Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Fluorometric Determination of Quinolinic Acid Using the Catalytic Activity of Horseradish Peroxidase

The conversion of quinolinic acid (QA) into a fluorescent compound by the catalytic activity of horseradish peroxidase (HRP) was investigated in the presence of hydrogen peroxide without exposure to light. Nonfluorescent quinolinic acid was converted into a fluorescent compound with maximum excitation and emission wavelengths at 328 and 377 nm, respectively. This fluorescent derivatization reaction with HRP in the presence of hydrogen peroxide was adopted for the determination of trace amounts of QA. The calibration curve obtained was linear from 0.1 to 5.0 nmol of QA in a 1.0 ml sample solution. The detection limit was 0.04 nmol/ml. The relative standard deviation at 3.0 nmol of QA was 3.58% (n = 8). This method was applied to the determination of QA spiked in control serum I and II. The recovery rates of QA were greater than 98%, and satisfactory results were obtained for both control serum I and II.
Profitability of Applying Simple Moving Average Trading Rules for the Vietnamese Stock Market

This paper considers whether the moving average rules can forecast stock price movements and outperform a simple buy-and-hold strategy over the period from July 2000 to March 2011 on Vietnamese data. We concluded that the technical trading rules examined have strongly predictive ability in term of Vietnamese data. The rules have greater forecasting power for Vietnamese than those for some other Asian markets. Using all the VMA rules and averaging the results yields annualized profit of 39.05% before trading cost, compared to 37.29% in Thailand and 29.2% in some other emerging Asian markets. The profitability of short-term technical trading rules is better than that of longer-term ones. We realize that the (1,10,0) rule, (1,20,0) rule, and (1,50,0) rule are determined to be very effective in Vietnamese stock market because they allow investors to make a large excess returns before trading cost. Specially, unlike almost prior studies for other emerging markets, we prove that the technical trading rules are profitable, even after adjusting for trading costs. However, they are not effective to create access returns for investors in the Vietnamese market after reducing trading costs.
Sensor data fusion for road friction estimation

In vehicle dynamics, tire-to-road friction is the most important factor for force-transfer between vehicle and road. Without friction the vehicle would not be able to move at all. The variation of tire-to-road friction can be large, and can reach dangerously low levels. It is therefore of great value to be able to estimate available tire-to-road friction. Lot of effort has been spent on research in the area for many years and the increasing number of sensors opens up for new possibilities in friction estimation. This thesis presents a robust sensor fusion method for tire-to-road friction estimation able to handle several information sources. A Bayesian approach that uses information from stability systems and road surface classification information is proposed. The method uses a Kalman filter with a forgetting function modification. This approach allows the distribution to converge to a predefined a priori distribution according to present road surface. The method is used to investigate the possibilities with road surface information sensors. Simulations and tests have been run to verify and evaluate the performance and behavior of the filter. Several performance parameters are defined that allows a fair comparison of different input data. Results show that the fusion algorithm works as intended and takes different information sources into account when calculating the estimate and uncertainty. The road surface classification shows good potential of improving both availability and correctness of the friction estimate. This is due to the road surface being the most important parameter in tire-to-road friction, using this information result in low estimation bias.
The Influence of Selected Soil Conservation Practices on Soil Properties and Crop Yieldsin the Usambara Mountains, Tanzania

The Usambara Mountains in Tanzania are severely affected by soil erosion which has led to deterioration of soil properties and reduced crop productivity. Indigenous soil erosion control measures such as miraba which are widely practised in the area have yielded little success. Field plot experiments were laid down in Majulai and Migambo villages from 2011 – 2014 on typical soils of the Original Research Article Mwango et al.; AIR, 3(6): 558-570, 2015; Article no.AIR. 2015.051 559 area (Acrisols). The aim was to single out soil properties developed under the studied soil conservation practices and their impact on crop productivity with reference to maize (Zea mays) and beans (Phaseolus vulgaris). Results showed that total N, OC, available P, Ca 2+ , Mg 2+ , K + and Ph were powerful (P = .05) attributes that discriminated conservation measures. Magnitudes of the discriminating attributes followed the trend: miraba with Tughutu (Vernonia myriantha) mulching >miraba with Tithonia (Tithonia diversifolia) mulching > miraba sole > cropl and with no ‘Soil and Water Conservation’ (SWC) measures (control).
Thermodynamic Relations for Kiselev and Dilaton Black Hole

We investigate the thermodynamics and phase transition for Kiselev black hole and dilaton black hole. Specifically we consider Reissner-Nordstrom black hole surrounded by radiation and dust and Schwarzschild black hole surrounded by quintessence, as special cases of Kiselev solution. We have calculated the products relating the surface gravities, surface temperatures, Komar energies, areas, entropies, horizon radii, and the irreducible masses at the Cauchy and the event horizons. It is observed that the product of surface gravities, product of surface temperature, and product of Komar energies at the horizons are not universal quantities for the Kiselev solutions while products of areas and entropies at both the horizons are independent of mass of the above-mentioned black holes (except for Schwarzschild black hole surrounded by quintessence). For charged dilaton black hole, all the products vanish. The first law of thermodynamics is also verified for Kiselev solutions. Heat capacities are calculated and phase transitions are observed, under certain conditions.
Characterisation of real GPRS traffic with analytical tools

With GPRS and UMTS networks launched, wireless multimedia services are commercially becoming the most attractive applications next to voice. Because of the nature of bursty, packet-switched schemes and multiple data rates, the traditional Erlang approach and Poisson models for characterising voice-centric services traffic are not suitable for studying wireless multimedia services traffic. Therefore, research on the characterisation of wireless multimedia services traffic is very challenging. The typical reference for the study of wireless multimedia services traffic is wired Internet services traffic. However, because of the differences in network protocol, bandwidth, and QoS requirements between wired and wireless services, their traffic characterisations may not be similar. Wired network Internet traffic shows self-similarity, long-range dependence and its file sizes exhibit heavy-tailedness. This paper reports the use of existing tools to analyse real GPRS traffic data to establish whether wireless multimedia services traffic have similar properties as wired Internet services traffic.
Effect of Balanced Fertilization in Puddled Rice on the Productivity of Lentil in Rice-Fallow System Under Zero Tillage

Lentil ( Lens culinaris Medik) predominantly grows under rainfed conditions under residual soil moisture in most of the rice-fallows in India with low productivity. Imbalanced NPK (N 1 ), recommended dose of NPK (N 2 ) and recommended NPK + 10 t ha -1 FYM (N 3 ) were applied in kharif rice (var. IET 4786) through consecutive three years (2011-2013). Two lentil varieties viz. Asha (B-77) and Subrata (WBL-58) were sown after rice under zero tillage conditions keeping standing residues and mulch through utilizing residual moisture and nutrients. Zero tillage with straw mulch (ZT-M) in both lentil varieties conserved 12-20% more water than residue removal (ZT) and 7-10% more than standing residue (ZT-H), respectively. During flowering (60 DAS) surface soil (0-5 cm) of ZT attained 0.8 MPa as compared to 0.2 and 0.1 MPa for ZT-H and ZT-M, respectively . Soils with N 3 stored more water and depleted lesser than N 2 and N 1 which produced higher biomass, leaf relative water content (RWC) and chlorophyll content. Soil thermal variation in ZT-M tends to proliferate root and nutrient uptake that increased 19 and 14% more yield and 25 and 15% more water use efficiency (WUE) than ZT-H and ZT. Both Subrata and Asha performed well under zero tillage conditions. Zero tillage and nutrient management had an effect on soil microbial biomass carbon (SMBC) and dehydrogenase activity as ZT N 2 > N 1 . Proper technology with application of zero tillage may explore the possibility of growing lentil crops in rice fallows during postrainy season utilizing carry-over soil moisture and residual soil fertility. Bangladesh Agron. J. 2016, 19(1): 67-79
Study on human Action Recognition Algorithms in videos

Human action recognition algorithms are the one of the effective schemes to analyze the action of the people in the surveillance environment. It is one part of the event recognition algorithm. There are many types of action recognition algorithms, and in this paper, some classical methods are surveyed. The detail procedure of human action recognition is described, and the basic theory application of some algorithms is also analyzed. Finally, the conclusion of this paper is given.
Comprehensiveness of Corporate Social Responsibility Reports of Brazilian Companies: An Analysis of its Evolution and Determinants

This paper aims to assess the degree of comprehensiveness of corporate social responsibility (CSR) reports of Brazilian companies and its determinants. Literature suggests that a report is considered comprehensive when it contains three types of information for each CSR item published: vision and objectives; management actions; and performance indicators. A content analysis of 272 CSR reports of Brazilian companies that follow the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) guidelines was conducted for the period from 2010 to 2013. Results indicate that, despite the still low coverage of contents in CSR reports, there has been an increase in the degree of comprehensiveness over the period of study. Some firm attributes aﬀect the comprehensiveness degree of CSR reports: ownership concentration in hands of the main shareholder; company presence in the ISE (Corporate Brazilian Sustainability Index); the environmental risk of firm industry; firm size and profitability.
Morphological gradients for biomedical applications

Gradient surfaces facilitate rapid high-throughput investigations and systematic studies in materials science, biology (e.g. protein adsorption, cell interactions) and tribology. An important surface parameter is the surface roughness on both the micrometre and nanometre scale. The aim of this thesis was two-fold: On the one hand, new methods for the fabrication of one-dimensional gradients were developed to broaden the range of roughness gradients. On the other hand, existing and new fabrication techniques for one-dimensional gradients were combined into two-dimensional gradients. Micro-featured roughness gradients were prepared through a two-step process: Particle erosion, followed by chemical polishing. In this thesis, two different substrate materials were used to fabricate microroughness gradients:  A sandblasted aluminium substrate was slowly withdrawn from a chemical polishing solution, containing phosphoric acid, sulphuric acid and nitric acid. The gradients were formed by the gradually decreasing polishing time along the substrate. They were centimetres in length and exhibited Ra values ranging from 1 to 6 μm.  Slices of a calcite single crystal were sandblasted and then slowly withdrawn from a diluted hydrochloric acid solution. The gradients fabricated this way were also in the centimetre range and had Ra values from 0.5 to 2.5 μm. Nano-featured gradients were based on adsorbed particles. In one approach, slowly immersing the substrate into a highly diluted particle suspension creates a particledensity gradient on the surface. In an alternative approach, exposing a substrate with a homogeneous layer of polystyrene (PS) particles to a UV light source or an
Targeted product design: Locating inside the Salop circle 1

Product design is a key choice for …rms. We consider the trade- oassociated with well-targeted designs that are much more suitable for some types of consumers against more generic designs that are unremarkable and inoensive to all types. We introduce a model that adapts the familiar Salop circle model (1979) by allowing …rms to locate on the interior of the circle, thereby we allow for continuous design choices between the extremes of fully targeted and fully generic designs. We provide simple su¢ cient conditions that ensure extreme or interior design choices. These conditions on consumer preferences apply both to a monopolist and to competing …rms under two dierent models of competition. 1 We thank Haritz Garro and Mariano Irace for superb research assistance, and David
Economy-Wide Impacts of Promising Maize and Wheat Technologies on Food Security and Welfare in Kenya

A recursive dynamic economy-wide model incorporating productivity changes due to the introduction of promising maize and wheat varieties evaluates foresights for future food security, well-being and economic performance in Kenya. Adoption of promising new maize and wheat varieties not only increases overall economic growth and food availability, it also reduces import dependency and increases the welfare of vulnerable populations, especially rural households in lowland regions. Although maize-producing rural households in the highlands do not gain in terms of real incomes because of declining land income, they benefit from the increased food consumption stimulated by lower food prices. Promising maize technologies will have positive spill-over effect on all crops, mainly on wheat, and have larger positive impact on food security than the expected productivity change from the current promising wheat varieties. Although the lowland economy does not benefit from the adoption of new crop technologies, rural households in this region benefit the most in terms of increases in food and non-food consumption. The welfare gain in terms of food security is further amplified when technological change for the two crops is complemented by a reduction in the marketing costs, which facilitates market access for the increased surplus and further reduces domestic prices. With low marketing costs resulting from reduced trade and transport margins for these two crops, even highland maize producing households experience an increase in real income and the demand for both food and non-food commodities increase substantially, generating significant linkages between agriculture and other sectors.
Effective Management of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) for Desired Outcome: The Niger Delta Issue in Nigeria

The paper evaluates the potential of corporate social responsibility (CRS) in addressing insurgents in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria. Effective CSR is relative and depends on the peculiarity of the area in order for corporations to achieve desired results. The paper adopts a theoretical interdisciplinary methodology based on a review of literature and deductive arguments on CSR and sustainability. The paper identifies lack of effective planning and implementation of CSR by multinational oil companies as one of the contributory factors to the crisis in the region. It also notes that the issues of oil pipeline destruction, kidnapping of oil workers and oil-related contestations, inter and intra communal conflicts, crude oil theft and general insecurity have not been successfully addressed. The paper therefore recommends that sustainable development through the provision of needed basic infrastructure, sustainable livelihood initiatives and community participation strategies be put in place as solutions to the crisis. The study contributes an innovative way of CSR implementation that is based on collaborative participation rather than company policy and need assessment of CSR projects.
Simulation of Parameters of Flow Field on Groove in Electrochemical Machining

--------------------------------------------------------ABSTRACT----------------------------------------------------------Electrochemical machining (ECM) is one of the important non-traditional machining processes, which is used formachining difficult-to-cut materials and complicated shapes or special structure. In this work, taking grooves in inner cylinder for lightweightas the research objective, the simulation in certain condition was done to study the effect of parameters such as width of inlet slot, inlet pressure and machining inter-electrode gap on flow field characteristics of machining surface. Then analysis of the results was carried on, and the results showed that
Smart management systems (Triple Helix model) in Waterloo, Canada

Knowledge, education, reputation, image, partnerships and co-creation are trends of success. The implication of the idea of interconnection of the academic environment with the business environment and public sector, which has been used in the City of Waterloo and the University of Waterloo, is an example of growing value of a territory and the development of innovative (smart) managerial decisions into a practice. The purpose of the paper is to discuss the results of research conducted in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, which was focused on the growth of competitiveness through the implementation of smart management systems (Triple Helix Model) in the city’s marketing and governance. The method of case study and qualitative research was applied by the implementation of primary and secondary research approaches. Research was conducted over a period of 4 years during post-graduate studies at the University of Waterloo, Canada. Multiple structured and unstructured interviews were conducted with representatives of the university and public and private sectors in the city of Waterloo. During the years 2011 – 2016, additional materials were collected in order to gain a more realistic picture. The City of Waterloo is a leader in innovations in Canada, with a large number of patents, entrepreneurship incubators, and start-ups. The University of Waterloo, situated in the city of Waterloo, has 15 patents per 10,000 residents, which is a rate four times greater than the Canadian average. Primary research results revealed that the municipality of Waterloo is strongly involved in cooperation with universities in the creation of start-up businesses.
A Hierarchical SLAM/GPS/INS Sensor Fusion with WLFP for Flying Robo-SAR's Navigation

In this paper, we present the results of a hierarchical SLAM/GPS/INS/WLFP sensor fusion to be used in navigation system devices. Due to low quality of the inertial sensors, even a short-term GPS failure can lower the integrated navigation performance significantly. In addition, in GPS denied environments, most navigation systems need a separate assisting resource, in order to increase the availability and reliability of the device. When the GPS service/information is available, the integrated SLAM system arranges for a landmark-based map using a GPS/INS feature. But in case of inaccessibility of GPS information, the latest formerly produced map plays an important role in decreasing the INS errors. In addition, a Wireless Fingerprinting (WLFP) mechanism helps us limit the errors in the system. The results of the proposed method decreases the average estimation precision on the order of 2.6m, without any performance degradation and in different experiments, which is the maximum sustainable error (below 2.66m) for flyer landing on the base. The mentioned method could be used in computer networks to schedule the services too.
Elite Student-Athletes' Perceptions of Coaches’ Behavior during the 23rd World Universiade Games in Kazan, Russia

Despite the fact that behavior of coaches is critical towards optimal development and performance of athletes, there still remains a dearth of empirical evidence involving self-perceptions of competitive athletes at elite level. The purpose of the present study was to examine athletes' perceptions related patterns and gender differences specific to coaching behaviors during competition. Consequently, the Leadership Scale for Sports was administered to 201 conveniently sampled elite student-athletes during the 23rd World Universiade Games at Kazan, Russia. Results show that a considerable number of sampled athletes perceived their coaches not to have provided the needed social support and positive feedback during competition. However, majority of these athletes felt they were involved democratically across the competition period. Additionally, while male athletes perceived their coaches to have given appreciable training and instruction, were more democratic, socially supportive, and provided positive feedback, female athletes perceived their coaches to be autocratic. A greater need for social support and positive feedback are required from coaches to help athletes deal with the stressors of elite competition. Similarly, the gender differences in the athletes' perceptions suggest a more idiosyncratic approach and flexibility toward coaching at high performance level if desired outcomes are to be accomplished.
Meeting the Learning Needs of Refugees and Migrants in Tertiary Blended ESOL Courses

Technology use in higher education is becoming ubiquitous. However, the particular needs of adult migrant and refugees studying English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) necessitate careful course design and teaching practice if technology is not to present an insuperable barrier. This article surveys the literature to identify barriers to technology use by these learners, of which literacy and lack of prior experience stand out. Critical success factors in meeting their learning needs are categorized under self-regulated learning skills, teacher support and course design. Recommendations include explicit teaching of self-regulated learning skills, using the embedded phases of forethought, performance and reflection. Also, intensive teacher support should be provided and a flexible design model used, with authentic tasks and clear interfaces. These recommendations provide research-informed guidelines for teachers and course designers looking to support the learning needs of adult tertiary refugee and migrant ESOL learners.