Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Regulatory approaches’ influence on environmental agencies internal quality

The increasing public concern regarding the government’s priorities in spending public resources puts pressure on public organisations to address quality issues in their practice. In United Kingdom both BRTF (Better Regulation Task Force) (BIS, 2005b) and the Hampton report (BIS, 2005a) highlighted management and quality problems in public organisations in UK. These reports revealed obstacles within institutions’ intent to offer recommendations and appropriate solutions for agencies working with legal enforcement and control. The reports expressed expectations of both higher quality and cost reduction assuming increased efficiency and effectiveness would be enhanced with help by a risk-based approach in the regulatory process and legal enforcement. This study examines to what extent internal quality theories are applicable and useful for environmental regulators in United Kingdom. The study is also concerned with the regulatory approach, in other words, how the choice of legal system to promote legal compliance influence the perceived internal quality by the regulators. Quality management in a management system (such as ISO) is based on Deming’s theory (SIS, 2001) and the Shewhart cycle (SIS, 2001), in which continuous improvements are made in relation to objectives that are set up (and revised). These theories serve as a general quality foundation, while the C-SQ-P (Mukherjee et al., 2003) theory contributes to more specific understanding of an internal public-service environment. The review of the existing approaches and the recommended alternative law-system (risk-based decision-making) confirm how the chosen approach could affect the internal quality management. The literature contributes with wide and deep sources applicable to internal quality within public-service organisations. However, the context differs a lot for an environmental regulator who is affected by the chosen regulatory approach which they secure compliance by.
Assessing the Effects of Parental Involvement on First-Generation and Second-Generation College Students

This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the School of Education at DigitalCommons@Fayetteville State University. It has beenaccepted for inclusion in Faculty Working Papers from the School of Education by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@FayettevilleState University. For more information, please contact mlawson@uncfsu.edu.
In-Vitro Screening of Phyllanthus Amarus and Eclipta Alba Against Leptospira Autumnalis

Background and Study Aims: Multi-drug resistance is one of the major public health problems especially in developing countries where relatively easy availability and higher consumption of medicines have lead to disproportionately higher incidence of inappropriate use of antibiotics and greater levels of resistance compared to developed countries. Leptospirosis is the most wide spread zoonoses in the world and recognized as an important public health problem. Aim and Methods: To extract and identify some phytochemicals from the commonly available and widely studied Indian medicinal plants (Phyllanthus amarus and Eclipta alba) with anti-bacterial, hepatoprotective and renoprotective properties and also to conduct an anti-leptospiral susceptibility study on MIC of a most common Leptospira interrogans serovar autumnalis following the standard TDT. Results: The present study revealed the presence of tannins, alkaloids, saponins, flavonoids, terpenes and anthraquinones in the leaves of these plants extracts thereby exhibiting anti-leptospiral activity. The drug dose concentration the extracts of P. amarus was found to be having a better active principle (160 μg/ml) than the extracts of E. alba (320 μg/ml).
Frequency Regulation with the Lifespan of EVs Batteries

In this paper, the model of EVs batteries with lifespan factors is established. As one part of power grid, it is proved to be effective to the primary regulation. According to a power law equation in which the capacity loss of batteries follows the current, temperature and DOC/DOD with time,the model is established. In this model, current and DOC/DOD are the main factors.By using the data from the simulation of power grid, the capacity loss of different strategies can be analysed.When charging/discharging integrated, in one cycle, the capacity loss of EVs batteries can be obtained at room temperature.
Is Simpler Always Better? Consumer Evaluations of Front-of-Package Nutrition Symbols

Consumers of packaged goods products in the United States recently have faced an onslaught of front-of-package (FOP) nutrition symbols and icons, including the controversial “Smart Choices” single summary indicator. In a between-subjects experiment with 520 adult consumers, the authors compare effects of the Smart Choices (SC) icon, the more complex Traffic Light–Guideline Daily Amounts (TL-GDAs) icon, and a no-FOP icon control for a nutritionally moderate food that qualifies for the SC icon. Drawing from principles of heuristic processing and halo effects, the authors predict and find that the SC icon can lead to positive (and potentially misleading) nutrient evaluations and product healthfulness when compared with the TL-GDA icon or no-FOP icon control. When the Nutrition Facts Panel is not available, the TL-GDA icon results in substantially greater nutrition accuracy scores than with the SC icon or control. The authors also find that nutrition consciousness is more likely to moderate effects related to the Nutrition Facts Panel than the FOP nutrition icon information. Implications are offered for public health officials, nutrition researchers, and food manufacturers, as the Food and Drug Administration considers FOP nutrition alternatives for use in the United States.
Income Inequality and Income Mobility in the Scandinavian Countries Compared to the United States

This paper compares income inequality and income mobility in the Scandinavian countries and the United States during 1980–90. The results suggest that inequality is greater in the United States than in the Scandinavian countries and that this inequality ranking of countries remains unchanged when the accounting period of income is extended from one to eleven years. The pattern of mobility turns out to be remarkably similar, in the sense that the proportionate reduction in inequality from extending the accounting period of income is much the same. But we do find evidence of greater dispersion of first differences of relative earnings and income in the United States. Relative income changes are associated with changes in labor market and marital status in all four countries, but the magnitude of such changes are largest in the United States.
Pressure shifts and abundance gradients in the atmosphere of the DAZ white dwarf GALEX J193156.8+011745

We present a detailed model atmosphere analysis of high-dispersion and high signal-to-noise ratio spectra of the heavily polluted DAZ white dwarf GALEX J1931+0117. The spectra obtained with the Very Large Telescope (VLT)-Kueyen/UV-Visual Echelle Spectrograph show several well-resolved Si II spectral lines enabling a study of pressure effects on line profiles. We observed large Stark shifts in silicon lines in agreement with theoretical predictions and laboratory measurements. Taking into account Stark shifts in the calculation of synthetic spectra, we reduced the scatter in individual line radial velocity measurements from ∼ 3t o 1k m s −1 . We present revised abundances of O, Mg, Si, Ca and Fe based on a critical review of line-broadening parameters and oscillator strengths. The new measurements are generally in agreement with our previous analysis with the exception of magnesium with a revised abundance of a factor of 2 lower than previously estimated. The magnesium, silicon and iron abundances exceed solar abundances, but the oxygen and calcium abundances are below solar. Also, we compared the observed line profiles to synthetic spectra computed with variable accretion rates and vertical abundance distributions assuming diffusive steady state. The inferred accretion rates vary from u M = 2 × 10 6 for calcium to 2 × 10 9 gs −1 for oxygen. We find that the accretion flow must be oxygen rich while being deficient in calcium relative to solar abundances. The lack of radial velocity variations between two measurement epochs suggests that GALEX J1931+0117 is probably not in a close binary and that the source of the accreted material resides in a debris disc.
The Characteristics of Igbo Culture That Influence Career Choice Among Female 12th Grade Students In Enugu Urban School, Nigeria

This qualitative study sought to obtain an understanding of Igbo culture characteristics that influence the career choice of female 12th grade students as they approach their graduation from high school in Enugu Urban School. The research designs applied in this study are individual as well as focus groups audio-taped interviews of thirty-one individuals that formed the three focus groups. Semi-structured and informal questions were used. Analysis of documents and artifacts from literature review served as secondary sources of data collection. The study concluded that that there are three cardinal factors which influenced the post high school career attainment of 12 th female students. They were the patriarchal and in-egalitarian nature of Igbo culture, gender roles stereotype, and child’s position in the family among other siblings. Other cultural and noncultural barriers that empower or hinder female students from career attainment in other groups should be of interest for further studies.
Assessment of the health status of populations of the ragworm Nereis diversicolor using biomarkers at different levels of biological organisation

We compared behavioural (burrowing speed), biochemical (acetylcholinesterase (AChE) inhibition, activities of digestive enzymes) and physiological (feeding and egestion rates, condition) responses in Nereis diversicolor originating from a multipolluted estuary (Loire estuary) and a relatively clean site (Bay of Bourgneuf) on 3 occasions during spring 2008. Significant inhibi- tion of AChE and digestive enzymes (amylase and carboxymethylcellulase) activities were recorded in individuals from the Loire estuary compared to the reference site. At the individual level no signif- icant intersite differences in burrowing speed were observed when ragworms were exposed to their sediment of origin. No link between AChE activity and burrowing behaviour was found in worms from either site. Cross-tests revealed that behavioural disturbances in locomotion were not due to neurological dysfunction but to avoidance of contaminated sediments. Feeding and egestion rates were depressed significantly in worms originating from the Loire estuary compared to the reference site. These behavioural impairments were accompanied by changes in digestive enzyme activities, which can explain the generally poorer condition of ragworms from the Loire estuary. Temporal changes in responses reported in the present study underline the importance of the fluctuation of environmental factors and thus the need for more than one sampling series to assess the health sta- tus of a given site. Disturbances at the different levels of biological organisation are likely explained by environmental contamination either chronic in the Loire estuary or the result of a small oil spill.
T hesis for the degree of L icentiate of E ngineering Optical Guiding and Feedback in Gallium Nitride-Based Vertical-Cavity Surface-Emitting Lasers

The gallium-nitride (GaN) semiconductor material has been the core of the revolutionary breakthroughs during the last two decades in the lighting industry, by enabling manufacturing of efficient blue light emitting diodes (LEDs), for which the 2014 Nobel prize in physics was awarded. The GaN technology has further led to violet edge-emitting lasers (EELs), enabling the Blu-ray disk technology, and also to the commercialization of directly green emitting EELs. A natural next step is the realization of GaN-based vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers (VCSELs), which has proved to be a challenging task. The first electrically injected GaN-based VCSEL was announced in 2008, more than a decade after the first reports on its EEL counterpart. Still today only four groups in the world have demonstrated lasing under continuous-wave operation in a blue VCSEL. Some of the major challenges to realize GaN-based VCSELs are the lack of two lattice matched materials for forming high reflectivity distributed Bragg reflectors (DBRs), the poor current spreading capabilities in p-doped GaN, and the difficulty to achieve current and optical confinement. In this work we have addressed those issues. We have developed the novel concept of TiO2/air high contrast gratings (HCGs) to achieve high reflectivity over a broad wavelength range. The HCGs show a high reflectivity (>95%) over a 25 nm wavelength span, and a very good agreement between simulated and measured reflectivity spectra has been achieved. By using our in-house developed VCSEL simulation tools we have studied existing GaN-based VCSEL designs and shown that the approach taken by most groups to confine the current to the center of the device (transverse direction), yields an optical resonator that is weakly antiguiding with very high optical losses and thereby high threshold currents. These anti-guided devices have total losses that are typically 100-200% higher than in our newly proposed structures, in which current confinement and optically guiding can be achieved simultaneously. These structures have already been implemented by two of the world’s leading groups in the area.
Microbiological Examination Of Honey Marketed In Southwestern Nigeria

Honey is valued in Nigeria both as a food and as a folk medicine. However there are growing fears from the consumers about the hygienic quality of honey being purchased from local retail outlets. Regrettably however there is a dearth of information on the microbiological status of such marketed honey in southwestern Nigeria. An attempt to fill this gap is the rationale behind the present study. Microbiological composition of samples of honey marketed in the six states of southwestern Nigeria was assessed. Seven species of heterotrophic fungi and four species of bacteria were isolated. The bacteria species were Klebsiella edwardsii, K. pnuemoniae, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Staphylococcus aureus. The identified fungi were Cladosporium wernecki, C. herbarum, Cephalosporium sp; Mucor mucedo, Rhizopus rubrum, Trichophyton rubrum, and Scopulariopsis brevicaulis. Two species of pathogenic bacteria were isolated from honey samples: S. aureus in Ogun State and K. pneumoniae in Ekiti State. One pathogenic fungus, Trichophyton rubrum was isolated from Ondo State honey samples. This was the first record of pathogenic micro-organisms in Nigerian honey. This implies that the microbiological quality of honey in retail outlets should be properly monitored as it is an indicator of the hygienic conditions under which the product was processed, handled and stored.
An international scorecard for measuring bank performance: The case of Dutch banks

Measuring bank performance solely on the basis of profitability conveys significant information about past performance, but may provide little information about expectations for future performance. Therefore, this paper relies on a much broader definition of performance and introduces a scorecard where performance is measured on the basis of four performance criteria: (i) profitability; (ii) risk; (iii) market power, and (iv) efficiency. We use this scorecard to compare the performance of major Dutch banks with similar banks in Germany, France, Italy, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the US.
Mixed fractional Brownian motion, short and long-term Dependence and economic conditions: the case of the S&P-500 Index

The Kolmogorov-Mandelbrot-van Ness Process is a zero mean Gaussian process indexed by the Hurst Parameter (H). When it models financial data, a controversy arises as to whether or not financial data exhibit short or long-range dependence. This paper argues that the Mixed Fractional Brownian is a more suitable tool for the purpose as it leaves no room for controversy. It is used here to model the SP and when the market is dominated by “con-trarians”, the index jumps to anti-persistence that is a far-from-equilibrium state in which market crashes are likely to occur.
Have the Companies Been Engaging in Earnings Management? Evidence from Jordanian Industrial Companies

The purpose of this study is to examine whether the Jordanian Industrial Companies have engaged in earningsmanagement or not. The final sample of companies to be included was based on those companies that wereidentified across Amman Stock Exchange that are constantly report their earnings information due in regularbasis to be public-traded for the years (2005–2012), regarding operating income, cash flow, revenues, accountsreceivable, and assets is examined using the Modified Jones Model (1991) to separate discretionary andnon-discretionary accruals. The results of the data analysis indicate that the industrial companies are engaging insome earnings management as indicated by the statistical significance of the variables in the Modified JonesModel. Also; the results show that total accruals, revenues, and fixed assets were significant predictors ofdiscretionary accruals. Implications of the results and recommendations for academics and practitioners areprovided.
Predicting Storms: Logistic Regression versus Random Forests for Unbalanced Data

Abstract: The goal of this study is to compare two supervised classification methods on a crucial meteorological problem. The data consist of satellite measurements of cloud systems which are to be classified either in convective or non convective systems. Convective cloud systems correspond to lightning and detecting such systems is of main importance for thunderstorm monitoring and warning. Because the problem is highly unbalanced, we consider specific performance criteria and different strategies. This case study can be used in an advanced course of data mining in order to illustrate the use of logistic regression and random forests on a real data set with unbalanced classes. Download associated data (Zip file - 15,5 Mo)
Volume Uncertainty in Construction Projects: A Real Options Approach

The levels of uncertainty surrounding construction projects are particularly high and construction managers should be aware that adequately managing the effects of the different types of uncertainty may lead to an increase in the project’s final Net Present Value (NPV). The model proposed focus on the impact that a specific type of uncertainty - volume uncertainty - may produce in the project’s expected NPV. Volume uncertainty is present in most construction projects since managers do not know, during the bid preparation stage, the exact volume of work that will be executed during the project’s life cycle. Volume uncertainty leads to profit uncertainty and the model integrates a discrete-time stochastic variable, designated as “additional value”, i.e., the value that does not directly derive from the execution of the tasks specified in the bid documents, and which can only be quantified with precision by undertaking an incremental investment in human capital and technology. The model determines that, even only recurring to the skills of their own experienced staff, contractors will produce a more competitive bid, provided that the expected amount for the additional profit is greater than zero. However, construction managers often need to hire specialized firms and highly skilled professionals in order to quantify, with accuracy, the expected amount of additional value and, hence, the precise impact of such additional value in the optimal bidding price. Based on the option to sign the contract and to perform the project by the selected bidder, identified and evaluated by Ribeiro et al. (2013), the model’s outcome is the threshold value for this incremental investment. A decision rule is then reached: construction managers should invest in human capital and technology provided that the cost of such incremental investment does not exceed the predetermined threshold value. The model also proposes new forms of reaching the optimal bidding price, considering solely the effects of the non-incremental investment and also considering the possible impact of the incremental investment in human capital and technology.
Integration of Heterogeneous Databases and Ontologies

Research in interoperability has been motivated by the growing heterogeneity of computing systems. Heterogeneity can occur in many levels and each level of heterogeneity requires an isolated or integrated approach for solution. In this paper, we propose the specification of a formal ontology for the information related to a specific domain of a database system, to work together with a global scheme, developed as software layer among the different databases under consideration. To test this approach we elaborated a case study, based upon hypothetical queries submitted to relational and heterogeneous databases, with data on soil domain, aiming at identifying the kinds of soil most appropriate to a certain culture. The case study demonstrated that the semantic conflicts were circumvented and the integration of the databases was easily reached.
Deciding Deterministic Responsiveness and Closeness in -calculus

In order to write encodings of complex data structures in π-calculus one needs guarantees that certain fundamental properties of communication (together referred to as discreetness) are preserved when interacting with encoded processes. These include closeness of the data transmission sub-process, responsiveness for data decoding requests, uniqueness of the transmitted value and immutability of a transmitted value. We propose a bisimulation to relate processes indistinguishable by such a discreet environment. Discreetness itself being undecidable we define a type system of πcalculus processes with stronger but decidable constraints, and prove that typable processes are discreet.
A New Pygmy Seahorse, Hippocampus denise (Teleostei: Syngnathidae), from the Indo-Pacific

A new species of pygmy seahorse, Hippocampus denise, is described from Indonesia. It is distinguished from other seahorse species by its diminutive size, the possesion of a low number of tail rings (28-29), 10-11 pectoral-fin rays, 14 dorsal-fin rays, a rounded nuchal plate without a raised coronet, a snout length 30% in head length, a snout without a bulbous tip, the inferior and ventral trunk ridges reduced to disconnected star-shaped ossifications, the limited number of tubercles on the body, the plain orange body color, and males with eggs and embryos contained within the trunk region. Further specimens from Vanuatu and Palau, in addition to photographs and other observations by the senior author, suggest that this species may be relatively widespread in the West Pacific Ocean It is recorded from depths of 13-90 m in association with gorgonian seafans identified as Annella reticulata (Ellis and Solander, 1786), Muricella sp. Verrill, 1869, and Echinogorgia sp. Kolliker, 1865. Comparisons are made with H. bargibanti Whitley. 1970, and H. minotaur Gomon, 1997.