Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Income convergence of divergence? Study on selected Muslim countries

In this paper, the existence of income convergence or income divergence is investigated on ten selected OIC (the Organisation of Islamic Conference) economies. The results are then linked to the degree of openness of the countries using globalization indices. In order to investigate the existence of either income convergence or divergence between selected Islamic countries, income differentials between selected OIC countries and the benchmark country are computed and a series of test is done. The tests include stationary linearity test using Augmented Dickey-Fuller (ADF) test for linear time-series and non-linear stationary test using Kapetanois et al. (KSS) tests for non-linear time series. The findings are that most of the countries experience income divergence except for three countries. By analyzing the degree of globalization in these economies, it is found that the results support the endogeneous theory and depending approach which predict that globalization is likely to cause income divergence (inequality) rather than convergence (equality)
Stock market efficiency in Iran: unit root testing with smooth structural breaks and non-trading days

A ‘flexible Fourier trend’ unit root test, permitting smooth structural breaks of unknown form and dates, is used to test weak-form market efficiency in the Tehran stock market’s TEPIX index. Monte Carlo experiments show that this test has low power when non-trading-day gaps in the daily data are filled with missing value codes. The test’s properties for weekly returns and for data as published, with non-trading-day gaps suppressed, are better and similar to each other. Analysis of the full sample of TEPIX data as published supports a unit root null but indicates the presence of additional autocorrelation – questioning weak-form efficiency. Sub-sample analysis again finds evidence of a unit root, but also of complex autocorrelation. Support for the unit root increased in the years (2000-2004) following regulatory reform and has decreased since 2008. A Diebold and Mariano (1995) test is used to assess whether the revealed autocorrelation provides an effective basis for predicting price deviations from trend on the basis of their own history. Predictive effectiveness is found at a horizon of one trading day. We conclude that this market has not shown weak-form efficiency.
Comparing the Cost-Effectiveness of Water Conservation Policies in a Depleting Aquifer: A Dynamic Analysis of the Kansas High Plains

This research analyzes two groundwater conservation policies in the Kansas High Plains located within the Ogallala aquifer: 1) cost-share assistance to increase irrigation efficiency; and 2) incentive payments to convert irrigated crop production to dryland crop production. To compare the cost-effectiveness of these two policies, a dynamic model simulated a representative irrigator's optimal technology choice, crop selection, and irrigation water use over time. The results suggest that the overall water-saving effectiveness can be improved when different policy tools are considered under different conditions. High prevailing crop prices greatly reduce irrigators' incentive to give up irrigation and therefore cause low enrollment and ineffectiveness of the incentive payment program. In areas with low aquifer-saturated thickness, the incentive payment program is more effective, whereas in areas with relatively higher water availability, the cost-share program could be a better choice.
RCS Estimation of 3 D Metallic Targets Using the Moment Method and Rao-Wilton-Glisson Basis Functions

This work deals on the estimation of the radar cross section (RCS) of five three-dimensional conductive objects: the metallic sphere, NASA almond, single ogive, double ogive and conesphere, using the Moment Method. The Rao-Wilton-Glisson (RWG) basis functions were used to expand the surface current of targets inside the Electric Field Integral Equation (EFIE). Triangular domains of RWG basis functions were constructed using MATLAB tessellation capabilities and a MATLAB code was developed and run to solve the electromagnetic scattering problem. As a result five RCS graphs, one for each target, were obtained. The accuracy of the program was validated by comparing the obtained results with those reported in the Literature.
Surface Properties of Plasma-Modified Poly(vinylidene fluoride) and Poly(vinyl chloride) Nanofibres

The paper presents electrospinning technology used for the production of polymer nanofi brous mats. Surface properties of polymer nanofibrous mats electrospun from poly (vi nylidene fluoride) (PVDF) and poly (vinyl chloride) (PVC), and modified in dielectric bar rier discharge (DBD) are presented. The contact angle of the polymer mats un-modified and modified in DBD generated plasma were compared. The plasma modification decreased the contact angle for water from 134° to 40°, for PVDF, and close to zero in the case of PVC. It was also observed that the contact angle decreased with an increase in the discharge power and discharge time, leading to an improvement of adhesion properties of the mat.
Suitability of different diet and their combination for the rearing of trichogramma host corcyra cephalonica stainton.

Seven types of food media combinations were evaluated for optimal rearing of C. cephalonica for its main host Trichogramma. Observations were taken on average developmental period, percentage of moth emergence and weight of eggs. To determine the best medium, a food efficiency index was computed. Food efficiency index (FEI) was calculated by dividing the product of percent emergence and egg weight by average development period. Results clearly established the superiority of sorghum over other media.
The Later Effects of the Parent Education Follow Through Program on Achievement Scores for Matched Pairs of Program Children and Their Non-Program Siblings.

A longitudinal study of high school academic and vocational achievement for an elementary education parent involvement program is presented. Program students are compared J their older, non-program siblings on the Differential Aptitude Test and the Science Research Associates Achievement Series. After factor analyzing the Differential Aptitude Test, results showed a positive significant effect '. r an academic factor. These results provide additional long-term achievement information for elementary compensatory programs-and complement previous work with this sample on other school success variables. The achievement results are reler vant to the students' aspiratii.is beyond high school. Studies of this type allow for evaluation of long-term cost effectiveness and gains for the development of human potential.
Adaptive Wavelet Neural Network Based Wind Speed Forecasting Studies

� Abstract�-�Windhasbeenarapidlygrowingrenewablepowersourceforthelasttwentyyears. �Since� windbehaviorischaoticinnature,�itsforecastingisnoteasy. �Atthesametime,�developinganaccurate� forecastingmethodisessentialwhenwindfarmsareintegratedintothepowergrid. �Infact,�windspeed� forecastingtoolscansolveissuesrelatedtogridstabilityandreserveallocation. �Inthispaper�30�hours� aheadwindspeedprofileforecastisproposedusingAdaptiveWaveletNeuralNetwork�(AWNN). �The� implementedAWNNusesaMexicanhatmotherWavelet,�andMorletMotherWaveletforseven,�eight� andninelevelsdecompositions. �Forwindspeedforecasting,�thetimeseriesdataonwindspeedhas� beengatheredfromtheNationalRenewableEnergyLaboratory�(NREL)�website. �Inthiswork,�hourly� averaged�10�minwindspeeddatasetsfortheyear�2004�intheMidwestISOregion�(sitenumber�7263)� istakenforanalysis. �Datasetsarenormalizedintherangeof�(�1,�1)�toimprovethetraining� performanceofforecastingmodels. �Total�8760�samplesweretakenforthisforecastinganalysis. �After� theforecastingphase,�statisticalparametersarecalculatedtoevaluatesystemaccuracy,�comparing� differentconfigurations. �
Beta-Glucosidase: Key Enzyme in Determining Efficiency of Cellulase and Biomass Hydrolysis

Overall economics of the biomass to ethanol process is largely determined by the efficiency of biomass hydrolysis. Performance of cellulase cocktails used for saccharification of cellulose in biomass is often limited by lower amounts of β-glucosidases present, which catalyse hydrolysis of cellobiose, the product of endo and exocellulases to glucose. Inappropriate ratio of these enzymes in commercial cocktails leads to accumulation of cellobiose which inhibits the activity of cellulases. Thus, this rate limiting enzyme is of crucial importance in determining the efficiency of commercial cellulases. The saprophytic fungus Trichoderma sp. , exploited for production of commercial cellulases, produces very minute quantities of β-glucosidases as compared to endo and exocellulases. However, several other organisms are known to produce β-glucosidases in higher quantities, over a broader substrate range. Strategies to get optimal ratio of exocellulases, endocellulases and β-glucosidases to enhance saccharification yields are, therefore, discussed. Appropriate levels of β-glucosidase activity in commercial cocktails have been obtained by supplementing with accessory β-glucosidases, transgenic approaches and by optimizing β-glucosidase production through manipulation of culture conditions. These approaches have resulted in achieving higher β-glucosidase activity in cellulase cocktails, facilitating higher sugar yields and thereby potentially improving enzymatic saccharification of biomass and eventually ethanol production.
Nutrient interactions mediate microbial N2O production in salt marsh sediments

Coastal ecosystems such as salt marshes may play a substantial role in the production of N2O, a powerful greenhouse gas, particularly as nutrient loads from anthropogenic sources increase. Controls on N2O production are likely to involve complex interactions between nutrients including nitrate, ammonium, and iron. Slurry experiments were conducted using rhizosphere (root and surrounding sediments) of Spartina alterniflora plants from West Falmouth Harbor in Woods Hole. Nitrate (and ferrihydrite) additions significantly stimulated N2O production but levels of enhancement after 4 hours were mediated by ammonium concentrations in the slurries. Ammonium addition alone displayed only a long term (after 5 days) enhancement of N2O production. The relative abundance of ammonia-oxidizing bacteria in 3 slurries and one environmental sample were explored via CARD-FISH and FISH, but no significant populations of known γ-proteobacteria or β−proteobacteria groups were identified. Efforts to isolate ammonia-oxidizing bacteria from the marsh sediments in autotrophic and heterotrophic media were also unsuccessful within 14 days, suggesting that these nitrifying bacteria are rare and slow-growing, and therefore may not be major players in the production of N2O. Future efforts should further characterize the diversity of microbial groups capable of N2O production, including denitrifying bacteria and test the role of ammonium, redox, and other nutrients in mediating their activites in the coastal environment. INTRODUCTION Increases in anthropogenic production of fertilizers and industrial combustion processes have led to a cascade of consequences for global biogeochemistry, including enhanced production of nitrous oxide. This gas has increased significantly from pre-industrial (pre 1750) levels of 270 ppb to more than 319 ppb in 2003 (Dow and Downing 2006). As N2O is roughly 300 times more effective than CO2 as a greenhouse gas, as well as being involved in depletion of stratospheric ozone, rising concentrations of this gas may have significant consequences for global climate. Coastal salt marshes may play substantial roles in global climate via their roles in N2O production. Increased anthropogenic nutrient loading to coastal ecosystems may enhance the activities of nitrifying and denitrifying bacteria that produce N2O in the process of converting NH4 + to NO3 , or NO3 to N2, respectively. However, nitrogen inputs to marshes may increase benthic oxygen consumption and ultimately lead to sulfide inhibition of N2O production. In recent slurry experiments with salt marsh sediments, reactive ferric iron was found to protect ammonia mono-oxygenase, the enzyme with which bacteria catalyze nitrification, from sulfide inhibition (Dollhopf et al. 2005). Thus burrowing macrofauna and plants which increase availability of oxidized iron in subsurface marsh sediments may mediate and possibly enhance N2O production. OBJECTIVES The purpose of this research was to explore controls on N2O production in intertidal
Comparison of Digital Measurement versus Physical Model Measurement: An Analysis of Accuracy and Precision.

Objective: The objective of this study was to compare the accuracy and precision of digital model measurement to physical measurement of orthodontic models. Methods: To assess accuracy, teeth were removed from a typodont and measured individually to obtain a gold standard measurement A stone model of the typodont was then measured n=75 times by both digital and physical measurement and these measurements were compared to the gold standard. To assess precision, patientmodels (n=27) were measured five times each by each method and assessed via an intra-class correlation coefficient.Results: The accuracy analysis suggested that measurements of individual tooth width, archlength, and crowding were all more significantly more accurate using the digital measurement technique regardless of whether trapezoidal or catenary measurements were used. The digital technique also showed a significant benefit in the analysis of precision, demonstrating a significant improvement in the intra-class correlation coefficient for each orthodontic measurement considered.Conclusion: Digital model measurements have the potential to be more accurate and precise than physical model measurements.
On algorithm of identification of nonlinear system parameters

The problem of identification of parameters of nonlinear system of differential equations is considered in this article. It’s reduced to the problem of stabilization. To solve it, we use the method which has been developed in the last decade for nonlinear systems. The original system is transformed into a form suitable for the application of the proposed method. An algorithm for identifying data is presented, a numerical experiment for searching the parameters is shown.
Diet of crab-eating fox, Cerdocyon thous (Linnaeus) (Carnivora, Canidae), in a suburban area of southern Brazil

The crab-eating fox, Cerdocyon thous (Linnaeus, 1766), is a small canid with twilight and nocturnal habits from savannas and forests of South America. In this study, we seasonally determined and quantified the diet of C. thous in Lami Biological Reserve, a conservation unit with 179.78ha situated in a suburban area in the municipality of Porto Alegre, southern Brazil. During the year 2000, we collected 80 fecal samples - 20 for each season - in two or three week sampling intervals, along trails inside the Reserve. Samples were dried in an oven for 24h at 60oC, immersed in 70% alcohol, and prey items were identified using a stereomicroscope. The diet of the crab-eating fox was essentially carnivorous (87.62% composed by vertebrates), with seasonal variation (p = 0.0009) and absence of fruits. Small non-flying mammals and birds were the most frequent prey, being proportionally more preyed in autumn and summer, respectively. Arthropods were more preyed in winter and spring and bird/reptile eggs only in summer and spring, in the reproduction period of these groups.
Design of Bandstop filters using defected ground structures

iv DEDICATION . vi ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS . vii LIST OF FIGURES . xiii LIST OF TABLES . xviii CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION . 1 1.1 Background . 1 1.2 Scope. 5 1.3 Outline . 6 CHAPTER 2: FILTERS . 7 2.
Title The dimensions of the policy debate over transportation energy : The case of hydrogen in the United States Permalink

Environmental and politico-strategic concerns have driven the increase in policy activity related to energy that the United States witnessed in the last few years. The nature of the issues at stake and the level of stakeholder involvement result in a highly complex policy debate. The broad concern of this paper is the study of this energy-policy process and the identification of the main policy issues. Specifically, multivariate analysis is applied to data on a wide variety of stakeholders’ policy beliefs and policy preferences to identify the policy dimensions that characterize the debate over energy policy in the United States. The focus is on the policy debate over hydrogen as a transportation fuel, although many results are applicable to the debate over transportation energy at large. The analysis uses a dataset of 502 individuals from 323 different stakeholder organizations obtained via a web-based survey specifically designed for this study. r 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
New tools for EU agricultural sector and rural areas. Which role for Payments for Ecosystem Services

In this paper we try to understand if it is possible to create a market for ecosystem services deriving from rural landscape and environmental conservation. First of all to do this we consider the results of some studies we conducted during last years about monetary and no-monetary environmental evaluation. These studies help us firstly to identify some rural landscape features able to improve or to worsen landscape aspect and secondly to point out the willingness to pay of beneficiaries to maintain landscape and environment features. Then to understand if it is possible to increase social benefits by using market and economic instruments in favor of landscape and environmental resources conservation, we study Payments for Ecosystem Services (PES). PES are economic instruments that can be used to support ecosystem services conservation and improvement. We describe this instrument and discuss the opportunity to introduce it in favor of some ecosystem services in Italy.
In Vitro Plantlet Regeneration from the Bulbs of Shallot (Allium Cepa Var. Group Aggregatum)

The study was undertaken to develop an efficient protocol for in vitro regeneration of shallot (Allium cepa). Two local shallot varieties (Huruta and Minjar) were used as experimental materials where basal discs were used as explants. Murashige and Skoog medium supplemented with different concentrations and combinations of 2, 4-Dichlorophenoxyacetic Acid, 6-Benzylaminopurine, Kinetin and α-naphthaleneacetic acid were used for callus induction and regeneration of plantlet. Maximum callus induction was observed in genotype Huruta (81.11%) in medium supplemented with 1mg/l 2, 4- Dichlorophenoxyacetic Acid. In combined effect both genotypes Huruta and Minjar showed highest callus induction (74.44%) from basal discs placed in medium supplemented with 1 mg/1 2,4- Dichlorophenoxyacetic Acid. Among the different types and combination of plant growth regulators, the maximum callus fresh weight of 1.26 and 1.20 g were achieved with 1 mg/l 2, 4- Dichlorophenoxyacetic Acid and α-naphthaleneacetic acid combined with 1 mg/l 6-Benzylaminopurine, respectively. Regenerated plants were obtained via somatic embryogenesis and organogenesis. Murashige and Skoog medium supplemented with 5.0 mg/l 6-Benzylaminopurine + 0.1 mg/l α-naphthaleneacetic acid showed higher percentage of shoot regeneration (91.11%). 1.5 mg/l indole-3-butyric acid + 2 mg/l 6-Benzylaminopurine was the optimum concentration giving 86.66% of rooted plantlets. The survival rate of transferred regenerated plantlets was satisfactory 66.6% and 60.0% for Minjar and Huruta respectively.
Non-asymptotic minimax rates of testing in signal detection

Let Y = (Yi)i∈I be a finite or countable sequence of independent Gaussian random variables of mean f = (fi)i∈I and common variance σ. For various sets F ⊂ `2(I), the aim of this paper is to describe the minimal `2-distance between f and 0 for the problem of testing “f = 0” against “f 6= 0, f ∈ F” to be possible with prescribed probabilities of error. To do so, we start with the set F which collects the sequences f such that fj = 0 for j > n and |{j, fj 6= 0}| ≤ k where the numbers k and n are integers satisfying 1 ≤ k ≤ n. Then we show how such a result allows to handle the cases where F is an ellipsoid and more generally an `p-body with p ∈]0, 2]. Our results are not asymptotic in the sense that we do not assume that σ tends to 0. Finally, we consider the problem of adaptive testing.
A state-of-art survey on project selection using MCDM techniques

Article history: Received: March 5, 2017 Received in revised format: May 16, 2017 Accepted: June 11, 2017 Available online: June 11, 2017 Project selection is considered as the first essential part of project portfolio management. Project selection is also considered as a process to evaluate each project idea and chooses the one with the biggest priority. Project selection plays an essential role in the entire life cycle of different projects. This paper presents a survey for project selection using multiple criteria decision making techniques. The study considers 60 papers from over the period 1980-2017. The results of the survey have indicated that integration of Order of Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) and analytical hierarchy process/analytical network process was the most popular techniques for project selection followed by VIKOR method. 2017 Growing Science Ltd.
Detection and removal of brood infested with eggs and larvae of small hive beetles (Aethina tumida Murray) by Russian honey bees

Summary The response of Russian honey bees to brood infested with small hive beetle (SHB) eggs and larvae was compared to that of a commercial stock (predominantly of A. m. ligustica). Test brood was grouped as follows: a) NoP = no perforation either of capping or cell wall; b) PWall = perforation of cell wall only; c) PCap = perforation of capping only; and d) PBoth = capping and cell wall perforations. All perforations were made by SHB. Our results showed that brood cells with perforations of the cell wall (PWall and PBoth) had the highest infestation (76.53 ± 2.10%) and number of eggs (58.46 ± 2.85 eggs). Because PCap showed low levels of infestation (29.17 ± 3.31% and 15.60 ± 1.31 eggs per infested cell), we calculated brood removal based on data from PWall and PBoth groups. Within 6 h, both stocks removed the contents of 39.24 ± 4.94% of PWall cells. A higher removal rate of 50.51 ± 5.80% was observed in PBoth cells. These two groups of brood had the highest numbers of eggs per infested cell (50–70 eggs). Eggs hatched after the 6 h observation and subsequent hygienic removal was of brood infested with larvae. At 20 h, additional 56.41 ± 4.62% (PWall) and 42.04 ± 4.91% (PBoth) removal rates were observed. Overall, the cumulative removal rates for both stocks were similar with means of 85.11 ± 2.98% and 84.32 ± 4.29% for the commercial and Russian honey bees, respectively. In conclusion, we observed that both honey bee stocks were able to detect eggs inside the sealed brood cells and remove them with the infested brood.