Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Assessing Genetic Diversity of Asian-based Rubber Populations using SSR and Multivariate Statistics in the Philippines

Assessing genetic diversity of rubber populations is important for the effective utilization of rubber genetic resources. Diversity indices such as number of alleles (Na), observed heterozygosity (Ho), gene diversity (GD), polymorphism information content (PIC) and power of discrimination (PD) along with multivariate statistics such as principal component analysis (PCA) and clustering analysis were used in the study. Twenty-two SSR markers had means 5.09 Na, 0.579 Ho, 0.677 GD, 0.643 PIC and 0.785 PD for 63 rubber clones comprised of 34 Indonesian and 29 Malaysian clones. Malaysian subpopulation had 3.59 Na per clone greater than Indonesian subpopulation of 2.97 Na per clone. PCA detected 66.08% total variation for eight principal components (PCs). PC1, PC2 and PC3 contributed 13.24% variation ( v ) with 2.91 eigenvalue ( e ), 10.2% v with 2.24 e and 8.86% v with 1.95 e , respectively. Clustering analysis revealed 0.237 genetic similarity and ten clusters for all clones. Clusters will be the basis for making more genetically diverse hybrids while PC1 member clones will be the basis for considering genetically broad base parent. The high genetic diversity found in the Asian-based rubber populations and complementing results of multivariate statistics can optimize the selection and breeding of rubber genetic resources in the Philippines. Keywords: Asian-based Rubber Populations, Genetic Diversity, Multivariate Statistics, SSR Diversity
The dynamic relationship between house prices and output : evidence from US metropolitan areas

This paper investigates the long-run and short-term dynamics of 351 US metropolitan statistical area housing prices in relation to personal income. We apply a panel cointegration approach on annual data from 1993 to 2011 and find a long-run relationship between local house prices and per capita personal income. The causal direction is then assessed based on an autoregressive distributed lag specification that also accommodates for error-correction. Results from Granger-causality tests reveal the existence of a bi-directional causality between real house prices and real per capita personal income over both long and short-horizons. Our results continue to be robust, when our bivariate system is extended to include additional MSA-level (employment and population) and national-level variables (real stock price and mortgage interest rate). We conclude that changes in personal income can predict house price movements and vice versa.
Sensitivity of winter wheat yields in the Midwestern United States to future changes in climate, climate variability, and CO2 fertilization

This research investigates the potential impacts of climate change on winter wheat Triticum aestiuum L. production, looking at changes both in the mean climate and in climate variabil- ity, under conditions of elevated atmospheric CO2 concentrations. The study region is comprised of the 5 states of Indiana, Illinois, Ohio, Michigan, and Wisconsin in the US. This analysis was conducted for the period 2050-59 for 10 representative farm locations in the 5 states for 6 future climate scenarios using the crop growth model CERES-Wheat. Wheat is currently the most widely grown crop in the world, with approximately 250 million ha planted each year. This region, while not a critical area for winter wheat production under current climate, is in a marginal area that could become a more important production region under a warmer climate. As such, the impacts of climate change on wheat growth are of great significance both regionally and globally. With future atmospheric CO2 concentrations of 555 ppmv, wheat yields increased 60 to 100% above current yields across the central and northern areas of the study region when modeled for 2050-59 climate change scenarios. In the southern areas of the study region, small increases (0.1 to 20%) and small decreases (-0.1 to -15%) were found. These decreases in yield were more frequent under climate conditions associated with the more extreme Hadley Center greenhouse gas run (HadCM2-GHG, representing a 1% increase in greenhouse gases per year) and for the doubled climate variability analyses. Across all sites, earlier planting dates (Sep- tember 2 is optimal) performed best; yields decreased as planting was delayed. These results have im- plications for spring-planted crops. CO2 fertilization effects also are found to be significant for wheat, representing an average yield increase greater than 20% under future climate scenarios, with greater benefits occurring under more moderate future climate scenarios. Without the effects of CO2 fertiliza- tion in the model, many of the southern locations had greater decreases in yields. The overall climate change impact across the study area resulted in large increases in yields with only a few locations exhibiting decreases, and those decreases occurring only under the more extreme climate scenarios.
Treatment Modalities for Basal Like Breast Cancer

Breast cancer represents a heterogeneous group of disorders with significant morbidity and mortality among female population. Basal like breast cancer represents one of the several sub types of breast cancer. It has always been considered synonymous to triple negative breast cancer but studies have repeatedly proven it and triple negative to be two separate entities having different immunohisto chemistry, clinical behavior and prognosis. Basal like breast cancer represents an immunophenotype similar to triple negative breast cancer in a respect that it lacks estrogen receptors (ER), progesterone receptors (PR) and human epithelial growth factor 2 (HER2) overexpression, but is quite distinct at the same time as it represents additional biomarkers as well like cytokeratins 5/6 and epithelial growth factor receptors (EGFR). Moreover, basal like breast cancers is characterized as tumors with greater degree of atypia, higher propensity of local invasion, easy distant metastasis and grim prognosis. Even when it represent as much as 13-37% of breast cancer burden in young female population, definite treatment protocols remain lacking. Thorough analysis of currently available data in this regard has shown that breast conserving therapy (BCT) with adjuvant radiotherapy promises the best outcomes. In addition, preoperative use of chemotherapeutic agents like paclitaxel followed by 5-fluorouracil, doxorubicin, and cyclophosphamide and post-operative use of anthracycline (doxorubicin/cyclophosphamide or
Is the Murciano-Granadina a single goat breed? A molecular genetics approach

The population structure of the Murciano-Granadina breed was determined using 25 microsatellites from 266 goats of seven populations. The results of the genetic differentiation analysis showed that it is possible to differentiate the Murciana and Granadina populations even though a low FST value (0.0432) had been obtained. Individuals could be assigned to their populations with a success rate of more than 80%. Bayesian-based clustering analysis of allele frequencies and multivariate analysis revealed that Murciana and Granadina populations were grouped in different clusters since K=3. The results demonstrate that Murciana and Granadina are still two different genetic groups included into Murciano-Granadina denomination. There is the opportunity to the genetically manage these populations, under a single herd-book but adding the necessary modifications to respect the conservation of the genetic diversity based on the use of multibreed models of genetic evaluation.
The Impact of Occupational Safety and Health Regulation, 1973-1983

Using a sample of manufacturing industries from 1973 to 1983, this article reexamines OSHA's impact on workplace safety. Evidence supporting OSHA's effectiveness is stronger than that presented in most previous studies but remains quite mixed. Only for the incidence of lost workday injuries and illnesses is there evidence of a statistically significant OSHA impact for an equation that is stable over the 1973-1983 period. The magnitude of the effect is modest, and the effect is not robust with respect to different risk variables. For the three risk variables examined, there is no evidence of endogeneity of the contemporaneous OSHA enforcement variable.
Trees as Redundant Patterns

xvii Chapter 1 -Introduction . 1 1.1 An Ethical Stance . 2 1.2 The Research Problem . 3 1.3 Research Aims . 4 1.4 Outline of Research Approach . 4 1.4. 1. Description of X-Problems . 5 1.4. 2. Systems Framework . 5 1.4. 2.1 Landscape revegetation as the unifying link between the problems . 7 1.4. 3. A Theory based on First Principles . 8 1.4. 4. Systemic Application of the Theory to the X-Problems . 10 1.4. 5. Biophysical Feasibility Study . 12 1.5 Organisation of Thesis . 12 Chapter 2 X-Problems . 14 2.
Affective Reactions to Foreign Language Listening : Retrospective Interviews with Korean EFL Students loohae

The present study is concerned with affective reactions of foreign language students to listening comprehension activities. This qualitative inquiry focuses on sources and effects of listening anxiety on the basis of learners' experiences presented in retrospective interviews. Twenty university students were requested to report the levels of their anxiety after participating in several listening activities, and to discuss what their psychological or physical responses were and why they felt anxious. The results showed that students were afraid of failing in basic understanding and the subsequent malfunctioning, supporting the existence of listening anxiety. They indicated that EFL students had the highest levels of listening apprehension at the beginning part of listening and that they were sensitive to the types of listening passages or tasks. Based on students' explanations, factors viewed as causing anxiety were divided into three categories: characteristics of text, personal characteristics, and characteristics related to listening process.
The Role of the Hsp40 Chaperone Sis1 in Yeast Prion Propagation

Yeast prions are self-templating amyloid aggregates composed of misfolded cellular pro- teins. In order to propagate, yeast prions must be broken into heritable seeds that are passed to subsequent generations. The replication step of the prion propagation cycle is accomplished by the actions of molecular chaperones, which bind to and serve the fibers through a process called disaggregation. Prions can be thought of as molecular diseases that have hijacked the chaperones for their continued existence. When viewed in this way, the study of yeast prions has been very informative about the interactions among of the molecular chaperones. This chapter focuses on the role of a single Hsp40 or J-protein, Sis1, in the propagation of yeast prions. While Sis1 seems to be required for the mainte- nance of many different prions, various prions depend on Sis1 in different ways, perhaps due to differences in underlying amyloid structure. New evidence is emerging that Sis1 is important for processes that may not involve prion replication activity, providing an intriguing alternative explanation for the observed differences in the prions’ reliance on Sis1.
Branching-stable point measures and processes

Abstract We introduce and study the class of branching-stable point measures, which can be seen as an analog of stable random variables when the branching mechanism for point measures replaces the usual addition. In contrast with the classical theory of stable (Lévy) processes, there exists a rich family of branching-stable point measures with a negative scaling exponent, which can be described as certain Crump‒Mode‒Jagers branching processes. We investigate the asymptotic behavior of their cumulative distribution functions, that is, the number of atoms in (-∞, x] as x→∞, and further depict the genealogical lineage of typical atoms. For both results, we rely crucially on the work of Biggins (1977), (1992).
Building Switching Hybrid Recommender System Using Machine Learning Classifiers and Collaborative Filtering

Recommender systems apply machine learning and data mining techniques for filtering unseen information and can predict whether a user would like a given resource. To date a number of recommendation algorithms have been proposed, where collaborative filtering and content-based filtering are the two most famous and adopted recommendation techniques. Collaborative filtering recommender systems recommend items by identifying other users with similar taste and use their opinions for recommendation; whereas content-based recommender systems recommend items based on the content information of the items. Moreover, machine learning classifiers can be used for recommendation by training them on content information. These systems suffer from scalability, data sparsity, over specialization, and cold-start problems resulting in poor quality recommendations and reduced coverage. Hy- brid recommender systems combine individual systems to avoid certain aforementioned limitations of these systems. In this paper, we proposed unique generalized switching hybrid recommendation algorithms that combine machine learning classifiers with the collaborative filtering recommender systems. Experimental results on two different data sets, show that the proposed algorithms are scalable and provide better performance—in terms of accuracy and coverage—than other algorithms while at the same time eliminate some recorded problems with the recommender systems.
Influence of gain settings on strain ratios of elastographic image and texture parameters of B-mode image on thyroid tissue

Thyroid nodules are benign though suspicious. Examination through elastography technique is beneficial as it provides real time and first hand evidence about the tissue stiffness by providing a strain value on comparing suspected and normal tissue. Until now, there is no established method that allows to categorise strain ratios whether tumour or normal. Changes in gain settings can significantly alter measurement and ultimately the clinical findings. The objectives of this study are to assess the effect of gain settings on strain ratios of isoechoic stiff lesions in a thyroid gland phantom, and the difference in strain ratios with first order texture parameters at different gain settings. In this study we have reported the effect of gain setting parameter on strain ratios of the thyroid tumour. Furthermore, first order texture parameters (mean and variance) were discussed with respect to increase in gain settings. Higher strain ratios were observed as gain increased. Significant differences in first order texture parameters can be observed for mean of tumour when compared with normal thyroid tissue. Variance did not demonstrate any significant difference. It was concluded that gain parameter effect the strain ratios and texture parameters. This may affect the interpretation of results. It is advised to use elastography in combination with B-mode ultrasound, and sonographers must use a balanced approach when changing equipment parameters.
Female-female aggression: structure of interaction and outcome in loggerhead sea turtles

Aggressive behaviour between females of the same species is not widely documented, particularly in marine vertebrates. During a 3 yr in-water survey at the temperate loggerhead sea turtle Caretta caretta breeding area of Zakynthos, Greece, female-female interactions comprised 4% of all female loggerhead sighting events (n = 60 out of 1449 events). Male-female interactions com- prised an additional 4% of sighting events, while 92% were of solitary females. The structure of inter- actions was analysed for 58 of these sighting events, each lasting an average of 3.4 min (SD ± 1) and comprising a total of 3.1 h observation time. We found that interactions involved ritualized escalation in behaviour from passive threat displays (e.g. head-tail circling) to aggressive combat (e.g. spar- ring). We suggest that circling individuals evaluate opponent size, sparring individuals test opponent strength, and that the positioning of the prehensile tail signals motivational intent to either escalate or abort. The presence of intruder females triggered a passive response in 100% of events involving basking and swimming turtles (n = 19); although residents resting on the seabed only responded on 69% of occasions (n = 27), their response was almost 4 times more likely to escalate to one of aggression. Our results suggest that certain sites may be preferentially sought after and defended by sea turtles.
Sex Differences in Characteristics and Management of Patients with Acute Heart Failure

Burden of heart failure (HF) among females is growing. However, whether characteristics and management of acute HF differ according to sex is unknown. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to provide information about this concern from a real life perspective. Data from the Scompenso Cardiaco in Medicina Interna in Toscana (SMIT) Study, an observational, retrospective, multicenter 30-day cross-sectional study performed in thirty-two Internal Medicine wards of Tuscany, Italy, were analyzed. The present sub-analysis focused on the difference between female and male patients. Overall, seven hundred and seventy patients were enrolled in the SMIT Study. Of these, four hundred and twenty-nine (55.7%) were females. Females were significantly older than males. Seventy-two women (16.7%) and forty-eight men (14%) presented a new onset HF, whereas the majority of patients presented at least one previous hospital admission for HF in their history. No difference in length of hospital stay and mortality was found between sexes. Hypertensive (26.8% vs 19.8%, p = 0.02) and valvular (13.6% vs 8.6%, p = 0.03) were the more prevalent etiologies of HF in females, while ischemic heart disease was in males (25.8% vs 18.2%, p = 0.01). HF with a preserved left ventricle ejection fraction (LVEF) was significantly more prevalent in females compared to males (51.3% vs 32.6%, p = 0.0001). Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), peripheral artery diseases (PAD) and severe anemia were more frequent in males, while cognitive impairment was in females. Mean creatinine clearance at hospital admission was lower in females than in males (44.4 ± 22.2 vs 49.4 ± 26.3 ml/min, p < 0.05). Females received more frequently non invasive ventilation compared to males (15.1% vs 9.1%, p = 0.011). No difference between sexes was registered in the use of diuretics, angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors, angiotensin II receptor blockers, beta blockers and digoxin, whereas the use of anti-aldosterone agents, ivabradine and statins were more frequently used in males. No difference between sexes was found in the median number of drugs prescribed at hospital discharge [8 (interquartile range, IQR, 6-11) vs 9 (IQR 7-11)]. Eighty-two percent of females and seventy-nine percent of males were discharged at home (p = ns). Fifty-six percent of females compared with forty percent of males were dependent in activities of daily living at hospital discharge (p = 0.0001). The present study demonstrates that demographic characteristics, etiology, co-morbidity and echocardiographic pattern of HF differ according to sex. Further prospective study are warranted.
Green Manure And Sewage Sludge Used To Recover The Fertility Of A Degraded Oxisol

For soil remediation is necessary an adequate management that provides the maintenance and enrichment of the soil organic matter, for that, one alternative is the use of green and organic manure combined with correct fertilization. The objective of this research was to evaluate the effect of green manure and sewage sludge in the recovery of the chemical attributes of an Oxisol. The research was installed in an Oxisol in which was taken out a layer of soil of 8.60 meters. The treatments were: area without management and with the soil exposure; area with natural vegetation of "Savannah"; only native tree Astronium fraxinifolium Schott; A. fraxinifolium+Canavalia ensiformis; A. fraxinifolium+Raphanus sativus; A. fraxinifolium+Brachiaria decumbens+60 t ha -1 of sewage sludge based on dry mass. Were evaluated the soil chemical characteristics to the layers 0.00-0.05; 0.05-0.10; 0.10-0.20 and 0.20-0.40 m. The soil presents high degree of chemical degradation but the sludge improve some chemical characteristics of the degraded soil, being possible reduce or, in some cases, exclude the use the mineral fertilizer. It is recommended the application of lime in the sludge to correct its pH, being possible use it without acidify the soil. The lime is significant to improve the soil chemical characteristics, while in the first year the green manure do not influence these
International Congress on Interdisciplinary Business and Social Science 2012 (ICIBSoS 2012) The Influence of Internal Environment and Continuous Improvements on Firms Competitiveness and Performance

This paper investigates the organizational internal environment, climate and continuous improvement implementations on competitiveness of firms in a developing country environment. The results indicated that of the ten Ekvall s creative climate factors examined only four had some positive influence on firms competitiveness. Continuous improvements implemented by the firms were also found to have a significant positive influence on the firms competitiveness. Furthermore, the firms internal environment was found to have significant positive influence on the competitiveness of the firms. Finally, the firms competitiveness in turn was found to significantly influence the firms performance. Some managerial implications of the findings are also provided.
On a Coupled System of Shallow Water Equations Admitting Travelling Wave Solutions

We consider three inviscid, incompressible, irrotational fluids that are contained between the rigid walls and and that are separated by two free interfaces and . A generalized nonlocal spectral (NSP) formulation is developed, from which asymptotic reductions of stratified fluids are obtained, including coupled nonlinear generalized Boussinesq equations and -dimensional shallow water equations. A numerical investigation of the -dimensional case shows the existence of solitary wave solutions which have been investigated for different values of the characteristic parameters.
Deterrent Tax Measures and Tax Compliance in Nigeria

Over the years, many developed economies have made considerable investment in legislative tax reforms, taxpayer education programs, tax enforcement strategies, and increasingly sophisticated systems of tax administration using new technologies. Undoubtedly, there are lessons to be learnt from studying best practices in developed economies. However, compared to their counterparts in developed economies, policy makers and revenue authorities in developing economies face quite different challenges and constraints that require careful consideration in designing appropriate and effective tax systems. This paper examines the effects of deterrent tax measures on tax compliance in Nigeria. Following the introduction, we reviewed the existing tax policies and reforms in Nigeria. This is followed by a discussion of the various compliance strategies prescribed in the literature from where we developed our hypotheses. The method of data analysis used in the study is the ordinary least square (OLS) regression technique. This method was adopted because of its properties of consistency, unbiasedness and efficiency. The OLS regression technique was estimated using computer software (Microfit 4.1). It was observed that the existing deterrent tax measures in Nigeria are inadequate and have not helped to promote tax compliance in the country. It was also discovered that fostering voluntary compliance and enhancing taxpayer’s morale will enhance tax compliance. We recommend that the Nigerian revenue authorities should strive to adopt the approach that will encourage voluntary compliance and prescribe appropriate sanctions for defaulters. Key Words: Tax, Tax system, Deterrent, Tax Measures, Tax Returns, Tax Liability