Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Genotype × Environment Interactions in Highbush Blueberry (Vaccinium sp. L.) Families Grown in Michigan and Oregon

Twenty blueberry (Vaccinium sp. L.) families were planted in Michigan and Oregon to determine variability among families, locations and the importance of family × location interaction. The families were generated at Michigan State University from crosses among parents with a diverse genetic background. Seedlings were planted in field locations in Corvallis, Ore. , and East Lansing, Mich. , in 1995 and managed following standard commercial blueberry production practices with no insecticide or fungicide applications. In 1998-2000 the plants were evaluated for survival, bloom date, ripening date, plant growth and the fruit were scored for crop load, color, picking scar, firmness and size. All traits, except fruit color, varied significantly between locations. Plants in Oregon had a 36% greater survival rate and grew to be much larger, 80% taller and 104% wider, than those in Michigan. Families in Oregon flowered earlier in the year than those in Michigan but ripened at a similar time. Between locations, family differences were only evident for survival and fruit color. In Oregon, there were differences among families for all traits whereas in Michigan only survival, ripening date, plant height and width, and picking scar differed significantly. The family × environment interaction was not significant for crop load, fruit color and fruit firmness, so individuals selected on the basis of crop load, fruit color and fruit firmness should perform similarly in either location. There was a significant family × environment interaction for the other traits including survival, bloom date, ripening date, ripening interval, plant height and width, and for picking scar. Therefore, there is a need for individual selection programs at each location. Genotypes well adapted to Michigan may also do well in Oregon, but numerous promising genotypes could be missed for Oregon, if families are first selected in Michigan. The loss of numerous individuals due to winter cold may have reduced levels of variability in Michigan. nent of this for Michigan breeders was to understand which selection criteria would lead to the most broadly adapted cultivars. Second, we wanted to have a better idea of what to expect from cultivars developed in either region and planted in the other region. To address these questions, our specific objective was to evaluate variability in plant growth, phenology and reproductive character- istics in several diverse highbush blueberry families grown in Michigan and Oregon. Few published studies have evaluated genotype and environmental variability in blueberry families and most of these have been done at a single location across years (Aalders and Hall, 1975; Edwards et al., 1974; Finn and Luby, 1986; 1992; Luby and Finn, 1986; 1987). The other
Corporate Governance Mechanisms and Firm Performance: The Case of Ethiopian Insurance Industry

In this study the effects of board characteristics (specifically proportion of outsiders in the board, board size, CEO-Chairman duality, and board meeting frequency), debt policy, and dividend policy are investigated in the Ethiopian context using two theories of corporate governance, which are agency theory and stewardship theory. Financial performance is measured using return on assets and return on equity. The study used panel data and Pooled OLS regression to analyze the relationship between corporate governance mechanisms and firm performance using a data set of 8 insurance companies of Ethiopia over the period 2008-2012. The results show that proportion of outside directors, board size, debt ratio, and ownership have a significant negative effect on performance of insurance companies. However, boards meeting frequency, firm size and firm age, are identified to have a significant positive impact on firm performance. Dividend policy have no effect on firm performance while the effect of CEO-Chairman Duality remains untested since it is not practiced in any one of the insurance companies.
The effective factors and barriers of E-services customer's loyalty

By increasing development of e-commerce and its unavoidable role in developing the business, creation and keeping the loyalty of customers in cyber space has a great importance. Thus, the organizations by increasing the number of loyal customers and satisfying them try to benefits more in the competitive market. Today, most of the services by these organizations are given electronically and loyalty to the organizations is changed and it is in the form of e-loyalty. Thus, these organizations should be informed of this loyalty and effective factors on the formation of these permanent behaviors. In this study, after the investigation of literature of the effective factors on e-loyalty and its inhibiting factors, a new conceptual model was presented. By selecting 380 people of customers of these organizations and by confirmative factor analysis and exploratory, the effective factors and inhibiting factors of e-loyalty were identified and tested. The result of the research showed that e-satisfaction, mental image and brand, the quality of e-services-trust, switching costs, receive services characteristics and received services value and commitments are the most effective factors of e-loyalty of the customer, respectively and technical and technological barriers, security barriers, privacy, financial and economical, cultural and social barriers are the most important barriers of e-loyalty of customers.
Coastal Origin of Common Snook, Centropomus undecimalis, in Florida Bay

We used the elemental signatures of otoliths to investigate the coastal origin of common snook (Centropomus undecimalis) in Florida Bay, Florida and evaluate current management boundaries. We examined juvenile otoliths from Florida’s Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico (Gulf) populations and determined that there were significant differences in several elemental ratios (Mn/Ca, Cu/Ca, Sr/Ca, Ba/Ca). In addition, a discriminant function analysis (DFA) indicated a significant separation between the juveniles from each coast and otoliths were never misclassified by coast, indicating a distinct difference in their otolith chemistry. Using only juvenile otoliths to derive a calibration function, a separate DFA indicated that the adults from Florida Bay likely originated from both coasts of Florida in roughly equal proportions. Although these preliminary results contradict tagging studies, they concur with genetic studies suggesting that both east and west coast populations contribute to the common snook found in Florida Bay.
The Effect of Violent Video Game Exposure on the Aggression Level of Undergraduates

Video game violence has seen to be one of the factors that cause aggressive behaviour and this act of aggression can be a potential source of violence. This study provide a better understanding on how video game will influence an individual level of aggression through examining the possible contributing factors such as the time spent on playing violent video game, the type of video game with violent content or non-violent content. 100 undergraduates from Universiti of Tunku Abdul Rahman Perak Campus were invited to participate in this study using convenience sampling method. This quantitative research adopted Habitual Video Gaming Violent (HVGV) questionnaire to measure the frequency of video gaming and Buss and Perry (1992) aggression questionnaire to measure the aggression level of participants. The main findings of this study were the content (violent or non-violent) of video game and the frequency of violent video game played will affect an individual’s aggression level. In future research, a larger scale experiment may be carried out in different state of Malaysia and have a more diverse sample, including people of other races and ages to generate a more reliable data.
Investments Abroad and Performance at Home: Evidence from Italian Multinationals

Foreign activities of MNEs have important effects on home economies. The debate is ambiguous: concerns that foreign investments deplete domestic economies are often coupled with the pride for doing good business in foreign countries. This paper addresses this question by defining the appropriate counterfactual: what would have happened to investing firms if they had not invested abroad? It applies propensity score matching to derive these hypothetical performance trajectories from a sample of national firms which have never invested abroad. For a sample of Italian firms, it finds that investments improve growth of total factor productivity and output. It also finds no significant effects on employment. These results support the view that foreign investments strengthen rather than deplete home activities.
Monetary Policy under Balance Sheet Uncertainty

A group of developing countries bear high rates of financial dollarisation. Under this circumstance, monetary-policy makers are uncertain about the presence and scale of potentially harmful effects that might appear because of balance sheet mismatches arising from high and unexpected depreciations of the domestic currency. We build a setup whereby central bankers have two competing models in mind. Model A is a standard model for a small open economy whereas Model B has a builtin non-linear balance sheet effect. Whether the balance sheet mismatch problem exists or not, a Bayesian optimization procedure that assigns a positive probability to Model B, perpetuates model-indeterminacy. This happens because the optimal Bayesian regulator does not allow sizeable exchange rate swings (dirty floating), and therefore blurs the information to distinguish among models. We call this effect the Balance Sheet Trap. We show that, given the presence of the Balance Sheet Trap, introducing the learning dynamics into the central bankerâ€™s problem is optimal. Thus, we argue that intentional policy experimentation is highly desirable since it provides for an escape to the Balance Sheet Trap
Veblen, Bourdieu, and Conspicuous Consumption

Written just one hundred years ago, Thorstein Veblen's Theory of the Leisure Class ([1899] 1994) still represents a powerful critique of the neoclassical theory of consumption. In contrast to the individual's static maximization of utility according to exogenous preferences, as posited by the neoclassical approach, Veblen develops an evolutionary framework in which preferences are determined socially in relation to the positions of individuals in the social hierarchy. According to Veblen's theory of conspicuous consumption, individuals emulate the consumption patterns of other individuals situated at higher points in the hierarchy. The social norms that govern such emulation change as the economy and its social fabric evolve over time. Alongside a continuing, though limited, role in mainstream economics (Bagwell and Bernheim 1996; Basmann et al. 1988), the theory of conspicuous consumption has in recent years also been subjected to considerable criticism from outside of this mainstream. Three main issues have been raised. First, it has been argued that Veblen's approach is too restrictive in relying on the "trickle down" of consumption patterns from the top of the social hierarchy. The pacesetters for consumption may also be those at the bottom of the hierarchy (Fine and Leopold 1993; Lears 1993). It follows from this position that conspicuous consumption lacks generality as a theory of consumption since it applies only to luxury goods. Second, since Veblen's day it has been argued that consumers no longer display their wealth conspicuously. Status is conveyed in more sophisticated and subtle ways (Canterbery 1998; Mason 1998). And third, for those writing in the postmodern tradition, consumer behavior is no longer shaped by positions of s ocial class but by lifestyles that cut across the social hierarchy (Featherstone 1991; McIntyre 1992). In this paper we show that to some extent these arguments misrepresent Veblen's original conception of conspicuous consumption and take it out of context in relation to his overall framework. In addition, in order to develop a contemporary response to these arguments we examine the possible contribution that can be made using the work of Pierre Bourdieu, the sociologist and anthropologist who has been described as "France's leading living social theorist" (Shusterman 1999, 1).
Heterosis analysis for grain yield and yield component traits in rice (Oryza sativa L.)

An investigation in rice was undertaken to study the nature and magnitude of heterosis for yield and yield component traits involving ten high yielding lines and three superior grain quality testers and thirty hybrids were developed through line x tester mating design. Observations were recorded for days to 50% flowering, plant height, number of productive tillers per plant, panicle length, number of filled grains per panicle, hundred grain weight and single plant yield. Significant heterosis for grain yield and yield component traits were observed in most of the hybrids. Nine hybrids exhibited positive and significant heterosis over standard check but six crosses over better parent for single plant yield plant. Standard heterosis and heterobeltiosis for grain yield ranged from -15.64 to 20.04% and -23.75 to 15.50%, respectively. A total of four hybrids viz., ADT 39 x I.W. Ponni, ADT 43 x I.W. Ponni, ADT 49 x I.W. Ponni and CO (R) 50 x I.W. Ponni were recorded higher grain yield over both better parent and standard check and were identified as best hybrids for exploiting hybrid vigor. Most of the heterotic crosses for grain yield per plant were accompanied by heterosis for two or more component traits.
INFLUENCE OF VIDEO GAMES ON THE ACQUISITION OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE

In the past decade or two, there has been an obvious increase in the number of school children profici­ent in English. One of the reasons is the number of English classes per week, but even more important­ly, it is the influence of the media. Students are greatly exposed to video games. In this paper, a survey was conducted in order to find the connection between video-game playing and English proficiency. Ninety six students filled out the survey answering a range of question on the quantity and quality of their video game playing. The conclusion drawn was that video games have a profound impact on language learning. The areas of most benefit were vocabulary and pronunciation. As a form of highly desirable entertainment, video games provide a positive and motivating atmosphere, which is perfect for adopting a foreign language.
The Social and Economic Preferences of a Tech-Savvy Generation

We empirically characterise Millennials’ policy preferences with respect welfare provision across nine EU member states. Our main findings indicate two different tendencies driving a split in young people’s policy preferences over different policy objectives. The first tendency depends on the local economic context, calling for more redistributive policies and a more supportive role of the state when job opportunities are limited. The second tendency, which is unrelated to economic factors, drives Millennials’ positive attitudes towards the future and calls for policies that relate more to the idea of better risk-sharing and equal opportunities within the society.
Atmospheric inertia-gravity waves retrieved from level-2 data of the satellite microwave limb sounder Aura/MLS

Abstract. The temperature profiles of the satellite experiment Aura/MLS are horizontally spaced by 1.5° or 165 km along the satellite orbit. These level-2 data contain valuable information about horizontal fluctuations in temperature, which are mainly induced by inertia-gravity waves. Wave periods of 2–12 h, horizontal wavelengths of 200–1500 km, and vertical wavelengths of 6–30 km efficiently contribute to the standard deviation of the horizontal temperature fluctuations. The study retrieves and discusses the global distributions of inertia-gravity waves in the stratosphere and mesosphere during July 2015 and January 2016. We find many patterns that were previously present in data of TIMED/SABER, Aura/HIRDLS, and ECMWF analysis. However, it seems that Aura/MLS achieves a higher vertical resolution in the gravity wave maps since the maps are derived from the analysis of horizontal fluctuations along the orbit of the sounding volume. The zonal mean of the inertia-gravity wave distribution shows vertical modulations with scales of 10–20 km. Enhanced wave amplitudes occur in regions of increased zonal wind or in the vicinity of strong wind gradients. Further, we find a banana-like shape of enhanced inertia-gravity waves above the Andes in the winter mesosphere. We find areas of enhanced inertia-gravity wave activity above tropical deep convection zones at 100 hPa (z ∼ 13 km). Finally, we study the temporal evolution of inertia-gravity wave activity at 100 hPa in the African longitude sector from December 2015 to February 2016.
AN ESTIMATE OF INTERFERENCE EFFECT ON HORIZONTALLY POLARIZED SIGNAL TRANSMISSION IN THE TROPICAL LOCATIONS: A COMPARISON OF RAIN-CELL MODELS

With the recent growth in the use of satellites for an increasing range of devices, services, applications and users, there is a need to optimize the signal received for availability, reliability and tolerance to interference. A lot of prediction models have been used in recent times to estimate intersystem interference due to hydrometeor scattering on vertically polarized microwave signals into the receiver of earth-space communications systems operating at the same frequency. The horizontal polarization is usually not investigated because coupling between the transmitting and receiving systems is much less than in vertical polarization. Much as this is true in the temperate regions, the nature and characteristics of tropical rainfall which are quite distinct from the temperate rainfall, means that the horizontal polarization when transmitted should be investigated for hydrometeor induced interference in tropical regions. This present work computes transmission loss on horizontally polarized signals based on two models (Awaka and Capsoni). The results obtained are compared and it is observed that there is only a difference of 1 dB in the transmission loss between the models. However, at higher frequency (> 20 GHz), the Capsoni model does not produce values for the transmission loss L, while Awaka model predict a low interference at various antenna gain for percentages of time > 0.1%.
Pedagogical Practices in Teaching Reading Comprehension: A Case Study of Three EFL Teachers in a Secondary School in Ethiopia.

Various studies investigating psychological variables associated with reading comprehension are currently available. However, there has been little linguistic research conducted to examine the pedagogical practices of teachers in teaching reading comprehension of EFL Secondary Schools, Ethiopia. The present study was conducted to fill the research gap by examining the current practices of teachers in teaching reading and how the teachers handle and organize reading comprehension. This study employed a descriptive and interpretive case study design that was analyzed through qualitative methods. The data was collected from observations of the most experienced EFL teachers‘ best representative comprehension classes and interviews with these teachers at Fasilo Secondary School, Ethiopia. The observation results of a corpus of lessons and interviews with teachers about their work were analyzed using an evaluativeinterpretative paradigm. The results of this research revealed two-stranded themes. First, this study revealed that all the teachers exhibited similar practices of teaching reading comprehension, such as, giving PASAA Vol. 54 July December 2017 | 109 assignments and expecting correct responses and a brief description of the topic. It also revealed that the teachers neither focused on the content nor showed any attention to constructing meaning of the content in the text. It is recommended that teachers need to teach reading comprehension in a systematic way to help students be equipped strategies with improving their reading comprehension.
A Distinguishing Feature of the Balance 2∙f(O)−f(H) in Electrolytic Systems: The Reference to Titrimetric Methods of Analysis

The balance 2∙f(O)�f(H) provides a general criterion distinguishing between electrolytic redox and non-redox systems of any degree of complexity, in aqueous, non-aqueous and mixed-solvent media. When referred to redox systems, it is an equation linearly independent on charge (ChB) and elemental/core balances f(Yg) for elements/cores Yg 61⁄4 H and O, whereas for non-redox systems, 2∙f(O)�f(H) is linearly dependent on these balances. The balance 2∙f(O)�f(H) formulated for redox systems is the primary form (pr-GEB) of the generalized electron balance (GEB) as the fundamental equation needed for resolution of these systems. Formulation of GEB for redox systems needs no prior knowledge of oxidation numbers for all elements of the system. Any prior knowledge of oxidation numbers for all elements in components forming a redox system and in the species of the system thus formed is not necessary within the Approach II to GEB. Oxidants and reductants are not indicated. Stoichiometry and equivalent mass are redundant concepts only. The GEB, together with charge balance and concentration balances for elements 61⁄4 H and O, and the complete set of independent equations for equilibrium constants form an algorithm, resolvable with use of an iterative computer program. All attainable physicochemical knowledge can be included in the algorithm. Some variations involved with tests of possible reaction paths for metastable systems can also be made. The effects of incomplete physicochemical knowledge on the system can be also tested. One of the main purposes of this chapter is to provide the GEB formulation needed for resolution of redox systems and familiarize it to a wider community of chemists.
PHYTOPLANKTON - ELEMENT IN ECOLOGICAL STATUS ASSESSMENT FOR LAKES OF THE WEL RIVER CATCHMENT AREA

*** Institute of Environmental Protection, Kolektorska str. 4, 01–692 Warsaw Summary. Determination of the role of phytoplankton in the ecological status assessment was taken up for ten lakes of the Wel river catchment area. Spring (April) and summer (July) 2009 results of the total biomass and phytoplankton composition were compared. Based on the functional groups structure, the Q index was calculated for three chosen lakes. The greatest phytoplankton biomass (above 20 mg dm -3 ) in spring was recorded in four lakes situated on the Wel river. In July the planctonic algae biomass increased downstream and maximum value (52 mg dm -3 ) was observed in the farthest situated lake in Wel river catchment area. In summer Q index indicated a poor ecological status for Lake Rumian, a moderate state for Lake Lidzbarskie and a good status for Lake Kielpinskie.
Simulation of olive pits pyrolysis in a rotary kiln plant

This work deals with the simulation of an olive pits fed rotary kiln pyrolysis plant installed in Southern Italy. The pyrolysis process was simulated by commercial software CHEMCAD. The main component of the plant, the pyrolyzer, was modelled by a plug flow reactor in accordance to the kinetic laws. Products distribution and the temperature profile was calculated along reactor's axis. Simulation results have been found to fit well the experimental data of pyrolysis. Moreover, sensitivity analyses were executed to investigate the effect of biomass moisture on the pyrolysis process.
Watt transfer standard

The use of a time-division multiplier power meter as a watt transfer standard between the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and an industry standards laboratory is described. Measurements of power at 120 and 240 V, 5 A, 50 and 62 Hz, and at power factors of one and zero lagging are described. After the unit of power was transferred to the industrial laboratory, a comparison of the laboratory and NlST calibrations indicated an agreement to within 14 parts per million. <<ETX>>