Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Resonant and Radiation Characteristics of Rectangular Microstrip Patch Antenna on Suspended-Composite Substrates

─ In this paper, the resonance and radiation characteristics of rectangular microstrip patch printed on suspended and composite substrates are investigated theoretically. The analysis approach is based on the spectral-domain method of moments in conjunction with the stationary phase method. The complex resonant frequency of the microstrip antenna on suspended and composite substrates is studied with sinusoidal functions as basis functions, which show fast numerical convergence. Using a matrix representation of each layer, the far-field pattern of the suspended-composite configuration is efficiently determined by the (TM, TE) representation. The validity of the solution is tested by comparison of the computed results with experimental data. Finally, numerical results for the effects of suspended and composite substrates on the resonant frequency and half-power bandwidth are also presented. Index Terms ─ Full-wave analysis, Galerkin method, microstrip patch, radiation pattern, suspended and composite layers.
A Monte Carlo Simulation Approach to Forecasting Multi‐Period Value‐At‐Risk and Expected Shortfall Using the FIGARCH‐skT Specification

The paper provides a methodological contribution to the multi-step Value-at-Risk (VaR) and Expected Shortfall (ES) forecasting through a new adaptation of the Monte Carlo simulation approach for forecasting multi-period volatility to a Fractionally Integrated Generalized Autoregressive Conditional Heteroscedasticity (FIGARCH) framework for leptokurtic and asymmetrically distributed portfolio returns. Accounting for long memory within the conditional variance process with skewed Student-t (skT) conditionally distributed innovations, accurate 95 per cent and 99 per cent VaR and ES forecasts are calculated for multi-period time horizons. The results show that the FIGARCH-skT model has a superior multi-period VaR and ES forecasting performance.
Radicalisation: The Last Taboo in Safeguarding and Child Protection? Assessing Practitioner Preparedness in Preventing the Radicalisation of Looked-After Children

Radicalisation is fast becoming one of the most acute and pressing safeguarding and child protection issues of the whole century (NSPCC, 2016). However, the issue of looked-after children as potential recruits for extremist groups has been largely overlooked, despite the universal acknowledgement that looked-after children represent the most vulnerable of all demographics within society. This research collected rare and vital primary data by interviewing practitioners within looked-after children’s, residential, and respite services. The study established that practitioners lacked basic awareness of radicalisation and extremism, the Prevent strategy, and the Channel programme. It was discovered that practitioners were unsure of what constitutes the potential indicators of radicalisation, and how and to whom such concerns should be reported. It became apparent that radicalisation as a safeguarding and child protection issue has not been afforded a level of focus adequate and proportionate to the risk posed, and that other issues, namely child sexual exploitation, remain the primary concern in safeguarding contexts.
Polyploidy and apomixis in accessions of Senna rugosa (G.Don) H.S.Irwin & Barneby

Senna rugosa (G.Don) H.S. Irwin & Barneby (Leguminosae) is a species from the Brazilian Cerrado commonly used for medicinal purposes. Chromosome variability (n = 14 and 28) described for this species indicates the occurrence of chromosome races and recent polyploidization in its evolution history. The aim of this study was to verify the relationship between ploidy level and occurrence of polyembryony in 5 accessions of S. rugosa. Cytogenetic analysis revealed the type of interphasic nuclei, chromosome number and morphology, and nuclear DNA content. Frequency of polyembryony was estimated by germination test. Pollen grain viability was estimated by different techniques. There was variability among the accessions of S. rugosa for interphasic nucleus type (semireticulate and nonreticulate), genome size (2.57 to 2.80 pg/2C), and polyembryony frequency (from 2 to 4 embryos). Pollen grain viability was 2.5% to 20%, depending on the technique used. Numeric chromosome variability was found among meristematic cells from each individual (2n = 28 to 2n = 112), with prevalence of 2n = 56. In mitotic metaphases with 2n = 56, all chromosomes were metacentric and of similar size. The data described, combined with previous descriptions of irregularities in chromosome pairing, suggest that S. rugosa is an autopolyploid facultative apomictic species, with interpopulation variability for level of apomixis expression.
Soil and foliar application of Zinc to maize and wheat grown on a Zambian Alfisol

The deficiency of zinc (Zn) in human nutrition, commonly found in cereal-based diets accounts for impaired growth (stunting) in children. Since cereals are generally low in this element, bio-fortification may represent an opportunity to increase Zn intake by humans. A study was carried out to evaluate Zn uptake by maize and wheat when they are supplied with increasing rates of foliar or soil applied Zn. Maize and wheat were grown in the field and supplied with 0, 10, 20, 30, or 40 kg Zn ha-1 as ZnSO4 applied to the soil, or, 0,1,2,4, or 8 kg Zn ha-1 as foliar spray. Zinc application to soil increased maize and wheat yields beyond increments obtained with foliar application, but Zn mass concentration in maize grain was better with foliar applications. Mean maize yield was 1.78 ton ha-1 with soil application and 1.14 ton ha-1 with foliar application. This was in relation to an average of 52 mg Zn uptake by maize under each of the application methods. Wheat yield was 3.69 ton ha-1 under soil application and 2.74 ton ha-1 under foliar application. In this case, Zn uptake was higher under soil application (11.31 mg) than under foliar application (7.25 mg). Sesquioxide bound Zn was shown to be best correlated with plant Zn uptake. It was shown that Zn application is beneficial on Zambian soils, and while soil application increases crop yields, foliar application can be more useful to increase Zn mass concentration in maize. Key words: Foliar spray, maize grain yield, wheat grain yield, zinc fractions, zinc uptake
Working Paper No. 29

We estimate probit models to investigate the determinants of the incidence of four performance-based compensation schemes -employee share purchase plans, profit sharing, cash bonuses, and productivity gainsharing -using a sample of private sector Canadian firms. Bivariate probit models are also estimated to examine the joint probability that both a cash-based and a share-based scheme will be offered. We find that the determinants of the probability that ‘a firm . would offer a scheme differed across schemes, and for a given scheme, often differed for the broad class of non-managerial workers and for production workers alone. Our primary focus is on the effect of unionizatioh on the incidence of the schemes. This reflects the widespread notion that unions oppose these sorts of performance based compensation plans. Except for productivity gainsharing and one instance of cash bonuses, we find that the effect of union density was negative as expected and often significantly so. The estimated probability effect is large for employee share purchase plans and profit sharing for production workers. In addition, unionization has a fairly substantial effect on the joint probability of the firm offering both a share-based and a cash-based incentive plan. Finally, we find some support for the notion that firms adopt these policies to reward past performance.
Facilitating Agent Communication through Detecting, Diagnosing and Refining Ontological Mismatch

The development of the semantic web makes the facilitation of agent communication an issue of increasing importance. It is often assumed that agents are using the same ontology and hence can understand one another, but the dynamic and distributed nature of the semantic web can mean that this is not always a valid assumption. We describe a system that can dynamically discover some ontological mismatches between agents during communication and then rene them, to enable communication to proceed successfully between these agents.
Effect of chemical thinning on yield and quality of peach cv. Flordasun

A field trial was conducted at experimental farm of the Division of Horticulture, ICAR Research Complex for North Eastern Hill Region, Umiam, Meghalaya, India during 2009 to 2010 to evaluate the effect of chemical fruit thinning and their effect on yield and quality of peach cv. Flordasun. Four chemical thinners viz. Thiourea at 2.5 and 5%, GA3 at 75 and 100 ppm, Urea at 4 and 6% and Ethrel at 100 and 150 ppm after fruit set were applied. All the thinning treatments increased fruit drop and fruit colour but reduced the fruit firmness. All the chemical treatments except (GA3 75 ppm and Urea 4%) after fruit set advanced the time of harvesting. Ethrel at 150 ppm and thiourea at 5% reduced the crop load and improved the physico-chemical characteristics of fruits and fetch premium price in the market due to their attractive colour appearance than control. Key words: Peach cv. Flordasun, chemical thinning, fruit quality.
The Association of Board Composition, Intellectual Capital and Firm Performance in a High Ownership Concentration Context: Evidence from Italy

The association of Corporate Governance (CG) with Firm Performance (FP) has always been an issue relevant to management literature. Nevertheless, the notable heterogeneity of studies and their mixed results highlight the opportuneness of continuing to investigate the association of CG with FP. The article aims to contribute to this research by building and employing a sophisticated model to take into account beyond the board composition ownership structure and firm efficiency in using its intellectual capital (as measured by VAICTM). The findings provide evidence that the board composition, the ownership concentration and the efficiency of intellectual capital increases firm efficiency in producing profits (as measured by ROA). Furthermore, our findings add knowledge to the relationship between CG and FP, by confirming a positive relationship in Italy, a continental European capital market under-investigated on this issue.
Voluntary Approaches, Market Structure and Competition

This paper surveys the recent literature devoted to the analysis of the interactions between the adoption of voluntary or negotiated agreements as a tool of environmental policy and market structure. The goal of this survey is twofold. On the one hand, we would like to identify the market environment which is most favourable to the adoption of voluntary approaches, namely whether these are more likely to be signed within industries that are more or less concentrated. On the other hand, we aim at assessing the effects of voluntary approaches on market structure and industry concentration. Our findings suggest that the signature of voluntary approaches is favoured by a situation in which industry is more concentrated. Moreover, the adoption of voluntary approaches is likely to further increase industry concentration. This clearly raises a trade-off between environmental benefits and economic costs provided by the adoption of voluntary approaches that must be dealt with an appropriate policy-mix.
Market Reaction and Insider Trading Around the Announcements of Equity Issues: Evidence from Nigeria

The need to understand the stock market response to announcements of new issues of corporate securities and the importance of curtailing the fraudulent operation of corporate insiders is paramount. In spite of that, little research attention was given to such reactions in Nigeria. Consequent upon that, this study sought to empirically examine insider trading around seasoned equity offering announcements by companies in Nigeria. Employing the event study methodology abnormal returns were computed as the residuals of the market model. Utilising a total of 62 announcements by 47 companies listed on the Nigerian stock exchange from 1st January, 2006 to 31st December, 2013. Consistent with prior studies the study documented negative significant cumulative abnormal returns prior to the announcement date and a positive significant cumulative abnormal return on the announcement date. The significant cumulative abnormal returns recorded in the period prior to the announcement date could be driven by insider dealings and the presence of an abnormal return suggests the semi-strong form inefficiency of the Nigerian market.
Identification of serum metabolites associated with the risk of metritis in transition dairy cows

Abstract: In this study, we aimed to identify metabolite signatures that characterize metritis prior to, during, and after the disease incidence. Blood samples were collected from 100 Holstein cows at five time points before and after parturition. Six cows that developed metritis and 20 controls were selected for metabolomics analysis in a nested case-control study. Twenty nine serum metabolites were quantified using gas chromatography–mass spectroscopy. Results showed that similar panels of metabolites differentiated pre-metritic and control cows at 8 and 4 wk prepartum. The top most important metabolites that differentiated the two groups of cows at 8 wk prepartum were oxalate, ornithine, pyroglutamic acid, d-mannose, and glutamic acid, and at 4 wk prepartum were ornithine, pyroglutamic acid, d-mannose, glutamic acid, and phosphoric acid, suggesting their potential use as risk biomarkers for metritis. Area under the curve with values of 1.0 and 0.969 at 8 and 4 wk, respectively, indicated that those panels of metabolites have a very high sensitivity and specificity to be used as risk biomarkers for metritis. Overall, results showed that specific serum metabolite signatures can be used to screen cows for susceptibility to metritis during the dry off period, and to better understand the etiopathobiology of the disease.
Financial Integration between Indonesia and Its Major Trading Partners

This study examines stock market integration among the emerging stock market of Indonesia and its major trading partners (Japan, the US, Singapore and China). We employ the newly proposed autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) approach to cointegration and recent weekly stock market data spanning from July 1998 to December 2007. The results indicate the Indonesian stock market is cointegrated with the stock markets of the US, Japan, Singapore and China. Thus, this implies that the opportunities for international investors to gain benefits from international portfolio diversification in those markets are limited. In addition, any development in Japan, the US, Singapore and China markets should be considered by the Indonesian government in making policies regarding to the stock market of Indonesia.
Null Geodesics and Strong Field Gravitational Lensing of Black Hole with Global Monopole

We study two interesting features of a black hole with an ordinary as well as phantom global monopole. Firstly, we investigate null geodesics which imply unstable orbital motion of particles for both cases. Secondly, we evaluate deflection angle in strong field regime. We then find Einstein rings, magnifications, and observables of the relativistic images for supermassive black hole at the center of galaxy NGC4486B. We also examine time delays for different galaxies and present our results numerically. It is found that the deflection angle for ordinary/phantom global monopole is greater/smaller than that of Schwarzschild black hole. In strong field limit, the remaining properties of these black holes are quite different from the Schwarzschild black hole.
Cognitive-Behavioral Treatment of Childhood Anxiety: Examining a Parent Consultation Model

Strong evidence supports the use of cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) for the treatment of clinical anxiety in children. As parents may play an etiological role in the development, progression, and maintenance of childhood anxiety, researchers have noted that including parents in child treatment confers some benefit upon child outcomes. Conducting CBT solely with the parents of anxious children may be equally beneficial and potentially more cost-effective than treatment modalities with only the child. The present study examined the efficacy of a ten-session parent-only CBT intervention delivered individually to parents of anxious children (ICBT) in comparison to a ten week wait-list control condition (WL). Conditions were compared at three time-points, with regard to the child’s anxiety symptoms (by child, parent, and teacher reports) and diagnostic status (by structured interview with parents), as well as parents' self-reported anxiety, protective parenting behaviors, parenting satisfaction, and parenting self-efficacy. The ICBT intervention was more effective than the WL condition in reducing total number of anxiety disorder diagnoses, the total parent-rated interference of those diagnoses, and the total clinician-rated severity of those diagnoses (via structured diagnostic interview), as well as reducing maternal protective parenting behaviors. These changes were maintained at 3-month follow-up in the ICBT group. There were no significant differences between conditions in father-report of any variables, in child self-report or teacher-report of child anxiety, or mother-report on maternal anxiety, satisfaction, or self-efficacy. These findings suggest that treatment with the parents of anxious children can be an effective treatment modality. They also suggest that the influence of parenting factors such as protective behaviors should be a fundamental consideration for practitioners when planning childhood anxiety treatment in any modality. Future research is warranted with larger, more diverse samples and long-term follow-up in order to elucidate the mechanisms through which individual CBT with the parents of anxious children results in symptom reduction for the child and whether these gains are maintained over time.
Application of essential oils for finishing of textile substrates

Finishing of various textile fabrics to make it more marketable and its demand is increasing due to global competition and increasing globalization has created many challenges to the textile researchers and industrialist The rapid growth in technical textiles and their end uses has generated many opportunities for the application of innovative finishes The next phase of growth and development of this industry will be focused on three main aspects a nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp Value added products with enhanced functionality b nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp Apparels c nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp Sustainable products Novel finishing of fabrics has been appreciated by a more discerning and demanding consumer market With the steady improvement in technology and application standards a gradual rise has been observed in consumer demands and to reach up to that mark a manufacturer has to add something to their products to get some added value for their products Nano finishing or finishing with macro finishes can provide high efficacy and efficiency for treated fabrics in comparison to conventional materials because they possess large surface area and high surface energy that ensures better affinity for fabrics and leads to an increase in durability of the textile functions Natural oils such as essential oils and other herbal products such as neem oil castor oil karanja oil citronella oil etc have long been used but today they are also being promoted to be used for finishing application due to their good efficacy without any harmful effects The present work deals with the possibilities for application of natural oils on textiles to impart value addition to the substrate Neem oil obtained commercially was reduced into Nano and micro neem oil emulsion using various types of emulsifiers The recipe has been attained to get a high add on on the substrate and also to improve wash fastness properties of the finished samples The inherent properties of neem oil such as insecticidal antibacterial antimicrobial provided the required inspiration to undertake the work and the process used here was ecofriendly as well as neem oil being abundantly available acted as driving force for this work The process parameters of preparation and application are relatively easy and feasible and hence can be easily made available to the rural public at much reduced costs and it can create hygiene awareness as well as help in halting the spread of epidemics These value added products not only produce considerable increase in profit but also build the brand image
Unifying static analysis of gravitational structures with a scale-dependent scalar field gravity as an alternative to dark matter

Aims. We investigated the gravitational effects of a scalar field within scalar-tensor gravity as an alte rnative to dark matter. Motivated by chameleon, symmetron and f (R)-gravity models, we studied a phenomenological scenario where the scalar field has both a mass (i.e. interaction length) and a coupling constant to th e ordinary matter which scale with the local properties of th e considered astrophysical system. Methods. We analysed the feasibility of this scenario using the modifi ed gravitational potential obtained in its context and appl ied it to the galactic and hot gas/stellar dynamics in galaxy clusters and elliptical/spiral galaxies respectively. This is intended to be a first step in assessing the viability of this new approach in the co ntext of “alternative gravity” models. Results. The main results are: 1. the velocity dispersion of elliptical galaxies can be fitted remarkably well by the suggested scalar field, with model significance similar to a classical Navarro -Frenk-White dark halo profile; 2. the analysis of the stellar dynamics and the gas equilibrium in elliptical galaxies has shown that the scalar field can couple with ordinary matter with di fferent strengths (different coupling constants) producing and/or depending on the different clustering state of matter components; 3. elliptical and spiral galaxies, combined with clusters of galaxies, show evident correlations among theory parameters which suggest the general validity of our results at all scales and a way toward a possib le unification of the theory for all types of gravitational sy stems we considered. All these results demonstrate that the propose d scalar field scenario can work fairly well as an alternative to dark matter.
Income-related reporting heterogeneity in subjective health: evidence from France

This paper tests for income-related reporting heterogeneity in selfassessed health (SAH). It also constructs a synthetic measure of clinical health to decompose the effect of income on SAH into an effect on clinical health (which is called a health production effect) and a reporting heterogeneity effect. We Þnd health production effects essentially for the low-income individuals, and reporting heterogeneity for the choice between the medium labels i.e. “fair” vs. “good” and for the high-income individuals. As such, SAH should be used cautiously for the assessment of income-related health inequalities in France. It is however possible to minimize the reporting heterogeneity bias by dichotomizing the SAH variable into a poor health / other health statuses distinction.