Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Human resource allocations in African agricultural research: revealing more of the story behind the regional trends

The aim of this paper is to provide an in-depth assessment of Sub-Saharan Africa’s human resource capacity in agricultural research based on the wealth of detailed human capacity data collected through the Agricultural Science and Technology Indicators (ASTI) initiative. The region’s overall agricultural R&D capacity has increased notably in recent years. In addition to this increase in absolute numbers, female participation improved in many countries and comparatively more researchers hold PhD and MSc degrees—although the share of those qualified to the BSc level increased for some countries during 2001–08. Nevertheless, many countries, especially some of the region’s smallest, still have very low (and in a few cases declining) levels of human resource capacity. Agricultural research continues to be extremely fragmented, with most countries focusing on a large number of subsectors and wide range of crops, which remains the dominant subsector. Furthermore, after years of civil service recruitment freezes, many countries have disproportionately young and inexperienced teams of agricultural scientists in need of further training and mentoring, combined with disproportionately older senior scientists, many of whom are nearing retirement age. A further problem due to years of underfunding in many countries is the need to improve salary levels, conditions of service, facilities and equipment, and networking and career-development opportunities, which are fundamental to successfully attracting and retaining the kind of scientists needed to address the multitude of research challenges that await.
Relationship between Energy Consumption and GDP in Iran

This paper tries to unfold the linkage between energy consumption and GDP by undertaking a co-integration analysis for Iran with annual data over the period 1980-2010. The analysis shows that energy consumption and GDP are co-integrated. This means that there is (possibly bi-directional) causality relationship between the two. We establish that there is a unidirectional causality running from GDP to energy consumption indicating that energy saving would not harm economic growth in Iran. In addition, we find that energy consumption keeps on growing as long as the economy grows in Iran. Key words : Error correction; Iran; energy consumption; economic growth; Kuznets Curve.
Low-Complexity Shift Register Based on Decoder Enabled Pulsed Latches

--------------------------------------------------------ABSTRACT----------------------------------------------------------This paper proposes a low complexity shift register based on decoder enabled pulsed latches. Power consumption and Area reduction plays a major role in sequential circuit design. To reduce the area traditional flip-flops are replaced by pulsed latches. The timing problem of latches are solved by use of various non overlap delayed pulsed clock signals. Traditional shift register uses single pulsed clock signal for data transition, which consumes additional power. Here the single clock is divided into small number of pulsed clock and the shift register are combined by several sub shift registers. To reduce the area and power decoder enabled non overlap delayed pulsed latches are used in shift registers instead of conventional shift register used by flip-flops. Shift register is divided in to sub-shift registers and decoder enables each latch in sub-shift registers. This proposed shift register saves more than 24% of power and 78% of area compared to conventional shift registers using flip-flops.
Mid-IR heterogeneous silicon photonics

In this paper we discuss silicon-based photonic integrated circuit technology for applications beyond the telecommunication wavelength range. Silicon-on-insulator and germanium-on-silicon passive waveguide circuits are described, as well as the integration of III-V semiconductors, IV-VI colloidal nanoparticle films and GeSn alloys on these circuits for increasing the functionality. The strong nonlinearity of silicon combined with the low nonlinear absorption in the mid-infrared is exploited to generate picosecond pulse based supercontinuum sources and optical parametric oscillators that can be used as spectroscopic sensor sources.
The Effects of Democracy on Environment Quality Index in Selected OIC Countries

The relationship between democracy and environment has always been controversial. Some scientists found that democracy had a positive impact on reducing environmental disruption. Other scholars claimed that democracy tends to accelerate environmental degradation. Ther are many studies focusing on main determinants of environmental degradation. More recently, democracy is considered to be one of factors affecting environmental quality. This research studies the relationship between democracy and environment quality in selected Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) countries by using panel data model for the period 2000-2010. The results of estimation show that democracy affects environment quality directly in these countries. Moreover, we find that economic growth and trade have positive effect on environmental quality. However, energy consumption and population have negative effect on environment in selected OIC countries.
Acquiring automaticity of basic math facts and the effect that this has on overall mathematic achievement

Sandra S. Robinson Acquiring Automaticity of Basic Math Facts and the Effect that this has on Overall Mathematic Achievement 1999 Dr. Stanley Urban The purpose of this study was to prove, through a systematic approach, that teaching addition facts to mastery would improve the mathematics scores of second grade students. This study attempted to demonstrate that if a desired level of automatic recall of basic facts was achieved students would show improved scores on a nationally standardized test. Basic math facts were taught to a group of students over several months and they were tested daily on speed and accuracy. Standardized test scores were then compared from the end of first grade (prior to the intervention) and end of second grade scores (after the intervention) for each child who participated in the experimental group. This group was then compared to a group that had no intervention to see if there was a significant level of improvement, as measure by their end of first grade and end of second grade standardized test scores. The findings to the research question was that there were no differences, statistically, in the pretest calculation abilities of the control or experimental groups, and there were no differences, statistically, in the posttest calculation abilities of the control or experimental groups. However, it can be concluded that individual students made significant gains with the extensive drill and practice. Further research with a larger group of subjects may lead to more significantly favorable findings.
Satisficing Theory and Non-Cooperative Games

SATISFICING THEORY AND NON-COOPERATIVE GAMES Matthew Nokleby Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering Master of Science Satisficing game theory is an alternative to traditional non-cooperative game theory which offers increased flexibility in modeling players’ social interactions. However, satisficing players with conflicting attitudes may implement dysfunctional behaviors, leading to poor performance. In this thesis, we present two attempts to “bridge the gap” between satisficing and non-cooperative game theory. First, we present an evolutionary method by which players adapt their attitudes to increase raw payoff, allowing players to overcome dysfunction. We extend the Nash equilibrium concept to satisficing games, showing that the evolutionary method presented leads the players toward an equilibrium in their attitudes. Second, we introduce the conditional utility functions of satisficing theory into an otherwise traditional non-cooperative framework. While the conditional structure allows increased social flexibility in the players’ behaviors, players maximize individual utility in the traditional sense, allowing us to apply the Nash equilibrium. We find that, by adjusting players’ attitudes, we may alter the Nash equilibria that result. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS There are many people to thank. I am extremely indebted to Professor Wynn Stirling for his assistance throughout my college education. His early faith in me, which led to my involvement in his research, has made a tremendous impact on my academic life. Indeed, the content of this thesis is largely due to the numerous (and often lively) discussions held in his office over the past several years. I also owe a large debt to Professor A. Lee Swindlehurst, whose introductory class in signals and systems persuaded me to pursue graduate education. Professor Swindlehurst funded most of my graduate education, allowing me to apply game-theoretic ideas to his research in signal processing and wireless communications. I am also grateful to the remaining faculty at Brigham Young University—particularly Professors Randal Beard, Travis Oliphant, and Michael Rice—for providing an exceptional educational experience. This thesis is dedicated to my father, Scott Nokleby, who has always encouraged me towards a lifetime of learning, love, and faith. Table of
Macroscopic assembly of flexible and strong green graphene fibres

Graphene fibres have great potential in future wearable electronics due to their promising thermal and electrical properties. However, fibre brittleness limits their implementation and researchers are still seeking easily scalable and eco-friendly production methods. Here we propose a green and continuous wet-spinning assembly approach to continuously spin flexible graphene oxide (GO) fibres. Highly stable aqueous GO suspensions up to 40 mg mL−1 are achieved and GO fibres are spun from highly oriented liquid crystals through a customized continuous fibre production line. As-spun GO fibres with specific ultimate tensile strength of 7 N/tex show strain to failure (%) of 10%; subsequent NaBH4 chemical reduction gives graphene fibres with electrical conductivity of 214 S cm−1. The scalable production presented here facilitates flexible, strong and electrically conductive graphene fibres, which have emerged as promising graphene based electronic textiles and sensors.
ON THE FUNCTIONS OF PRODUCTS

Understanding the performance and manner of functioning of existing products is at the base of new product development activities. In engineering design the term function is generally used to refer to the technical actions performed by a product. However, products accomplish a wider range of goals. This research has explored the opportunity to describe and model, through the concept of function, product actions across four dimensions including technical, aesthetic, social and economic. The research has demonstrated that non-technical functions can be represented through active verbs and nouns and modelled using a method known as the Function Analysis Diagram (FAD). The research argues that when technical, aesthetic, social and economic perspectives on product development are considered as different types of function, stakeholders have a common language to communicate which can benefit design collaboration.
The influence of CSR types on employee identification and citizenship in financial market in Turkey

In financial market, organizations have been adopting Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) increasingly as they experience challenges because of the economic crises, growing competition, and complexity of the industry. Thus, it is vital to grasp the stakeholders’ understanding of and responses to CSR initiatives, such as the employees, who play a critical role in overall performances of organizations. Also, while much of the research in this context investigate developed countries, little is known about CSR in developing countries. This study explores the impacts of different CSR initiatives (i.e. philanthropic CSR vs. non-philanthropic CSR) on employee identification and citizenship in financial industry in Turkey. The two types of CSR initiatives are classified with respect to their relevance to the expectations of employees in the industry. This study also examines the moderation roles of CSR communication on social media and personal fit with CSR type in the CSR – employee reactions relationship. An online survey is conducted to gather data from a sample of 262 employees of one of the biggest banks in Turkey. The results suggest not only the importance of CSR to enhance employee identification and citizenship but also a higher impact of non-philanthropic CSR compared to philanthropic CSR in financial industry in Turkey. Direct effects of both CSR types are observed on employee identification. Instead, the impact of CSR on employee citizenship is mediated by employee identification. It implies a gap between identification and citizenship, despite that these two are often assumed to change instantaneously. The findings also suggest that to convey the philanthropic CSR to employees through social media effectively, it is important to ensure a high transparency of the CSR communication. The additional analysis confirms the relationship between personal fit and employee identification. The findings provide implications to managers with respect to CSR management and communication, in particular, if they target employees as the key stakeholders. Considering the generalization of the findings, observed mechanisms in this study may contribute to unfolding the CSR – employee reactions relationship in other industries in developing countries.
Mapping evapotranspiration based on remote sensing : An application to Canada ’ s landmass

[1] The evapotranspiration (ET) from all Canadian landmass in 1996 is estimated at daily steps and 1 km resolution using a process model named boreal ecosystem productivity simulator (BEPS). The model is driven by remotely sensed leaf area index and land cover maps as well as soil water holding capacity and daily meteorological data. All the major ET components are considered: transpiration from vegetation, evaporation of canopyintercepted rainfall, evaporation from soil, sublimation of snow in winter and in permafrost and glacier areas, and sublimation of canopy-intercepted snow. In forested areas the transpiration from both the overstory and understory vegetation is modeled separately. The Penman-Monteith method was applied to sunlit and shaded leaf groups individually in modeling the canopy-level transpiration, a methodological improvement necessary for forest canopies with considerable foliage clumping. The modeled ET map displays pronounced east-west and north-south gradients as well as detailed variations with cover types and vegetation density. It is estimated that for a relative wet year of 1996, the total ET from all Canada’s landmass (excluding inland waters) was 2037 km. If compared with the total precipitation of 5351 km based on the data from a medium range meteorological forecast model, the ratio of ET to precipitation was 38%. The ET averaged over Canadian land surface was 228 mm/yr in 1996, partitioned into transpiration of 102 mm yr 1 and evaporation and sublimation of 126 mm yr . Forested areas contributed the largest fraction of the total national ET at 59%. Averaged for all cover types, transpiration accounted for 45% of the total ET, while in forested areas, transpiration contributed 51% of ET. Modeled results of daily ET are compared with eddy covariance measurements at three forested sites with a r value of 0.61 and a root mean square error of 0.7 mm/day.
Applicability of a Spectrophotometric Method for Assessment of Oxidative Stress in Poultry

Abstract Oxidative stress is discussed as being related to health, welfare, and also to product quality. Recently, a spectrophotometric method based on the Fenton reaction (reactive oxygen metabolites, ROM) has been proposed to characterize pro-oxidative stressors in body fluids by determining early products of oxidation from proteins, lipids and nucleic acids. The applicability of this method for blood samples from various bird species was tested. The validity of the method for mammalian domestic animals was demonstrated by linearity yielded with increasing amounts of serum. In contrast, serum obtained from chicken yielded ROM concentrations below the limit of detection when serum volumes comparable to mammalian samples were used. Applying higher amounts of serum was not increasing the optical density readings in a linear way. To assess whether the lack of sensitivity and linearity is a problem limited to chicken or poultry in general, we tested sera from laying hens, turkey, duck, goose, pheasant, pigeon, and guinea fowl. For most of the species tested, the method could not be validly applied. There is no reason to assume that oxidative stress in birds may not exist, therefore we conclude that bird specific matrix effects hinder the valid application of the ROMs test in poultry.
Resistance Training Perceived Exertion Scale Validation for Females (Intensity Estimation Trials)

The purpose of this study was to physiologically validate the newly Arabic (translated format) of OMNI scale for resistance training (OMNI- Resistance) at different exercise intensities using estimation paradigm. Method: Twenty five young female subjects performed latissimuss pull-down (LP), knee extension (KE), and seated rowing (SR) resistance exercises. Subjects completed three sits of 10 repetitions of each exercise (at 25%, 50% and 70% of one- repetition maximal (1RM %). Rating of perceived exertion for the active muscles (RPE-AM) and for the Overall body (RPE-O) were measured for each exercise during the tenth repetition. Correlations of RPE and 1RM% at the final repetition were (.95-.96) and regression functions were statistically significant (p < 0.01). Differences between (RPE-O) and (RPE -AM) between intensities and at each site were examined using ANOVA for repeated measures. At all exercises, (RPE-AM) were higher than (RPE-O) (P≤.05). ANOVA showed a progressive intensity effect as 1RM% was increased (P<.01). The Arabic translated version of the (OMNI-RES) scale of perceived exertion concurrent validity is established. The scale may be used by young and healthy females for exercise programming and evaluation.
Providing Government e-Services: An Extension of Applicability Check for Practitioners

Communities are grappling with unanswered questions regarding how to best manage and deliver e-services both within City Hall and with their citizen-clients. Moreover, researchers have raised concerns about the relevance of information systems research for both the academic realm and for real-world practitioners. Accordingly, the goals of this study are twofold. First, we seek to understand the internal and external concerns that result from municipal governments offering online services. We do so by involving practitioners in the research process in order to generate research that will prove useful to them while helping researchers fill gaps between phenomena as they exist in practice and in the current state of academic knowledge. Second, we propose an extension to Rosemann and Vessey’s (2008) applicability check approach by offering an example of research focused on problems faced by practitioners who provide egovernment services.
Quaderni di Dipartimento Objective Bayes Factors for Gaussian Directed Acyclic Graphical Models

We propose an objective Bayesian method for the comparison of all Gaussian directed acyclic graphical models deﬁned on a given set of variables. The method, which is based on the notion of fractional Bayes factor, requires a single default (typically improper) prior on the space of unconstrained covariance matrices, together with a prior sample size hyper-parameter, which can be set to its minimal value. We show that our approach produces genuine Bayes factors. The implied prior on the concentration matrix of any complete graph is a data-dependent Wishart distribution, and this in turn guarantees that Markov equivalent graphs are scored with the same marginal likelihood. We specialize our results to the smaller class of Gaussian decomposable undirected graphical models, and show that in this case they coincide with those recently obtained using limiting versions of hyper-inverse Wishart distributions as priors on the graph-constrained covariance matrices.
Preparation of Magnetic Multi-Walled Carbon Nanotubes to Adsorb Sodium Dodecyl Sulfate (SDS)

Surfactants are one of the main groups of pollutants released into aqueous solutions due to human activities and their harmful effects have been proven on human. In this study, first, magnetic multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MMWCNTs) were synthesized and then, the effects of operating parameters such as surfactant concentration, adsorbent dosage, and pH values were analyzed on the adsorption process. MMWCNTs were characterized by means of X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis and fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). The optimal adsorption conditions were achieved at initial pH = 4.6, adsorbent concentration = 0.5 g/L, and initial SDS concentration = 15 mg/L. In addition, the equilibrium of sorption reached after 120 min and the maximum capacity of SDS for monolayer coverage was found to be 61 mg/g at 25°C. Kinetic studies were performed under optimal conditions and the sorption kinetics was described using the pseudo-second-order kinetic model. The experimental data were studied using Freundlich, Langmuir, and Sips models. Finally, the experimental data were fitted reasonably by Langmuir isotherm. The results demonstrated that MMWCNTs with respect to their high adsorption capacity, relatively low equilibrium time, and capability to be separated from aqueous solutions (after adsorption) could be applied to wastewater treatment.
PHYTOCHEMICAL PROFILING AND ANTIBACTERIAL EFFICACY SCREENING OF AGLAIA MALABARICA SASIDH

Objective: Aglaia malabarica is an unexplored endemic forest tree belonging to the family Meliaceae. The present study was conducted to screen the phytochemical constituents of the leaf extract, to analyze the important secondary metabolites and to determine the antibacterial efficacy of the plant extract. Methods: Antibacterial activity was studied using agar based disc diffusion method. Four strains of bacteria were used for the antibacterial study that includes Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosae, Proteus vulgaris and Bacillus megaterium. Results: The presence of constituents like, carbohydrates, proteins, tannins, phenols, terpenoids, flavonoids, alkaloids and steroids were confirmed. Saponin was found to be absent. The secondary metabolites quantified were terpenoids, phenols and flavanoids, which were found in considerable amounts. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of all the bacteria studied was found to be 500 µ g methanolic leaf extract. Conclusion: The plant extract was found to be highly potent against both the Gram positive and Gram negative strains and this property may be attributed to the potent phytochemicals revealed in the extract.
Comparing the consumers' consciousness of the commercial sponsorship and the social cause sponsorship: A qualitative research

This research aims to compare the consumers' consciousness about the commercial sponsorship and the social cause sponsorship. A qualitative research was conducted with 15 in depth-interviews based on structured conversations. The results point up the prominence of the consumers' consciousness of commercial sponsorship, mainly sports sponsorship, with comparison to that of social causes' sponsorship. Nonetheless, the respondents showed keen interest when evoking social causes' activities; which would encourage managers to invest in such facet of sponsorship that has not been sufficiently investigated by professionals and academicians yet.