Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Link between Human Capital and Cooperatives Performance

Organisational resources are the fundamental drivers of organisational performance. Human capital is considered one of the organisational resources and many studies had found its positive impact on organisational performance. However, the association between human capital and cooperatives performance is neglected to be studied by previous researchers. The distinct characteristics of cooperatives compared to private or public organisations has paved the way for this paper to investigate the relationship between the human capital of cooperatives board members and cooperatives performance. 1,230 questionnaires were distributed to the randomly selected cooperatives in Peninsular Malaysia and 154 questionnaires were received back from the respondents. 135 questionnaires were usable for the analysis. From the correlation and linear regression analyses, the study discovered that the relationship between the human capital of cooperatives board members and cooperatives performance is positive and significant. These results were supported by findings from previous studies which have been conducted in the non-cooperatives sector. Hence, this result allows for the generalisation of the importance of human capital on organisational performance across different types of organisations.
Subakromial Sıkışma Sendromunda Açık Anterior Akromioplasti Sonuçlarımız

Objective: The aim of this study was to retrospectively evaluate the results of the open anterior acromioplasty in the patients who did not respond to conservative therapy. Materials and Methods: Open anterior acromioplasty was performed in 40 patients with subacromial impingement syndrome. The mean age of the patients was 50 years (range, 35-75 years) and 25 (62.5%) had pathology at the dominant side. The mean follow-up period was 20.3 months (range, 12-42 months). Assessments of the patients were made according to American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeon's (ASES) score, personal evaluation form and range of motion. Results: The mean preoperative ASES score was 43.7+/-14. At the last follow-up the score was 85.5 +/- 14.9 (p
Meanings that engineering students confer to the antiderivative

In this article, are presented the results of a questionnaire designed to evaluate college students’ understanding of the antiderivative. Specifically, by civil engineering students when answering the questionnaire tasks, in order to identify and characterize the meanings on the antiderivative that are developed by them. In order to analyse the answers given, were used some theoretical and methodological notions provided by the theoretical model known as the Onto-Semiotic Approach (OSA) of mathematics cognition and instruction. The results show the knowledge of antiderivative by the Civil Engineering students. Furthermore, the comparison between the mathematical activity of students provides information that allows concluding that the meanings that they mobilized might be shared among their communities
Fiscal policy in African development : 'qual-quant' analysis, with special reference to Zambia

This thesis focuses on some of the most urgent and consequential issues in fiscal policy and development in Africa, with special reference to Zambia. In Chapter 2, the main research problem is how to get developing income countries out of the debilitating problem of low tax – low public expenditure low – development. We find possible merits in the ‘fiscal contract’ approach – suggesting that higher tax revenues can be achieved by improving accountability and offering better value for money in public expenditure. However, apparently the adoption of the value-added tax has not had a significant impact in spite of being regarded as the most significant innovation in tax policy design of the past millennium, whereas the establishment of ARAs has only had a contemporaneous positive effect, which on our analysis, dissipates over the medium term. In Chapter 3, we seek to understand whether investment in human capital, including public spending on education, is effective in promoting economic growth as suggested by ‘endogenous growth theory’. We also consider new issues in human capital accumulation, in particular ‘quality’ versus ‘quantity. We find strong evidence that the ‘quality’ (measured by repeater rates), rather than the ‘quantity’ (school enrolments) plays a major role and that policies of the past decades which have stressed ‘quantity’ may have undermined quality, and therefore, growth – a scepticism shared by the 2018 World Development Report. Our study also finds some evidence that institutions of governance matter for growth, but we find no evidence that different levels of public spending on education are differentially productive, contrary to assertions by World Bank (1986) and others. Chapter 4 brings together the revenue and expenditure dimensions of fiscal policy, to consider why fiscal deficits are becoming difficult to manage and control, especially in Africa. The evidence indicates that Africa’s democratisation has expressed itself in increasingly weak government ability to control fiscal deficits because in most African ‘political business cycles’ the pre-election fiscal boost is not counterbalanced by the post-election cutback. The ability to control fiscal deficits, especially in natural resource-dependent countries, has been compounded by government’s inability to effectively tax powerful resource corporations and poor management of 2 resources through wasteful spending, particularly on uneconomic and unsustainable programmes. On the international scene, fiscal discipline is being further compromised by the erosion of the restraining influence of the IMF and aid donors, because low-income countries can now finance deficits using loans obtained from China and other sources and manage to postpone critical fiscal adjustments.
Long-term colloidal stability of graphene oxide aqueous nanofluids

Abstract The use of nanofluids for industrial applications depends on its stability during transport and use. In this work, we demonstrate that graphene oxide (GO)-based aqueous nanofluids can remaining stable for as many as 90 days. The structural and morphological analyses showed that the GO samples have an average thickness of two graphitic layers with interlayer spacing of 1 nm. The long-term colloidal stability of the nanofluids was monitored for 90 days using three different techniques: UV-vis, zeta potential (ζ) and DLS, which confirmed this stability. The observed ζ value (average of −64.8 ± 1.81 mV) at 200 ppm of GO is the highest negative value reported at pH = 4. The particle size distribution after 90 days of storage presented a major population with diameter of (530 ± 40) nm that represented 98% of the scattered light intensity.
MET and ALK in glioblastoma multiforme (GBM): Comparison of IHC and FISH.

2021 Background: GBM, the most common and lethal malignant primary brain tumor in adults, has an overall one-year life expectancy of 33.7%. Personalized medicine on the basis of predictive biomarkers remains elusive in GBM; however a recent case report showed clinical improvement after treatment with a mesenchymal-epithelial transition (MET) inhibitor. The authors of that report ascribe clinical response to the MET inhibitor, but the drug is also an inhibitor of anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK). We explored the co-expression, gain, or amplification of both MET and ALK by IHC and FISH in GBM. Methods: A convenience sample of 56 available tumors from gross-resected GBM cases within the Duke Brain Tumor tissue bank was stained for MET using clone 8F11 (Leica) and for ALK using clone 5A4 (Novocastra). FISH employed the LSI ALK (2p23) breakpoint-spanning dual-color DNA probe and the LSI D7S486 (MET)/CEP 7 dual color DNA probe (Vysis). Results: Of 56 GBM cases, MET was expressed in 69.6% and ALK in 17.9% by IHC.
Protected Freshwater Ecosystem with Incessant Cyanobacterial Blooming Awaiting a Resolution

For 50 years persistent cyanobacterial blooms have been observed in Lake Ludoš (Serbia), a wetland area of international significance listed as a Ramsar site. Cyanobacteria and cyanotoxins can affect many organisms, including valuable flora and fauna, such as rare and endangered bird species living or visiting the lake. The aim was to carry out monitoring, estimate the current status of the lake, and discuss potential resolutions. Results obtained showed: (a) the poor chemical state of the lake; (b) the presence of potentially toxic (genera Dolichospermum, Microcystis, Planktothrix, Chroococcus, Oscillatoria, Woronichinia and dominant species Limnothrix redekei and Pseudanabaena limnetica) and invasive cyanobacterial species Raphidiopsis raciborskii; (c) the detection of microcystin (MC) and saxitoxin (STX) coding genes in biomass samples; (d) the detection of several microcystin variants (MC-LR, MC-dmLR, MC-RR, MC-dmRR, MC-LF) in water samples; (e) histopathological alterations in fish liver, kidney and gills. The potential health risk to all organisms in the ecosystem and the ecosystem itself is thus still real and present. Although there is still no resolution in sight, urgent remediation measures are needed to alleviate the incessant cyanobacterial problem in Lake Ludoš to break this ecosystem out of the perpetual state of limbo in which it has been trapped for quite some time.
Ecological niche and potential distribution of the endangered Bos javanicus in south-western Java, Indonesia

Understanding the ecological niche and spatial distribution of wildlife species is important for the conserving and enhancing of biodiversity in a landscape system. Banteng (Bos javanicus) is a vital and important source of germplasm and protected by Indonesia law and considered to be Endangered under the International Union for Conservation of Nature list. During 2015 to 2017, surveys were undertaken on the largest population of wild banteng occurring in Ujung Kulon National Park. Data were gathered from a long-term camera trapping to assess the ecological niche and distribution of banteng using Maximum Entropy Modelling (Maxent) algorithm. Over a period of 30,149 trap nights there were high photo rates, indicating areas of high conservation importance for these species within the park. Distribution prediction indicated that habitat variables such as secondary forest, predation by Cuon alpinus and human impacts such as cultivated area and illegal activity, are critical to determining the habitat use of banteng. The results showed that banteng within the national park, mainly used the centre areas of the park with similar spatial use, both in wet and dry seasons. This study provides essential documentation of large Bovidae distribution in one of the four remaining habitats on Java, information for the development of management strategies within the park, and a basis upon which to develop future research on banteng.
Background pressure effects on ion dynamics in a low-power magnetic nozzle thruster

The effect of background neutral density on the ion acceleration region of a magnetic nozzle thruster is investigated through a combination of theoretical models and experiment. Ion velocities are measured in the magnetic nozzle using laser induced fluorescence as the background pressure is raised from 0.98 to 26 μTorr-Xe. It is found that the ion velocity exiting the acceleration region decreases from roughly 12 800 to 10 200 m s−1 as background pressure is increased corresponding to a drop in accelerated ion energy of 37%. Global models are employed to determine discharge properties and to calculate the power consumed by collisions in the plume. It is found that charge exchange collisions in the plume cannot explain the decrease in performance. As an alternative, inelastic electron–neutral collisions in the plume are proposed as the mechanism responsible for the decrease in ion energy, consuming between 1.6% and 39% of the power incident on the plume as background pressure is increased over the range tested. The findings suggest that facility effects can significantly alter plume dynamics and thruster performance even at relatively low background pressures. However, with the validated global models it is possible to make predictions of on orbit ion velocities using data taken at finite background pressures.
Global Seismic Full-Waveform Inversion

This dissertation details the construction of a tomographic model of the Earth’s crust and mantle based on seismic full-waveform inversion (FWI). The new model involves a database of 1,480 earthquakes in the magnitude range 5.5 ≤ Mw ≤ 7.2 recorded by more than 11,000 global seismographic stations. The approach utilizes 3D simulations of global seismic wave propagation with a shortest period of 17 s accelerated by Graphics Processing Units (GPUs), requiring access to the world’s largest and fastest supercomputers. These simulations accommodate effects due to 3D anelastic crust & mantle structure, topography & bathymetry, the ocean load, ellipticity, rotation, and self-gravitation. An adjoint-state method is used to calculate Fréchet derivatives in 3D anelastic Earth models facilitated by a parsimonious storage algorithm. The construction of the model, named GLAD-M25, posed numerous challenges. The Adaptable Seismic Data format (ASDF) was designed to meet the requirements and standards of modern data containers, accommodating fast parallel I/O and full data provenance. To manage the complex and fragile iterative global tomographic inversion, workflow management tools were introduced to automate and harden the process. To balance the uneven distribution of earthquakes and stations, a geographical weighting scheme was introduced, thereby speeding up convergence in the iterative quasi-Newton inversion algorithm. The new model was evaluated by assessing misfit reductions and traveltime & amplitude anomaly histograms in four period bands on three seismographic components. Similar assessments were made for a held-out data set consisting of 360 earthquakes, with results comparable to the actual inversion. All of these evaluations show that model GLAD-M25 produces significant improvements in fit. GLAD-M25 is compared with numerous other global and regional models, and a wide variety of plumes and subduction zones are highlighted. These comparisons demonstrate that GLAD-M25 has unprecedented resolution compared to other global-scale models, approaching that of regionaland continental-scale models of iii the upper mantle. These improvements in resolution provide new insights into the dynamics and evolution of the Earth’s interior.
Carcass and meat quality of crossbreds of Thai indigenous chickens and Rhode Island Red layer chickens as compared with the purebreds and with broilers

Context In order to maintain the availability of meat from indigenous chicken types in remote Asian regions with their special meat quality, novel ways of increasing efficiency are needed. One way could consist of crossbreeding with layer type chickens that are genetically quite distant from indigenous breeds. Aim The three hypotheses tested were as follows: that the meat quality of indigenous chickens differs from that of broilers; that the meat quality of male layer chickens resembles that of indigenous chickens rather than that of broilers; and that crossbreds of indigenous chickens and layer types overall are superior to the respective purebreds. Methods We studied carcass and meat quality of crossbreds of Thai indigenous Pradu Hang Dam (PD) and Rhode Island Red (RR) layers, and compared them with the corresponding purebreds and a commercial broiler type (Ross) in a complete randomised design. Chickens were reared in 4 × 5 pens with 10 chickens each for 120 days (Ross: 45 days). Key results The crossbreds were superior to PD and RR in body and carcass weight, as well as breast meat percentage, but in Ross the latter was 1.7 times higher. The Ross meat was lighter, more yellow and less red and had a higher intramuscular fat content and drip loss and a lower thawing loss and shear force than that of the three other types. Nucleotide content was either similar in all chicken types or lower in Ross meat. Ross meat was more susceptible to lipid oxidation than that of the three other types although the Ross muscles lipids contained less polyunsaturated fatty acids. Conclusion Considering the better carcass yield and breast meat proportion, crossbreeding of indigenous chickens with a layer breed likely is be economically advantageous. Implications Overall, fattening of crossbreds turned out to be a valid alternative to improve fattening systems and to preserve the specific meat quality of indigenous chickens.
Addressing the Cold Air Aloft Aviation Challenge with Satellite Sounding Observations

At high latitudes in winter, the atmosphere at flight levels used by passenger and cargo aircraft can reach temperatures cold enough to restrict the flow of jet fuel from the fuel tanks to the engine, due either to water freezing in the fuel or the fuel itself freezing. Currently, aviation forecasters rely on a combination of aircraft reports, pilot reports, a sparse network of radiosondes, and global model fieldsfor identifying and characterizing Cold Air Aloft (CAA) events. More atmospheric data are needed to improve forecasts of CAA placement and timing, and satellite observations can help fill the gap. In particular, products derived from the NOAA-Unique Combined Atmospheric Processing System (NUCAPS) can be utilized by National Weather Service (NWS) forecasters to assist in the production of aviation hazard products. NUCAPS combines measurements from infrared and microwave sounding instruments on polar-orbiting satellites to retrieve atmospheric profiles of temperature and moisture in the high latitudes. NWS forecasters have real-time access to NUCAPS soundings via the Advanced Weather Interactive Processing System-II (AWIPS-II). The Joint Polar Satellite System Sounding Applications Initiative created Gridded NUCAPS in order to view soundings as isobaric surfaces or vertical cross sections in AWIPS-II. The Cooperative Institute for Research in the Atmosphere (CIRA) developed a web-based product for displaying satellite-derived CAA information. This paper describes how the AWIPS-II and CIRA displays of satellite sounding observations augment aviation forecasting activities in Alaska using two specific CAA cases from the 2016–2017 and 2017–2018 winter seasons.
A study of adolescent health problems in a rural school in Thiruvanthapuram district, Kerala, India

Background: Adolescence is a period of transition from childhood to adulthood. As adolescents are less vulnerable to diseases than the children, health problems specific to this group is given less importance. Their emotional problems are little noticed by the parents. Methods: A cross sectional study was conducted in a rural government higher secondary school, Kilimanoor during November 2013. 10 th and 11 th class students (110 girls and 107 boys) were interviewed with the help of a pretested questionnaire. Results: A total of 217 students in the age group of 15-17 years were studied. Obesity was found in 2.8% of students. 45.6% falls under normal category and the rest 51.6% were in the underweight category. Hypertension was observed only in males i.e. 4.2%. 24.4% were in the pre hypertensive group. Systolic BP is correlated with BMI (r = 0.270, p-value <0.001). The prevalence of hypertension and pre hypertension in males are 8.4% and 30.8% respectively, whereas none of the females are hypertensive and 18.2% are in pre hypertensive group. Among the 106 girls, the prevalence of premenstrual symptoms is 83%. Among the 107 boys it was found that 13.0% students smoked cigarettes and 15.8% had consumed alcohol at this age. 11.2% students reported that they have both these habits . Conclusions: This study brought out the problems of malnutrition both under nutrition and over nutrition so also the prevalence of hypertension and pre hypertension among adolescents which are going to be serious health problems in future.
Separating the Structural Components of Maize for Field Phenotyping Using Terrestrial LiDAR Data and Deep Convolutional Neural Networks

Separating structural components is important but also challenging for plant phenotyping and precision agriculture. Light detection and ranging (LiDAR) technology can potentially overcome these difficulties by providing high quality data. However, there are difficulties in automatically classifying and segmenting components of interest. Deep learning can extract complex features, but it is mostly used with images. Here, we propose a voxel-based convolutional neural network (VCNN) for maize stem and leaf classification and segmentation. Maize plants at three different growth stages were scanned with a terrestrial LiDAR and the voxelized LiDAR data were used as inputs. A total of 3000 individual plants (22 004 leaves and 3000 stems) were prepared for training through data augmentation, and 103 maize plants were used to evaluate the accuracy of classification and segmentation at both instance and point levels. The VCNN was compared with traditional clustering methods ( $K$ -means and density-based spatial clustering of applications with noise), a geometry-based segmentation method, and state-of-the-art deep learning methods (PointNet and PointNet++). The results showed that: 1) at the instance level, the mean accuracy of classification and segmentation (F-score) were 1.00 and 0.96, respectively; 2) at the point level, the mean accuracy of classification and segmentation (F-score) were 0.91 and 0.89, respectively; 3) the VCNN method outperformed traditional clustering methods; and 4) the VCNN was on par with PointNet and PointNet++ in classification, and performed the best in segmentation. The proposed method demonstrated LiDAR’s ability to separate structural components for crop phenotyping using deep learning, which can be useful for other fields.
Spinal subdural abscess

✓ Only 44 cases of spinal subdural abscess have been reported to date. The authors present another case and review the relevant literature. The findings of intraspinal gassification on computerized tomography scans and Escherichia coli as the causative organism have not previously been described in relation to spinal subdural abscess. Most frequently, Staphylococcus aureus is the responsible organism. Hematogenous spread of infection from a distant source often takes place. In a surprising number of incidences, iatrogenic causes are the primary foci of spinal subdural abscess. Spinal subdural abscess is an unpredictable disease, with an unfavorable outcome if left untreated. If there is suspicion of a spinal subdural abscess, urgent radiological examination followed by immediate surgical drainage and appropriate antibiotic therapy is warranted.
Comparing the effectiveness of behavioral interventions in adults with co-occurring tobacco and substance use disorders: a systematic review of literature

ABSTRACT This systematic literature review compares the eﬀectiveness of various behavioral interventions delivered to persons with co-occurring tobacco and substance use disorders. It examines ﬁndings of six randomized trials and three secondary analyses from randomized trials. Based on the ﬁndings of this literature review, support is given to the following: (1) The consequences of tobacco use and smoking are deadly, costly, and can have an inhibitory eﬀect on the progress of people in substance abuse treatment, (2) tobacco cessation options are a preventive intervention that can be easily incorporated into a treatment facility’s standard of practice and should be made available within the context of all substance abuse treatment facilities, and (3) concurrently treating tobacco use disorder and substance use disorder(s) is an eﬀort that will help meet the social work profession’s Grand Challenge to ‘Close the Health Gap. ’