Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Specialization and Diverging Manufacturing Structures: The Aftermath of Trade Policy Reforms in Developing Countries

Trade barriers have been declining around the world over the last five decades. Countries reduced their tariffs unilaterally as well as concertedly in the framework of regional integration agreements. As a consequence, trade flows among economies have substantially intensified. According to economic theory, this should have had a significant impact on the countries’ specialization patterns. However, to our knowledge, there is no direct robust econometric evidence on the effect of trade policy on the overall degree of countries’ specialization. This paper aims at filling this gap in the literature. We focus on ten Latin American countries members of the LAIA (Latin American Integration Association) over the period 1985-1998. These countries are natural case studies because in the last two decades they implemented road and comprehensive trade liberalization programs, both generally and preferentially, starting from relatively high tariff protection levels. Our econometric results suggest that reducing own MFN tariffs is associated with increasing manufacturing production specialization. Furthermore, we find that preferential trade liberalization and differences in the degree of unilateral openness have resulted in increased dissimilarities in manufacturing production structures across countries. These results are robust to the specialization measure being used, the correction for groupwise heteroscedasticity, cross-sectional correlation, serial correlation and endogeneity biases, and the inclusion of indicators to account for the real exchange misalignment prevailing in the region during the period under examination.
Transport of free-living nematodes by runoff water in a Sudano-Sahelian area

The impact of runoff on transport of nematodes was studied using simulated rainfall at Thysse Kaymor, in the Sudano-Sahelian area of Senegal. Three 30 min, 60–75 mm rainfalls were applied every 2 days on three different plots. One plot was previously uncultivated (fallow) and the other two had been planted with groundnut and millet during the previous rainy season. A previous paper byCadet et al. (2002) reported the results of studies on soil erosion, plant-feeding nematode composition and total free-living nematode density in runoff water, while this paper focuses on the structure of the free-living nematode fauna. The relative abundances of the different taxa of free-living nematodes in runoff water were very different from those found in the 0–10 cm top soil layer. Rhabdolaimus, Aphelenchina, Tylenchidae, free-living Ditylenchus, Rhabditidae and certain Cephalobidae were more numerous in the runoff water than in soil as estimated from the amount of eroded soil. Rhabd laimus was the most abundant nematode in runoff waters from the groundnut and millet plots where it represented more than 50% of the nematode fauna. In the fallow plot, the most abundant nematode in runoff water was Ditylenchus. The over-representation of some taxa in runoff water was linked to their greater motility and to their greater abundance in the superficial layer of soil. © 2003 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.
E-Cadherin negatively modulates δ-catenin-induced morphological changes and RhoA activity reduction by competing with p 190 RhoGEF for δ-catenin

δ-Catenin is a member of the p120-catenin subfamily of armadillo proteins. Here, we describe distinctive features of δ-catenin localization and its association with E-cadherin in HEK293 epithelial cells. In HEK293 cells maintained in low cell densities, approximately 15% of cells overexpressing δ-catenin showed dendrite-like process formation, but there was no detectable change in RhoA activity. In addition, δ-catenin was localized mainly in the cytoplasm and was associated with p190RhoGEF. However, at high cell densities, δ-catenin localization was shifted to the plasma membrane. The association of δ-catenin with E-cadherin was strengthened, whereas its interaction with p190RhoGEF was weakened. In mouse embryonic fibroblast cell, ectopic expression of Ecadherin decreased the effect of δ-catenin on the reduction of RhoA activity as well as on dendritelike process formation. These results suggest that δ-catenin is more dominantly bound to E-cadherin than to p190RhoGEF, and that δ-catenin’s function is dependent on its cellular binding partner.
Vocal Fold Collision Modeling

: When vocal folds vibrate at normal speaking frequencies, collisions occurs. The numerics and formulations behind a position-based continuum model of contact is an active field of research in the contact mechanics community. In this paper, a frictionless three-dimensional finite element model of the vocal fold collision is proposed, which incorporates different procedures used in contact mechanics and mathematical optimization theories. The penalty approach and the Lagrange multiplier method are investigated. The contact force solution obtained by the penalty formulation is highly dependent on the penalty parameter value. Furthermore, the Lagrange approach shows poor results with regard to instantaneous contact force estimation. This motivates the use of an Augmented Lagrange approach to regularize the Lagrange contact force solution. Finally, the effect of the interpenetration volume on contact force and contact area computations is illustrated.
Title Musculoskeletal profile of middle-aged Ving Tsun Chinesemartial art practitioners : A cross-sectional study

This cross-sectional exploratory study aimed to quantify and compare the axial and appendicular bone mineral density (BMD), muscle mass, and muscle strength of middle-aged practitioners of Ving Tsun (VT; a hard-style Chinese martial art) with those of nonpractitioners. Eighteen VT practitioners (mean age±standard deviation=51.8±17.7 years; 12 men and six women) and 36 active controls (mean age±standard deviation=58.7±11.0 years; 18men and 18 women) participated in the study. All participants underwent a 1day battery of musculoskeletal examinations. The BMD of the total radius, total hip, femoral neck, and lumbar spine was measured using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry, as was the lean mass of the arm, leg, and trunk. Muscle strength of the upper and lower limbs was assessed using a Jamar dynamometer and an isokinetic dynamometer at 60°/second, respectively. VT-trained participants had a 11.5% higher total radius BMD (P=0.023), a 17.8% higher leg lean mass (P=0.014), a 56.4% higher isokinetic body weight-adjusted peak torque of the knee extensors (P<0.001), a 60.8% higher isokinetic body weight-adjusted peak torque of knee flexors (P<0.001), and a 31.4% shorter time to reach peak torque in the knee flexors (P=0.001) than the active controls. No significant differences were found in any of the other musculoskeletal outcomes between the 2 groups (P>0.05). Middle-aged VT practitioners displayed a higher total radius BMD and leg lean mass and better knee extensor and flexor muscular performances than their healthy active counterparts. Healthcare professionals may consider using this alternative method of training to improve the musculoskeletal health of middle-aged adults. Abbreviations: BMD = bone mineral density, DXA = dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry, MANOVA = multivariate analysis of variance, VT = Ving Tsun.
Fabrication and characterisation of suspended microstructures of tantalum

An investigation of the influence of deposition and post-fabrication processes on the final mechanical structure of tantalum beams is reported in the present study. The final deflection profiles of doubly supported beams made from compressive and tensile-stressed films have been studied experimentally. An optimum finite element model has been developed to predict the buckling behaviour of the doubly supported beams by considering the boundary conditions in the form of a compressive stress and an applied load. No matter which etch release method has been used, the initial stress state of the as-deposited films has been found to have a significant impact on the final deflection profile of the fabricated device. The compressive-stressed films have presented larger deflection in the final released beams than the tensile-stressed films. Taking into account the type of etch release methods, the beams that have been released in the dry etch release processes have been found to deform more vertically than those released in the wet-etch release method. Moreover, it has been found that the amplitude of vertical deflection increases with the increase of the beam length and thickness. The results indicate that optimum profiles of tantalum suspended structures can be obtained from the tensile-stressed films that have been released by the wet etching method with an aspect ratio of 1:48.
Patterns of asymmetry in wing traits of three island and one continental population of Merodon albifrons (Diptera, Syrphidae) from Greece

Background: Individuals of populations experiencing environmental and/or genetic disturbance during their development experience a reduction in buffering capacity of the developmental system. Such a reduction influences the level of developmental stability, which is often reflected in morphological traits such as asymmetry. Three kinds of asymmetry have been described: directional asymmetry (DA; i.e. left and right body side consistently differ from each other), fluctuating asymmetry (FA; i.e. subtle non-directional differences between left and right sides in bilaterally symmetrical traits), and antisymmetry (i.e. deviation from symmetry towards either the right or left sides). Fluctuating asymmetry is often used as an indicator of developmental stress. The variation of FA level is considered to be taxon, trait and stress specific. Accordingly, being exposed to various forms of environmental and/or genetic stress, the levels of FA may differ among demes. Moreover, different genetic constraints of two wing traits (lower heritability of wing size vs. higher heritability of wing shape) may influence the difference between island and mainland populations in the level of size FA would be more prominent than in the level of shape FA. Hypothesis: Island populations, which are often isolated and small, operate different evolutionary processes affecting developmental processes from those present in mainland populations. Hence, island populations experience significantly different FA compared with continental populations. Organism: The hoverfly, Merodon albifrons (Diptera, Syrphidae) Times and places: We collected a total of 60 female and 141 male specimens in spring 2009, 2010, and 2011 from the Greek islands of Lesbos (25 females and 38 males; May 2009), Chios (11 females and 60 males; May 2009), and Naxos (12 females and 13 males; May 2010). We also collected from the Greek mainland locality of Volos (12 females and 30 males; May 2009 and May 2011). Analytical methods: We used landmark-based geometric morphometrics to analyse level and patterns of asymmetry (FA, DA, and antisymmetry) in two wing traits (size and shape) within/ among populations. We completed morphometric and statistical analyses using the MorphoJ package (version 1.04a) (Klingenberg, 2011), R software 2.15. 1 (R Development Core Team, 2008),
Cloud solution in Business Intelligence for SMEs – vendor and customer perspectives

The aim of this study was to identify key success factor for SME customers of cloud based Business Intelligence products. A deep interview was made with four producers and a questionnaire was carried out among 36 SMEs. The findings suggest that the most important CSFs were the level of software functionalities, the ubiquitous access to data, responsive answers to customer support requests, handling large amounts of data and implementation cost. Each of these factors addresses a specific area that customers pay close attention to during the adoption process of a cloud BI solution. Offering ubiquitous access to date and respsonsive answers to customer requests are particularly emphasized for SMEs. We also found that industry tailored software is preferred, monthly or quarterly billings, and contact by email or phone for service. The paper shows recommendations, implications of research and suggests further research on the topic.
Characterization of Phosphate Solubilizing and Potassium Decomposing Strains and Study on their Effects on Tomato Cultivation

Seven strains were collected for phosphate solubilizing and potassium decomposing activities from Microbiology Laboratory, Department of Biotechnology, Shweziwa Biofertilizer Plant. When phosphate solubilizing activity of selected strains was qualitatively determined, all strains except from B1 strain, gave clear zone formation on NBRIP media. But when quantitatively determined by spectrophotometric method, all strains solubilized insoluble tricalcium phosphate. Among seven strains, Ps strain gave the highest soluble phosphate concentration (386 ppm). Potassium decomposing activity was also determined for qualitatively and quantitatively. For qualitative determination, potassium decomposing activity was screened for clear zone formation on potassium decomposing media. Among seven strains, B1 and Y strains cannot give clear zone around their colonies. But when determined by AAS method, all strains can decompose potassium mica by giving soluble potassium concentration. Y strain gave the highest soluble potassium concentration (8.45 ppm). Phosphate solubilizing and potassium decomposing strains were combined differently for four treatments to study their effects on tomato cultivation. Chemical fertilizer was also applied to compare with selected strains. Among all treatments, T-4 showed better result on total yield although yields were not significantly different.
Assessment of the Potential Occurrence of Dry Period in the Long Term for Pahang State, Malaysia

The interference of climate circulation and continuous rising of surface temperature every year has caused the atmosphere composition change which gives serious impact to water resource management. Pahang is among of the affected states by El Nino that hit Malaysia in recent years which led to water depletion at several water plants. Based on the current situation, this study focuses on 1) simulate the average rain pattern using statistical downscaling; 2) identify the severity index and dry duration occurrence in the catchment area. Predicting potential changes in the climate events is important to evaluate the level of climate change in the critical region. Therefore, the integration of Statistical Downscaling Model (SDSM) and Standard Precipitation Index (SPI) have been conducted to study the potential occurrence of the dry period due to climate change for year 2020s and year 2050s. The results reveal that the dry condition is high during the mid-year. The lowest SPI value is estimated to reach -2.2 which can be classified as extreme. The potential dry period is expected to increase 2.5% and 3.3% in 2020 and 2050, respectively.
ighly sensitive nanomechanical assay for the stress transmission of arbon chain

Here, we report the first quantitative experimental study into the molecular basis of the transmission of mechanical signal that originates from biochemical reaction focusing on the length of carbon chain. We designed an experiment by using n-alkanethiols with a same carboxyl group and different chain lengths (n = 1, 5, 10 and 15) to immobilize a same receptor molecule on the gold surface of a microcantilever, and detected the nanomechanical response of biochemical reaction. The sensitivity of the microcantilever was found to be greatly influenced by the chain length of linker that is between the receptor molecule and the microcantilever surface. The efficiency of stress transmission increases significantly with decreasing
Nonparametric Bayesian Models for Markov Jump Processes

Markov jump processes (MJPs) have been used as models in various fields such as disease progression, phylogenetic trees, and communication networks. The main motivation behind this thesis is the application of MJPs to data modeled as having complex latent structure. In this thesis we propose a nonparametric prior, the gamma-exponential process (GEP), over MJPs. Nonparametric Bayesian models have recently attracted much attention in the statistics community, due to their flexibility, adaptability, and usefulness in analyzing complex real world datasets. The GEP is a prior over infinite rate matrices which characterize an MJP; this prior can be used in Bayesian models where an MJP is imposed on the data but the number of states of the MJP is unknown in advance. We show that the GEP model we propose has some attractive properties such as conjugacy and simple closed-form predictive distributions. We also introduce the hierarchical version of the GEP model; sharing statistical strength can be considered as the main motivation behind the hierarchical model. We show that our hierarchical model admits efficient inference algorithms. We introduce two inference algorithms: 1) a “basic” particle Markov chain Monte Carlo (PMCMC) algorithm which is an MCMC algorithm with sequences proposed by a sequential Monte Carlo (SMC) algorithm; 2) a modified version of this PMCPC algorithm with an “improved” SMC proposal. Finally, we demonstrate the algorithms on the problems of estimating disease progression in multiple sclerosis and RNA evolutionary modeling. In both domains, we found that our model outperformed the standard rate matrix estimation approach.
Effect of nutri-priming on germination indices and physiological characteristics of stevia seedling under salinity stress

Poor germination and low seedling growth of stevia ( Stevia rebuadiana Bertoni) are common problems in cultivation of the plant. On the other hand salinity is one of the abiotic environmental stresses that reduce the performance of the product. The objective of this study was to assess the effect of nutri-priming with Selenium (Se), Iron (Fe) and Boron (B) on stevia seed germination indices and physiological characteristics in sodium chloride (NaCl) salinity condition (0, 30, 60 and 90 mM). Results indicated that the effect of salinity in nutri-priming were significant on germination percentage, germination speed, germination uniformity, germination value, seedling length, seedling vigor index, total chlorophyll, free proline content and enzymatic activity of catalase and superoxide dismutase. Salinity stress decreased the percentage and speed of germination and seed vigor, however nutri-priming reduces the adverse effects of salinity stress. Salinity also reduced the amount of chlorophyll content, in spite of all that this decrease was very low in terms of nutri- priming with Se, Se+Fe and Se+Fe+B in high salinity (90 mM). Salinity stress increased proline content and antioxidant enzyme activities of CAT and SOD, that nutri-priming especially with the Se more increased. The finding of this study lead to the conclution that nutri-priming with nutrients, especially Se and Fe increased the antioxidant capacity of the plant to improve germination and seedling growth of stevia under salinity stress.
Non-contact Measurement of Quality Factor for Monolithic Cylindrical Fused Silica Resonators

The monolithic cylindrical fused silica resonator is the critical component of a cylindrical resonator gyroscope, and the Q factor is the key parameter to evaluate the performance of a cylindrical resonator. In this paper, a non-contact measurement system based on acoustic excitation and laser Doppler detection was proposed to measure the Q factor of the cylindrical resonator. Two measurement methods (i.e. the frequency response method and the ring-down time method) were proposed, and the testing procedure was carefully designed. The reliability and stability of two methods were verified by simulations and experiments. Results showed that the ring-down time method can be applied to measure a wide range of Q factors with good repeatability, while the frequency response method is applicable only in low Q situations.
Elements of Teacher Communication Competence: An Examination of Skills, Knowledge and Motivation to Communicate.

In an effort to assess the communication skills of prospective teachers, a study examined the role of three pedagogical domains in speech communication instruction--skill, knowledge, and motivation. Fifty student teachers were, :. sited using the Personal Report of Communication Apprehension (PCRA; McCroskey 1977), the Communication Competency Assessment Instrument (CCAI), and the Snyder Speech Scale (SSS). Additional indications of skill level were taken from student records. The results of analyses showed that motivation for communication was not a differentiating factor in the success of student teachers, and that the student teacher's knowledge of content and teaching appears to be only slightly related to overall teaching assessment. The study concluded that the SSS, with its focus on public speaking skills, might be a useful device to use in methods courses or seminars to examine lecturing skills prior student teaching. However, the CCAI, with its focus on interpersonal and listening skills, may reflect both skill and knowledge and might be more appropriate for use in a prospective teacher's college career to help identify weak areas for extra training. Likewise, the PRCA may indicate students who might benefit from instruction aimed at alleviating anxiety. (EL)
KSHARASUTRA APPLICATION IN PILONIDAL SINUS – A CASE STUDY.

Pilonidal sinus is a common disease of the natal cleft in the sacrococcygeal region with weak hair accumulation occurring in the hair follicles, which can be chronic and undergo acute exacerbation. The patient presents with the complaints, which are characteristics of inflammation-a painful swelling, redness, local temperature raised or with a sinus discharge. Prolong sitting, presence of deepnatal cleft, obesity, repeated irritation due to hair, family historymay increase the risk of disease. In Ayurvedic science Pilonidal sinus is better correlated and treated as the Nadi vrana . Acharya Sushruta mentioned eight types of sinuses as nadivarna. Among these, pilonidal sinus canbe considered under shalyaj nadivrana (sinus due to foregion body) and He had explained Shastra Chikitsa with the intervention of kshar sutra as one of the treatment for Nadi vrana ( sinuses). A case of pilonidal sinus in 32y/m patient was thoroughly examined and treated with ksharsutra therapy. Tuft (bulk) of hairs were expled out during procedure. Ksharsutra is ideal procedure to be adopted for the management of sinus track for not only it destroys the fibrous wall of track but also helps in its curettage. In this study elicits a case report of a pilonidal sinus treated by the intervention of kshar sutra , which cured and No recurrence or No any complain were found in the patient during follow up.