Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Effects of Exchange Rate Regimes on Real Exchange Rate Volatility. A Dynamic Panel Data Approach

This paper seeks to analyze the relationship between exchange rate regimes and short-term volatility of the effective real exchange rate. First, it discusses recent regime classifications and, in relation to this a new one is proposed. This classification combines de jure and de facto classifications allowing checking for possible inconsistencies between the commitment of the central bank and its observed behavior. Then, it is used the GMM methodology for dynamic panel models proposed by Arellano and Bond (1991) with a sample of 92 countries for the 1980-1999 period. The results confirm the non-neutrality of regime regarding real exchange rate volatility. The de jure peg and intermediates regimes induce more volatility than the flexible ones. When considering the new classification the so called corner solutions –as credible peg o pure flotationhave the same real volatility, while the rest of the regimes purvey more real exchange rate volatility. It is also found that more openness, acceleration in per capita GDP growth and in terms of trade, reduce volatility; conversely, positive monetary shocks and growth in capital inflows and in public expenditure increase this real volatility. Evidence supports the view that the analysis of the dynamics of the exchange rate regimes needs to differentiate between developed and developing countries JEL classification: C23, F32, F33, F41
Radon Mass Exhalation Rates of Selected Building Materials in Tanzania

This study aimed at determining the mass radon exhalation rate of Tanzania Portland cements and their raw materials for assessment of the radiological hazards due to use of those materials in residential construction. The radon mass exhalation rate was measured by closed chamber coupled with the Pylon AB5 O and varied from 0.3 to 13 %. The estimated indoor radon concentrations and annual effective dose for tightly closed standard room were within the safe limits of radon potential health hazards of 600 Bq m -3 for dwellings and 1500 Bq m -3 for workplaces recommended by International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP). Key words. Building materials; Radon mass exhalation rate; Annual effective dose; Radiological hazard; Tanzania
Medical Value as a New Strategy to Increase Corporate Viability: Market Chances and Limitations in the Diagnostic Industry

Study background: While the strategic advantage of Medical Value (MV) products is widely accepted in developed markets, it remains unclear if varying societal wealth influences the perception of customers on MV products. Methods: 231 of 240 Internal Medicine physicians from 8 countries participated in a survey with 5 multiple choice questions on MV. Responses from countries have been allocated to income levels according to world-bank data. Three groups have been defined (high-income countries: Canada, Norway and Switzerland=developed markets, upper-mid income markets: Argentina, China, Mexico and Turkey, lower-mid income counties: India=emerging markets). Answers have been statistically analyzed in subgroups (emerging markets vs. developed markets). Results: The majority of physicians believed that reliable and clinically validated treatment algorithms should accompany a product qualifying for MV. Algorithms should be created, predominantly for existing markers. Emphasis has been given to the discovery of better markers for well-known diseases in developed markets. Physicians` answers on pivotal factors for MV products yielded highest emphasis for generalizability (global technical standardization and data comparability). Technical excellence was given lower priority in developed markets comparing to emerging markets. Cost control was emphasized mainly in high-income markets. Conclusion: Both developed and emerging markets demand more clinical trials to establish algorithms for diagnostic tests. The prove of clinical utility is a pivotal factor for sustainable business success.
Rise to the Challenge or Not Give a Damn: Differential Performance in High vs. Low Stakes Tests

This paper studies how different demographic groups respond to incentives by comparing performance in the GRE examination in "high" and "low" stakes situations. The high stakes situation is the real GRE examination and the low stakes situation is a voluntary experimental section of the GRE that examinees were invited to take immediately after they finished the real GRE exam. We show that males exhibit a larger difference in performance between the high and low stakes examinations than females, and that Whites exhibit a larger difference in performance between the high and low stakes examinations relative to Asians, Blacks, and Hispanics. We find that the larger differential performance between high and low stakes tests among men and whites can be partially explained by the lower level of effort invested by these groups in the low stake test.
Chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) in vitro micropropagation

This research was undertaken to determine chickpea in vitro micropropagation optimal conditions from preexisting meristems. Three genotypes; Zouaoui, ILC 483 and INRA 199 mature embryos and nodes were cultivated on Murashige and Sckoog (1962) medium without plant growth regulators and with NAA (Naphtyl acetic acid) /BAP (Benzyl amino purine) (0.5/4.5mg/l) and KIN (Kinetin) (0.5, 1mg/l). Explant morphogenetic response was recorded after one month incubation. Results were expressed as direct regeneration frequency (shoot and root development from embryos and axillary buds from nodes). Zouaoui genotype was more callogenic (42.57%) than INRA 199 (32.12%) and ILC 483 (23.43%). Among media, MS without hormones was suitable to induce preexisting meristems development (76.16%), whereas MS with NAA/BAP was favorable to callus formation (70.95%). Indirect buds formation was accomplished on MS added with 0.5mg/l KIN via callusing on mature embryos
The Effect of Node Speed on Mobile Ad Hoc Network Performance

Announcement between mobile nodes is a challenging network especially via Mobile Ad hoc Network (MANET), where mobile nodes are capable of moving on a continual basis, which is changeable and challenging to analyse the performance of its routing protocols and application. In this paper, we evaluate the performance of routing protocols over MANET for Ad Hoc on demand Distance Vector (AODV), Destination-Sequenced Distance Vector (DSDV), as well as Dynamic Source Routing (DSR). We use Network Simulator NS-allinone-2.31 tool for the practical testing and evaluation. We have tested the routing protocols AODV, DSDV, and DSR. So, different performance features are investigated including , Packet loss, Packet Delivery Fraction (PDF), End-to-End Delay. The results indicate that performance of routing protocols where the number of nodes start from 5 to 100 nodes during the entire scenario for node speeds equivalents to 10m/s, besides the delivery of packet size equivalents to 512kb.
Pre-service Teachers' Modeling as a Way of Thinking in Engineering Design

The purpose of this study was to develop a framework for assessing students working through an engineering design challenge. Using a case study approach to theory building we collected artifacts from a pre-service teachers in a second level Engineering Design Thinking course. The students produced artifacts in the form of conceptual models, graphical models, mathematical models and finally working models. Student-generated mind maps, design journals, final design products and their accompanying documentation, and peer checking procedures were also collected and triangulated with the modeling artifacts for the purpose of this study. The result was a working framework that helps eliminate some of the ambiguity for students producing deliverables for a design challenge and provides the instructor with a practical approach to assessing student work. In addition to offering a new pedagogical approach to engineering design thinking, the following research offers empirical evidence of student cognition as they go through an engineering design process. Finally, we provide definitions and student generated examples of the four modeling artifacts to include; conceptual models, graphical models, mathematical models and working models. The Need The case for infusing engineering ‒ specifically engineering design ‒ into K-12 settings has been made by educators and policy makers 1-3 . Yet determining how engineering design will be operationalized in K-12 settings is still a subject of great contention. One pedagogical approach to assist not only the student, but the teacher as well, in engineering design is the focus on modeling and the accompanying artifacts 4 . We proffer that focusing on modeling artifacts is a useful tool for students to demonstrate their engineering design thinking while providing a framework for the assessment of engineering design experiences. This paper will discuss how pre-service teachers approached and engaged in engineering design through the analysis of the modeling artifacts they generated. This research was pursued to help further understand and elucidate how pre-service engineering education teachers (student-designers) go about engineering design. Specifically, we sought to find out what they did well and where they struggled, what the student-designers understood, and their perception of engineering design when developing modeling artifacts. Although there was the potential for many phenomena to be investigated, we believe an examination of the students’ thoughts and processes around modeling was salient. We also sought to demonstrate the utility of the pedagogical focus on modeling artifacts in engineering design.
Fabrication of Carbon Nanowalls on Carbon Fiber Paper for Fuel Cell Application

Carbon nanowalls (CNWs) can be described as self-assembled, vertically standing, few-layered graphene sheet nanostructures. In order to demonstrate the usefulness of CNWs in fuel cell application, CNWs were directly grown on carbon fiber paper (CFP) using the inductively coupled plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (ICP-CVD) method. Subsequently, highly dispersed platinum (Pt) nanoparticles were formed on the surface of CNWs using metal–organic chemical fluid deposition (MOCFD) employing a supercritical fluid (SCF). Moreover, a single proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cell unit using a Pt-supported CNW/CFP electrode was constructed, and its voltage–current characteristics were measured. This configuration ensures that all the supported Pt nanoparticles are in electrical contact with the external electrical circuit. Such a design would improve Pt utilization and potentially decrease Pt usage. Pt-supported CNWs grown on CFP will be well suited to the application in electrodes of fuel cells.
Methods of reducing the referral of frivolous cases to the CCMA

The Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration is a statutory labour dispute resolution body that was introduced in 1996. With over 125 000 referrals annually, experience has demonstrated that too many frivolous cases are referred, causing administrative problems and potentially increasing the cost of doing business in South Africa. Propositions, based on international experience from three other labour dispute resolution systems and recommendations in the literature, were tested with the aid of the Delphi technique. Three rounds were conducted with experts in the field. The findings show that there are a number of interventions which, if implemented, would prevent the referral of frivolous cases to the CCMA. In implementing the interventions, the underlying principle needs to be that rights of access and use should be enhanced and not narrowed. Therefore, the interventions focusing on enhancing systems are deemed preferable to those that use exclusionary criteria.
Serum creatinine: advantages and pitfalls

Serum creatinine (sCr) is today the most commonly used marker to estimate glomerular filtration rate (GFR). However, measuring and interpreting creatinine is not so simple. Some physiological reasons, particularly its dependence on muscle mass makes sCr an imperfect biomarker of GFR. However, there are also analytical reasons that could be further improved. The implementation of ID-MS traceable creatinine assays (enzymatic and compensated Jaffe) improved estimation of GFR by reducing bias. Enzymatic methods which are more precise and less susceptible to interfere with non-creatinine chromogens than compensated Jaffe methods, provide more reliable estimations of GFR.
High-velocity anomaly adjacent to the western edge of the Pacific low-velocity province

Koki Idehara,1 Satoru Tanaka2 and Nozomu Takeuchi3 1Department of Earth and Planetary Science, University of Tokyo, 7–3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113–0033, Japan. E-mail: idehara@eps.s. u-tokyo.ac. jp 2Institute for Research on Earth Evolution, Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology, 2–15, Natsushima-cho, Yokosuka 237–0061, Japan 3Earthquake Research Institute, University of Tokyo, 1–1-1 Yayoi, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113–0032, Japan
Vaccines against Pathogens: A Review and Food For Thought

BCG: Bacillus of Calmette and Guérin; BG: Bacterial Ghosts; CBPP: Contagious Bovine Pleuropneumonia; CDR: Complementarily Determining Region; CFU: Colony Forming Unit; CTL: Cytotoxic T Lymphocytes; FMD: Foot and Mouth Disease; MG: Microbial Ghosts; MGC: Minimum Growth Concentration; MHC: Major Histocompatibility Complex; MIC: Minimum Inhibition Concentration; RBC: Red Blood Cells; RSV: Respiratory Syncytial Virus; UK: United Kingdom
Anaerobic decomposition of submerged macrophytes in semiarid aquatic systems under different trophic states, Paraba State, Brazil

The macrophytes play an important role in the regulation of biological and chemical processes in aquatic ecosystems, particularly in shallow lakes. They also play an important role in storage and nutrient cycling, serving as a source of organic matter to native environments. The aim of this study was to describe the kinetic aspects of the nutrients released during the anaerobic decomposition process of Egeria densa Planch and Chara braunii Gmnel macrophytes in waters with different trophic states. The study was conducted in vitro and under anaerobic conditions for determination of both particulate and dissolved fractions of nitrogenous, phosphorus and carbon, in predetermined days in oligotrophic and eutrophic water. Mathematical models were applied to describe the macrophytes decomposition process. Both species showed the same biphasic decay pattern of organic matter and carbon mineralization. The phosphorus, nitrogen and carbon released were high for both species, regardless of the trophic water state. The loss of mass was similar for both species and the nutrients concentration in the dam water did not represent a limiting factor for the mathematical model. Key words: Chara braunii, Egeria densa, mathematical modeling, nitrogen, phosphorus.
Estimates for small area compositions subjected to informative missing data

Estimation of small area (or domain) compositions may suffer from informative missing data, if the probability of missing varies across the categories of interest as well as the small areas. We develop a double mixed modeling approach that combines a random effects mixed model for the underlying complete data with a random effects mixed model of the differential missing-data mechanism. The effect of sampling design can be incorporated through a quasi-likelihood sampling model. The associated conditional mean squared error of prediction is approximated in terms of a three-part decomposition, corresponding to a naive prediction variance, a positive correction that accounts for the hypothetical parameter estimation uncertainty based on the latent complete data, and another positive correction for the extra variation due to the missing data. We illustrate our approach with an application to the estimation of Municipality household compositions based on the Norwegian register household data, which suffer from informative under-registration of the dwelling identity number.
Effects of noise, job characteristics and stress on mental health and accidents, injuries and cognitive failures at work

This paper addresses two key topics in noise research. The first is whether effects of noise are specific or reflect other correlated attributes. In the workplace noise exposure is often associated with other negative factors such as exposure to dangerous machinery or having to perform demanding tasks. If one finds associations between noise levels and outcomes such as accidents and injuries one needs to ask whether it is the noise per se that leads to such effects or whether other job characteristics associated with noise exposure underlying the association with accidents and injuries.
Smart dual thermal network

The research activities leading to the described developments and results, were funded by the FP7 project A2PBEER, under grant agreement No 906090. Special thanks to Olof Hallstrom and ClimateWell AB for making the TRNSYS model of the innovative sorption system and developing the component level simulation work.
LONG-TERM EFFECTS OF COGNITIVE SKILLS , SOCIAL ADJUSTMENT AND SCHOOLING ON HEALTH AND LIFESTYLE : EVIDENCE FROM A REFORM OF SELECTIVE

Members of the National Child Development Study (NCDS) cohort attended very different types of secondary school, as their schooling lay within the transition period of the comprehensive education reform in England and Wales. This provides a natural setting to explore the impact of educational attainment and of school quality on health and healthrelated behaviour later in life. We use a combination of matching methods and parametric regressions to deal with selection effects and to evaluate differences in adult health outcomes and health-related behaviour for cohort members exposed to the old selective and to the new comprehensive educational systems. JEL codes: I12, I28, C21
Feasibility of Fujinon Intelligent Color Enhancement (FICE) with Magnification in Differentiating between Diminutive Adenomatous and Hyperplastic Polyps

Background: In Thailand, there are limited data describing the performance of FICE with high magnification for differentiating polyp histology during colon cancer screening. The objective of this study was to evaluate the feasibility of FICE with high magnification for the differentiation of diminutive hyperplastic and adenomatous polyps by using pit patterns observed during real-time colon cancer screeningy at Bhumibol Adulyadej Hospital. Patients and Methods: The subjects were 200 patients who underwent colon cancer screening. Pit patterns were applied to predict the histology of 358 polyps which less than 0.6 cm using FICE with high magnification. The feasibility of FICE were calculated and compared with the histopathology as a gold standard. Results: FICE with high magnification showed sensitivity of 78.7%, specificity of 86.2%, accuracy of 82.1%, PPV of 87.6% and NPV of 76.6% for the discrimination of hyerplastic and adenomatous polyps less than 0.6 cm. Conclusion: FICE with high magnification provided the acceptable validity scores for discrimination of diminutive polyp histology during colon cancer screening.
Control of crystalline texture in polycrystalline alumina ceramics by electrophoretic deposition in a strong magnetic field

Highly crystalline-textured pure dense alumina ceramics were fabricated from spherical alumina powder without any seed particles and sintering additives by electrophoretic deposition (EPD) in a strong magnetic field of 10 T. The crystalline texture was confirmed by x-ray diffraction (XRD) for alumina ceramics deposited at 10 T followed by sintering at 1873 K. The angle between the directions of the magnetic and electric fields (φ B-E ) was altered to control the dominant crystal faces of the α-alumina monoliths. The average orientation angles estimated from the XRD diagram of the samples prepared at φ B-E = 0°, 45°, and 90° were 16.52°, 45.15°, and 84.90°, respectively. Alumina/alumina laminar composites with different crystalline-oriented layers were also fabricated by alternately changing the φ B-E layer by layer during EPD in a 10 T magnetic field. It was demonstrated that by using this technique, it is possible to control the crystalline orientation by changing the angle of E versus B during the EPD.
The Global control of FMD-Tools , ideas and ideals – Erice , Italy 14-17 October 2008 377 Appendix 67 DETECTION OF PERSISTENTLY FOOT-AND-MOUTH DISEASE INFECTED CATTLE BY SALIVARY IGA TEST

The new European council Directive 2003/85/EC on FMD has made provision for vaccination and the use of post-vaccination serosurveillance to detect sub-clinical infection. Carrier state can develop following clinical or sub-clinical disease, even in vaccinated ruminants exposed to live virus. Since carriers may be considered a risk for transmitting infection, they must be identified by post-vaccination serosurveillance to substantiate freedom from infection and to regain the FMDfree status for the purpose of international trade. Therefore the main aim of this study was to develop and validate an indirect IgA ELISA for the detection of persistently FMDV infected cattle.
Epidemiological investigation and phylogenetic analyses of contagious ecthyma virus from goat in Bangladesh

The aim of this study was to know the epidemiologic characteristics of contagious ecthyma and molecular characterization of the contagious ecthyma virus or ORF virus (ORFV). Sixty four households having 293 goats in Chuadanga district of Bangladesh were surveyed and 30 scab materials were collected from ORF affected goat. Virus detection by PCR was attempted. Sequencing was done for characterization. Goats (n=70) in 15 out of 64 (23.44%) households were found to be infected with ORF. The overall morbidity, mortality and case fatality was 23.89 (70/293), 1.02 (3/293) and 4.29% (3/70), respectively. A proliferative lesion in mouth, lips and gum was found in 100.00% affected goats. Besides, proliferative lesions were also found in legs (19.00%), body (13.00%), and ears (10.00%) of goats. Highest morbidity (29.00%) was found in goats of 7 months-1years aged group and lowest (2.05%) in goats of 2-3 years or more. About 79.00% goats were affected during January-March, 2011 and 21.00% during October–December, 2010. About 93.33% (28/30) scab samples were found positive by PCR. For molecular characterization PCR amplified viral interlukin-10 (vIL10) gene of 5 different ORFV were sequenced. One virus obtained from sheep and four from goat. Goat isolates were found very closely related (97.20-98.60%) to each other while sheep virus has 95.20-97.20% homology with goat viruses and clustered separately. Our isolates were closely related to Norwegian sheep isolates. It is concluded that ORFV is circulating in Bangladesh with high morbidity but low mortality and all age group of goats are susceptible to this disease. Circulating viruses are closely related to each other. Asian J. Med. Biol. Res. December 2016, 2(4): 555-561