Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Microstructural investigation of high-speed melt-spun nylon 6 fibers produced with variable spinning speeds

The structural details of high-speed melt-spun nylon 6 fibers at spinning speeds ranging from 4500 to 6100 m/min were investigated by solid-state proton nuclear magnetic resonance ( 1 H NMR) spectroscopy, density and birefringence mea- surements, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The analyses of the proton spin-lattice relaxation times in the rotating frame and correla- tion times confirmed the existence of three different phases, the immobile crystalline, intermediate rigid amorphous, and mobile amorphous regions, in the fiber sample. At spinning speeds lower than 5200 m/min, the portion of the crystalline phase increased at the expense of the rigid amorphous region and then reached a plateau afterward, from which the mobile amorphous portion increased. Combined analyses of density and birefringence measurements, DSC, and XRD in conjunction with NMR results indi- cated that the formation of the g crystal became predominant compared to that of the a crystal. The orientation factor of the crystalline phase increased slightly with increas- ing spinning speed, whereas the amorphous orientation factor decreased because of the increase of the purely amorphous region. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci B: Polym Phys 38: 1285-1293, 2000
Institutional Innovations for Smallholder Agricultural Production Systems in Kenya: A Case of Smallholder Tea Subsector

The smallholder tea sub-sector which is part of the larger Kenyan tea industry has enjoyed considerable success since its inception in the early 1960s. The planted area under the smallholder system, expanded from 2,522 hectares in 1962 to over 100,000 hectares in 2015; while annual production rose from 1.3 million kgs of green leaf to over 1 billion kgs of green leaf over the same period. Other industrial crops such as coffee, sisal and cotton that previously thrived have struggled to survive under diminished government direct investment in the agricultural sector. The smallholder tea subsector has conversely, managed to endure systemic constraints and challenges to remain competitive. This paper shows that while the relative success of the subsector can be explained by the adoption of modern technologies, there are other relevant factors including policy and institutional that KTDA has embraced to remain competitive. Evidence from the study suggests that innovative institutional arrangements and support systems which have been associated with enhanced farmers earnings. In addition, the participatory governance framework put in place post 2000, innovative approaches to the provision of advisory services and information sharing systems have provided an incentive for smallholder farmers to produce high quality teas that directly translated into better earnings. The presence of participatory governance, innovative and efficient systems that reduce costs and enhance farmers earnings are critical success factors for any smallholder agricultural value chain. Key Words: Institutional innovations, smallholder farmers, farmer organisations, KTDA, Kenya
Does a protein coevolve with its multiple interacting partners? A case study

Protein-protein interactions are playing a fundamental role in different cellular activities. Although the coevolution of interacting protein pairs has been established by several groups, whether a protein having multiple interacting partners coevolves with all of its interacting partners or not have not been studied, so far. Here, the coevolution of proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) with their multiple interacting protein partners was studied. The ‘mirror tree’ method was used to predict the signature of coevolution of the interacting pairs. The results show that PCNA, which interacts with a larger number of proteins, does not coevolve with each of its partners. Rather, the degree of coevolution varies in a statistically significant wider range. The nature of coevolution of these interacting pairs in two different lineages (archaea and eukarya) has been further investigated separately. Results show that the coordinated evolutions of some of the interacting pairs are different for two different lineages. The possible reasons (percentage of disorder region of partner proteins, synonymous to non-synonymous ratio, cascade interactions, etc.) of the variations have also been discussed. Key words: Proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA), coevolution, protein-protein interaction.
MODELING PROJECTILE MOTION: A SYSTEM DYNAMICS APPROACH

Modelling projectile motion and its computations has been addressed in many contexts by researchers and scientists in many disciplines in its broad applications and usefulness. It is an important branch of ballistics and involves equations that can be used to work out a trajectory and focuses on the study of the motion bodies projected through external medium i.e. air in space. As system dynamics has been a well-formulated methodology for analyzing the components of a system including causeeffect relationships, therefore the ballisticians interested to apply the system dynamics approach in the armament fields too. In view of above, this paper discusses applications of system dynamics approach for modeling of projectile motion and its simulation from mathematical, physical and computational aspects.
Crystallisation of Collective Action in the Emergence of a Geographical Indication System

Collective action cannot develop without the commitment of partners to a common project. Building a new Geographical Indication (GI) implies crucial strategic decisions regarding the norms of the production process, the limits of the geographical area and the choice of the protected GI name. Who is going to make these decisions? What is the best path to kick-off with success the initiative? Two approaches have recently been tested in practice: the cluster approach and the working group approach. This paper presents the scientific background of these two approaches. A state of the art is proposed on the concept of cluster, developed in Industrial Economics. The translation theory, developed in Economic Sociology, is mobilised to analyse the “translation cycles” followed by most working groups. Based on case studies, this paper highlights and explains the benefits and risks of both approaches. It proposes an approach that combines face to face negotiations between the facilitator and potential partners, large information campaigns, and a representative working group in order to guarantee access to information to all and avoid further oppositions.
Spatial correlations of trapped one-dimensional bosons in an optical lattice

We investigate a quasi-one-dimensional system of trapped cold bosonic atoms in an optical lattice by using the density-matrix renormalization group to study the Bose-Hubbard model at T= 0 for experimentally realistic numbers of lattice sites. It is shown that a properly rescaled one-particle density matrix characterizes superfluid versus insulating states just as in the homogeneous system. For typical parabolic traps we also confirm the widely used local-density approach for describing correlations in the limit of weak interaction. Finally, we note that the superfluid to Mott-insulating transition is seen most directly in the half-width of the interference peak.
An Intervention to Prevent and Reduce Maternal Distress in the Netherlands - Its Development from Start to Finish

Pregnancy is not solely a physical process. The many emotional and social changes and the challenges and demands that accompany pregnancy mark it as a psychosocial process as well. These changes, challenges and demands can affect a woman’s emotional wellbeing during pregnancy and for some women this effect is more profound than it is for others [1,2]. Affected emotional wellbeing accompanied by psychological signs and symptoms during pregnancy is defined as maternal distress. Depression, anxiety and pregnancy-related anxiety are the most frequent occurring psychological signs and symptoms that construct maternal distress, varying in severity [1]. Prevalence rates of maternal distress among Dutch healthy pregnant women vary from 2 % to 30 % [3-14] measured with psychometric measures of depression and/ or (pregnancy-related) anxiety with scores above set cut-off points. Maternal distress can be caused by either pregnancy itself or non-pregnancy related factors [1-3]. Maternal distress can be regarded as a spectrum. This is consistent with a broad approach to antenatal maternal emotional health and wellbeing, as opposed to a one-dimensional view that emphasizes distinct psychological constructs such as depression and anxiety. A broad approach can be interpreted as viewing all aspects of health and wellbeing without emphasizing a specific construct [15,16]. There does not seem to be a need to prioritize or select between the above-mentioned mood disorders, as there is a recognized interrelation between them [17]. Maternal distress can be a predictor for negative birth outcomes and short or long-term post partum health problems for both mother as well as child [18-21]. In the Netherlands, midwives are the main providers of antenatal care [22], making them the default healthcare practitioners for the identification of women who are at-risk to develop maternal distress or who experience maternal distress [23]. A timely antenatal intervention in midwife-led care may prevent or reduce maternal distress. To prevent or reduce maternal distress an intervention must be based on an understanding of the factors that can promote positive change, factors that consider not only the situation of pregnant women, but also the abilities of the midwives who will provide the intervention [24].
Changes caused by aluminum in protein and carbohydrate contents in the apex of maize seminal roots.

Acid soils contain aluminum that hinders the development of nontolerant plants due to a decrease in roots mitotic activity. This work determined changes caused by aluminum in protein and carbohydrate total contents in the apex of maize seminal roots. Seedlings from tolerant and nontolerant hybrids were grown in nutrient solution containing four aluminum concentrations. Although there was no interaction between genotypes and aluminum concentrations, aluminum levels caused different effects on protein and carbohydrate contents. In the presence of aluminum, changes were induced in both, even though degree of the response seemed to be independent from any ion concentration. Total protein contents were similar in the two genotypes. Although the two hybrids were similar in the absence of aluminum, the nontolerant hybrid accumulated a greater quantity of carbohydrates in the presence of aluminum. Carbohydrate contents in seminal roots seemed to be an expression of nontolerance that differentiates the maize genotypes.
Cloning, structural analysis and expression of cardiac troponin C (TNNC1) gene in goat

Cardiac troponin (TNNC1) is the calcium-binding subunit of the myofibril thin filament that regulates excitation-contraction coupling in cardiac muscle. In the study, we cloned TNNC1 gene of goat for the first time (GenBank accession number: HQ640744) and analyzed its tissue expression. Results indicate that TNNC1 was a 161-amino acid polypeptide that had been highly conserved during evolution. Its nucleotide sequence was high and was similar in various animals ranging from 97.94 (cow) to 83.33% (African clawed frog), and the identity of the encoded amino acids varied from 100 (cow) to 92.55% (smelt). Fluorescence quantitative PCR analyses revealed that the TNNC1 gene was selectively expressed in the muscular tissues of goat, was expressed in cardiac tissue and slow skeletal muscle (soleus), but was not expressed in fast skeletal muscle (longissimus muscle, gluteus maximus) and brain, kidney, lung or liver of goat. The amino acid residue of Ca 2+ binding site II is identical in
International portfolio diversification: Cointegration, causality tests and error correction model

The objective of this paper is to examine the short and long term relationships between 22 financial markets in order to study their implication on the potential gains from international diversification during the period 1987 to 2004. We will make an empirical study based on cointegration, causality tests and error correction model. The results of bivariate tests show the existence of long term equilibrium relations between United States and some developed markets such as Belgium, United Kingdom and Sweden. The results of multivariate tests show that the increase of financial integration degree has not affected the expected benefits from international diversification in emerging markets. The gains remain significantly important for American investors in emerging equity markets.
Canadian Women Negotiating Working Knowledge in Enterprise: Interpretive and Critical Readings of a National Study

Women in Canada are leaving their jobs in unprecedented numbers to become entrepreneurs. This phenomenon offers rich opportunity to study the process of their work learning. This article presents findings of a qualitative Canada-wide study exploring these complex relationships between the process of learning, the nature of personal change, and the work of women entrepreneurs. Over 100 women from British Columbia to Nova Scotia were interviewed: all had left jobs with an organization to start her own business, often with little or no previous business experience or education. The findings of this study are presented in two parts. First, themes of the women's narratives are outlined showing aspects of their working knowledge, the process of its development, and influences on this process such as different women's values, purposes and learning practices. Second, a critical reading of selected findings is presented, using critical cultural and feminist lenses to examine contested terrains of women entrepreneurs' working knowledge and the ethic of its development. The conclusion bridges the more productive and more limiting themes emerging from this study and suggests future directions for theory and research. Resume Un nombre sans precedent de Canadiennes quittent leur emploi pour devenir entrepreneures. Ce phenomene offre une occasion unique d'etudier le processus de leur apprentissage professionnel. Cet article presente les resultats d'une etude qualitative pancanadienne qui explore les liens complexes unissant le processus de l'apprentissage, la nature du changement personnel et le travail des femmes entrepreneures. De la Colombie-Britannique a la Nouvelle- Ecosse, plus de cent femmes ont ete interviewees : toutes ces femmes avaient quitte leur emploi en entreprise pour lancer leur propre compagnie, bien qu'elles aient ete bien souvent a peine pourvues sinon depourvues d'experience ou de formation prealable dans le domaine des affaires. Les resultats de l'etude sont presentes en deux parties.Dans la premiere partie, les themes releves dans le propos de ces femmes sont mis en evidence afin de montrer certains aspects de leur connaissance pratique, le processus de developpement de cette connaissance et les influences exercees sur ce developpement par les valeurs des participantes, leurs objectifs personnels et leurs pratiques d'apprentissage.Dans la seconde partie, on presente une interpretation critique de certains resultats de l'etude, par le biais d'une critique culturelle et feministe, dans le but d'examiner certains aspects controverses de la connaissance pratique des femmes entrepreneures et les questions d'ordre ethique liees au developpement de cette connaissance.La conclusion fait le lien entre les themes plus productifs et les themes plus contraignants qui se degagent de cette etude, tout en proposant de nouvelles avenues pour l'etude theorique et la recherche.
Late main-sequence evolution of lithium and beryllium

We examine the eects of the tachocline diusion process on the surface abundances of light elements in solar- like stars ( M= 0:96 1:04 M). Acting during main sequence evolution, the tachocline diusion can account for the gradual decrease in lithium surface abundance while preserving beryllium, in agreement with the most recent observational data for open cluster stars older than the Hyades (600 Myr). We show that helioseismology and observations of surface rotation demand a nearly solid-body rotation of solar analogs after1 Gyr. By then, these stars have become slow rotators and lost most of their initial angular momentum. We argue that mixing due to angular momentum loss does not appear to be a viable mechanism to account for the observed abundances. Using the results of helioseismology and of the observations of solar lithium abundance, we calibrate the two parameters of the tachocline mixing, the Brunt-Vaisala frequency and the tachocline thickness. We then evolve stellar models starting at the Hyades age and compare the results of 7 Li and 9 Be abundances to the observations of M 67 (4.5 Gyr). Finally, we investigate the eects of slight dierences in specific metal abundance ratios on the tachocline diusion. Because of opacity eects, we find dierences in the amount of lithium depletion of0.5 dex for solar eective temperature and iron abundance at the age of M 67 that can partly explain the observed lithium spread in this cluster.
The effects of electron cyclotron heating and current drive on toroidal Alfvén eigenmodes in tokamak plasmas

Dedicated studies performed for toroidal Alfvén eigenmodes (TAEs) in ASDEX-Upgrade (AUG) discharges with monotonic q-profiles have shown that electron cyclotron resonance heating (ECRH) can make TAEs more unstable. In these AUG discharges, energetic ions driving TAEs were obtained by ion cyclotron resonance heating (ICRH). It was found that off-axis ECRH facilitated TAE instability, with TAEs appearing and disappearing on timescales of a few milliseconds when the ECRH power was switched on and off. On-axis ECRH had a much weaker effect on TAEs, and in AUG discharges performed with co- and counter-current electron cyclotron current drive (ECCD), the effects of ECCD were found to be similar to those of ECRH. Fast ion distributions produced by ICRH were computed with the PION and SELFO codes. A significant increase in Te caused by ECRH applied off-axis is found to increase the fast ion slowing-down time and fast ion pressure causing a significant increase in the TAE drive by ICRH-accelerated ions. TAE stability calculations show that the rise in Te causes also an increase in TAE radiative damping and thermal ion Landau damping, but to a lesser extent than the fast ion drive. As a result of the competition between larger drive and damping effects caused by ECRH, TAEs become more unstable. It is concluded, that although ECRH effects on AE stability in present-day experiments may be quite significant, they are determined by the changes in the plasma profiles and are not particularly ECRH specific.
Generation of High-Repetition-Rate Pulses Utilizing Cascaded Single Mode Fiber and Semiconductor Optical Amplifier

To generate high-repetition-rate optical pulses, a novel and simple device is demonstrated, in which the cascaded single mode fiber (SMF) with negative third order dispersion and semiconductor optical amplifier (SOA) are adopted. Numerical research results show that let an optical pulse with center wavelength in zero dispersion wavelength of optical fiber transit in SMF for generating an oscillation pulse. Subsequently, the followed SOA is provided for amplification. As a consequence, the high-repetition-rate optical pulses can be obtained.
Characterization of Microbiota Isolated from Traditional Honduran Cheese

This study aimed to describe the microbial populations involved in the production of traditional raw milk, semi-dry cheese from Honduras, Central America, particularly the indigenous lactic acid bacteria (LAB) responsible for the organoleptic characteristics of this product. A total of 48 cheese samples were collected from seven of the 18 country’s Departments. Phenotypic methods were used to count, identify and compare the composition of bacteria and yeasts populations in the samples. Twenty LAB isolates were randomly selected to analyse its 16S-23S rRNA spacer region. This method was also applied to understand the diversity of bacterial communities present in the samples. LAB colonies reached average counts of 4.79 lg CFU g-1. Twelve LAB species were identified based on a conventional phenotypic approach. Lactococcus lactis and Enterococcus faecium were the most frequently identified species according to microbiological and molecular methods. No significant correlation was observed among LAB species and geographical distribution. Four genera and five species were identified among the isolated yeasts. This is the first report describing the indigenous biota of traditional raw milk cheeses from Honduras. Our results may provide useful information for valuable strain selection as starter cultures for the industrialization of traditional dairy products in Honduras.
The X-Ray Light Curve in GRB 170714A: Evidence for a Quark Star?

Two plateaus and a following bump in the X-ray light curve of GRB 170714A have been detected by the Swift/X-ray Telescope, which could be very significant for the central engine of gamma-ray bursts (GRBs), implying that the origin of this burst might be different from those of other ultra-long GRBs. We propose that merging two neutron stars into a hyper-massive quark star (QS) and then collapsing into a black hole (BH), with a delay time around 104 s, could be responsible for these X-ray components. The hyper-massive QS is initially in a fluid state, being turbulent and differentially rotating, but would solidify and release its latent heat, injecting it into the GRB fireball (lasting about 103 s during the liquid–solid phase transition). A magnetic field as high as ∼1015 G can be created by dynamo action of the newborn liquid QS, and a magnetar-like central engine (after solidification) supplies significant energy for the second plateau. More energy could be released during a fall-back accretion after the post-merger QS collapses to a BH, and the X-ray bump forms. This post-merger QS model could be tested by future observations, with either advanced gravitational wave detectors (e.g., advanced LIGO and VIRGO) or X-ray/optical telescopes.
Automatic Trafffic Camera Steering for Incident Imaging Using an Array Processing Technique

When an incident occurs at the cross sections where traffic cameras are installed, it is expected that the operator in traffic control center attends the event to steer the camera to monitor the incident and/or start recording the scene for further investigations. This is one fairly easy task provided that the operator at the traffic control center is present and able to track the incident. During nights and other occasions, however, where the operator is not able to fulfill the task, there might be a need to be able to have a local control on the traffic cameras to apply proper pan/tilt and zoom commands to steer the camera to focus at the scene of incident. A sensorarray based technique presented in this paper uses the acquired signal from a tiny ultrasonic whistle activated by the police officer attending the incident. It uses the signal to estimate the position of ultrasound source, i.e. the police officer on the street and then steer the camera toward it.