Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Chapter 2 Bending and Buckling Instabilities of Free Liquid Jets : Experiments and General Quasi-One-Dimensional Model

This chapter deals with liquid jets bending due to the aerodynamic interaction with surrounding air or buckling due to the impingement on a solid wall. The experimental evidence is considered and linear and nonlinear theories describing perturbation growth developed in the framework of the quasi-one-dimensional equations of the dynamics of liquid jets moving in air are discussed. Jets of viscous Newtonian or rheologically complex liquids (in particular, viscoelastic polymeric liquids) are considered. In addition, bending instability of the electrified liquid jets (in particular, polymeric liquid jets in electrospinning) is considered. In the latter case, both the experimental and theoretical aspects are tackled.
Symptom quantification for Parkinson's disease

Today, Parkinson’s disease is the second most common age related degenerative disorder presenting a complex set of both cognitive and motor symptoms. Medication for the treatment of motor symptoms exists but the development of effective treatment plans without technical aids is tedious. These aids could include sensor systems for the objective evaluation and quantification of symptoms in shortand long-term settings for both the clinical and the home environment. Recently, several studies have shown the feasibility of symptom quantification with the help of gyroscopes or accelerometers. Utilizing such measurements, this work aims at a comparison of several supervised learning methods in order to find the most suitable model structure and therefore the best modeling approach for the quantification of bradykinesia in Parkinson’s patients using the example of repeated forearm-rotation, which is a routine motion from Parkinson’s test protocols. The measurement characteristics applied for model development were based on knowledge about the considered movement and motion patterns in Parkinson’s disease as well as on insights provided by the literature on other studies concerning the quantification of Parkinson’s symptoms. The considered parametric and non-parametric models were developed for a number of sensor subsets and compared in terms of cross-validated mean squared prediction errors obtained for data not utilized during model development. As expected, it was found that when considering only gyroscopes, those measurements of angular velocities around the axis of the forearm were most relevant to model development. Additionally, results generally improved when using principal component analysis for dimension reduction prior to model development. The best results were obtained for local regression when applied to only two characteristics of measurements of angular velocities around the forearm, closely followed by linear regression using the same two characteristics.
Assessing Capabilities for Innovation

Most modern markets are characterized by both fiercer competition and higher velocity than ever before. In such an economic environment, companies experience a strong need to adapt and rejuvenate themselves in their pursuit for growth and profitability. This development is increasingly apparent in the energy industry, where Statkraft is a large and global utility corporation. The purpose of this report is to map out, evaluate and analyze Statkraft’s innovation capabilities. To do so, a conceptual framework that synthesizes the existing theory has been developed. This was done through a comparative research design where several existing frameworks conceptualizing innovation capabilities were compared and cross-analyzed. The result of this study is a system with seven dimensions that are deemed the most central when analyzing innovation capabilities, namely Organizational Structure, Culture & Learning, Innovation Strategy & Vision, Leadership & Innovation Management, External Linkages, Implementation, and finally Creativity This framework was then applied to assess the innovation capabilities of Statkraft. A so called innovation audit was performed, of which 20 qualitative interviews with employees of the company were an important feature. Another data collection method used was a qualitative content analysis of various documents about Statkraft and the energy industry. On a general level, it was found that the innovation capabilities of Statkraft are rather weak. The company has over a long period of time focused on strengthening the current operations and core business, which revolves around hydropower. Therefore, innovation has had to take a step back and it is for instance not a factor that the performance of employees and business units is evaluated on. However, innovation capabilities always need to be put in relation to the strategic intent of the company, and it is argued in the report that possessing strong capabilities of this type might not be crucial for Statkraft’s current competitive advantage.
Content words in Hebrew child-directed speech

The goal of the study was to examine whether the ‘noun-bias’ phenomenon, which exists in the lexicon of Hebrew-speaking children, also exists in Hebrew child-directed speech (CDS) as well as in Hebrew adult-directed speech (ADS). In addition, we aimed to describe the use of the different classes of content words in the speech of Hebrew-speaking parents to their children at different ages compared to the speech of parents to adults (ADS). Thirty infants (age range 8:5–33 months) were divided into three stages according to age: pre-lexical, single-word, and early grammar. The ADS corpus included 18 Hebrew-speaking parents of children at the same three stages of language development as in the CDS corpus. The CDS corpus was collected from parent–child dyads during naturalistic activities at home: mealtime, bathing, and play. The ADS corpus was collected from parent–experimenter interactions including the parent watching a video and then being interviewed by the experimenter. 200 utterances of each sample were transcribed, coded for types and tokens and analyzed quantitatively and qualitatively. Results show that in CDS, when speaking to infants of all ages, parents’ use of types and tokens of verbs and nouns was similar and significantly higher than their use of adjectives or adverbs. In ADS, however, verbs were the main lexical category used by Hebrew-speaking parents in both types and tokens. It seems that both the properties of the input language (e.g. the pro-drop parameter) and the interactional styles of the caregivers are important factors that may influence the high presence of verbs in Hebrew-speaking parents’ ADS and CDS. The negative correlation between the widespread use of verbs in the speech of parents to their infants and the ‘noun-bias’ phenomenon in the Hebrew-child lexicon will be discussed in detail. © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Microbial food webs in the dark: independence of Lake Plankton from recent algal production

We investigated the development of a heterotrophic plankton food web with or without phytoplankton primary production in a long-term (>1 yr) laboratory experiment. Water from 3 Swedish lakes (humic, oligotrophic clearwater, eutrophic) was exposed to low light or kept in total darkness in triplicate 100 1 cylinders. Dissolved organic carbon (DOC) dynamics, bacterial growth and biomass of protozoans, rotifers and microcrustaceans were followed over 18 mo. In the dark treatments, no primary production was detected and DOC concentrations decreased by between 19 and 27% (1.3 to 3.2 mg C l(-1)). There was bacterial and protozoan growth in the dark during the whole experimental period. However, numbers and production of bacteria, as well as protozoan biomass, were significantly lower in darkness. Dissolved (DOM) and particulate organic matter (POM) initially present in the water (i.e. 18 mo old at the end of the experiment) helped to support substantial metazoan biomasses in dark treatments in the humic and eutrophic waters, but not in the oligotrophic clearwater lake. DOM in the humic water, thus largely of allochthonous origin, gave the highest and most prolonged support to zooplankton living in darkness. Our study indicates that a microbial food web, based on allochthonous organic matter and developing independently from phytoplankton, can act as a link to metazoan zooplankton, especially in oligotrophic humic lakes. These results confirm studies using stable C isotopes, showing a substantial incorporation of terrestrial carbon into zooplankton.
M-Government: Measuring the Factors that influence Mobile Government Services Acceptance among Bahraini Youth

In recent years, the advancement of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) and particularly the rapid changes in mobile technologies have led to the development of new applications. Many governments worldwide have started moving towards Mobile Government (M-Government) as M-government can be a powerful component of the e-government that could facilitate more and better services to the citizens. For a better application of these services, it is important to investigate the factors that influence the intention to use M-government services. Therefore, this study is to investigate the factors that influence the intention to use M-Government services among Bahraini Youth. The theoretical model that was developed by [1] was employed for this purpose. The model is tested through a survey administered to Bahraini Youth. Results suggested Perceived Trust in Technology, Perceived Service Quality, and Perceived Compatibility affect Youth's intention to use M-services. The results also revealed that Ease of Use and Usefulness are antecedents to attitude toward using M-services. This research provides mobile service providers in Kingdom of Bahrain with a practical and communicable checklist of contextual and conditional factors, which are seamlessly integrated, and cover the end users (Youth) perspectives which should be considered as the cornerstone for any M-Government project.
Public Financial Accountability

WHAT IS ACCOUNTABILITY? What is it that the community is interested in? Formulation of answers to these questions has never been easy. Not a great deal has been said about the contents of accountability or the means through which it may be achieved although routine incantation of the need for accountability has become a notable feature of national and international debate. In some quarters, it is being offered as an instant aspirin that would contribute to minimal fiscal problems. There is, however, a need to go beyond slogans and discussion of general propositions, to look into the details and delineate the contours, contents and potential fault lines of accountability in general and of financial accountability, in particular. In addition to the two important issues raised above, it is imperative that answers are provided to a variety of questions that arise in this context. What is the evolution of accountability? Why the current emphasis on financial accountability? What are the features and instruments of financial accountability? Are the instruments adequate for the purpose? If they are underachieving, what are the contributory factors? What constructive agenda may be followed hereafter?
Feeding and Development of Nephaspis oculata (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) on Rugose Spiraling Whitefly (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae)

Abstract Nephaspis oculata (Blatchley) (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) is a predatory lady beetle that has been studied for biological control of whiteflies. Here, we studied the feeding rate and development of this beetle on rugose spiraling whitefly, Aleurodicus rugioperculatus Martin (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae), an invasive whitefly species that was first found in the United States in 2009. The objective of our study was to measure the feeding rate of N. oculata on rugose spiraling whitefly and compare the egg-to-adult development on eggs and nymphs. Our results showed that N. oculata is able to complete its development from egg to adult solely on rugose spiraling whitefly. At 26.7 °C, immature (1st to 4th instars combined) beetles consumed an average of 245.7 ± 14.4 rugose spiraling whitefly eggs prior to pupation. Adult beetles consumed 50.6 ± 1.8 eggs per day. There was no difference between the feeding rate of adult males and females or between immature males and females. Larvae searched for prey by sweeping the leaf surface in an arc-shaped area around them. Extra-oral digestion was observed during feeding, which involved withdrawing and regurgitating of fluids from and into the egg shell. It took 21.3 ± 0.7 d for the beetles to develop from egg to adult. The feeding rate of N. oculata on rugose spiraling whitefly was compared with that on Bemisia tabaci (Gennadius) (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae) at the same temperatures based on data from the literature. Adults of N. oculata consumed significantly lower number of eggs when fed on rugose spiraling whitefly compared with B. tabaci. However, rugose spiraling whitefly eggs are 3.7 times larger than B. tabaci eggs so the actual daily volume of rugose spiraling whitefly eggs consumed was 1.7 greater. Females of N. oculata produced significantly more adult progeny when fed on rugose spiraling whitefly eggs compared with rugose spiraling whitefly nymphs. Therefore, rugose spiraling whitefly eggs could be considered a more suitable choice than nymphs for rearing N. oculata. Results of our study may help researchers to determine suitable beetle-to-whitefly release ratios and to improve rearing methods of this beetle.
Preliminary investigations on automatic segmentation methods for detection and volume calculation of brain tumor from MR images.

Combining image segmentation based on the statistical classification with geometric prior information is supposed to increase robustness and reproducibility. A probability density function is initialized and a spatial constraint is defined which prevent segmentation that is not a part of the model. The goal of this work is a high quality image segmentation of healthy tissue and a precise delineation of tumor boundaries from multiple slices of MRI data. In this paper, algorithms like K-means, Watershed and Expectation Maximization algorithms are used for the investigation and the results of all the segmentations are compared. Based on the results, a common consensus on the robustness of each method is discussed. The Watershed segmentation and the Atlas are combined through markers and this has been applied in the Gray/White matter segmentation in MR images. A previous probability criterion is to be used for its calculation. These methods act as an aid in the early detection of many neurological disorders like Brain tumor, Paralysis, Alzheimer’s disease, etc. They also handle types of pathology, space occupying mass tumors, and infiltrating changes like edema aiding as a new technique for clinical routine for use in planning and monitoring in neurosurgery, radiology and radio-oncology. These methods can be enhanced to delineate tumor from surrounding tissues like edema aiding in image guided surgery. Both the off-line data and live patient data are used for the analysis. Testing of different algorithms for their robustness in segmenting the brain images are carried out using the image processing tool (IPT) of MATLAB.
Subspecies identification with mtDNA and morphometrics in captive palm cockatoos, Probosciger aterrimus

The European breeding programme (EEP) for palm cockatoos Probosciger aterrimus has managed two subspecies, P. a. goliath and P. a. aterrimus , separately since it was found that only these two subspecies were distinct genetic lineages. Until recently a captive palm cockatoo was assigned to one or the other subspecies relying solely on morphology, P. a. goliath being reputedly larger than P. a. aterrimus . This study aimed at first to determine the subspecies of 78 captive palm cockatoos – mainly members of the EEP population – by sequencing a mitochondrial marker which had proved relevant for wild specimens. We also collected several anatomical measurements in order to compare the morphology with the molecular marker and to assess the presumed link between morphology and subspecies. Ten different haplotypes were found over 54 non-related samples, which could be arranged into two groups consistent with the subspecies P. a. goliath and P. a. aterrimus . Morphometric analyses revealed significant differences between the two subspecies, although there was some overlap between values for P. a. goliath and P. a. aterrimus . A stepwise discriminant analysis, which included one criterion for females and two criteria for males, allowed a correct assignation of 95% on average for our sample. These results allowed us to confirm that the captive population of palm cockatoos consists of two distinct genetic subgroups, which overall match with morphotypes. Therefore to preserve these two different conservation units we advise that P. a. goliath and P. a. aterrimus continue to be managed as two separate breeding populations. Morphology using a recommended set of measurements gives a fairly reliable insight into the subspecies identity for a newly introduced palm cockatoo, but testing mtDNA is highly recommended to confirm the correct subspecies determination.
Stability Analysis Solutions for the Fourth-Order Nonlinear Ablowitz-Kaup-Newell-Segur Water Wave Equation

Ablowitz-Kaup-Newell-Segur (AKNS) hierarchy appears naturally in the model besides a string equation. The Korteweg-de Vries hierarchy is contained in the AKNS hierarchy as a reduction, and therefore appears in the model before one takes the double scaling limit. The AKNS hierarchy is a complexified version of the
Anomalous Cepheids in the Large Magellanic Cloud - Insight into their origin and connection with the star formation history

Context. The properties of variable stars can give independent constraints on the star formation history of the host galaxy, thro ugh the determination of the age and the metallicity of the parent population. Aims. We investigate the pulsation properties of 84 Anomalous Cepheids (ACs) detected by the OGLE-III survey in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC), in order to understand the formation mechanism and the characteristics of the parent population they originated from. Methods. We used updated theoretical pulsation scenario to derive the mass and the pulsation mode of each AC in the sample. We also discuss, by means of a Kolmogorov-Smirnov test, the spatial distribution of the ACs, in comparison with that of other groups of variable stars, and connect their properties with the star f ormation history of the LMC. Results. We find that the ACs’ mean mass is 1.2± 0.2M⊙. We show that ACs do not follow the same spatial distribution of classical Cepheids. This, and the fact that their period-luminosity r elations are different, provides further support to the hypothesis that ACs are not the extension to low luminosity of classical Cepheids. The spatial distribution of ACs is also different from that of bona-fide tracers of the old population, such as RR Lyrae stars and population II Cepheids. We therefore suggest that the majority of ACs in the LMC is made of intermediate-age (1-6 Gyr), metal-poor single stars. Finally, we investigate the relation between th e frequency of ACs and the luminosity of the host galaxy, disclosing that purely old system follow a very tight relation, and that gala xies with important intermediate-age and young star formation tend to have an excess of ACs, in agreement with the fact that they host ACs formed via both single and binary stars channels.
Motion motif extraction from high-dimensional motion information

Recently, there are a lot of researches on virtual environments for distant human communication. Real-time Human Proxy (RHP), which is a concept for such a virtual environment, has been proposed. For realizing natural communication by RHP, it is necessary to recognize human actions essential for human communication. However, it is difficult for system developers to decide which human actions should be recognized. For supporting the decision, we propose a human motion analysis method which automatically extracts frequent motion patterns as human action candidates. And, we show some experimental results for extracting human action.
Allelopathic Effects of Extracts from Maize Roots and Rice Husks' Residues on the Germination and Growth of Bidens pilosa L.

Screen house experiment was conducted to examine the allelopathic effects of the extracts from residues of maize root and rice husk on the germination and growth of Bidens pilosa L. The extracts brought about considerable inhibitions in all the growth parameters of the extract-treated seeds examined. The degree of retardation of both extract treated seeds increased with increase in the concentration of the extracts which showed that the inhibition was concentration dependent. The results obtained showed that the degree of retardation appeared to be more pronounced in B. pilosa seeds treated with extract from maize roots in growth parameters such as number of leaves at harvest and leaf area, relative growth rates, dry roots and shoot weights were inhibited. Similarly the degree of retardation was more pronounced in rice husk extract-treated seeds in growth parameters such as germination percentage and speed of germination. Statistical analysis (P < 0.05) revealed that there were significant differences in germination %, dry shoot weights of B. pilosa seeds treated with 40 g and 50 g maize roots extract concentrations when compared to the control experiment while other concentrations showed no significant difference to control experiment. Also, speed of germination, number of leaves at harvest and leaf area of B. pilosa seeds treated with extracts from residues of maize roots showed significant differences when compared with the values obtained from the control experiments. However, there were no significant differences in the all the growth parameters with rice husk treated seeds compared to control experiments. Similarly, no significant difference was observed in the relative growth rate of B. pilosa seeds treated with maize root extracts compared to control experiments.
Extraction of RNA from tough tissues with high proteoglycan content by cryosection, second phase separation and high salt precipitation

Reverse-transcription quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR) is a powerful technique for quantification of gene expression. Extraction of RNA directly from human and large animal intervertebral disc (IVD) tissue is technically challenging due to its tough nature, low cell-to-matrix ratio and high proteoglycan content. IVD is consisted of nucleus pulposus (NP) and annulus fibrosis (AF). We compared the yield and quality of RNA extracted from cultured cells using TRIzol and combined TRIzol-column method (TRIspin) with and without bovine NP tissue added for high proteoglycan content simulation. Higher yields were obtained using the TRIzol method compared to the TRIspin method and the quality of RNA extracted using both methods was comparable. Cryosectioning was by far the most effective homogenization method for the tough bovine NP tissue. The typical modification to TRIzol extraction by the use of high salt solution in a previously reported study for tissue with high proteoglycan was insufficient for bovine NP tissue, where undesirable precipitates were formed during the RNA precipitation step. This necessitates other modifications to the protocol. In our study, the combination of additional phase separation and high salt precipitation was shown to be effective to avoid the formation of the undesirable precipitates. The modified TRIzol method was compared with the TRIspin method and shown to give higher RNA yield which resulted in smaller Ct values in RT-qPCR. In addition, we showed that the cryosectioning method was applicable to bovine muscle, mouse IVD and rat NP tissues. This method of RNA preparation also allows simultaneous preparation of tissue for histological study and quantitative gene expression analysis.