Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Fred-Qd: A Quarterly Database for Macroeconomic Research

In this paper we present and describe a large quarterly frequency, macroeconomic database. The data provided are closely modeled to that used in Stock and Watson (2012a). As in our previous work on FRED-MD, our goal is simply to provide a publicly available source of macroeconomic “big data” that is updated in real time using the FRED database. We show that factors extracted from this data set exhibit similar behavior to those extracted from the original Stock and Watson data set. The dominant factors are shown to be insensitive to outliers, but outliers do affect the relative influence of the series as indicated by leverage scores. We then investigate the role unit root tests play in the choice of transformation codes with an emphasis on identifying instances in which the unit root-based codes differ from those already used in the literature. Finally, we show that factors extracted from our data set are useful for forecasting a range of macroeconomic series and that the choice of transformation codes can contribute substantially to the accuracy of these forecasts.
EVALUATION OF PRODUCTIVE AND REPRODUCTIVE PERFORMANCES OF BLACK BENGAL GOATS IN RAJSHAHI GOVERNMENT GOAT DEVELOPMENT FARM IN BANGLADESH

Background: The Black Bengal goat (BBG) is well adapted food animals with profitable productive and reproductive traits being naturally reared to enhance economic status and food security in rural people. Bangladesh government has taken program through establishment of ‘Government Goat Development Farms’ (GGDF) to enhance the goat rearing activities of the smallholders at rural level but the research reports on the productive and reproductive performances of goats in these GGDF are very limited. Objective: The main objective of this study was to evaluate the productive and reproductive performances of the BBG reared in semi-intensive system at the Rajshahi GGDF Materials and Methods: The Rajshahi GGDF had 398 goat populations of which 121 does were selected to study the productive and reproductive performances during the period from July 2010 to June 2011. The age of first estrus, conception rate by natural service, gestation length, post-partum heat, kidding interval, litter size, survivability of kids, morbidity and mortality of kids and their seasonal influence were studied. Results: The age of young female BBG showed 1st estrus varied from 180 to 270 with an average of 204  27 days. The conception rate varied from 88 to 100 with an average of 97% with natural services. The gestation length varied from 145 to 182 with an average of 150  5 days. The post-partum heat period varied from 60 to 90 days with an average of 69  7 days. The kidding interval varied from 199 to 268 with an average of 219  13 days. The litter size varied from 1 to 3 with an average of 2. Out of 234 kids borne, 47.44% were male and 52.56% female with higher mortality in male (10.81%) than female (5.69%) with an overall average mortality of 8.12%. There was no significant influence of season and parity on the birth weight of kids. However, the heavier birth weight of kids was recorded in male (1.38 kg) than female (1.17kg) kids. The birth of twin kids (56.41%) was found significantly (p < 0.0001) highest in comparison to triplets (26.92%), single (11.54%) and quadruplet (5.13%). Conclusions: The results support promising breeding and reproductive efficiency of BBG under local environmental conditions and therefore, there is a need to be improved milk yield of dam and control of morbidity and mortality in BBG kids. It may be concluded that the productive and reproductive performances of the BBG reared by using semi-intensive system of management appears to be encouraging at the Rajshahi GGDF which could be extended and compared to research findings with other four GGDF in Bangladesh.
THE EFFECT OF WORK STRESS ON NURSE PERFORMANCE IN THE INPATIENT WARDS TANJUNG PURA HOSPITAL ON 2016

Nursing care in a hospital is an integral part of health service. A nurse has constant contact with patients within 24 hours, and her work demands can potentially cause stress. The main purpose of the research was to find out the influence of work stress on nurses' performance in the Inpatient Wards. The research was a survey with an explanatory research method to find out the influence of work stress on nurses' performance in the Inpatient Wards of RSUD (Regional General Hospital) Tanjung Pura. The population was 63 nurses in the Inpatient Wards, and all of them were used as the samples since their numbers were relatively small. The data were gathered by conducting in-depth interviews and reporting data were obtained from the hospital. The gathered data were analyzed by using a linear regression statistic test. The result of the research showed that 77.8% of the respondents had moderate performance, 14.3% of the respondents had a good performance, and 7.9% of the respondents had a bad performance. It was also found that the variable of work stress influenced the performance at p-value = 0.00001. It is recommended that the hospital management pay attention to the nurses’ condition in each Inpatient Ward. On the other hand, the hospital management should give special attention to the work stress undergone by the nurses in the Inpatient Wards
Eficiência de Substratos na Aclimatização de Plantas de Miltonia flavescens LINDL. Propagadas in vitro

Acclimatization, which involves the transfer of in vitro cultivated plants to ex vitro conditions, is a critical stage in micropropagation. The choice of an appropriate substrate can affect plant survival rates. The objective of this study was to evaluate the efficiency of different substrates on the acclimatization of in vitro propagated Miltonia flavescens. Plantlets obtained from in vitro culture were transferred to polypropylene pots containing five different substrates: coconut fiber powder, coconut fiber, Pinus sp. bark, coconut fiber powder blended with Pinus sp. bark and Plantmax®. The experimental unit consisted of one pot containing two plants, with ten repetitions, totalizing 20 plants per treatment. At 30, 60 and 90 days after transplanting the plants were evaluated for survival rates, and after 90 days, shoot and root lengths were evaluated. No significant difference was found among treatments after 30 days of cultivation. At 60 days after transplanting, a marked decrease in survival rate was recorded for all substrates. The highest rates were obtained with coconut fiber, with significant difference only in relation to coconut fiber powder and this performance was sustained at 90 days of cultivation. The highest vegetative growth was recorded for the substrate Pinus sp. bark.
Bat Activity in Harvested and Intact Forest - Stands in the Allegheny Mountains

We used Anabat acoustical monitoring devices to examine bat activity in intact canopy forests, complex canopy forests with gaps, forests subjected to diameter-limit harvests, recent deferment harvests, clearcuts and unmanaged forested riparian areas in the Allegheny Mountains of West Virginia in the summer of 1999. We detected eight species of bats, including the endangered Indiana bat (Myotis sodalis). Mast bat activity was concentrated in forested riparian areas. Among upland habitats, activity of silver-haired bats (Lasionycteris noctivagans) and hoary bats (Lasiurus cinereus) was higher in open, less cluttered vegetative types such as recent deferment harvests and clearcuts. Our results suggest that bat species in the central Appalachians partially segregate themselves among vegetative conditions based on drfferences in body morphology and echolocation call characteristics. From the standpoint of conserving bat foraging habitat for the mimum number of species in the central Appalachians, special emphasis should be placed on protecting forested riparian areas. North. J. Appl. For. 21(3):154-159.
Teacher emotional labour, instructional strategies, and students’ academic engagement: a multilevel analysis

ABSTRACT The aim of the present study was to explore links between teachers’ emotional labour, class-perceived instructional strategies and their students’ self-reported academic engagement. Data on emotional labour from N = 95 high-school teachers and their students’ (N = 2,111) perceptions of instructional strategies and self-reported academic engagement were analysed through doubly latent multilevel SEM. The results indicated systematic links between teachers’ emotional labour strategies and class-perceived instructional strategies and student self-reported engagement. The more frequently teachers reported to hide or suppress their feelings in class, the lower was the instructional strategies as perceived by the students. Teachers’ faking emotions were found to be positively linked with class-level engagement. The obtained results imply that interventions fostering teachers’ emotion-regulation strategies can be very promising, as they likely are beneficial both for teacher well-being and for teaching performance.
Circulating Current Optimization Control of MMC

Modular multilevel converter (MMC) is a preferred topology for higher power applications. The instantaneous voltage mismatch between the phase legs and dc bus in MMC leads to predominantly second-harmonic circulating current (CC). The sizes of submodule (SM) capacitor and arm inductor, power losses and current rating of semiconductor switches in MMC are influenced by the CC. This article proposes a circulating current optimization control (CCOC) scheme for MMC, which reduces the arm current peak value without increasing the SMs capacitors size for the same maximum voltage ripples. It enables the MMC to handle more power with the same rated switches. This controller works on the principle of controlling the amplitude and phase angle of CC to follow their respective optimized references. A detailed design and implementation method of CCOC is presented for all possible operating conditions of MMC in terms of modulation indices and load power factors. A comparative evaluation performed between CCOC and other major CC control schemes highlights its main features. The efficacy of the proposed scheme is validated using simulations and also using experimental studies on a seven-level three-phase grid-connected MMC prototype. The results demonstrate the effectiveness of the CCOC scheme and verify the proposed principles.
Handbook of Lipids in Human Nutrition

Chemistry, Nomenclature, and Analyses Lipids in Foods: Chemistry and Nomenclature, I.B. King Analytical Methodologies for Lipids in Foods, I.B. King Analytical Procedures for Measurement of the Lipids and Lipoproteins in Cardiovascular Risk Assessment, G.R. Warnick and E.T. Leary Effect of Food Lipids on Health Effects of Dietary Fatty Acids and Cholesterol on Cardiovascular Disease Risk Factors in Man, R. McPherson and G.A. Spiller Omega-3 Fatty Acids. Part I: Metabolic Effects of Omega-3 Fatty Acids and Essentiality, A.P. Simopoulos Omega-3 Fatty Acids. Part II: Epidemiological Aspects of Omega-3 Fatty Acids in Disease States, A.P. Simopoulos Trans Fatty Acids, A.P. Simopoulos Plant Sterols: Their Biological Effects in Humans, J.W. Farquhar Saponins in the Treatment of Hypercholesterolemia, D. Oakenfull Food Lipids and Thermogenesis in Relation to Obesity, F. Armellini, M. Zamboni, T. Todesco, and O. Bosello Dietary Lipids and Colon Cancer, B.S. Reddy Effects of Selected Whole Foods and Interaction of Antioxidants and Fiber on the Health Effects of Fatty Acids and Cholesterol Introduction, G.A. Spiller Almonds, Walnuts, and Serum Lipids, J. Sabate and D.G. Hook Nut Consumption and Coronary Heart Disease Risk, J. Sabate , H.E.T. Bell , and G.E. Fraser Olive Oil and Health, A. Kiritsakis, A. Kafatos, and M. Hassapidou Modified LDL in the Pathogenesis of Atherosclerosis: Role of Nutrition, L. Cominacini, U. Garbin, A.F. Pasini, A. Davoli, M. Campagnola, A. De Santis, A.M. Pastorino, and V. Lo Cascio Short Chain Fatty Acid Production and Possible Metabolic Consequences in Humans, T. Todesco, M. Zamboni, F. Armellini, L. Bissoli, E. Turcato, and O. Bosello Effect of Dietary Fiber on Plasma Lipoproteins, D.J.A. Jenkins, P.J. Spadafora, A.L. Jenkins, and C.G. Rainey-Macdonald Appendix I: Polyunsaturated, Monounsaturated, and Saturated Fats in Some Common Foods, T.J. Hudson Appendix II: Physical Properties of Fatty Acids, G.A. Spiller Appendix III: Cholesterol in Some Common Animal Foods, G.A. Spiller Appendix IV: Plant Sterols in Foods, G.A. Spiller Appendix V: Definitions and Composition of Various Olive Oils, G.A. Spiller Appendix VI: A Note on Proposed Technologies for Extracting Cholesterol from Food, D. Oakenfull Index
Real-Time Optimal Lithium-Ion Battery Charging Based on Explicit Model Predictive Control

The rapidly growing use of lithium-ion batteries across various industries highlights the pressing issue of optimal charging control, as charging plays a crucial role in the health, safety, and life of batteries. The literature increasingly adopts model predictive control (MPC) to address this issue, taking advantage of its capability of performing optimization under constraints. However, the computationally complex online constrained optimization intrinsic to MPC often hinders real-time implementation. This article is thus proposed to develop a framework for real-time charging control based on explicit MPC (eMPC), exploiting its advantage in characterizing an explicit solution to an MPC problem, to enable real-time charging control. This article begins with the formulation of MPC charging based on a nonlinear equivalent circuit model. Then, multisegment linearization is conducted to the original model, and applying the eMPC design to the obtained linear models leads to a charging control algorithm. The proposed algorithm shifts the constrained optimization to offline by precomputing explicit solutions to the charging problem and expressing the charging law as piecewise affine functions. This drastically reduces not only the online computational costs in the control run but also the difficulty of coding. Extensive numerical simulation and experimental results verify the effectiveness of the proposed eMPC charging control framework and algorithm. The research results can potentially meet the needs for real-time battery management running on embedded hardware.
Application of Differentiated SH-SY5Y Cells for Toxicological Studies of Alzheimer's Amyloid Beta Peptide

55 Lühikokkuvõte . 56 Appendix . 57 Publication I . 57 Publication II . 71 Publication III . 103 Curriculum vitae . 115 Elulookirjeldus . 117
The Application of Story Mapping Technique to Improve Writing Skills

This research aims to find out whether or not the application of the story mapping technique can improve the writing skills of Grade X students of SMK Negeri 3 Palu. The type of this research was a quasi-experimental research design that involved two groups; experimental and control. The population was Grade X students of SMK Negeri 3 Palu. The sample was selected by applying purposive sampling technique. They were X RPL A consisting of 30 students (experimental group) and X TSM A consisting of 34 students (the control group). The experimental group was given the treatment, while the control group was not. The technique of data collection was test. They were pre-test and post-test. The result of data analysis indicated that there was a significant difference between the post-test results of two groups. By applying two tails test at 0.05 level of significance with 60 degrees of freedom (df) or 62-2=60, it was found that the t-counted (8.462) was greater than the t-table (1.669). It means that the research hypothesis is accepted. In conclusion, the application of story mapping technique can improve writing skills of Grade X students of SMK particularly in writing English Narrative Text. The result of this research will be very beneficial for future studies, especially for the English teacher of junior and senior high school or lecturer of English Education Study Program. They can apply this technique in their daily instructional process, as well as they can conduct a class action or experimental research by applying the story mapping technique. In addition, this technique can not only for teaching writing but it also can be applied for teaching reading. By doing so, the future study can be also focused on Improving reading skills through story mapping technique.
How emotions influence behavior in financial markets: a conceptual analysis and emotion-based account of buy-sell preferences

We develop a conceptual analysis and account of how emotions influence behavior in financial markets. To motivate our approach and to establish the need for such research, we first review the increasingly important literature on emotions in financial markets. While emotions influence investors in financial markets, there is a lack of precision concerning the exact nature of these influences. To remedy this, we identify and address a number of issues deriving from the current state of the finance literature. One issue concerns the lack of clarity in defining different emotion constructs. Another is the lack of a general emotion-based account of financial behavior. Our contribution is a classification of emotion-related phenomena and an emotion-based account of how anticipatory and anticipated emotions interact to determine investors’ buy and sell preferences in asset markets. Preliminary experimental results support our emotion-based account.
Two Different Methods for Flash Drought Identification: Comparison of Their Strengths and Limitations

Flash droughts are extreme phenomena that have been identified using two different approaches. The first approach identifies these events based on unusually rapid intensification rates, whereas the second approach implicitly identifies short-term features. This latter approach classifies flash droughts into two types, namely, precipitation deficit and heat wave flash droughts (denoted as PDFD and HWFD). In this study, we evaluate these two approaches over the Yellow River basin (YRB) to determine which approach provides more accurate information about flash droughts and why. Based on the concept of intensification rate, a new quantitative flash drought identification method focused on soil moisture depletion during the onset–development phase is proposed. Its performance was evaluated by comparing the onset time and spatial dynamics of the identified flash droughts with PDFD and HWFD events identified using the second approach. The results show that the rapid-intensification approach is better able to capture the continuous evolution of a flash drought. Since the approach for identifying PDFD and HWFD events does not consider changes in soil moisture with time, it cannot ensure that the events exhibit rapid intensification, nor can it effectively capture flash droughts’ onset. Evaluation of the results showed that the chosen hydrometeorological variables and corresponding thresholds, particularly that of temperature, are the main reasons for the poor performance of the PDFD and HWFD identification approach. This study promotes a deeper understanding of flash droughts that is beneficial for drought monitoring, early warning, and mitigation.
Evaluation of Color Parameters in a Machine Vision Analysis of Carbon Monoxide-Treated Fish—Part I

ABSTRACT The color of fresh tuna treated by 4% carbon monoxide +20% carbon dioxide +10% oxygen, or irradiated at 1 KGy or 2 KGy, or first gas treated then irradiated, was analyzed using the R, a* and hue parameters in a machine vision system. The percent of sample surface having R > Rthreshold, a* < a*threshold, or hue < huethreshold was associated with storage time for different levels of threshold values. Hue was selected as the best representative of the red color of tuna. A method was suggested to select the threshold value of a parameter. Irradiation did not change the color of fresh tuna. Exposure to CO increased the redness, and preserved it for up to 12 days in refrigerated storage. Microbial numbers for CO treated tuna were not different from control. Irradiation at 2 KGy was very effective in reducing microorganisms, while 1 KGy was ineffective.
Snow Algae Preferentially Grow on Fe-containing Minerals and Contribute to the Formation of Fe Phases

Abstract Snow algae growth and mineral dust deposition are both known to strongly decrease snow albedo. Previous work has shown snow algae growth is enhanced in the presence of trace nutrient-containing minerals. Increased dust deposition with aridification due to climate change may therefore additionally enhance snow algae growth. Here we performed batch growth experiments with a snow alga (Chloromonas brevispina) and bacteria co-culture and the minerals andradite (Ca3.0(Fe0.6,Al0.43)2(SiO4)3), olivine (Mg1.8Fe0.2SiO4), and quartz (SiO2), to observe differences in snow algae attachment to mineral surfaces with differing iron (Fe) contents. In the presence of olivine, which has a low Fe content (∼9%), the number of snow algae on the surface of the olivine decreased with decreasing concentrations of snow algae in the medium. In contrast, in the presence of andradite, which has a higher Fe content (∼16%), the number of snow algae on the surface of andradite remained high even when concentrations of snow algae in the medium were greatly decreased. Additionally, µX-ray Fluorescence (µXRF) measurements indicate greater formation of Fe-containing precipitates on the mineral surfaces in the presence of the snow algae cells than in abiotic controls. These results show that the snow alga both preferentially grows on Fe-rich surfaces and forms Fe-containing precipitates, indicating the presence of a potential positive feedback system that could amplify the effect of dust deposition on snow albedo and therefore climate change.
GIS Based Hybrid Computational Approaches for Flash Flood Susceptibility Assessment

Flash floods are one of the most devastating natural hazards; they occur within a catchment (region) where the response time of the drainage basin is short. Identification of probable flash flood locations and development of accurate flash flood susceptibility maps are important for proper flash flood management of a region. With this objective, we proposed and compared several novel hybrid computational approaches of machine learning methods for flash flood susceptibility mapping, namely AdaBoostM1 based Credal Decision Tree (ABM-CDT); Bagging based Credal Decision Tree (Bag-CDT); Dagging based Credal Decision Tree (Dag-CDT); MultiBoostAB based Credal Decision Tree (MBAB-CDT), and single Credal Decision Tree (CDT). These models were applied at a catchment of Markazi state in Iran. About 320 past flash flood events and nine flash flood influencing factors, namely distance from rivers, aspect, elevation, slope, rainfall, distance from faults, soil, land use, and lithology were considered and analyzed for the development of flash flood susceptibility maps. Correlation based feature selection method was used to validate and select the important factors for modeling of flash floods. Based on this feature selection analysis, only eight factors (distance from rivers, aspect, elevation, slope, rainfall, soil, land use, and lithology) were selected for the modeling, where distance to rivers is the most important factor for modeling of flash flood in this area. Performance of the models was validated and compared by using several robust metrics such as statistical measures and Area Under the Receiver Operating Characteristic (AUC) curve. The results of this study suggested that ABM-CDT (AUC = 0.957) has the best predictive capability in terms of accuracy, followed by Dag-CDT (AUC = 0.947), MBAB-CDT (AUC = 0.933), Bag-CDT (AUC = 0.932), and CDT (0.900), respectively. The proposed methods presented in this study would help in the development of accurate flash flood susceptible maps of watershed areas not only in Iran but also other parts of the world.