Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Effect of Different TiO

In this study TiO2 films have been prepared using two different techniques i.e. sol-gel and electron gun evaporation (e-gun) techniques. The films were annealed at 300, 350 and 400oC in air. The microstructure study using field emission scanning electron microscope and x-ray diffractometer showed nanometer grains size and only the film prepared by sol-gel and annealed at 400oC has anatase phase while others are amorphous. To study the effect of the films (as buffer layer) onto the dielectric bolometer Ba0.6Sr 0.4TiO3 as distance sensor, sensors with the configuration of Al/BST/TiO2/ RuO2/SiO2/Si were built. Two different measurements i.e. with and without infrared source were carried out to measure the sensitivity and repeatability of the sensors. The sensors which contained sol-gel TiO2 films gave reading for both type of measurements, indicating that the sensor can act as active and passive sensors. However, the sensors which contained e-gun TiO2 films only gave responses when the IR source was used, indicating that they can only act as passive sensors. The most sensitive sensor was TiO2 film prepared by sol gel and annealed at 350 oC. In general sensors which contained TiO2 films prepared by sol gel showed good repeatability.
TO STUDY ASSOCIATION BETWEEN LIPID PROFILE IN VEGETARIANS AND NON - VEGETARIANS IN THE LOCAL POPULATION

BACKGROUND: To Study Association between Lipid Profile in Vegetarians and NonVegetarians in the Local Population. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Descriptive study was conducted in the area Chittur from April 2014 to April 2015. One hundred and fifty (75 vegetarians and 75 nonvegetarians) healthy individuals, aged 30 – 60 years were studied in the central lab of Karuna Medical College. Overnight fasting venous blood samples were collected for estimating. Fasting Blood Sugar (FBS), Serum Alanine Transaminase (ALT) and, Serum lipid profile. RESULTS: The mean age of the study subjects was 38 and 37 of the vegetarians and non-vegetarians respectively with normal serum ALT. The vegetarians subjects had significantly lower mean serum Total Cholesterol (TC) [mean difference (95% CI)] [-0.42 (-0.78, -0.06)] and LDL [-0.45 (-0.75, -0.15)] compared to nonvegetarians. However, triglyceride, HDL, FBS, were identical. In Pearson’s correlation, consumption of vegetable diet significantly correlated with serum TC, LDL. CONCLUSION: In our study the vegetarian study have a lower lipid profile status as compared to the non-vegetarian subjects. Therefore consumption of a vegetarian diet has to be encouraged.
The use of exogenous enzymes in ruminant diets.

Enzymes have been used successfully for many years to improve the nutritive value of diets used in the intensive monogastric livestock industries. This success has not occurred in the ruminant species reflecting their more complex digestive system and the greater concomitant challenge to nutritional science. Nevertheless, from defming nutritional objectives for ruminants and coupling this with detailed knowledge of possible target substrates, and the activity of enzymes, promising research directions can be postulated. Initial targets are likely to be the fibre (polysaccharides) components of feeds, and some experimental data have already been gathered indicating some potential for glycanase enzymes. Other feed components such as starch and plant toxins may also be suitable targets, particularly when certain feeding regimens are considered.
Fiscal Capacity and Economic Performance

Weak scal states that lack the capacity to raise sucient tax resources cannot provide adequate amounts of basic public goods that improve worker productivity. We perform an econometric analysis of scal capacity and economic performance that uses data for 112 sample countries from 1975 to 2004. Our ndings indicate that there is a signicant relationship between scal strength and worker productivity. The crosssectional results show that a 10 percentage point increase in scal capacity leads to a 21 to 44 percent increase in GDP per worker for the average income sample country. We supplement our cross-sectional investigation with a panel analysis to address the problem of omitted variable bias and an instrumental variable analysis to address the problem of reverse causation. Both sets of tests reinforce the cross-sectional ndings. In total, our results suggest that scal weakness impedes economic development.
3D MICROSTRUCTURING OF GLASS BY FEMTOSECOND LASER DIRECT WRITING AND APPLICATION TO BIOPHOTONIC MICROCHIPS

Three-dimensional (3D) microfabrication of photostruc- turable glass by femtosecond (fs) laser direct writing is demonstrated for manufacture of biophotonic microchips. The fs laser direct writ- ing followed by annealing and successive wet etching can fabricate the hollow microstructures, achieving a variety of microfluidic components and microoptical components in a glass chip. One of the interesting and important applications of the 3D microfluidic structures fabricated by the present technique is inspection of living microorganisms. The microchips used for this application are referred to as nanoaquarium. Furthermore, the optical waveguide is written inside the glass by the fs laser direct writing without the annealing and the successive etching. It is revealed that integration of the microfluidic and microoptical com- ponents with the optical waveguides in a single glass chip is of great use for biochemical analysis and medical inspection based on optical sensing.
The influence of atmospheric circulation at different spatial scales on winter drought variability through a semi‐arid climatic gradient in Northeast Spain

This paper analyses the spatial and temporal variability of winter droughts in a semi‐arid geographic gradient in Northeast Spain, from the Pyrenees in the north to the Mediterranean coastland in the south. Droughts that occurred between 1952 and 1999 were analysed by means of the Standardised Precipitation Index (SPI). The influence of the weather‐type frequency and of the general North Atlantic atmospheric circulation patterns was analysed. The results indicate that winter droughts show an important spatial variability in the study area, differentiating three well‐defined patterns. These correspond to the Pyrenees, the centre of the Ebro Valley, and the Mediterranean coastland. General negative trends in winter SPI have been found, which are indicative of the increase in winter drought conditions in the study area. Nevertheless, important spatial differences have also been recorded. Dominant north–south gradients in the influence of weather types are shown. Moreover, the negative trends in winter‐SPI values agree with the negative trend in the frequency of the weather types prone to cause precipitation, such as the C, SW and W weather types and the increase in the frequency of A weather types. Nevertheless, in the Mediterranean coastland, the positive trend in SPI values agrees with the increase in the frequency of weather types of the east (E, SE), which are prone to cause precipitation in this area. Interannual variations in the frequency of the different weather types have been highly determined by different general atmospheric circulation patterns, mainly the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO). Nevertheless, the correlation between the time series of weather‐type frequency and the winter SPI is higher than that found between the SPI and the NAO. Thus, although the interannual NAO variability explains a high percentage of the interannual differences in the frequency of different weather types, it is not sufficient to explain the spatial and temporal variability of droughts, which respond better to atmospheric variability at more detailed (synoptic) spatial scales. Copyright © 2006 Royal Meteorological Society.
Productions jointes et mesures de gestion des pêcheries mixtes : application à la pêcherie chalutière langoustinière du golfe de Gascogne

L'utilisation d'engins de peche peu selectifs dans un ecosysteme multi-specifique et multi-taille engendre la capture de plusieurs categories desirees ou non desirees, debarquees ou rejetees. Une analyse bioeconomique des processus de production utilisant des engins de peche peu selectifs dans le cas de la pecherie chalutiere langoustiniere du golfe de Gascogne est presentee dans un premier temps en distinguant une etape de capture et une etape de tri. Nous montrons que toutes les productions ne sont pas jointes. Il existe une certaine maitrise des productions jointes, essentielle du point de vue de l'amenagement des pecheries. Un modele microeconomique de comportement de tri apprehendant les rejets comme la resultante d'une operation de tri permet de discuter les incitations au rejet. Les effets de mesures de limitation des consequences negatives des productions jointes sont ensuite analyses. L'analyse theorique des enjeux de la selectivite montre que les benefices sociaux de la selectivite dependent du niveau d'effort dans la pecherie et que lorsque la selectivite n'est pas observable, les pecheurs ont interet individuellement a adopter la technique non selective. Une analyse cout-benefice de scenarios d'amelioration de la selectivite est ensuite realisee a partir d'un modele bioeconomique de simulation applique a la pecherie langoustiniere. L'endogeneisation des comportements met en evidence la complementarite necessaire entre mesures techniques et mesures de regulation de l'acces. L'exemple de la pecherie au casier a langoustine de Loch Torridon (Ecosse) permet de discuter les conditions de rentabilite d'un engin de peche alternatif dont la selectivite est observable.
The Academic Game: Compliance and Resistance in Universities

This article draws on the sociology of Bourdieu to explore how academics respond to managerialist imperatives. Bourdieu’s metaphor of the game is applied to a case study of a regional Australian university, which underwent significant changes in 2007, the most notable being the introduction of performance appraisals. In-depth interviews (N=20) reveal evidence of symbolic violence: staff compliance with and complicity in the changes. This is evident in the way that the interviewees, mostly early career academics, chose to play the game by concentrating their efforts on increasing their capital within the new order. To further support this argument, signs of resistance to the new regime were explored. Findings show that vocal resistance was sparse with silence, neglect and exit being the more realistic options. The article concludes that it is academics’ illusio, their unwavering commitment to the game, which neutralizes resistance by pitting colleagues against each other.
Genomic dissection of inbreeding depression: a gate to new opportunities

ABSTRACT Inbreeding depression, reduction in performance of quantitative traits, including reproduction and survival, caused by inbreeding, is a well-known phenomenon observed in almost all experimental, domesticated, and natural populations. In spite of its importance to the fate of a small population and numerous research performed in the last century, the genetic basis of inbreeding depression is still unclear. Recent fast development of molecular techniques has enabled estimation of a genomic inbreeding coefficient (FROH), which reflects realized autozygosity and can be [. ]
Do Foreign Experts Increase the Productivity of Domestic Firms?

While most countries welcome (and some even subsidise) high-skilled immigrants, there is very limited evidence of their importance for domestic firms. To guide our empirical analysis, we first set up a simple theoretical model to show how foreign experts may impact on the productivity and wages of domestic firms. Using matched worker-firm data from Denmark and a difference-indifferences matching approach, we then find that firms that hire foreign experts – defined as employees eligible for reduced taxation under the Danish "Tax scheme for foreign researchers and key employees" – both become more productive (pay higher wages) and increase their exports of goods and services.
Performance of the general circulation HadAM3P model in simulating circulation types over the Mediterranean region

The capability of the general circulation model(GCM) Hadley Center atmospheric general circulation model 3P (HadAM3P) to reproduce the mean pattern and the frequency of circulation types concerning the 500 hPa geopotential height fields and 1000–500 hPa thickness fields over Europe and the Mediterranean region are evaluated against the NCEP/NCAR dataset for the period 1960–1990. Daily catalogues of the circulation types describing the regional circulation over Greece at the 500 hPa and 1000–500 hPa thickness fields are constructed based on the two datasets, and the corresponding seasonal frequencies are also estimated. The evaluation is performed for the mean seasonal fields of the two parameters, as well as for those derived for each circulation type separately. It is demonstrated that the HadAM3P model generally succeeds in reproducing the two fields over the examined area, while their seasonal variability is underestimated. The mean patterns of the circulation types are well represented by the model but the seasonal simulated frequencies of the circulation types are not in good agreement with the national centers for environmental predictions (NCEP) ones. The systematic errors of the frequency estimation and the variability in some anticyclonic or cyclonic types should be considered seriously, because it can introduce some degree of uncertainty in the results of a downscaling method based on a circulation type approach. Nevertheless, the links between the precipitation, temperature and circulation types frequency seem to hold in the GCMs. It is therefore safe to use the frequencies of circulation types as predictor in a downscaling technique in order to obtain future precipitation and temperature. Copyright © 2007 Royal Meteorological Society
Characterization of RopGEFs in maize

PRONE RopGEFs are a family of plant specific GEFs with roles in cell morphogenesis, polarity, and growth. Along with roles in ROP activation, RopGEFs have been found to interact with leucine-rich repeat receptor-like kinases (LRR-RLKs) in various plant species such as tomato and Arabidopsis. In maize, LRR-RLK, PAN1, and ROPs promote cell polarization during stomatal development. In this study, RopGEFs were investigated as possible linkers between PAN1 and ROP in this pathway. Five RopGEFs (RopGEF1-5) were chosen for investigation and tested for direct interaction with PAN1. An antibody was designed to characterize the RopGEFs and found to recognize multiple bands in maize protein extracts. Tissue staining with the antibody showed an accumulation of proteins around the nucleus in various cell types. When bombarded with a GFP construct containing one of the RopGEFs (RopGEF5), dot- like aggregates of varying sizes were seen along the cell periphery. RopGEF4 was found to interact with PAN1 in the yeast 2-hybrid system, supporting the possibility of RopGEF activity in the PAN1 pathway
ACCURACY OF DIGITAL ORTHOPHOTOS FROM HIGH RESOLUTION SPACE IMAGERY

Today existing high resolution space imagery are entering into competition with the aerial photography for regional mapping programs and other extensive mapping applications where high resolution is required. The IKONOS and QuickBird imagery are typical examples. These are quite suitable for the production of Digital Orthophoto with resolutions of one meter or smaller. This paper analyses the effect on the accuracy of Digital Orthophotos been produced from these imageries and using different geometric projection models (i.e., Rational Functions, strict geometric model, interpolation models); number, distribution and quality of Ground Control Data and used DEM quality and geometric characteristics. Image matching and correlation potentials for the generation of DEMs are also included.
The impact of residential combustion emissions on atmospheric aerosol, human health and climate

Abstract. Combustion of fuels in the residential sector for cooking and heating results in the emission of aerosol and aerosol precursors impacting air quality, human health, and climate. Residential emissions are dominated by the combustion of solid fuels. We use a global aerosol microphysics model to simulate the impact of residential fuel combustion on atmospheric aerosol for the year 2000. The model underestimates black carbon (BC) and organic carbon (OC) mass concentrations observed over Asia, Eastern Europe, and Africa, with better prediction when carbonaceous emissions from the residential sector are doubled. Observed seasonal variability of BC and OC concentrations are better simulated when residential emissions include a seasonal cycle. The largest contributions of residential emissions to annual surface mean particulate matter (PM2.5) concentrations are simulated for East Asia, South Asia, and Eastern Europe. We use a concentration response function to estimate the human health impact due to long-term exposure to ambient PM2.5 from residential emissions. We estimate global annual excess adult (> 30 years of age) premature mortality (due to both cardiopulmonary disease and lung cancer) to be 308 000 (113 300–497 000, 5th to 95th percentile uncertainty range) for monthly varying residential emissions and 517 000 (192 000–827 000) when residential carbonaceous emissions are doubled. Mortality due to residential emissions is greatest in Asia, with China and India accounting for 50 % of simulated global excess mortality. Using an offline radiative transfer model we estimate that residential emissions exert a global annual mean direct radiative effect between −66 and +21 mW m−2, with sensitivity to the residential emission flux and the assumed ratio of BC, OC, and SO2 emissions. Residential emissions exert a global annual mean first aerosol indirect effect of between −52 and −16 mW m−2, which is sensitive to the assumed size distribution of carbonaceous emissions. Overall, our results demonstrate that reducing residential combustion emissions would have substantial benefits for human health through reductions in ambient PM2.5 concentrations.
Evaluation of risk factors in women attending a sexually transmitted infection clinic at a tertiary care centre

Background: Reproductive tract infections (RTIs) continue to present major health, social and economic problems all over the world and their complications are the most important causes of morbidity and mortality for women especially in the developing countries. Interest in RTIs and their management has increased tremendously because presence of a RTI in the sexual partner increases the risk of acquisition of HIV. Aim was to evaluate the risk factors in women attending a sexually transmitted infection clinic at a tertiary care centre and prevalence of RTI in our setup.Methods: The present study was conducted on 318 women of reproductive age group (18-45 years) attending the Reproductive tract infection/ sexually transmitted infection (RTI/STI) clinic at our tertiary care centre, they were evaluated for the prevalence of following RTIs: chlamydia, gonorrhoea, syphilis, bacterial vaginosis, trichomoniasis and candidiasis; and their correlation with clinical features and associated risk factors.Results: The factors found to be significantly associated with RTI were illiteracy, unemployment, past history of RTI in patient and presence of RTI in their partner. The prevalence of RTI in our setup reported 9.7%. The prevalence of candidiasis was maximum (11.5%) followed by chlamydia (4.1%), syphilis (4.1%), bacterial vaginosis (1.73%) and trichomoniasis (0.57%). Conclusions: None of the women was found positive for gonorrhoea. No coexistence of any two diseases found in any patient. Most common presentation was genital discharge (52.8%) followed by lower abdominal pain (45.2%).
Multicarrier Modulation for Wireless Communication using Wavelet Packets

Success of OFDM has proved that Multi carrier modulation is an efficient solution for wireless communications. Wavelet Packet Modulation (WPM) is a new type of modulation for transmission of multicarrier signal on wireless channel that uses orthogonal wavelet bases other than sine functions. Though this modulation is over all similar to that of OFDM, it provides interesting additional features. In this thesis, a detailed study is given on Wavelets and WPM and the BER performance comparison between the OFDM systems and WPM systems and equalization techniques are analysed. The analysis is done for different types of wavelet generating families, various number of modulations QAM constellation points (16 to 64), and simulated over AWGN channel, and other Multipath fading channels.
Spin Seebeck effect in an (In,Ga)As quantum well with equal Rashba and Dresselhaus spin-orbit couplings

We demonstrate that a spin-dependent Seebeck effect can be detected in quantum wells with zinc-blend structure with equal Rashba-Dresselhaus spin-orbit couplings. This theory is based on the establishment of an itinerant antiferromagnetic state, a low total-energy configuration realized in the presence of the Coulomb interaction enabled by the k = 0 degeneracy of the opposite-spin single-particle energy spectra. Transport in this state is modeled by using the solutions of a Boltzmann equation obtained within the relaxation time approximation. Numerical estimates performed for realistic GaAs samples indicate that at low temperatures, the amplitude of the spin Seebeck coefficient can be increased by scattering on magnetic impurities.
OF VIRUS DETECTION IN SOILS AND SEDIMENTS

Anthropogenic impacts on soils have become one of the major environmental concerns nowadays. Soils and sediments under water bodies may contain viruses and bacteria on higher loads than those identified in contaminated waters. Thesecontaminants may interfere with the whole environment of the affected area, not only damaging the soil and the water but also affecting wildlife. Viruses can travel across the ground contaminating groundwater. The focus of research concerning viruses in soil matrices has been the destination, transport, and detection of pathogenic viruses exogenous to soils. Many methods have been suggested in the last few years for viral detection in soil and sediments. Viruses can be extracted from soil by elution, concentrated and finally detected by molecular techniques cell culture. There are many elution methods described in the literature and 11 techniques are cited in this review. Molecular detection can be performed by Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) and its modifications. New assays for viral quantification are emerging, such as adaptation of plaque assays (PAs), most-probable number assays (MPNs), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), epifluorescence microscopy (EfM), and flow cytometry (FC).