Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Assessment of Goat Production Systems and Factors Affecting Production and Utilization of Goat’s Milk in Humbo District of Wolaita Zone, Southern Ethiopia

This survey study was conducted in Humbo district of Wolaita Zone, Southern Ethiopia, with the objectives of assessing goat production systems, constraints of goat production, goat milk consumption status and factors affecting goat’s milk consumption. Stepwise sampling method was employed and 103 representative households were selected. The mean landholding size was 1.8 ha (ranging from 0.25 to 7 ha). The mean total goat holding was 5.2 heads (ranging from 1 to 22 heads). Goats were reared for asset, meat production, milk production and as source of income. Extensive (55.4%) and semi-intensive (44.6%) were the two goat production systems identified. Ranked by the respondents, shortage of browsing area (1 st ), feed shortage (2 nd ), prevalence of disease (3 rd ) and lack of improved goat breeds (4 th ) were the major constraints for goat production. Goat milk consumption was not common (about 96% of the respondents did not consume goat’s milk), because of different factors including culture (about 85%), lack of awareness on the importance of goat milk (9%) and low amount of goat’s milk produced. Therefore, different improvement strategies that can solve the existing constraints should be employed. Keywords : Goat, goat milk, production system
Impact of Human Competencies on Caritas Jordan Employees Performance

This study aimed at investigating the impact of human competencies (Behavioral, Functional, and Managerial), on Caritas Jordan employees' performance; to achieve this aim the study surveyed Caritas Jordan employees. A questionnaire was designed to collect the required data. The study sample and population consisted of Caritas employees (managers, supervisors, and caseworkers). Caritas Jordan Human Resources department helped to distribute the questionnaires to all branches that are located in 10 cities (Amman, Zarqa, Madaba, Jarash, Ajloun, Huson, Fuhais, Salt, and Karak). The questionnaires were distributed, and 212 statically viable questionnaires were gathered, the collected data was analyzed by using different statistical techniques such as descriptive statistics, correlation, and multiple regressions, the SPSS software was used. The questionnaires were evaluated by a panel of experts , and the employees of Caritas Jordan. The results indicated positive relationships between behavioral, functional, and managerial human competencies, and suggested the enhancement of employees' performance at Caritas Jordan. The behavioral competence was the one with the highest importance among the three competencies, and the results showed that the respondent believed that there was a strong interrelated connection between the three independent variables and the employees' performance. Finally, the study suggested that the management has to undertake some decisions to improve the employees' performance. Keywords: Competencies, Behavioral Competences, Functional Competences, Managerial Competencies, Employee Performance, Caritas
Income Taxation Regulation and Companies’ Behaviour: Is the Romanian Companies’ Dividend Policy Influenced by the Changes in Income Taxation?

This paper analyzes the dividend payout by Romanian companies listed on the Bucharest Stock Exchange in connection with the changes in corporate taxes. If the tax burden on corporate gross incomes is increasing, the companies’ management can follow two reasons in deciding the dividend payout: to allocate more for investments, or to increase the dividend ratio. Each of these decisions can be argued based on Corporate Finance principles, depending on the management objectives. This paper found no significant correlation between the dividend policy and the corporate tax burden. However, the dividend payout reacted when the regulations related to the tax treatment of incomes were changed in 2005. Moreover, the dividend policy seems to be sensitive to the ownership structure, which can be explained by the impact of some agency problems.
A Statistical Description of Recruitment in Eighteen Selected Fish Stocks

For understanding and predicting purposes, one is concerned with identifying suitable models and methods for describing empirical and theoretical relationships that may exist between fish stock, environment and recruitment. In this paper, recruitment in 18 fish stocks around the world is reviewed by examining the frequency distributions of observed year-class strength. These frequency distributions represent the probability density functions which incorporate the total effect of all factors. The actual frequency distributions of recruitment were plotted and each set of data tested for goodness-of-fit to normal and lognormal distributions. Conclusions from the tests were that most of the data sets could be described by a lognormal distribution function. Comparison of recruitment estimates and associated catches over time (years) indicated that significant deviations in catch closely followed significant deviations in recruitment. Serial correlation analyses of the recruitment data indicate, in most cases, that recruitment in 1 year is correlated with that of the previous year.
Oral Discomfort in Patients taking Atypical versus Typical Antipsychotics

This open cross-sectional questionnaire study investigated subjective oral symptoms in hospitalized psychiatric patients, comparing those taking typical vs. atypical neuroleptic drugs. The present study included 170 hospitalized patients who were taking psychiatric medications. We observed a significantly higher prevalence of xerostomia in the typical neuroleptic group (66%) compared with the atypical neuroleptic group (53%, p<0.01). In our study, 28% of women and 17% of men received professional consultations for dry mouth. Persistent oral pain lasting throughout the day was reported by 46% and 5% of patients in the typical and atypical neuroleptic groups, respectively. The oral pain was predominantly located in the tongue and buccal mucosa; it was described as a burning sensation by patients in both medication groups. These results emphasize the need for awareness of oral discomfort and its subsequent effects on quality of life in this challenging patient group.
Competitive and Contagion Effects in Corporate Layoff Announcements

We find strong evidence of intra-industry information transmission to employee layoff announcements. Although the stock price response for the full sample of industry rivals is weakly positive and consistent with a net competitive effect, we find evidence that contagion and competitive effects could happen simultaneously. Results consistent with the contagion effect are observed for low-leverage rivals that have high a Tobin's q and belong to industries where the layoff announcement contained adverse information regarding the industry. Results consistent with the competitive effect are observed for rivals that are large, efficient and belong to industries of firms whose layoff announcement did not contain any adverse information regarding the industry or when a dominant firm in the industry announces layoffs. Overall, portfolio and cross-sectional analyses provide results that are generally consistent with a net competitive effect.
The impact of internal governance mechanisms on audit quality: a study of large listed companies in China

This paper examines whether the audit quality of Chinese listed companies is affected by internal governance mechanisms (IGMs). The dataset comprises 443 firm-year observations during 2002-2005. The results show that foreign ownership concentration and the number of professional supervisors are positively related to audit quality, but the size of the supervisory board shows a negative correlation. Other IGMs including state ownership concentration, the size of board of directors, the number of independent directors, the frequency of board meetings, and the frequency of supervisory board meetings are found to have no impact on audit quality. The contribution of this paper is threefold. First, according to Young et al. (2008), this paper develops hypotheses from the principal-principal agency problem perspective and examines the impact of IGMs of China's highly concentrated state ownership and two-tier board system on audit quality. Second, this paper employs the directors on the board of directors and the supervisory board as pairwise functional units and examines whether there is a level of functional redundancy proposed by Ding et al. (2010). Third, this paper adds to the extant literature by showing the relevance of the legal environment as one of external governance mechanisms.
E-Government in Egypt: An Analysis of Practices and Challenges

This research reveals that Egypt has acknowledged the growing importance of e-government at different levels since the official inauguration of Egypt's e-government portal in 2004. The country recognized the role of e-government in leveraging the economic, cultural and social development; providing effective and convenient services to publics: improving communication environment and the exchange of information among different governmental bodies, and so on. The research paper addresses services provided by e-government to citizens, businesses, government employees and other bodies. Egypt's e-government readiness ranking is also highlighted. Also, it explores the challenges encountered in e-government implementation, along with introducing generic and specific recommendations for policy makers to handle these challenges. Findings reveal that some achievements have been made, but more needs to be done to overcome the challenges encountered in e-government development and implementation. Furthermore, Egypt is still lagging far behind other Arab countries, particularly Gulf countries that launched their e-government programs recently.
Linking Primary Care to the Community: A Study of Pediatric Practices in Florida

Abstract Background and Objectives: Linking primary care practices to community entities is critical for providing comprehensive and continuous care. The patient centered medical home (PCMH) should facilitate linkages to the community. Our study aims to understand what challenges pediatric primary care practices in Florida face in developing these linkages. Methods: Interviews were conducted with three-person core project teams working in 20 pediatric practices across Florida. All practices are participating in a longitudinal, PCMH demonstration project. Results: At baseline, most practices reported positive connections with specialists, but about half reported insurance as the main barrier. Practices reported both negative and positive aspects of their connection to hospitals and emergency rooms. While some practices saw the emergency room as source of referral back to their practice, others felt that hospitals or emergency rooms did not communicate well or collaborate in patient care. Most practices felt that current communication with traditional and special schools was insufficient (paperwork-based) and infrequent (as-needed basis), and that a more formal and proactive system was needed. While most practices were able to provide numerous examples of their involvement in the community, their responses indicated a lack of organization or planning for future events. The majority of practices found it easier to describe one-time, past events rather than provide a list of current or recurring projects. Conclusions: Integration on all levels is fundamental to the PCMH. Our study demonstrates that PCMH facilitators and accreditation agencies must take into account the varying barriers and infrastructures present in a practice’s community when providing effective strategies for coordinated care.
Bacterial Protein Characterization of Streptococcus agalactiae by SDS-page Method for Subclinical Mastitis Irradiated Vaccine Materials in Dairy Cattle

A study have been conducted to isolate and characterize bacterial protein S. agalactiae , which is antigenic and can be used to test immunogenicity of vaccine in order to manufacture irradiated mastitis (inflammation of the udder) vaccine in ruminant. The study aims to determine the Molecular Weight (MW) bacterial protein S. agalactiae irradiation, which can be used to test the nature of its antigenic caharacteristic. The character of S. agalactiae antigenic stimulates antibody induction of the immune system, in which case is the body's defense system against mastitis disease in cattle. In this study, irradiation of gamma ray is used to attenuate the pathogenicity of bacteria by reducing S. agalactiae antigenic caharacteristic. Previous research, in irradiation dose orientation before antigenic protein isolation of S. agalactiae , indicated that irradiation lethal dose to 50% (LD 50 ) is 17 Gy. The characterization of S. agalactiae bacteria isolate using SDS-page method results in no significance different between irradiated and non-irradiated group, which indicated by MW range 75 – 100 kDa base on marker standard which used, or 99 kDa by the linier equation of Y = 11,60 – 0.05X (where Y = bands distance; X = MW standard protein); r 2 = 0.99. In conclusion, 17 Gy irradiation dose does not impair antigenic property of S. agalactiae and therefore, can be applied to produce base material of irradiated vaccine for mastitis. Received: 04 May 2012; Revised: 27 November 2012; Accepted: 27 August 2012
Constant cross section of loops in the solar corona

Context. The corona of the Sun is dominated by emission from loop-like structures. When observed in X-ray or extreme ultraviolet emission, these million K hot coronal loops show a more or less constant cross section. Aims. In this study we show how the interplay of heating, radiative cooling, and heat conduction in an expanding magnetic structure can explain the observed constant cross section. Methods. We employ a three-dimensional magnetohydrodynamics (3D MHD) model of the corona. The heating of the coronal plasma is the result of braiding of the magnetic field lines through footpoint motions and subsequent dissipation of the induced currents. From the model we synthesize the coronal emission, which is directly comparable to observations from, e.g., the Atmospheric Imaging Assembly on the Solar Dynamics Observatory (AIA/SDO). Results. We find that the synthesized observation of a coronal loop seen in the 3D data cube does match actually observed loops in count rate and that the cross section is roughly constant, as observed. The magnetic field in the loop is expanding and the plasma density is concentrated in this expanding loop; however, the temperature is not constant perpendicular to the plasma loop. The higher temperature in the upper outer parts of the loop is so high that this part of the loop is outside the contribution function of the respective emission line(s). In effect, the upper part of the plasma loop is not bright and thus the loop actually seen in coronal emission appears to have a constant width. Conclusions. From this we can conclude that the underlying field-line-braiding heating mechanism provides the proper spatial and temporal distribution of the energy input into the corona – at least on the observable scales.
Electric Vehicle Battery Parameter Identification and SOC Observability Analysis: NiMH and Li-S Case Studies

In this study, a framework is proposed for battery model identification to be applied in electric vehicle energy storage systems. The main advantage of the proposed approach is having capability to handle different battery chemistries. Two case studies are investigated: nickel-metal hydride (NiMH), which is a mature battery technology, and Lithium-Sulphur (Li-S), a promising next-generation technology. Equivalent circuit battery model parametrisation is performed in both cases using the Prediction-Error Minimization (PEM) algorithm applied to experimental data. The use of identified parameters for battery state-of-charge (SOC) estimation is then discussed. It is demonstrated that the set of parameters needed can change with a different battery chemistry. In the case of NiMH, the battery's open circuit voltage (OCV) is adequate for SOC estimation. However, Li-S battery SOC estimation can be challenging due to the chemistry's unique features and the SOC cannot be estimated from the OCVSOC curve alone because of its flat gradient. An observability analysis demonstrates that Li-S battery SOC is not observable using the common state-space representations in the literature. Finally, the problem's solution is discussed using the proposed framework.
Power spectrum features of the near-Earth atmospheric electric field in Kamchatka

Power spectrum of the diurnal variations of the quasi-electrostatic field Ez in the near-Earth atmosphere have been presented for the first time. The Ez power spectrum variations in the period of fine weather have been shown to exhibit two bands of the periods of natural atmospheric oscillations with T = 1-5 and 6-24 h. These oscillations are the modes of the internal gravity and tidal waves in the lower atmosphere. On the days under atmospheric precipitation, the spectral power of Ez increases by an order of magnitude. During the pre-earthquake period, when the diurnal Ez variation had an anomaly, the intensity of harmonics with T = 1.8, 2.2, and 3.8 h increased by an order of magnitude or more in comparison with the Ez spectra in fine weather. Two additional spectral bands with T = 0.6 and 1 h have appeared simultaneously.
Evaluation of a Context Specific Communcation System Based on Smartphone. Nurses Use and Experiences

Nurses often have stressful work environments. This paper presents a study that investigates if and how the intelligent phone communication system CallMeSmart, which is designed for use in hospitals, affects and improves the communication and information flow among nurses. We collected the empirical material through a multi-method research approach using both quantitative and qualitative data. The data were from phone logs, six individual face-to-face interviews, a focus group interview and informal discussions. We categorised the empirical data into two main groups. One group was for the benefits the nurses experienced. The nurses liked the dedicated phone system, and they gave many examples of how the system could facilitate communication and information flow in their work practice. The second group was for the negative experiences, and it included problems the nurses experienced while using the technology. The phone log material showed the usage of the system. Our conclusion is that this dedicated phone system has great potential in facilitating hospital communication. However, the condition to realise this potential is that the problems that were registered should be resolved.
Moral Concerns and Policy Attitudes: Investigating the Influence of Elite Rhetoric

A growing body of research documents the crucial role played by moral concerns in the formation of attitudes and a wide range of political behaviors. Yet extant models of moral judgment portray a direct linkage between moral intuitions and policy attitudes, leaving little room for the influence of political context. In this article, we argue that political rhetoric plays an important role in facilitating the connection between moral intuitions and political attitudes. Using a unique combination of media content analysis of the stem cell debate and individual-level measures of the public’s moral foundations, we examine the role of rhetoric in linking a person’s moral foundations to his or her attitudes. Our results show that individuals who are the most likely to have been exposed to political rhetoric have the strongest connection between their moral foundations and their attitudes on the issue. We also find that rhetoric was persuasive on this moralized issue and present suggestive evidence that it was most persuasive among those who endorsed the relevant moral foundation.
Yu, Mengran and Dysko, Adam and Booth, Campbell and Roscoe, Andrew and Zhu, Jiebei and Urdal, Helge (2015) Investigations of the constraints relating to penetration of non-synchronous generation (NSG) in future power systems. In: Sixth Protection, Automation and Control

According to recent projections, the installed capacity of renewable energy sources and interconnectors will increase significantly in GB power system. With such a large scale of penetration of converter-interfaced renewable energy sources and HVDC interconnectors, the existing power system, which is predominately supplied by synchronous generation presently, will face system operation challenges which are currently attracting the urgent attention of both industry and researchers. Studies have shown that the instantaneous penetration level limit of non-synchronous generation is approximately 65% in the GB power system in context of first swing angular stability and susceptible to a range of factors. There has been a lack of investigation of the individual factors and the degree to which these factors influence the non-synchronous generation limit. While the general term penetration level is often used as an annual average rather than an instantaneous operational value in many papers, it has not been fully defined or a standard definition agreed to date. In this paper, different definitions of penetration level will be introduced and discussed. System operational issues associated with angular stability will be analysed through simulation results. It will also be illustrated that the conventional analysis method for angular stability is not applicable for future power systems with high penetration levels of NSG. Based on a simplified but high-fidelity power system model in Matlab Simulink, the penetration level limit and different factors that have the potential to influence it will be investigated and analysed. It will be shown that the angular stability limits are governed not only by the reduced system inertia, but are also influenced by factors such as system impedance and fault clearing times. Future work will be carried out to explore the penetration level limits based on GB transmission model to give more reliable results as well as to provide guidance for future requirements for generators (in particular from non-synchronous generation) to support system stability. Keywords—Future Energy Scenarios; NSG; Power System Stability, Voltage Source Converter; High Voltage Direct Current.