Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Genome -wide association study for Anti-Müllerian hormone in Nellore cattle

Among the economically relevant traits for the beef cattle industry, those linked to reproduction are more important than any other traits. Anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) has been related as a biomarker to predict the number of health antral follicles for commercial beef cattle. However, information on genomic associated to that hormone is very rare in Bos indicus, the relevant breed group in tropical areas. Therefore, the primary objective of this study was to implement a genome-wide association study (GWAS) to identify genomic regions associated to AMH concentration in Nellore cattle, the most important breed in the Brazilian beef industry and investigating the genetic mechanisms underlie this trait. Data from 1,375 females belonging to four farms located in midwestern states of Brazil and genotypes from 917 females of those animals were used. The GWAS analysis was performed with BLUPF90 software using the postGSf90 program. The nine windows significant identified were located on chromosomes 1, 5, 8, 10, 11 and 17 that in total explained 15.86% of the additive genetic variance, considering windows of 150 adjacent SNPs. The identified genes are involved to regulation of ovarian follicle development, ovulation, luteal function, maternal recognition of pregnancy, implantation, maintenance of gestation, ovarian infections and on pituitary function, ubiquitin protein and spermatogenesis associated with fertility and an important signaling pathway increasing the understanding of biological pathways. These results provide pertinent information as the first step to help elucidate which genes affect this trait and further improve the hypothesis of AMH it has been used as a biomarker to predict fertility and utility in future experiments and breeding programs.
Nano-QSAR : Genotoxicity of M ulti-W alled C arbon N anotubes

The study was carried out to develop an efficient approach for prediction the genotoxicity of carbon nanotubes. The experimental data on the bacterial reverse mutation test (TA100) on multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) was collected from the literature and examined as an endpoint. By means of the optimal descriptors calculated with the Monte Carlo method a mathematical model of the endpoint was built up. The model is represented by a function of: (i) dose (μg/plate); (ii) metabolic activation (i.e. with S9 mix or without S9 mix); and (iii) two types of MWCNTs. The above listed conditions were represented by so-called quasi-SMILES. Simplified molecular input-line entry system (SMILES) is a tool for representation of molecular structure. The quasi-SMILES is a tool to represent physicochemical and / or biochemical conditions for building up a predictive model. Thus, instead of well-known paradigm of predictive modeling “endpoint is a mathematical function of molecular structure” a fresh paradigm “endpoint is a mathematical function of available eclectic data (conditions) is suggested.
Time-Based Recommendations for Lecture Materials

In this paper we describe the implementation of a system for improving the utilization of lecture materials through recommendations. We present results of an evaluation of the usage of lecture materials as well as an evaluation of download-statistics. These findings led us to develop a novel approach for a time based recommender system for lecture materials. Our approach to making recommendations is particularly useful for Learning Management Systems or Lecture Archives. It differs significantly from previous work due to the fact, that we are employing the timestamps from usage data to create a similarity measure for items. The algorithm of this recommender is presented. We evaluate our algorithm in comparison with other recommendation algorithms like a Loglikelihood recommender for boolean preferences. We show that our algorithm has a better performance then a Loglikelihood recommender.
ICAPM with time-varying risk aversion

A derivation of the ICAPM in a very general framework and previous theoretical work, argue for the relative risk aversion (RRA) coefficient to be both time-varying and countercyclical. The variables that represent proxies for the cyclical component of RRA are the market dividend yield, default spread, smoothed earnings yield and industrial production growth, all being highly correlated with the business cycle. In addition, the value spread - a proxy for the relative valuation of value stocks versus growth stocks - is included as a determinant of risk aversion. The results show that risk aversion is countercyclical, and the ICAPM with time-varying RRA performs better than the Bad beta good beta model (BBGB) from Campbell and Vuolteenaho (2004). The results from an augmented scaled ICAPM show that the market return has a negative effect on risk aversion, thus risk aversion seems to be affected by both business conditions and financial wealth. The estimates of the average RRA coefficient seem reasonable and plausible, and the model is able to capture a significant decline in risk-aversion in the 90's, in line with the mounting evidence from academics and practioneers. When compared against alternative factor models - CAPM, Fama-French 3 factor and Fama-French 4 factor models - the scaled ICAPM performs much better than the CAPM, and compares reasonably well against the Fama-French models. A crucial result relies on the fact that the scaled ICAPM models do a good job in pricing both the "extreme" small-growth portfolio and all the book-to-market quintiles, which is mainly due to the presence of the factor related with time-varying risk-aversion. Overall, the results of this paper offer a fundamental explanation - time-varying risk aversion - for the value premium. Preliminary results suggest that the ad-doc HML and UMD factors, at least partially, measure the same types of risks as the ICAPM with time-varying risk aversion
Do US consumer survey data help beat the random walk in forecasting mortgage rates?

Abstract In line with term structure theory, empirical studies suggest that it is difficult to beat the random walk in forecasting long-term interest rates. We ask whether consumer survey data on both mortgage interest rates and expected inflation help beat the random walk in forecasting the 30-year fixed rate mortgage. Using the vector autoregressive (VAR) modeling framework with the mortgage rate and consumer survey data as variables, we generate the mortgage rate forecasts for 1988–2016. Our forecast evaluation test results indicate that the VAR forecasts generally embody useful predictive information above and beyond that contained in the random walk forecasts for 2008–2016. The evidence is weaker for 1988–2007 in the sense that the VAR forecasts fail to outperform the random walk (but still contain distinct useful predictive information). In line with the notion that consumers are “economically” rational, our findings suggest that consumer survey data have become more informative due to the uncertainty created by the 2008 financial crisis.
An 8-Bit ROM-Free AES Design for Low-Cost Applications

We have presented a memory-less design of the advanced encryption standard (AES) with 8-bit data path for applications of wireless communications. The design uses the minimal 160 clock cycles to process a 128-bit data block. For achieving the requirements of low area cost and high performance, new design methods are used to optimize the MixColumns (MC) and Inverse MixColumns (IMC) and ShiftRows (SR) and Inverse ShiftRows (ISR) transformations. Our methods can efficiently reduce the required clock cycles, critical path delays, and area costs of these transformations compared with previous designs. In chip realization, our design with both encryption and decryption abilities has a 29% area increase but achieves 4.85 times improvement in throughput/area compared with the best 8-bit AES design reported before. For encryption only, our AES occupies 3.5 k gates with the critical delay of 12.5 ns and achieves a throughput of 64 Mbps which is the best design compared with previous encryption-only designs.
A population of giant tailed virus-like particles associated with heterotrophic flagellates in a lake-type reservoir

Using transmission electron microscopy (TEM), a population of giant virus-like par- ticles (VLPs) with a head diameter of ca. 405 nm and a flexible ca. 1100 nm long tail was detected in a lake-type reservoir. These giant VLPs were abundant in situ at the start of a survey period (3.3 × 10 4 particles ml �1 ) and increased by 7-fold within 96 h. This VLP population vanished in dialysis bag incubations of 0.8 µm-filtered reservoir water (free of bacterivorous flagellates) but increased markedly in the enhanced bacterivory treatment, i.e. 5 µm filtered water. In the latter, incubation, heterotrophic nanoflagellate (HNF) abundance increased approximately 15-fold dur- ing the study. A multiple regression analysis using microbial abundances and grazing rates as parameters indicated that 78% of the variability in the abundance of giant VLPs was explained by HNF abundance and grazing rates. Our data support the hypothesis that this virus population infects flagellates. Observation of a presumptive lysing flagellate cell suggests a viral burst size of 15. Estimations of decay and net production rates from dialysis bag incubations indicate that lysis due to giant viruses could cause between 10 to 60% of the mortality of the total flagellate commu- nity and, thus, viruses are potentially a significant factor shaping the population dynamics of fl a gellates in freshwater.
Long-term effects of subsidies on firm growth: introducing the concept of outcome additionality

Public agencies provide subsidies for small and medium sized businesses (SMEs) to foster their development in terms of employment and sales. Although input and output additionality have been researched intensively little is known about the actual long-term effects of subsidies on SME growth. Relying on a unique dataset of actual SMEs we provide a means of evaluating whether subsidies lead to the expected positive long-term effects. We apply a specifically designed 3-stage-effects-model (3SEM) from the input of resources to the final outcome. The results imply that the effects of subsidies differ across types: While R&D grants unfold enduring positive effects other subsidies like corporate matchmaking might even harm companies.
Activity classification through hidden Markov modeling

The goal of this study is to improve upon an existing activity classifier software model called FusionAAC, previously developed at Roessingh Research and Development. FusionAAC applies a technique called Hidden Markov Modeling to automatically and independently classify human activities. It mainly uses kinematic motion sensor data as input, but other input data types are also possible. The FusionAAC software is based upon the Hidden Markov Toolkit 3.4, implemented in a Labview environment. Until now, FusionAAC has been largely used as a 'black box' tool. This study looks to open up the black box by taking a closer look at the underlying algorithms. The deeper understanding is used to improve various aspects of the software, most notably the training process of the classifier. For the training process, the way the training data should be organized and different parameter initialization methods are discussed. Other areas of focus are preprocessing of the input data through application of principal components analysis, and the avoidance and removal of errors (most notably false positives) from the classification results. The improvements are tested on a data set containing various lifting activities.
A laboratory study on the pore pressure generation model for Firouzkooh silty sands using hollow torsional test

This paper discusses the applicability of a simple model to predict pore water pressure generation in non-plastic silty soil during cyclic loading. Several Stress-controlled cyclic hollow torsional tests were conducted to directly measure excess pore water pressure generation at different levels of cyclic stress ratios (CSR) for the specimens prepared with different silt contents (SC=0% to 100%). The soil specimens were tested under three different confining pressures (σ'3= 60, 120, 240 kPa) at a constant relative density (Dr=60%), with different silt contents. Results of these tests were used to investigate the behavior of silty sands under undrained cyclic hollow torsional loading conditions. In general, beneficial effects of the silt were observed in the form of a decrease in excess pore water pressure and an increase in the volumetric strain. Modified model for pore water pressure generation model based on the test results are also presented in this paper. Comparison of the proposed pore pressure build up model with seed’s model indicates the advantage of proposed model for soil with large amount of silt.
Magnetic phase transitions in plasmas and transport barriers

A model of magnetic phase transitions in plasmas is presented: plasma elements with pressure excess or defect are dia- or paramagnets and move radially under the influence of the background plasma magnetization. It is found that magnetic phase separation could be the underlying mechanism of L to H transitions and drive transport barrier formation. Magnetic phase separation and the associated pedestal build-up, as described here, can be explained by the well-known interchange mechanism, now reinterpreted as a magnetization interchange. The interchange mechanism can drive motion of plasma elements even when stable. A testable necessary criterion for the L to H transition is presented.
Rethinking institutional excellence in Ethiopia: adapting and adopting the balanced scorecard (BSC) model

This paper intends to outline an academic scorecard that serves as a strategic framework for measuring institutional performance in Ethiopia. It gives major emphasis for producing initial portfolio of key performance indicators that will serve as a springboard for measuring performance in academic institutions. The study relied on meta-analysis of existing BSC-related literature in business and mission-driven organizations across the globe with an intention of benchmarking the best practices in the area. A comprehensive analysis and synthesis of an extant literature resulted in an architectural blueprint of BSC for academic institutions operating in Ethiopia. This has been built around five strategic themes that serve as pillars of excellence for HEIs (viz., academic excellence, diversity of student community, outreach and engagement, resource management, and networking and partnership) and four perspectives, which are different views of what drives the institution and those which provide a framework for measurement of its performance. The identified perspectives include the stakeholders, the internal business process, financial stewardships, and learning, innovation and development (LID). A number of strategic objectives and measurement metrics have been forwarded under each perspective in line with the HEI’s mission. The researcher expects that such BSC framework will arouse a great deal of interest in opening discussions and debates among academics, HEIs officials, policy makers, reform consultants and others in a way they serve as a good ground for developing common understanding and outlining a skeleton of academic scorecard to be standardized for more or less uniform application in the Ethiopian HEIs. Keywords: Balanced Score card (BSC), Ethiopian Higher Education Institutions, excellence in service provision.
Latin American Political Outsiders, Revisited: The Case of Marco Enríquez-Ominami in Chile, 2009

This article applies the debate on the recent emergence of outsider candidates in Latin America to independent presidential candidate Marco Enríquez-Ominami (ME-O) in Chile in 2009. We test five competing hypotheses to explain his electoral success. First, his support is explained by the consolidation of democracy, reflected by the disposition of voters to disregard the authoritarian/democratic-aligned candidates. Second, his support is explained by the decline of ideological identification, reflected by the disposition of voters to prefer nontraditional candidates. Third, his support is explained by the resurgence of the Left, reflected by the disposition of voters to identify with anti-Washington Consensus candidates. Fourth, his support is explained by the demand for quick government action, reflected in the predisposition of voters to consider candidates who will solve problems fast even if they do not ask voters for their opinions. Fifth, his support is explained by the declining support for established parties, reflected by the predisposition of voters to favor antisystemic candidates. We use survey data to test these hypotheses. We find no evidence to support the claims that ME-O fits any of the explanations. Though he was widely referred to as an outsider, his success seems to respond to national affairs rather than to a regional pattern.
Extreme Learning Machine Optimized by Improved Firefly Algorithm

As a simple and effective feedforward neural network, extreme learning machine (ELM) can randomly generate the connection weight between input layer and hidden layer and the hidden layer neuron threshold. Extreme learning machine can be used to solve the classification problem, but its classification accuracy is not good enough. In this paper, we proposed an improved firefly algorithm called IFA and use it to select the parameters in ELM. Experimental results showed that the IFA can solve the premature problem and the classification ability of ELM can be improved by the use of IFA.
N ov 2 01 7 Sturmian-Floquet approach to high-order harmonic generation

We show that the Floquet approach with a Sturmian basis means an efficient description of high-order harmonic generation with monochromatic excitation. This method, although involves numerical calculations, is close to analytic approaches with the corresponding deeper insight into the dynamics. As a first application, we investigate the role of atomic coherence during the process of HHG: as it is shown, different coherent superpositions of initial atomic states produce observably different HHG spectra. For linearly polarized excitation, we demonstrate that the question whether the constituents of the initial superpositions are dipole coupled or not, strongly influences the dynamics. By investigating time-dependent HHG signals, we also show that the preparation of the initial atomic state can be used for the control of the high-harmonic radiation.
Comparative Study of Aqueous and Ethanolic Leaf Extracts Of Spondias Mombin on Neurobehaviour in Male Rats

Remedies for anxiety and fear have been investigated through both orthodox and traditional medicine; this study compared the effects of chronic administration of graded doses of aqueous and ethanolic extracts of Spondias mombin on anxiety and fear in Albino Wistar rats. Fifty rats of Wistar strain (100-120g body weight) were divided into five major groups A-E with each group made up of ten rats (n=10). Spondias mombin (250, 400,500 and 800mg/kg) were orally administered for 4 weeks before testing. The elevated plus maze was used to assess anxiety behaviour. Following administration of graded doses of aqueous and ethanolic extracts of Spondias mombin for a period of four weeks, decreased anxiety and fear in the albino rats was revealed (p<0.05). The order of the anxiolytic property following these graded dose of administration was; duration and frequency in open arm of the 500mg/kg group was significantly higher (90.2 ± 37.2s & 4.4 ± 1.29/5min respectively) compared to control, and other treatment groups of Spondias mombin (P< 0.05). Duration in closed arm (260.33 ± 15.97s) was significantly lower compared to control. Closed arms frequency with 250mg/kg and 500mg/kg ethanol extract were 3 . 83 ± 1.74/5min and 3.16 ± 1.40/5min. The extracts were significantly (P<0.05) lower compared with control (8.67 ± 1.05/5min). However, the 500mg/kg ethanol extract showed a lower frequency. The duration of grooming following four weeks of treatment with 250mg/kg and 500mg/kg ethanol extract of Spondias mombin were 8.68 ± 2.10s and 12. 1 ± 0.001s respectively and these were significantly lower compared to control. Spondias mombin dose-dependently decreased anxiety and fear with significant decrease observed in rats administered with ethanolic extracts of Spondias mombin. Anxiolytic effect is shown by decrease in the frequency of grooming and duration of grooming, decrease in frequency of head dipping and stretch attempt posture (SAP), and a lower frequency of close arm entry by the experimental groups. Ethanolic extract from Spondias mombin produced better behavioral effects with decreased anxiety and fear compared to the aqueous extract and so has a potential as an alternative anxiolytic and sedative agent compared to its aqueous extract.
Product yield distribution and Essential Oil Composition of Eucalyptus Terminalis Sawdust Pyrolysis

In this study, pyrolysis of sawdust sample (Western blood-wood- Eucalyptus terminalis) was investigated. Experiments were performed at six temperature levels ranging from 300 °C to 800 °C under N2 atmosphere. The weights of char, tar and gas yields produced in each experiment were measured and recorded in percentage of initial weight of the pyrolyzed sample. Results of the study showed that product yield of Eucalyptus terminalis char, tar and gas of 41.28% at 300 °C, 45.10% at 300 °C and 57.20% at 800 °C, respectively were produced. Proximate analysis shows that volatile matter, fixed carbon, ash content and moisture content of sawdust sample were 75.53%, 15.35%, 1.56% and 7.56%, respectively. Result of the elemental analysis shows that the carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, oxygen and sulphur contents of the sawdust sample were 54.19%, 7.05%, 0.97%, 37.15%, and 0.64%, respectively. The higher heating value and pH of the sawdust sample are 23.40 kJ/g and 2.30% respectively. This indicate that char and tar yields decrease with increased pyrolysis temperature while gas yield increases as pyrolysis temperature increases for the sawdust sample. The value of the correlation coefficient obtained indicate a fairly high degree of accuracy of the regression models to predict experimental result when used within the temperature range considered in this study. Result of analytical Py-GC/MS shows that the proportion of phenolic compounds identified was more than 50% with trans-2-octadecadecen-1-ol, cis-10-pentadecen-1-ol, 9-octadecenal and methyl-1-cyclohexenyl ketone dominating. This study establishes the fact that pyro-oil can not only be used as a fuel but can also be purified and serves as raw materials for chemical and processing industries.
The Effects of Abandonment Options on Investment Timing and Profit Sharing of FDI

The paper incorporates cooperative game theory into a real option method in a foreign direct investment setting and examines the operational decisions of a multinational corporation in a cooperative framework, where the corporation is endowed with an abandonment option and shares its profit with the host country. In particular, we investigate how the abandonment options affect the optimal investment timing and the optimal profit share of a foreign direct investment using a real option game method. We show that the flexibility of the abandonment option induces the corporation to investment earlier, which indicates the negative effects on investment trigger. The result is consistent with intuition since the abandonment option provides insurance and thus reduces the overall risk of the project. We also find that the introduction of the abandonment option reduces the optimal profit share in a cooperative framework and in turn the lower profit share increases the investment trigger, thereby having a positive effect on the investment threshold to hinder the investment. By numerical analysis, we find that the overall effect of the abandonment options is inversely related to the investment trigger. These findings provide quantitative analysis about the decisions regarding cooperation in international investment extraction projects.