Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
IN VITRO MATURATION OF BUBALINE OOCYTES USING BUBALINE (SWAMP BUFFALO) FOLLICULAR FLUID

The mammalian ovaries are valuable source of oocytes for reproductive biotechnology. Oocytes attain developmental competence in vivo being in follicular fluid so using it as maturation medium could be an option. Pig and bovine IVM studies using follicular fluid gave favorable effects. Bubaline IVM experiment in CRD made use of 271 oocytes from buffalo ovaries. The oocytes were subjected to five maturation media: pure TCM 199 (T 1); 50% TCM 199 + 50% BFF from 2-5 mm follicle size (FS) (T 2); pure BFF from 2-5mm FS (T 3); 50% TCM 199 + 50% BFF from 5-8mm FS (T 4) and pure BFF from 5-8 mm FS (T 5). The oocytes were cultured for 22-24 hours at 38 o C, 5% CO 2 in air and high humidity inside the incubator then the oocytes were fixed, stained destained and evaluated their developmental competence. In all the treatments, no significant differences were observed in the IVM stages of bubaline oocytes. The percentage values of matured oocytes ranged from 64.44% to 79.72%. The size of the follicles used in Treatments 2 and 3 showed no significant variations on oocyte maturation from Treatments 4 and 5. BFF can be a substitute for TCM 199 in pure form or in combination with TCM 199 in bubaline IVM studies.
Trade Liberalization in China's Accession to WTO

China’s forthcoming accession to the WTO involves reforms across a wide range of sectors in China, both in directly trade-related sectors and behind the border. The implications of these reforms are greatly influenced by the starting point—a partially reformed economy with relatively high import duties, but in which export sectors benefit from liberal duty exemptions on their inputs. The paper takes account of this special feature in assessing the implications of reform. We find that China and its major trading partners gain from accession, while some competing countries suffer smaller losses. The adjustments required are greatly reduced by the dramatic liberalization that China undertook in the 1990s.
IMPACT OF MOBILITY SPEED ON PROACTIVE AND REACTIVE ROUTING PROTOCOLS IN MOBILE ADHOC NETWORKS

A Mobile Ad-Hoc Network (MANET) is an autonomous system and mobile nodes can communicate with each other by wireless links. At any moment nodes are coming together and leaving the network in random manner and also fast moving nodes frequently. These nodes get connected to each other and also can act as a router, by forward data to other wireless nodes. The topology of the network changes often or quickly by mobility of the nodes is an important aspect in the design of effective routing algorithm and it should be efficient and consistent to discover new routes and maintain them till the successful delivery of packets between the node pairs. This paper systematically discuses the performance evaluation and comparison of three routing protocols AODV, DSR and DSDV in two different scenarios using random waypoint mobility model and performance metrics such as throughput, packet delivery ratio and end-to-end delay are considered for the significant impact of mobility speed on the performance of the both proactive and reactive routing protocols.
Miniature plasma generator made of low temperature co-fired ceramics (LTCC) for gas characterization using optical emission spectroscopy (OES)

A novel miniature plasma generator made of low temperature co-fired ceramics (LTCC) is presented in this paper. The developed generator is composed of a stack of 9 ceramic tapes, has an optical fibre integrated into the structure and is consisted of an 8.7 x 3.5 mm 2 plasma chamber placed between two 5 x 5 mm 2 electrodes made of AgPd. Each electrode is separated from the plasma chamber by a single LTCC tape, forming a 660 µm thick gap. The shape of the plasma chamber and the channel for the optical fibre were cut in green LTCC tapes using an UV laser, and the electrodes were fabricated with the standard screen-print method. During the experiments, the plasma chamber was filled with an ambient air. The plasma was generated between AgPd electrodes connected to an AC power supply. The light of the air plasma was transmitted from the plasma chamber to the miniature spectrometer using the integrated optical fibre. The glow discharge in the air at atmospheric pressure was characterized by optical emission spectroscopy (OES). Streszczenie. W artykule przedstawiono technologie miniaturowego generatora plazmy. Wspomniany uklad zostal wykonany za pomocą techniki bazującej na niskotemperaturowej wspolwypalanej ceramice LTCC (Low Temperature Co-fired Ceramics). Urządzenie skladalo sie z 9 warstw ceramiki LTCC. W sklad opracowanego generatora wchodzily komora plazmowa o wymiarach 8,7 x 3,5 mm 2 oraz dolączony do niej światlowod kwarcowy. Komora plazmowa umieszczona byla pomiedzy dwiema elektrodami o wymiarach 5 x 5 mm 2 wykonanymi ze stopu PdAg. Kazda z elektrod zostala odizolowana od komory plazmowej za pomocą pojedynczej warstwy LTCC tworząc szczeline o grubości 660 µm. Ksztalt komory plazmowej oraz kanalu pod światlowod zostaly wyciete w surowych foliach ceramicznych za pomocą lasera UV. Elektrody PdAg zostaly naniesione na ceramike LTCC metodą sitodruku. Podczas eksperymentow komora plazmowa wypelniona byla powietrzem z otoczenia o ciśnieniu atmosferycznym. Plazma powietrza generowana byla pomiedzy dwiema izolowanymi elektrodami zasilanymi napieciem zmiennym. Promieniowanie optyczne plazmy powietrza bylo transmitowane z komory plazmowej do miniaturowego spektrometru za pomocą zintegrowanego światlowodu. Obserwowane wyladowanie jarzeniowe w powietrzu analizowano metodą optycznej spektroskopii emisyjnej (OES). (Miniaturowy generator plazmy wykonany techniką LTCC do charakteryzacji gazow za pomocą optycznej spektroskopii emisyjnej (OES)).
Biosorption of Pesticide Onto a Low Cost Carbon Produced from Apricot Stone ( Prunus armeniaca ) . : Equilibrium , Kinetic and Thermodynamic Studies

The biosorption of apricot stone activated carbon (ASAC) from aqueous solution was investigated using low-cost, natural and ecofriendly biosorbent. The biosorption studies were carried out under various parameters, such as biosorbent dosage, initial pesticide concentration, contact time and temperature. The experimental results show that the percentage of biosorption increases with an increase in the biosorbent dosage. The equilibrium uptake was increased with an increase in the initial pesticide concentration in solution. Biosorption kinetic data were fitted well with the pseudo-second order kinetic model. The adsorption isotherms closely followed the Langmuir model. The monolayer adsorption capacity of the apricot stone for ethoprophos was found as 20.04 mg g. The thermodynamic data indicated that the adsorption of ethoprophos on apricot stone activated carbon was feasible, spontaneous and endothermic in nature. The results revealed that the ASAC could be used as a low cost alternative biosorbent for the pesticide removal from aqueous solution.
Comparison of the synthesis routes for the ZnO/porous silica nanocomposite

ZnO/porous silica nanocomposites were successfully fabricated by three different types of synthesis techniques. In all cases, the molecular sieve SBA-16 was used as a porous matrix. The in situ growth the nanoparticles of zinc oxide within the matrix pores was done using either gaseous or liquid precursors. The ex-situ method implied growing of nanoparticles in a colloidal solution with further penetration of the ripened ZnO nanoparticles into the pores of the matrix. Physico-chemical studies of the synthesized ZnO/porous silica nanocomposites showed that the introduction of zinc oxide by any of the methods did not lead to destruction of the structure of the molecular matrix SBA-16. The structure of ZnO nanoparticles, on the contrary, was strongly dependent on the growing method. The best defectless ZnO nanoparticles were obtained by in situ growing using gaseous precursors.
Exceptional Children Education Division of the Council for Education : The Journal of the Teacher Teacher Education

Revisions to Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEIA) proposed alternative models, such as Response to Intervention (RTI), as a preventive measure that supports students at risk. As teachers’ roles evolve in response to RTI, teacher preparation programs must adjust their focus and curriculum accordingly. A mixed-methods design was used to explore general education pre-service teachers’ concerns regarding the implementation of RTI based on the Concerns-Based Adoption Model. Results suggest pre-service teachers focused their concerns on feeling unprepared and not understanding how to effectively implement RTI. These implications may guide teacher preparation programs as they assess the readiness of their pre-service teachers to effectively implement RTI.
An Assessment of the Growth-Enhancing Size of Government in the Caribbean

Between 1990 and 1994, the average size of the public sector in the Caribbean was just 16 percent of GDP, in the five years hence, the ratio has climbed and currently stands at 22 percent of GDP. While an expansion in the size of government usually results in the greater provision of services, it can also lead to slower rates of growth because of greater bureaucracy and the crowding-out of private sector driven initiatives. Using a simple production function approach, this study provides an assessment of the growth-enhancing size of government in the Caribbean using annual observations for the period 1975 to 2002. The econometric results in the paper suggest that government services do positively influence growth, but only if the size of government is, on average, between 10 percent and 16 percent of total real value-added.
Inappropriate admissions or inadequate discharges of frail elderly?: Competing program theories and implementation challenges in an intermediate care intervention

Intermediate care interventions are increasingly being implemented in the health services to avoid hospitalizing elderly frail patients with complex medical issues, often referred to as inappropriate or unwarranted admissions. This paper presents a theory-based stakeholder evaluation of an intervention involving hospitals, community care and general practitioners (GPs) in a Danish region with the overall objective to reduce the number of (inappropriate) hospital admissions for the frail elderly of 65 years or older. In a controlled study design elderly acutely ill patients were randomized to care and treatment either by a district nursing team or in an emergency department (ED) – both interventions with a 48-hour time limit. The district nursing teams were given access to various telemedicine solutions. In the programme theory analysis the stakeholders’ normative theories, situation theories and causal theories were studied. Competing programme theories and barriers and facilitators were identified. Data were collected in interviews with stakeholders (managers, nurses, hospital physicians and GPs) and from the literature. The intervention included a regional hospital, four municipalities and 166 GPs servicing a mixed urban and rural region in Denmark. Four district nursing teams, eight GPs, three hospital physicians and two project managers were interviewed between January and March 2015. The stakeholder’s programme theories were both concordant and competing; the GPs in particular were sceptical of the purported objective of reducing the number of inappropriate hospital admissions; they would rather see a reduction in the number of inappropriate hospital discharges. Our results indicate a compromised implementation process.
The Gaia-ESO Survey: Catalogue of Hα emission stars

We discuss the properties of Hα emission stars across the sample of 22035 spectra from the Gaia-ESO Survey internal data release, observed with the GIRAFFE instrument and largely belonging to stars in young open clusters. Automated fits using two independent Gaussian profiles and a third component that accounts for the nebular emission allow us to discern distinct morphological types of Hα line profiles with the introduction of a simplified classification scheme. All in all, we find 3765 stars with intrinsic emission and sort their spectra into eight distinct morphological categories: single-component emission, emission blend, sharp emission peaks, double emission, P-Cygni, inverted P-Cygni, self-absorption, and emission in absorption. We have more than one observation for 1430 stars in our sample, thus allowing a quantitative discussion of the degree of variability of Hα emission profiles, which is expected for young, active objects. We present a catalogue of stars with properties of their Hα emission line profiles, morphological classification, analysis of variability with time and the supplementary information from the SIMBAD, VizieR, and ADS databases. The records in SIMBAD indicate the presence of Hα emission for roughly 25% of all stars in our catalogue, while at least 305 of them have already been more thoroughly investigated according to the references in ADS. The most frequently identified morphological categories in our sample of spectra are emission blend (23%), emission in absorption (22%), and self-absorption (16%). Objects with repeated observations demonstrate that our classification into discrete categories is generally stable through time, but categories P-Cygni and self-absorption seem less stable, which is the consequence of discrete classification rules, as well as of the fundamental change in profile shape. Such records of emission stars can be valuable for automatic pipelines in large surveys, where it may prove very useful for pinpointing outliers when calculating general stellar properties and elemental abundances. They can be used in studies of star formation processes, interacting binaries, and other fields of stellar physics.
Real Time Recognition of Handwritten Devnagari Signatures without Segmentation Using Artificial Neural Network

Handwritten signatures are the most commonly used method for authentication of a person as compared to other biometric authentication methods. For this purpose Neural Networks (NN) can be applied in the process of verification of handwritten signatures that are electronically captured. This paper presents a real time or online method for recognition and verification handwritten signatures by using NN architecture. Various features of signature such as height, length, slant, Hu's moments etc are extracted and used for training of the NN. The objective of online signature verification is to decide, whether a signature originates from a given signer. This recognition and verification process is based on the instant signature image obtained from the genuine signer and a few images of the original signatures which are already part reference database. The process of Devnagari signature verification can be divided it into sub-processes as pre-processing, feature extraction, feature matching, feature comparison and classification. This stepwise analysis allows us to gain a better control over the precision of different components.
LakeSST: Lake Skin Surface Temperature in French inland water bodies for 1999–2016 from Landsat archives

The spatial and temporal coverage of the Landsat satellite imagery make it an ideal resource for the monitoring of water temperature over large territories at a moderate spatial and temporal scale at a low cost. We used Landsat 5 and Landsat 7 archive images to create the Lake Skin Surface Temperature (LakeSST) data set, which contains skin water surface temperature data for 442 French water bodies (natural lakes, reservoirs, ponds, gravel pit lakes and quarry lakes) for the period 1999–2016. We assessed the quality of the satellite temperature measurements by comparing them to in situ measurements and taking into account the cool skin and warm layer effects. To estimate these effects and to investigate the theoretical differences between the freshwater and seawater cases, we adapted the COARE 3.0 algorithm to the freshwater environment. We also estimated the warm layer effect using in situ data. At the reservoir of Bimont, the estimated cool skin effect was about −0.3 and −0.6 °C most of time, while the warm layer effect at 0.55 m was negligible on average, but could occasionally attain several degrees, and a cool layer was often observed in the night. The overall RMSE of the satellite-derived temperature measurements was about 1.2 °C, similar to other applications of satellite images to estimate freshwater surface temperatures. The LakeSST data can be used for studies on the temporal evolution of lake water temperature and for geographical studies of temperature patterns. The LakeSST data are available at https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.1193745 .
Sovereign Risk and Bank Balance Sheets: The Role of Macroprudential Policies

This paper explores the role of bank balance sheets, sovereign default risk, and capital adequacy requirements in amplifying aggregate fluctuations. The paper, first, proposes a unified model of defaultable sovereign debt and bank balance sheets to capture regularities on bank credit to firms, banks' holdings of sovereign bonds, and the behavior of sovereign debt and default. The model captures the procyclical bank credit and countercyclical bank holdings of sovereign bonds. Since the sovereign defaults indiscriminately, bank losses due to a default hampers its lending to firms, thereby, generating an endogenous cost of default. The paper then conducts counterfactual policy experiments in line with Basel III. Our preliminary findings suggest that the introduction of leverage ratios is superior to increasing the capital requirement on risk weighted assets where sovereign bonds are assigned a zero weight.
Comparison of the in situ technique and the gas production technique in mimicking rumen dry matter digestion

The objective of this study was to compare the dry matter degradability of forages as determined with the in situ nylon bag technique and the gas production technique. The effective degradable DM measured with the in situ technique (situ DDM) was well related with the gas production after 20 h, when situ DDM was calculated with a passage rate equal to the degradation rate. The degradation rate obtained with the in situ technique was moderately related with the time at which 50% of the maximal gas production was reached in the second phase of the gas production technique.
AC 2011-724: ENGINEERING IDENTITY AND THE WORKPLACE PER-SISTENCE OF WOMEN WITH ENGINEERING DEGREES

Based on studies of engineering students, it is recognized that engineering students who pursue engineering due to altruistic intent or intrinsic interest in engineering are more likely to persist to graduation. We sought to identify similar factors that promote persistence for women in the engineering workplace. Since we know that women leave the engineering workforce more frequently than men, identifying these factors is as important to retaining women in the engineering workplace as previous work to identify similar elements in the undergraduate years. The retention studies of women in the engineering workforce have largely focused on the structural features of the workplace, rather than on the women, themselves, who are making the decisions to stay or leave. While examining the workplace is important, identifying factors related specifically to the women is also an important and essential step to modifying or supplementing workplace culture to retain women in engineering for longer periods of time. We hypothesized that women who strongly self-identified as engineers would be more likely to persist in the engineering workforce and those who did not would be more likely to leave the workforce. If we knew that strong engineering identities would lead to higher workforce retention, then educators could employ interventions to intentionally develop this identity in their students before graduation. To assess the validity of this hypothesis, we conducted semi-structured interviews (similar to psychology’s Identity Status Interview) of 33 women with engineering degrees, including those who persisted in the engineering workforce and those who did not. We preceded the interviews with Likert scale measures of identity taken from the engineering education literature. We conducted theme-based coding of the interview transcripts for the workplace issues known to impede persistence and for engineering identity. Further, we took a grounded theory approach for other factors that might appear in the data. Finally, we sought to determine the women’s reasons for staying or leaving the engineering workforce. Our findings revealed that strong engineering identification does generally correspond to increased persistence, while a weaker identification corresponds to increased consideration of leaving engineering. We did find, though, that some non-persisters had a strong engineering identification and some persisters had a weaker engineering identity. Thus, other factors were influencing the validity of our hypothesis. The most prominent unexpected factor was that some women were pulled by a strong desire to pursue a vocation or passion that conflicted with engineering workplace persistence, such as teaching in K-12 or staying
MULTI-LEVEL PARALLEL FRAMEWORK

This article deals with the pyramidal framework designed to be used in the parallelization of the ant-like algorithms. Such algorithms have several things in common: they run in cycles and the process can be divided among different "processing units". The parallel implementation of the Ant Colony Optimization algorithm for the Traveling Salesman Problem is an application of this system. The topology of the framework architecture is similar to a B-tree and contains three types of processing nodes: a single master (the root), several sub-masters corresponding to the internal nodes of the tree and several slaves as leaves. First the master reads the problem instance, wraps it up in a message that is sent to all the other processing nodes and initializes the central data structures. Then, the slaves take over the control by starting the algorithm while the master and the sub-masters are waiting for requests to update the data. The framework has an object-oriented design and was implemented in C++, using the MPI library.
Dagum confidence intervals for inequality measures and an application to Swiss income data

In this work we compare parametric Dagum confidence interval s with non parametric confidence intervals for two inequality meas ure , Gini’s (1914) traditional index and Zenga’s (2007) new measure. We point out s me problems in the computation of parametric Dagum confidence intervals an d present a simulation study to assess what is gained with respect to non parametric confidence intervals when we exploit the asymptotic efficiency of ML estimators. F inally, we employ the results to analyze data coming from the Income and Consumption Survey of Switzerland.