Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Property prices, housing policies for collateral and resale constraints

The question of whether significant impacts of Loan-to-value (LTV) ratio and Special Stamp Duty (SSD) on residential property market prices exist has been hotly debated. This study aims to investigate the long-term and short-term impacts of LTV ratio and SSD on property prices in Hong Kong. In the study period, the interest rate is low, and the growth rate of housing mortgage is slower than the growth rate of market prices. The findings indicate that changes in LTV ratio cannot change the potential purchasers’ willingness to purchase housing flats over the past ten years. SSD, on the other hand, only have a more prominent long-term impact on larger properties (more than 70 m2) by directly reducing the transaction volumes, compared with that on smaller (less than 70 m2) ones.
Effects of Reflective Learning on the Listening Behaviors of EFL College Students

Even though listening can be quite a challenge for EFL learners, they are rarely taught how to listen effectively. This study explored the degree to which reflective learning, one method of teaching students how to listen, affected the listening behaviors of EFL college students on the TOEIC (Test of English for International Communication), a high-stakes test in Asia. A total of 31 Taiwanese first-year college students participated in this study. Reflection sheets and interviews show that the participating students activated the use of effective listening behaviors (bottom-up and top-down alike) from reflective learning. However, counterproductive behaviors were identified during this process, suggesting that students should receive additional support when this occurs. Pedagogical implications and suggestions for further research were discussed at the end of this paper.
A physical model to describe the distribution of adhesion strength in MEMS, or why one MEMS device sticks and another ‘identical’ one does not

In this paper a model is presented that describes the distribution of adhesion values typically experimentally observed for different MEMS devices that have been fabricated in the same way. This spread is attributed to the fact that different devices differ in the details of their surface roughness, even if these surface roughnesses are modeled as coming from the same ‘parent’ stochastic process. Using Monte Carlo simulations, the effect of surface roughness and relative humidity has been evaluated in detail, both on the expected mean value of the surface interaction energy between the MEMS surfaces, and the expected spread on this value from device to device. By comparing the new model to existing literature reporting this experimentally observed spread, we have found excellent agreement between the experimental spread observed, and the spread calculated with the theoretical model using Monte Carlo simulations. This work paves the way to detailed adhesion failure predictive modeling. It may be used to assess the reliability of MEMS designs that rely on contacting surfaces for their operation, but have a limited restoring force available to separate the surfaces when in contact.
Cognitive function assessment in young adult using trail making and stroop tests

Cortical network between brain regions is one of the topics that being investigated by brain researchers. Methods that are used to investigate brain developments of cognitive function include Partial Directed Coherence (PDC) and the power spectrum of the brain activity. The purposes of this study were to determine the cortico-cortical functional connectivity between brain regions using PDC and to investigate the power spectrum of brain activity while performing cognitive function assessments. Twenty healthy young adults, age between 20 to 30 years old, were asked to perform two tasks/tests; Trail Making Test (TMTA-alphabet, TMTA-number, TMTB-mixed alphabets and numerical) and Stroop Task. An electroencephalogram (EEG) machine was used to record the brain signals, and the data were analyzed using PDC and Fast Fourier Transform (FFT). Our findings showed that not only frontal area but temporal and occipital area also generates information and the information was sent to various scalp location. Theta frequency was significantly increased at frontal area while gamma and high-gamma frequency bands were significantly increased at centro-parieto-occipito-temporal regions. All of these areas are associated with cognitive function doing specific task.
The Atmospheric Response to High Nonthermal Electron Beam Fluxes in Solar Flares. I. Modeling the Brightest NUV Footpoints in the X1 Solar Flare of 2014 March 29

The 2014 March 29 X1 solar flare (SOL20140329T17:48) produced bright continuum emission in the far- and near-ultraviolet (NUV) and highly asymmetric chromospheric emission lines, providing long-sought constraints on the heating mechanisms of the lower atmosphere in solar flares. We analyze the continuum and emission line data from the Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph (IRIS) of the brightest flaring magnetic footpoints in this flare. We compare the NUV spectra of the brightest pixels to new radiative-hydrodynamic predictions calculated with the RADYN code using constraints on a nonthermal electron beam inferred from the collisional thick-target modeling of hard X-ray data from Reuven Ramaty High Energy Solar Spectroscopic Imager. We show that the atmospheric response to a high beam flux density satisfactorily achieves the observed continuum brightness in the NUV. The NUV continuum emission in this flare is consistent with hydrogen (Balmer) recombination radiation that originates from low optical depth in a dense chromospheric condensation and from the stationary beam-heated layers just below the condensation. A model producing two flaring regions (a condensation and stationary layers) in the lower atmosphere is also consistent with the asymmetric Fe ii chromospheric emission line profiles observed in the impulsive phase.
Development of SDDS-compliant GENESIS and its application

The program GENESIS has been widely used for the simulation of free-electron lasers (FELs). We extended the capabilities of the program by making the code compliant with the Self-Describing Data Set file protocol, whose toolkit has been developed and used extensively at Argonne. We report the modifications made to GENESIS and demonstrate the benefits by presenting the results obtained by its application to two major FEL projects: Argonne's Low-Energy Undulator Test Line and the Linac Coherent Light Source at SLAC.
Interactive comment on “ An updated emission inventory of vehicular VOCs / IVOCs in China ” by

line 27. The authors state in the abstract that the VKT level of “trucks were calculated from reported data by more than 2 million trucks in China”. According to the Chinese official statistics, there were ∼20 million trucks in China in 2015. That means the authors have collected VKT data of ∼10%, which is a quit decent sampling ratio, of all trucks in China. However, relevant results are neither described nor referenced to previous studies in the main text (e.g., Sect. 2.2 and 3.1.2). The reviewer suggests the authors adding the description and discussion paragraphs or sections to introduce the methods and results in detail. Response: We have added discussion and description on trucks’ VKT data in Section 2.2. Those data were purchased from commercial big data platform combining with our survey to get the spatial distribution. The platform is the official service provider for all commercial trucks in China under Ministry of Transportation. Due to the licenses in contract, we could not provide raw data to the third party at this stage. Thus, the details of VKT were not released. Author's changes in manuscript: In section 2.2 Vehicle activity: “The average mileage for trucks were obtained from a commercial source with data feeding of more than 2 million trucks, mainly commercial vehicles installed with either the GPS or China Bei Dou System (BDS). Location, speed and vehicle type information are live fed to the commercial platform. The VKT for each truck category was calculated using the monitored data from the platform. ” In section 3.1. 2 VKT characteristics of LDPVs: Table 3 summarized vehicle mileages of trucks in China. VKT of trucks is significantly influenced by vehicle age. The annual mileage of China 0 and China 1 trucks are much lower than vehicles of the same type with better control technologies. Aging of trucks greatly impact their performances due to common overloading seen in China. Several cities have implemented low emission zones to restrict entry of trucks with outdated control technologies. Table 3 Average annual VKT in China (Km/year) LDGTs LDDTs MDGTs MDDTs HDGTs HDDTs TAs BUs MDPVs LDPVs China
Untersuchung und Optimierung von Empfindlichkeit und Rauschverhalten magnetoelektrischer Sensoren

Bei magnetoelektrischen (ME-) Sensoren handelt es sich um hochempfindliche Magnetfeldsensoren, die im Gegensatz zu supraleitenden Quanteninterferenzeinheiten (SQUIDs) bei Raumtemperatur eingesetzt werden konnen. Durch ihre hohe Empfindlichkeit und geringe Rauschgrenze sind ME-Sensoren prinzipiell dazu geeignet, biomagnetische Felder zu detektieren. Die Untersuchung und Optimierung der Empfindlichkeit und des Rauschverhaltens magnetoelektrischer Dunnschicht-Sensoren stellen das Thema dieser Arbeit dar. Hierzu werden zunachst die verschiedenen Rauschquellen von Sensor und rauscharmen Vorverstarker analysiert. Dadurch ist es einerseits moglich, das Rauschspektrum von ME-Magnetometern zu berechnen und mit Messergebnissen zu vergleichen. Andererseits erlaubt die analytische Betrachtung des Rauschverhaltens aber auch eine Optimierung des Signal-Rausch-Verhaltnisses. Fur die messtechnische Bestimmung der Rauschgrenze wird zudem ein eigens entwickelter, mehrfach geschirmter Messstand naher erlautert. Um die Empfindlichkeit magnetoelektrischer Sensoren insbesondere im biomagnetisch relevanten Frequenzbereich zwischen 0.1 Hz und 100 Hz zu erhohen, wird weiterhin ein neuartiges Frequenzumsetzungsverfahren vorgestellt, welches die Empfindlichkeit im Vergleich zu herkommlichen Messverfahren um 3 Grosenordnungen steigern kann. Zudem wird gezeigt, dass herkommliche ME-Sensoren mit veranderter Auslesetechnik auch frequenzmoduliert ausgelesen werden konnen. Durch die Kombination zweier ME-Sensoren zu einer "Stimmgabel", ist es schlieslich moglich, mechanische Storeinflusse soweit zu reduzieren, dass mit einer rauschoptimierten Ausleseelektronik magnetische Signale einer tiefen Hirnstimulation detektiert werden konnen.
Resilience in farm animals: biology, management, breeding and implications for animal welfare

A capacity for the animal to recover quickly from the impact of physical and social stressors and disease challenges is likely to improve evolutionary fitness of wild species and welfare and performance of farm animals. Salience and valence of stimuli sensed through neurosensors, chemosensors and immunosensors are perceived and integrated centrally to generate emotions and engage physiological, behavioural, immune, cognitive and morphological responses that defend against noxious challenges. These responses can be refined through experience to provide anticipatory and learned reactions at lower cost than innate less-specific reactions. Influences of behaviour type, coping style, and affective state and the relationships between immune responsiveness, disease resistance and resilience are reviewed. We define resilience as the capacity of animals to cope with short-term perturbations in their environment and return rapidly to their pre-challenge status. It is manifested in response to episodic, sporadic or situation-specific attributes of the environment and can be optimised via facultative learning by the individual. It is a comparative measure of differences between individuals in the outcomes that follow exposure to potentially adverse situations. In contrast, robustness is the capacity to maintain productivity in a wide range of environments without compromising reproduction, health and wellbeing. Robustness is manifested in response to persistent or cyclical attributes of the environment and is effected via activity of innate regulatory pathways. We suggest that for farm animals, husbandry practices that incorporate physical and social stressors and interactions with humans such as weaning, change of housing, and introduction to the milking parlour can be used to characterise resilience phenotypes. In these settings, resilience is likely to be more readily identified through the rate of return of variables to pre-challenge or normal status rather than through measuring the activity of diverse stress response and adaptation mechanisms. Our strategy for phenotyping resilience of sheep and cattle during weaning is described. Opportunities are examined to increase resilience through genetic selection and through improved management practices that provide emotional and cognitive enrichment and stress inoculation.
Synthesis of Sonchus Yellow Net Virus Proteins in Infected Cowpea Protoplasts

Summary We studied protein synthesis in cowpea protoplasts infected with Sonchus yellow net virus (SYNV). The structural viral proteins G, N, M1 and M2 were identified by immunoprecipitation. In addition, four high molecular weight proteins and two proteins with molecular weights of 52000 (p52) and 38000 (p38) were precipitated. One of the four high molecular weight proteins may represent the L protein; the others are possibly aggregates of the G protein or its unglycosylated form. The nature of proteins p52 and p38 is unclear. Structural viral proteins first appeared between 8 h and 12 h after inoculation. The G protein is glycosylated by N-glycoside-linked sugar residues. Glycosylation of the G protein was prevented by incubation of the protoplasts in 10 µg/ml tunicamycin. A protein, co-migrating with the M1 protein, was labelled with [32P]orthophosphate in protoplasts infected with SYNV, but not in controls of mock-inoculated protoplasts or protoplasts inoculated with cowpea mosaic virus.
Near-margin ice thickness and subglacial water routing, Leverett Glacier, Greenland

ABSTRACT Ice thickness measurements near the margin of the Greenland Ice Sheet (GrIS) are relatively sparse, presenting issues for modeling ice-flow dynamics, ice-sheet change, and subglacial hydrology. We acquired near-margin ice thickness data at Leverett Glacier, west Greenland, using a highly portable, low power, ground-penetrating radar operating at 10–80 MHz. Ice-thickness measurements, to a maximum of 270 m, were incorporated into the BedMachine model of ice thickness, created using mass conservation methods. The new data significantly modified the modeled ice thickness, and hence bed elevation and routing of subglacial water, in both the Leverett and adjacent Russell Glacier. Although the revised modeled basal topography and subglacial hydrology are consistent with observations, our new data unrealistically reduced the overall size of the Leverett Glacier hydrological catchment. Additional ice-thickness measurements are therefore required to realistically constrain subglacial topography and subglacial hydrological routing in this area. Our work improves understanding of the basal topography and the subglacial hydrology of Leverett Glacier, with implications for glacier dynamics and assessments of water piracy between catchments in the marginal zone of the GrIS, and for the interpolation of ice-thickness grids using mass conservation methods.
Osmotic and Hormonal Priming for Rice Growth and Yield Increase

Low yield of rice has made reaching self sufficiency level in Malaysia a utopia and Malaysia has, therefore, become a target of rice exporting countries within and outside Asia. To solve this problem, a pre-sowing seed treatment (seed priming) was used as a physiological intervention to alleviate the impeding problems of achieving better growth and yield of MR219. The experiment was conducted in two batches. The first batch involved the use of osmotic salts as the priming agents while the second one involved the use of plant hormones to achieve the same purpose. MR219 rice variety was primed in different osmotic and phyto-hormone solutions with different concentrations except for Zappa and water which were of single concentration each. The control used was pre-germination. So, there were 19 and 21 treatments for osmotic and hormonal priming respectively. The experimental design was Completely Randomized Design (CRD). Data on germination percentages, height, number of tillers, number of productive tillers, tiller productivity percentage and yield were taken. In osmo-priming treatment, the significant highest tiller number per hill was recorded from 40% (v/w) PEG and the control whereas in hormonal priming it was 150 ppm Salycilic acid. In osmotic priming media, the highest number of productive tillers per hill was recorded from 40 %(v/w) PEG while in hormonal priming it was pre-germination. Contrarily, the highest yield per pot or panicle was produced by 200ppm methyl jasmonate for hormonal priming while in osmotic priming the highest yield was recorded from 50Mm magnesium chloride. So, it is recommended, subject to further research, that 200ppm methyl jasmonate for hormonal priming and osmotic priming with 50Mm magnesium chloride be used for yield improvement of MR219.
Inter and intra-group conflicts as a foundation for contest success functions

This paper introduces a notion of partitioned correlated equilibrium that extends Aumann's correlated equilibrium concept (1974, 1987). This concept captures the non-cooperative interactions arising simultaneously within and between groups. We build on this notion in order to provide a foundation for contest success functions (CSFs) in a game wherein contests arise endogenously. Our solution concept and analysis are general enough to give a foundation for any model of contest using standard equilibrium concepts like e.g., Nash, Bayesian-Nash or Perfect-Nash equilibria. In our environment, popular CSFs can be interpreted as a list of equilibrium conjectures held by players whenever they contemplate deviating from the ``peaceful outcome'' of the ``group formation game''. Our setup allows to relate the form of prominent CSFs with some textbook examples of quasi-linear utility functions, social utility functions in the spirit of Fehr and Schmidt (1999) and non-expected models of utility a la Quiggin (1981, 1982). We also show that our framework can accommodate situations in which agents cannot correlate their actions.
THE EFFECT OF STRATEGIC BUSINESS PARTNERSHIPS BETWEEN EQUITY BANK LTD AND ITS PARTNERS ON MARKETING DECISIONS

This study was conducted with the objective of determining how strategic partnerships influence marketing decisions by Equity Bank and its partners. It also set out to establish the nature of partnerships formed between Equity Bank and its main partners as at December 2010. To achieve the objectives, a case study was carried out where primary data was collected from five respondents with the aid of an interview guide. The primary data collected through the personally administered structured guide was thereafter analyzed. The analysis was carried out through content analysis. The findings of the data led to some key findings that Equity Bank and its partners have engaged in many partnerships and that indeed strategic partnerships do have an effect on marketing decisions. The main reasons for entering into partnerships were to increase customer base and to increase value for customers by giving or granting access to more products and services that the individual firms had no competencies in. The main nature o f alliances formed was strategic equity alliances. In this arrangement no firm loses its identity to the other because complete integration is not a feature in equity alliances. The study concluded that strategic alliances influence most if not all of marketing decisions a firm makes. Firms that engage in strategic partnerships registered increased growth in customer base as well as having more satisfied customers. In addition the firms realized increased value for customers, increased brand reputation as well as achieved increased innovation of new products and services. A few challenges such as poor handling of customer care queries, system failures, fraud, discontentment by partners were encountered that caused firms to draw beneficial lessons too for future partnership agreements. The study thus concluded that strategic
The effect on 4-month judo training period on anaerobic capacity, blood lactate changes during the post Wingate test recovery, and resting plasma cortisol, and testosterone levels in male senior judokas

The best way for rating of effectiveness of training period is the examination of a post training changes in physical fitness using standardized exercise test performed on ergometer, motorized treadmill or the others equipped with system for reliable determination of biomechanical parameters. For de termination of anaerobic capacity, the most frequently utilized type of maximal bout performed by lower(legs cycling), and upper body limbs (arms cranking) are Wingate tests lasting from 10 to 30 seconds. These exertions are of high diagnostic value, and their performance are related to the other physical abilities like maximal bench press, which performance level is related to a high extent with Wingate peak power [1]. During high intensity exertion predominant source of ener gy originates from anaerobic processes, that is confirmed by rise of blood lactate level (LA). However, as has been shown, LA peak did not appeared directly after short anaerobic exertion. Studies on LA time course following judo match showed bi-phase changes (risedrop), and that dynamics within the period from +1 to +15 minutes is the best fitted by an equation of the parabola [2], but for longer recovery period (0.5h) that way of approximation is not adequate. The LA behavior in blood were recorded after various supra-maximal exertions including classic Wingate (30s) test [3-11]. An alternative to parabola approximation non-linear curves was proposed by other authors. It is bi-exponential 3or fourparameter functions describing the compartmental model
Feasibility study of a gradient redirecting algorithm combined with step length estimation for including a priori data in the image reconstruction in microwave tomography

An iterative electromagnetic time-domain inversion algorithm for microwave tomography exploiting a priori data of the dielectric properties of the object being imaged is described. The algorithm is based on solving the regular and the adjoint Maxwell’s equations in order to compute gradients, which are used to update the dielectric profile with the conjugate-gradient method. The conjugate-gradient method however requires a time consuming line search procedure to be used for minimizing a penalty function. In this paper we have also studied the possibility of replacing the line search procedure and instead using an estimated step length for the update of the reconstruction. It was found that these methods combined can be used to significantly decrease the computation time for the reconstruction process and improve the convergence.