-six infants were presented pairs of facial expressions, and their preferential looking time was recorded. They also participated in a 3-min interaction with their mothers for which duration of both mother and infant gazing and smiling were coded. Analyses revealed that the infants reliably discriminated between varying intensities of smiling and frowning facial expressions and a paired neutral expression. In addition, infants' preferences for smiling and frowning expressions were related to self-reports of maternal depressive symptoms experienced since the birth of the infant. Potential implications for social cognitive development are discussed.
The effects of various visual conditions on the gait cycle in children with different level of motor coordination-a pilot study. [Cómo afectan diferentes condiciones visuales a la marcha en niños con diferente nivel de coordinación motriz- un studio piloto].

La importancia de la vision y del control visual en el movimiento es un asunto ampliamente abordado y tratado en la literatura cientifica referida al control motor. Muchos estudios han demostrado que los ninos con un bajo nivel de competencia motriz dependen en mayor medida de la vision para realizar diferentes movimientos respecto de sus iguales. El objetivo de este estudio fue destacar el efecto que diferentes condiciones visuales tenian en el rendimiento motor durante la marcha en ninos con diferente nivel de coordinacion motriz. Los participantes (n = 8, Ma = 8.5 anos sd. ± 0.5) fueron divididos en dos grupos: desarrollo motor tipico (TD) y coordinacion motora baja (LMC). Los participantes debian andar dentro de un laboratorio portatil (15 x 3 x 2.5m), a lo largo de un pasillo de 10 metros donde se instalo el instrumento Optojump-Next. Dicha construccion, rodeada de una tela oscura, permitia que todos los participantes tuvieran la misma informacion visual durante el experimento. Los participantes anduvieron a la velocidad que deseaban bajo cuatro condiciones visuales distintas: vision completa (FV), vision reducida 150 ms (LV-150), vision reducida 100 ms (LV-100) y no vision (NV). Para la vision reducida (LV-150 y LV-100), los participantes vestian unas gafas de oclusion que se cerraban a los 100 y 150 ms respectivamente, cada dos segundos. Los resultados fueron analizados siguiendo un analisis doble de la varianza (ANOVA) que incluia 2 (grupos: TD vs. LMC) x 4 (condiciones visuals: FV, LV-150, LV-100 & NV) con medidas repetidas en el ultimo factor (p =.05). Los resultados de este estudio indicaron que los ninos del grupo TD andaban mas rapido y con zancadas mas largas que los ninos del grupo LMC en cuyo grupo, estos parametros pueden influir en diferentes fases del ciclo de la marcha. Asimismo, percibir informacion visual durante la marcha en 150 ms. en comparacion con 100 ms. fue suficiente para un rendimiento similar bajo la condicion de FV. Los descubrimientos de este estudio ponen de manifiesto que bajo los parametros de la marcha son diferentes al comparar ninos con TD ninos LMC .
Interrelationships among the oil and fatty acids in maize

In this study, 28 F1 maize hybrids obtained by 8x8 half diallel crossing were used, in order for the interrelationships among the oil content and fatty acids to be determined by correlation analyses. The range values for oil content of hybrids varied between 3.34 to 4.95%. The results showed positive correlation meaningfully between most traits, and it showed that oleic acid has the most possitive correlation (r = 0.655**) with oil content. Key words: Oil, corn, fatty acids, interrelationships, correlation coefficient.
Numerical Analysis of the Composite Connection of Steel Joist Embedded in Concrete Girder

Abstract: So far, numerous numerical studies have been conducted on the behavior of Composite Reinforced Concrete-Steel (RCS) beam-to-column connections. However, the lack of studies regarding the steel joist-concrete girder connection has yet to be addressed through comprehensive finite element methods to get an understanding of influential parameters. Hence, in this paper, composite connection of embedded steel joist in concrete girder is investigated with an appropriate finite element software, namely, ABAQUS. The validity of the proposed model is examined by the comparison made with the test data in literature. Results indicate that maximum bending capacity of the connection is achieved when embedment ratio is 1.78. Moreover, double web angles in the embedment region significantly reduce the embedment length required to achieve the maximum bending capacity. Finally, damage analyses show that bending capacity of concrete girder is slightly reduced in the connection zone.
Spitzer observations of NGC 2264: the nature of the disk population

Aims. NGC2264 is a young cluster with a rich circumstellar disk population which makes it an ideal target for studying the evolution of stellar clusters. Our goal is to study the star formation history of NGC2264 and to analyse the primordial disk evolution of its members. Methods. The study presented is based on data obtained with the Infrared Array Camera (IRAC) and the Multiband Imaging Photometer for Spitzer (MIPS) on board the Spitzer Space Telescope, combined with deep near-infrared (NIR) ground-based FLAMINGOS imaging and previously published optical data. Results. We build NIR dust extinction maps of the molecular cloud associated with the cluster, and determine it to have a mass of 2.1 × 10 3 Mabove an AV of 7mag. Using a differential Ks-band luminosity function (KLF) of the cluster, we estimate the size of the population of NGC2264, within the area observed by FLAMINGOS, to be 1436 ± 242 members. The star formation efficiency is ≥∼25%. We identify the disk population and divide it into 3 groups based on their spectral energy distribution slopes from 3.6 μm to 8 μm and on the 24 μm excess emission: (i) optically thick inner disks, (ii) anaemic inner disks, and (iii) disks with inner holes, or transition disks. We analyse the spatial distribution of these sources and find that sources with thick disks segregate into sub- clusterings, whereas sources with anaemic disks do not. Furthermore, sources with anaemic disks are found to be unembedded (i.e., with AV < 3mag), whereas the clustered sources with thick disks are still embedded within the parental cloud. Conclusions. NGC2264 has undergone more than one star-forming event, where the anaemic and extincted thick disk population ap- pear to have formed in separate episodes: the sources with anaemic disks are more evolved and have had time to disperse and populate a halo of the cluster. We also find tentative evidence of triggered star-formation in the Fox Fur Nebula. In terms of disk evolution, our findings support the emerging disk evolution paradigm of two distinct evolutionary paths for primordial optically thick disks: a homologous one where the disk emission decreases uniformly at NIR and mid-infrared (MIR) wavelengths, and a radially differential one where the emission from the inner region of the disk decreases more rapidly than from the outer region (forming transition disks).
Another Solution for Allais Paradox: Preference Imprecision, Dispersion and Pessimism

Although there are alternative models which can explain the Allais paradox with non-standard preferences, they do not take the emerging evidence on preference imprecision into account. The imprecision is so far incorporated into these models by adding a stochastic specification implying the errors that subjects make. However, there is also the inherent part of the preference imprecision which does not diminish with experience provided in repeated experiments and these stochastic specifications cannot explain a significant portion of the observed behavior in experiments. Moreover, evidence on imprecision suggests that subjects exhibit higher imprecision for a lottery with a higher variance. This paper presents a new model for decision under risk which takes into account the findings of the literature. Looking at the indifference curves predicted by the new model, the new model acts like a mixture of Expected Utility Theory and Rank Dependent Utility Theory depending on which part of the probability triangle the lottery is located.
ANALYSIS OF AN AGENT-BASED APPROACH FORDISCOVERING TERM SEMANTIC RELATIONSHIP

Despite exponential accumulation of electronic texts in the Internet age, effective search and reuse is not available for most texts due to the lack of association among them. Terms and the semantic relationship between terms have great potential in organizing and sharing textual information. We develop an agent-based approach for discovering term relationship in texts collected from the Web. The goal of the paper is to investigate which of the five generic relationships in text, including synonym, hypernym, hyponym, holonym and meronym, can be effectively discovered with the proposed approach.
Investigation of Nutrition Habits and Body Mass Indexes of Coach and Sport Manager Candidates by Some Parameters

Abstract This paper aims at investigating nutrition habits and body mass indexes of Coach and Sport Manager Candidates. The sample of the research comprises of 69 females and 77 males in their freshman and senior years at the School of Physical Education and Sport of Istanbul University by some parameters. T-test, correlation and one-way ANOVA (variance) analyses were used to evaluate the data with p-value of 0.05. Nutrition Habits Index (NHI) was found 10.15± 3.73 and Body Mass Index (BMI) was found 22.09±2.76. As age increases, BMI increases as well. BMI mean values of males are significantly higher than females are (p<0.05). The BMI mean values are significantly higher than those of freshman students are (p<0.05). Therefore, it is inferred that although the students are trained for having regular physical exercise and nutrition habits, the level of education received is not sufficient for them to exhibit healthy nutrition behaviors.
The nature of long-GRB host galaxies from chemical abundances

Context. Gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) were the most energetic events after the Big Bang and they have been observed up to very high redshift. Measurements of the chemical abundances are now available for the galaxies hosting such events, which are assumed to originate from the explosion of very powerful supernovae (Type Ib/c), and provide the opportunity to study the nature of these host galaxies. Aims. We identify the hosts of long GRBs (LGRBs) observed at both low and high redshift to determine whether the hosts are galaxies of the same type at different cosmic epochs. Methods. We adopt detailed chemical evolution models for galaxies of different morphological type (ellipticals, spirals, irregulars) that follow the time evolution of the abundances of several chemical elements (H, He, α-elements, Fe), and compare the results with the observed abundances and abundance ratios in galaxies hosting LGRBs. Results. We find that the abundances and abundance ratios predicted by models devised for typical irregular galaxies can reproduce the abundances of the hosts at both high and low redshift. We also find that the predicted Type Ib/c supernova rate for irregulars is in good agreement with observations. Models for spirals and particularly ellipticals fit neither the high-redshift hosts of LGRBs (DLA systems) nor the low redshift hosts: in particular, ellipticals cannot possibly be the hosts of gamma-ray bursts at low redshift since they exhibit little star formation, hence no supernovae Ib/c. Conclusions. We conclude that the observed abundance and abundance ratios in LGRBs hosts suggest that these hosts are irregular galaxies at both high and low redshift, thus demonstrating that the host galaxies are the same type of galaxies observed at different ages.
Using Automatic Speech Recognition Technology with Elicited Oral Response Testing.

This study examined the use of automatic speech recognition (ASR) scored elicited oral response (EOR) tests to assess the speaking ability of English language learners. It also examined the relationship between ASR-scored EOR and other language proficiency measures and the ability of the ASR to rate speakers without bias to gender or native language. To that end, 179 subjects were given an ASR-scored EOR test with 60 items, followed by an oral proficiency interview (OPI) type assessment and a battery of other language tests. Findings suggest that ASR-scored EOR results could be used alone to predict speaking ability in specific situations and for limited purposes such as initial placement of students in language training situations. However, if more certainty is required, adding a listening component would improve the assessment. Analysis of the study results also suggests that while there were some differences in amount of variance explained in speaking scores based on gender and native language, there was no significant negative effect that would preclude the use of ASR-scoring. While EOR is not an authentic performance assessment of the speaking ability, it does correlate well with other assessments of this construct and has good content validity. The use of an ASR-scored EOR test seems to provide a practical estimate of speaking proficiency that could be used for initial placement of students in situations where assessments of speaking for the purpose of placement are not currently being used due to the cost of administering OPI type assessments.