Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Intangible Assets and the Organization of Global Supply Chains

This paper introduces the concept of intangible assets in sequential supply chains and the importance of their appropriability in the organizational decision of firms. We focus on the quality of intellectual property rights (IPR) institutions, which on top of the hold-up problem between a supplier and the final producer entails an additional risk of imitation as technology may leak to competing producers in the market. The level of IPR enforcement in the location of a supplier can therefore play a crucial role in determining the decision of a final good producer whether to outsource or integrate a particular stage of production. The analysis is performed with Antras and Chor (2013) in the background, where the position of the input along the supply chain, i.e. its upstreamness, and the degree of sequential complementarity of stage-specific inputs influence the organizational strategy of firms through the incentive structure of supplier investments. Our findings show that introducing intangible assets in sequential supply chain may have the opposite effect of contractibility on outsourcing decision, where only tangible property rights are considered. We argue therefore that the risk of imitation is a relevant feature that needs to be accounted for in the incomplete contract literature. Our theoretical predictions are validated on Slovenian firm-level data.
Determinants of Agripreneurship among the Rural Households of Ishielu Local Government Area of Ebonyi State

Despite the abundance of agripreneurial opportunities in rural communities of Ishielu Local Government Area of Ebonyi State, studies seem not to have captured the determinants of agripreneurship in the area. The study employed an ex post facto research design to generate relevant data using structured questionnaire administered as interview schedule on 120 purposively selected rural households. Data collected were analysed using descriptive and inferential (Logit regression analysis) statistics. Results showed that most of the agripreneurs (64.20%) were male who are within the mean productive age of 46 years and average household size of 7 persons. Meanwhile, the major agripreneurial activity of the people was farm production – arable crops, livestock, and fisheries from where they earn an average annual income of ninety-eight thousand, three hundred and forty three naira, twenty kobo ( N 98,343.20). The study identified access to credits and loans, tax rates, agripreneurial training, income level of the agripreneur, geographical location, availability of market, fertility of the soil, number of competitors, quantity of agricultural output, availability of social amenities, and the type of farming system practiced as having influence on agripreneurship drive among rural households. Similarly, land tenure system, lack of investment infrastructures, lack of technical know-how, poor training of rural households by extension agents, lack of access to research results, high interest rate on loan, high competitive market, poor returns to agricultural investment, and lack of access to loan as the major constraints to agripreneurship among rural households. Based on the findings, the study recommended provision of key investment infrastructures such as electricity, good roads, organised; and proper information dissemination to the rural households on how to identify viable agripreneurial opportunities. Keywords: agripreneurship, agripreneurs, investment, drive, rural, households, constraints
Numerical prediction of nonlinear rheology of branched polymer melts.

In a recent short communication [Read, D. J. et al., Science 333, 1871 (2011)], we showed that a computational scheme can describe the nonlinear flow properties for a series of industrial low-density polyethylene (LDPE) resins starting from the molecular architecture. The molecular architecture itself is determined by fitting parameters of a reaction kinetics model to average structural information obtained from gel-permeation chromatography and light scattering. Flow responses of these molecules in transient uniaxial extension and shear are calculated by mapping the stretch and orientation dynamics of the segments within the molecules to effective pom-pom modes. In this paper, we provide the details of the computational scheme and present additional results on a LDPE and a high-density polyethylene resin to illustrate the dependence of segmental maximum stretch variables on the flow rate.
Refractive laser triangulation and photometric stereo in underwater environment

Abstract. Laser triangulation and photometric stereo are commonly used three-dimensional (3-D) reconstruction methods, but they bear limitations in an underwater environment. One important reason is due to the refraction occurring at the interface (usually glass) of the underwater housing. The image formation process does not follow the commonly used pinhole camera model, and the image captured by the camera is a refracted projection of the object. We introduce a flat refraction model to describe the geometric relation between the refracted image and the real object. The model parameters were estimated in a calibration step with a standard chessboard. The proposed geometric relation is used for rebuilding underwater 3-D shapes in laser triangulation and photometric stereo. The experimental results indicate that our method can effectively correct the distortion in underwater 3-D reconstruction.
Intermittent filtration of bacteria and colloids in porous media

Intermittent filtration through porous media used for water and wastewater treatment can achieve high pathogen and colloid removal efficiencies. To predict the removal of bacteria, the effects of cyclic infiltration and draining events (transient unsaturated flow) were investigated. Using physical micromodels, we visualized the intermittent transport of bacteria and other colloids in unsaturated porous media. Column experiments provided quantitative measurements of the phenomena observed at the pore scale. Tagged Escherichia coli and a conservative tracer (NaI) were introduced in an initial pulse into a 1.5 m sand column. Subsequent hydraulic flushes without tagged bacteria or tracer were repeated every 4 hours for the next 4 days, during which outflow concentrations were monitored. Breakthrough behavior between colloids and dissolved tracer differed significantly, reflecting the differences in transport processes. Advancement of the wetting front remobilized bacteria which were held in thin water films, attached to the air‐water interface (AWI), or entrapped in stagnant pore water between gas bubbles. In contrast, the tracer was only remobilized by diffusion from immobile to mobile water. Remobilization led to successive concentration peaks of bacteria and tracer in the effluent but with significant temporal differences. Observations at the pore‐scale indicated that the colloids were essentially irreversibly attached to the solid‐water interface, which explained to some extent the high removal efficiency of microbes in the porous media. Straining, cluster filtration, cell lysis, protozoa grazing, and bacteriophage parasitism could also contribute to the removal efficiency of bacteria.
Choice of Eye Care Giver in A Rural Community of Ebonyi State Nigeria

Background: The Federal Teaching Hospital Abakaliki Nigeria was formulating a primary eye care plan for Igbeagu Development Centre as part of the comprehensive primary health care plan for the development centre. Objectives: To assess the choice of eye care giver by the people of Nchokko in Igbeagu development centre in Izzi LGA of Ebonyi State, Nigeria. Methodology: This is a total population study. Respondents were visited in their households and interviewed using the interviewer- administered questionnaire design. Results: There were 402 respondents of which 269 (68.9%) reported ever having eye symptoms. The common eye complaints were: red eye 135 (50.2 %), eye trauma 56 (20.8%), reduced vision 56 (20.8%), itching 5 (1.9%) and others 17 (6.3%). Majority (183 or 68.0%) practiced self-medication, 84 (31.2%) visited eye clinics while 2 (0.7%) did nothing. Respondents used eye drops 71.5% and ‘capsule powder’ 8.2%, from patent medicine shops; and also sugar water (8.2%), urine (3.3%), Breast milk (2.2), ‘Holy water’ (1.1%) and unspecified other (8.2%). Some of the respondents 98 (24.4%) used spectacles, of which only 24.5% were prescribed. The rest (75.5%) were procured without prescription. Conclusion: The residents in Nchokko community were found to resort to self medication more than orthodox eye care services. Higher educational level and male gender influenced choice of orthodox eye care. Recommendation: It is recommended that health education campaigns be carried out in this community with a view to discouraging self medication and increasing the utilisation of the available orthodox eye care services.
Childbearing and labour force participation in South Africa: sibling composition as an identification strategy?

This paper uses same sex sibling composition as a strategy to identify the exogenous effects of childbearing on female labour force participation in South Africa. International studies typically find that sibling sex composition is strong instrument for childbearing, satisfying the two properties of an instrumental variable. First, it is positively correlated with childbearing because couples have a preference for a mixed or balanced sibling sex composition. Second, sex sibling composition is a random occurrence and therefore exogenous with respect to female labour force participation. In contrast to international studies, this paper provides evidence that same sex sibling composition is a poor instrument for childbearing among Africans in South Africa. Two-stage least squares estimation of the effects of childbearing on female labour force participation reveals the weak explanatory power of sibling sex composition in first-stage estimations. The result is that very large standard errors are generated on instrumental variable estimates which cannot be interpreted with any level of confidence.
Linear Regression Approach for the Financial Risks of Shipping Industry

The aim of this study is to propose a linear regression approach for Black & Scholes model that is used for call option and put option to derive pricing and risk management. In this study, the effects of share prices, exercise prices, volatility and interest rate on put options are observed in an interactive manner. Financial risks of maritime transportation are studied in order to provide a feasible solution for the threats in the global maritime economic system. In conclusion, the unclear behaviors of the Black & Scholes models are revealed by the linear regression model. http://www.transnav. eu the International Journal on Marine Navigation and Safety of Sea Transportation Volume 11
The equatorial ionospheric response over Tirunelveli to the 15 January 2010 annular solar eclipse: observations

Abstract. In this paper we present a case study of the annular solar eclipse effects on the ionization of E and F regions of equatorial ionosphere over Tirunelveli [77.8° E, 8.7° N, dip 0.4° N] by means of digital ionosonde on 15 January 2010. The maximum obscuration of the eclipse at this station was 84% and it occurred in the afternoon. The E and F1 layers of the ionosphere showed very clear decrease in their electron concentrations, whereas the F2 layer did not show appreciable changes. A reduction of 30% was observed in the fo F1 during the maximum phase of the eclipse. During the beginning phase of the eclipse, an enhancement of 0.97 MHz was observed in the fo F2 as compared to that of the control days. But the fo F2 decreased gradually as the eclipse progressed and a decrease of 0.59 MHz was observed towards the end phase of the eclipse. Observed variations in the h 'F2 and hm F2 showed lower values than the control days, although hm F2 was found to increase a bit during the eclipse. Observed variability in the E, F1 and F2 layer ionospheric parameters on the eclipse day and their departure from the control days are discussed as the combined effect of annular eclipse and presence of counter equatorial electrojet (CEEJ).
Quantization Selection of Colour Histogram Bins to Categorize the Colour Appearance of Landscape Paintings for Image Retrieval

In the world of today, most images are digitized and kept in digital libraries for better organization and management. With the growth of information and communication technology, collection holders such as museums or cultural institutions have been increasingly interested in making their collections available anytime and anywhere for any Image Retrieval (IR) activities such as browsing and searching. In a colour image retrieval application, images retrieved by users are accomplished according to their specifications on what they want or acquire, which could be based upon so many concepts. We suggest an approach to categorize the colour appearances of whole scene landscape painting images based on human colour perception. The colour features in the image are represented using a colour histogram. We then find the suitable quantization bins that can be used to generate optimum colour histograms for all categories of colour appearances, which is selected based on theHarmonic Mean of the precision and recall, also known as F-Score percentage higher saturated value. Colour appearance attributes in the CIELab colour model (L-Lightness, a and b are colour-opponent dimension) are used to generate colour appearance feature vectors namely the saturation metric, lightness metric and multicoloured metric. For the categorizations, we use the Nearest Neighbour (NN) method to detect the classes by using the predefined colour appearance descriptor measures and the pre-set thresholds. The experimental results show that the quantization of CIELab colour model into 11 uniformly bins for each component had achieved the optimum result for all colour appearances categories.
INFERTILITY AND GENDER DIFFERENCE IN REACTION AMONG COUPLES AND FAMILY AND COMMUNITY TREATMENT: A STUDY OF PATIENTS ATTENDING N.K.S.T. HOSPITAL MKAR IN BENUE STATE, NIGERIA

The study investigated the incidence of marital instability among couples experiencing involuntary childlessness. The study employed the qualitative research design. Data was obtained from patients who reported for treatment at the infertility clinic in N.K. S.T Hospital, Makar, in Gboko LGA of Benue State, Nigeria through focus group discussions (FGD). Furthermore, healthcare providers and community members were also engaged through in-depth interviews. The result of the study shows that both men and women were in disbelief when they found that they were infertile. Similarly, men and women reacted differently to infertility and this is connected with family and community treatment. Furthermore, community members linked infertility to evil spirits, ancestral curses, witchcraft manipulations and promiscuity. The study concluded that community education and sensitisation is vital towards dispelling the myth associated with infertility causes, prevention and treatment and the understanding that only women can be infertile.
Krakatau caldera deposits: revisited and verification by geophysical means

One of the differences between volcanic craters and calderas is that the latter bottoms are flatways filled with caldera deposit with lower density in comparison to country rocks. The 1883 Krakatau eruption affords us important knowledge on caldera formation even if it was not observed with modern sophisticated instruments. First, volcanic activities of the Krakatau Islands before and after the 1883 eruption are reexamined: previous suppositions involving a caldera-forming eruption of the proto-Krakatau prior to 1883 proved to be unsupported by the bathymetric topographies and gravity anomalies on and around the Krakatau Islands. Then, Anak Krakatau is interpreted as a parasitic cone of the main Krakatau volcano. As supplementary knowledge to discussion of caldera deposits, the results of drillings at several calderas in Japan and Mexico are introduced. Mass deficiency of the caldera deposit at Krakatau caldera is estimated by the gravity anomaly observed there and converted to probable volume with suitable density. For quantitative examination of the subsurface structure beneath the Krakatau complex, spatial distributions of seismic S-wave attenuation and Vp/Vs ratios have been already studied by temporary seismological observations and their results have been published. The high ratios of Vp/Vs observed approximately at Krakatau caldera may be attributable to the caldera deposit that is low density and contain much water. As additional remarks, a zone having both the characters, S-wave attenuation and zones of relatively high Vp/Vs ratio, may be a probable magma reservoir centering at a depth of about 10 km.
Production and characterization of extracellular lipase secreted by Mucor geophillus

Nowadays, the growing interest in microbial lipase production by using the cheapest sources of carbon source, and its potential applications in biotechnological field has shown a remarkable place of prominence among the enzymes, owing to their significant ability to catalyze a wide variety of reactions in aqueous and non aqueous media. The purpose of this study was to enhance the production of lipase by Mucor geophillus in submerged culture condition, using molasses mineral medium as a low cost substrate and to increase the economical feasibility attractiveness. M. geophillus lipase was also assessed and characterized on the basis of some kinetic parameters. M. geophillus secreted higher yield of lipase at approximately 44.56 U.ml -1 at 72 h cultivation time. The optimal assay conditions were found at 60 min incubation of 2.0 and 8% enzyme and substrate concentration, respectively. However, lipase was active at 35°C and pH 6.5, but enzyme was found to be stable at about 70°C. From the range of pH 4.0 to 8.0, KCl enhanced the lipase activity, and had higher specific lipase activity towards the olive oil than other substrates. Key words : Lipase, Mucor geophillus , submerged fermentation, characterization.
The causal effect of recent leisure-time physical activity on all-cause mortality among the elderly

We analyze data collected as part of a prospective cohort study of elderly people living in and around Sonoma, CA, in order to estimate, for each round of interviews, the causal effect of leisure-time physical activity (LTPA) over the past year on the risk of mortality in the following two years. For each round of interviews, this effect is estimated separately for subpopulations defined based on past exercise habits, age, and whether subjects have had cardiac events in the past. This decomposition of the original longitudinal data structure into a series of point-treatment data structures corresponds to an application of historyadjusted marginal structural models as introduced by van der Laan et al. (2005). We propose five different estimators of the parameter of interest, based on various combinations of the usual G-computation, inverse-weighting, and double robust approaches for the two layers of missingness corresponding to the treatment mechanism and right-censoring by drop-out. The models for all nuisance parameters required by these different estimators are selected data-adaptively. For most subpopulations, our analyses suggest that high leisure-time physical activity reduces the subsequent two-year mortality risk by about 50%. Among populations of elderly people aged 75 years or older, these effect estimates are generally significant at the 0.05 level. Notably, our analyses also identify one subpopulation that is estimated to experience an increase in mortality risk when exercising at a higher level, namely subjects aged 75 years or older with previous cardiac events and no history of habitual exercise (RR: 2.33, 95% CI: 0.76-4.35).
Depth-habitat reorganization of planktonic foraminifera across the Albian/Cenomanian boundary

Abstract New mid-Cretaceous stable isotope (δ18O and δ13C) records of multiple planktonic foraminiferal species and coexisting coccoliths from Blake Nose (western North Atlantic) document a major depth-ecology reorganization of planktonic foraminifera. Across the Albian/Cenomanian boundary, deep-dwelling Praeglobotruncana stephani and Rotalipora globotruncanoides adapted to living at a shallower depth, while, at the same time, the population of surface-dwelling Paracostellagerina libyca declined. Subsequently, the opportunistic species Hedbergella delrioensis shifted to a deep environment, and the deep-dwelling forms Rotalipora montsalvensis and Rotalipora reicheli first appeared. The primary paleoenvironmental cause of the observed changes in planktonic adaptive strategies is uncertain, yet their coincidence with an earliest Cenomanian cooling trend reported elsewhere implicates the importance of reduced upper-ocean stratification. Although there has been an implicit assumption that the species-specific depth habitats of fossil planktonic foraminifera were invariant through time, planktonic paleoecology is a potential variable. Accordingly, the possibility of evolutionary changes in planktonic foraminiferal depth ecology should be a primary consideration (along with other environmental parameters) in paleoceanographic interpretations of foraminiferal stable isotope data.
Pharmacokinetics and Experimental Therapeutic Study of DNA and OtherBiomolecules Using Lasers: Advantages and Applications

In this editorial, simulation results on the heating process of Cadmium Oxide (CdO) nanoparticles after irradiations by ultra–short laser pulses zeptosecond, attosecond, femtosecond, picosecond and nanosecond are presented. We use a model utilizing the uniform heating approximation and the small size of Cadmium Oxide (CdO) nanoparticles in comparison to the wavelength of laser irradiations confirm that this model is appropriate approximation for Cadmium Oxide (CdO) nanoparticles heating in the zeptosecond, attosecond, femtosecond, picosecond and nanosecond regimes [1-9]. It shows that during the laser pulse duration the transfer of heat from the Cadmium Oxide (CdO) nanoparticles into the surrounding media is slight but when the laser pulse has degraded, the transfer of heat from the particle to the surrounding medium becomes increasingly important. In nanosecond regime, because of longer pulse duration, this heat transfer is higher than others and temperature of particle rapidly decreases. The effects of the different pharmacokinetics, experimental therapeutic, biomedical, bioanalytical, clinical and biological surrounding biomedia blood, human prostate, tumor and fat are investigated. Fat possesses low thermal characteristics and we observed higher heating of the particles at the same energy level and duration of the laser pulse due to the relatively low thermal conductivity of fat as compared to the other biomedia. This editorial will compare thermal calculations for 60 (nm) Cadmium Oxide (CdO) nanoparticles, which is heated and cooled in water at different heat transfer rates for zeptosecond, attosecond, femtosecond, picosecond and nanosecond regimes. The temperature dynamics of the particle is sensitive to the temperature dependence of the heat lost from the surface of the Cadmium Oxide (CdO) nanoparticles into the surrounding medium. In the picosecond regime, pulse duration is very small and medium with high thermophysical characteristics cannot change the temperature greatly but in the zeptosecond, attosecond and femtosecond regimes, medium with low thermal conductivity can alter the temperature of Cadmium Oxide (CdO) nanoparticles very much.