Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Impact of FDI Inflows, Trade Openness and Inflation on the Manufacturing Export Performance of Tanzania: An Econometric Study

This paper investigates the impact of foreign direct investment (FDI), trade openness, inflation rate on the manufacturing exports performance of Tanzania over the period of 1980–2012 using the Ordinary Least Square (OLS) method and Vector Error Correction (VEC) model under the time series framework. The Augmented Dickey Fuller (ADF) and Philip-Perron (PP) tests were employed to test for the stationarity of the variables while the Johansen test was employed to test for co-integration relationship between variables, followed by the VEC regression model. The empirical results trace a long-run equilibrium relationship in the variables. The results of unit root suggested that both variables in the model were stationary after first difference. The results from regression analysis revealed that FDI inflows and trade openness have positive impact on manufacturing exports performance of Tanzania while inflation rate negatively affect manufacturing export performance. Since, FDI, Trade oppennes, and inflation rate were found to be important factors in explaining the changes in manufacturing exports both in the short run and long-run, the study concludes that Tanzania should formulate FDI and trade oppenness-led polices and reduce inflation rate to enhance its manufacturing exports performance.
Modeling Condensation in Shallow Nonprecipitating Convection

AbstractTwo schemes for modeling condensation in warm nonprecipitating clouds are compared. The first one is the efficient bulk condensation scheme where cloudy volumes are always at saturation and cloud water evaporates instantaneously to maintain saturation. The second one is the comprehensive bin condensation scheme that predicts the evolution of the cloud droplet spectrum and allows sub- and supersaturations in cloudy volumes. The emphasis is on the impact of the two schemes on cloud dynamics. Theoretical considerations show that the bulk condensation scheme provides more buoyancy than the bin scheme, but the effect is small, with the potential density temperature difference around 0.1 K for 1% supersaturation. The 1D advection–condensation tests document the high-vertical-resolution requirement for the bin scheme to resolve the cloud-base supersaturation maximum and CCN activation, which is difficult to employ in 3D cloud simulations. Simulations of shallow convection cloud fields are executed applyi.
Inflation and Earnings Uncertainty and Volatility Forecasts

When investors are highly uncertain about future values of fundamentals, their expectations tend to react more swiftly to news, affecting both variances and covariance of asset returns. Since fundamental uncertainty does not typically resolve quickly, asset volatilities and their cross correlations become predictable. We test these predictions on stocks and bonds volatilities by constructing measures of uncertainty about future inflation and future earnings growth from survey data and from estimating an equilibrium model that allows for time varying uncertainty. About half the variation in the volatility of Treasury bond returns and the covariance between stock and bond returns can be forecast at horizons of one and two years ahead. Investors using such forecasts for asset allocation purposes are willing to pay economically significant fees to improve upon other forecasting variables. JEL Classification Code: G10, G11, G12, G14
Energy-state dependent responses of Anopheles gambiae to an unobtainable host

In nature, Anopheles gambiae mosquitoes are found at various energy levels and such females must choose between seeking somatic energy from sugar sources and obtaining both somatic and gametic energy from blood hosts. I used a straight-tube olfactometer containing a simulated unobtainable blood host (human foot smell protected by a net) as well as a sugar source (honey odour). I assessed female probing rate and residence time at the net as a function of energy state (0, 24, 48, 72-h starved). In my trials, 0-h starved females showed low response to human odour, low probing rate and residence time at the human odour site. By contrast, both 48 and 72-h individuals showed high response to foot odour, longer residence time and higher probing rates. Seventy-two-hour females also flew towards the honey source less often than other groups. My findings suggest that managing sugar sources might be a viable strategy for influencing mosquito biting behaviour.
Security Analysis of Anonymous Communication System 3-Mode Net Against Collaborating Nodes

—This paper analyzes the security of an anonymous communication system 3-Mode Net (3MN) against collaborating relay nodes. We evaluate the anonymity of a message sender under the situation that some relay nodes collaborate each other to ﬁnd out the message sender. As in the case of Crowds, we deﬁne the measure of the anonymity of the message sender as the probability that the ﬁrst immediate predecessor among the immediate predecessors of all collaborating relay nodes is in fact the message sender. This paper gives an explicit formula for this probability. Some numerical examples are also presented.
Assessing the medical waste management practices and associated risk perceptions in Algarve hospitals, Portugal

In the past few years, there has been an increase in public concern about the medical wastes management on a global basis and a significant effort has been directed toward proper and safe management of hazardous medical wastes. However, if there is not a clear understanding of the risks, inadequate management practices are often implemented. The objective of this study was to analyse the medical waste management practice of hospitals in Algarve (Portugal), analyse the risk perception of medical staff (nurses, doctors and housekeepers) and assess the risk for medical staff. This study was carried out in the three hospitals, one public and two private. Field visits and questionnaires survey method was implemented to collect information regarding different medical waste management aspects and the perception of risk associated with medical wastes by the medical staff. The risk assessment was based in real injuries data associated with sharps and needles (estimate of infections) and in inadequate wastes separation, i.e. frequency of errors in separation. There are some problems in the medical waste management in all hospitals due to lack of training and resources. Nurse’s group show slightly higher knowledge about medical wastes separation, with 71.6% correct answers, and doctor’s group lower knowledge, with 64.8% correct answers. Only 26% of doctors participated in training programs and this medical staff group evidences a lower perception of risk associated of the infectious wastes (group IV wastes). The separation about pharmaceuticals, cytotoxic and pathological waste has more errors, which in reality can be reflected in a higher percentage of inadequate treatment and final disposal, and has impacts in medical workers and environment. Most injuries from needlestick/sharp occur during patient care, but there are medical wastes risk associated, mainly linked to the deposition in containers and separation errors of this material. However, only HVB is likely to occur in hospitals, in coming years if the prophylaxis is not 100%. Results indicate the waste management is affected by perception of risk and training programs.
Dividend Pricing Models and REITs

Dividend pricing/present value models relate current stock prices to expectations of future dividends. In this study we apply the West and Campbell-Shiller tests of the dividend pricing relation to an index of real estate investment trusts (REITs). REITs provide a unique test of these models since, during our study period, REITs were mandated to pay out at least 95% of taxable income as dividends. While our results complement previous research which finds that the dividend pricing model cannot be rejected if share repurchase is included as part of dividends, our data contain a much less significant amount of share repurchase, so that our approach to the issue of the viability of dividend pricing models offers an alternative insight. Our research suggests that, for our REIT population, dividend pricing models cannot be rejected. Copyright 2003 by the American Real Estate and Urban Economics Association
Who provides the capital for Chinese growth: the public or the private sector?

ABSTRACT We focus on the role of the government in the provision of investment in China, through the medium of a Dynamic Stochastic General Equilibrium model of the economy in which the form of the production function reflects this governmental role. Using indirect inference, we estimate and test for the elasticity of substitution between government and nongovernment capital in both Constant Elasticity of Substitution (CES) and Cobb–Douglas technologies. The results underscore the strong substitution relationship between government and nongovernment capital from 1949, supporting CES rather than the Cobb–Douglas technology. They also show that the orientation of public investment changed after the start of the ‘Socialist Market Economy’ in 1992: government capital became more complementary to nongovernment capital as it focused more on infrastructure and withdrew from industrial production, intervening only in times of crisis, for stabilization purposes, indirectly via the state banks.
The 17 July 2006 Java tsunami earthquake

The 17 July 2006 Java earthquake involved thrust faulting in the Java trench and excited a deadly tsunami (∼5–8 m) that inundated the southern coast of Java. The earthquake's size estimates vary significantly with seismic wave period: very long‐period signals (300–500+ s) indicate a seismic moment of 6.7 × 1020 Nm (Mw = 7.8), MS (∼20 s) = 7.2, mb (∼1 s) = 6.2, while shaking intensities (3–10 Hz) were ≤ MMIV. The large tsunami relative to MS characterizes this event as a tsunami earthquake. Like previous tsunami earthquakes, the Java event had an unusually low rupture speed of 1.0–1.5 km/s, and occurred near the up‐dip edge of the subduction zone thrust fault. Most large aftershocks involved normal faulting. The rupture propagated ∼200 km along the trench, with several pulses of shorter period seismic radiation superimposed on a smooth background rupture with an overall duration of ∼185 s.
Diagnostics of the unstable envelopes of Wolf-Rayet stars

Context. The envelopes of stars near the Eddington limit are prone to various instabilities. A high Eddington factor in connection with the iron opacity peak leads to convective instability, and a corresponding envelope inflation may induce pulsational instability. Here, we investigate the occurrence and consequences of both instabilities in models of Wolf-Rayet stars. Aims. We determine the convective velocities in the sub-surface convective zones to estimate the amplitude of the turbulent velocity at the base of the wind that potentially leads to the formation of small-scale wind structures, as observed in several Wolf-Rayet stars. We also investigate the effect of stellar wind mass loss on the pulsations of our stellar models. Methods. We approximated solar metallicity Wolf-Rayet stars in the range 2−17 M ⊙ by models of mass-losing helium stars, computed with the Bonn stellar evolution code. We characterized the properties of convection in the envelope of these stars adopting the standard mixing length theory. Results. Our results show the occurrence of sub-surface convective regions in all studied models. Small (≈1 km s -1 ) surface velocity amplitudes are predicted for models with masses below ≈10 M ⊙ . For models with M ≳ 10 M ⊙ , the surface velocity amplitudes are of the order of 10 km s -1 . Moreover we find the occurrence of pulsations for stars in the mass range 9−14 M ⊙ , while mass loss appears to stabilize the more massive Wolf-Rayet stars. We confront our results with observationally derived line variabilities of 17 WN stars, of which we analysed eight here for the first time. The data suggest variability to occur for stars above 10 M ⊙ , which is increasing linearly with mass above this value, in agreement with our results. We further find our models in the mass range 9−14 M ⊙ to be unstable to radial pulsations, and predict local magnetic fields of the order of hundreds of gauss in Wolf-Rayet stars more massive than ≈10 M ⊙ . Conclusions. Our study relates the surface velocity fluctuations induced by sub-surface convection to the formation of clumping in the inner part of the wind. From this mechanism, we expect a stronger variability in more massive Wolf-Rayet stars, and a weaker variability in corresponding low metallicity Wolf-Rayet stars.
Modeling and Simulation of Single Stage Voltage Controlled Oscillator using Adaptive Voltage level Technique

A single stage source coupled CMOS voltage controlled oscillator is presented here using Adaptive voltage level technique (AVL) with the advancement of minimizing the power dissipation and generating rapidly high frequency of oscillation. The single stage VCO circuit has a low phase noise due to minimizing the noise sources. The voltage controlled oscillator is used in phase lock loop (PLL) as a frequency synthesizer to generate local oscillation frequency. Power dissipation is one of the most important performance parameter here, The Adaptive Voltage level techniques have applied in presented work mitigate the power dissipation. The simulation and performance analysis of proposed circuit is evaluated in Cadence virtuoso tool. In this simulator we use 45nm standard CMOS process technology. Simulation provides comparative study of different power reduction techniques on the basis of static and dynamic power. AVL technique provides 3.97fw static power and 38.02pw dynamic power for the 0.7v supply voltage at room temperature.
The Mechanisms of Auditory Distraction: The Roles of Interference-by-Process and Attention Capture

iii Chapter 1: Introduction . 1 1.1 Interference-by-Process . 2 1.2 Attention Capture . 6 1.3 Distinguishing Between the Mechanisms of Auditory Distraction . 9 1.4 Cross-Modal Stroop Effect: Interference-by-Process and/or Attention Capture? 12 1.5 Divided Versus Selective Attention . 14 1.6 The Current Experiments . 18 Chapter 2: Experiment 1 . 20 2.1 Method . 20 2.2 Results . 23 2.3 Discussion . 25 Chapter 3: Experiment 2 . 28 3.1 Method . 29 3.2 Results . 31 3.3 Discussion . 36 Chapter 4: Experiment 3 . 39 4.1 Method . 40 4.2 Results . 43 4.3 Discussion . 47 Chapter 5: General Discussion.50 5.1 Summary of Findings . 50 5.2 Applications of Auditory Distraction Research . 54 5.3 Conclusions . 56 References . 57 Appendix A . 64 Appendix B . 66 Vita . 68
Early Portuguese meteorological measurements (18th century)

Natural proxies, documentary evidence and in- strumental data are the only sources used to reconstruct past climates. In this paper, we present the 18th century meteo- rologists (either Portuguese or foreigners) who made the first observations at several sites in Continental Portugal, Madeira Island and Rio de Janeiro (Brazil), from 1749 until 1802. In- formation is given concerning observation site, variables ob- served, measurement period, methods of measurements and sources (both manuscript and printed). Some examples from the data usefulness are given: rainfall variability in Madeira (1749-1753) and in continental Portugal (1781-1793) was reconstructed, allowing to extend towards the late 18th cen- tury the well known negative correlation between the NAO index and seasonal rainfall. Furthermore, previously unpub- lished data for 1783-1784 have allowed analysing the conse- quences of the Lakag´ igar eruption in Portugal: foggy and haze days are referred to in summer 1783, but unlike the hot summer observed in northern and central Europe, tem- peratures in Portugal were lower than average. Addition- ally, observations from Rio de Janeiro in Brazil show that the Lakagconsequences may well have spread to sectors of the Southern Hemisphere. Although the series are short, the data have been used for climate reconstruction studies and may also be useful to improve the quality of large scale reconstruction datasets.
Partial Simultaneous Saccharification and Fermentation at High Solids Loadings of Alkaline-pretreated Miscanthus for Bioethanol Production

In this study, alkaline pretreatment at a bench scale (15-L capacity) was performed to obtain a higher solid residue for the SSF (simultaneous saccharification and fermentation) of Miscanthus sacchariflorus “Goedae-Uksae 1” (GU) under the following conditions: 1 M NaOH concentration, 150 °C, and 60 min residence time. Compositional analysis and scanning electron microscope analysis revealed the pretreatment to be highly effective for achieving delignification and morphological changes. Spiral impellers were used for the rapid liquefaction of pretreated GU into slurry, and no additional nutrients were added to the fermentation mixture to reduce overall process costs. The SSF was subsequently conducted in a laboratory-scale fermenter (5-L capacity) for 108 to 120 h with 12% and 16% glucan containing pretreated GU. Consequently, 62.8 g/L and 81.1 g/L of ethanol were obtained. Based on these data, the theoretical ethanol yields from 1 kg of GU (dry weight base) were estimated at 164.6 to 171.1 g/L.
AUTOMATED HIGH RESOLUTION 3D RECONSTRUCTION OF CULTURAL HERITAGE USING MULTI-SCALE SENSOR SYSTEMS AND SEMI-GLOBAL MATCHING

3D surface models with high resolution and high accuracy are of great value in many applications, especially if these models are true to scale. As a promising alternative to active scanners (light section, structured light, laser scanners, etc.) new photogrammetric approaches are coming up. They use modern structure from motion (SfM) techniques, using the camera as main sensor. Unfortunately, the accuracy and resolution achievable with the available tools is very limited. When reconstructing large objects with high resolution an unacceptably high laborious effort is another problem. This paper shows an approach to overcome these limitations. It combines the strengths of modern surface reconstruction techniques from the remote sensing sector with novel SfM technologies, resulting in accurate 3D models of indoor and outdoor scenes. Starting with the image acquisition all particular steps to a final 3D model are explained. Finally the results of the evaluation of the approach at different indoor scenes are presented.
PROPAGATION THROUGH NONUNIFORM GRATING STRUCTURES

We consider linear propagation through shallow, nonuniform gratings, such as those written in the core of photosensitive optical fibers. Though, of course, the coupled-mode equations for such gratings are well known, they are often derived heuristically. Here we present a rigorous derivation and include effects that are second order in the grating parameters. While the resulting coupled-mode equations can easily be solved numerically, such a calculation often does not give direct insight into the qualitative nature of the response. Here we present a new way of looking at nonuniform gratings that immediately does yield such insight and, as well, provides a convenient starting point for approximate treatments such as WKB analysis. Our approach, which is completely within the context of coupled-mode theory, makes use of an effective-medium description, in which one replaces the (in general, nonuniform) grating by a medium with a frequency-dependent refractive index distribution but without a grating.
Bankruptcy Prediction Using Multilayer Perceptron Neural Networks In Jordan

This study attempts to develop bankruptcy prediction model for the Jordanian industrial sector with a recent approach—neural networks. The multilayer perceptron neural network (MPNN) approach was used to develop the bankruptcy prediction model for the Jordanian industrial companies for the period from 2000 to 2015. The samples have been divided into two subsets: the first set for developing or building the model, made up of 14 companies, of which 7 are bankrupt and 7 are non-bankrupt; while the second is a hold-out sample for testing the model, made up of 18 companies, of which 9 are bankrupt and 9 are non-bankrupt. The main variables in predicting bankruptcy were ten financial ratios. The results show that the accuracy rate of final prediction model is found to be 100 percent. While the hold-out sample testing provides that the model correctly predicted all 18 test cases.
Slow Recoveries and Unemployment Traps: Monetary Policy in a Time of Hysteresis

We analyse monetary policy in a model where temporary shocks can permanently scar the economy’s productive capacity. Workers lose skill while unemployed and are costly to retrain, generating multiple steady-state unemployment rates. Following a large shock, unless monetary policy acts aggressively and quickly enough to prevent a significant rise in unemployment, hiring falls to a point where the economy recovers slowly at best – at worst, it falls into a permanent unemployment trap. Monetary policy can only avoid these outcomes if it commits in a timely manner to more accommodative policy in the future. Timely commitment is essential as the effectiveness of monetary policy is state dependent: once the recession has left substantial scars, monetary policy cannot speed up a slow recovery, or escape from an unemployment trap.
Influence on Metallomic Distribution in Brain by Prolonged Consumption of Mn in Drinking Water : Modulation of Elemental Levels in Subcellular Fractions

Manganese (Mn) toxicity can arise from a variety of environmental exposure and it differentially affects the nervous system more severely. Our recent finding that chronic and life-span treatment of Mn induces organ-specific and brain region-specific changes in their distribution of trace and major elements prompted us to investigate the hypothesis brain accumulation of Mn induces changes in subcellular levels of trace and major elements. Our results demonstrated chronic and life-span treatment of Mn induced changes in the subcellular distribution of all trace elements studied, especially Br, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mn, Se and V. In particular, Mn induced increases in 8 elements and decreases in 8 other elements in synaptosomes while it induced increases in 13 elements but decreases in 3 other elements in nuclei. Our findings may have pathophysiological implications in neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease. They may also be pathophysiologically relevant in hepatic encephalopathy.
Acute and Chronic Toxicities of TNT and RDX to the Enchytraeid Worm, Enchytraeus crypticus, in Natural Soils

Abstract : We investigated individual toxicities of 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene (TNT) and hexahydro-1,3,5-trinitro-1,3,5-triazine (RDX) to the potworm Enchytraeus crypticus using the Enchytraeid Reproduction Test (ISO 16387:2004). Studies were designed to identify and characterize the predominant soil physicochemical parameters that affect the acute (mortality) and chronic (reproduction) toxicities of TNT or RDX to E. crypticus, and to generate ecotoxicological benchmarks for developing the ecological soil screening levels (Eco-SSLs) for risk assessments of contaminated soils. Soils with a wide range of physicochemical parameters included: Teller sandy loam (TSL), Sassafras sandy loam (SSL), Richfield clay loam (RCL), Kirkland clay loam (KCL), and Webster clay loam (WCL). Reproduction toxicity of TNT weathered-and-aged in soil, based on EC50 values, correlated strongly with soil organic matter and clay contents. The order of soil toxicity (from greatest to least) was: TSL SSL KCL = RCL WCL. RDX was less toxic to E. crypticus compared with TNT in the same soil types. RDX toxicity for E. crypticus was greater in sandy loam soils compared with clay loam soils. Toxicity benchmarks established in TSL and SSL will be submitted to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Eco-SSL Workgroup for use in developing soil invertebrate-based Eco-SSLs for TNT and RDX.