Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Interpreters of International Economic Law: Corporations and Bureaucrats in Contest over Chile's Nutrition Label

This article analyzes the everyday interpretive practices of corporations and bureaucrats that shape the meaning and force of international economic law. To understand how common practices such as public consultation submissions, corporate threat letters, and external legal assistance influence regulators’ understanding of their “legally available” policy space, we study the contested introduction of a pioneering nutrition labeling regulation in Chile. The transnational food industry powerfully challenged the regulation’s legality under World Trade Organization law. But Chilean health bureaucrats, in coordination with segments of the country’s legally highly competent economic bureaucracy, effectively defended the legality of their proposed regulatory measure. Drawing on data from freedom-of-information requests and in-depth interviews, the article argues that the outcomes of such interpretive contests are substantially shaped by participants’ knowledge of the entitlements created by international economic law and thus by the international legal expertise they have access to. This often but not always puts transnational corporations at an advantage over national regulators in the strategic interpretation of international economic law.
Neural Network Quantization with Scale-Adjusted Training

Quantization has long been studied as a compression and accelerating technique for deep neural networks due to its potential on reducing model size and computational costs, for both general hardware, such as DSP, CPU or GPU, and customized devices with ﬂexible bit-width conﬁgurations, including FPGA and ASIC. However, previous works generally achieve network quantization by sacriﬁcing on prediction accuracy with respect to their full-precision counterparts. In this paper, we investigate the underlying mechanism of such performance degeneration based on previous work of parameterized clipping activation (PACT). We ﬁnd that the key factor is the weight scale in the last layer. Instead of aligning weight distributions of quantized and full-precision models, as generally suggested in the literature, the main issue is that large scale can cause over-ﬁtting problem. We propose a technique called scale-adjusted training (SAT) by directly scaling down weights in the last layer to alleviate such over-ﬁtting. With the proposed technique, quantized networks can demonstrate better performance than their full-precision counter-parts, and we achieve state-of-the-art accuracy with consistent improvement over previous quantization methods for light weight models including MobileNet V1/V2 on ImageNet classiﬁcation.
THE EFFECT OF CONSUMER INNOVATIVENESS, PERCEIVED RISK AND PERSONALITY TRAITS ON PURCHASE BEHAVIOR

In today’s competitive environment, where market structure and customer expectations are in a rapid change, the determination of the factors affecting the purchase decisions and behaviors of consumers has a very significant role in the marketing value system. The determinants of purchase decisions include consumer perceptions, and besides, the consumer innovativeness, which plays an important role in the spread and adoption of products. Purchase behaviors are shaped and realized under the effect of consumer innovativeness components. As such, innovative consumers tend to follow innovations closely and adopt them more conveniently and faster. However, a new transformation is taking place in the current markets with the risk perception that may occur in each market and consumer perception. In this process, therefore, personality characteristics can be considered as an important factor in determining consumer innovativeness, perceived risk and purchase behaviors. In this context, this study examines the relationships between the personality traits, consumer innovativeness, perceived risk and purchase behavior through survey method. The application of the questionnaire was performed on consumers residing in Konya. Within the scope of the study, six basic hypotheses have been suggested. First of all, a correlation analysis was performed in order to determine the relationship between the variables. In line with the correlation analysis, it was concluded that there is a positive relationship between each parameter. Besides, according to the results of simple linear regression analysis conducted in order to test the accuracy of research hypotheses, it is found that there is a positive effect of consumer innovation and personality traits on perceived risk; of personality traits on consumer innovation; of consumer innovation, perceived risk and personality traits on purchasing behavior.
Desempenho, qualidade de ovos e análise econômica da produção de poedeiras semipesadas alimentadas com diferentes níveis de raspa de mandioca

The aim of this work was to evaluate the effect of the inclusion of cassava shavings in the diet on egg production, egg quality and economic feasibility of brown laying hens. The study used 180 laying hens, distributed in a completely randomized design, composed of six treatments (0, 5, 10, 15, 20 and 25% of cassava shaving inclusion), with five replicates of six birds per experimental unit. Feed intake, egg production, egg weight and egg mass, conversion by egg mass and by egg dozen, percentage of albumen, yolk and shell, yolk pigmentation and relative gross margin were evaluated. Feed intake, egg production, conversion by egg mass and by egg dozen and the percentage of albumen responded linearly to the increase in inclusion levels, leading to a decreased performance. There was a reduction of relative gross margin with 5% of shavings inclusion, and values increased until the inclusion level of 15% and dropped slightly until 25% of inclusion, always below 100%.
Managerial Effectiveness and Corporate Performance: A Study of Micro Finance Bank Management in Nigeria

Poverty, unemployment which causes rural – urban migration and many other social problems has been witnessed in Nigeria in many ways. Yet the rural unemployed and uneducated farmers are blessed with ideas and are ready to work. This has made them over time to develop ways of helping themselves financial through cooperatives. The government of Nigeria over time have identified this ability and tried helping them with some schemes for empowerment which failed. As a reaction to that failure, the Microfinance banks were institutionalized to help the rural entrepreneurs in accessing micro-credit facilities easier than it could have been with commercial banks. Yet there is the issue of some firms who applied for the microfinance license but not qualified, and those who got the license but folded in a little while. This raises the fear of a failure of this policy like others before it. Therefore, this study on managerial effectiveness and corporate performance, seek to investigate the managerial structure and skills of the microfinance banks, effects of corporate governance on corporate performance and the performance of microfinance banks in Nigeria so far. It was discovered that the most of the microfinance banks in Nigeria do not follow the CBN regulations on managerial appointment as some of them don’t even have graduate staff. Many of them was discovered to perform below expectation as some of them borrowed and spent more on operation cost than they earn. The study therefore, concluded that from research reports empirically analyzed, it is agreed that microfinance institutions have come to stay and is a veritable tool in the development of Nigeria. Yet it cannot achieve as it ought to except its managerial challenges are confronted.
ION BEAM RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT WORK AT JYFL

During the last year the main focus of the JYFL ion source group has been on the studies of the beam transmission, time evolution of Bremsstrahlung (will be presented elsewhere in this same proceedings by T. Ropponen) and on the development of metal ion beams. Comprehensive studies of the beam transmission efficiency at the Department of Physics, University of Jyväskylä have shown several problems concerning the injection line of the K-130 cyclotron. The experiments have shown strongly non-uniform and elliptical beam shape, which limits the beam transmission efficiency. The durability of the inductively heated oven has successfully been improved and it has been tested with the 14 GHz ECRIS for the production of titanium and chromium ion beams. The intensity level of about 20 μA was reached for the medium charge states, which is adequate for most of the nuclear physics experiments at JYFL.
Integrating Long-Short Term Network for Efficient Video Object Segmentation

Real-world application of video object segmentation (VOS) is a very challenging problem, especially for multiple video object segmentation. The deep-learning-based approaches have recently dominated VOS by ﬁne-tuning the networks at the ﬁrst frame to seize the object dynamics, but they may result in impractical frame-rates and risk of over-ﬁtting. To overcome this limitation, we develop an efﬁcient and fully end-to-end model to achieve fast and accurate VOS, named Long-Short Term Network (LSTNet). It contains a long term network to encode absolute object variations and a short term network to capture relative object dynamics. The segmentation results of video objects can be directly acquired by an attentional gate operation based on these two networks. Our proposed model runs at a very high speed and can conveniently tackle multi-object segmentation without post-processing. Extensive experiments on widely used benchmarks including YouTube-VOS and DAVIS 2017 have demonstrated that our proposed model can achieve a competitive accuracy and speed in comparison to a number of state-of-the-art methods.
Loss and recovery of leaf hydraulic conductance: Root pressure, embolism, and extra-xylary resistance

Vascular networks in plant leaves must provide for the safe and efficient transport of water, nutrients, and energy; however, the conditions whereby these networks lose and regain conductive capacity are still poorly understood. We measured the loss and recovery of leaf hydraulic conductance (Kleaf) in a tropical monocotyledon (Bambusa vulgaris) and dicotyledon species (Bauhinia blakeana) using Rehydration Kinetics Method (RKM) as well as a recently developed optical method. We found that both species lost ca 88% of their maximal Kleaf (measured by RKM) before any embolization was detected in their conductive elements (via optical observation). This suggests that the majority of loss in Kleaf, as measured with RKM, was associated with resistances other than embolization. Furthermore, embolism in B. vulgaris, a species known to generate root pressure, was reversed when rehydrated under positive pressure (120 kPa), but not under atmospheric pressure. In contrast, embolism was not reversed in B. blakeana under either elevated or atmospheric pressure. However, reductions in Kleaf that was not associated with embolization was recovered by this species when rehydrated under atmospheric conditions, whereas B. vulgaris did not exhibit any recovery under the same conditions. We suggest that root pressure is an adaptive mechanism allowing for the reversal of embolism and the recovery of extraxylary conductance. The absence of embolism reversal in B. blakeana suggests that embolization may be permanent without neutral or positive xylem pressure, but that the recovery of extraxylary conductance can be regained routinely in this species in the absence of root pressure.
Supervised Learning with Background Knowledge

We consider the task of supervised learning while focusing on the impact that background knowledge may have on the accuracy and robustness of learned classiﬁers. We consider three types of background knowledge: causal domain knowledge, functional dependencies and logical constraints. Our ﬁndings are set in the context of an empirical study that compares two classes of classiﬁers: Arithmetic Circuit (AC) classiﬁers compiled from Bayesian network models with varying degrees of background knowledge, and Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) classiﬁers. We report on the accuracy and robustness of such classiﬁers on two tasks concerned with recognizing synthesized shapes in noisy images. We show that classiﬁers that encode background knowledge need much less data to attain certain accuracies and are more robust against noise level in the data and also against mismatches between noise patterns in the training and testing data.
The Appropriation and Utility of Constrained ADMIs

This paper reﬂects on players’ ﬁrst responses to a constrained Accessible Digital Musical Instrument (ADMI) in open, child-led sessions with seven children at a special school. Each player’s gestures with the instrument were sketched, categorised and compared with those of others among the group. Additionally, sensor data from the instruments was recorded and analysed to give a secondary indication of playing style, based on note and silence durations. In accord with previous studies, the high degree of constraints led to a diverse range of playing styles, allowing each player to appropriate and explore the instruments within a short inaugural session. The open, undirected sessions also provided insights which could potentially direct future work based on each person’s responses to the instruments. The paper closes with a short discussion of these diverse styles, and the potential role constrained ADMIs could serve as ‘ice-breakers’ in musical projects that seek to co-produce or co-design with neurodiverse children and young people.
Financial Sector Reforms on the Stock Market: Nigerian Experience (1996-2013)

Capital markets in developed economies by undertaking a series of reforms thought to foster development of domestic securities markets. Financial reforms are primarily driven by the need to achieve the objective of consolidation in the financial institution like other emerging economies. This study however assesses the effectiveness of financial sector reforms on the stock market development in Nigeria. Data for the study was collected from CBN statistical Bulletin from 1996 to 2013. Data were analyzed and tested with t-test Paired Samples Statistics. Result shows that there is a significant relationship in the pre and post stock market capitalization. Therefore there is a significant relationship between stock market development, financial sector reform and economic growth. Also that financial sector reforms have improved financial market liberalization to enhance investors’ confidence. The researchers recommend that the reforms should be in a form that will restructure the entire financial sector, in order to achieve desired economic goals.
House Sparrows Passer domesticus and Tree Sparrows Passer montanus: Fine-Scale Distribution, Population Densities, and Habitat Selection in a Central European city

Abstract. Populations of House and Tree Sparrows have rapidly declined in various breeding habitats throughout their European distribution range; however, the strongest decline was recorded within urban environments. In our study we investigated fine-scale distribution, population densities and habitat selection of both sparrow species within a 200 × 200 m squares in a medium sized city (České Budějovice, Czech Republic) during the breeding season. The total population density of House and Tree Sparrow was 11.7 and 2.8 individuals/10 ha; however the densities of both sparrow species markedly differed among various urban units. The highest density of House Sparrow was recorded in residential areas (33.3 ind./10 ha) and Tree Sparrows were mostly found in garden colonies (10.3 ind./10 ha). After removing spatial effects, we found that numbers of both sparrows were negatively correlated with area of artificial surfaces (e.g. pavements, streets, railway networks or parking spaces) and positively correlated with area of city green. Built-up area did not affect numbers of House Sparrow, but there was a slight negative relationship with Tree Sparrow numbers. However, maximum numbers per square for both species were found in the areas where city green represented ca 50 % of all habitats. This suggests that mix of built-up areas and city green is more important for sparrow numbers than each habitat per se. Comparison of use/availability for studied habitat reveals that both sparrow species clearly avoided artificial surfaces. House Sparrow showed preference for built-up areas and Tree Sparrow showed similar preference for built-up areas and city green. Different habitat selection can be explained by a combination of different requirements for nest sites together with the nutritional needs of sparrows during the breeding season. The majority of nest sites were located in artificial structures such as roof tiles (80% for House Sparrow and 50% for Tree Sparrow), followed by nests located in crevices and holes on buildings. Both sparrows nested in older buildings: 92% of House Sparrow and 85% of Tree Sparrow nests were situated in buildings older than 30 years, i.e. built before the 1980s.
MODELING AND SIMULATION OF POLLUTANTS DISPERSION IN NATURAL RIVERS USING COMSOL MULTIPHYSICS

Two-dimensional mathematical model and COMSOL Multiphysics (version 5.3A) were used in the current study to model and simulate unsteady state continuous discharge of pollutants from multisource in the Shatt Al-Hilla River. To operate the model, the necessary information was experimentally measured, field measurements, from four wastewater outfalls and 13 stations along the studied reach of Shatt Al-Hilla River. The data were collected during the spring season, 15th April 2019, and winter season, 15th January 2019. The studied parameters, for water quality, were total dissolved solids (TDS), chloride (Cl-), sulphate (SO4), and biological oxygen demand (BOD). To check the reliability of the model, it was applied to two different sets of data collected on 15th February 2019 and 15th March 2019. Affectability examination was also performed to explore the impact of various factors on the outcomes anticipated by the application of the two-dimensional model. The standardization of a model shows that the perfect height of roughness is 0.025 m and the perfect slope of water is 7.5 cm/km. Additionally, McQuivey equation yielded perfect outcomes for standardization of the model. The results of the reliability check showed a good agreement between the experimental and the predicated data (R2 = 0.9). Finally, both measured and predicated results indicated that Al-Farsi outfall is the most significant source of pollution, and it seriously influences the nature of the river water.
Model of Purchasing Decision (Renting) of Generator Set: Analysis of Product Quality, Price an Service at PT. Hartekprima Listrindo

DOI: 10.21276/sjebm.2017. 4.11. 12 Abstract: This research aims to analyze the effect of product quality, price and service to the purchase decision at PT. Hartekprima Listrindo either partially or simultaneously. The population of this research is all customers of PT. Hartekprima Listrindo. While the sample using slovin formula obtained 98 respondents. Quantitative analysis method by using multiple linear regression analysis was followed by determination analysis (R square), partial hypothesis test (t test) and Simultan (F test) with alpha of 5 percent (0,05). Prior to further analysis, data quality and classical assumption test are done. Analysis tool applies SPSS Version 20.0 for windows. The result of research shows that product quality influences partial purchasing decision, price influences partial purchasing decision, service influences partial purchasing decision and product quality, price, and service influences purchasing decision simultaneously at PT. Hartekprima Listrindo.
Modeling the movement of particles in tilings by Markov chains

: This paper studies the movement of a molecule in two types of cell complexes: the square tiling and the hexagonal one. This movement from a cell i to a cell j is referred to as an homogeneous Markov chain. States with the same stochastic behavior are grouped together using symmetries of states deduced from groups acting on the cellular complexes. This technique of lumpability is effective in forming new chains from the old ones without losing the primitive properties and simplifying tedious calculations. Numerical simulations are performed using R software to determine the impact of the shape of the tiling and other parameters on the achievement of the equilibrium. We start from small square tiling to small hexagonal tiling before comparing the results obtained for each of them. In this paper, only continuous Markov chains are considered. In each tiling, the molecule is supposed to leave the central cell and move into the surrounding cells.
On Différance between Shakespeare’s Shylock and Bakathir’s Shylock

Enigmatic Shylock, the central figure of Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice (1596), and its varied interpretations continue to intrigue critics since the play's publication. One of the most faithful yet different of its adaptations is Bakathir's The New Shylock (1945). The present paper aims at deconstructing Shakespeare's Shylock and Bakathir's Shylock in the light of Derrida's concept "différance" to compare the two versions of the Jew and possibly capture the extremes of Jewish identity through several stages of their history. The significance of comparing Bakathir's version of the Jew, which exemplifies the opposite Eastern pole, to the Shakespearean Western is supposed to portray two crucial stages in the process of Jewish identity construction. Tackling the two Shylocks from the deconstructive perspective provides a text-oriented analysis focusing primarily on the binaries and the semantic and etymological meanings of words that reflect the tell-tale moments in both texts. The study finds out that whereas Shakespeare's Shylock is defeated because of his inability to control events, Bakathir's Shylock succeeds in mastering the play of circumstances, but temporarily. His suicide, at the end, enhances possibilities to answer the main inquiry: Who is "Shylock"? Therefore, further studies are recommended to compare and contrast Shakespeare's Shylock with the most recent adaptations, in the East or the West, using the same theoretical framework to provide an image of the Jew/ Zionist in the spatial and temporal processes of the Jewish enigmatic identity development.
Influence of local environmental conditions and bleaching histories on the diversity and distribution of Symbiodinium in reef-building corals in Tanzania

Pollution, turbidity and coral bleaching history, as well as coral diversity, vary along the Tanzanian coastline. Prior to this study, it was not known whether exposure to such environmental variation might have influenced the diversity and distribution of Symbiodinium along this coastline. Such information can provide insight into whether Tanzanian reef-building corals develop adaptation to current trends of climate change. Here, 10 reef-building coral samples were collected from different reefs along the Tanzanian coast with different micro-environments and bleaching histories. The ITS-2 region of ribosomal DNA was employed in the characterisation of Symbiodinium harboured by reef-building corals. DGGE fingerprints and DNA sequences showed that most coral species host a single Symbiodinium type, which is maintained throughout the coast regardless of local environmental differences. We present polymorphic symbioses in Acropora spp. , Millepora sp. and Galaxea fascicularis in mainly turbid and warm environments as a sign of adaptation to harsh conditions. However, such adaptation may not provide marked resistance to bleaching because Acropora is a bleaching-susceptible genus.