Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Characterization of sunflower testing environments in Serbia

A sunflower testing network that included 25 commercial hybrids and 26 sites in Serbia was analyzed by the sites regression biplot based on grain yield data in 2006 and 2007. The scientific aims of our study were to determine the representativeness and discriminating ability of the test sites and to identify good test sites for selecting generally and specifically adapted sunflower hybrids. Correlations among test sites, revealed by biplot and with Spearman's nonparametric rank correlation coefficients for each pair of test sites, were compared. Discriminating but nonrepresentative test sites in our study were represented by Aleksa Santic (18.8 °C average temperature, 72.0 mm precipitation, and 269.2 h of sunshine) and Rimski Sancevi (18.4 °C average temperature, 79.2 mm precipitation, and 252.1 h of sunshine), based on a biplot analysis of the 2006 testing network. Sombor (20.1 °C average temperature, 52.5 mm precipitation, and 304.7 h of sunshine) was also a discriminating but nonrepresentative test site, based on a biplot analysis of the 2007 testing network. A test site that was both discriminating and representative was Kikinda (20.2 °C average temperature, 63.3 mm precipitation, and 313.7 h of sunshine), based on a 2007 biplot analysis. Sombor and Kikinda could be suitable test sites for selecting specifically and generally adapted hybrids of sunflower, respectively, for dry and hot areas and seasons, since 2007 had less precipitation and a higher mean temperature in comparison to 2006. The presence of close association between test sites Rimski Sancevi and Kikinda, based on the 2006, 2007, and combined data, and on biplot and Spearman's correlations, suggested that the same information about the genotypes could be obtained from either of these 2 test sites, and consequently testing costs could be reduced. The relationships among test sites revealed by biplot did not always coincide with Spearman's rank correlation coefficients for site pairs.
The optical properties of galaxies in the Ophiuchus cluster

Context. Ophiuchus is one of the most massive clusters known, but due to its low Galactic latitude its optical properties remain poorly known.Aims. We investigate the optical properties of Ophiuchus to obtain clues on the formation epoch of this cluster, and compare them to those of the Coma cluster, which is comparable in mass to Ophiuchus but much more dynamically disturbed.Methods. Based on a deep image of the Ophiuchus cluster in the r′ band obtained at the Canada France Hawaii Telescope with the MegaCam camera, we have applied an iterative process to subtract the contribution of the numerous stars that, due to the low Galactic latitude of the cluster, pollute the image, and have obtained a photometric catalogue of 2818 galaxies fully complete at r′ = 20.5 mag and still 91% complete at r′ = 21.5 mag. We use this catalogue to derive the cluster Galaxy Luminosity Function (GLF) for the overall image and for a region (hereafter the “rectangle” region) covering exactly the same physical size as the region in which the GLF of the Coma cluster was previously studied. We then compute density maps based on an adaptive kernel technique, for different magnitude limits, and define three circular regions covering 0.08, 0.08, and 0.06 deg2, respectively, centred on the cluster (C), on northwest (NW) of the cluster, and southeast (SE) of the cluster, in which we compute the GLFs.Results. The GLF fits are much better when a Gaussian is added to the usual Schechter function, to account for the excess of very bright galaxies. Compared to Coma, Ophiuchus shows a strong excess of bright galaxies.Conclusions. The properties of the two nearby very massive clusters Ophiuchus and Coma are quite comparable, though they seem embedded in different large-scale environments. Our interpretation is that Ophiuchus was built up long ago, as confirmed by its relaxed state (see paper I) while Coma is still in the process of forming.Key words: galaxies: clusters: individual: Ophiuchus / galaxies: luminosity function, mass function / galaxies: photometry★ The photometric catalogue of Ophiuchus (full Table B.1) is only available at the CDS via anonymous ftp to cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (130.79.128.5) or via http://cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr/viz-bin/qcat? J/A+A/613/A20
A rare observation of Atlantic halibut larvae (Hippoglossus hippoglossus) in Skjerstadfjorden, North Norway.

Four larvae of Atlantic halibut (Hippoglossus hippoglossus) were collected during a larval survey for Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) in true inshore and shallow locations in the Norwegian fjord system Skjerstadfjorden. This observation contributes to the previous 57 larval specimens ever found for Atlantic halibut and is in accordance with earlier findings from aquaculture research on an ontogenetic change in phototaxi during larval development in this species. The catch sites indicate that shallow water in fjord systems may be of importance as nursery areas for early life stages of Atlantic halibut along the Norwegian coast.
Evaluation of bread wheat for both seedling and adult plant resistance to stem rust

Wheat is an important staple food crop in sub-Saharan Africa. However, the current wheat consumption of 900 000 tons in Kenya outweighs the wheat production of 350 000 tons given the high population growth and inflation. The stem rust currently poses the greatest threat to wheat production due to the emergence of the virulent race of thePuccinia graminis f. sp tritici, Ug99 (TTKS) and its variants Ug99 + Sr24 (TTKSK) andUg99 + Sr36 (TTKST) leading to about 70 to 100% yield losses. This study aimed at evaluating twenty-five wheat genotypes for both field and seedling resistance to stem rust. The genotypes were grown in an alpha lattice design and in two replicates both in the greenhouse and in the field at Kenya Agricultural Research Institute (KARI), Njoro. The seedling stage infection types were scored based on Stakman et al. (1962) scale. At the adult plant stages, the stem rust disease severity was based on modified Cobb’s scale. The genotypes showed diverse seedling and adult plant resistance responses. The most resistant entries, KSL-2, KSL-3 and KSL-20 also exhibited the pseudo black chaff (PBC) trait implying they contain the Sr2 gene in their background; the basis of breeding for durable resistance to stem rust in wheat. These lines with high stem rust resistance could be backcrossed to the adapted and high yielding but susceptible Kenyan wheat varieties to avert further wheat yield declines. Key words: Stem rust, wheat, Ug99, resistance, disease severity.
Color Image Interpolation using Optimal Edge Detector

This paper proposes an efficient image interpolation algorithm using optimal edge detector. The proposed interpolation algorithm is done in two steps. In the first step, the missing pixels with diagonal neighbors are interpolated and in the second step, the missing pixels with axial neighbors are interpolated. In both the steps classification of edge and smooth pixels is performed using canny edge detector. For the pixels classified as edge pixels, the direction of the edge is found using various structuring elements. The edge pixels are then interpolated along the directional orientation of the edges. The smooth pixels are interpolated using proportionate variation based interpolation technique in which more weights are assigned for the direction with minimum variation. The proposed interpolation algorithm is applied in the NTSC color space for color images. Conventional image interpolation algorithms like nearest neighbor and bi-cubic interpolation algorithms produces artifacts like edge blurring, zig- zag effects etc. The proposed interpolation algorithm produces super resolution images with improved image quality and less distortion. Experimental results show that in addition to the significant increase in visual effects, this algorithm also manifests improvements in quantitative analysis. Quantitative analysis is done using metrics like PSNR and correlation coefficient. From this analysis it is evident that the proposed algorithm performs better than conventional interpolation algorithms.
Credit Risk Stress Testing: An Exercise for Colombian Banks

In this paper we seek to assess the ability of banks to withstand the e? ects of an increase in credit risk as a result of changes in the macroeconomic environment. To do so we estimate a credit risk model for each loan type as a function of four macroeconomic variables commonly used in the literature. Then, we forecast the dynamics of non-performing loans (NPL) and total loans in a stressed scenario in a time span of 8 quarters. Using these results, we quantify the e? ects of the macroeconomic shock on bank’s performance indicators, such as the NPL ratio, the return on assets, and the capital adequacy ratio. The results suggest that most Colombian banks are able to withstand a large shock to economic activity. We also perform a reverse stress testing to quantify how much NPL should increase in order to bring the earnings before taxes to zero.
Web Financial Reporting In Malaysia: The Current Stage

There is an obvious trend of increase in the number of companies having websites around the world.In addition to sales and customer service materials, a growing percentage of those companies are placing business reporting information, including financial data, on their sites.It shows that there is a development in corporate online financial reporting.The Web-based reports have great potential to be more than electronic versions of conventional paper reports.The question is whether firms actually take the opportunity to reap those benefits by being in higher stages of web financial reporting.There are three stages of Web financial reporting; stage 1 – duplicates the printed financial statements in “electronic paper”; stage 2– uses HTML formatting and permits data downloading; stage 3 – uses enhancements that cannot be incorporated in printed documents. Accordingly, this paper tries to discuss the preliminary result of Web financial reporting by identifying the current stages of web financial reporting in Malaysia.Comparisons are made with prior studies in Malaysia to study whether there are improvements in listed firms’ practices.
Extensive Form Implementation in Incomplete Information Environments

Abstract We study the implementation of social choice rules in incomplete information environments. A sufficiency condition calledposterior reversalis given for extensive form implementation. The condition has a natural interpretation in signaling terms: Consistent posterior distributions under truth-telling are different from consistent posteriors under deception. This variation in the distribution over player types leads to variation in the distribution over actions and outcomes (comparing truth-telling and deception). We exploit this feature to implement social choice rules.Journal of Economic LiteratureClassification Numbers: D78, D82.
Board Of Directors’ Diversity And Effect On Strategy. A Study Of The Lebanese Banking Industry

The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of the functional background diversity of boards of directors on banks’ strategy. This relationship is examined using the annual reports between 2005 and 2014 for 16 Lebanese banks. Logistic regression analysis indicates that board diversity is positively associated with the strategies adopted by banks. Implications for both strategic management and future research are discussed.
An Evaluation of Items and Dimensional Structure of a Scale to Measure Teachers’ Professional Commitment in Thailand

The purpose of this study was to examine the items and the dimensionality of a scale to measure professional commitment of teachers in Thailand. Data were collected by in-depth interview and questionnaire. The content analysis was conducted with the qualitative data for the purpose of item writing. Differential item functioning (DIF), exploratory factor analysis (EFA), confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), and bi-factor CFA model analysis were conducted to establish validity evidence. As a result of EFA and CFA, the study showed that a 3-dimensional scale can effectively measure professional commitment of teachers, which was achieved by the 18-item measure. A polytomuos item response theory model was also fitted to estimate item parameters and to examine the test information function.
Technology Spillovers and Determinants of Foreign Direct Investment: Evidence across Indian Manufacturing Industries

This paper attempts to analyze the spillover effect of Foreign Direct investment (FDI) and determinants of FDI across Indian manufacturing industries. By estimating Pedroni cointegration tests, the analysis tries to give a long-run relationship between endogenous variables and explanatory variables, which further leads to technology spillovers across Indian manufacturing industries. We find that technology spillovers become higher in industries like foods products, textiles, chemicals, drugs and pharmaceuticals and in nonmetallic mineral products. Further, labor productivity over domestic firms of an industry and market size is the major determinants for the inflow of FDI into Indian manufacturing industries.
The Export-Led Growth Hypothesis. New Evidence and Implications

Previous studies on economic growth have shown that countries that relied on exports to propel their economies have been successful in achieving robust economic growth. This study considers Botswana’s mineral exports production from 2003Q1 to 2012Q4 and relates each export commodity with the GDP. This study applies the Johansen cointegration test and the Granger causality test to determine the applicability of the export-led growth hypothesis for the Botswana economy. The cointegration test shows that there is long run comovement between GDP and four of Botswana’s mineral exports namely: matte; diamonds; copper; nickel and soda ash. In addition, the Granger causality test shows that Botswana’s economy propels exports production.From these results, the study nullifies the export-led growth hypothesis and postulates that the Botswana economy rather follows the growth-driven exports hypothesis (GDE). The study further postulates recommendations and also potential areas of research.
Investigating the inner discs of Herbig Ae/Be stars with CO bandhead and Brγ emission

Herbig Ae/Be stars lie in the mass range between low and high mass young stars, and therefore offer a unique opportunity to observe any changes in the formation processes that may occur across this boundary. This paper presents medium resolution VLT/X-Shooter spectra of six Herbig Ae/Be stars, drawn from a sample of 91 targets, and high resolution VLT/CRIRES spectra of five Herbig Ae/Be stars, chosen based on the presence of CO first overtone ban dhead emission in their spectra. The X-Shooter survey reveals a low detection rate of CO first overtone emission (7 per cent), consisting of objects mainly of spectral type B. A positive correlation is found between the strength of the CO v = 2‐0 and Brγ emission lines, despite their intrinsic linewidths suggesting a separate kinemati c origin. The high resolution CRIRES spectra are modelled, and are well fitted under the assumptio n that the emission originates from small scale Keplerian discs, interior to the dust subli mation radius, but outside the corotation radius of the central stars. In addition, our findin gs are in very good agreement for the one object where spatially resolved near-infrared inte rferometric studies have also been performed. These results suggest that the Herbig Ae/Be stars in question are in the process of gaining mass via disc accretion, and that modelling of high spectral resolution spectra is able to provide a reliable probe into the process of stellar accre tion in young stars of intermediate to high masses.
A Remark on Localization for Branching Random Walks in Random Environment

We prove a localization-result for branching random walks in random environment, namely that if the process does not die out, the most populated site will infinitely often contain more than a fixed percentage of the population. This had been proven already before by Hu and Yoshida, but it is possible to drop their assumption that particles may not die.
Accelerating the computation of multi-scale visual curvature for simplifying a large set of polylines with Hadoop

Over the years, the vast majority of curvature-based simplification algorithms for vector data have employed pseudo-curvatures, rather than real curvatures. This is because the vector data in the field of Geographical Information Science (GIScience) is usually represented in the form of polylines, but polylines do not meet the requirements of traditional curvature calculation. This situation has been improved since the multi-scale visual curvature (MVC) was proposed. However, due to the high complexity and huge computation needed for the algorithm, it is difficult to make effective use of MVC in GIScience. In this paper, the MVC algorithm is used to simplify big vector data in a Hadoop-based cloud. The main challenge is that both the data and computation are simultaneously intensive. An accelerated MVC algorithm for simplification is proposed in this paper. This algorithm is performed by adopting a two-level acceleration approach: (1) a simplified calculation method of MVC for the vector data in GIScience, and (2) a parallelization strategy for the MVC algorithm in the Hadoop-based cloud. When simplifying big vector data in gigabyte (GB) size, the execution time is reduced to less than 2.2% of the original time. The proposed accelerated MVC algorithm has great potential in many GIScience applications, including map generalization, DEM simplification, and spatial-temporal data compression.
Domain-Specific Languages for Heterogeneous Parallel Computing

The heterogeneous parallel computing era has been accompanied by an ever-increasing number of disparate programming models. As a result, improving performance via heterogeneous computing is currently very challenging for application programmers. Domain-specific languages (DSLs) are a potential solution to this problem, as they can provide productivity, performance, and portability within the confines of a specific domain. However, making the DSL approach useful on a large scale requires lowering the barrier for DSL development. We describe a reusable compiler infrastructure called the Delite Compiler Framework that drastically simplifies the process of building embedded parallel DSLs. DSL developers can easily implement domain-specific operations by extending this framework, which provides static optimizations and code generation for heterogeneous hardware. We also describe the Delite Runtime, which automatically schedules and executes DSL operations on heterogeneous hardware. We demonstrate the potential of the DSL approach by showing the performance of applications written in OptiML, a machine learning DSL developed with the framework, on a system with multi-core CPUs and GPU.
Do fish go with the flow? The effects of periodic and episodic flow pulses on 0+ fish biomass in a constrained lowland river

The hydrological regime is a significant driver of fish population dynamics in rivers, but there is a dearth of information regarding the mechanisms behind its effects on temperate species, especially non‐salmonids. This study investigated the effects of periodic and episodic flow pulses on 0+ fish biomass in a constrained lowland river. De‐seasonalized cross‐correlation analysis was used to examine time‐lagged correlations in episodic signals, in isolation of seasonal periodicity, to identify the responses and response timings of 0+ fish production to abiotic variables, and whether apparent “pulse‐depletions” in biomass occur instantaneously (e.g., due to fish displacement during high pulses) or after a time lag. As anticipated, 0+ fish biomass was highest during periods of low discharge and high temperatures in summer, but cross‐correlation analysis revealed a negative impact of high pulses on 0+ fish biomass with a lag of 7 months. There was no evidence for an instantaneous pulse‐depletion effect of discharge on 0+ fish biomass, suggesting that the indirect effects of high pulses, such as habitat or food‐web modifications, are more influential.
Effective delta sources and regularity in higher-derivative and ghost-free gravity

It is shown that polynomial gravity theories with more than four derivatives in each scalar and tensor sectors have a regular weak-field limit, without curvature singularities. This is achieved by proving that in these models the effect of the higher derivatives can be regarded as a complete regularization of the delta-source. We also show how this result implies that a wide class of non-local ghost-free gravities has a regular Newtonian limit too, and discuss the applicability of this approach to the case of weakly non-local models.
Grouping by Proximity and Multistability in Dot Lattices: A Quantitative Gestalt Theory

Gestalt phenomena have long resisted quantification In the spirit of Gestalt field theory, we propose a theory that predicts the probability of grouping by proximity in the six kinds of dot lattices (hexagonal, rhombic, square, rectangular, centered rectangular, and oblique) We claim that the unstable perceptual organization of dot lattices is caused by competing forces that attract each dot to other dots in its neighborhood We model the decline of these forces as a function of distance with an exponential decay function This attraction function has one parameter, the attraction constant Simple assumptions allow us to predict the entropy of the perceptual organization of different dot lattices We showed dot lattices tachistoscopically to 7 subjects, and from the probabilities of the perceived organizations, we calculated the entropy of each lattice for each subject The model fit the data exceedingly well The attraction constant did not vary much over subjects
An Approach for Real Time Testing Reliability & Usability Testing Process

The criticality of correct, complete, testable requirements is a fundamental ideology of software engineering. Also the complete quality of the system is checking the process and product metrics of the final product. Modern tools for managing requirements allow new metrics to be used in support of both of these critical processes. Using these tools, potential problems with the quality of the requirements and the test plan can be identified early in the life cycle. Some of these quality factors include: ambiguous or incomplete requirements, poorly designed requirements databases, excessive or insufficient test cases, and incomplete linkage of tests to requirements. This thesis discusses how metrics can be used to evaluate the quality of the requirements and test to avoid problems later. Test metrics are very powerful “Risk Management Tool”. They help you to measure the current performance of the system. Because today’s data become the tomorrow’s historical data. This data can be used to improve our future work that estimates the quality levels.
On the light curves of GRB afterglows

We present gamma-ray burst afterglow light curves in X-ray, optical and radio bands for various distributions of accelerated electrons behind the shock. The effects of lateral expansion of the jet and of winds in typical Wolf-Rayet star on the evolution are discussed. The light curves in the radiative case decline more rapidly than those in the adiabatic case. Under the combined effect of jet expansion and wind environment, the light curves have the greatest deviation from those of the standard model. All these results refer to the relativistic phase.