Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Forays into Grammelot: The Language of Nonsense

Grammelot is a term of French origin, coined by Commedia players, and the word itself is devoid of meaning. It refers to a babel of sounds which, nonetheless, manage to convey the sense of a speech. Grammelot indicates the onomatopoeic flow of a speech, articulated without rhyme or reason, but capable of transmitting, with the aid of particular gestures, rhythms and sounds, an entire, rounded speech. — Dario Fo, The Tricks of the Trade
Modeling and Forecasting Carbon Dioxide Emission Allowance Spot Price Volatility: Multifractal vs. GARCH-type Volatility Models

This paper applies Markov-switching multifractal (MSM) processes to model and forecast carbon dioxide (CO2) emission price volatility, and compares their forecasting performance to the standard GARCH, fractionally integrated GARCH (FIGARCH) and the two-state Markov-switching GARCH (MS-GARCH) models via three loss functions (the mean squared error, the mean absolute error and the value-at-risk). We evaluate the performance of these models via the superior predictive ability test. We find that the forecasts based on the MSM model cannot be outperformed by its competitors under the vast majority of criteria and forecast horizons, while MS-GARCH mostly comes out as the least successful model. Applying various VaR backtesting procedures, we do, however, not find significant differences in the performance of the candidate models under this particular criterion. We also find that we cannot reject the null hypothesis of MSM forecasts encompassing those of GARCH-type models. In line with this result, optimally combined forecasts do indeed hardly improve upon the best single models in our sample.
Empirical Testing of Real Option‐Pricing Models

This research is the first to examine the empirical predictions of a real option-pricing model using a large sample of market prices. The author finds empirical support for a model that incorporates the option to wait to develop land. The option model has explanatory power for predicting transactions prices over and above the intrinsic value. Market prices reflect a premium for the option to wait to invest that has a mean value of 6 percent in the sample. The author also estimates implied standard deviations for individual commercial property prices ranging from 18 to 28 percent per year. Copyright 1993 by American Finance Association.
Reconceptualizing the Norms and Standards of Mentor Selection in Malawi’s 1+1 Initial Primary Teacher Education Model: Implication for Teacher Development

Abstract Mentoring student teachers during the practicum is a pivotal dimension of quality of teacher development. The key determinant of quality of mentoring is, however, the school mentor. This paper reports on a study, which examined the norms and standards that guided selection of school mentors in primary schools in the 1+1 Initial Primary Teacher Education Model in Malawi. The study employed a mixed methods sequential explanatory design comprising a survey followed by a case study. Data was collected from 92 mentoring primary schools with a total of 183 informants comprising 91 school head teachers and 92 school mentors. Quantitative data was analyzed by employing univariate analysis, and qualitative data was analyzed using content analysis. The findings revealed that school mentors were selected based on professional behavior, moral behavior, teaching experience, academic qualification, professional grade, age, school responsibility, mentoring experience and gender in order of decreasing frequency of use. A model of mentor selection anchored by the theoretical insights and the research findings is proposed.
Uniform fractional part: a simple fast method for generating continuous random variates

A known theorem in probability is adopted and through a probabilistic approach, it is generalized to develop a method for generating random deviates from the distribution of any continuous random variable. This method, which may be considered as an approximate version of the Inverse Transform algorithm, takes two random numbers to generate a random deviate, while maintaining all the other advantages of the Inverse Transform method, such as the possibility of generating ordered as well as correlated deviates and being applicable to all density functions, regardless of their parameter values
Application of Heat Recovery Loops for Improved Process Integration Between Individual Plants at a Large Dairy Factory

Indirect heat transfer between individual plants at a large industrial site, such as at a large dairy factory, can be accomplished using a Heat Recovery Loop (HRL) operating at relatively low temperatures (20 – 50°C). Direct heat transfer between plants is problematic because of the production schedule and frequent process start-up and shutdown that occur due to the need for regular cleaning. The dynamic operation of an industrial HRL at a large dairy factory is presented and briefly discussed. A HRL based on a set of stream data is used to examine the affect of heat storage capacity and HRL temperature on the amount of heat recovery. Storage volume can significantly improve the amount of heat recovery. The interface level in the storage tank is also modelled for different volumes and the resulting system is very dynamic and therefore good control needs to be incorporated into the HRL.
Walking on the ureide pathway

S-allantoin, a major ureide compound, is produced in plant peroxisomes through degradation of oxidised purines. Fundamental information is missing on the enzymes and regulation of the plant pathway. Sequence evidence had suggested that the TTL gene product, a protein known as an interactor of brassinosterod receptors, may function as a bi-functional enzyme in the synthesis of Sallantoin. Here it is demonstrate that the recombinant TTL protein from A. thaliana catalyzes two enzymatic reaction leading to the steroselective formation of S-allantoin: hydrolysis of hydroxyisourate through a C-terminal Urah domain and decarboxylation of OHCU through a Nterminal Urad domain. Two different mRNAs are produced from the TTL gene through alternative use of two splice acceptor sites. The corresponding proteins differ for the presence (TTL 1) and the absence (TTL 2) of a central region containing a rare internal peroxisomal targeting signal (PTS2). The two proteins have similar catalytic activity in vitro but different in vivo localisation: TTL 1localizes in peroxisomes whereas TTL 2localizes in the cytosol. Transcripts deriving from the two splice variants are present in a similar proportion in various Arabidopsis tissues but in floral buds, where TTL 2is prevalent. Analyses of TTL transcripts in various plants indicate that similar splice variants are present in monocots and dicots. The presence of this gene in all viridiplantae indicates that Sallantoin biosynthesis has general significance in plant nitrogen metabolism, while conservation of alternative splicing suggests that this mechanism have general implications in the regulation of the ureide pathway in flowering plants. S-allantoin synthase
Farmers’ exit decisions and early retirement programs in Finland /доклад на 10 конгрессе ЕААЕ, Exploring Diversity in the European Agri-Food System, Zaragoza, Spain, 28-31 August 2002

This paper estimates farmer decisions between three discrete occupational choices: exit and close down the farming operation (1), exit and transfer the farm to a new entrant (2), or continue farming and retain the option to exit later on (3). The farmer optimisation problem is formulated as a recursive optimal stopping problem. The unknown parameters are first estimated by a switching-type, reduced form Probit models and, then by the Simulated maximum likelihood (SML) method, controlling for serial correlation in the errors. Serial correlation in the errors is controlled for by the Geweke-Hajivassiliou-Keane (GHK) simulation technique. The results suggest that the timing and the type of farmer exit decisions respond elastically to farmer characteristics, farm characteristics, and economic environment. Early retirement programs and the level of farmer retirement benefits are predicted to play a key role in steering structural development and enhancing family farms in the Nordic agricultural sectors.
A comparative analysis of evolutionary algorithms in the design of laminated composite structures

Abstract The increased use of composite materials and structures in many engineering applications led to the need for a more accurate analysis and design optimization. While methods of stress-strain analysis developed faster, optimization techniques have been lagging behind. As a result, many designed structures do not fulfill their full potential. The present study demonstrates the major achievements in recent years in an application of evolutionary algorithms to the design optimization of fiber-reinforced laminated composite structures. Such structures are of much interest due to high structural design sensitivity to fiber orientations as well as complex multidimensional discrete optimization problems. Using an anisotropic multilayered cylindrical pressure vessel and an exact elasticity solution as an example, we show how the optimum, or near–optimum, solution can be found in a more efficient way.
Application of the Vignette Technique in a Qualitative Paradigm

Vignettes are short depictions of typical scenarios intended to elicit responses that will reveal values, perceptions, impressions, and accepted social norms. This article describes how vignettes were developed and used in a qualitative linguistics anthropology study to elicit those responses as experienced by mixed-heritage individuals in attaining heritage legitimacy despite their inability to speak their heritage languages. The vignettes were administered during in-depth, semi-structured interviews. Eight participants were asked to reflect and respond to prompts which revolved around typical experiences where speakers were limited by their lack of heritage language proficiency. Based on the vignettes, the participants described how the speakers would linguistically strategize to compensate their limited abilities in using the heritage languages. At the same time, the cultural means through which speakers gain legitimacy within their own heritage groups were also identified. Essentially the use of the vignettes facilitated in generating data that would have otherwise been challenging to elicit given the culturally sensitive as well as highly private nature of the phenomena under investigation. The application of vignettes provided a less intrusive and non-threatening way of obtaining perceptions, opinions, beliefs and attitudes based on responses or comments to stories depicting lived experiences of the participants that the researcher is otherwise not privy to as an observer. However, application of this data elicitation technique can prove challenging for the researcher. A critical analysis of the development, implementation and validity of vignettes as a research tool is extrapolated here within the setting of a heritage legitimacy study as an exemplar.
On assessing the association for bivariate current status data

Assuming that the two failure times of interest with bivariate current status data follow a bivariate copula model, we propose a two-stage estimation procedure to estimate the association parameter which is related to Kendall's tau. Asymptotic properties of the proposed semiparametric estimator show that, although the first-stage marginal estimators have a convergence rate of only n 1/3 , the resulting parameter estimator still converges to a normal random variable with the usual n 1/2 rate. The variance of the proposed estimator can be consistently estimated. Simulation results are presented, and a community-based study of cardiovascular diseases in Taiwan provides an illustrative example.
Development of simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers and genetic diversity analysis in blackwood (Acacia melanoxylon) clones in china

Abstract Understanding the genetic diversity of Acacia melanoxylon is very important in species selection and improvement. The present study aimed to identify microsatellite markers and determine the genetic diversity of 45 preferred clones selected from 9 Chinese districts. Seventy-six simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers developed for other Acacia species were screened. Seventeen SSR markers showed polymorphic patterns and amplified 134 alleles. Polymorphism information content (PIC) values ranged from 0.044 to 0.911. The average allele number per locus ranged between 2 and 18, averaging 8.06. Nine SSR markers were highly informative, with PIC values above 0.60. These findings demonstrated that SSR markers could be used to differentiate A. melanoxylon genotypes. Cluster analysis using UPGMA separated the 45 clones into 3 distinct groups at a similarity coefficient of 0.72. The clone groups identified in this study would be useful in developing intraspecific hybrids to exploit hybrid vigor as well as for commercial cultivation and genetic base broadening. The DNA fingerprints obtained for each clone could be used for biodiversity conservation.
A DUALBAND METAMATERIAL ABSORBER BASED WITH RESONANT-MAGNETIC STRUCTURES

In this paper, we present a new type of a doublenegative metamaterial (MTM) absorber based with resonant-magnetic structures, with a periodic array composed of a split-ring resonator (SRR) and two open complementary split-ring resonators (OCSRRs). In contrast to common absorber configurations, the absorber proposed in this paper does not use a metallic back plate or a resistive sheet. In order to eliminate the need for this metallic back plate, a planar array of SRRs is placed parallel to the incident wave propagation direction. An appropriately designed combination structure of two OCSRRs and a SRR exhibits negative permittivity and negative permeability in the same frequency band. Each unit cell is printed on both sides of an FR-4 substrate. A prototype absorber was fabricated with a planar array of 75 × 42 unit cells. Both simulations and experiments verify the effectiveness of the proposed backplane-less MTM absorber. The proposed backplane-less absorber can be used for microwave applications.
Preliminary in vitro antimicrobial screening of chemical constituents isolated from the root of Lepleae mayombensis (Meliaceae).

The Phytochemical study of Methanol/dichloromethane extract of root of Leplaea mayombenis led to the isolation and identification four limonoids: (8S,9R,10R,11S,13R,17R)-6,11-dihydroxy-14,15-epoxy-4,4,8,10,13-pentamethyl-17-(2-oxo-2,5-dihydrofuran-3-yl-)-11,12,13,15,16,17-hexahydro-4H-cyclopent[α]phenanthrene-3,7(8H,9H,10H,14H)-dione (1), (8S,9R,10R,11S,13R,17R)-6,11-dihydroxy-14,15-epoxy-4,4,8,10,13-pentamethyl-17-(23-methoxy-2-oxo-2,5-dihydrofuran-3-yl-)-11,12,13,15,16,17-hexahydro-4H-cyclopent[α]phenanthrene 3,7(8H,9H,10H,14H)-dione (2), (8S,9R,10R,11S,13R,17R)-6,11-dihydroxy-14,15-epoxy-17- ((s)-2-hydroxy-5-oxo-2,5-dihydrofurano-3-yl)-4,4,8,10,13-pentamethy-l,10,11,12,13,15,16,17-octahydro-4H-cyclopent[α]phenanthrene -3,7(8H,9H,10H,14H)-dione (3), 8S,9R,10R,11S,13R,17R)-1,6,11-trihydroxy-14,15-epoxy-17- [((2s)-2-hydroxy-5-oxo-2,5-dihydrofurano-3-yl)]-4,4,8,10,13-pentamethyl-l,10,11,12,13,15,16,17-octahydro-4H-cyclopent[α]phenanthrene -3,7(8H,9H,10H,14H)-dione (4), one cycloartane : 9,10-cyclopropyl-(3S,5R,8R,13R,14S,17R) )-4,4,13,14,17-pentamethyl-l7-((2R,5S,6R)-5,6,7-trihydroxy-6-methylheptan-2-yl)-hexadecahydro-1H-cyclopentane[α]phenanthrA¨n-3-ol (5) and three steroids: β-sitosterol (6), stigmasterol (7) and stigmasterol 3-O-β-D-glucopyranoside (8). Their structures were elucidated on the basis of spectroscopic analysis and by comparison of their spectral data with those reported in the literature. To the best of our knowledge, all these compounds were isolated for the ﬁrst time from the Leplaea mayombensis. The antimicrobial studies showed that isolated compounds exhibit antimicrobial activity with inhibition zone diameters varying from 0.00 Â± 0.00 to 29.00 Â± 0.00 mm on both bacteria and fungi. 9,10-cyclopropyl-(3S,5R,8R,13R,14S,17R) )-4,4,13,14,17-pentamethyl-l7-((2R,5S,6R)-5,6,7-trihydroxy-6-methylheptan-2-yl)-hexadecahydro-1H-cyclopentane[α]phenanthrA¨n-3-ol (5) was the most active against Escherichia coli (28.00Â±0.00 mm), Pseudomonas sp (27.00Â±0.00 mm), Lactobacillus acidophilus (29.00Â±0.00 mm), Streptococcus pneumonia (23.00Â±0.00 mm) and Serratia entomophili (29.00Â±0.00 mm), C. albicans (12Â±0.00 mm), and T. viridae (13Â±0.00 mm) The results from this study support the conclusion that L. mayombensis contain many classes of antimicrobial compounds and therefore justify their traditional usage in the treatment of infectious diseases.
Mixed matrix membranes based on 6FDA polyimide with silica and zeolite microsphere dispersed phases

Mixed matrix membranes (MMMs) prepared with 6FDA-DAM polymer using ordered mesoporous silica MCM-41 spheres (MSSs), Grignard surface functionalized MSSs (Mg-MSSs) and hollow zeolite spheres are studied to evaluate the effects of surface modification on performance. Performance near or above the so-called permeability-selectivity trade-off curve was achieved for the H2/CH4, CO2/N2, CO2/CH4, and O2/N2 systems. Two loadings (8 wt % and 16 wt %) of MSSs were tested using both constant volume and Wicke–Kallenbach sweep gas permeation systems. Besides single gas H2, CO2, O2, N2, and CH4 tests, mixed gas (50/50 vol %) selectivities were obtained for H2/CH4, CO2/N2, CO2/CH4, and O2/N2 and found to show enhancements vs. single gases for CO2 including cases. Mg-MSS/6FDA-DAM was the best performing MMM with H2/CH4, CO2/N2, CO2/CH4, and O2/N2 separation selectivities of 21.8 (794 Barrer of H2), 24.4 (1214 Barrer of CO2), 31.5 (1245 Barrer of CO2), and 4.3 (178 Barrer of O2), respectively. © 2015 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 61: 4481–4490, 2015
Self-compassion: The "new" self esteem

The exchange of ideas between Buddhism and Western psychology has recently included dialogue and research around the construct of self-compassion. Self-compassion has been adopted to western mental health and operationally defined. Research has supported the potential for self-compassion to be a mediating variable in various aspects of well-being. Research on the construct, grew out of the field of developmental psychology, offering a positive way for one to relate to oneself as an alternative to self- esteem. Self-compassion can offer many of the benefits of self-esteem without the downsides that come with self-evaluations and self-comparisons.
Bismuth-Based Nanoparticles as Photocatalytic Materials

Bismuth-based nanoparticles are a unique category of materials that possess interesting properties such as excellent chemical, electrical, optical and catalytic activities among others. The application of bismuth-based nanoparticles as photocatalytic materials has caught the interest of the scientific community in recent times due to these unique prop -erties. Consequently, a number of data have been generated in relation to the photo- catalytic application of these nanoparticles. This chapter intends to organise and provide the recently generated information on the use of bismuth-based nanoparticles in pho- tocatalytic degradation processes. A detailed discussion is provided on bismuth-based nanoparticles including bismuth chalcogenides, bismuth vanadate, bismuth oxyhalides and other bismuth-related nanoparticles. Attention was also paid to the modification of these nanoparticles to improve their photocatalytic activities. The application of the modified nanoparticles in various photocatalytic processes with emphasis on water treatment, waste gas treatment, hydrogen production and air purification has also been thoroughly discussed.
City Price Convergence in Turkey with Structural Breaks

This paper explores relative price convergence for 18 cities in Turkey. The convergence implies stationarity in the long run. Henceforth, to observe whether price convergence occurs or not, this study conducts unit root tests following Lee and Strazicich (2003) with two structural breaks in level and/or trend. The test statistics reveal that 13 out of 18 consumer price indexes converge. The half-life measurement points out that the speed of convergence of each city is considerably high. This result indicates that the half of the cumulative shocks persists for a short time period. The contribution of this work lies in three points. First, this is the first work which employs relative individual city prices in Turkey through convergence analyses. Since, unfortunately, the Turkish Statistical Institution does not continue to yield current individual city price indexes, this work needed to launch the previous decades’ data points to estimate convergence parameters. Secondly, this paper aims at providing policy makers with some ex-post predictions about individual city prices. This, in turn, will help policy makers in conducting ex-pots and ex-ante forecast analyses about city level, and/or, regional level, and/or, national level prices of Turkey. Third, this work aims at, as well, providing researchers with efficient and consistent convergence estimation models. To this end, this paper suggests that researchers follow the methodologies of Lagrange multiplier (LM) unit root and half-life analyses simultaneously in determining the optimization paths through iterations, since LM estimator(s) might be thought still considerably efficient, consistent and unbiased estimator(s) among other available ones in the literature in terms of 2016. This later issue needs to be discussed, of course, in detail, in future works through further linear and nonlinear power tests.
Simulation of the lateral oscillation of rope-guided conveyance based on fluid-structure interaction

How to define the clearance between rope-guided conveyances and shaft wall reasonably has confused peers for more than one hundred years. In this paper, the fluid-structure interaction approach was used to simulate the lateral oscillations of rope-guided conveyances. With Yaoqiao vertical production shaft taken into account to validate this approach, user-defined functions coupled with ANSYS FLUENT were employed to conduct the two-dimensional numerical simulation, and the simulation results show that the lateral aerodynamic buffeting force when two conveyances pass each other is much larger than Coriolis force. What’s more important, with the lateral acceleration, velocity and displacement of the conveyances obtained, the simulation results can explain how the lateral aerodynamic buffeting force to oscillate the conveyance laterally successfully. This approach can be easily extended to three-dimensional simulations, to be more reasonable.
Human-Robot Interaction during Walking with a Powered Compliant Knee Exoskeleton

Determinants of locomotor training involve taskspecificity, repeatability, variability, intensity and self-initiative. KNEXO, a unilateral knee exoskeleton has been developed to study the effects of compliant assistance during treadmill gait. Overall, walking within KNEXO, leads to asymmetric kinematics (Figure 1) and changes in naturally occurring muscle activity. Walking without KNEXO and with KNEXO in unassisted mode is difficult to compare as the device is unilateral and the pneumatic muscles give, although weight-compensated, a certain amount of inertia to the movement. Walking with KNEXO in high compliance resembles walking with KNEXO in unassisted mode. Overall, kinematic and EMG data show that the device has its shortcomings (unilateral, 1 DoF, 1 joint) when assisting healthy gait, yet it gives opportunities to study the effects of assistanceas-needed on gait biomechanics.