Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Organizational Citizenship Behaviour and Demographic Factors among Oil Workers in Nigeria

Even though numerous epidemiology studies have examined the patterns of mortality in refinery workers and petroleum distribution workers and even on production and pipeline workers whose primary exposure was to crude oil (Divine and Hartman, 2000), there is a dearth of research on the organizational citizenship behavior among these oil workers. This study seeks to fill the gap by investigating organizational citizenship behavior among oil workers in Nigeria and some demographic factors that determine this behavior among the workers. A power analysis on the OCB-C questionnaire to ensure that the statistical test will have adequate power resulted in a sample size of 120. 300 oil workers drawn from the major Petroleum Cooperation in Nigeria; Pipelines and Product Marketing Co-operation (P.P.M.C), MOSIMI which is a subsidiary of Nigerian National Oil Co-operation (N.N.P.C) were randomly selected for this study. The study set out to determine a significant difference in the organizational citizenship behaviour exhibited by these oil workers based on demographic variables, gender, educational level, and marital status. Findings showed that none of these demographic variables were a determinant factor on the display of organizational citizenship behavior of the oil workers which were actually consistent with existing literature. Findings may be useful in further understanding the role of education, gender and marriage among individuals who seek or hold sensitive positions in significant economical organizations with both the private and public sectors.
Banking crises: The impact of financial liberalization

This paper intends to study whether financial liberalization tends to increase the likelihood of systemic banking crises. I used a sample of 79 countries with data spanning from 1973 to 2005 to run a panel probit model. I found that, if anything, financial liberalization as measured across seven different dimensions tends to decrease the probability of occurrence of a systemic banking crisis. I went further and did several robustness tests – used a conditional probit model, tested for different durations of liberalization impact and reduced the sample by considering only the first crisis event for each country. Main results still verified, proving the results’ robustness.
ISO 9001 Vs. EFQM: A comparative analisys based on external independent data.

The aim of this article is to evaluate the adoption and outcomes of both the ISO 9000 and the EFQM selfevaluation model, based on external independent data. To this end, we first performed some objective analyzes of data regarding the impact of the models, data obtained from the ISO and EFQM international organizations themselves. We then conducted an empirical work with a survey of 107 experienced and independent qualitymanagement assessors and data from 242 external evaluations carried out between 1998 and 2007 in 170 Spanish organizations that have adopted the EFQM model. The results obtained refer to the different motives of organizations in implementing ISO 9000 standards and the EFQM model, the obstacles detected to this implementation, and the comparative results of these.
Clinical characteristics of patients newly diagnosed with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease by the fixed ratio and lower limit of normal criteria

Citation for published version (Harvard): Miller, M, Haroon, S, Jordan, R, Sitch, A, Dickens, A, Enocson, A, Fitzmaurice, D & Adab, P 2018, 'Clinical characteristics of patients newly diagnosed with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease by the fixed ratio and lower limit of normal criteria: a cross-sectional analysis of the TargetCOPD trial' International Journal of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease, vol. 2018, no. 13, pp. 1979—1986. DOI: 10.2147/COPD.S146914
ANTI-INFLAMMATORY EFFECT OF PLANTAGO SP ETHANOLIC EXTRACT IN MURINE RAW 264 . 7 MACROPHAGE CELLS

Besides being recorded as a traditional medicine, nowadays, plantain plants (Plantago sp.) are appreciated in many more aspects. Plantain is a name applied both to a drug and to a vegetable in a number of countries as Vietnam, China, Cambodia, Laos and North American Indians [9, 13]. Plantago sp. traditionally used for treating wound, fever and inflammation in Asia. This study aimed to investigate the anti-inflammatory activity of ethanolic extracts of Plantago sp. including P. major L. and P. depressa Willd. on RAW 264.7 murine macrophage cells. Cells were treated with different concentration of the PAE extract (50, 100, 200, 400 μg/mL) with or without lipopolysaccharide (LPS) stimulation to evaluate its effect on cell viability, using CCK-8 assay. Nitric oxide (NO) production was assessed by Griess reagent on LPS-stimulated cells using preceding PEE treatment. Furthermore, mRNA expression of inflammmatory-related genes were evaluated by RT-PCR analysis. The results revealed that PEE treatment increased cell viability in naive cells whereas inhibited cell profileration in LPS-stimulated cell dose-dependently. In addition, NO emission and mRNA level of IL-1β, IL-6, iNOS, COX-2 and NF-κB decreased by dose dependant manner. As summary, PEE exhibits anti-inflammatory activity through inhibition of pro-inflammatory mediators mRNA expression in macrophages.
HIGH PRECISION IMAGING FOR NON-CONTACT MODE ATOMIC FORCE MICROSCOPE USING AN ADAPTIVE NONLINEAR OBSERVER AND OUTPUT STATE FEEDBACK CONTROLLER

Identification of the probe height above the sample surface is a highly useful method to acquire atomic-resolution AFM images. Most AFM systems in non-contact mode use amplitude or phase measurement to identify the sample-probe distance and thereby the sample topography. However, this process is time consuming. For the purpose of sample height estimation in this paper we propose an adaptive nonlinear observer capable of highprecision probe height estimation within a small fraction of the probe transient motion. In addition, to maintain constant sample height at the set point level determined by the user during scanning and imaging in non-contact mode and achieve high rate data sampling, this paper develops a novel output state feedback controller. In this case, the surface topography image of the sample is created through the feedback signal which adjusts the vertical movements of the sample during scanning. The stability of the proposed observer and control method is proved by the Lyapunov stability analysis. Numerical simulations are employed to evaluate the feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed scheme.
The effect of the initial earthquake phase shift on the inversion of regional surface wave recordings for the estimation of crustal structure

The single-station surface wave inversion is a powerful tool for crustal structure exploration. High quality earthquake recordings at far-field seismic stations can be used to perform such kind of inversion. In this process, the frequency dependent phase shift that seismic waves acquire at the focal area, should be removed from the observed dispersion curves. This is often a difficult task to achieve particularly for minor earthquakes. In the present work, we attempt a numerical simulation of this problem by employing synthetic seismograms and investigate the case where no correction is made for the source phase shift before the group velocity inversion. After performing the inversion, very satisfactory results were obtained particularly for shallow depths, i.e. upper and middle crustal levels. In some cases, inversion gave poor resolution for velocities at lower crustal levels, for which a forward synthetic seismogram modeling is suggested in order to recover the missing information at those levels. The results of the present study show that synthetic modeling is necessary for modeling surface wave recordings at local and regional distances. The case of anisotropic wave propagation in the crust has also been studied with an emphasis on the false identification of anisotropy provided that no corrections are applied for the source phase shift. This erroneous anisotropy identification is caused by the Rayleigh and Love wave incompatibility and can have serious practical consequences for surface wave modeling.
Sidechains: Decoupled Consensus Between Chains

We propose a novel sidechain construction tailored to be compatible with the Horizen blockchain and designed for conducting secure and decentralized cross-chain transfers without requiring the mainchain nodes to track sidechains to verify them. The proposed scheme can also be adopted for other similar blockchain systems. We show that our cross-ledger transfer mechanism is secure under certain plausible assumptions.
Research Challenges and Opportunities in 5G Network

The term 5G is sometimes used to encapsulate all existing technologies for all time availability, higher coverage area and higher network density with respect to cell and devices.5G system will be compatible with existing technologies such as 2G, 3G, 4G, Wi-Fi etc. and will support more than ten thousand times data traffic compare to 4G and data downloading more than 1000 times compare to 4G. It will run on Ultra High Spectrum Band that will carry the future Internet, it is not only evolution but it is a revolution in communication era. In this paper we present several emerging technologies that support 5G standard along with research problems and challenges for 5G systems.
Managing fire regimes in north Australian savannas: applying Aboriginal approaches to contemporary global problems

Savannas constitute the most fire-prone biome on Earth and annual emissions from savanna-burning activities are a globally important source of greenhouse-gas (GHG) emissions. Here, we describe the application of a commercial fire-management program being implemented over 28 000 km2 of savanna on Aboriginal lands in northern Australia. The project combines the reinstatement of Aboriginal traditional approaches to savanna fire management – in particular a strategic, early dry-season burning program – with a recently developed emissions accounting methodology for savanna burning. Over the first 7 years of implementation, the project has reduced emissions of accountable GHGs (methane, nitrous oxide) by 37.7%, relative to the pre-project 10-year emissions baseline. In addition, the project is delivering social, biodiversity, and long-term biomass sequestration benefits. This methodological approach may have considerable potential for application in other fire-prone savanna settings.
Adaptive Two-stage Spectrum Sensing under Noise Uncertainty in Cognitive Radio Networks

To utilize licensed spectrum bands efficiently, spectrum sensing needs to be accurate and fast. The occurrence of noise uncertainty and the lower in received PU signal power due to the distance between the transmitter and the receiver, path loss, are the main challenges that has a great impact on the accuracy of spectrum sensing. In this paper, we propose a new scheme of two-stage spectrum sensing, “Adaptive Two-stage Spectrum Sensing (ATSS)”, under noise uncertainty environment. ATSS is a modified of a conventional two-stage spectrum sensing where the decision threshold of both stages are adapted on the distance, estimated noise variance and calculated noise uncertainty interval. Therefore, ATSS improves the detection performance of the existing spectrum sensing and is robust to noise uncertainty. The contribution of this paper is three-fold. First, an unreliable detection and wasted stage activation of a conventional two-stage spectrum sensing are reduced. Second, noise uncertainty is addressed. Third, a new parameter, critical distance ( ), is proposed in order to reduce computational burden and sensing time of the first stage.
The effect of Protestantism and Catholicism on economic, health and philanthropic behaviour

Religion is generally seen as an important factor for economic behaviour. This paper uses variation in religion induced by priming techniques to estimate the effects of Protestantism and Catholicism on economic, health and philanthropic behaviour. Priming is recently introduced in economic literature as a technique to estimate the marginal causal effects of social identity categories on potential outcomes. We find that Protestantism and Catholicism affect those outcomes differently. The main findings of this study are that financial risk taking is reduced by Catholic identity norms. The same is true for donating to charity organizations and trust, these variables are both negative affected by Catholic identity norms. Furthermore we find that trust is negative affected and Health related behaviour seems to be positively affected by Protestant identity norms.
A Comparison of Orally Administered Misoprostol With Vaginally Administered Misoprostol For Cervical Ripening And Labour Induction

Objective: To compare efficacy and safety of oral misoprostol over vaginal misoprostol for labour induction. Materials and Methods: This is a cross sectional interventional hospital based comparative study which was carried in the department of Obstetrics and Gynecology in DMCH from 01.07. 2008 to 31.12. 2008. Results: Almost equal number of patients delivered vaginally spontaneously in both group, there is no association between route of administration and mode of delivery. Nausea,vomiting occurred more in oral group and uterine hypertonicity more in vaginal group. Conclusion: In this study, 50 patients were randomly selected for oral group and 50 patients for vaginal group. There were no significant differences regarding age, duration of pregnancy, Bishop's score and indication of induction of labour. KYAMC Journal Vol. 7, No.-1, Jul 2016, Page 668-672
Laboratory-numerical models of rapidly rotating convection in planetary cores

Author(s): Cheng, JS; Stellmach, S; Ribeiro, A; Grannan, A; King, EM; Aurnou, JM | Abstract: We present laboratory and numerical models investigating the behavioural regimes of rapidly rotating convection in high-latitude planetary core-style settings. Our combined laboratorynumerical approach, utilizing simplified geometries, can access more extreme parameters (e.g. Rayleigh numbers Ra ≲ 10 ; Nusselt numbers Nu ≲ 10 ; Ekman numbers E ≳ 3 × 10 ) than current global-scale dynamo simulations. Using flow visualizations and heat transfer measurements, we study the axialized flows that exist near the onset of rotating convection, as well as the 3-D flows that develop with stronger forcing. With water as the working fluid (Prandtl number Pr ≲ 7), we find a steep scaling trend for rapidly rotating convective heat transfer, Nu~(Ra/RaC) , that is associated with the existence of coherent, axialized columns. This rapidly rotating trend is steeper than the trends found at moderate values of the Ekman number, and continues a trend of ever-steepening scalings as the rotation rate of the system is increased. In contrast, in more strongly forced or lower rotation rate cases, the heat transfer scaling consistently follows a shallower slope equivalent to that of non-rotating convection systems. The steep heat transfer scaling in the columnar convection regime, corroborated by our laboratory flow visualizations, imply that coherent, axial columns have a relatively narrow range of stability. Thus, we hypothesize that coherent convection columns are not stable in planetary core settings,where the Ekman number is estimated to be~10 . As a consequence, convective motions in the core may not be related to the columnar motions found in presentday global-scale models. Instead, we hypothesize that turbulent rotating convection cascades energy upwards from 3-D motions to large-scale quasi-2-D flow structures that are capable of efficiently generating planetary-scale magnetic fields. We argue that the turbulent regimes of rapidly rotating convection are essential aspects of core dynamics and will be necessary components of robust, next-generation and multiscale dynamo models. 13 3 -8 3.6 -15
EM61-3D Discrimination of UXO Using Empirical, Analytic, and Numerical Models

Abstract : The primary goal of this project was to compare three quantitative approaches to modeling EM induction for UXO discrimination: a phenomenological dipole model, a semianalytic theory, and a finite-element numerical method. The secondary goal was to quantify the value of multiple spatial components and time channels. A general, time-dependent triaxial dipole model was developed. The semianalytic theory was not completed; implementation of the numerical method was impractical given allocated resources. The relative merits of additional temporal and spatial information were assessed. Performance was measured by the fraction of false positives for ordnance-like objects at 91% true positives. The best false-positive rate for the full multicomponent, multichannel data was just 5%. However, this excellent performance is largely due to the fact that the ordnance-like objects are larger than the scrap-like objects in this data set. Better generalization may be obtained with discriminants based solely on shape which yielded 32% false positives. This work demonstrated in an internally consistent way the high performance in UXO discrimination that can be achieved with multicomponent, multichannel electromagnetic sensors, as well as the value of relatively simple modeling and discrimination procedures.
A study of moral motivation in paternalistic behavior : a study of how two variations of information asymmetry affect the willingness to make paternalistic decisions

The purpose of this thesis is to study moral motivation in hard paternalistic interferences, and further contribute to the understanding of the nature behind paternalistic behavior. Based on the evidence that people are morally motivated, and that people value both autonomy and others wellbeing, we investigate which preferences are dominant when faced with a trade-off between these moral values. By doing this, we combine research from different fields, namely literature on paternalism and literature on moral motivation and preferences. This study aims to contribute to the research in the intersection of these fields. We approach this by conducting an incentivized economic experiment in which spectators are asked to decide whether to allow a stakeholder to make a choice that only affects the stakeholder’s own pay-off. To create a situation where the moral trade-off is present, the spectators are exposed to one of four treatments that will differ in information asymmetry in favor of the spectator, and information asymmetry in favor of the stakeholder. This allows us to examine how information asymmetry casually affects the willingness to act paternalistically. Using statistical analysis, our findings indicate that the willingness to act paternalistically, increases when the spectator has an informational advantage, and therefore can increase the wellbeing of the stakeholder by restricting his autonomy. This indicates that people are morally motivated by other people’s wellbeing when faced with this trade-off. However, we also find that across all treatments, a majority of the spectators chooses not to act paternalistically. This reveals a strong aversion against interfering with the autonomy of peers, implying that people put a high value on other’s autonomy. Further on, we find no significant effect on the spectator’s willingness to act paternalistically when the stakeholder has more information. This indicates that people disregard the stakeholder’s risk preferences when making paternalistic decisions. In addition to the main findings, we find several significant differences in the willingness to act paternalistically across subgroups. Our results indicate that gender, age, education and political orientation all have statistically significant effects on the willingness to act paternalistically.
Nonlocal Adaptive Image Denoising Model

When denoising with the method of Weickert’s anisotropic diffusion equation, the textures and details will be compromised. A fidelity term is added to Weickert’s equation, and the coefficient of fidelity term will vary adaptively with the instant image, which makes the diffusion term and the fidelity term come to a better compromise. Otherwise, when deciding the edge directions, because of the strong smoothness of linear Gaussian function, a few other edge directions hiding in the main direction will be lost. To preserve these detailed edge directions, Gaussian kernel is substituted for nonlinear wavelet threshold. In addition, in order to preserve the textures and details as much as possible, a nonlocal diffusion tensor was introduced, and the two eigenvalues are reset by combining the two methods: edge-enhancing diffusion and coherence-enhancing diffusion. Experiments show that the new model has an obvious effect on preserving textures and details.
Aalborg Universitet Towards a new fisheries effort management system for the Faroe Islands ?

The Faroe Islands are currently struggling to find their feet in a new context of globalisation and changing international requirements on fishery management best practices, as exemplified by United Nations protocols and agreements. We introduce the Faroese fisheries effort management system for cod, haddock and saithe, which represents an innovative attempt to tackle the challenges of mixed fisheries by means of a combination of total allowable effort implemented through days-at-sea and extensive use of closed or limited access areas. Subsequently, we present and discuss controversies concerning the system’s ability (or lack thereof) to achieve a level of fishing effort that produces long-term sustainability. Over the years the system has proved able to evolve and overcome challenges, and the Faroe Islands are currently considering adding a proper fisheries management plan to the system to achieve fishing at maximum sustainable yield. However, finding support for this plan presents a challenge due particularly to an enduring gap between the perspectives of scientists and actors in the catching sector. Finally, we outline some actions that could be taken to reduce the gap and hence facilitate reform of the system: 1) integration of the consultative/advisory process; 2) obtaining tailor-made advice for the Faroese effort management system from the relevant scientific body; 3) establishment of a transparent mechanism for monitoring and regulating fishing effort; 4) clarifying the efficacy of the prevalent system of closed areas.