Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Determinants of Income Diversification Strategies among Smallholder Cashew Nut Farmers in Nigeria

: The study examined the determinants of income diversification strategies among cashew nut farmers in Kogi State, Nigeria. It determined the socio-economic characteristics, status of income diversification and factors influencing income diversification among the cashew nut farmers. A multi-stage sampling procedure was used to select 150 respondents for the study. Primary data were collected with the aid of structured questionnaire. Descriptive statistics, diversification index, mean of income share approach and Tobit regression model were employed to analyse the data. The results revealed that the farmers were literate with 73.4 percent having secondary school education and above. They had small holding farm with over 80% cropping between 1-5 hectares and with average farm size of 3.7 hectares. The farmers were involved in different income sources with civil service jobs, arable crop farming and livestock farming were the major farming system used by the farmers. The determinants of income diversification in the study area were education, household size, income, extension visit and extension contact and these variables were positively related to income diversification. The study concluded that, the respondents in the study area adopted multiple income generating activities with only 6.7 percent of the farmers had income generating of one (1) were civil service remained the dominant income source for the respondents. Socio- economic characteristics of the respondents were positively and significantly related meaning that as socio-economic characteristic increases the income diversification of the respondents’ increases. Therefore based on the findings the following are recommended; training of farmers to improve their knowledge should be encourage, provision of credit facilities, extension agents trainings should be made available to the farmers since it has significant effect for the farmers in creating different livelihood activities.
VEGFR1 Tyrosine Kinase Signaling Promotes Lymphangiogenesis as Well as Angiogenesis Indirectly via Macrophage Recruitment

Objective— Angiogenesis and lymphangiogenesis are complex phenomena that involve the interplay of several growth factors and receptors. Recently, we have demonstrated that in Keratin-14 (K14) promoter-driven Vegf-A transgenic (Tg) mice, not only angiogenesis but also lymphangiogenesis is stimulated. However, the mechanism by which VEGFR1 is involved in lymphangiogenesis remains unclear. Methods and Results— To examine how important the tyrosine kinase (TK) of VEGFR1 is in lymphangiogenesis in K14 Vegf-A Tg mice, we crossed the K14 Vegf-A Tg mice with VEGFR1-TK–deficient mice to generate double mutant K14 Vegf-A Tg Vegfr1 tk−/− mice. K14 Vegf-A Tg Vegfr1 tk−/− mice exhibit a remarkable decrease in lymphangiogensis as well as angiogenesis in subcutaneous tissues. To address the mechanism underlying the decrease in lymphangiogensis, we investigated the recruitment of monocyte-macrophage-lineage cells into the skin. The recruitment of VEGFR1-expressing macrophages driven by VEGF-A was reduced in K14 Vegf-A Tg.
Discovering place-informative scenes and objects using social media photos

Understanding the visual discrepancy and heterogeneity of different places is of great interest to architectural design, urban design and tourism planning. However, previous studies have been limited by the lack of adequate data and efficient methods to quantify the visual aspects of a place. This work proposes a data-driven framework to explore the place-informative scenes and objects by employing deep convolutional neural network to learn and measure the visual knowledge of place appearance automatically from a massive dataset of photos and imagery. Based on the proposed framework, we compare the visual similarity and visual distinctiveness of 18 cities worldwide using millions of geo-tagged photos obtained from social media. As a result, we identify the visual cues of each city that distinguish that city from others: other than landmarks, a large number of historical architecture, religious sites, unique urban scenes, along with some unusual natural landscapes have been identified as the most place-informative elements. In terms of the city-informative objects, taking vehicles as an example, we find that the taxis, police cars and ambulances are the most place-informative objects. The results of this work are inspiring for various fields—providing insights on what large-scale geo-tagged data can achieve in understanding place formalization and urban design.
Comments on Philippe de la Hire’s Memoir on Arch Abutment Design (1712)

Philippe de la Hire (1640-1718), a multi-disciplinary French scientist, is generally credited as being the first person to apply the principles of statics to the analysis and design of arches. Prior efforts employed geometric design rules that were based on experience. Thus, de la Hire plays an important role in the transition to scientifically based methods for civil engineering structures. Therefore, it is of historical interest to understand de la Hire’s approach and perspective.
Pratiques Basées sur la Résilience

The genocide against the Tutsi destroyed the social fabric of Rwanda, and its traumatic and violent consequences have received much attention amongst researchers. Yet less attention has been paid to stories of positive change. Alongside reconciliation at a national level, individual stories of resilience have emerged. This contribution aims to move beyond the dominant narratives of the genocide by examining the themes of resilience and post-traumatic growth in the contemporary testimonies of Rwandans.
Worker flows, reallocation dynamics, and firm productivity: new evidence from longitudinal matched employer–employee data

This article investigates the impact of the worker flows of a firm on productivity by using unique longitudinal matched employer–employee data. The analysis has split a firm’s total worker flows into three components: workers’ replacements (excess worker flows), hirings introduced to increase the firm’s employment level (net hirings), and separations of workers intended to decrease the firm’s workforce (net separations). This has allowed the impact of workers’ replacements, which represent the most prominent and compelling feature of worker mobility, to be isolated from the other two components. Endogeneity has been dealt with by using a modified version of Ackerberg et al.'s (2015, Econometrica, 83(6), 2411–2451) control function method, which explicitly accounts for firm-fixed effects. The main findings are that (i) excess flows have an inverted U-shape impact on productivity, (ii) net hirings foster firm productivity, and (iii) net separations damage it. The impacts are heterogeneous and vary widely on the basis of the types of replacements, the categories of workers involved, and the types of firms experiencing such flows. Overall, the findings of this article highlight the importance of reallocation dynamics to obtain better employer–employee matches, and call for a reconsideration of policies concerning the flexibility of the labor market.
Indian Engineering Education needs a Reboot

Many opinions have been shared of late regarding the education of engineers in India. The usual list of criticisms includes outdated curricula (2017) , poor preparation of college faculty, need for professional and critical thinking skills (Gupta 2019, Sanghi 2019), the need to reduce in theoretical content in favor of practical knowledge, and a lack of connection with industrial practitioners (Mahadevan 2019) . The updating of the syllabus and incorporating active learning can help support students to develop both communication and critical thinking skills, as proven by engineering education research (Felder and Brent 2016) , but this is only a bandage on a system that is not fixable without updating the policies at the national level. Additionally, there is no motivation from The Apex Body to utilize modern pedagogy as there is no measure for these practices in the accreditation process.
Resource Allocation in the Brain and the Equity Premium Puzzle

What happens when information reaches the human brain? In economics, a black box approach to information absorption is generally taken with an implicit assumption that, information, once it reaches the brain, is correctly processed. In sharp contrast, research in brain sciences has established that when information reaches the brain, a pre-existing knowledge structure or schema is first activated, which influences information absorption. The process through which these knowledge structures are created is resource intensive. It involves using a pre-existing schema as a starting point and attempting to adjust it appropriately by using finite brain resources. We apply this approach to the thinking process of investors trying to work out the worth of various stocks. We show that with a binding resource constraint, a new multiplicative term emerges on the right-hand-side of the standard Sharpe-ratio expression in asset pricing. This new term provides a unified explanation for the equity premium puzzle, generates counter-cyclical equity premia, and gives rise to size, value, and momentum effects. A novel prediction of the approach is negative correlation of momentum with value and size
Network and Pathway-Based Prioritization and Analyses of Genes Related to Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), characterized by long-term breathing problem and poor airflow, is the fourth cause of death in the United States. Although previous studies have provided insights into the effects of genetic factors on COPD, the molecular mechanism is still unknown. Here, we proposed a network and pathway-based method for prioritization and analysis of COPD-related genes. In brief, we firstly obtained COPD-related single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) from dbGaP and COPD as well as normal lung tissues gene expression profiles from Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO). Combined with protein–protein interaction pairs, the SNPs and gene expression profiles were imported into dmGWAS, a R package designed for subnetwork searching, to identify COPD-specific module. What’s more, we performed functional analysis for genes in COPD-specific module with the combination of WEB-based GEne SeT AnaLysis Toolkit (WebGestalt) and KEGG Orthology Based Annotation System (KOBAS). A COPD-specific network module containing 812 gene nodes and 2640 interactions was obtained. While, 450 of the 812 genes were annotated by WebGestalt and/or KOBAS, which were considered as reliable COPD-related genes. The annotated genes were found to be significantly associated with immune and signal transduction processes, which is consistent with the development of COPD. Finally, 427 of the 450 annotated genes formed 1389 interaction pairs, which might contribute COPD progression. This study should be helpful for understanding COPD mechanisms and its targeted therapy.
Brain-Score: Which Artificial Neural Network for Object Recognition is most Brain-Like?

The internal representations of early deep artificial neural networks (ANNs) were found to be remarkably similar to the internal neural representations measured experimentally in the primate brain. Here we ask, as deep ANNs have continued to evolve, are they becoming more or less brain-like? ANNs that are most functionally similar to the brain will contain mechanisms that are most like those used by the brain. We therefore developed Brain-Score – a composite of multiple neural and behavioral benchmarks that score any ANN on how similar it is to the brain’s mechanisms for core object recognition – and we deployed it to evaluate a wide range of state-of-the-art deep ANNs. Using this scoring system, we here report that: (1) DenseNet-169, CORnet-S and ResNet-101 are the most brain-like ANNs. There remains considerable variability in neural and behavioral responses that is not predicted by any ANN, suggesting that no ANN model has yet captured all the relevant mechanisms. (3) Extending prior work, we found that gains in ANN ImageNet performance led to gains on Brain-Score. However, correlation weakened at ≥ 70% top-1 ImageNet performance, suggesting that additional guidance from neuroscience is needed to make further advances in capturing brain mechanisms. (4) We uncovered smaller (i.e. less complex) ANNs that are more brain-like than many of the best-performing ImageNet models, which suggests the opportunity to simplify ANNs to better understand the ventral stream. The scoring system used here is far from complete. However, we propose that evaluating and tracking model-benchmark correspondences through a Brain-Score that is regularly updated with new brain data is an exciting opportunity: experimental benchmarks can be used to guide machine network evolution, and machine networks are mechanistic hypotheses of the brain’s network and thus drive next experiments. To facilitate both of these, we release Brain-Score.org: a platform that hosts the neural and behavioral benchmarks, where ANNs for visual processing can be submitted to receive a Brain-Score and their rank relative to other models, and where new experimental data can be naturally incorporated.
Challenges Facing Unbanked Agribusiness Entrepreneurs towards Access to Bank Account

are ready to patronise banking agents for an emergency payments. Distance, inconveniences, and lack of financial education may be a contributing factor to non-patronage of banks (Albert, M., & Kung’u, K. G., 2016). Some individuals may open a bank account with a view of taking loans. But, due to stringent conditions associated with bank loans, they may not obtain the financing. Hence, they abandon the account, Abstract: This study explores the major challenges facing unbanked agribusiness entrepreneurs towards access to bank account savings and modern payment terminals, as an effort to increase their financial inclusion drive. The study used a phenomenological qualitative approach to explore the experiences of agribusiness entrepreneurs on financial inclusion issues. The study used the purposive sampling strategy in data collection through in-depth interviews. The study used Nvivo10 in the analyses and revealed that financial exclusion retards economic development through inaccessibility to financial services. The study also revealed that, despite visible effort in financial inclusion, some individuals are not accepting modern banking and payment services. Effort put by account officers to increase financial inclusion is not much as expected. Some individual entrepreneurs are found to be sceptical to using bank account and modern payment services. On the other hand, individuals face challenges of distance to service area, financial literacy and increasing charges for using payment terminals. These issues are impeding their access to financial services. The study increases entrepreneurs' awareness of financial services. Banks may use this study to predict clients' challenges and payments services. With this study, banks could also help financial regulators to redesign strategies towards modern payments and financial literacy.
Pelancongan Bandar Diraja: Satu Pola Kunjungan Pelancong Domestik di Kuala Kangsar

Pelancongan Bandar Diraja merupakan salah satu produk pelancongan yang semakin mendapat tempat dalam kalangan pelancong domestik di Malaysia. Produk pelancongan merupakan aset penting dalam melengkapkan sesebuah destinasi pelancongan. Kini, Malaysia turut menerima kesan positif menerusi pembangunan pelancongan Bandar Diraja kerana keunikan dan tarikan utamanya telah menjadikan ia salah satu destinasi pelancongan bagi pelancong domestik dan antarabangsa. Makalah ini bertujuan untuk mengenal pasti cirian kunjungan berdasarkan segmen pelancong domestik ke Bandar Diraja Kuala Kangsar. Teknik pensampelan secara kebetulan digunakan bagi sampel kajian sebanyak 500 pelancong. Data kajian diperoleh melalui edaran borang soal selidik di Bandar Diraja Kuala Kangsar, Perak yang melibatkan tiga zon berbeza iaitu di sekitar kawasan bangunan bersejarah seperti muzium, galeri dan arkib serta di masjid, kawasan lembah Sungai Perak dan tapak-tapak pesta di kawasan Majlis Perbandaran Kuala Kangsar. Hasil analisis menunjukkan tidak terdapat perbezaan ketara dalam cirian kunjungan daripada segmen pelancong domestik. Pelancong domestik menunjukkan bahawa terdapat kunjungan bagi kelima-lima tapak pewartaan yang ada. Dari aspek keperluan perkhidmatan juga menunjukkan pola sama bagi kesemua pelancong yang mengunjungi Bandar Diraja Kuala Kangsar.
Genetic decline, restoration and rescue of an isolated ungulate population

Isolation of small populations is expected to reduce fitness through inbreeding and loss of genetic variation, impeding population growth and compromising population persistence. Species with long generation time are the least likely to be rescued by evolution alone. Management interventions that maintain or restore genetic variation to assure population viability are consequently of significant importance. We investigated, over 27 years, the genetic and demographic consequences of a demographic bottleneck followed by artificial supplementation in an isolated population of bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis). Based on a long‐term pedigree and individual monitoring, we documented the genetic decline, restoration and rescue of the population. Microsatellite analyses revealed that the demographic bottleneck reduced expected heterozygosity and allelic diversity by 6.2% and 11.3%, respectively, over two generations. Following supplementation, first‐generation admixed lambs were 6.4% heavier at weaning and had 28.3% higher survival to 1 year compared to lambs of endemic ancestry. Expected heterozygosity and allelic diversity increased by 4.6% and 14.3% after two generations through new alleles contributed by translocated individuals. We found no evidence for outbreeding depression and did not see immediate evidence of swamping of local genes. Rapid intervention following the demographic bottleneck allowed the genetic restoration and rescue of this bighorn sheep population, likely preventing further losses at both the genetic and demographic levels. Our results provide further empirical evidence that translocation can be used to reduce inbreeding depression in nature and has the potential to mitigate the effect of human‐driven environmental changes on wild populations.
Securing Image Metadata using Advanced Encryption Standard

The fast-growing internet brought an increase in the number of online content sharing platforms, as well as the growing size of the user base. This growth has led to a plethora of challenges for such as privacy and security of the individual online. The work presented in this report focuses on the particular problem of image sharing platforms revolving around image metadata, for which an information leakage may help adversaries to track user's activities or may put the businesses at risk of reputation and financial losses. The aim is to improve the security of image metadata for images shared on social media or other types of media platforms, knowingly or unknowingly by users. In this report, we have proposed a design in which the image metadata is secured by applying Advanced Encryption Standard or AES-128 bits algorithm. The report also discusses the details of the proposed model and the potential challenges of unsecured metadata. The proposed design secures the image metadata through encryption and prevents its misuse, hence protecting the user's privacy.
International tax models towards multinational companies from the perspective of national welfare

The article is dedicated to the development of mathematical models to solve the real scientific task of supporting tax policies for counter-acting tax planning of multinational companies (MNCs) that are working in the field of production and engineering, forming the scheme international prosecutor, from the position of national welfare. Based on the analysis of the existing models of international taxes and on the peculiarities of the real mechanism of tax regulation of capital movement, new models have been developed with a balance orientation. The main points for this balance are: a) an approach aimed at determining the final results of international taxation from the perspective of national economies; b) Take as an example the gap between tax planning measures by multinationals and measures contrary to government tax planning. The approval of models with the case study of the multi-level structure in which, to counteract the tax planning of multinational companies, the Government uses rules of controlled transactions, demonstrated that due to the possibility of development of multinational companies in convenient and extraterritorial jurisdictions, for Government the final result of the application of these rules can be negative. Instead of additional income, you risk reducing the tax base and reducing budget income; And from the perspective of national welfare, this implies losing the income and capital of multinational companies. It is considered important that the rules for the taxation of multinational companies should not focus on taxes as such, but should encourage the maintenance of capital within the territory or facilitate the return of previously disinvested income.
Phytochemical Screening, Characterization and Antimicrobial Activity of a Flavonoid from Sudanese Bauhinia rufescens (kulkul) (Caesalpiniaceae) Roots

A 7-, 4׳ dihydroxyl-5-methoxyl -5׳ acetyl flavonoid was isolated from the roots of Sudanese Bauhinia rufescens (family, Caesalpiniaceae Fabaceae). The isolate was purified by different Chromatographic techniques and identified via a combination of spectral tools (IR, UV, HNMR and Mass spectroscopy). The isolated compound was screened for its antimicrobial activity against six standard human pathogens (Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus subtilis, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Escherichia coli, Aspergillus niger and Candida albicans) and promising results were obtained. About 600 species of Bauhinia grow in the tropical regions of the word. It is found in the Sahel and adjacent Sudan zone, from Senegal and Mauritania across North Ghana and Niger to central Sudan and Ethiopia. Bauhinia rufescens is a little tree shrub. green all year with small leaves and white flowers. The macerate of Bauhinia rufescens roots used externally to treat ulcers and rheumatism. The isolated flavanone can play role in development of new tool as antimicrobial agent. Original Research Article Hamed and Gadir; EJMP, 24(2): 1-8, 2018; Article no.EJMP. 41375 2
Epigenetic factors coordinate intestinal development

Intestinal epithelium development depends on epigenetic modifications, but whether that is also the case for other intestinal tract cell types remains unclear. We found that functional loss of a DNA methylation machinery component, ubiquitin-like protein containing PHD and RING finger domains 1 (uhrf1), leads to reduced enteric neuron number, changes in neuronal morphology, and severe intestinal smooth muscle disruption. Genetic chimeras revealed that Uhrf1 functions both cell-autonomously in enteric neuron progenitors and cell-non-autonomously in surrounding intestinal cells. Uhrf1 recruits the DNA methyltransferase Dnmt1 to unmethylated DNA during replication. Dnmt1 is also expressed in enteric neuron and smooth muscle progenitors. dnmt1 mutants show a strong reduction in enteric neuron number and disrupted intestinal smooth muscle. Because dnmt1;uhrf1 double mutants have a similar phenotype to dnmt1 and uhrf1 single mutants, Dnmt1 and Uhrf1 must function together during enteric neuron and intestinal muscle development. This work shows that genes controlling epigenetic modifications are important in coordinating intestinal tract development, provides the first demonstration that these genes are important in ENS development, and advances uhrf1 and dnmt1 as potential new Hirschsprung disease candidates. Summary This work provides evidence that DNA methylation factors are important in all cell types that contribute to development of a functional intestine.