Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Modelling runoff and sediment rate using aneuro-fuzzy technique

This paper demonstrates the estimation and simulation of discharge and sediment concentration for two river basins in the USA and India. The first-order Sugeno fuzzy inference system was utilised to model the stage, discharge and sediment concentration relationship. A subtractive clustering algorithm, along with a least-squares estimation, was used to generate the fuzzy rules that describe the relationship between input and output data of stage, discharge and sediment concentration, which change over time. The fuzzy rules were tuned by a back-propagation algorithm. The results are illustrated using simulation and virtual reality. A comparison was made between the estimates provided by the neuro-fuzzy model and a multi-linear regression model. Different statistical criteria were used to evaluate the performance of both models in estimating discharge and sediment concentration. Comparison of the results reveals that, in general, the neuro-fuzzy model gives better estimates than the multi-linear regression m.
PENGARUH KARAKTERISTIK KEPALA DAERAH TERHADAP KINERJA KEUANGAN DAERAH(Studi Empiris Pada Pemerintah Daerah Kabupaten/ Kota di Jawa Timur Tahun 2011 s.d. 2012)

PENGARUH KARAKTERISTIK KEPALA DAERAH TERHADAP KINERJA KEUANGAN DAERAH(Studi Empiris Pada Pemerintah Daerah Kabupaten/ Kota di Jawa Timur Tahun 2011 s.d. 2012) Tujuan penelitian ini adalah untuk menguji pengaruh karakteristik Kepala daerah yang diwakili oleh pendidikan, umur, masa kerja/pengalaman kerja dan pekerjaan sebelum menjabat terhadap kinerja keuangan daerah (dengan proksi pertumbuhan pendapatan asli daerah) pada pemerintah Kabupaten/Kota di provinsi Jawa Timur tahun 2011 – 2012. Peneliti menggunakan metode purposive sampling dan memperoleh 38 Kabupaten/Kota yang memenuhi kriteria dalam penelitian ini. Total pengamatan sejumlah 38 data. Pengujian dilakukan dengan menggunakan analisis regresi berganda.Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa variabel pendidikan, umur, masa kerja/pengalaman kerja dan pekerjaan sebelum menjabat secara simultan berpengaruh signifikan terhadap kinerja Keuangan Daerah, sedangkan pekerjaan sebelum menjabat tidak berpengaruh signifikan terhadap kinerja keuangan daerah. Kata Kunci : Karakteristik, Kepala Daerah, Pendidikan, Umur, Masa Kerja/Pengalaman Kerja dan Pekerjaan Sebelum Menjabat, Kinerja Keuangan Daerah
Factor Endowments, Inequality, and Paths of Development among New World Economies

Whereas traditional explanations of differences in long-run paths of development across the Americas generally point to the significance of differences in national heritage or religion, we highlight the relevance of stark contrasts in the degree of inequality in wealth, human capital, and political power in accounting for how fundamental economic institutions evolved over time. We argue, moreover, that the roots of these disparities in the extent of inequality lay in differences in the initial factor endowments (dating back to the era of European colonization). We document -- through comparative studies of suffrage, public land, and schooling policies -- systematic patterns by which societies in the Americas that began with more extreme inequality or heterogeneity in the population were more likely to develop institutional structures that greatly advantaged members of elite classes (and disadvantaging the bulk of the population) by providing them with more political influence and access to economic opportunities. The clear implication is that institutions should not be presumed to be exogenous; economists need to learn more about where they come from to understand their relation to economic development. Our findings not only contribute to our knowledge of why extreme differences in the extent of inequality across New World economies have persisted for centuries, but also to the study of processes of long-run economic growth past and present.
Effects of Advance Organizer Teaching Approach on Secondary School Students’ Achievement in Chemistry in Maara District, Kenya

Students‟ achievement in Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) Chemistry examinations in Kenya is below average. This could be due to among other factors, the teaching methods used by teachers. There is need for teachers to use teaching methods that can enhance students‟ academic achievement in Chemistry in secondary schools. This study investigated the effects of Advance Organizer Teaching Approach on students‟ achievement in Chemistry. Quasi–experimental research was employed since intact chemistry classes were involved. This was because school authorities do not allow classes to be broken and reconstituted for research purposes. Solomon’s Four Non-Equivalent Control Group Design was used. The study involved secondary schools in Maara District, Kenya. The target population was 13,036secondary school students while the accessible population was 3,540 Form Three chemistry students. Purposive sampling was used to select four district co-educational secondary schools in Maara District. The sample size involved 161 Form Three chemistry students who were in four groups E1, E2, C1and C2. Chemistry Achievement Test (CAT) was used for data collection. The CAT was administered to groups E1 and C1 before teaching started. The experimental groups were taught using the Advance Organizer Teaching Approach (AOTA) while the control groups were taught through Regular Teaching Methods (RTM). The CAT was pilot tested to determine its reliability, while its validity was ascertained by experts from Department of Education of Chuka University College. At the end of eight weeks of teaching the CAT post-test was administered to the four groups. Statistical package for social sciences (SPSS) was used for data analysis. Descriptive statistics (mean, percentages, and standard deviation) and inferential statistics (ANOVA, ANCOVA, and ttest) were used for data analysis at α= 0.05 level. The study found out that there were significant effects of the use of advance organizers in Chemistry learning. Students who were taught using AOTA achieved better in Chemistry learning than those who were taught through RTM. The findings of this study also indicate that gender has no significant effects on CAT scores in Chemistry learning when AOTA is used. Based on this study teachers and curriculum developers should adopt and strengthen the use of advance organizers as a teaching strategy to enhance Chemistry learning by students.
Reconstruction of the gradient refractive index of the crystalline lens with optimization methods

This publication represents a summary of the results of the doctoral thesis Reconstruction of the Gradient Refractive Index of the Crystalline Lens presented in Universidad de Valladolid, Spain, on July, 2012. The optical properties of the crystalline lens of the eye depend on the shape of the external surfaces and on its refractive index. In humans and many other species, the refractive index of the lens is not homogeneous and there is a gradient refractive index (GRIN) that peaks around the center of the lens. To study the influence of the GRIN in the optics of the lens, a method to reconstruct the GRIN in in vitro lenses was proposed in this PhD thesis. The method was used to measure the GRIN of lenses of animal models and humans and study its changes with age or its influence on the optical properties of the lens. Also, the effect of the GRIN in the visualization of the posterior surface of the lens in Optical Coherence Tomography images was quantified.
Views from the Homefront The Experiences of Youth and Spouses from Military Families

Limited Electronic Distribution Rights This document and trademark(s) contained herein are protected by law as indicated in a notice appearing later in this work. This electronic representation of RAND intellectual property is provided for noncommercial use only. Unauthorized posting of RAND electronic documents to a non-RAND website is prohibited. RAND electronic documents are protected under copyright law. Permission is required from RAND to reproduce, or reuse in another form, any of our research documents for commercial use. For information on reprint and linking permissions, please see RAND Permissions. Skip all front matter: Jump to Page 16 The RAND Corporation is a nonprofit institution that helps improve policy and decisionmaking through research and analysis. This electronic document was made available from www.rand. org as a public service of the RAND Corporation. CHILDREN AND FAMILIES
Climatic influences on fire regimes in montane forests of the southern Cascades, California, USA

The relationship between climate variability and fire extent was examined in montane and upper montane forests in the southern Cascades. Fire occurrence and extent were reconstructed for seven sites and related to measures of reconstructed climate for the period 1700 to 1900. The climate variables included the Palmer Drought Severity Index (PDSI), summer temperature (TEMP), NINO3, a measure of the El Nino-Southern Oscillation (ENSO), and the Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO). Fire extent at the site and regional scale was associated with dry and warm conditions in the year of the fire and regional fire extent was not associated with ENSO or PDO for the full period of analysis. The relationship between regional fire extent and climate was not stable over time. The associations of fire extent with PDSI and TEMP were only significant from ∼1775 onward and the associations were strongest between 1805 and 1855. PDO and fire extent were also associated during the 1805-1855 period, and ENSO was associated with fire extent before 1800, but not after. The interannual and interdecadal variability of the fire response to temperature and drought suggests that increased periods of regional fire activity may occur when high interannual PDSI variation coincides with warm decades. Additional keywords: American Pacific coast, climatic variation, El Nino-Southern Oscillation, fire ecology, Pacific Decadal Oscillation.
Anatomy of Rapid Margin Progradation: Three-Dimensional Geometries of Miocene Clinoforms, New Jersey Margin

Documentation of along-strike variations in the morphologies of continental-margin clinoforms is essential for understanding mechanisms of progradation, one of the fundamental relationships between depositional processes and preserved stratigraphy. Maps based on a grid of commercial multichannel seismic data offshore New Jersey, extending more than 70 km along strike and approximately 50 km downdip, reveal the three-dimensional morphology and evolution of four buried surfaces correlated with middle-upper Miocene sequence boundaries calibrated by drilling on the adjacent continental slope. Miocene clinoform breakpoints are not depositional analogs of the modern shelf edge. They are linear to gently arcuate; breakpoint and slope trends indicate a systematic southward displacement of depocenters over about 5.6 m.y. Progradation responded to point (fluvial) sediment sources, but efficient along-strike sediment dispersal muted their influence. Canyons are absent on three of four clinoform slopes; the fourth slope has one v-shaped canyon and a broad erosional area (possible slope failure? ). Planar-floored canyons also occur, albeit rarely, seaward of clinoform toes. Apparently, v-shaped and planar-floored canyons, previously ascribed to downslope erosion vs. slope failure/headward erosion, respectively, can coexist. The accretionary northern slope of Little Bahama Bank is a possible morphologic analog. By analogy with Pleistocene shelf/slope geometries, an absence of canyons breaching clinoform breakpoints suggests that rivers did not discharge at paleoshelf edges, indicating that sea level lowstands postulated for the middle-upper Miocene did not expose breakpoints. Reconstruction of breakpoint paleoelevations supports this conclusion for three of the four mapped surfaces, suggesting that elevations of some Miocene lowstands on the global sea level curve are too high by up to 60 m.
The Monetary Transmission Mechanism in the Tropics: A Narrative Approach

Many central banks in low-income countries in Sub-Saharan Africa are modernising their monetary policy frameworks. Standard statistical procedures have had limited success in identifying the channels of monetary transmission in such countries. Here we take a narrative approach, following Romer and Romer (1989), and center on a significant tightening of monetary policy that took place in 2011 in four members of the East African Community: Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania and Rwanda. We find clear evidence of the transmission mechanism in most of the countries, and argue that deviations can be explained by differences in the policy regime in place.
External Qi of Yan Xin Qigong Inhibits Activation of Akt, Erk1/2 and NF-ĸB and Induces Cell Cycle Arrest and Apoptosis in Colorectal Cancer Cells

Background/Aims: Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the second leading cause of cancer death in the Western countries. Novel approaches of treatment are needed for CRC. The purpose of the present study was to investigate cytotoxic effect of external Qi of Yan Xin Qigong (YXQ-EQ) on human colorectal cancer cells. Methods: The effect of YXQ-EQ on viability, cell cycle progression and apoptosis in colorectal cancer HT-29 cells was investigated. Phosphorylation of Akt and Erk1/2, activation of NF-ĸB and the expression of proteins involved in regulation of cell cycle and apoptosis were examined by Western blot analysis. Results: YXQ-EQ markedly decreased viability and blocked colony formation of HT-29 cells. YXQ-EQ downregulated cyclin D1 expression and increased accumulation of cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitors p21Cip1 and p27Kip1, resulting in G1 cell cycle arrest. YXQ-EQ induced apoptosis in HT-29 cells in association with decreased expression of antiapoptotic proteins Bcl-xL, XIAP, survivin and Mcl-1 and elevated expression of proapoptotic protein Bax. YXQ-EQ significantly repressed phosphorylation of Akt and Erk1/2 and NF-ĸB activation in HT-29 cells, suggesting that YXQ-EQ may exert cytotoxic effect through regulating signaling pathways critical for cell proliferation and survival. Furthermore, YXQ-EQ treated PBS and an YXQ-EQ treated plant extract induced apoptosis in HT-29 cells. Conclusion: These findings show that YXQ-EQ has potent cytotoxic effect on HT-29 cells and suggest that YXQ-EQ could be potentially used for colorectal cancer treatment either directly or indirectly via carriers.
Reading the Freudian theory of sexual drives from a functional neuroimaging perspective

One of the essential tasks of neuropsychoanalysis is to investigate the neural correlates of sexual drives. Here, we consider the four defining characteristics of sexual drives as delineated by Freud: their pressure, aim, object, and source. We systematically examine the relations between these characteristics and the four-component neurophenomenological model that we have proposed based on functional neuroimaging studies, which comprises a cognitive, a motivational, an emotional and an autonomic/neuroendocrine component. Functional neuroimaging studies of sexual arousal (SA) have thrown a new light on the four fundamental characteristics of sexual drives by identifying their potential neural correlates. While these studies are essentially consistent with the Freudian model of drives, the main difference emerging between the functional neuroimaging perspective on sexual drives and the Freudian theory relates to the source of drives. From a functional neuroimaging perspective, sources of sexual drives, conceived by psychoanalysis as processes of excitation occurring in a peripheral organ, do not seem, at least in adult subjects, to be an essential part of the determinants of SA. It is rather the central processing of visual or genital stimuli that gives to these stimuli their sexually arousing and sexually pleasurable character. Finally, based on functional neuroimaging results, some possible improvements to the psychoanalytic theory of sexual drives are suggested.
Working Paper Series Document de travail de la s é rie THE PROS AND CONS OF SICK PAY SCHEMES : TESTING FOR CONTAGIOUS PRESENTEEISM AND SHIRKING BEHAVIOR

This paper proposes a test for the existence and degree of contagious presenteeism and negative externalities in sickness insurance schemes. First, we theoretically decompose moral hazard into shirking and contagious presenteeism behavior and derive testable conditions. Then, we implement the test exploiting German sick pay reforms and administrative industry-level data on certified sick leave by diagnoses. The labor supply adjustment for contagious diseases is significantly smaller than for non-contagious diseases. Lastly, using Google Flu data and the staggered implementation of US sick leave reforms, we show that flu rates decrease after employees gain access to paid sick leave. JEL Classification: I12; I13; I18; J22; J28; J32
Working Paper Series Document de travail de la série HETEROGENEITY IN GENERAL PRACTITIONERS’ PREFERENCES FOR QUALITY IMPROVEMENT PROGRAMS: A CHOICE EXPERIMENT AND POLICY SIMULATION IN FRANCE

Despite increasing popularity, quality improvement programs (QIP) have had modest and variable impacts on enhancing the quality of physician practice. We investigate the heterogeneity of physicians’ preferences as a potential explanation of these mixed results in France, where the national voluntary QIP the CAPI has been cancelled due to its unpopularity. We rely on a discrete choice experiment to elicit heterogeneity in physicians’ preferences for the financial and non-financial components of QIP. Using mixed and latent class logit models, results show that the models should be used in concert to shed light on different aspects of the heterogeneity in preferences. In particular, the mixed logit demonstrates that heterogeneity in preferences is concentrated on the pay-for-performance component of the QIP, while the latent class model shows that physicians can be grouped in four homogenous groups with specific preference patterns. Using policy simulation, we compare the French CAPI with other possible QIPs, and show that the majority of the physician subgroups modelled dislike the CAPI, while favouring a QIP using only non-financial interventions. We underline the importance of modelling preference heterogeneity in designing and implementing QIPs. JEL Classification: I11; I18; C25
Does Cohesion Policy reduce EU discontent and Euroscepticism?

ABSTRACT Some regions in Europe that have been heavily supported by the European Union’s Cohesion Policy have recently opted for parties with a strong Eurosceptic orientation. The results at the ballot box have been put forward as evidence that Cohesion Policy is ineffective for tackling the rising, European-wide wave of discontent. However, the evidence to support this view is scarce and often contradictory. This paper analyses the link between Cohesion Policy and the vote for Eurosceptic parties. It uses the share of votes cast for Eurosceptic parties in more than 63,000 electoral districts in national legislative elections in the EU-28 to assess whether Cohesion Policy investment since the year 2000 has made a difference for the electoral support for parties opposed to European integration. The results indicate that Cohesion Policy investment is linked to a lower anti-EU vote. This result is robust to employing different econometric approaches, to considering the variety of European development funds, to different periods of investment, to different policy domains, to shifts in the unit of analysis and to different levels of opposition by parties to the European project.
Trumbore Rogue states and territorial disputes

This article examines whether rogue states are more aggressive in challenging other states’ claims to territory in comparison with non-rogue states. Rogue states are defined as those which systematically violate accepted international human rights norms of gender and ethnic nondiscrimination and protection from state repression. Hypotheses suggest that states that regularly violate international human rights norms are more likely to challenge other states’ territorial claims and that dyads with rogue states are more likely to experience territorial claims. Empirical analyses of data from two datasets on territorial claims provide support to the theory. Territorial claims are more likely in politically relevant dyads as the potential challenger’s rogue state score increases. Territorial claims are also more likely to emerge as the minimum rogue state score in a dyad increases. The substantive effect of rogue status is sizable, increasing the chances for a territorial claim by as much as 500%.
Energy release in subvolcanic environments; implications for breccia formation

Mechanical (Pdelta V) energy is released from hydrous magmas in subvolcanic environments by the two generally sequential processes of second boiling and subsequent decompression. The second boiling process, H 2 O-saturated melt --> crystals + H 2 O vapor, releases sufficient Pdelta V energy in the model system previously established by Burnham (1979) and Burnham and Ohmoto (1980) to cause fracture failure of even the strongest wall rocks (tensile strength approximately 3.77 X 10 10 ergs . kg (super -1) ) to depths of 4 or 5 km. Following fracture failure, moreover, expansion of already exsolved H 2 O and exsolution of additional H 2 O upon decompression into the model fracture system releases additional Pdelta V energy (9.7 X 10 10 ergs . kg (super -1) of magma) sufficient to lift an equivalent mass of rock nearly 1 km, in the absence of frictional resistance. This latter energy, although a conservative value, is model dependent to the extent that it is affected by changing any one of the following six independent model parameters: (1) bulk composition of the magma (hornblende-biotite granodiorite in the model), (2) depth of emplacement of the magma body ( approximately 2.3 km; P t = 0.6 kb), (3) mass fraction of H 2 O in the initial melt (F o w = 0.027; 2.7 wt % H 2 O), (4) mass fraction of melt in the magma at the time of emplacement (F o m = 1.0; 100% liquid), (5) tensile strength of the wall rocks (3.77 X 10 10 ergs . kg (super -1) ), and (6) depth to the top of the fracture, once formed ( approximately 2.3 km; P f < 0.3 kb). Although all of these parameters, except the first, are of major importance in the formation of hydrothermal breccias, generally the mass fraction of H 2 O in the initial melt (F o w ) is regarded as the single most important factor in the formation of breccia bodies in typical porphyry-type systems; F o w not only determines primarily whether or not the second boiling reaction releases enough Pdelta V energy to produce fractures, it also determines the magnitude of the decompressional energy released into the fractures, if formed. Magmas in which F o w = 0.02 to 0.04 at liquidus temperatures generally release sufficient Pdelta V energy not only to produce extensive porphyry-type fracture systems but also to produce the breccia bodies these systems commonly contain. Magmas in which F o w < 0.02, on the other hand, generally do not release sufficient energy for extensive breccia formation, except in structurally weak wall rocks at depths shallower than approximately 2 km. Magmas in which F o w [raquo] 0.04 at near-liquidus temperatures are incapable of emplacement in the subvolcanic environment.