Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A Nonlinear Fluid Standard Reference Material: Progress Report

A new NIST Standard Reference Material (SRM 2490 Nonlinear Fluid for Rheological Measurements) demonstrates shear thinning and normal stresses typical of polymeric fluids. SRM 2490 consists of polyisobutylene dissolved in 2,6,10,14-tetramethylpentadecane (pristane), giving a stable fluid with a wide temperature range. NIST will certify the linear viscoelastic behavior and the shear-rate dependence of the viscosity and first normal stress difference between 0 °C and 50 C. NIST will also use the fluid in a round robin to help the polymer community identify sources of variability in rheological measurements. Here we report progress on the project. The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) sells over 1300 Standard Reference Materials (SRMs) for the purposes of research into improved measurement methods, for calibrating instruments to ensure accurate measurements, and to provide quality control. Polymeric fluids, such as polymer melts and solutions, often do not follow the simple, Newtonian ideal in their flow behavior [1,2]. Such fluids typically demonstrate a viscosity that depends on shear rate as well as elastic effects such as normal stresses that can greatly affect their response to deformation. Accurate measurements of these material properties are critical for predicting the behavior of polymeric fluids in the complex flows they experience during processing and use. The new Standard Reference Material (SRM 2490) replaces a discontinued fluid (SRM 1490) to provide a means for assuring the accuracy of different types of instruments in measurements of viscoelastic fluids. This project will also include a round robin study of the new fluid to determine how much variability occurs in such measurements among a number of laboratories using different instruments.
DISCOVERY OF HIGH-ENERGY GAMMA-RAY EMISSION FROM THE BINARY SYSTEM PSR B1259−63/LS 2883 AROUND PERIASTRON WITH FERMI

We report on the discovery of ⩾100 MeV γ-rays from the binary system PSR B1259−63/LS 2883 using the Large Area Telescope (LAT) on board Fermi. The system comprises a radio pulsar in orbit around a Be star. We report on LAT observations from near apastron to ∼128 days after the time of periastron, tp, on 2010 December 15. No γ-ray emission was detected from this source when it was far from periastron. Faint γ-ray emission appeared as the pulsar approached periastron. At ∼tp + 30 days, the ⩾100 MeV γ-ray flux increased over a period of a few days to a peak flux 20–30 times that seen during the pre-periastron period, but with a softer spectrum. For the following month, it was seen to be variable on daily timescales, but remained at ∼(1–4) × 10−6 cm−2 s−1 before starting to fade at ∼tp + 57 days. The total γ-ray luminosity observed during this period is comparable to the spin-down power of the pulsar. Simultaneous radio and X-ray observations of the source showed no corresponding dramatic changes in radio and X-ray flux between the pre-periastron and post-periastron flares. We discuss possible explanations for the observed γ-ray-only flaring of the source.
Optimization of Geometric Parameters of a New Wedge Brake Using Taguchi Approach

The main objective of the present study is to optimize the geometric parameters of wedge disc brake for improving brake performance by applying the Taguchi method with orthogonal array robust design. The experimental tests using brake dynamometers are integrated with Taguchi method to find out the significant contributions of different types of geometric parameters for effective increasing of the brake performance. From Taguchi method results, the effective geometric parameters to improve the performance of wedge brake are obtained. Results of this work show that the most significant geometric parameters on wedge brake performance can be achieved through combination of the friction material thickness and friction material length.
Effects of biological and environmental factors on sex ratio in Ascogaster quadridentata Wesmael (Hymenoptera: Braconidae), a parasitoid of Cydia pomonella L. (Torticidae)

The sex ratio in the natural population of most Hymenopteran parasitoids is 1 : 1. Females of these parasitoids, however, can regulate the sex of their offspring in response to environmental and biological factors. Under certain circumstances, this may lead to an overproduction of males, which can result in a very negative impact on any control program using these parasitoids. For these reasons, understanding the effect of these factors is very important. In this study, five biological and environmental factors known to affect sex ratio in parasitic Hymenoptera were investigated for Ascogaster quadridentata Wesmael, a parasitoid of Cydia pomonella L. Results showed that food, ambient temperature, and parasitoid age had significant effects on the sex ratio of the offspring of Hymenopteran parasitoids. The percentage of females decreased with lack of food, parasitoid age (when it became 10-days-old or older), and at low (15°C) and high (35°C) temperatures. The effect of host age and density, however, was not significant.
Polymerized ABA Triblock Copolymer Vesicles

The synthesis and the characterization of a poly(2-methyloxazoline)-block-poly(dimethylsiloxane)-block-poly(2-methyloxazoline) (PMOXA−PDMS−PMOXA) triblock copolymer carrying polymerizable groups at both chain ends are described. This copolymer forms vesicular structures in dilute aqueous solution, the size of which can be controlled in the range from 50 nm up to about 500 nm. The methacrylate end groups of the triblock copolymer can be polymerized in the vesicular aggregates using an UV-induced free radical polymerization. Static and dynamic light scattering, scanning electron microscopy, and transmission electron microscopy on both the resulting nanocapsules and their nonpolymerized precursors clearly show that the cross-linking polymerization does not lead to morphological changes in the underlying vesicles. Moreover, due to their cross-linked structure, the nanocapsules are shape persistent, thus maintaining their integrity even after their isolation from the aqueous solution.
Exploring the influences of the use of elements comprising information system development methodologies on strategic business goals

AbstractAs the competitive pressure of the global market for information systems (IS) continues to increase, IS development enterprises should start to consider if and how the use of IS development methodologies (ISDM) influences their main strategic business goals. More precisely, they should start to consider two different dimensions of the actual use of ISDM: the number of times an opportunity for ISDM use arises and the number of times the ISDM is actually used. Otherwise, they run the risk of mismanaging their ISDM-related investments. The goal of this study is to develop a model that would enable academics and IS practitioners to better examine and understand how different dimensions of the use of ISDM influence strategic business goals of cost leadership, differentiation and cornering niche markets in IS development enterprises. Given the limited literature on the research topic, this study was considered exploratory and theory building in nature. The main result of the presented exploratory study .
Towards an adaptive web based learning environment for treating and diagnosing chronic wounds

A wise decision when choosing adequate products to treat chronic wounds depends on proper diagnosis and characterization of the chronic wound. Developing skills for treating and diagnosing chronic wounds requires not only academic knowledge, but also other types of knowledge not easily acquired through traditional instructional methodologies. The expertise obtained by individuals, when they are solving real life practical cases, is very important to diagnose and correctly treat chronic wounds. This additional empirical knowledge is not easily transmitted in classrooms, and so the academic instruction should be completed with real life practical examples and practical cases. The e-Fer Web Based Learning Environment for chronic wounds, is a case based learning tool for assisting nursing students to develop skills for diagnosing and treating chronic wounds. This paper will briefly describe some characteristics of the platform, and our main goal is to present our novel approach to implement the adaptive version of the learning environment. We are also going to discuss our user model, and the types of learning support that we decided to implement in the system.
Impact of Participatory Varietal Selection (PVS) on Varietal Diversification and Seed Dissemination in the Tigray region, north Ethiopia: a Case of barley

discussions. In all villages, a seed fair (diversity fair) was also organized. It was observed that the project initiative greatly accelerated the varietal richness across study villages. The annual production of barley in terms of area coverage in these villages has shown steady increament. The GGE biplot analysis of the preference matrix ranking showed that Himblil, Misrach and Dimtu varieties were positively discriminated by farmers from others due to their average yield, disease resistance and number of grains per spike. HB-42 was the least preferred variety. However the extent of land area coverage and dissemination was found to significantly vary across the study villages. The study revealed that Seed Safety through Diversity (SSD)/PVS and Local Seed Business (LSB) activities were encouraging. The Mugulat local group association operating as “Association of barley” was found to promote farmer based seed dissemination. It is recommended that PVS/PPB (participatory plant breeding) and LSB should continue and recognition be given to farmers’ group formation initiatives. To address lack of seed of preferred varieties, a continuous renewal of seed system and scaling-up of seed dissemination should be carried out by the LSB. The replacement rate of old varieties needs further investigation to design appropriate strategies of balancing development and genetic conservation.
EFL for Development.

This paper examines the relationship between teaching English as a foreign language (EFL) and development issues. I An analysis of the key areas of developmental EFL is offered. In addition, English language teaching (ELT) in developing countries is discussed from the point of view of its effects on the host culture. Throughout the article, suggestions are made for ensuring that developmental EFL/ELT becomes a productive force within a host country.
Genetic transformation of Physcomitrella patens mediated by Agrobacterium tumefaciens

A simple efficient protocol for introducing exogenous gene from Agrobacterium tumfaciens into Physcomitrella patens was established. When the gametophores of gametophytes about 12 leaves were inoculated into the wells of PP3 medium at 25°C under the continuous light energy of 30 mol m-2 s-1 from cool-white fluorescent lamps, they grew up to form many buds at about 11 days, then A. tumefaciens at OD600 0.3 was added into the whole wells for 4 times at an interval of 12 h for continuous co-cultivation. After about 17 days of co-culture, the new juvenile gametophytes about 12 leaves grew up and were incubated into PP3 medium containing 50 mg L-1 kanamycin for selection. 100% positive plants could be obtained after 4 generations of selective culture. PCR analysis showed that gene Cameleon YC2.1 in A. tumefaciens was transferred into all detected plants of P. patens and southern blotting analysis confirmed that exogenous gene was integrated into genomic DNA at a single locus. The results facilitated to analyze genes from more plants via genetic transformation by this system.
Declaration of Partial Copyright Licence

Subtractive morphology (SM) has been an important form of evidence for process-based theories of morphology. The evidence in the literature consists of broad surveys of plausible examples, but lacks either theoretical justification for selected examples or rigorous investigation of SM in the context of grammars of particular languages. Focusing on Tohono O'odham (TO, Uto-Aztecan), the aim is to determine (i) if the native rules alone can account for SM, (ii) if concatenative theories of morphology can account for all the facts without unmotivated assumptions. This study investigates options that make use of TO phonological and morphophonemic processes, as well as a number of approaches to SM intended to avoid process-based morphology. It concludes that all of these concatenative approaches lead to unnecessary stipulations or predictions of TO that are untrue. Finally, this study provides a process-based analysis of TO subtractive morphology in Antifaithfulness Theory to address criticisms to process-based morphology.
Rethinking the Roles of Fashion Designers. The Case of Pre Helsinki

Abstract: This paper discusses the diverse roles fashion designers play in the contemporary fashion industry. Taking Finland as a case, it particularly investigates how fashion designers are involved in regional identity formation. By conceptualizing the place-making ability of fashion designers, it adds a new perspective on the expanded roles of fashion designers recognized in design research. This is done through exploration of Pre Helsinki, a platform launched in 2013 seeking to internationalize Finnish fashion. This platform, created and operated mostly by fashion designers, serves as a vivid example of the different roles that designers can play. The study is based on qualitative methods, namely, semi-structured interviews and ethnographic observation. Five characteristics of Pre Helsinki and five fashion designers’ corresponding roles were identified, based on thematic analysis of the data. This paper concludes with suggestions for further investigation on fashion designers to establish a dialogue between fashion and design research.
An Online Ship Emissions Calculator as a Decision-Making Aid and Policy Evaluation Tool.

The broader analysis of greenhouse gases such as CO2, and of other, non-greenhouse gases, such as SO2 and NOx is already very high on the International Maritime Organization's (IMO) agenda. Various analyses of many aspects of the problem have been and are being carried out and a spectrum of measures are being contemplated. The authors have developed a web-based tool that is freely available online for calculating the exhaust gas emissions (CO2, SO2 and NOx) of specific types of ships under a variety of operational scenarios. It can be used for example by ship owners who need to know both the amount of emissions that their ships produce, and, indirectly, the bunker consumption, in order to choose between alternative scenarios that are both economic and more environmental friendly. In this paper, the algorithm that is behind the web tool as well as the practical importance of this tool are presented. Actual scenarios based on data provided by shipping companies are used and possible ways to incorporate the webtool into actual decision-making are analyzed.
Nursing interventions in preventing obstetric fistula in adolescents in East Africa

ed labour has been identified as the major cause of obstetric fistula in young girls in East Africa and this has been mainly due to prolonged labour. Banke-Thomas et al (2014) indicates that the average labour of women who had fistula lasted 2.61 days, while an average of 1.61 days passed before they sought assistance in health institutions. Preventive strategies have been used to get women to hospitals on time for labour to be managed by skilled birth attends. Nurses are using proper labour management to monitor the progress of labour and identify existing complications like poor progress of labor, prolonged labour, fetal distress, obstructed labor and ruptured uterus (Mezmur and Agumasie 2017). To achieve proper diagnosis on how labour is progressing, there has been a need to have proper tools used in labour management. In most East African countries, the use of the partograph, a tool used in monitoring labour so as to identify labour at risk of mal-progression is, has been reported. Wakabi (2008) reports that efforts have been directed at training health providers to use a partograph to monitor the progress of labour to recognise danger signs and obstetric emergencies and identify when medical attention is needed with the goal of prevention and treatment of obstetric fistula. Mezmur and Agumasie (2017) conforms in their study that healthcare workers are actively using the partograph in monitoring labour progress. Their study shows that 59.5% of the respondents who were midwives and nurses, knew how to diagnose the presence of prolonged labour using the partograph and 78.7% of them knew about the assessment of satisfactory progress of labour. As a nursing intervention tool, Mezmur and Agumasie (2017) affirm that partograph is an efficacious tool for monitoring labour and identify women requiring further interventions and is being used by nurses in East Africa. Improving referral systems Prolonged and abstracted labour has been uniformly promoted by the safe factors among pregnant women and girls in Ethiopia, Uganda and Kenya. Wakabi (2008) notes that obstetric fistula
QUANTIFYING SAFETY AND MANAGING THE ROADSIDE ENVIRONMENT

The objective of roadside safety management is to maximize the safety return for the resources invested. Before safety can be maximized, it must be measured. A technique for measuring and defining safety is discussed in this paper. This method systematically adds the risk associated with each hazard along a roadway and computes a safety scale that quantifies the "safeness" of the roadway. A conditional probability model that describes the probabilities of encroaching, becoming involved in an accident given that an encroachment occurs, and sustaining a severe or fatal injury given that a reported accident occurs is presented. An automated implementation of this quantification technique for managing roadside safety is described. Implementation issues related to gathering data and developing encroachment, collision and severity models are also presented.
Unexpected Consequences of Liberalisation: Metering, Losses, Load Profiles and Cost Settlement in Spain’s Electricity System

European energy markets have undergone a major transformation as they have advanced towards market liberalisation and it is vital that the details of these developments be carefully examined. The success of liberalisation is based on smart regulation, which has been capable of providing solutions to unforeseen events in the process. Our paper seeks to contribute to existing understanding of the unexpected consequences of the liberalisation process in the power system by examining a natural experiment that occurred in Spain in 2009. In that year, the electricity supply by distribution system operators (DSOs) disappeared. This positive change in retail market competition, as we demonstrate in this paper, has had an unexpected effect in terms of the system’s balancing requirements. We undertake a rigorous assessment of the economic consequences of this policy change for the whole system, in terms of its impact on final electricity prices.
Quantifying Business Process Optimization using Regression

The paper applies regression methods to model Business Process Optimisation (BPO) in order to derive measures for the extent of BPO achievement if efforts to optimise have already started. This will help to identify components of business that still need to be improved if full optimisation has not yet been achieved in a business. Regression methods were used to explain the tentative relationship of BPO with the variables identified as components of BPO. Two models (one with dummy coefficients and another with probabilistic coefficients) were developed. The first one was found to be unsuitable and lacked resources for further development. The second was satisfactory. A measure of BPO progress was then developed. The data used in the experiments were obtained from a private bank in South Africa. A regression model was designed and then fitted, statistically tested and found to be acceptable. Also, an estimate of the measure of BPO attainment level was developed. The study achieved its main goal, but acknowledgment is made to do more experiments with several larger data sets.
Histopathological Effect of Probiotics after Intra-Peritoneal Injection of Ehrlith Ascites Tumor Cells

Background: Some functional foods such as probiotics play a beneficial role functions in the treatment of some health problems and ameliorate the oxidative stress mechanisms and other risks which improving the quality of life. Cancer is one of the most important health problems. Methods: For this study forty four female Swiss albino mice were used. These mice were subdivided into four groups (negative control, positive control and two induced carcinogenic groups fed on probiotics). Yoghurt and fermented kidney beans used as probiotics. Cancer induced by intra-peritoneal injection of 2×106 Ehrlich ascites tumor cells. The tumer will examine histopathologically. Results: of degeneration and necrosis. Feeding on fermented kidney beans was more effective than yogurt in which the neoplastic cells became smaller in size, degenerated and lost their nuclei. Conclusion: In this study the two tested probiotics (yoghurt and fermented kidney beans) used as biofunctional foods to reduce the high risk of these disease.
A Multiscale Workspace for Managing and Exploring Personal Digital Libraries

People interact with personal information collections in two closely-related ways: managing – organizing, indexing, culling, and assimilating new items – and exploring – browsing, filtering, and reflecting on the contents as part of a concernful activity. Managing and exploring a collection are not independent activities; many interactions serve both purposes. Existing work has explored the use of images in spatial layouts to represent and interact with collections of several content types, especially digital photos and web-page bookmarks. The broad goal of this research is to extend the use of images and spatial organization to managing and exploring collections of other types, and to better understand the interdependence of these two activities. In particular, professional researchers maintain personal collections of domain-relevant documents – personal digital libraries – as an essential part of their professional lives. Indeed, the very process of research requires managing and exploring such resources. This work is an attempt both to facilitate and to better understand the use of personal libraries by developing a multiscale image-based workspace for exploring and managing collections of documents.
COMPARATIVE GENETIC ANALYSIS IN INSULAR AND MAINLAND POPULATIONS OF THE FLORIDA COTTONMOUTH, AGKISTRODON PISCIVORUS CONANTI

of Thesis Presented to the Graduate School of the University of Florida in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Science COMPARATIVE GENETIC ANALYSIS IN INSULAR AND MAINLAND POPULATIONS OF THE FLORIDA COTTONMOUTH, AGKISTRODON PISCIVORUS CONANTI By Andrew W. Roark December 2003 Chair: Harvey B. Lillywhite Major Department: Zoology Seahorse Key (Levy County, Florida) is an important rookery for wading birds and supports an unusually dense population of Florida cottonmouth snakes (Agkistrodon piscivorus conanti) that are dependent on the rookery. The snakes are entirely terrestrial and scavenge on dead or rotting fish that are dropped or regurgitated by the nesting birds. Sensitivity of snakes to seawater and the apparent differentiation of certain character states relative to mainland populations suggest the cottonmouths on Seahorse Key comprise a relatively isolated population. DNA fingerprinting was used to study genetic divergences among the Seahorse Key and two mainland cottonmouth populations. Amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) analyses indicated little genetic variation (Φst = 0.005 0.020) and small genetic distances (D = 0.003 0.012) among the populations, although genetic distance was least between the two mainland populations. The small differences measured suggest the population at Seahorse Key either