Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
PATTERNS OF TEST AND ITEM DIFFICULTY FOR SIX FOREIGN LANGUAGE GROUPS ON THE TEST OF ENGLISH AS A FOREIGN LANGUAGE

Two-factor analyses of variance with multiple measurements on one factor were conducted for the five sections of the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) and six language groups, and also for the items of each section, based on data collected at the first administration of this form of the test, in October 1969. The principal findings, that the Test x Group interaction and the Item x Group interactions were significant, indicated that some tests and some items were relatively more difficult for some language groups than for others. Displays of the Item x Group interactions were made by analyzing the item difficulty plots for each language group against a spaced sample of all candidates taking this form of the test in October 1969. A measure of the deviation of each item from the central tendency of the plot was developed, expressing the degree to which the item was especially difficult—or easy— for a particular language group relative to the other items. Distributions of these measures are given for each of the five parts of TOEFL, for each of the six language groups.
A correlation-based optical flowmeter for enclosed flows

Abstract. A low-cost flowmeter would be very useful in a wide variety of monitoring situations. This article discusses the development of such a flowmeter based on optical components and its testing with water in an enclosed flow system. The sensor consisted of two sets of LEDs and phototransistors spaced 4 cm apart, monitoring the optical properties of the fluid at upstream and downstream locations, respectively. A small amount of dye was injected into the flow, which caused a change in the optical properties of the fluid at both locations. The time required for this change to move from the upstream to the downstream locations was determined using the biased estimate of the cross-covariance between the upstream and downstream signals. The velocity was then calculated using this time difference and the known distance between the locations. Tests were conducted at fluid velocities from 0.125 to 4.5 m s -1 , and separate results were calculated using phototransistors located 45° and 180° from the LEDs. The mean percent error was between 5% and 0% for individual measurements using the 180° phototransistors at velocities from 0.5 to 4.5 m s -1 and between 2% and -8% for measurements using the 45° phototransistors in the same velocity range. Error increased when the velocity was reduced to 0.5 m s -1 and was greater than 20% at 0.125 m s -1 for both sets of phototransistors. A regression model was developed to correct the velocity estimate. This regression model was validated by conducting an independent test of the sensor under the same conditions. After using the regression model for calibration, errors in the validation set were between 9.1% and -5% for the 180° phototransistors and between 10.5% and -3.6% for the 45° phototransistors for the entire velocity range tested (0.125 to 4.5 m s -1 ). Finally, the cross-correlation coefficient for each measurement was calculated to determine the degree of similarity between the signals recorded by the phototransistors at the upstream and downstream locations. The cross-correlation coefficient was higher at lower velocities and higher for measurements using the 180° phototransistors.
JET Formation in Solar Atmosphere Due to Magnetic Reconnection

Using numerical simulations, we show that jets with features of type II spicules and cool coronal jets corresponding to temperatures of 104 K can be formed as a result of magnetic reconnection in a scenario with magnetic resistivity. For this, we model the low chromosphere–corona region using the C7 equilibrium solar atmosphere model, assuming that resistive MHD rules the dynamics of the plasma. The magnetic field configurations we analyze correspond to two neighboring loops with opposite polarity. The formation of a high-speed and sharp structure depends on the separation of the loops’ feet. We analyze the cases where the magnetic field strength of the two loops is equal and different. In the first case, with a symmetric configuration the jets rise vertically, whereas in an asymmetric configuration the structure shows an inclination. With a number of simulations carried out under a 2.5D approach, we explore various properties of the excited jets, namely, inclination, lifetime, and velocity. The parameter space involves a magnetic field strength between 20 and 40 G, and the resistivity is assumed to be uniform with a constant value of the order 10 − 2 Ω · m .
Role of Mesenchymal Stem Cell Based Therapies in MDR/ XDR TB and Co-Morbidities

Multi drug resistant tuberculosis in patients with co-morbidities such as diabetes mellitus, HIV and other respiratory disorders is a major challenge for intervention. There is an upsurge in these cases in South East Asia and Africa. Failed therapy protocols of MDR/XDR tuberculosis has placed a demand for new therapeutic strategies. Immunotherapy has been in vogue for a long time with negligible success rates. Co-morbidities in patients compound and complicate the existing treatment options which necessitate a search for amenable and comprehensive treatment protocols. One such approach is mesenchymal stem cell adjunct therapy t for MDR/XDR- TB. Whilst Mesenchyma stem cells are an interesting option, inherent problems related to the dose and timing of administration warrant extensive clinical research before their acceptance in clinical management protocols. The mechanism of action of these cells is illunderstood at the present time and awaits further supportive experimental data. It appears that stem cell therapy could be an option to complement existing therapeutic protocols for the management of drug resistant tuberculosis. The current review deals with the mechanistic and surrogate markers of therapeutic benefit of such novel approaches.
Merits of Creating a Revised CTE National Research Agenda for 2020

This article promotes the idea that clearly focused scholarly inquiry needs direction developed through a collaborative and informative process. The authors propose that the National CTE Research Agenda adopted in 2008 should be revised and updated to reflect the contemporary issues and policies of the career and technical education profession. The aim of this discussion is to propose a systematic research approach with the potential to influence policy for career and technical education. The challenge for our profession will be to create a united and informed agenda that will transform policy, promote innovation in scholarly endeavors, and foster improved outcomes for all CTE stakeholders.
Morel collection and marketing: A case study from the Hindu-Kush mountain region of Swat, Pakistan

Morel comprise the most delicious and prized group of edible fungi. In Pakistan, morels are collected traditionally from the northern mountain ranges of Hindu-Kush, Himalayas and Karakorum. Seven species of morels are collected from the temperate forests of Hindu-Kush mountain region of Swat. The morel collection is a seasonal and part time activity in the area. The collectors are poor people and include 33% women, 27% men and 40% children. The morels are sold in the local market, from where they are exported to Europe and Middle East. Morel exports thus play a significant role in the socioeconomic condition of Swat. Huge quantities of morel are lost each year due to improper collection, storage and processing techniques. Forests comprise 4.8% of the total area of Pakistan and about 80% of livelihood of people living in extreme poverty depends upon the forest resources (Latif et al , 2004). The important non timber forest products include morels, honey, fruits and nuts, vegetable, condiments and spices, mazri palm, silk cocoon. Morel make top of the list and contribute most to the local economy as it fetch high prices in the international markets and thus most of the morels collected from the temperate forests of Pakistan are exported abroad. The collectors use traditional methods of collection, processing, packing, drying, marketing of morels. The morels, after collection, cleaning and drying are sold to the middlemen who then sell it into main market of Lahore, Karachi, Peshawar and swat. More than 65% of the product is lost during the processing from raw to finished product (Latif et al , 2004). Extensive research is needed to study market trends and monopolies, wastage and unsustainability during different steps of processing, and government attitude toward morel and mushrooms. Bottom line studies should be conducted to ensure proper planning, better quality and quantity of morels, sustainable income through sustainable utilization, training and capacity building of people involved in morel business, sustainable marketing and community involvement for sustainable harvest. In North West Frontier Province of Pakistan, local people collect about 55 to 65 tons of dried morels, which equals to the weight of 500 tones of fresh morels. It was reported that more than 70% of mushrooms are produced in NWFP (Iqbal, 1991). Morels are normally found in temperate forest. Their mycelium connects with tree roots; these relationships can be mycorrhizal or saprobic. Morchella typically form relationships with hardwood and conifer trees. They can often be found around ash, dying elms and apple
Impact of urbanization on the sediment yield in tropical watershed using temporal land-use changes and a GIS-based model

Abstract Abundant rainfall areas promote sediment yield at both sub-watershed and watershed scale due to soil erosion and increase siltation of river channel, but it can be curtailed through planned urbanization. The urbanization of Skudai watershed is analysed from historical and future perspective. A GIS-based model (Hydrological Simulation Programme-FORTRAN-HSPF) is used to modelled sediment flow using basin-wide simulation, and the output result is utilized in evaluating sediment yield reduction due to increased urbanization by swapping multiple temporal land-use of decadent time-steps. The analysis indicates that sediment yield reduces with increase urban built-up and decrease forest and agricultural land. An estimated 12 400 tons of sediment will be reduced for every 27% increase in built-up areas under high rainfall condition and 1 490 tons at low rainfall. The sensitivity analysis of land-use classes shows that built-up, forest and barren are more sensitive to sediment yield reduction compared to wetland and agricultural land at both high and low rainfall. The result of the study suggests that increased urbanization reduced sediment yield in proportion to the rainfall condition and can be used as an alternative approach for soil conservation at watershed scale independent of climate condition.
Hubble Space Telescope and Ground-based Observations of SN 1993J and SN 1998S: CNO Processing in the Progenitors

Ground-based and Hubble Space Telescope observations are presented for SN 1993J and SN 1998S. SN 1998S shows strong, relatively narrow circumstellar emission lines of N III-V and C III-IV, as well as broad lines from the ejecta. Both the broad ultraviolet and optical lines in SN 1998S indicate an expansion velocity of ~7000 km s-1. The broad emission components of Lyα and Mg II are strongly asymmetrical after day 72 past the explosion and differ in shape from Hα. Different models based on dust extinction from dust in the ejecta or shock region, in combination with Hα from a circumstellar torus, are discussed. It is concluded, however, that the double-peaked line profiles are more likely to arise as a result of optical depth effects in the narrow, cool, dense shell behind the reverse shock than in a torus-like region. The ultraviolet lines of SN 1993J are broad, with a boxlike shape, coming from the ejecta and a cool, dense shell. The shapes of the lines are well fitted by a shell with inner velocity ~7000 km s-1 and outer velocity ~10,000 km s-1. For both SN 1993J and SN 1998S a strong nitrogen enrichment is found, with N/C ≈ 12.4 in SN 1993J and N/C ≈ 6.0 in SN 1998S. From a compilation of all supernovae with determined CNO ratios, we discuss the implications of these observations for the structure of the progenitors of Type II supernovae.
Acquisition as a window on the nature of NPIs

Dutch modal verb hoeven ‘need’ is a negative polarity item (NPI) (Zwarts 1981, Hoeksema 2000), which survives in all anti-additive, and some but not all downward entailing (DE) contexts. The aim of the paper is to explore the reason why Dutch hoeven is not allowed in all DE-contexts – as observed for NPIs such as any-terms. We answer this question by looking at acquisition. The reasoning is straightforward: the analysis underlying a linguistic phenomenon is a product of children’s acquisition of it. Data collected from a total of 132 monolingual Dutch children (2;09–5;10; M = 4;04; SD = 9.3 months) in an elicited imitation task demonstrate a learning path of hoeven in which children start with two lexical frames [HOEF NIET] ‘NEED NOT’ and [HOEF GEEN] ‘NEED NO’ and switch to an abstract analysis of it later on: [HOEF NEG] ‘NEED NEG’. Given this abstract analysis, emerging as a result of language acquisition, we argue that hoeven is an NPI because of its lexical dependency with the abstract negation NEG (cf. Postal 2000). This in turn explains the distribution of the Dutch NPI restricted to some but not all DEcontexts: hoeven is only allowed in those DE-contexts that incorporate the abstract negation NEG.
The Cosmic Wheel and the Legacy of the AKARI archive: from galaxies and stars to planets and life

Many asteroids larger than ∼100 km in diameter are thought to be primordial bodies that have avoided catastrophic disruption by collisions over their 4 Gy-long histories. Understanding their compositions can thus reveal clues about their formation and constrain planet formation and Solar System early dynamical evolution models. However, remote observations are limited to their surfaces and spectroscopic data are costly; furthermore, meteorite spectral association cannot unambiguously constrain the composition of primitive asteroids that do not show any distinct spectral features. Thermal infrared data taken by surveys like the AKARI IRC all-sky survey have provided the community with information about few thousands of asteroids, enabling the computation of sizes and albedos in large numbers. Sizes are an important prerequisite to infer density, and albedos are indicative of composition. When asteroid shapes and rotational states are known, thermal infrared data can help constrain more detailed thermal properties. Here I provide an overview of how AKARI data are being exploited in this context and illustrate their importance in the study of asteroids, including an outlook
The Role of Business Process Management S ystems and Business Intelligence Systems in Knowledge Management

Knowledge has a strategic role in the modern company. Therefore, company must know how to manage knowledge. Knowledge Management (KM) is the concept of the systematic collection, organisation, archiving and sharing of knowledge aimed at achieving the objectives of the company. The increase of the quantity and dynamics of knowledge have opened the need for use of information technology, referred to as the Knowledge Management System (KMS). The success of a business depends on its successful management of business processes and successful decision making processes. The company can achieve this success by usage of Business Process Management System (BPMS) and Business Intelligence System (BIS) as key parts of proposed knowledge management system framework. The main purpose of this paper is to present features of business process management system and business intelligence system as key segments of knowledge management system and explain their role in knowledge management to support creation of added value.
SUMMER DISTRIBUTION AND MIGRATION OF NONBREEDING ALBATROSSES: INDIVIDUAL CONSISTENCIES AND IMPLICATIONS FOR CONSERVATION

Many birds show a surprising degree of intraspecific variability in migratory tendency and choice of wintering site. In this study, we tracked the seasonal movements of 35 nonbreeding Black-browed Albatrosses Thalassarche melanophrys from South Georgia, including 24 birds followed in two consecutive years. This revealed consistent patterns of status-related, sex-specific, and individual variation in wintering strategies, and provided the first description of the summer distribution of failed/deferring breeders. Individuals exhibited a striking degree of site fidelity, returning to the same region (southwest Africa or Australia) and showing correlated centers of distribution, as well as remarkable consistency in the chronology of their movements, in consecutive years. Nonetheless, a degree of behavioral flexibility remained, and particularly on the return migration, birds moved between, or bypassed, alternative intermediate staging sites depending on local circumstances. Initiation of the outward migration varied according to breeding status, timing of failure, and sex: deferring breeders and those that failed early departed two months before successful birds, and successful females departed 1–2 weeks earlier than males. Sex-related latitudinal variation in distribution was also apparent, with females wintering farther north within the Benguela system. Moreover, the only migrant to Australia was a male, supporting an apparent tendency for male-biased breeding dispersal inferred from genetic analyses. Distribution and timing of movements appeared in general to relate to avoidance of competition from congeners and conspecifics from other populations. From a conservation perspective, the study indicated that, for the declining Black-browed Albatross population at South Georgia, the primary focus should be toward improving the management (especially reducing bycatch levels) of fisheries in the central and eastern South Atlantic.
Multi-Reaction Zones Imaging Technique for Turbulent Hydrocarbon Flames

Detection and imaging of multi-reaction zones is an essential tool for understanding the detailed structure of complicated flames. In this work a combined 4-camera technique is presented for multi-reaction zones imaging. The technique combines highly advanced laser-based diagnostics tools, namely Rayleigh scattering, laser-induced predissociation fluorescence (LIPF) of OH, LIF of PAH, and LIF of formaldehyde (CH2O). The application of this combined technique in turbulent non-homogeneous hydrocarbon flames is quite new. The technique shows its ability to detect simultaneously rich, lean and diffusion reaction zones. The 3 reaction zones can be spatially resolved, providing essential information about their interaction and overall flame stability. Therefore, the detection and study of triple flame structures in non-homogeneous turbulent flames becomes possible. An example of a triple flame structure in a turbulent lifted non-premixed methane flame is presented. The present work proves that the developed technique is a powerful tool for multi-reaction zone measurements in turbulent and laminar flames.
Review of Pediatric Obesity Interventions

Obesity in children and adolescents has become a global epidemic, and for the first time in 200 years may result in a decrease in life expectancy. Strategies for weight loss and subsequent maintenance include dietary therapy, physical activity, behavioral therapy, combined therapy, pharmacotherapy, and weight loss surgery. The purpose of the present paper was to review pediatric obesity treatments that could be considered ESTs; with the objective of determining which treatments are effective and the direction that future research could take. Twenty studies met the criteria for this review, which followed those guidelines congruent with ESTs. Of these twenty studies ten were categorized as using psychotherapy as the primary intervention in decreasing weight. Eight of the ten studies showed significant effects for the treatment conditions. Two of the studies used diet changes as the primary intervention, and both showed significant treatment effects. Three of the studies used physical activity as the primary intervention, of which two showed significant treatment effects. Six of the studies reviewed used pharmacotherapy as their primary intervention and all were found to have significant treatment effects. Metformin, Orlistat, and Sibutramine were the drugs used in these studies to treat youth obesity, and from this review it would appear that all are effective treatments. Overall psychotherapy, diet, physical activity, and pharmacotherapy are all effective interventions in treating youth obesity, when evaluated using established criteria for empirically supported treatments.
No . 176 Can Macroeconomists Get Rich Forecasting Exchange Rates ?

We provide a systematic comparison of the out-of-sample forecasts based on multivariate macroeconomic models and forecast combinations for the euro against the US dollar, the British pound, the Swiss franc and the Japanese yen. We use profit maximization measures based on directional accuracy and trading strategies in addition to standard loss minimization measures. When comparing predictive accuracy and profit measures, data snooping bias free tests are used. The results indicate that forecast combinations help to improve over benchmark trading strategies for the exchange rate against the US dollar and the British pound, although the excess return per unit of deviation is limited. For the euro against the Swiss franc or the Japanese yen, no evidence of generalized improvement in profit measures over the benchmark is found. JEL codes: C53, F31, F37
CO2 storage in the Utsira Formation – ATHENA 3D reactive transport simulations

Emissions of CO2 to the atmosphere by combustion of hydrocarbons and by CO2 capture from natural gas streams are believed to contribute to a global greenhouse effect. It has for this reason been suggested to inject captured CO2 back into geological formations where major point sources of CO2 are available. Statoil has since 1996 injected captured CO2 from the Sleipner West facility into the Utsira Formation (Korbøl & Kaddour, 1995). The injection has been periodically monitored by seismic surveys through the injection area. The seismic monitoring provides indications of how the immiscible part of the injected CO2 is moving. It provides however no information about the reactivity of injected CO2 with the reservoir minerals. ATHENA is a thermal multiphase 3D-reactive-transport numerical code that has been developed to simulate long-term large-scale reactive flow of CO2 in porous media. The code is separated into the ATHENA multiphase flow code, and the newly developed ACCRETE reaction module. The ATHENA code is used in this study to simulate 20 years of 1Mt annual injection of CO2 and 980 years of post-injection natural migration in the Utsira Sand. A system that comprises the central 2.25 km of the Utsira Sand around the injection point has been simulated. The system consists of sandy units separated by discontinuous clayey horizons. Simulations show that injected CO2 rise buoyantly mainly through discontinuities in clayey horizons and accumulate beneath topographic highs in the top-Utsira surface. As the CO2 is injected pH drops to approximately 4.9 at full saturation in equilibrium with calcite. Most of the system approaches this pH after a few hundred years. The acidic condition induces dissolution of primary phyllosilicates and precipitation of carbonates. The dominant carbonates that form are magnesite and siderite, whereas dawsonite (NaAl(OH)2CO3) only forms a minor precipitate at high CO2 saturations. Simulations that include a regional flow through the system shows that CO2water-rock interactions are locally dependent on hydrodynamic conditions.