Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Experimental Study of Aged and Seriously Damaged RC Beams Strengthened Using CFRP Composites

This paper presents results from experiments on aged and seriously damaged reinforced concrete (RC) beams strengthened with different arrangements of external carbon fiber-reinforced polymer (CFRP) laminates and end anchorages. Seven RC beams from an old bridge, measuring 250 × 200 × 2300 mm, were tested. All specimens were loaded to yield load to evaluate initial mechanical properties. Then, these seriously damaged specimens were repaired using different CFRP-reinforcing schemes and reloaded to failure. The yield load growth due to CFRP reinforcement ranged from 5% to 36%. Different parameters including CFRP dimension and position, bonding length, and end anchorage were investigated and facilitated conclusions on beam ductility, load-midspan deflection response, and failure mode. This research contributes to knowledge about the CFRP repair of aged and seriously damaged beams to ensure better performance in overloaded conditions.
Studies on path coefficient analysis and genetic divergence in feed barley (Hordeum vulgare L.)

An experiment was carried out at Crop Research Farm, Nawabganj, Chandra Shekhar Azad University of Agriculture and Technology, Kanpur during Rabi 2016-17. Experimental material comprised of fifty genotypes of barley. Studies on variability, heritability and genetic advance showed that biological yield per plant, grain weight per spike, number of productive tillers and grain yield per plant are having considerable importance to the breeders for selection. Correlation studies showed that positive and significant correlations were observed between biological yield/plant and plant height, number of tillers/plant and days to maturity, grains/spike and number of tillers plant plant, main spike length and plant height, harvest index between number of tillers per plant and number of spike per plant. Path coefficient analysis suggested that biological yield per plant is showing positive and significant overall effects on grain yield per plant. So emphasis could be given on these characters during selection for varietal improvement programme. After D2 analysis fifty genotypes were grouped into eight clusters. Cluster I had highest genotypes (11). The genotypes falling in Cluster I had the maximum divergence. The maximum and minimum divergence was found between cluster I and VIII, Cluster V and II, cluster III and cluster VI and cluster IV and cluster VII respectively. Cluster I and V are exhibiting high mean for most of the characters. For varietal improvement, the hybridization among genotypes falling in clusters III and IV should be done as they are the most divergent clusters.
Management of spot blotch of wheat using Fungicides, Bio-agents and Botanicals

Experiments were conducted to know the effect of recommended dose of fungicides (Propiconazole, Carbendazim and Hexaconazole), bio-agents and botanicals on incidence and severity of spot blotch disease and seed yield of wheat. Two sprays of Carbendazim at 0.1% at tillering and boot leaf stage resulted in the maximum reduction in spot blotch incidence and severity followed by two applications of Propiconazole at tillering and boot leaf stage. Propiconazole was also found to be quite effective in reducing the level of disease and enhancing crop yield followed by Carbendazim and Hexaconazole. However, Carbendazim, Propiconazole and Hexaconazole were almost equally effective against spot blotch of wheat and may be used as an alternative to each other for management of disease. Two applications of Carbendazim at tillering and boot leaf stages resulted in highest grain yield. Out of the two bio-agents tested against spot blotch of wheat under field conditions, Pseudomonas fluorescence followed by Trichoderma harzianum resulted in the highest reduction in disease incidence. However, both of these bio-agents were comparatively less effective in minimizing the disease as compared to chemical fungicides. Out of four plant extracts two applications of aqueous Eucalyptus leaf extract at tillering and boot leaf stage resulted in the highest wheat yield as compared to other botanical extracts. Key words: Fungicides, bio-agents, Pseudomonas fluorescence, botanicals, Bipolaris sorokiniana, spot blotch, Triticum aestivum.
Altitudinal and interannual variation in seedling survival of tree species in central Chile: implications for sclerophyllous forest restoration

Un problema en restauracion ecologica de ecosistemas forestales es establecer donde la reforestacion es mas limitada por factores ecologicos, y asi donde son mas necesarios tratamientos adicionales (riego, sombramiento, etc.) dentro del area de distribucion del ecosistema. La densidad, crecimiento poblacional y reproduccion en plantas frecuentemente decrece con la altitud, aunque en regiones semiaridas se observan incrementos iniciales hasta niveles altitudinales intermedios, y luego decrecimientos hacia niveles superiores. Asi, en regiones semiaridas la reforestacion puede ser mas exitosa en niveles altitudinales intermedios de los ecosistemas. En este trabajo se evaluo la hipotesis que en el bosque esclerofilo andino (400 a 1.600 m s.n.m., region semiarida de Chile), la reforestacion es mas exitosa en niveles intermedios de su rango altitudinal. Para esto, fueron plantadas 20 plantas de tres especies arboreas intolerantes que se encuentran en la mayor parte del rango altitudinal del ecosistema (Lithrea caustica, Quillaja saponaria y Schinus polygamus), en cinco sitios a lo largo de un gradiente altitudinal en Chile central (480 – 1.500 m s.n.m.). Este ensayo fue repetido en dos anos consecutivos de diferentes condiciones climaticas (2007 y 2008). La sobrevivencia de plantas de las especies fue superior en altitudes mayores en ambos anos, y la sobrevivencia no difirio entre anos en ningun nivel altitudinal en cada especie. A diferencia de la hipotesis inicial, estos resultados sugieren que la reforestacion del bosque esclerofilo andino puede ser mas exitosa en altitudes mayores de su rango altitudinal, y que en menores altitudes probablemente se requieren tratamientos adicionales (riego o sombra) para reforestacion y restauracion
Effect of different BSR in front and back contacts for ZnxCd1-xS/CdTe solar cell

This paper describes numerical simulation for ZnxCd1xS/CdTe solar cells utilizing Analysis of Microelectronic and Photonic Structures (AMPS 1D) simulator to explore the possibility of higher efficiency and stable among several cell structures with indium tin oxide (ITO) and cadmium stannate (Cd2SnO4) as front contact, zinc stannate (Zn2SnO4) and zinc oxide (ZnO) insertion as front back surface reflector (BSR) and zinc telluride (ZnTe) insertion as back BSR with copper (Cu) as back contact has been conducted in the conventional (SnO2/CdS/CdTe/Ag) CdTe cell structures in which CdS is replaced by zinc cadmium sulphide (ZnxCd1xS) as window layer. Efficiency as high as 18.4% has been found with 60 nm of ZnxCd1-xS window layer for x=0.15, 1 µm of CdTe layer and 100 nm Zn2SnO4 buffer layer without ZnTe. However, ZnO insertion shows low conversion efficiency of 8.92% and 13.35%, respectively with and without ZnTe. Moreover, it was found that the cell normalized efficiency linearly decreases with the increasing operating temperature at the temperature gradient of 0.35%/°C.
Investigating clinical handover and healthcare communication for outpatients with chronic disease in India: A mixed-methods study

Objectives Research concentrating on continuity of care for chronic, non-communicable disease (NCD) patients in resource-constrained settings is currently limited and focusses on inpatients. Outpatient care requires attention as this is where NCD patients often seek treatment and optimal handover of information is essential. We investigated handover, healthcare communication and barriers to continuity of care for chronic NCD outpatients in India. We also explored potential interventions for improving storage and exchange of healthcare information. Methods A mixed-methods design was used across five healthcare facilities in Kerala and Himachal Pradesh states. Questionnaires from 513 outpatients with cardiovascular disease, chronic respiratory disease, or diabetes covered the form and comprehensiveness of information exchange between healthcare professionals (HCPs) and between HCPs and patients. Semi-structured interviews with outpatients and HCPs explored handover, healthcare communication and intervention ideas. Barriers to continuity of care were identified through triangulation of all data sources. Results Almost half (46%) of patients self-referred to hospital outpatient clinics (OPCs). Patient-held healthcare information was often poorly recorded on unstructured sheets of paper; 24% of OPC documents contained the following: diagnosis, medication, long-term care and follow-up information. Just 55% of patients recalled receiving verbal follow-up and medication instructions during OPC appointments. Qualitative themes included patient preference for hospital visits, system factors, inconsistent doctor-patient communication and attitudes towards medical documents. Barriers were hospital time constraints, inconsistent referral practices and absences of OPC medical record-keeping, structured patient-held medical documents and clinical handover training. Patients and HCPs were in favour of the introduction of patient-held booklets for storing and transporting medical documents. Conclusions Deficiencies in communicative practices are compromising the continuity of chronic NCD outpatient care. Targeted systems-based interventions are urgently required to improve information provision and exchange. Our findings indicate that well-designed patient-held booklets are likely to be an acceptable, affordable and effective part of the solution.
BIOLOGICAL EVALUATION AND COMPARISON OF FOUR FLORIDA ISOLATES OF MELOIDOGYNE FLORIDENSIS

Stanley, J. D. , J. A. Brito, N. Kokalis-Burelle, J. H. Frank, and D. W. Dickson. 2009. Biological evaluation and comparison of four Florida isolates of Meloidogyne floridensis. Nematropica 39:255-271. A study was conducted to characterize the morphology, enzymatic profile, and host preference of four isolates of the peach root-knot nematode, Meloidogyne floridensis. No morphological or biochemical differences were observed among the four isolates. Each isolate showed some mean variability in morphometrics values, but overlapped in their range values (P > 0.05). In total, 1,027 females extracted from peach, pepper, tobacco, and tomato did not differ in their isozyme phenotype for esterase and malate dehydrogenase, and matched those reported in the original description. In host differential tests all four isolates of M. floridensis exhibited the same reaction as that of M. incognita race 2, with pepper, tobacco, tomato and watermelon being susceptible, and cotton and peanut, resistant. In comparative host status studies, both root-knot nematode resistant and susceptible peach cultivars were susceptible to all four isolates. Both resistant and susceptible cultivars of corn, pepper, soybean, and tomato were evaluated. All four isolates of M. floridensis reproduced poorly, but were able to overcome the resistance of the Mi-1 gene in tomato cv. Crista. Two isolates reproduced poorly, but were not affected by the N gene resistance in the pepper cv. Charleston Belle, whereas two isolates reproduced well on this cultivar. Both the root-knot nematode resistant corn cv. Mp 710 and susceptible cv. Dixie 18 were susceptible to all four isolates; whereas, both the resistant soybean cv. Forrest and susceptible cv. S64-J1 were immune to all four isolates of M. floridensis.
Evaluation of Merger and Acquisition Processes in the Brazilian Banking Sector by Means of an Event Study

Objective – Analyze the reactions of the stock market to M&A announcements, i.e. find out if there was value creation and consequently maximization of shareholder wealth or whether there was value destruction and consequently a decrease in the wealth of the shareholders of the acquiring companies in the short term. Design/methodology/approach – Event study – Quantitative Method Findings – It can neither be affirmed that the acquisitions had a significant impact on value creation for purchasers and banks, nor can it be denied. Given the lack of preponderance of either positive or negative returns, the transactions may have been perceived in different manners. Practical implications – The results may be explained by the fact that the synergies that resulted from the M&A processes in the banking sector only helped consolidating major market players and consequently reduced competitiveness in that sector. The negative abnormal returns of M&A processes are due to the monopolistic market competition structure (Tabak, Fazio & Cajueiro, 2012). Contributions – Event Study with robust errors
Current Management of Ventricular Tachycardia: Approaches and Timing

Ventricular tachycardia (VT) in the presence of structural heart disease is associated with sudden cardiac death and warrants prompt attention. Implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICDs) while highly effective in terminating sustained ventricular arrhythmias and reducing mortality, have no effect on the arrhythmia substrate and recurrent shocks for VT termination occur in approximately 20% of patients. Shocks worsen quality of life and are associated with progression of heart failure and increased mortality. Antiarrhythmic drugs, mainly in the form of beta-blockers or amiodarone, are moderately effective in reducing ICD therapies but drug intolerance and serious toxicities of amiodarone necessitate drug cessation in a quarter of patients. Catheter ablation has emerged as an effective treatment for control of frequent VT episodes and can be life saving in cases of incessant VT or VT storm. As experience increases, it is being used increasingly earlier, rather than a last resort therapy. Efficacy varies with the nature of the underlying heart disease. Intramural arrhythmia substrate and failure to create permanent ablation lesions remain challenges and repeat procedures are necessary in a third to a half of patients. For idiopathic VTs or PVCs that are symptomatic or worsen LV function, catheter ablation is often an effective therapy.
Lessons from thriving second-hand clothing businesses for Kenya's fashion industry

Secondhand Clothing trade commonly known as 'mitumba' trade in Kenya and 'thrift shops' in Europe and the United States has rapidly grown to claim a substantial share of the textile and clothing industry market in the country since the late 1970s/early 80's, when it was brought in duty free by charities during the wars in Zaire, Rwanda, Somalia and Burundi and later became a viable commercialized business. Market liberalization which allowed for the importation of goods at reduced costs into Kenya provided opportunity for Secondhand Clothing Trade to expand. Thus because locally manufactured garments are retailed expensively, these apparel have become highly marketable and affordable to consumers. With the number of 'mitumba' apparel traders increasing rapidly, the local industry has been threatened to the point that many textile and clothing industries have either closed down or become redundant. Data were collected from a random sample of 65 secondhand apparel traders drawn from three market centers in Nairobi. Having startup capital and providing high quality merchandise to consumers were major motivating factors to respondents that ventured into this business. Therefore the study recommends that local apparel traders adopt these factors, to increase their business viability and success.
The impact of delayed ventilation tube insertion in otitis media with effusion on children's development

Bulgular: ‹ki grup aras›nda toplam zeka, sozel zeka, al›c› dil, genel bilgi, yarg›lama, aritmetik, benzerlik, sozcuk da¤arc›¤›, resim tan›mlama ve resim duzenleme gibi parametrelerde istatistiksel olarak anlaml› farkl›l›klar bulunmufltur. Erken tup tak›lan cocuk grubu, 9 aydan daha gec tup tak›lan gruba gore bu testlerde daha baflar›l› bulunmufltur. Kuplerle desen, flifre alt testleri ve parca birlefltirme parametrelerinde ise her iki grup aras›nda anlaml› fark bulunamam›flt›r.
Bond-Slip Model for FRP Laminates Externally Bonded to Concrete at Elevated Temperature

AbstractThis paper presents a nonlinear local bond-slip model for fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) laminates externally bonded to concrete at elevated temperature for future use in the theoretical modeling of fire resistance of FRP-strengthened concrete structures. The model is an extension of an existing two-parameter bond-slip model for FRP-to-concrete interfaces at ambient temperature. The two key parameters employed in the proposed bond-slip model, the interfacial fracture energy, Gf, and the interfacial brittleness index, B, were determined using existing shear test data of FRP-to-concrete bonded joints at elevated temperature. In the interpretation of test data, the influences of temperature-induced thermal stress and temperature-induced bond degradation are properly accounted for. As may be expected, the interfacial fracture energy, Gf, is found to be almost constant initially and then starts to decrease when the temperature approaches the glass transition temperature of the bonding adhesive; the int.
Access regulation and utilization of healthcare services

Regulating patients’ access to healthcare has been used in several countries as a way of controlling patients’ consumption levels. In some countries, provider choice is directly limited through legal regulations such as gatekeeping, whereas in other countries patients’ behavior is primarily governed by financial incentives like co-payments to doctor visits. However, empirical studies, mostly conducted in the United States, do not provide a clear answer whether institutional access regulations actually accomplish a reduction of used health services. The objective of this paper is to assess the impact of access regulations on healthcare utilization in a cross-national framework comparing eleven European countries. While access restrictions are assumed to have an effect on the overall level of utilization, they can also have an impact on the equity of utilization between different socio-economic groups. Our analyses combine institutional indicators on the country level and number of doctor visits on the microlevel from the first wave of SHARE. The results show that access regulations and especially gatekeeping systems are associated with a lower level of overall service usage. Gatekeeping systems also reduce inequity in specialist visits across groups with different levels of education. Contrary to theoretical expectations but in line with earlier studies cost sharing could not be related to inequity patterns across income groups.
Dividend Policy in Tunisia: A Signalling Approach

The main objective of this study was to establish the stock price reaction to dividend announcements of firms quoted at the Tunisian Securities exchange (TSE). To do so, we develop a traditional event study. Two robust results emerge: First, when we observe the 196 announcements of dividends between years 1996-2004, the result is inconsistent with signaling theory, as long as, no abnormal return was observed on the announcement day (event period). Second, When the overall sample is divided into three sub-group (dividend increase, dividend-no-change and dividend), we observe a significant and abnormal return about -1.242 percent and -1.697 percent respectively on day D(t0-4) and D(t0+4) around the dividend announcement day (Dt0) only for the sub-group of firms that decreases their dividend. This result corroborates prior research in Tunisian context [Ben Naceur and al. (2006); Guizani and Kouki (2011)] that confirm, by using a different approach, the Lintneri¯s (1956) conclusions which states that Tunisiani¯ firms generally tend to avoid a dividend decrease (or cuts) and can constitute a supporting evidence of the dividend information content hypothesis in TSE.
Characterization of Periwinkle Shell as Asbestos-Free Brake Pad Materials.

Periwinkle shell is an agricultural waste. The waste is produced in abundance globally and poses risks to human as well as environmental health. Thus their effective, conducive, and eco- friendly utilization has always been a challenge for scientific applications. This paper mainly deals with characterization of periwinkle shell as a potential material for asbestos-free brake pad materials using spectroscopic and wear analysis. The characterization of the periwinkle shell was investigated through X- ray diffractometer (XRD), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA/DTA), Fourier transform Infar red spectrometry (FTIR), and X- ray Fluorescent spectrometry (XRF). Density, hardness values and wear rate of the periwinkle shell were also found. The various results obtained are comparable with asbestos commonly used in brake pad production. These results confirm that periwinkle shell can be used as a material for brake pad production.
Callus induction and growth in transgenic potato genotypes

The aim of this study was to establish an effective protocol for callus induction from the potato genotypes (Solanum tuberosum L.) used and to investigate whether the transferred oxalate oxidase enzyme or transformation procedure has any effect on callus induction of transgenic lines of cultivar Desiree and Maris Bard. The results showed that the effects of genotype and medium on measured characters were highly significant. In order to compare overall performance of transgenic lines of each cultivar with their parental cultivars (non-transgenic), orthogonal comparisons were used and indicated the significant differences between transgenic and non-transgenic genotypes. The significant differences between the cultivars and their transgenic lines expressing oxalate oxidase enzyme indicated that the transformation procedure had a significant effect on their callus induction and growth.
ADM Analysis of gravity models within the framework of bimetric variational formalism

Bimetric variational formalism was recently employed to construct novel bimetric gravity models. In these models an affine connection is generated by an additional tensor field which is independent of the physical metric. In this work we demonstrate how the ADM decomposition can be applied to study such models and provide some technical intermediate details. Using ADM decomposition we are able to prove that a linear model is unstable as has previously been indicated by perturbative analysis. Moreover, we show that it is also very difficult if not impossible to construct a non-linear model which is ghost-free within the framework of bimetric variational formalism. However, we demonstrate that viable models are possible along similar lines of thought. To this end, we consider a set up in which the affine connection is a variation of the Levi-Civita one. As a proof of principle we construct a gravity model with a massless scalar field obtained this way.