Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Proposals for the Implementation and Improvement of ISO 9001

The ISO 9001 quality management system (QMS) includes a method of continuous improvement put in place in 1994. Through this system, audits and reviews are performed to identify, correct and prevent problems. Although the method of continuous improvement, combined with adherence to annual quality objectives, is an important part of the QMS, only a few business managers and quality professionals seem to acknowledge its significance. Whether the organization uses QMS or other improvement programs such as Six Sigma, Lean and TPM, it faces the same key question: how to ensure that methods that were beneficial during the execution of a project have continuity in the organization after the project has ended? One method of ensuring continuity is to apply QMS at the end of a project. Many organizations acquire and use ISO 9001 QMS in a limited way, for marketing purposes among other things, without taking a full advantage of its beneficial features. This paper analyzes various ways by which an organization can use the most beneficial characteristics of ISO 9001 QMS to improve its operations. The paper contributes to an ongoing discussion on the content and implementation of a quality system version related to ISO 9001 QMS, known as ISO 9001:2008. The paper proposes revisions that will make substantial improvements to ISO 9001:2008.
Computational general equilibrium analysis and economic reasoning

This paper complements and extends an article by FELDER and SCHLEINIGER (FS) previously published in this journal. We show that the results of FS depend crucially on parameter values. Furthermore we perform simulations of optimal tax reforms in the context of the FS-framework, differentiating between public finance and ecological aspects. More generally, our paper stresses the need for more economic reasoning in computational economics.
ARMA Prediction of SBAS Ephemeris and Clock Corrections for Low Earth Orbiting Satellites

For low earth orbit (LEO) satellite GPS receivers, space-based augmentation system (SBAS) ephemeris/clock corrections can be applied to improve positioning accuracy in real time. The SBAS correction is only available within its service area, and the prediction of the SBAS corrections during the outage period can extend the coverage area. Two time series forecasting models, autoregressive moving average (ARMA) and autoregressive (AR), are proposed to predict the corrections outside the service area. A simulated GPS satellite visibility condition is applied to the WAAS correction data, and the prediction accuracy degradation, along with the time, is investigated. Prediction results using the SBAS rate of change information are compared, and the ARMA method yields a better accuracy than the rate method. The error reductions of the ephemeris and clock by the ARMA method over the rate method are 37.8% and 38.5%, respectively. The AR method shows a slightly better orbit accuracy than the rate method, but its clock accuracy is even worse than the rate method. If the SBAS correction is sufficiently accurate comparing with the required ephemeris accuracy of a real-time navigation filter, then the predicted SBAS correction may improve orbit determination accuracy.
Inactivation of Hepatitis A virus HM-175/18f, Reovirus type 1 Lang and Bacteriophage MS2 during alkaline stabilization of biosolids

A bench scale model was used to evaluate the inactivation of male-specific bacteriophage-2, hepatitis A HM-175/18f and reovirus type 1 Lang during alkaline stabilization of raw biosolids at both 28 ̊C and 4 ̊C. Male-specific bacteriophage-2 was inactivated at a similar rate compared to reovirus type 1 Lang at each time point evaluated (t = 0.1, 2, 12 and 24 hours) during 28 ̊C and 4 ̊C trials, and at a similar rate to hepatitis A HM-175/18f at 28 ̊C. At 4 ̊C male specific bacteriophage-2 was not inactivated similarly to hepatitis A HM-175/18f at the first two sampling time points (t = 0.1 and 2 hours) but was inactivated similarly following those time points. These data suggest male-specific bacteriophage-2 could serve as an indicator organism for the inactivation of reovirus type 1 Lang and hepatitis A HM-175/18f during alkaline stabilization at 28 ̊C and 4 ̊C.
Unemployment insurance and transitions in the labor market: An evaluation of the Brazilian program

This paper utilizes microsimulation techniques to evaluate the impact of the Brazilian Unemployment Insurance (UI) program on individual transitions among different labor market states in order to verify whether the UI affects the duration of spells and/or their frequencies. We define four labor market states: formal employment, informal employment, unemployment, and inactivity. Our main result is that the UI impact occurs fundamentally on the inactivity of nauheads of family. The UI benefits increase both the duration and frequency of the non-head's inactivity. This happens probably because non-heads have, on average, lower wages and, therefore, a smaller importance in family income and a higher replacement rate. Our evidence does not support the hypothesis that the rise in non-head's inactivity occurs due to head's benefits.
The Agenda 2000 CAP reform , world prices and URAA GATT-WTO export constraints

At the European Summit in Berlin, 26 March 1999, the EU Heads of States reached agreement on the Agenda 2000 package, which contains reforms of the European Common Agricultural Policy. This paper discusses whether and to what extent the reform package contributes to fulfilment of the EU's commitments on reduction of export subsidies made under the earlier GATT Uruguay Round Agreement on Agriculture. Furthermore, we obtain a quantitative assessment of the effects of alternative world market price developments – given the Agenda 2000 policy package on these GATT commitments.
Social Designs : tank irrigation technology and agrarian transformation in Karnataka , South India

Resources, Energy, and Development 3(1): 57–60 Esha Shah’s Social Designs is an interesting book, though the analysis falls much in the same line of that of many other published dissertations like On the Water Front by Mollinga (2003). Institutional analyses have usually been interesting to read due to the stories they attempt to tell about interactions between human and its habitat world, resulting in formation of social relations, which further create a more important aspect of human existence in the form of institutions. My reading of Social Designs was initiated with these preconceived notions. As I finished reading the first two chapters with these notions getting further reinforced, simultaneously I started realizing the new dimensions in Shah’s analyses. Like Mollinga, Shah has also attempted to see how an external stimulus to an existing system creates ripples in the status quo. However, while Mollinga attempted to look at management regimes of canal irrigations in South India, Shah’s interesting contribution is her experiment with technology. Solely because of this zest of experimentation, Shah deserves a big congratulation. Social Designs presents two critical arguments on a broader scale. Both are related to interactions between technology and institutions. The first reflects on how Esha Shah. 2003. Social Designs: tank irrigation technology and agrarian transformation in Karnataka, South India New Delhi: Orient Longman. 288 pp. Rs 295
ACCESS TO INFORMATION AND FACTOR MARKET PARTICIPATION: ADJUSTMENTS OF LAND AND LABOUR MARGINS OF AGRICULTURAL HOUSEHOLDS IN BANGLADESH

This paper assesses the impact of access to information on farm household's factor market participation. The paper tries to answer two questions. First, does use of telephone have any impact on farm household's factor market participation decision? Second, correcting for market participation, does use of telephone have any impact on the type of factor adjustment decision? For the first question, the paper uses a bivariate probit to correct for omitted variable bias and for the second question, the paper uses a two stage probit. Empirical findings of this paper suggest that access to information in the form of use of telephone has significant positive impact on factor market participation. The difference in market participation between telephone users and nonusers is around 14 percent. However, once a household participate in the market, the use of telephone does not have any impact on specific factor market participation.
Underpricing of initial public offerings in India

This study attempts to provide new evidence on the first day IPO market performance using a set of 235 IPOs newly listed between April 1, 1997 and March 31, 2008 on the Indian Stock Exchange. The study examines how a change in the institutional arrangements that govern the pricing of IPOs, from the traditional fixed price approach to the building of a book, affects the level of underpricing. It also extends the literature on underpricing by comparing underpricing under the two pricing methods. The study adds new evidence to the existing literature on IPOs in a significant manner. Firstly, in consistence with the ‘hot issue markets’ theory (Ibbotson and Jaffe, 1975; Ritter, 1984), it highlights that on the main board of the Indian Exchange, IPO underpricing increased in 2007. The empirical findings indicate a significantly mean positive underpricing (14.45 %); nonetheless, 60% of IPOs in the sample are initially overpriced. Secondly, in contrast with Giudici and Paleari (1999), the study finds no evidence that there is difference in underpricing between fixed price and book build offers.
Language and Wage Determination in a Segmented Urban Labor Market: Evidence from Canada

This paper presents a simple model of labor market segmentation. People of difierent language origins form separate urban labor submarkets. Using the 2001 Census of Canada Public Use Microdata File on Individuals, I test the two key implications of the model. First, I flnd that English speaking workers earn more than non-English speaking workers even though they all speak English at work. In addition, minority workers who do not speak English at home earn difierently depending on which language they speak at the workplace. Second, wages in the majority labor market increase with the majority population. On the other hand, wages in the minority labor market decrease with the majority population, but they increase with the minority population.
PRICE INDICATORS AS A MEASURE OF CREDIT MARKET INTEGRATION IN THE VISEGRAD COUNTRIES

In this paper we assess with price indicators the extent to which credit markets in the Visegrad countries are integrated with the Eurozone countries and we test the hypothesis that the markets of loans provided to nonfinancial companies are more integrated than the markets of loans provided to households in the Visegrad countries. Analysis is based on monthly values of four interest rates for the period January 2005-March 2010. Convergence is taking place in all the analyzed segments of credit market. However, the speed of convergence and the degree of convergence differs among market segments and countries. The tested hypothesis has not been fully confirmed: the markets of loans to nonfinancial companies are more integrated than the consumer loan markets, but less integrated than the mortgage loan markets.
Ozone and related gaseous pollutants in the boundary layer of eastern China: Overview of the recent measurements at a rural site

We present a summary of the latest measurements of ozone (O3) and primary air pollutants at a rural/agricultural site in the fast developing Yangtze Delta region of China. The results of this study show elevated levels of primary pollutants (CO, SO2 and NOx*), which are about 1–5 times of those typically found in rural areas of North America and Europe. O3 pollution events are frequently observed. CO and SO2 levels are particularly high, resulting from the unique energy‐use pattern in China. O3 shows strong positive correlation with NOx* and CO during periods of high photochemical activity. The O3‐NOx* slope is comparable to the result from rural North America, but the O3‐CO slope is substantially smaller for the Chinese site. With the anticipation of rapid changes of atmospheric composition in China, long‐term measurements of key air pollutants will be necessary for documenting their trends and for studying their environmental impacts.
Bacillus azotofixans sp. nov. a Nitrogen-Fixing Species from Brazilian Soils and Grass Roots

A new species, Bacillus azotofixans, is described. This taxon is based upon 16 soil and root-associated strains that exhibit acetylene-reducing ability and nitrogen-fixing Bacillus sp. strain Hino. B. azotofixans is phenotypically similar to Bacillus polymyxa and Bacillus macerans. However, 13 tests (nitrate reduction; production of acid and gas from xylose, arabinose, lactose, ribose, and glycerol; resistance to lysozyme; liquefaction of gelatin; starch hydrolysis; decomposition of casein and pectin; production of dihydroxyacetone; susceptibility to B. polymyxa phages) differentiate it from B. polymyxa, and 12 characteristics (spore position; Voges-Proskauer test; nitrate reduction; production of acid and gas from xylose, arabinose, lactose, ribose, and glycerol; growth at 45°C; hydrolysis of starch; decomposition of pectin; formation of crystalline dextrins) differentiate it from B. macerans. The guanine-plus-cytosine contents of five strains ranged from 47.9 to 52.5 mol%. All strains reduced acetylene much more efficiently than B. polymyxa or B. macerans. In four strains, nitrogen fixation was confirmed by micro-Kjeldahl analysis of acetylene-reducing cultures. Acetylene reduction was not inhibited by nitrate and was not dependent on yeast extract or thiamin plus biotin. The proposed type strain of B. azotofixans is strain P3L-5 (= ATCC 35681).
Exercise and Autism Symptoms: A Case Study

Copyright 2009 by Psi Chi, The International Honor Society in Psychology (Vol. 14, No. 2/ISSN 1089-4136) Exercise and Autism Symptoms Autism is a type of pervasive developmental disorder affecting all spheres of a child’s life (Bauman & Kemper, 2006). The core diagnostic criteria of autism include a marked impairment in the ability to relate to others, delayed language, and restricted or repetitive patterns of behavior. No known cure or effective prevention measures currently exist. Major autism symptoms which are frequently targeted for improvement include self-stimulatory behaviors, infrequent eye contact, lack of verbal initiation, and unhappy mood. Typical interventions, such as applied behavioral analysis (e.g., Anderson & Romanczyk, 1999), occupational therapy (e.g., Sams, Fortney, & Willenbring, 2006), therapeutic horseback riding (e.g., Bizub, Joy, & Davidson, 2003), and pharmacological treatment (e.g., Findling, 2005), target these problem areas. A recent but understudied intervention for autism is physical exercise (Celiberti, Bobo, Kelly, Harris, & Handleman, 1997). The aim of the current study was to examine the effects of moderate physical activity on core autism symptoms.
A FUNCTIONAL SKETCH FOR RESOURCES MANAGEMENT IN COLLABORATIVE SYSTEMS FOR BUSINESS

This paper presents a functional design sketch for the resource management module of a highly scalable collaborative system. Small and medium enterprises require such tools in order to benefit from and develop innovative business ideas and technologies. As computing power is a modern increasing demand and no easy and cheap solutions are defined, especially small companies or emerging business projects abide a more accessible alternative. Our work targets to settle a model for how P2P architecture can be used as infrastructure for a collaborative system that delivers resource access services. We are focused on finding a workable collaborative strategy between peers so that the system offers a cheap, trustable and quality service. Thus, in this phase we are not concerned about solutions for a specific type of task to be executed by peers, but only considering CPU power as resource. This work concerns the resource management module as a part of a larger project in which we aim to build a collaborative system for businesses with important resource demands
Breaking the 2 V Barrier in Aqueous Zinc Chemistry: Creating 2.45 and 2.8 V MnO2–Zn Aqueous Batteries

We report for the first time the creation of 2.45 and 2.8 V aqueous manganese dioxide (MnO2)|zinc (Zn) batteries without the use of expensive ion-selective membranes separating the anodes and cathodes. This new high-voltage aqueous battery (HiVAB) is able to charge and discharge 20–100% of MnO2’s theoretical capacity (308 mAh/g) repeatedly for many cycles, thereby establishing this new MnO2|Zn battery as the forerunner for the possible replacement of lithium-ion batteries for applications where cost, safety, and energy density characteristics are considered paramount.
Alkylation of Benzene with Bioethanol on Modified Zeolitic Catalyst

Alkylation of benzene with bioethanol (95% and 100% concentration) has been done in a laboratory tubular reactor using a new modified zeolitic catalyst. The alkylation experiments have been done at different reaction temperatures , pressures and benzene/bioetanol molar ratio in order to establish their influence on the final composition of the reaction product, selectivity and conversion. The feed and products are analysed by gas chromatography. There was small differences between 100% bioethanol and 95% bioethanol aqueous solution in experimental alkylation results that it possible to use 95% bioethanol solution as alkylating agent
Population dynamics of the cestode Caryophyllaeus laticeps (Pallas, 1781) in the bream (Abramis brama L.)

The numerical size of an animal population can be influenced by four kinds of population processes, namely birth, death, immigration and emigration. Adult populations of helminth parasites in their definitive hosts may be more simply controlled by the two processes, immigration and death, since no births occur within the final or, definitive host which directly increase the adult population of parasites and since also, by definition, no emigration of the adult parasites from the host can occur without resulting in death. However, due to the often complex nature of helminth parasite life cycles, a number of distinct immigration-death processes may be involved in the description of the population dynamics of a specific host-parasite system. Caryophyllaeus laticeps (Pallas) is a common parasite of cyprinid fishes in Europe and has been reported parasitizing bream (Abramis brama L.) by a number of authors (e.g. Kennedy & Fitzmaurice 1968; Pacak 1962). The species has an indirect life cycle involving one intermediate host, a tubificid oligochaete. The adult parasite occurs in the gut of the definitive fish host attached to the intestinal wall by a large scolex and has a life span of up to 2 months as an adult in the final host (Kulakowskaja 1964). Eggs are laid by the mature parasite in the fish gut and pass to the external aquatic habitat with the faeces of the host. These eggs, when ingested by various species of tubificid oligochaete, undergo further development, including the formation of the genital organs, in the body cavity of the intermediate host. According to Kulakowskaja (1962) the larval parasites become infective to fish after a period of 4 months and can remain infective in the intermediate host for periods greater than 1 year. The cycle is completed by the ingestion of the infected oligochaete by the fish host, the larval parasite developing to maturity in the fish gut. The life cycle of Caryophyllaeus laticeps (Fig. 1) thus involves three separate populations: (1) the adult parasite in the fish host; (2) the larval parasite in the tubificid host; and (3) the eggs in the aquatic habitat. Two kinds of population interaction can be identified. A host-parasite relationship exists between the fish host and adult parasites and also between the tubificid host and the larval parasites, and a predator-prey relationship occurs between the definitive and intermediate hosts and in essence between the intermediate host and parasite egg population. When considering such a complex biological system, it seems realistic to break the life cycle into compartments (Fig. 1) and examine these separately before inspecting the complete process. For a better understanding of the operation of these compartments it is
The HI test modified by ether treatment in the sero-epidemiological surveillance of influenza B

Ether-treated influenza B haemagglutination inhibition (HI) antigen was used in a study of serum collections from three different epidemic seasons. For diagnostic purposes, ether treatment increased the efficacy of the HI test by about 50 % over the conventional HI technique, raising it to the same level of sensitivity as the complement fixation (CF) test. The treatment reduced the specificity of the HI test, but its reliability in the diagnosis of influenza B infections was only slightly diminished. With regard to evaluation of the immune status of a given population, an HI test using ether-treated antigen from the epidemic influenza B strain seems to give more relevant information about the antibody level associated with protection than a conventional HI test using untreated virus antigen.
Anogenital distance ( AGD ) plasticity in adulthood

Publisher Rights Statement: This article has been published under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC-BY), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. Copyright for this article is retained by the author(s). Author(s) grant(s) the Endocrine Society the exclusive right to publish the article and identify itself as the original publisher.
Gender, Race, and Heterogeneous Scarring and Selection Effects of Epidemic Malaria on Human Capital

This paper investigates the impact of exposure to a serious, unusual, and unforeseen malaria epidemic in North East Brazil in 1938-1940 on subsequent human capital attainment. Arguing the event was exogenous, it exploits cohort- and regional-heterogeneity in exposure to identify effects. Given the high mortality rate associated with the epidemic, a model of selection and scarring is used to frame results. Differential mortality rates are expected according to gender and race, and in line with this there is heterogeneity in whether selection or scarring dominates. Non-white (white) women are selected (scarred) overall, whilst men of all races appear to be selected. Results contribute to evidence suggesting that exposure to negative environmental shocks affects human capital attainment, whilst also suggesting it heterogeneously impacts cohort composition.