Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Collaborative dynamics in street level work: Working in and with communities to improve relationships and reduce deprivation

Joint service delivery is a well-established aspect of urban governance but does not necessarily improve interagency collaboration or reduce socio-spatial deprivation. What happens in interactions between street level workers has a large influence on collaborative processes and outcomes but is remarkably underexplored. This article develops an understanding of the nature and impact of the relational practices enacted in street level collaboration. I argue that community-centred working can foster effective and authentic collaborative processes and, as a result, generate better societal outcomes. Based on a participatory evaluation conducted in Amsterdam, I critically appraise how working in and with communities moved collaborative dynamics in street level work away from habitual routines and power relations that sustained exclusion and inequality of local disadvantaged youngsters towards better internal relationships and less socio-spatial deprivation.
Efficacy of Different Bio-Pesticides against Major Sucking Pests on Brinjal under Field Conditions

A field study was carried out during 2015 at the experimental area of Entomology Section, Agriculture Research Institute, (ARI) Tando Jam to examine the efficacy of different bio-pesticides against major sucking pests on brinjal under field conditions. Four treatments with three replications were applied. The treatments were: T1=Neem (Azadirachta indica) , T2= Tobacco ( Nicotiana tabacum ), T3= Datura ( Datura stramonium ) and T4=Control (untreated). Three insect pests were found infesting brinjal including white flies, jassid and mites. Pre-treatment and post-treatment observations were recorded.The results revealed that against white fly, the first spray of Neem extract showed highest reduction percent (82.60%) followed by Tobacco extract (75.95%), Datura extract (73.93%), and lowest for untreated control (11.07%); while in the second spray also Neem extract showed highest effect against white fly (67.53%); followed by Tobacco extract (56.43%), Datura extract (42.25%), and least by untreated plot (5.49%). Against jassid, Neem extract showed highest effect (55.95%) as observed during 1 st spray, followed by Tobacco extract (53.38%), Datura o extract (63.11%) and untreated control (8.00%), while after second spray also Neem extract showed highest reduction percent (68.73%) followed by Tobacco extract (55.72%), Datura extract (50.66%) and the lowest was resulted by untreated control (13.90%). Against mites population on brinjal the first spray results showed that Neem extract showed highest effect (96.19%) followed by Tobacco extract (95.75%), Datura extract (86.86%) and least population was recorded in untreated control (9.96%). After second spray, Neem extract showed highest reduction percent (98.33%), followed by Tobacco extract (92.85%), Datura extract (88.93%) and the lowest reduction percent was resulted by untreated control (9.14%) respectively. Neem extract showed its superiority in effect to combat sucking insect pests studied in brinjal, followed by, Tobacco extract, Datura extract and untreated control remained the least.
Black Fathers’ Involvement in the Early Education of Their Children and Associated Factors: South African Context

Abstract Father’s absence in their children’s early lives is very prevalent in South Africa, especially among Black fathers. The purpose of this study is to examine the level of Black fathers’ involvement in the early education of their children and other associated factors in South Africa. The paper has two main findings; firstly, with regard to non-involvement in their children’s early lives, Black fathers have a high percentage due to their socioeconomic status and HIV/AIDS-related high mortality rate. Secondly, South Africa has acknowledged the criticality of the absent fathers’ problem and is embarking on programs meant to address the internal and external causative factors as well as to promote father involvement through sharing of ideas on responsible fathering. Thus, it is recommended that to address this problem there is a need to undertake the following: research studies, benchmarking, community counselling, policy reviews and integration of responsible fathering ideology in the school curriculum.
Sparse aperture masking at the VLT. I. Faint companion detection limits for the two debris disk stars HD 92945 and HD 141569

Aims. Observational data on companion statistics around young stellar systems is needed to flesh out the formation pathways for extrasolar planets and brown dwarfs. Aperture masking is a new technique that is able to address an important part of this discovery space. Methods. We observed the two debris disk systems HD 92945 and HD 141569 with sparse aperture masking (SAM), a new mode offered on the NaCo instrument at the VLT. A search for faint companions was performed using a detection strategy based on the analysis of closure phases recovered from interferograms recorded on the Conica camera. Results. Our results demonstrate that SAM is a very competitive mode in the field of companion detection. We obtained 5σ highcontrast detection limits at λ/D of 2.5 × 10 −3 (ΔL � = 6.5) for HD 92945 and 4.6 × 10 −3 (ΔL � = 5.8) for HD 141569. According to brown dwarf evolutionary models, our data impose an upper mass boundary for any companion for the two stars to, respectively, 18 and 22 Jupiter masses at minimum separations of 1.5 and 7 AU. The detection limits is mostly independent of angular separation, until reaching the diffraction limit of the telescope. Conclusions. We have placed upper limits on the existence of companions to our target systems that fall close to the planetary mass regime. This demonstrates the potential for SAM mode to contribute to studies of faint companions. We furthermore show that the final dynamic range obtained is directly proportional to the error on the closure phase measurement. At the present performance levels of 0.28 degree closure phase error, SAM is among the most competitive techniques for recovering companions at scales of one to several times the diffraction limit of the telescope. Further improvements to the detection threshold can be expected with more accurate phase calibration.
Quasi Doppler Effects Associated With Spatio-Temporal Translatory, Moving, and Active Boundaries

Moving sources and spatiotemporally dependent boundaries have been introduced in the past, in order to facilitate analyses of the so called "Doppler effect" phenomena. Here a model is introduced for generalized situations involving translatory and moving surfaces on which certain boundary or source conditions are prescribed. The ambiguity arising from analyses of Doppler-like effects in electromagnetics as well as acoustics, in which the (mathematical) translatory surface is not explicitly distinguished from the (physical) moving object is carefully discussed here, and the role of physics, e.g., in the form of Einstein's Special Relativity theory, is considered. The present approach facilitates the general reformulation of the Doppler effect class of problems and suggests meaningful first order v/c (relative velocity) approximations which can then be employed for more complicated problems. Quasi Doppler effects are introduced in order to replace the inherent "inverse problem" nature of the scattering Dopp.
Revisiting the Extended Schmidt Law: The Important Role of Existing Stars in Regulating Star Formation

We revisit the proposed extended Schmidt law, which posits that the star formation efficiency in galaxies depends on the stellar mass surface density, by investigating spatially resolved star formation rates (SFRs), gas masses, and stellar masses of star formation regions in a vast range of galactic environments, from the outer disks of dwarf galaxies, to spiral disks and to merging galaxies, as well as individual molecular clouds in M33. We find that these regions are distributed in a tight power law as ∝ , which is also valid for the integrated measurements of disk and merging galaxies at high-z. Interestingly, we show that star formation regions in the outer disks of dwarf galaxies with down to 10−5 yr−1 kpc−2, which are outliers of both the Kennicutt–Schmidt and Silk–Elmegreen laws, also follow the extended Schmidt law. Other outliers in the Kennicutt–Schmidt law, such as extremely metal-poor star formation regions, also show significantly reduced deviation from the extended Schmidt law. These results suggest an important role for existing stars in helping to regulate star formation through the effect of their gravity on the midplane pressure in a wide range of galactic environments.
Modeling and simulation of the drying of beech timber (Fagus Sylvatica) using oscillating regimes

This paper represents a numerical study of the massive (60mm) and thin (38mm) wood drying using oscillating drying regimes applied on beech timber (Fagus sylvatica). All thermo-physical properties relative of studied wood are taken from the literature on appropriate experiments. We showed that Luikov's model can be used to predict temperature and moisture content evolutions using oscillating regimes. First numerically tests on 60mm timber wood consists in increasing and decreasing alternation of the drying parameters (temperature), at the rising 12-15°C and at the descent 10-12°C, every alternation being higher than the precedent with 2-4°C. Second numerical test consists to oscillate the values of equilibrium moisture content with the oscillation amplitudes of ±10% and ±20% at the frequencies of 6hours. These practical experiments are detailed in the literature. Luikov's model gives satisfactory results, according to the experiments obtained in the literature. But, convective transfer coefficients are function of each experiment and we observed a short difference between oscillation amplitudes of ±10% and ±20% on moisture content evolution. Thus, Luikov's model can be a tool to study oscillation drying timber in order to reduce consumption of energy during the drying process.
Ionic Influences on Recombination in Perovskite Solar Cells

The origins of recombination processes, particularly those that relate to current–voltage hysteresis, are still unclear in perovskite solar cells. Of particular interest is the impact different contact materials have on the level of hysteresis observed. This work shows that there is a clear link between ionic movement and interfacial recombination, which have both been shown to be responsible for hysteresis. When low-temperature transient photovoltage (TPV) measurements are performed over a period in which ions redistribute within the perovskite layer, the dominant recombination mechanism, responsible for hysteresis and other slow dynamic processes, is found to occur at the TiO2/perovskite interface. We observe an anomalous negative transient upon firing the laser pulse, which we attribute to interfacial recombination at the TiO2/perovskite interface. The impact of recombination at the perovskite/HTL interface is shown to be negligible by performing TPV measurements using different laser wavelengths to pr.
Can Lonely Riders Become Three Musketeers? Creating Effective Joint Operations among Farmers

Individuals as well as organizations often need to work together to achieve economies of scale and scope. However, collaboration can be a challenge, and one example in which the potential benefit of cooperation has been difficult to realize are joint operations within the Norwegian farming industry. Thus, the purpose of this article is to illuminate why some of these joint operations fail while others prevail. We conducted in-depth interviews and gathered performance data in 10 joint farming operations, with our results revealing systematic patterns; those operations which had the highest level of performance and satisfaction had low levels of conflicts, whereas the others had higher level of conflicts. For the least successful operations, the conflicts were predominantly relational and typically approached with contention. Furthermore, the conflict patterns were systematically linked to team design and team planning, in which a balance and stability between partners, as well as a careful consideration of task issues and team issues, seem to be key variables.
Effect of Metakaolin on Concrete Produced with a Pozzolan

The physical and mechanical properties of Portland Cement containing metakaolin or combination of metakaolin and pozzolan ((Palm Bunch Ash (PBA)) and the compatibility between such materials were investigated in this study. A mix proportion of 1:2:6:4.1 with water/cement ratio of 0.4 were used. The percentage replacement of ordinary Portland Cement (OPC) with a pozzolan (Palm Bunch Ash) (PBA) and Pozzolan/metakaolin used were 0%, 5%, 10%, 20%, 30% and 40%. Concrete cubes were cast and cured at different days. Similarly, the setting time was also determined. At the end of each hydration period, the concrete cubes were crushed and their compressive strength determined. Similarly the setting time of Ordinary Portland Pozzolan and Ordinary Portland Cement/Pozzolan and Metakaolin was also determined. The result of the compressive strength of 5-40% replacement cement with the Pozzolan (PBA) ranges from 5.87 – 35.50 N/mm 2 as against 14.10 – 36.22N/mm 2 for the control test. Similarly, the result of the compressive strength of 5-40% replacement of cement with pozzolan and metakaolin ranges from 6.40 – 35.90N/mm 2 as against 14.10 – 36.22N/mm 2 for the control test. The setting time of cement with 5-40% replacement of cement with pozzolan (PBA) ranges from 57 – 109 mins for the initial setting time and 608 – 731mins for the final setting time as against 50 mins and 585 mins respectively for the initial and final setting time of the control test. Similarly, the setting time of cement with 5-40% replacement of cement with the pozzolan (PBA) and metakaolin ranges from 54-98 mins for the initial setting time and 590 – 692 mins for the final setting time as against 50mins and 585 mins respectively for the initial and final setting time of the control tests.
Role of Dynamic Capabilities in the Performance of Manufacturing Firms in Nairobi County, Kenya

The advent of globalization has brought with it drastic changes to the operating landscape for firms in the manufacturing sector. The need for transformational changes so as sustain competitive advantage has been on the rise. Firms are expected to continuously re-engineer their business models and operations to catch up with the turbulent environment. Previous studies have investigated the contribution of manufacturing firms in economic growth. Some have concentrated on the preferred approaches that countries should take, whether protectionism or free market. However, empirical studies investigating direct impact of dynamic capabilities on manufacturing firms’ performance have been minimal. The general objective of the study was to examine the influence of the three dimensions of dynamic capabilities (sensing capabilities, seizing capabilities and reconfiguration capabilities) on firm performance. The study was grounded on the Resource-Based View theory. An explanatory research design was used for the cross-sectional survey. Primary data was obtained from 271 out of 369 firms sampled from a population of 1,496 manufacturing firms in Nairobi County, Kenya, using a structured questionnaire instrument through drop and pick. The questionnaire was completed by the firms’ CEOs. Reliability and validity tests were carried out on the research instruments and study measures. Hypotheses were tested using regression analysis results, namely: - sensing capabilities (B=0.215, P<0.01), seizing capabilities (B=0.194, P<0.01) and reconfiguration capabilities (B=0.182, P<0.001). These three variables combined, contributed 25.9% (R2=0.259) of the variance in firm performance. The study concluded that deployment of dynamic capabilities has significant influence on firm performance.
EFFECTS OF VEGETABLE COAGULANTS IN THE PRODUCTION AND STORAGE OF TOFU

The aim of this study was to develop and characterize tofu with vegetable coagulant kiwi, ginger and lemon. Soybeans used for tofu processing was from conventional cultivar. Soybeans were analyzed in relation to moisture, protein, ash and pH. In soybean soluble extract (SSE) beyond analyzes of soybeans, were also analyzed acidity. In tofu I and II were carried out the analysis of yeld, syneresis index, moisture, ash, pH, protein, acidity, color, total count of psychrophilic and coliforms bacteria, at 1 st and 7 th day of storage. The tofu I and II showed no significant differences for acidity, pH and protein on the 1 st and 7 th days of storage. Yield and syneresis of the tofu I with kiwi and ginger were higher than the others. Microbiological analyzes are within the standards established by legislation. The results of this work show that the coagulants of kiwi, ginger and lemon can be used for the preparation of tofu and the best conditions for its obtaining were pH 2.0 and coagulation temperature of 80°C, obtaining tofu with more firm mass for the three analyzed coagulants.
Planning, implementation, and scientific goals of the Studies of Emissions and Atmospheric Composition, Clouds and Climate Coupling by Regional Surveys (SEAC4RS) field mission

The Studies of Emissions and Atmospheric Composition, Clouds and Climate Coupling by Regional Surveys (SEAC4RS) field mission based at Ellington Field, Texas, during August and September 2013 employed the most comprehensive airborne payload to date to investigate atmospheric composition over North America. The NASA ER‐2, DC‐8, and SPEC Inc. Learjet flew 57 science flights from the surface to 20 km. The ER‐2 employed seven remote sensing instruments as a satellite surrogate and eight in situ instruments. The DC‐8 employed 23 in situ and five remote sensing instruments for radiation, chemistry, and microphysics. The Learjet used 11 instruments to explore cloud microphysics. SEAC4RS launched numerous balloons, augmented AErosol RObotic NETwork, and collaborated with many existing ground measurement sites. Flights investigating convection included close coordination of all three aircraft. Coordinated DC‐8 and ER‐2 flights investigated the optical properties of aerosols, the influence of aerosols on clouds, and the performance of new instruments for satellite measurements of clouds and aerosols. ER‐2 sorties sampled stratospheric injections of water vapor and other chemicals by local and distant convection. DC‐8 flights studied seasonally evolving chemistry in the Southeastern U.S., atmospheric chemistry with lower emissions of NOx and SO2 than in previous decades, isoprene chemistry under high and low NOx conditions at different locations, organic aerosols, air pollution near Houston and in petroleum fields, smoke from wildfires in western forests and from agricultural fires in the Mississippi Valley, and the ways in which the chemistry in the boundary layer and the upper troposphere were influenced by vertical transport in convective clouds.
A Cross-cultural Perspective on Mothers’ Attitudes on Sharing Information with the Teachers on Which Child Has Been Conceived by Egg Donation

There is now a growing body of research examining psychological aspects of children born as a result of Assisted Reproductive Technologies (ARTs), in particular via egg donation. Some research suggests that concealment of children’s biological origins may affect their psychological development. Hence, there is current debate to decide how widely details about children’s conception should be disclosed to the public in particular to those involved in the education of children. Some parents maintain that the school should be informed so that teachers can offer support to children that reveal details about their origin. Others think this information should be kept private. The present study is focused on the debate as to whether the private information about the children’s conception should be shared with their teachers. This will be studied from the point of view of mothers with naturally conceived children and mothers of children born as a result of egg donation. Furthermore, the topic will be investigated from a cross-cultural perspective. Mothers of children born as a result of egg donation from Iran (N =4) and Britain (N =4), overall mean age = 39.37, and 69 mothers with naturally conceived children from Iran (N = 33) and Britain (N = 36), overall mean age = 36.79, were asked if they would agree that information about how their child was born should be shared with their teachers. The results were an overwhelming disagreement from all women that this information should be shared with teachers. However, Iranian women with naturally born children differed from their British counterparts in being relatively more positive on this subject, possibly an indication that they do not agree with conception via egg donation. The implications of the results are discussed. Keywords: Cross-cultural, Children’s conception, Egg Donation, Education
Chapter 5 Targeted delivery of siRNA using hybrid immunoliposomes

Gene silencing has immense potential in the treatment of cancer. However, enhancement of its efficiency requires the development of specifically targeted and safe carrier systems. Cationic carriers are generally limited by their immunogenicity. The results from the previous chapter (chapter 4) reveal that the silencing efficiency of non-cationic liposomes are not high and there is further scope for improvement of its therapeutic efficiency. Hence, in this study, we report hybrid liposomes encapsulating Poly (L-lysine)-si–RNA complex to silence epithelial cell adhesion molecule (EpCAM). The hybrid liposomes linked with EpCAM antibody as the targeting ligand showed an encapsulation efficiency of 85%, zeta potential of -26 mV and exhibited good colloidal stability in phosphate buffered saline containing bovine serum albumin (BSA) and fetal bovine serum (FBS) at 37°C. Cell uptake studies showed increased uptake of the hybrid immunoliposomes. Finally, the hybrid immunoliposomes were evaluated for their efficacy in regressing the tumor volume in SCID mice, which were induced with tumor. Eight doses each of 0.15 mg/kg, which is among the lowest reported si-RNA concentrations, were administered to the animals. About 45% reduction in tumor volume after 28 days was achieved in the hybrid immunoliposomes treated mice when compared with the positive control that was superior to the other groups. Thus, our results demonstrate that the ‘nano–in–nano’ concept of encapsulating poly (L–Lysine) complexed EpCAM in immunoliposomes may be a potential strategy to treat EpCAM positive epithelial cancers. 133 5.