Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Effects of Task-based Academic Listening on High School EFL Students' Listening Comprehension: Does Experiential Learning Style Matter?

Task-based language teaching (TBLT) has been considered as an effective language teaching methodology. However, its applicability for lower-proficiency learners in EFL contexts has not been adequately justified. Moreover, the possible mediating effect of the experiential learning styles on academic listening TBLT has not been targeted in the literature, a gap that this study attempts to fill. To this end, male pre-intermediate Iranian EFL learners (N=88) in four experiential learning styles (n=22), selected purposefully through the experiential learning style questionnaire, took part in the study. The study utilized a time series design and all participants received the TBLT. To get some insights regarding the learners' attitudes toward the TBLT, the researchers implemented a perception questionnaire at the end of the treatment. The results of a mixed-method ANOVA for within-group difference revealed that the task-based instruction significantly affected pre-intermediate EFL learners’ performance on academic listening tests. A between-group comparison of four experiential learning styles also confirmed that the learners with different learning styles performed similarly on the tests. It was also found that learners had positive attitudes toward such instruction. The results have clear implications for foreign language teaching, teacher training and curriculum design with regard to the selection of appropriate methodology for teaching academic listening.
Distribution and Number of Intracardiac Ganglion Cells in the Rat

The purpose of this study was to reevaluate the distribution and the number of intracardiac ganglion cells in the rat. Hearts were excised from adult male Wistar rats. The distribution of the ganglia was mapped using thick, frozen sections of rat heart histochemically stained for acetylcholinesterase. The ganglion cells were divided into several groups with the largest group located dorsal to the inferior interatrial septum. The disector method was used to estimate the number of neurons in seven micron thick paraffin sections. The number of neurons in the rat heart was 3629±337 (mean ±S.E., n=3).
AN APPROACH FOR COPY-MOVE ATTACK DETECTION AND TRANSFORMATION RECOVERY

Abstract - Digital images play an important role in the carrier of information and are widely used in all areas of day-to-day life. However, with the development of modern science and technology, more and more image processing software's are developed. This leads to the forgery of digital images. So, the authenticity of the image information faces great challenge in Digital Image Forensics. The main area of concern is the Copy-Move forgery in Digital Images. Copy-move forgery is one of the forensic technique in which particular area is get copied and then pasted onto the other portion of the image. Therefore, the main aim is to identify the forged region in an given image. The SIFT (Scale Invariant Feature Transform) algorithm is used for extracting the features from an image. This algorithm is divided into four stages. Each stage plays an important role in extracting features from an image. The forgery is detected when similar features are detected within the pre-defined areas. After detecting the features, next task is to detect geometric transformations made in an image. The RANSAC (Random Sample Consensus) algorithm is used to detect the geometric transformations made in an image.
THE ESOURCING CAPABILITY MODEL FOR SERVICE PROVIDERS: THE PRACTICE ASSOCIATIONS TO KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT PROCESSES IN DIF- FERENT PARTS OF THE SOURCING LIFE-CYCLE

Laaksonen, Pekka The eSourcing Capability Model for Service Providers: Knowledge Management across the Sourcing Life-cycle Jyväskylä: University of Jyväskylä, 2011, 42 p. Information Systems, Bachelor’s thesis Supervisor(s): Käkölä, Timo In this bachelor’s thesis the goal was to research how practices of the eSourcing Capability Model for Service Providers are related to four knowledge management processes: knowledge creation, storage/retrieval, sharing and application. Thesis was written as a literature review and research problem was addressed by placing the model’s practices in a matrix which had the sourcing life-cycle in its horizontal axis and the knowledge management processes in its vertical axis.
How can scientific researches change conservation priorities? A review of decade-long research on blind mole-rats (Rodentia: Spalacinae) in the Carpathian Basin

Introduction: From time to time, it could be useful to revise and re-assess the results of long-term programs in conservation and research. This paper overviews an ongoing research program that started 10 years ago in Central Europe and focuses on blind mole-rats, a scarcely investigated and consequently enigmatic group of rodents. Results: Systematics and Taxonomy. By means of molecular biological methods targeting the sequences of mitochondrial genes we conclude that five species of blind mole-rats, representatives of genera Spalax and Nannospalax , occur in the Carpathian Basin. Based on our present knowledge they are the only terrestrial vertebrate species endemic to the region. Mapping of distributions. As recently as one hundred years ago blind mole-rats were widespread and common all over the Carpathian Basin. In the last decade, all the regions in Hungary, the Transylvanian Basin and Vojvodina where previous genuine records were known, were checked systematically. Maps and aerial photography provided information on the exact location of habitat patches that are supposed to be suitable for blind mole-rats even today. In recent years (from 2008 onwards) the survey area was extended to all locations where residents reported on the occurrence of mole-rats. Threatening factors. The main cause of population decline is agricultural development which brought about significant changes in cultivation and land use. The following specific threatening factors were defined: cultivation, tree plantations, natural reafforestation, invasive plants, overgrazing, site developement, genetic bottlenecks, extreme weather conditions, and inadequate legal protection. Risk assessment. Red List categories for all species of Carpathian Basin blind mole-rats were assessed according to the 2001 criteria. Accordingly, one species is proposed to be ranked as Vulnerable, two as Endangered, one as Critically Endangered, and one as Data Deficient (probably extinct). Conclusions: Results from molecular biological and systematic studies, distribution mapping and determination of threatening factors, have had profound effects on practical conservation. These include action plans, wide international co-operations, establishment of a new protected area, updated protected species’ list, species-level risk assessment, and the first-ever relocation program of a subterranean mammal. Key words: Nannospalax , protected species, recent distribution, risk assessment, Spalacinae, Spalax , threatening factors
Evaluating Technical Efficiency of Small-scale Pineapple (Ananas comosus) Production in Bureti District, Kenya

Kenya has been one of the world's leading pineapple producers for many years and is currently ranked 9th internationally. The biggest source of fruit is at Del Monte's farm in Thika, but small-scale growers are also increasing their production for the local market. However, in Bureti District there is a gap between the potential farm yield and the actual yield realized by the pineapple farmers. Thus, this study has examined questions on current farm level efficiency in small-scale pineapple production. A semi-structured and pre-tested questionnaire was used to collect data from small-scale pineapple farmers through face to face interviews. Multi-stage sampling method was employed to get a representative sample of 150 pineapple farmers. The study used stochastic production frontier, to estimate technical efficiencies of pineapple production among small-scale farmers in Bureti district. Results of the study indicated that the average technical efficiency of pineapple production was 0.69. This implies that given the level of technology and inputs, the output could be increased by 30.8% through better use of available resources thus farmers should be trained to enhance their capacity to efficiently use the available resources.
TECHNOLOGY ACCEPTANCE FOR FIELD WORKERS WITH PORTABLE DEVICES AND THE EFFECT OF PERCEIVED BEHAVIORAL CONTROL

With the rapid growth of population and technology, more and more traditional industries are migrating to hi-tech systems. Since technology acceptance influent the productivity increment greatly, Technology Acceptance Model was used most frequently to explain and predict user’s acceptance of a newly adopted technology. However, the model had few reports on field worker environment, and also, whether perceived behavioral control should be added to the model, are issues worthy of discussion. To clarify the doubts, this paper conducted a survey to 160 road side ticket issuers of Taipei city parking administration, who recently changed their issuing system from paper-and–pen to PDA. The 15-itemquestionnaire is adopted form literature and the results of focus group meetings and a small scale pre-test. The data collected were analyzed with SEM method, discussion and future research directions are also provided.
ESSAYS IN OPTIMAL MONETARY POLICY AND STATE-SPACE ECONOMETRICS

This dissertation consists of three essays relating to asymmetric preferences in optimal monetary policy models. Optimal monetary policy models are theoretical optimal control problems that seek to identify how the monetary authority makes decisions and ultimately formulate decision rules for monetary policy actions. These models are important to policy makers because they help to define expectations of policy responses by the central bank. By identifying how researchers perceive the central bank’s actions over time, the monetary authority can identify how to manage those expectations better and formulate effective policy measures. In chapter 1, using a model of an optimizing monetary authority which has preferences that weigh inflation and unemployment, Ruge-Murcia (2003a; 2004) finds empirical evidence that the monetary authority has asymmetric preferences for unemployment. We extend this model to weigh inflation and output and show that the empirical evidence using these series also supports an asymmetric preference hypothesis, only in our case, preferences are asymmetricforoutput. Wealsofindevidencethatthemonetaryauthoritytargetspotential output rather than some higher output level as would be the case in an extended Barro and Gordon (1983) model. Chapter 2 extends the asymmetric monetary policy problem of Surico (2007) by relaxing the assumption that inflation and interest rate targets are constant using a time varying parameter approach. By estimating a system of equations using iterative maximum likeli- hood, all of the monetary planner’s structural parameters are identified. Evidence indicates that the inflation and interest rate targets are not constant over time for all models esti- mated. Results also indicate that the Federal Reserve does exhibit asymmetric preferences toward inflationary and output gap movements for the full data sample. The results are robust when accounting for changing monetary policy targeting behavior in an extended model. The asymmetry for both inflation and output gaps disappears over the post-Volcker subsample, as in Surico (2007). In chapter 3, Walsh (2003b)’s speed limit objective function is generalized to allow for asymmetry of policy response. A structural model is estimated using unobserved compo- nents to account for core inflation and measure the output gap as in Harvey, Trimbur and Van Dijk (2007) and Harvey (2011). Full sample estimates provide evidence for asymmetry in changes in inflation over time, but reject asymmetry for the traditional speed limit for the output gap. Post-Volcker subsample estimates see asymmetry disappear as in a more traditional asymmetric preferences model like Surico (2007).
The Value Relevance of Goodwill and Goodwill Amortization : Evidence from Listed Japanese Companies

The results of this paper suggest that goodwill has a positive significant relationship with stock prices. And information of goodwill is more value relevant for non-manufacturing companies than for manufacturing companies. Moreover, the results indicate that earnings before amortization are more relevant than earnings after amortization. These findings suggest that goodwill amortization provides incremental information that is useful for assessing stock prices.
Glutathione Peroxidase cDNA Cloning and Expression in Soybean Roots under Heterodera glycines Infection

A gene named GmGPX1 encoding glutathione peroxidase (GPX) was cloned and sequenced from soybean roots infested Heterodera glycines by RT-PCR (Reverse Transcription PCR), which is a crucial enzyme in plant cells regulating reactive oxygen species (ROX). The cDNA length of cloned gene was 693bp, flanked by a 5'-untranslated region of 7bp and a 3'-untranslated region of 185bp, containing six exons and five introns. Genomic DNA fragment was located at Glycine max chromosome 5. The open reading frame of cDNA which encodes a polypeptide of 166 amino acid residues and protein molecular weight was 18375.8Da, theoretical isoelectric point 6.59. The deduced amino acid sequence showed about 99% and 64% homology with G max putative PHGPX (XP_003532707.1) and Arabidopsis thaliana GPX (NP_564813.1), respectively. The expression profile of the GmGPX1 in Xiaoliheidou ( G. max ) under H. glycines infection, which generates oxidative stress, was analyzed. Real time PCR analysis revealed that the GmGPX1 mRNA levels were increased stabilized from 1.3 to 1.47 times after exposure to H. glycines from 12h to 48h, and reduced to 1.07 times at 72h comparing with non-inoculation control. These results suggest that the GmGPX1 gene is induced by H. glycines at early stage in soybean roots and play an important role in removing oxidative damage.
Identification and characterization of a seed-specific grapevine dehydrin involved in abiotic stress response within tolerant varieties

To identify and isolate genes related to abiotic stress (salinity and drought) tolerance in grapevine, a candidate gene approach led to the isolation from Cabernet Sauvignon cultivar of a full-length cDNA of dehydrin gene. The latter, named VvDhn, which is highly and mainly induced in late embryogenesis in seeds, encodes for a protein of 124 amino acids with a predicted molecular mass of 13.3 kDa. Details of the physicochemical parameters and structural properties (molecular mass, secondary structure, conserved domains and motives, and putative posttranslational modification sites) of the encoded protein have also been elucidated. The expression study of VvDhn was carried out within plant organs and tissues as well as under drought and salt stresses. VvDhn was not detected in vegetative tissue, whereas it was only expressed during seed development (during late embryogenesis) at extremely high levels and was induced by salt and drought stresses as well as ABA application. Moreover, salt stress induced VvDhn expression in the tolerant variety (Razegui) but not the sensitive variety (Syrah), which did not display expression variation during stress; VvDhn expression level and salt-stress response depend on regulatory mechanisms that are efficient only in the tolerant variety. On the other hand, under drought stress VvDhn was induced in both tolerant and sensitive varieties, with higher levels in the tolerant variety. In addition, stress signal molecules such as ABA (applied alone or in combination with saccharose) induced VvDhn expression, even at low levels. Minimal knowledge about the role and functionality of this gene is necessary and constitutes a prerequisite for including VvDhn in grapevine abiotic stress tolerance improvement programs.
Household Demand for Housing in Kenya

Previous studies have established that demand pattern for housing identifies with that of a necessary good. The nature of housing goods consumed is highly heterogeneous in dimensions like ownership, size, location and tenure type. In this study I model the probability of household tenure types in Kenya using Household Budget Survey data. Using a Multinomial Logit Model (MNLM) formulation three tenure, household size and age of the household head emerge as significant predictors of household housing choices. Based on the results, the government and firms can rely on household size and age of the household head to approximate demand for housing services in the various tenure types. Furthermore, the ability to interpolate these variables based on occasional population surveys makes it easier to design mechanisms of matching demand and supply for housing services.
Technology Concepts to Improve Knowledge Sharing During Maintenance

Industrial maintenance is a complex and knowledgeintensive field. Maintenance technicians need to have special professional skills and easy access to versatile and situationally relevant knowledge. The aim of this paper is to understand the nature and needs of maintenance work and to propose new technology concepts so as to support knowledge gathering and sharing. As a result of studies in two maintenance cases, it was found that communication between different actors is a key element in maintenance. Therefore, three different technology concepts were proposed in order to support and enhance communication. These concepts include augmented reality and wearable technologies that will provide new and efficient ways to help maintenance technicians in gathering and sharing taskspecific information and long-term knowledge. In the next phase of this on-going research project, these technology concepts will be tested and evaluated with maintenance technicians.
The Analysis of the Concrete Gravity Dam’s Foundation Uplift Pressure under the Function of Typhoon

How to evaluate the seepage safety status of the concrete gravity dam under the function of short-period heavy rainfall and the possible historical extreme reservoir water level during typhoon is an important issue considering the dam safety-monitoring. Based on analysis of the monitoring series of the foundation uplift pressure, this paper assumed the influential process of antecedent reservoir water level and rainfall as a process of normal distribution and introduced the mutation factor to reflect the uprush feature of uplift pressure under the function of high-influential typhoon. Moreover, the corresponding hysteresis days and influential days of the model are optimized with quantum genetic algorithm (QGA) to raise the fitting and prediction accuracy. It is verified that the new statistical model for fitting can obtain higher multiple correlation coefficient (0.972) compared with the traditional statistical model (0.925) and could also perfectly predict the uprush feature of the pressure during the typhoon, which is of certain theoretical and practical application value in the future.
Synthesized grain size distribution in the interstellar medium

We examine a synthetic way of constructing the grain size distribution in the interstellar medium (ISM). First, we formulate a synthetic grain size distribution composed of three grain size distributions processed with the following mechanisms that govern the grain size distribution in the Milky Way: (i) grain growth by accretion and coagulation in dense clouds, (ii) supernova shock destruction by sputtering in diffuse ISM, and (iii) shattering driven by turbulence in diffuse ISM. Then, we examine if the observational grain size distribution in the Milky Way (called MRN) is successfully synthesized or not. We find that the three components actually synthesize the MRN grain size distribution in the sense that the deficiency of small grains by (i) and (ii) is compensated by the production of small grains by (iii). The fraction of each contribution to the total grain processing of (i), (ii), and (iii) (i.e., the relative importance of the three contributions to all grain processing mechanisms) is 30–50%, 20–40%, and 10–40%, respectively. We also show that the Milky Way extinction curve is reproduced with the synthetic grain size distributions.
EU-MIGRATION IN THE CONTEXT OF LIBERALIZING AGRICULTURAL MARKETS

In the last decades migration has become an increasingly regarded topic in economic research in line with the growth of the world's migrant population which more than doubled in the 1960s and 1990s (ILO 2002). Particularly now - in the light of the forthcoming EU Eastern enlargement with 10 middle and eastern European countries accessing the Union - migration gains importance in research even more. With respect to these future developments several studies have been carried out analyzing various issues, like migration incentives or future migration flows in an enlarged EU. Regarding the forthcoming heavy adjustments of Eastern agriculture to the EU's CAP strong impacts not only on agriculture but also on the labor markets will occur. In order to reflect the economic developments in the candidate as well as in the current EU member countries as realistic as possible the simulations carried out in this paper comprise a very detailed modeling of the agricultural market and furthermore incorporate migration flows. The purpose of the different simulations is to point out the relevance of migration issues in the course of regional integration and its influence on the different production sectors.
Thermodynamic quantities and fluctuation theorems in open quantum systems

We study fluctuation theorems for open quantum systems using the approach of quantum master equations, and examine the thermodynamic quantities that appear in those fluctuation theorems. The approach of Markovian quantum master equations to the fluctuation theorems was developed by Esposito and Mukamel [Phys. Rev. E 73, 046129 (2006)]. We show that their discussion can be formally generalized to the case of a non-Markovian heat bath in the case where the local system is linearly connected to the Gaussian heat bath with the spectrum distribution of the Drude form. However, we found that the thermodynamic quantities that appear in those fluctuation theorems can be ill-defined or inconsistent with each other by numerically simulating the spin-boson model.
Production and Characterization of Phospholipases C from some Bacillus thuringiensis Isolates Recovered from Egyptian Soil

Two hundred and thirty one isolates, with the characteristic morphology of Genus Bacillus, were recovered from 100 soil samples collected from 7 different Egyptian governorates, and were screened for phospholipase C (PLC) production by egg-yolk plate method. Sixty isolates have shown very high PLC production and were further assessed using chromogenic assay method. The highest five producers, identified by 16S rRNA gene sequencing as Bacillus thuringiensis , were selected and their PLCs were purified to homogeneity using ammonium sulfate precipitation and Sephadex G-75 gel filtration chromatography. PLCs had molecular masses of 28.5 kDa as indicated by SDS-PAGE. The characteristics of the studied five PLCs were having maximal activities at 35-45°C and pH 7.2. The enzymes could retain more than half of their maximum activities at 30-60°C and pH 7-8. Equivalent activities were recorded at low water tension. PLC from B. thuringiensis KT159186 was relatively thermostable with a maximum activity at 40°C. The half-inactivation temperature was above 50°C, which compared favorably to that of other enzymes. Activity at the wide temperature range (20-80°C) was high (about 50% of maximum),. This PLC could tolerate pH as high as 12 with only 30% loss of activity. Specificity pattern of PLC from the same isolate showed equivalent activities toward phosphatidylcholine and phosphatidylinositol in addition to marked activity toward phosphatidylethanolamine, which makes it a typical non-specific PLC for industrial purposes. In conclusion, these characteristics of PLC from the test isolate make it attractive for various industrial applications.