Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
NUTRIENT TRANSPORT IN RUNOFF FROM FEEDLOTS AS AFFECTED BY WET DISTILLERS GRAIN DIET

Distillers byproducts can serve as valuable sources of protein and energy for beef cattle. However, the water quality effects of the use of distillers byproducts in cattle rations are not well understood. The objectives of this study were to: (1) measure soil properties and nutrient transport in runoff from feedlot surfaces as affected by corn-based and wet distillers grain diets, (2) compare the effects of unconsolidated surface materials and consolidated subsurface materials on feedlot soil characteristics and runoff nutrient transport, (3) determine if runoff nutrient transport from feedlot surfaces is correlated to selected feedlot soil properties, and (4) identify the effects of varying runoff rate on nutrient transport. Simulated rainfall events were applied to 0.75 m wide by 2 m long plots. Concentrations of calcium, copper, loss on ignition, magnesium, organic-N, potassium, total N (TN), and zinc in the feedlot soil materials were significantly greater within the pens where cattle were fed a corn-based diet rather than a diet with distillers grain. The pens where cattle were fed distillers grain contained significantly greater amounts of Bray-1 P. Surface condition did not significantly affect any of the measured feedlot soil properties except potassium content. No significant differences in measured runoff water quality parameters were found between the corn-based and wet distillers grain treatments. Runoff measurements of NH4-N, TN, NO3-N, total dissolved solids, and electrical conductivity were each significantly correlated to seven or more feedlot soil parameters. Each of the measured water quality parameters were significantly influenced by runoff rate.
Non- invasive diabetes detection and classification using breath analysis

Diabetes is a major problem affecting millions of people today and if left unchecked can create enormous implication on the health of the population. Among the various non invasive methods of detection, breath analysis presents an easier, more accurate and viable method in providing comprehensive clinical care for the disease. This paper examines the concentration of acetone levels in breath for monitoring blood glucose levels and thus predicting diabetes. The analysis uses the support vector mechanism to classify the response to healthy and diabetic samples. For the analysis ten subject samples of acetone levels are taken into consideration and are classified according to three labels which are healthy, type 1 diabetic and type 2 diabetic.
The effect of leg kick on sprint front crawl swimming

Abstract The aim of this study was to examine the influence of leg kick on the pattern, the orientation and the propulsive forces produced by the hand, the efficiency of the arm stroke, the trunk inclination, the inter-arm coordination and the intra-cyclic horizontal velocity variation of the hip in sprint front crawl swimming. Nine female swimmers swam two maximal trials of 25 m front crawl, with and without leg kick. Four camcorders were used to record the underwater movements. Using the legs, the mean swimming velocity increased significantly. On the contrary, the velocity and the orientation of the hand, the magnitude and the direction of the propulsive forces, as well as the Froude efficiency of the arm stroke were not modified. The hip intra-cyclic horizontal velocity variation was also not changed, while the index of coordination decreased significantly. A significant decrease (13%) was also observed in the inclination of the trunk. Thus, the positive effect of leg kick on the swimming speed, besides the obvious direct generation of propulsive forces from the legs, could probably be attributed to the reduction of the body’s inclination, while the generation of the propulsive forces and the efficiency of the arm stroke seem not to be significantly affected.
Challenges for the floriculture industry in a developing country: a South African perspective

The increasing numbers of global floriculture producers, and changes in the basis of competition in this international industry, make it important to evaluate the South African floriculture industry's competitive position. The industry employs more than 17 500 people and provides opportunities for rural employment. This article assesses the challenges facing the South African floriculture industry in the competitive global market, using a framework based on global value chain (GVC) and global commodity chain (GCC) analyses. An empirical study showed that the industry is insufficiently competitive and does not participate to its full potential in the global market. It is recommended that floriculture producers shift their focus from the domestic to the international market, as the domestic market is becoming saturated and its turnover is small. However, as enhancing the industry's competitiveness is a complex endeavour, the industry first needs to address the weaknesses identified.
Pulmonary Exposure to Carbon Black Nanoparticles Increases the Number of Antigen-Presenting Cells in Murine Lung

Particulate matters can enhance antigen-related airway inflammation and immunoglobulin production. The present study was designed to determine the effects of different sizes of nanoparticles on the antigen-presenting cells (APC) in the lung. ICR mice were exposed to vehicle, carbon black (CB) nanoparticles (14 nm or 56 nm), ovalbumin (OVA), or OVA+nanoparticles intratracheally. The expression of major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class II, costimulatory molecules (CD80, CD86, CD11c), and DEC205 (dendritic cell marker), F4/80 (macrophage marker), and CD19 (B-cell marker) in the lung cells was measured by flow cytometry. 14 nm nanoparticles, but not 56 nm nanoparticles, increased the number of the total lung cells. Combination of OVA and 14 nm or 56 nm nanoparticles increased the total lung cells. The expression of MHC class II and/or costimulatory molecules and the number of APC in the lung were increased by 14 nm nanoparticles in the presence or absence of OVA. The increases were more prominent with combination of OVA and 14 nm nanoparticles. 56 nm nanoparticles did not show any significant effects. 14 nm CB nanoparticles can increase the expression of MHC class II and costimulatory molecules and the number of APC in the lung, especially in the presence of antigen, which can result in subsequent antigen-related airway inflammation and immunoglobulin production.
IBBE-SGX: Cryptographic Group Access Control Using Trusted Execution Environments

While many cloud storage systems allow users to protect their data by making use of encryption, only few support collaborative editing on that data. A major challenge for enabling such collaboration is the need to enforce cryptographic access control policies in a secure and efficient manner. In this paper, we introduce IBBE-SGX, a new cryptographic access control extension that is efficient both in terms of computation and storage even when processing large and dynamic workloads of membership operations, while at the same time offering zero knowledge guarantees. IBBE-SGX builds upon Identity-Based Broadcasting Encryption (IBBE). We address IBBE's impracticality for cloud deployments by exploiting Intel Software Guard Extensions (SGX) to derive cuts in the computational complexity. Moreover, we propose a group partitioning mechanism such that the computational cost of membership update is bound to a fixed constant partition size rather than the size of the whole group. We have implemented and evaluated our new access control extension. Results highlight that IBBE-SGX performs membership changes 1.2 orders of magnitude faster than the traditional approach of Hybrid Encryption (HE), producing group metadata that are 6 orders of magnitude smaller than HE, while at the same time offering zero knowledge guarantees.
AN EXPERIMENTAL AND THEORETICAL ANALYSIS OF MYOCARDIAL TISSUE PRESSURE.

A new technique for estimating myocardial tissue pressure is described. The method is based upon changes in flow through an analog of a small coronary vessel. A gradient of tissue pressure from epicardium to endocardium was observed with peak tissue pressures twice peak ventricular pressure recorded in the inner half of the wall. A theoretical analysis of the concept of intramyocardial pressure is presented, based on the assumption that the tissue is a solid within which both longitudinal and radial compressive forces exist. The similarity between the gradient of longitudinal tissue pressure predicted by the theoretical analysis and the gradient experimentally determined suggests that the latter describes the maximum pressures which exist in the left ventricular wall.
Goal characteristics, communication and reward systems, and managerial propensity to create budgetary slack

This study examines the relationship between a number of goal characteristics and the propensity of divisional managers to create budgetary slack. These goal characteristics are variables in goal clarity and goal difficulty. Managers also consider communication and reward systems – which are significant factors affecting the relationship between goal characteristics and propensity to create budget slack. The communication and reward systems are affected by influencing power of managers, required explanation of budget variance, budgetary feedback, peer relations, and relationship between superiors and subordinates. Using a sample of 108 hotel managers in Macau, the findings indicate that the clear communication and reward systems can result in goal clarity and can help to solve budgeting problems under difficult goal situations. The implications of these findings are discussed in relation to the design of budgeting systems. The need to integrate results and develop frameworks for future research is noted.
Testing the slippery slope framework

The aim of this short paper is to empirically test the key hypothesis of the ‘slippery slope' framework, namely: (1) trust (in) and power (of) tax authorities are both necessary to guarantee a high level of tax compliance; (2) the interaction between trust and power, as well as voluntary tax compliance, are crucial for increasing overall tax compliance; (3) the possibility that a “slippery slope” situation occurs and then a reduction of power and/or trust below a certain critical level significantly reduces tax compliance. We find empirical support for all of these hypotheses. Furthermore, we also find that trust is more important than power.
Detecting fingerprint alterations by orientation field and minutiae orientation analysis

The ever wider application of automatic fingerprint recognition systems to law enforcement and immigration control purposes has motivated attempts to avoid identification by fingerprint alterations. The subjects can try to change their fingerprint patterns in many ways, varying from fingertip abrading, burning and cutting up to sophisticated surgical procedures, and therefore a necessity exists for an automatic detection of altered fingerprints. This paper proposes a novel method for fingerprint alteration detection based on analysis of anomalies in minutia orientations and the fingerprint ridge structure caused by scarred regions.
Psychopharmacology in Psychiatric Emergencies

Pharmacotherapy is crucial to the emergency psychiatric treatment of patients who are out of control in a variety of psychiatric and medical disorders. The time required for the more definitive pharmacological treatment of the major psychiatric syndromes is such that they can at best be only started in the emergency setting. The emergency treatment of patients who are severely agitated, violent, or psychotic is based on the IM administration of antipsychotic medications, such as haloperidol. In conjunction with psychological support this can provide effective, safe, and humane treatment. Sedative-hypnotics, such as diazepam, can be helpful for less severe anxiety states. This article focused on clinical and pharmacokinetic principles of the use of these medications, the understanding of which can help maximize their effective use in emergencies. Topics which are emphasized include sedative, antipsychotic and disinhibiting effects, side effects, absorption after oral and IM administration, and the concepts of steady-state kinetics and the “loading dose. ”
A Human Rights Based Approach to Education For All

This document brings together the current thinking and practice on human rightsbasedapproaches in the education sector. It presents key issues and challengesin rights-based approaches and provides a framework for policy and programmedevelopment from the level of the school up to the national and international levels.Rights-based approaches have only recently become a focus within the educationsector. This document was thus developed as a resource for government offi cials,civil society organizations, United Nations and bilateral agencies, and otherdevelopment partners strategically involved in the development of educationpolicies and programmes. It is intended to guide the dialogue of the UnitedNations Development Group and Education for All (EFA) partnerships and facilitatea breakthrough from the rhetoric of the ‘right to education’ to concrete andaccelerated interventions at policy and programme levels for attaining the EFA goalsand the Millennium Development Goals related to education.
A new improved zeta-based AC/AC converter using nine switch inverter

This paper presents a new single input single phase to dual-output three phase AC/AC converter using zeta DC/DC converter and dual-output nine switch inverter. It can be used as an interface configuration between battery and motor of hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) to drive the HEV motor and charge the battery simultaneously. In order to validate the performance of proposed topology, a comparison with Z-source nine switch inverter (ZS-NSI) has been accomplished using a model-based control method and a new optimized career-based PWM modulation is introduced.
Can consumption-based asset pricing models explain the cross-section of investment funds returns?

Using the parametric Generalized Method of Moments (GMM) methodology of Hansen (1982) and the nonparametric approach of Hansen and Jagannathan (1991), this note investigates the ability of Consumption-based Asset Pricing Models (CCAPMs) to explain the cross-section of investment funds returns in the German market. The parametric analysis shows that both the classic power utility model of Hansen and Singleton (1982) and the habit formation extension of Campbell and Cochrane (1999) are not rejected, but require high risk-aversion to be consistent with the data. Furthermore, only the power utility model suffers from a risk-free rate puzzle. The nonparametric results are not accompanied by a risk-free rate puzzle for both models but the models still show high risk aversion. So using adequate test assets and evaluation methods, this note fully supports Cochrane (2006) saying that work explaining asset returns with consumption-based models should be dying out since there are preferences that can coherently describe the data with high risk-aversion.
Gender Differences in Response to Policies Targeting Commute to Automobile-Restricted Central Business District

Several studies have indicated that responses to policies intended to reduce car use may fall short of the predicted or desired response, which suggests a need for improved behavioral models. One basis for improvement is to better account for population heterogeneity. In particular, studies show that men and women have different transportation patterns that reflect gender-related characteristics and roles in families; these differences can be manifested in their mode choice in the presence of demand management strategies. On the basis of stated preference data on mode choice that were gathered from a sample of drivers commuting to the central business district in Tehran, Iran, this study used generalized nested logit models to find the significant variables that affected each gender's mode choice under some price- and time-oriented policies. Although some variables were common to both genders, other variables influenced only men's or only women's behavior. Further, some of the common variables did not have the same signs for both genders; this finding offers post hoc validation of the need to model the genders’ behavior separately. Several results suggest that the hypothetical policies tested elicited changes not only in travel behavior, but possibly also in household roles and lifestyle. The authors believe that understanding the gender-based differences in factors important to mode choice can help identify policies that serve each gender's needs better and thus potentially increase the willingness of both genders to shift away from driving.
Economic Reforms, Frictional Unemployment and Wage Inequality-----A General Equilibrium Analysis

In this paper we extend the benchmark model of Diamond-Mortensen-Pissarides in a two-sector general equilibrium framework by introducing a frictionless segment of the labour market. The two sectors are the frictionless informal sector and the frictional formal sector where match friction is the root cause of unemployment. Here,both wages are flexible. Informal wage is determined by the marginal productivity rule of the worker and the formal wage is determined by the Nash-bargaining solution. We alsoexamine the effects of trade reforms and labour market reforms on equilibrium rate of unemployment and wage inequality in our stylitzed economy. We find that both these reforms reduce equilibrium rate of unemployment. However, trade reforms raise wage inequality but labour market reforms reduce it. These results provide a strong theoretical basis for labour market reform in a small open economy characterized by frictional labour market.
Snippet-Based Unsupervised Approach for Sentiment Classification of Chinese Online Reviews

Sentiment classification seeks to identify general attitude of a piece of text of comments or reviews on certain subject, be it positive or negative. Most existing researches on sentiment classification employ supervised learning approaches that rely on annotated data. However, sentiment is expressed differently on different subjects in different domains, and having annotated corpora for every domain of interest is not always practical. This paper proposes an unsupervised learning approach for classifying text of online reviews as recommended or not recommended. The proposed method is based on search engine snippet, summary information on the result page of a search engine. A basic assumption is that terms with similar orientation tend to co-occur. The co-occurrence is measured by utilizing snippets returned from search engines, with a query consisting of the text and a seed positive or negative word. With the information of snippets, the proposed method may estimate the association of candidate terms more accurately. This allows us to reliably predict the sentiment orientation of customer reviews. Texts of customer reviews are then classified as recommended or not recommended if the average sentiment orientations of its phrases are positive or negative. The research data set of this study consists of 600 Chinese online reviews about travel destinations retrieved from Ctrip.com. Our approach achieves an accuracy of 76.5%. Factors that influence the accuracy of the sentiment classification of Chinese online reviews were discussed.
Film-Induced Tourism as a Vehicle For Destination Marketing: Is it Worth the Efforts?

ABSTRACT This study examined the impact of a film on the featured destination's image and travel intentions through comparing the results of a one-group pretest-posttest quasi-experiment. Then, the effect of destination attributes and overall image on travel intentions is examined simultaneously through path analysis. The results indicate that the role of the overall image as a mediating variable is not significant as respondents relied more on specific destination image attributes on their intention to visit. This was even more prominent after the viewing of the film. The overall image had the strongest direct effect on visit interest in future for both pretest and posttest.
Privatization and regulation of transport infrastructure : guidelines for policymakers and regulators

The 1990s saw a dramatic increase in the liberalization of transport policies and a strengthening of the role played by private operators and investors in transport infrastructure. Most of these reforming countries are creating new regulatory agencies. This book aims is to contribute to the development of these regulatory skills. The book has two parts. Chapter 2 in the first part provides an overview of why economic regulation is important. It provides theoretical support to the sector-specific chapters that constitute the second part of the book. The second part covers four subsectors: airports, ports, railways, and roads. Each chapter follows exactly the same structure. The first section provides snapshot of the key economic characteristics of the sector and discusses their relevance from the viewpoint of a regulator. The second section summarizes the main privatization and regulation trends that have been observed in the sector. It gives an overview of main options offered by international experience and covers a few case studies that illustrate those options. The third section covers price regulation and highlights the price-related issues that characterize the sector. The fourth section does the same for quality regulation. The fifth section discusses the main performance indicators that the sector's regulators should be able to rely on to be effective in their jobs.