Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Production scheduling with autonomous and induced learning

The vast majority of scheduling research involving the learning effect only considers autonomous learning, i.e. learning by doing. Proactive investment in learning promotion, i.e. induced learning, is rarely considered. Nevertheless, induced learning is important for total production cost reduction and helping managers control the production systems, which can be interpreted as management or investment seeking to improve employees’ working efficiency. We consider in this paper scheduling models with both autonomous and induced learning. The objective is to find the optimal sequence and level of induced learning that optimise a scheduling criterion plus the investment cost. We propose polynomial-time algorithms to solve all the single-machine scheduling problems considered and the parallel-machine problem to minimise the total completion time plus the investment cost. We also propose an approximate algorithm for the parallel-machine problem to minimise the makespan plus the investment cost.
FRECUENCIA, MORFOLOGÍA Y CONCENTRACIÓN DE PROGESTERONA in vitro DE CUERPOS LÚTEOS CAVITARIOS DE OVEJAS

El cuerpo luteo (CL) puede desarrollarse como una estructura compacta o cavitaria. Pero no se conoce si hay diferencias en las caracteristicas morfofisiologicas entre los cuerpos luteos compactos (CLsCom) y los cuerpos luteos cavitarios (CLsCav), ni si estas caracteristicas estan determinadas por el tipo, ovejas de lana (OL) versus ovejas de pelo (OP). Por lo tanto, en este estudio ovarios de ovejas se recolectaron despues del sacrificio, y se obtuvieron 81 cuerpos luteos OL y 81 OP. El diseno experimental fue completamente al azar con un arreglo factorial 2x2 de tratamientos. Las variables evaluadas fueron frecuencia, morfologia macroscopica y microscopica y produccion de progesterona (P4) in vitro, en 0.1 g de tejido luteo, con o sin adicion de 350 UI de eCG. La frecuencia de CLsCav fue mayor (p≤0.05) en OP (50.6 %) que en OL (35.8 %). Los CLsCav tuvieron tamano menor (p≤0.05) que los CLsCom. La concentracion de P4 durante el cultivo tanto para CLsCav como para CLsCom de OL y OP, con y sin eCG, fue similar (p>0.05). Los CLsCav de OP tuvieron menos celulas por campo visual (19) y tamano mayor (25 µm) que los CLsCom (25.6 y 15 µm; p≤0.05). Los OP tuvieron porcentaje mayor de CLsCav que los OL. El tamano de los CLsCav fue menor que el de los CLCom y la produccion de progesterona in vitro fue similar entre los CLsCav y los CLCom
Liquidity Creation and Competition in the Banking Industry Pre and Post Arab Spring in MENA Region

Competition is one of the determinants that influences banks’ liquidity creation. Political transitions in the MENA region have affected many aspects of the region, including its economy. The banking sector, being a crucial element in the financial system, is also affected. This study aims to examine the impact of ‘competition’, ‘political risk’ and ‘stability of banking industry’ on liquidity creation, vis-a-vis political transition (i.e. Arab Spring). The ‘availability of deposit insurance system’, bank ‘type’ and ‘size’ are used as control variables in this study. The sample in this study includes 55 banks from the MENA region (i.e. Arab Saudi, Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, and Tunisia), for the period between 2006 and 2015. This study finds that liquidity creation is negatively related to competition in the period before political transition and positively related in the period after political transition. Moreover, political risk positively influences liquidity creation for both pre and post political transition periods. However, the ‘stability of the banking industry’ and the ‘availability of deposit insurance system’ reduce liquidity creation in both periods.
Doing research in a ‘conflict zone’: history writing and archival (im) possibilities in Jammu and Kashmir

ABSTRACT This paper argues that in conflict zones like Jammu and Kashmir, the embodied stories of Kashmiris punctuate the past, often silenced by dominant Indian narratives. Narratives about certain key political events in the region's past co-exist with other forms of memory. Kashmiris weave these stories to make sense of the present, build connections to the past, and stake claims for the future. They build and nourish an archive based on lived experience, keeping a record of past wrongs. Novels, anecdotes and underground literature form part of this embodied archive, and provide a resource for recovering stories that remain silent in institutional archives which serve the interests of power. These interests are visible through restrictions on access to institutional archives, and demonstrate the effects of power and the overall politics of archives.
Effects of mast and berry crop failures on survival, growth and reproductive success of black bears

Knowledge of factors that limit black bear (Ursus americanus) populations is essential for proper management of that species and its habitat, but there have been few attempts to identify the key factors limiting black bear numbers. The black bear has few natural enemies, and its omnivorous food habits are commonly (but erroneously) believed to ensure an adequate food supply of some sort each year regardless of the failures of a few preferred foods. So by process of elimination, it often has been deduced that black bear numbers must be self-limited by social factors. However, recent studies in Minnesota (Rogers 1976) have shown that the social system of black bears varies with the distribution and abundance of food and probably serves to increase foraging efficiency, which leads to increased survival and enhanced reproductive success. Hence, instead of limiting populations below densities that can be supported by long term food supplies, social order may permit higher densities than otherwise might be possible. No evidence was found that social factors retarded growth and maturation other than through interference with feeding activities. Such interference appeared to be minimized by the observed social order. Salient points of the social system as described by Rogers (1976) are the following: (1) Adult females are territorial but usually accommodate their offspring within the maternal territory for at least the years when the offspring are small and would have difficulty maintaining exclusive feeding areas elsewhere. (2) Adult males each establish a perennial mating range within which are territories of several mature females. (3) Transient young males often are prevented from settling in the ranges of established males where the transients would compete for food with the offspring and pregnant mates of the established males. Hence, the aggressive nature of adult males probably serves to increase rather than decrease the survival of their offspring. (4) The usual well-dispersed distribution of foods dictates solitary foraging, but where food is clumped, as in garbage dumps, aggregations occur; and social order adjusts accordingly. Existing reports do not support the popular notion that black bears are able to secure an adequate diet each year. Unpublished records of the Wisconsin De partment of Natural Resources for 1954-1969 clearly show that failures of berry and mast crops, especially blueberries (Vaccinium spp.) and members of the red oak (Quercus spp.) group, correlate with marked increases in bear damage to farm crops, beehives, and livestock. The number of bears killed for such activities exceeded 100 only in years in which blueberry and/or acorn production fell below 20-25 percent of a full crop. Schorger (1946) reported an unusual influx of black bears into the vicinity of Duluth, Minnesota, during a shortage of
Clinical Blood Rheology

Expression of Foreign Genes in Insect Cells Using Baculovirus Vectors (S. Maeda). Production of Baculoviruses for Insect Control Using Cell Culture (C.L. Goodman and A.H. McIntosh). Specificity of Baculoviruses (A.H. McIntosh and J.J. Grasela). Application of Insect Cell Culture to the Study of Baccillus thuringiensis Toxins (W.J. McCarthy). Large Scale Insect Cell Production (S.N. Agathos). Growth and Interactions of Cells from the Insect Nervous System In Vitro (L.A. Oland and H. Oberlander). Physiological and Developmental Capacities of Insect Cell Lines (H. Oberlander and S. Ferkovich). Differences in Transfection Efficiency between Drosophila Cell Lines (G. Echalier and F. Fourcade-Peronnet). Intrinsic Stress Resistance of Cultured Lepidopteran Cells (T. M. Koval). Index.
Artifacts of Titanium, Zirconium, and Binary Titanium-Zirconium Abutments in Compute Tomography, Cone Beam Computed Tomography, and Magnetic Resonance Imaging

Aim: The aim of this in vitro study was to evaluate imaging artifacts induced by Titanium, Zirconium, Titanium-Zirconium abutments in CT, MRI and CBCT imaging modalities.Methods: A 4×8mm titanium fixture was inserted in a dry human mandible. Titanium, Zirconium and Titanium–Zirconium abutments measuring 10.5 mm in height are located on the fixture, one by one. Each abutment was scanned 4 times by each imaging modality. Gray value of the images was evaluated in four determined regions adjacent to distal, mesial, buccal and lingual aspects of the implant as the region of interest (ROI) by two observers using image J software. Gray value differences (∆GV) between the control (fixture without abutment) and case images (fixture and each type of abutments) were calculated. Data evaluation was done by analysis of variance and Post Hoc tests.Results: In CBCT, ∆GV was significantly higher in zirconium-titanium images comparing with titanium abutments. (P Value < 0.05)In distal, mesial and buccal aspects of ROI in CT, ∆GV was higher in zirconium images comparing with titanium abutments.In MRI, ∆GV for zirconium were lower than titanium-zirconium and titanium samples, respectively. Also, no significant differences in ∆GV were seen between T1 and T2 protocols, for all samples. Conclusion: In MRI, image artifacts are the least around Zirconium abutments, while in CT and CBCT, titanium abutments produced the least amount of artifacts.
Competition Among Charities: Field Experimental Evidence from a State Income Tax Credit for Charitable Giving

Donations to charity are widely encouraged by policymakers through targeted tax incentives such as tax credits for contributions only to qualifying causes. We use an online field experiment to test how the largest such program, Arizona\'s state income tax credit for donations to qualifying charities, affects donation decisions in a modified dictator game. In the experiment, we randomize whether subjects receive detailed information about the tax credit program prior to selecting potential recipients and completing the allocation task. We also vary the number of charities that subjects can select as recipients along with the (tax-credit) qualifying vs. non-qualifying composition of the choice set. We find that average giving is unaffected by the information provision and composition of the choice set. However, we find that subjects direct significantly more funds towards qualifying charities when provided information about the tax program; an effect that is enhanced when subjects select multiple recipients from lists that contain a mixture of qualifying and non-qualifying organizations. Our results underline the importance of including a portfolio of choices when studying the impact of targeted incentives because this makes it possible to identify a central feature of our data: participants \"rob Peter\" (non-qualifying charities) \"to pay Paul\" (qualifying charities).
The acute time course of muscle and tendon tissue changes following one minute of static stretching

The purpose of this study was to investigate the time course of the changes of various muscle and tendon mechanical properties and the function responses of the plantar flexor muscles following 1 min of static stretching.Twenty-five healthy volunteers were assigned into a static stretching group or a control group. The static stretching group was tested with three different rest times (0 min,20 min,40 min) after 2x30s of stretching. Controls were tested before and after a control period (10 min) without stretching. Dorsiflexion range of motion (RoM), passive resistive torque (PRT), and maximum voluntary contraction (MVC) were measured with a dynamometer. Ultrasonography of the medial gastrocnemius (GM) muscle-tendon junction (MTJ) displacement allowed us to determine the length changes in the tendon and muscle, respectively, and hence to calculate their stiffness.Following the stretching, we observed a significant increase in RoM directly following the stretching, 20 min post-stretching, and 40 min post-stretching. However, no changes were found in other functional parameters (PRT, MVC) or structural parameters (muscle and tendon stiffness). No changes were detected in any variable in the control group.We conclude that a static stretching exercise of 2x30s increases the RoM for at least 40 min. However, this gain in RoM is not accompanied with more compliant muscle and/or tendon tissue, suggesting that 60s of static stretching might not be stimulus enough to induce changes in the muscle-tendon structure. Hence, we speculate that other factors, such as increased stretch tolerance, might be responsible for the changes in the RoM observed in the present study.
Transient Thermal Modeling of a Power Module: An N-Layer Fourier Approach

A transient model of a rectangular N-layer structure with an arbitrary number of rectangular heat sources on the top surface is obtained by Fourier series solution. As power modules can be closely approximated by this type of structure, the model may be used to accurately estimate the temperature field occurring in such modules. The Fourier-based method developed in this work is compared with a finite-element model and an excellent matching (under 2% error) in the transient region is found. An experimental validation is performed using a half-bridge silicon carbide power module monitored by a high frame-rate thermal camera. After the model outputs have been compensated to match the limited frequency response of the camera, a good matching is found between model and experiment (under 6% error).
Satellite Evidence of Upper Ocean Responses to Cyclone Nilofar

ABSTRACT Cyclone Nilofar was the third-strongest cyclone in the Arabian Sea. It was a category 4 cyclone that arrived in last week of October 2014. It lingered in the Arabian Sea for 10 days and caused a significant phytoplankton bloom that was detected by satellite observation. In this study, the authors investigated the ocean biological and physical responses to cyclone Nilofar using chlorophyll a (chl a) concentration, sea surface temperature (SST), sea surface height anomaly (SSHA), sea surface wind measurements derived from different satellites, and in situ data. The maximum chl a concentration (>3.34 mg m−3) increased about 28 times in the Arabian Sea after the passage of the cyclone in comparison with the chl a concentration (0.12–0.92 mg m−3) before the passage of cyclone. Using the relationship of wind stress curl and upwelling, the authors found that during the cyclone the speed of upwelling increased more than 18 times compared with the speed in the period before the cyclone. Moreover, the mixed layer deepened by about 40 m. These findings reveal that the enhancement of chl a concentration was triggered by strong vertical mixing and upwelling. Along the track of the cyclone, the maximum sea surface cooling (4°–5°C) took place in the Arabian Sea along segments A–B and D–F where the translation speed of the cyclone was only 0.9–1.3 m s−1, and the mixed-layer depth was about 10 m in the pre-cyclone period. However, the drop in SST along segment C–D was only 1°–2°C, whereas in the pre-cyclone period the translation speed of the cyclone was 3.1–4.4 m s−1, and the mixed-layer depth was about 25 m in. So, the extent of the SST drop was probably due to the translation speed of the cyclone and the depth of the mixed layer. In addition, the region with the largest decline in SSHA can indicate the location of maximum cooling.
Phylogenetic studies among different groundnut (Arachis hypogaea L.) root nodule bacteria (Rhizobium) isolated from Junagadh and Rajkot districts of Gujarat.

INTRODUCTION Groundnut (Arachis hypogaea L.) is one of the most important oilseed crops, commercially popular due to its superior edible oil quality, protein in the meal and confectionery purposes. Groundnut has a wide range of adaptability in varying agro-climatic conditions and soils, which has made its cultivation possible in most of the tropical and sub-tropical countries in the world. The total area under groundnut cultivation in India during the year 2006-07 was 6.7 million hectares and total production was 6.6 million tons with the productivity of 985 Kg ha (FAO Database, 2007). Among the major groundnut growing states of India, Gujarat ranks first, in groundnut production and second in area under production. In the districts of Junagadh and Rajkot of Gujarat state, groundnut is the major oilseed crop. Besides its nutritional and agricultural importance, groundnut (as a legume) plays an important role in maintaining and improving soil fertility through the process of biological nitrogen fixation (BNF). Groundnut has been reported to form effective nodules with slow-growing rhizobia. Currently, Taurian et al. (2006) demonstrated that Arachis hypogaea L. is nodulated by Bradyrhizobium species and also by fast growing rhizobia closely related to Rhizobium giardini and Rhizobium tropici species. Nodulation of groundnut by indigenous bacteria is usually assumed to be adequate, and inoculation is seldom practiced. However, survival and effective functioning of Rhizobium populations are reduced by high soil temperatures, salt and osmotic stress, soil acidity and alkalinity, pesticide and fungicide applications as well as nutrients deficiencies stress (Zahran, 1999). The different areas of Junagadh and Rajkot districts contain Rhizobium strains, well adapted to varying soil and environmental conditions. The Rhizobium strain isolated from these areas will be very effective for evaluating as a groundnut inoculants in different areas of Saurashtra, because the inoculated Rhizobium should survive or persist in critical number for a long time in the rhizosphere of the groundnut to out-compete and/or complement the native microflora. To achieve the maximum biological nitrogen fixation in these areas, ABSTRACT
Predictors of self-efficacy among residents of low-income neighborhoods: Implications for social work practice

Summary Assisting the development of clients’ self-efficacy and improving their quality of life by identifying and activating their strengths and resources is at the heart of social work. The present study therefore examines the unique and combined contribution of internal resources (self-esteem, mastery, and hope) and external resources (social support, social competence, and community involvement) to the explanation of the variance in self-efficacy in a needy population. The sample consisted of 400 residents of 30 low-socioeconomic status neighborhoods in Israel, a population that represents the primary clients of welfare services. Findings Hierarchical regression analyses showed that all the internal and external resources predicted higher levels of self-efficacy, save for social support. The fact that social support was not associated with self-efficacy might be explained by the uniquely high levels of social support found for all the participants and the negligible variance in this variable. The finding of a consistently high level of social support in a sample of low-socioeconomic status residents is an important finding in and of itself. Applications Practical recommendations are offered relating to the need for social workers to focus on identifying their clients’ internal and social resources, strengthen existing resources, and create opportunities to enhance those that are lacking.
Efficient Rectifier for Wireless Power Transmission Systems

This article describes a full-bridge rectifier and a receiving antenna array for operation within an innovative wireless power transmission (WPT) system. A high-power transmitter using circularly polarized free-space waves and based on a retrodirective antenna array technology is also employed to boost the overall received RF power at the input of the rectenna. To the best of our knowledge, the proposed rectifier circuit and active antenna configuration are the first demonstration of a high-power beam tracking system for WPT scenarios, being different from previously reported near-field coupling and other lower power harvesting schemes. The main focus of this article is the rectifier design, its bench-top measurements, and operation in such a retrodirective, self-tracking microwave system. A novel approach based on in-phase multitone input signals is also developed to improve rectifier efficiency. The rectifier size is 4.5 cm by 2 cm and can offer more than 86% and 75% RF-to-dc rectification efficiency at 27 dBm for an input signal at 1.7 and 2.4 GHz, respectively. This rectifier circuit component can also be employed in other communication applications or WPT systems, for example, to convert to dc received RF signals or power in the radiating near- and far-field in order to wirelessly charge the batteries of home electronics, such as smartphones, tablets, or Internet of Things (IoT) devices.
On Bootstrapping Tests of Equal Forecast Accuracy for Nested Models

The asymptotic distributions of the recursive out-of-sample forecast accuracy test statistics depend on stochastic integrals of Brownian motion when the models under comparison are nested. This often complicates their implementation in practice because the computation of their asymptotic critical values is costly. Hansen and Timmermann (2015, Econometrica) propose a Wald approximation of the commonly used recursive F-statistic and provide a simple characterization of the exact density of its asymptotic distribution. However, this characterization holds only when the larger model has one extra predictor or the forecast errors are homoscedastic. No such closed-form characterization is readily available when the nesting involves more than one predictor and heteroskedasticity is present. We first show both the recursive F-test and its Wald approximation have poor finite-sample properties, especially when the forecast horizon is greater than one. We then propose an hybrid bootstrap method consisting of a block moving bootstrap (which is nonparametric) and a residual based bootstrap for both statistics, and establish its validity. Simulations show that our hybrid bootstrap has good finite-sample performance, even in multi-step ahead forecasts with heteroscedastic or autocorrelated errors, and more than one predictor. The bootstrap method is illustrated on forecasting core inflation and GDP growth.