Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
DIETARY FIBRE CONTENT, PHENOLIC COMPOUNDS AND ANTIOXIDANT ACTIVITY IN SOURSOPS (Annona muricata L.)

Healthy eating is associated with the consumption of fruits, which are notable for their beneficial effects on human health. The aim of this study was to evaluate the proximate composition, composition of fibers and components with antioxidant activity in soursops varieties Crioula, Lisa and Morada of physiological maturity (PM) and mature (M). The protein, lipid and moisture contents did not differ between soursop varieties, but the ash contents were higher in the Morada-PM (0.56%±0.03) and the Morada-M (0.82%±0.10) varieties. The Crioula-M variety showed higher levels of total dietary fibre (5.76%±0.12). The Lisa-M variety showed higher levels of insoluble dietary fibre (4.46%±0.00). The Lisa-M variety also showed a higher level of phenolic compounds (284.25 mg gallic acid/100 g of soursop pulp), differing significantly (p <0.05) from the Crioula-PM soursop (154.40 mg of gallic acid/100 g of soursop pulp). Under the DPPH• system, the soursops that showed highest antioxidant activity were the Crioula-M (EC50 of 156.40 g.g DPPH-1) and the Crioula-PM (EC50 of 162.41 g.g DPPH-1), which differed significantly from the Morada soursops. The results suggest that the consumption of soursops is useful for increasing concentrations of bioactive compounds and dietary fibre.
A Joint Test of Price Discrimination, Menu Costs and Currency Invoicing

This paper investigates price discriminating behaviour and currency invoicing decisions of Canadian pork exporters in the presence of menu costs. It is shown that when export prices are negotiated in the exporter’s currency, menu costs cause threshold effects in the sense that there are bounds within (outside of) which price adjustments are not (are) observed. Conversely, the pass-through is not interrupted by menu costs when export prices are denominated in the importer’s currency. The empirical model focuses on pork meat exports from two Canadian provinces to the U.S. and Japan. Hansen’s (2000) threshold estimation procedure is used to jointly test for currency invoicing and incomplete pass-through in the presence of menu costs. Inference is conducted using the bootstrap with pre-pivoting methods to deal with nuisance parameters. The existence of menu cost is supported by the data in three of the four cases. It also appears that Quebec pork exporters price discriminate and invoice in Japanese yen their exports to Japan. Manitoba exporters also seem to follow the same invoicing strategy, but their ability to increase their profit margin in response to large enough own-currency devaluations is questionable. Our currency invoicing results for sales to the U.S. are consistent with subsets of Canadian firms using either the Canadian or U.S. currency.
Strategic Planning , Planning Outcomes and Organizational Performance – An Empirical Study of Commercial Banks in Kenya

This study investigates the influence of strategic planning and planning outcomes; planning outcomes and firm performance. Measures of strategic planning were seven dimensions namely internal orientation, external or ientation, functional integration, key personnel involvement in planning, use of planning techniques, creativity in planning, focus on control. Measures of planning outcomes co mprised direction and focus, sustainable competitive advantage, firm-environment fit, efficiency in allocation of resources, improved innovation, greater organizatio nal commitment, improved coordination and control of organization activities, improved organizational analysis. Measures of firm performance were both financial and non financial. Financial items composed of Gross Profit Margin, Return on Investme nt and Return on Asset. Non financial items comprised of ability to evaluate al ternatives, ability to avoid mistakes, improved budget process. Commercial banks in Kenya were studied using both primary and secondary data. In this study, a census of 44 c ommercial banks in Nairobi Kenya was done. The majority (80 per cent) of the respon dents were managers in charge of planning and 20 per cent were either heads of human resource departments or business and marketing department. Various data analysis procedures were applied including descriptive analysis, Pearson Moment Correlation Co efficient; F-statistics were used in order to accomplish the objectives of the study. Hy potheses H1, H2, H3 were tested for correlation. The study found that there are a positve and significant relationship between strategic planning (seven dimensions of pla nning) and firm performance; strategic planning and planning outcomes and finall y planning outcomes and firm performance. Thus, the study suggests that effectiv e and focused strategic planning lead to positive change in firm performance. This study therefore is significant since it has contributed immensely to the body of knowledge more specifically in strategic pl anning where key variables of the study have been linked i ndividually to organizational performance. The study also impacts positively to the readers and scholars where they are able to relate strategic planning, planning out comes and performance in a real working environment and interrogate the existing theories and concepts in the area of strategic management in the African context.
Seismological studies of ZZ Ceti stars – II. Application to the ZZ Ceti class

We used the detected pulsation modes and adiabatic pulsation models to do seismology of the class of ZZ Ceti stars and measure the H layer mass for 83 stars. We found the surface hydrogen layer to be within the range 10― 9.5 ≥ M H /M * ≥10- 4 , with an average of M H /M * = 10 ―6.3 , which is thinner than the predicted value of M H /M * = 10 ―4 , indicating that the stars lose more mass during their evolution than previously expected. These results are preliminary and do not include the possible effects of realistic C/O profiles on the fits.
Estimating A Small Scale Macroeconomic Model of the Jamaican Economy: Some Preliminary Results

This paper presents some preliminary results from the estimation of a small-scale model of the Jamaican economy. An aggregate demand and a stable money demand function were identified in a cointegrating framework. Further, the analysis of the Phillips curve relation points to the possibility of some inflation/output tradeoff. The model simulations highlighted the potency of monetary policy and the importance of exchange rate behaviour in stabilizing inflation. The main transmission channel of monetary policy was through the exchange rate, with a relatively small role for the credit channel.
Bacterial attachment to phytoplankton in the pelagic marine environment

Direct interactions between phytoplankton and bacteria are hypothesized to impact bloom dynamics, community succession, and primary productivity. Such impacts may be depen- dent upon bacterial attachment to phytoplankton, but few studies have quantified this relation- ship in natural marine waters and little is known regarding factors regulating attachment. During a study of thin layer dynamics in Monterey Bay, California, USA, we collected over 18 000 phyto- plankton cells and analyzed them for attached bacteria. We focused our statistical analysis on abundant diatoms and dinoflagellates often associated with thin layers and surface slicks. More than 90% of phytoplankton cells analyzed did not harbor attached bacteria. When colonization had occurred, a single attached bacterium was the most common occurrence and few cells had multiple attached bacteria. Visually healthy phytoplankton were rarely colonized, but those col- lected outside of dense thin layers and surface slicks had higher incidences of colonization and were more likely to harbor multiple bacteria. Longer diatom chains had a higher probability of being colonized and of bacteria being selectively attached to specific regions within the chains. These results strongly suggest that phytoplankton abundance, health, and morphology regulate colonization by bacteria in the natural marine environment.
Using Health Belief Model to Prevent Skin Cancer among Farmers

Background and objecti ve: Skin cancer is the most frequent malignancy in Iran. Exposure to excessive ultraviolet radiati on is an important risk factor in creati ng skin tumors. This study was conducted to determine the effecti veness of the Health Belief Model (HBM) on the health educati on of Farmers in Sirjan. Methods: This study was a quasi-experimental study. Two hundred Farmers attending health centers in Sirjan city, were selected to parti cipate in this study (100 in interventi on group and 100 in the control group). The interventi on was conducted over two sessions in 60 minutes. Data were collected by a validated and reliable questi onnaire (49 questi ons) before interventi on and three months aft er the interventi on. Data was analyzed by chi-square, Fisher’s exact, paired t-tests and independent t-test. Results: Aft er interventi on, knowledge scores increased significantly in both interventi on and control group, which was probably due to the routi ne educati on program in that center. Perceived suscepti bility, perceived severity, perceived benefits, perceived barriers, cues to acti on, and self-efficacy increased significantly in the interventi on group (p<0.001). But, there was no increase or significant difference in the control group. Conclusion: HBM was effecti ve in educati ng the Farmers. Therefore, it is proposed to use HBM along with the traditi onal training methods in training farmers.
Predicting Typhoon Morakot’s Catastrophic Rainfall with a Convection-Permitting Mesoscale Ensemble System

Abstract This study examines the prediction and predictability of the recent catastrophic rainfall and flooding event over Taiwan induced by Typhoon Morakot (2009) with a state-of-the-art numerical weather prediction model. A high-resolution convection-permitting mesoscale ensemble, initialized with analysis and flow-dependent perturbations obtained from a real-time global ensemble data assimilation system, is found to be able to predict this record-breaking rainfall event, producing probability forecasts potentially valuable to the emergency management decision makers and the general public. Since all the advanced modeling and data assimilation techniques used here are readily available for real-time operational implementation provided sufficient computing resources are made available, this study demonstrates the potential and need of using ensemble-based analysis and forecasting, along with enhanced computing, in predicting extreme weather events like Typhoon Morakot at operational centers.
Continental drivers of ammonium and nitrate in Australian soil under different land uses

Abstract. Soil N is an essential element for plant growth, but its mineral forms are subject to loss to the environment by leaching and gaseous emissions. Despite its importance for the soil-plant system, factors controlling soil mineral N concentrations over large spatial scales are not well understood. We used NH 4 + and NO 3 − concentrations (0–30 cm depth) from 469 sites across Australia, and determined soil controls on their regional variation. Soil mineral N varied regionally but depended on the different land uses. In the agricultural region of Australia, NH 4 + tended to be depleted (4.9 ± 4.8 vs. 5.6 ± 9.0 mg N kg −1 ) and NO 3 − was significantly enriched (6.0 ± 9.2 vs. 3.8 ± 9.9 mg N kg −1 ), compared to the non-agricultural ecological region. The relative importance of soil controls on mineral N in the agricultural region, identified by the model trees algorithm Cubist, showed that NH 4 + was affected by total N, cation exchange capacity (CEC) and pH. In the ecological region, NH 4 + was affected by CEC and pH, but also organic C and total P. In each of the regions, NO 3 − was primarily affected by CEC, with more complex biophysical controls. In both regions, correlations between mineral N and soil C : N : P stoichiometry suggest that more NH 4 + was found in P-depleted soil relative to total C and total N. However, our results showed that only in the other ecological region, NO 3 − was sensitive to the state of C and its interaction with N and P. The models helped to explain 36–68 % of regional variation in mineral N. Although soil controls on high N concentrations was highly uncertain, we found that region-specific interactions of soil properties control mineral N concentrations and therefore it is essential to understand how they alter soil mechanisms and N cycling at large scales.
Yeast-mycelial dimorphism of haploid and diploid strains of Ustilago maydis

Summary: Control of the pH of liquid synthetic culture media made possible mycelial growth of both diploid and haploid strains of Ustilago maydis. Whereas at neutral pH the fungus grew as a homogeneous population of budding yeast-like cells (sporidia), at acid pH it developed in the mycelial form. Mycelial cells appeared branched and narrower than yeast cells. Cell morphology was affected by the carbon and nitrogen sources. When the culture medium was removed continuously or intermittently, very long, filamentous cells were formed. Colonies of haploid strains developed aerial mycelium (‘fuzz’ morphology) on acid solid medium. Null b, bW, and bE mutants behaved in the same way as haploid wild-type strains. It is suggested that growth at low pH overcomes the control processes governed by heterologous bE and bW loci.
Structural and optical analyses of GaP/Si and (GaAsPN/GaPN)/GaP/Si nanolayers for integrated photonics on silicon

We report a structural study of molecular beam epitaxy-grown lattice-matched GaP/Si(0 0 1) thin layers with an emphasis on the interfacial structural properties, and optical studies of GaAsP(N)/GaP(N) quantum wells coherently grown onto the GaP/Si pseudo substrates, through a complementary set of characterization tools. Room temperature photoluminescence at 780 nm from the (GaAsPN/GaPN) quantum wells grown onto a silicon substrate is reported. Despite this good property, the time-resolved photoluminescence measurements demonstrate a clear influence of non-radiative defects initiated at the GaP/Si interface. It is shown from simulations, how x-ray diffraction can be used efficiently for analysis of antiphase domains. Then, qualitative and quantitative analyses of antiphase domains, micro-twins, and stacking faults are reported using complementarity of the local transmission electron microscopy and the statistical x-ray diffraction approaches.
Comparing growth rate in a mixed plantation (walnut, poplar and nurse trees) with different planting designs: results from an experimental plantation in northern Italy

800x600 Results of a mixed plantation with poplar, walnut and nurse trees established in winter 2003 in Northern Italy, are reported. Main tree species (poplar and walnut) were planted according to a rectangular design (10 x 11m), with different spacings and alternate lines. The experimental trial was carried out to verify the following working hypotheses: ( i ) possibility to combine main trees with different growth levels (common walnut, hybrid walnut, and different poplar clones) and test two different poplar and walnut spacings (5.0 and 7.4 m) in the same plantation; ( ii ) opportunity to reduce cultivation’s workload, in comparison with poplar monoculture, using mixtures with different poplar clones and N-fixing nurse trees; ( iii ) verifying the growth pattern of two new poplar clones in comparison with the traditional clones cultivated for different purposes in Italy.The use of different valuable crop trees’ mixtures intercropped with nurse trees and shrubs (including N-fixing trees) allows to decrease the cultivation’s workload. In fact, a heavy reduction of cultural practices - fertilizers, weed control, irrigation and pesticides applications (-61%) are the main concurrent, supplementary benefits. The best growth performances (DBH and tree height), associated with the higher competition towards walnuts, were recorded with the new clones Lena and Neva in comparison with the I214 and Villafranca. The closer spacing (5 m between poplar and walnut trees) was found to be unsuited to get merchantable poplars sized 30 cm without developing a heavy competition towards walnut trees. The wider spacing (7.4 m) resulted vice versa suitable to get poplar trees sized as requested by veneer factories and to maintain an acceptable competitive level with walnut. Within this plantation design, a shorter rotation (8 yrs) is needed for Lena and Neva clones in comparison with I214 and Villafranca (10 yrs). Walnut intercropped with poplar showed cone-shaped crowns, light branching and a good stem quality in comparison with walnut grown in pure plantations. This model of mixed plantation can become an interesting optional choice to walnut's and poplar's monoculture with notable advantages both for farm economics, landscape quality and environment preservation. Normal 0 14 false false false IT X-NONE X-NONE st1\:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Tabella normale"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0cm; mso-para-margin-bottom:. 0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";}
Hyper-Sphere Quantization: Communication-Efficient SGD for Federated Learning

The high cost of communicating gradients is a major bottleneck for federated learning, as the bandwidth of the participating user devices is limited. Existing gradient compression algorithms are mainly designed for data centers with high-speed network and achieve $O(\sqrt{d} \log d)$ per-iteration communication cost at best, where $d$ is the size of the model. We propose hyper-sphere quantization (HSQ), a general framework that can be configured to achieve a continuum of trade-offs between communication efficiency and gradient accuracy. In particular, at the high compression ratio end, HSQ provides a low per-iteration communication cost of $O(\log d)$, which is favorable for federated learning. We prove the convergence of HSQ theoretically and show by experiments that HSQ significantly reduces the communication cost of model training without hurting convergence accuracy.
$\Lambda_b \to p \ell^- \bar{\nu}_\ell$ and $\Lambda_b \to \Lambda_c \ell^- \bar{\nu}_\ell$ form factors from lattice QCD with relativistic heavy quarks

William Detmold, Christoph Lehner, and Stefan Meinel 3, 4, ∗ Center for Theoretical Physics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA Physics Department, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, NY 11973, USA Department of Physics, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721, USA RIKEN BNL Research Center, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, NY 11973, USA Measurements of the Λb → p `ν̄` and Λb → Λc `ν̄` decay rates can be used to determine the magnitudes of the CKM matrix elements Vub and Vcb, provided that the relevant hadronic form factors are known. Here we present a precise calculation of these form factors using lattice QCD with 2+1 flavors of dynamical domain-wall fermions. The b and c quarks are implemented with relativistic heavy-quark actions, allowing us to work directly at the physical heavy-quark masses. The lattice computation is performed for six different pion masses and two different lattice spacings, using gauge-field configurations generated by the RBC and UKQCD collaborations. The b→ u and b→ c currents are renormalized with a mostly nonperturbative method. We extrapolate the form factor results to the physical pion mass and the continuum limit, parametrizing the q-dependence using z-expansions. The form factors are presented in such a way as to enable the correlated propagation of both statistical and systematic uncertainties into derived quantities such as differential decay rates and asymmetries. Using these form factors, we present predictions for the Λb → p `ν̄` and Λb → Λc `ν̄` differential and integrated decay rates. Combined with experimental data, our results enable determinations of |Vub|, |Vcb|, and |Vub/Vcb| with theory uncertainties of 5.0%, 2.2%, and 5.3%, respectively.
A Class of Parameterized Loss Functions for Classification: Optimization Tradeoffs and Robustness Characteristics.

Recently, a parametrized class of loss functions called $\alpha$-loss, $\alpha \in [1,\infty]$, has been introduced for classification. This family, which includes the log-loss and the 0-1 loss as special cases, comes with compelling properties including an equivalent margin-based form which is classification-calibrated for all $\alpha$. We introduce a generalization of this family to the entire range of $\alpha \in (0,\infty]$ and establish how the parameter $\alpha$ enables the practitioner to choose among a host of operating conditions that are important in modern machine learning tasks. We prove that smaller $\alpha$ values are more conducive to faster optimization; in fact, $\alpha$-loss is convex for $\alpha \le 1$ and quasi-convex for $\alpha >1$. Moreover, we establish bounds to quantify the degradation of the local-quasi-convexity of the optimization landscape as $\alpha$ increases; we show that this directly translates to a computational slow down. On the other hand, our theoretical results also suggest that larger $\alpha$ values lead to better generalization performance. This is a consequence of the ability of the $\alpha$-loss to limit the effect of less likely data as $\alpha$ increases from 1, thereby facilitating robustness to outliers and noise in the training data. We provide strong evidence supporting this assertion with several experiments on benchmark datasets that establish the efficacy of $\alpha$-loss for $\alpha > 1$ in robustness to errors in the training data. Of equal interest is the fact that, for $\alpha < 1$, our experiments show that the decreased robustness seems to counteract class imbalances in training data.
Proactive environmental strategy in a supply chain context: the mediating role of investments

There is a growing body of knowledge on the link between environmental management and supply chain management, but there is contradicting evidence on the impact of a proactive environmental strategy on environmental performance. Therefore, this paper investigates the impact of proactive environmental strategy on environmental performance as mediated by environmental investments. We also consider the antecedents of the adoption of proactive environmental strategy. We develop and test hypotheses, using data collected from 96 Turkish manufacturers through an online questionnaire. The model was tested using partial least squares (PLS), a structural equation modelling method. The results show that a proactive environmental strategy leads to higher environmental investments; both internally and externally in collaboration with suppliers. Our findings support our hypothesis that environmental investments act as a mediating variable between proactive environmental strategy and environmental performance. The results also show that customer pressure and, particularly, organisational commitment positively impact the extent to which firms adopt a proactive environmental strategy.
Jin–Xin relaxation method used to solve the one-dimensional inviscid Burgers equation

We consider the Burgers equation and seek for its numerical solutions. The relaxation method of Jin and Xin, called the Jin–Xin relaxation method, is tested to solve the Burgers equation. We find that the Jin–Xin relaxation method solves the Burgers equation successfully. In addition, the Jin–Xin relaxation method holds the analytical properties of the Burgers equation better than the standard Lax–Friedrichs finite-volume method does.