Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
An Appraisal of Manpower Adequacy of Mis Units in Managing Information in Nigeria Universities

This study examines the adequacy of manpower capacity of MIS units for managing information in Nigeria universities. It specifically evaluates the adequacy of manpower in terms of quantity, quality and composition in the universities. To achieve this, the study used multistage sampling technique to arrive at scientific sample for the study. Consequently fifteen (15) universities were sampled for in-depth analysis. Data were collected using structured questionnaire from two groups of respondents; ‘Information Providers’ and ‘Information Users’ upon which this analysis depends. Resultant data were analysed using descriptive statistics, bar chart and Pearson Chi-Square. The study found that there is inadequate manpower quantity that cut across various categories of ICT professions. The specific areas of deficiency reported include Skills, competence and experiences of key MIS staff. It also found that available manpower does not reflect all categories of ICT profession. The study recommends upward review of Manpower capacity. Employment of MIS staff should be based on merit, requisite skill and competence. It also recommends training and retraining of existing staff to improve their performance.
The formal-logical analysis of the foundation of set theory

The critical analysis of the foundation of set theory is proposed. The unity of formal logic and rational dialectics is the correct methodological basis of the analysis. The analysis leads to the following results: (1) the mathematical concept of set should be analyzed on the basis of the formal-logical clauses “Definition of concept”, “Logical class”, “Division of concept”, “Basis of division”, “Rules of division”; (2) the standard mathematical theory of sets is an erroneous theory because it does not contain definition of the concept “element (object) of set”; (3) the concept of empty set (class) is a meaningless, erroneous, and inadmissible one because the definition of the concept “empty set (class)” contradicts to the definition of the logical class. (If the set (class) does not contain a single element (object), then there is no feature (sign) of the element (object). This implies that the concept of empty set (class) has no content and volume (scope). Therefore, this concept is inadmissible one); (4) the standard mathematical operations of union, intersection and difference of sets (classes) are meaningless, erroneous and inadmissible operations because they do not satisfy the following formal-logical condition: every separate element (object) of the set (class) must be in only one some set (class) and cannot be in two sets (classes). Thus, the results of formal-logical analysis prove that the standard mathematical theory of sets is an erroneous theory because it does not satisfy the criterion of truth.
JUST IN TIME OR JUST IN CASE: A CASE STUDY ON THE IMPACT OF CONTEXT IN ERP IMPLEMENTATIONS

This paper looks at a case study of an Enterprise Resource Planning System (ERP) implementation in a geographically dispersed utility company and the approach by middle management to several problem situations involving contextual issues and end-user developed (feral) systems. The paper contends that despite the extremely effective databases and sophisticated modules for business analytic functions within most ERP’s, middle managers are still in the “just in case of an incident” mode of inventory management and data entered in their own feral systems may be significantly different to the inventory levels recorded in the main ERP. We contend that these problems point towards the failure of ERP systems to be context sensitive to organisations. It highlights problems in contemporary research which appears to lack understanding of different organisational contexts and how they could impact on ERP implementations. This paper argues that context and the ideals of ERP systems are often mismatched which leads to the development of feral systems, poor inventory practices and ERP systems implementation failure. The paper discusses the literature around ERP systems implementation and argues that context is an overlooked factor in the analysis of such systems. The paper uses case study evidence to demonstrate mismatched context and highlights the problems with assuming ERP systems are one size fits all. The paper concludes with a call to build more contextual research in the study of ERP implementations.
Identification and Mapping of Simple Sequence Repeat Markers from Common Bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) Bacterial Artificial Chromosome End Sequences for Genome Characterization and Genetic–Physical Map Integration

Microsatellite markers or simple sequence repeat (SSR) loci are useful for diversity characterization and genetic–physical mapping. Different in silico microsatellite search methods have been developed for mining bacterial artificial chromosome (BAC) end sequences for SSRs. The overall goal of this study was genome characterization based on SSRs in 89,017 BAC end sequences (BESs) from the G19833 common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) library. Another objective was to identify new SSR taking into account three tandem motif identification programs (Automated Microsatellite Marker Development [AMMD], Tandem Repeats Finder [TRF], and SSRLocator [SSRL]). Among the microsatellite search engines, SSRL identified the highest number of SSRs; however, when primer design was attempted, the number dropped due to poor primer design regions. Automated Microsatellite Marker Development software identified many SSRs with valuable AT/TA or AG/TC motifs, while TRF found fewer SSRs and produced no primers. A subgroup of 323 AT‐rich, di‐, and trinucleotide SSRs were selected from the AMMD results and used in a parental survey with DOR364 and G19833, of which 75 could be mapped in the corresponding population; these represented 4052 BAC clones. Together with 92 previously mapped BES‐ and 114 non‐BES‐derived markers, a total of 280 SSRs were included in the polymerase chain reaction (PCR)‐based map, integrating a total of 8232 BAC clones in 162 contigs from the physical map.
Modelling the Impact of Pericyte Migration and Coverage of Vessels on the Efficacy of Vascular Disrupting Agents

Over the past decade or so, there have been a large number of modelling approaches aimed at elucidating the most important mechanisms affecting the formation of new capillaries from parent blood vessels — a process known as angiogenesis. Most studies have focussed upon the way in which capillary sprouts are initiated and migrate in response to diffusible chemical stimuli supplied by hypoxic stromal cells and leukocytes in the contexts of solid tumour growth and wound healing. However, relatively few studies have examined the important role played by blood perfusion during angiogenesis and fewer still have explored the ways in which a dynamically evolving vascular bed architecture can affect the distribution of flow within it. From the perspective of solid tumour growth and, perhaps more importantly, its treatment (e.g. chemotherapy), it would clearly be of some benefit to understand this coupling between vascular structure and perfusion more fully. This paper focuses on the implications of such a coupling upon chemotherapeutic, anti-angiogenic, and anti-vascular treatments. In an extension to previous work by the authors, the issue of pericyte recruitment during vessel maturation is considered in order to study the effects of different anti-vascular and anti-angiogenic therapies from a more rigorous modelling standpoint. Pericytes are a prime target for new vascular disrupting agents (VDAs) currently in clinical trials. However, different compounds attack different components of the vascular network and the implications of targeting only certain elements of the capillary bed are not immediately clear. In light of these uncertainties, the effects of anti-angiogenic and anti-vascular drugs are re-examined by using an extended model that includes an interdependency between vessel remodelling potential and local pericyte density. Two- and three-dimensional simulation results are presented and suggest that it may be possible to identify a VDA-specific “plasticity window” (a time period corresponding to low pericyte density), within
Oscillations of the equatorward boundary of the ion auroral oval – radar observations

[1] Three SuperDARN radars in the afternoon-midnight sector of the auroral oval detected a boundary oscillation, originating near 1800 MLTsector. Analysis of the phase of the oscillations measured in three meridians indicates that the disturbance has a longitudinally (azimuthally) isolated source and away from which it propagates. The eastward and westward phase speeds are 2.6 and 3.6 km/s respectively and the period is roughly 28 minutes. An examination of the geo-synchronous magnetic field inclination also revealed oscillations similar to the oscillations of the boundary. Solar wind and IMF conditions were steady during the period except for variations of the IMF By component. The IMF By component showed variations similar to the oscillations in the boundary and the geo-synchronous magnetic field inclination. During reduced and negative IMF By, the boundary was moving equatorward, while during increased or positive IMF By it was moving poleward. The variations in the magnetic field inclination measured at geosynchronous orbit by the GOES satellites were consistent with these boundary motions: decreases (more stretched) and increases (more dipolar) in the inclination corresponded to equatorward and poleward moving boundaries, respectively. Polar cap convection also showed changes in the direction of the convection in response to the change in the IMF By component. Observed oscillation of the boundary can be explained by stretching of the tail field lines due to asymmetric merging associated with changes in the By component of the interplanetary magnetic field.
A facile and acid-free approach towards the preparation of sulphonated multi-walled carbon as a strong protonic acid catalyst for biodiesel production

The process of grafting multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) with SO3H groups is known as sulphonation. The most common method to sulphonate MWCNTs is via thermal treatment with concentrated sulphuric acid. However, the major drawbacks of this sulphonation process are that it is time consuming, energy intensive and requires the use of concentrated acid. In contrast, in this study, sulphonated MWCNTs (s-MWCNTs) were prepared using a facile and acid-free approach via the thermal decomposition of ammonium sulphate ((NH4)2SO4) with the aid of ultrasonication. The effects of the concentration of the (NH4)2SO4 solution and the ultrasonication period of MWCNTs in the (NH4)2SO4 solution were studied and optimised to enhance the catalytic activity of s-MWCNTs. These results showed that s-MWCNTs with the best performance could be obtained by ultrasonicating the purified MWCNTs in a 10 wt. % (NH4)2SO4 solution for 10 min followed by heating at 235 °C for 30 min. The resulting s-MWCNTs can produce a biodiesel yield of 84.9%. The high solubility of palm fatty acid distillate (PFAD) and the good dispersion behaviour of s-MWCNTs in methanol caused a reduction in reaction phases and thus minimised the mass transfer limitation encountered by conventional heterogeneous catalysts used for biodiesel production. © 2015 Taiwan Institute of Chemical Engineers. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Impact of Government Spending on Education and Health in Sri Lanka : A Provincial Level Analysis

This study examines the impact of government spending on educational and healthcare development outcomes at the provincial level in Sri Lanka with the objectives of (1) to investigate the impact of government expenditure on education in terms of the student failure rate at the provincial level; (2) to investigate the impact of government expenditure on health in terms of infant mortality rate at the provincial level; (3) investigate the performance of other provinces in terms of social outcomes compare with that of Western Province and recommends policy implications based on the results. Panel data analysis technique has been utilized for the data set of seven provinces2 of Sri Lanaka for the period of 1995 to 2011. The empirical results imply that government spending by provincial councils does have an effect on student failure rates and infant mortality rates. But with the presence of other regional factors the quality of government spending is questionable. These findings are confirmed by the previous research in this field such as Rajkumar and Swaroop (2008), Baldacci, et al. (2008). Moreover, the performance of provinces in education and health sectors are varied with reference to Western Province. To attain the goals of education and healthcare sectors, the sum of government spending is not always what matters, but the quality. Therefore the provincial councils should not depend entirely on increasing the allocation of budget to improve the outcomes. Implementing monitoring and evaluation systems would be advantageous in advancing the effectiveness and quality of provincial budget allocation.
Cyclical Inflation Divergence and Different Labor Market Institutions in the Emu

This paper relates the size of the cyclical inflation differentials, currently observed for euro area countries, to the differences in labor market institutions across the same set of countries. It does that by using a DSGE model for a currency area with sticky prices and labor market frictions. We show that differences in labor market institutions account well for cyclical inflation differentials. The proposed mechanism is a supply side one in which differences in labor market institutions generate different dynamics in real wages and consequently in marginal costs and inflations. We test this mechanism in the data and find that the model replicates well the empirical facts. JEL Classification: E52, E24
Potentials of Azadirachta indica seed oil as bio-preservative against termite attack on wood

In order to contribute to the efforts aimed at achieving sustainable environmentally benign methods of treating and preserving lignocellulosic materials, the potential of neem (Azadirachta indica) seed oil as bio-preservative against termite attack on Aningeria robusta wood was investigated. Soxhlet apparatus was used to extract the oil using N-hexane as the solvent. The phytochemical screening of the oil revealed the presence of alkaloids, tannins, flavonoids, terpenoids, saponins and steroids. The wood samples of Aningeria robusta of dimensions 50x50 x 300mm were treated using dipping method with five different concentration levels (0%, 25%, 50%, 75%, and 100%) of the neem seed oil extract and untreated samples served as the control. The wood samples were exposed to termite attack for a period of 10 weeks and the percentage weight loss was determined. Data obtained were analyzed using Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) at 5% probability level. There were significant differences in the weight loss at different concentration levels. Maximum protection against the termites was obtained at the highest concentration level i.e. 100%. The weight loss ranged from 23.18±5.9 to 46.01±5.08 at concentrations of 100% to 0% of neem seed oil extract. However, all the treatments proved to be effective over the control (51.72%). From this investigation, it is established that Azadirachta indica seed oil extract is a potential bio-preservative against termites attack on Aningeria robusta wood.
Aircraft Measurements of the Aerosol Spatial Distribution and Relation with Clouds over Eastern China

ABSTRACTTo investigate the spectral and spatial distribution characteristics of aerosol particles over eastern China, this study conducted a set of aircraft measurements during August 12–28, 2014, over Anhui province, China. The aerosol number concentration and size distributions from five flights as well as the cloud and meteorological parameters were analyzed. In Anhui province, the average number concentration of aerosol particles in the size range of 0.1–3.0 µm was 481 ± 199 cm–3, and accumulation mode particles accounted for more than 95% of the total aerosol particles. Most of the aerosol particles were concentrated in the layer below 1000 m, where the number concentration decreased with the altitude, except in the presence of thermal inversion layers (TILs). The TILs prevented the vertical transport of aerosol particles, and led to a higher number concentration in the boundary layer. A large fraction of aerosol particles was removed when clouds were present, and the removed in-cloud aerosols lead to an increase in cloud droplet concentrations for the size range of 3.5–10.0 µm. Our results are valuable for understanding the spatial distribution of aerosol particles and their interactions with clouds.
Poachers Alter Mammal Abundance, Seed Dispersal, and Seed Predation in a Neotropical Forest

Abstract: We evaluated the hypothesis that poachers reduce the abundance of herbivorous mammals, and that this, in turn, alters seed dispersal, seed predation, and seedling recruitment for two palms (Attalea butyraceae and Astrocaryum standleyanum) in central Panama. Using physical evidence left by poachers and interviews with forest guards, we quantified poaching intensity for eight forest sites. We quantified mammal abundance using transect counts and small‐mammal traps. Abundance was inversely related to poaching intensity for 9 of 11 mammal species (significantly so for 5 species), confirming the first component of the hypothesis. The outcome of interactions among seeds, mammals, and beetles also varied with poaching intensity. Nonvolant mammals were the only seed‐dispersal agents, and rodents and beetles were the only seed predators. We quantified seed fate by examining the stony endocarps that encase the seeds of both palms. The large, durable endocarps were located easily on the forest floor and bear characteristic scars when a rodent or beetle eats the enclosed seed. The proportion of seeds dispersed away from beneath fruiting conspecifics was inversely related to poaching intensity, ranging from 85% to 99% at protected sites where mammals were abundant and from 3% to 40% at unprotected sites where poachers were most active. The proportion of dispersed seeds destroyed by beetles was directly related to poaching intensity, ranging from 0% to 10% at protected sites and from 30% to 50% at unprotected sites. The proportion of dispersed seeds destroyed by rodents was inversely related to poaching intensity, ranging from 85% to 99% at protected sites and from 4% to 50% at unprotected sites. Finally, seedling densities were directly related to poaching intensity. There was no single relationship between poaching intensity and the biotic interactions that determine seedling recruitment. The net effect of poaching on seedling recruitment can be determined only empirically. For these palms, seedling densities were directly related to poaching intensity.
NGTS-4b: A sub-Neptune transiting in the desert

We report the discovery of NGTS-4b, a sub-Neptune-sized planet transiting a 13th magnitude K-dwarf in a 1.34 d orbit. NGTS-4b has a mass M=20.6 ± 3.0 M⊕ and radius R=3.18 ± 0.26 R⊕, which places it well within the so-called “Neptunian Desert”. The mean density of the planet (3.45 ± 0.95 g cm−3) is consistent with a composition of 100 % H2O or a rocky core with a volatile envelope. NGTS-4b is likely to suffer significant mass loss due to relatively strong EUV/X-ray irradiation. Its survival in the Neptunian desert may be due to an unusually high core mass, or it may have avoided the most intense X-ray irradiation by migrating after the initial activity of its host star had subsided. With a transit depth of 0.13 ± 0.02%, NGTS-4b represents the shallowest transiting system ever discovered from the ground, and is the smallest planet discovered in a wide-field ground-based photometric survey.
Flow structure over square bars at intermediate submergence: Large Eddy Simulation study of bar spacing effect

Turbulent open-channel flow over 2D roughness elements is investigated numerically by Large Eddy Simulation (LES). The flow over square bars for two roughness regimes (k-type roughness and transitional roughness between d-type and k-type) at a relative submergence of H/k = 6.5 is considered, where H is the maximum water depth and k is the roughness height. The selected roughness configurations are based on laboratory experiments, which are used for validating numerical simulations. Results from the LES, in turn, complement the experiments in order to investigate the time-averaged flow properties at much higher spatial resolution. The concept of the double-averaging (DA) of the governing equations is utilized to quantify roughness effects at a range of flow properties. Double-averaged velocity profiles are analysed and the applicability of the logarithmic law for rough-wall flows of intermediate submergence is evaluated. Momentum flux components are quantified and roughness effect on their vertical distribution is assessed using an integral form of the DA-equations. The relative contributions of pressure drag and viscous friction to the overall bed shear stress are also reported.
The relationship between somatic cells and milk traits, and their variation in dairy sheep breeds in Slovakia

Dairy sheep sector is a traditional branch of livestock sector in Slovakia. Local breeds: Tsigai (TS) and Improved Valachian (IV) are the most numerous breeds. Highly productive specialized dairy breeds: East Friesian and Lacaune (LC) were launched in the 1970s and 1990s, respectively. In order to increase milk yield of local breeds, twoand threebreed crossbred composite populations (either on base of TS or IV) were formed during two last decades. Daily milk yield, fat and protein contents and factors affecting their variation in dairy sheep were studied in detail (Oravcová et al., 2006, 2007). Not only daily milk yield, fat and protein contents are good determinants of the quality of sheep milk, but also somatic cell count (SCC) is an important udder health indicator (Abdelgawad et al., 2016). Mastitis is a costly health problem in dairy ewes (Arias et al., 2012); mammary infections damage udder tissue ABSTRACT. The objective of this study was to analyse milk traits (milk yield from morning milking, and fat, protein and lactose contents) and somatic cell count (SCC) in dairy sheep breeds in Slovakia: Tsigai (TS), Improved Valachian (IV) and Lacaune (LC), and their crosses (IV × LC and TS × LC). Milk performance testing was performed between 2010 and 2013. Mixed model for milk traits included fixed factors: SCC class (low, medium high), lactation number, month in milk, year-month of measurement, genotype, lactation number × month in milk interaction, lactation number × SCC class interaction, and random effects of ewe and residual error. Mixed model for log10SCC (decadic logarithm of SCC) included the same factors except for SCC class and lactation number × SCC class interaction. Instead, covariates of milk yield and milk components were considered. Milk yield and lactose content decreased (P ≤ 0.05 and P ≤ 0.01, respectively), whereas fat and protein contents increased (P ≤ 0.05 and P ≤ 0.01, respectively) with increasing SCC. Similar trends were revealed when relationships between log10SCC and milk yield and milk components were investigated through linear regressions and correlations (however, not all regressions were statistically significant, also correlations between log10SCC and milk yield and between log10SCC and fat content were very weak). To ensure the effectiveness of mastitis control programmes, further research is needed to understand an importance of somatic cells function as an indicator of health status which may affect ewe udder, milk yield and milk components. Received: 15 June 2017 Revised: 5 December 2017 Accepted: 1 June 2018