Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Narrowing yield-gap of rice through soil fertility management in the Lake Victoria Crescent agro- ecological zone, Uganda

Rice farming is increasingly being encouraged in Uganda because of its potential to double as an income as well as food security crop. However, existing data shows that current farmer’ yields are less than half of the expected average, partly due to inadequate soil fertility management interventions. Using a survey of rice farmers in the Lake Victoria Crescent Agro-ecological zone (LVC-AEZ) of Uganda, we assessed socio-economic drivers of soil fertility management interventions and how these relate to soil productivity and rice yield, with particular emphasis on mineral fertilizers. Results showed a wide range of soil fertility management practices being used and these include mineral fertilizers, manure application, crop rotation, soil erosion control and intercropping. Experience with rice farming, participation in farmers groups and land size positively and significantly affect the choice to use mineral fertilizers as a soil fertility management. The amount of mineral fertilizer is likely to increase if farmers use it for top dressing, and if they also practice other soil conservation practices. Similarly, farmers that use organic materials are likely to use less mineral fertilizer. Data also showed that under the archetypal farmers’ conditions, increasing amount of mineral fertilizer explains only 3% of rice yield increase, suggesting that Integrated Soil Fertility Management (ISFM) is inevitable to narrow the yield gap of rice in this region. This study lends support to recommendations that policy actions focus on improving access to quality extension advisory services to farmers in addition to increasing saving and credit schemes and communications infrastructure in order to stimulate fertilizer access. Research and extension on site-specific nutrient constraints is necessary to improve soil fertility management interventions. Key words: Rice yield, soil fertility, mineral fertilizers, Lake Victoria Crescent, Uganda.
Comparisons of the Effects of Monolingual and Bilingual Exposure on Executive Functioning Among Neurodevelopmentally Vulnerable Children

Extant research suggests that bilingualism benefits children’s executive functioning, but this link has been examined only with normative populations. This study assessed executive functioning in 150 clinic-referred children using parent and teacher ratings on the BRIEF as well as performance-based measures (WISC-IV Working Memory Index, Test of Variables of Attention). Results indicated that teachers endorsed fewer concerns with executive functioning for children from bilingual homes. These results suggest that bilingual exposure may provide an advantage to neurodevelopmentally vulnerable children, similar to the advantage seen among normative samples. The implications of studying multiple-language exposure among clinicreferred populations will be explored.
SERIES ON REGIONAL ECONOMIC INTEGRATION NO . 21 Is the ASEAN-Korea Free Trade Area ( AKFTA ) an Optimal Free Trade Area ?

The 1997/98 Asian currency crisis has led a once high-flying East Asia to realize its vulnerability to external shocks. This realization has given strong impetus to greater economic integration among East Asian economies, with the ASEAN-Korea Free Trade Area (AKFTA) a case in point. This paper qualitatively and quantitatively examines the economic feasibility of AKFTA: qualitatively using the theory of economic integration, and quantitatively by applying a CGE model. Our two-dimensional analysis provides some, but not overwhelming, support for AKFTA’s prospects as an effective means of promoting trade between ASEAN and the Republic of Korea.
Birth Weight and the Dynamics of Early Cognitive and Behavioural Development

In this paper we explore the impact of birth weight on children's cognitive and behavioural outcomes using data from the UK Millennium Cohort Study. In order to deal with the endogeneity of birth weight we use an estimator based on the eliminant method. When coupled with ordinary least squares, this estimator allows us to bound the effects of birth weight. The results show that birth weight has significant but very small effects on male cognitive development at age 3 and on female cognitive and behavioural outcomes at age 3. We also find that birth weight affects age 5 outcomes only through previous achievements, and that the overall impact fades out over time. These findings call into question the effectiveness of birth weight as a policy target.
ECONOMETRIC ANALYSIS OF THE IMPACT OF FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENT ON ECONOMIC GROWTH IN NAMIBIA: EVIDENCE FROM ANNUAL DATA

The driving objective of the study was to measure in quantitative terms the influence of foreign direct investment on economic growth through cointegration techniques. Namibia was used as a case study. Annual dataset stretching from 1990 to 2014 was also applied. The imperative findings arising from the study constitutes the following: The study found long-run relationships among all the variables under consideration in the econometric model. The estimated long-run equation also indicates a positive association between the explanatory variables and real gross domestic product. In particular, net foreign direct capital was found to have a stronger influence on economic growth compared to openness and real foreign exchange rate. Correspondingly, a unidirectional relationship running from real exchange rate to net foreign direct investments was found. In addition, amongst the three explanatory variables used in the model, openness and net foreign direct investment contributed more towards innovations in economic growth during the forecast horizon compared to real exchange rate variable. The research paper concludes by creating opportunities for further investigations
Generalized Portmanteau Tests Based on Subspace Methods Tests

The problem of diagnostic checking is tackled from the perspective of the subspace methods. Two statistics are presented and their asymptotic distributions are derived under the null hypothesis. The procedures are devised to deal with univariate and multivariate processes, are flexible and able to separately check regular and seasonal correlations. The performance in finite samples of the proposals is illustrated via Monte Carlo simulations and two examples with real data.
AÑOS PROTEIN CRYSTALLIZATION FOR DRUG DESIGN IN THE LAST 50 YEARS

We live in an era where we expect to be able to visit our doctor and obtain a pill to cure any ailment from which we suffer. Yet, this is still not the case. Many of the current cures are still derived from natural sources although new drugs are increasingly the result of intelligent design. In this process, X-ray protein crystallography now plays a major and effective role in the discovery of new treatments. The developments that have made this possible have evolved during the past fifty years. The methods for crystallizing macromolecules and determining their structures by X-ray crystallography have been automated and the speed for Xray data acquisition is several orders of magnitude faster. Fifty years ago it took several years to solve a single structure. Now, several protein–ligand complexes can be determined in single day. High-throughput crystallography is considered to be a great asset to the drug discovery process, providing a fast way to tailor drug candidates to their targets by analysing their binding mode in detail. Crystallization remains the main challenge.
A Multi-Step Approach for Scheduling Tasks with Synchronization on Clusters of Computers

In this work, a two-step approach is adopted for scheduling tasks with synchronous inter-task communication. To that end, an efficient algorithm, called GLB-Synch, is introduced for mapping clusters and ordering tasks on processors. The algorithm used the information obtained during the clustering step for selecting a cluster to be mapped on the least loaded processor. A performance study has been conducted on the GLB-Synch algorithm by simulation. A multi-step scheduling setup has been performed based on a previously developed algorithm for clustering DAGs with synchronous communication, called NLC-SynchCom, and using synthesized DAGs. We have shown by analysis and experimentation that the GLB-Synch algorithm retains the same low complexity cost of the first step for clustering. The performance results highlight the drawback of synchronization on speedup scalability.
Butterfly extinctions in European states: do socioeconomic conditions matter more than physical geography?

Aim To distinguish the effects of physical geography and socioeconomic conditions on the extinction of butterflies in European states, and to compare patterns influencing extinctions with patterns influencing species richness. Location Europe. Method Per-state species richness and extinctions were taken from the Red Data Book of European Butterflies, and their relationships with physical geography and socioeconomic predictors were analysed using regression analysis. Two hypothesis were explored: (1) extinctions are related primarily to identical physical geography factors that influence species richness; and (2) extinctions are influenced primarily by human pressure on natural biotopes and follow correlates of modern land use. Results Extinctions and richness are not correlated. Richness increased towards low latitudes and with biotope and topographic heterogeneity, and decreased in states affected by Quaternary glaciation and on islands. The only socioeconomic correlate was human density, exhibiting a weak negative effect. Extinctions were negatively correlated with area and with biotope and topographic heterogeneity. They peaked in regions with mild climate in central latitudes. The strongest socioeconomic correlate was high density of railways, interpreted as a proxy of early industrialization. Further correlates were human density and urban employment. Main conclusion Topographic and biotope heterogeneity predicts both high species richness and low extinction rates. Losses of butterflies result from a complex interplay of geography and relatively recent economic history, as low topographic heterogeneity and flat relief favoured the early advent of industrialization and intensive land use.
Physicochemical properties of Aspirin in presence of H3PO4 as an excipient

Aspirin (acetylsalicylic acid, ASA) is one of the most widely used analgesics. Aspirin is poorly soluble in water and causes gastrointestinal (GI) irritation. The bioavailability of several kinds of drugs solely depends on their dissolution properties in biological systems. In this direction, the physicochemical property of aspirin with phosphoric acid as an excipient has been studied. The kinetic energy obtained from viscosity method indicates that drug-excipient interactions are predominant and kinetic energy decreases with increase in concentration of the excipient. To improve the solubility, hence the bioavailability and minimize the GI irritation, its complexes with H3PO4 (in 1:1 ratio) were prepared in 1:1 C2H5OH and water. Evaluation of solubility and drug excipient interaction was done using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), FTIR spectra, X-ray diffraction, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and in vitro dissolution study. Aspirin-H3PO4 complex were found to be having rough surface in SEM. DSC, thermograms, XRD and FTIR confirmed the formation of the complex. Dissolution and pharmacokinetic studies of the designed drug was found to be of subsistence importance of Aspirin-H3PO4 as a possible drug to improve bioavailability of the drug. It was concluded that the complex of aspirin in definite propotion by weight may be of potential use for improving the solubility of aspirin and hence its bioavailability.
THE EVALUATION OF MARKETING ASSETS INFLUENCE ON THE EFFECTIVENESS OF INTERNATIONAL COMPANIES Roman Ponomarenko

In the age of total dematerialization of global business the process of international company asset evaluation (especially its financial and managerial aspects) becomes more complex. Taking into account the modern economic context it is harder for professional marketers to asset the potential, strategic output of available company resource management and especially marketing activities. Therefore, this paper addresses the following problem: what are the key prospects of marketing asset usage in the modern strategic management and what is the degree of their influence on the effectiveness of international companies? This paper aims to identify the key elements of marketing asset system and its impact on the company performance by analyzing the correlation between key ratings, which evaluate the quality of every asset management and the profit dynamics of relevant international companies during 2010–2015. The results of detailed analysis indicate the greatest impact of such assets as brands, marketing information system, marketing strategy and alliance-based assets on the company performance.
Morphological correlates of incipient arboreality and ornithophagy in island pitvipers, and the phylogenetic position of Bothrops insularis

Morphological differences between two semi-arboreal, bird-eating island pitvipers, Bothrops insularis and Gloydius shedaoensis, and their mainland relatives were investigated. Mitochondrial DNA sequence data for two genes show B. insularis to be rooted within B. jararaca. Bothrops insularis has a more anterior heart, a relatively longer tail, a longer head, and shorter fangs than B. jararaca. The greater head length is paralleled in the ecologically similar G. shedaoensis. Increased head size may represent an adaptation to the abundance of larger food items (migratory passerine birds), providing a selective advantage to snakes able to switch to larger prey at an earlier age. Furthermore, B. insularis and G. shedaoensis have converged on similar body sizes from opposite ancestral states. Other characters, including fang length, tail length and size of neonates do not show parallel variation in G. shedaoensis and B. insularis, suggesting that caution is required when interpreting character state shifts coinciding with ecological shifts in a single species only.
Bias of the Random Forest Out-of-Bag (OOB) Error for Certain Input Parameters

Random Forest is an excellent classification tool, especially in the –omics sciences such as metabolomics, where the number of variables is much greater than the number of subjects, i.e., “n p.” However, the choices for the arguments for the random forest implementation are very important. Simulation studies are performed to compare the effect of the input parameters on the predictive ability of the random forest. The number of variables sampled, m-try, has the largest impact on the true prediction error. It is often claimed that the out-of-bag error (OOB) is an unbiased estimate of the true prediction error. However, for the case where n p, with the default arguments, the out-of-bag (OOB) error overestimates the true error, i.e., the random forest actually performs better than indicated by the OOB error. This bias is greatly reduced by subsampling without replacement and choosing the same number of observations from each group. However, even after these adjustments, there is a low amount of bias. The remaining bias occurs because when there are trees with equal predictive ability, the one that performs better on the in-bag samples will perform worse on the out-of-bag samples. Cross-validation can be performed to reduce the remaining bias.
A chemical analyzer for charged ultrafine particles

Abstract. New particle formation is a frequent phenomenon in the atmosphere and of major significance for the Earth's climate and human health. To date the mechanisms leading to the nucleation of particles as well as to aerosol growth are not completely understood. A lack of appropriate measurement equipment for online analysis of the chemical composition of freshly nucleated particles is one major limitation. We have developed a Chemical Analyzer for Charged Ultrafine Particles (CAChUP) capable of analyzing particles with diameters below 30 nm. A bulk of size-separated particles is collected electrostatically on a metal filament, resistively desorbed and subsequently analyzed for its molecular composition in a time of flight mass spectrometer. We report on technical details as well as characterization experiments performed with the CAChUP. Our instrument was tested in the laboratory for its detection performance as well as for its collection and desorption capabilities. The manual application of defined masses of camphene (C10H16) to the desorption filament resulted in a detection limit between 0.5 and 5 ng, and showed a linear response of the mass spectrometer. Flow tube experiments of 25 nm diameter secondary organic aerosol from ozonolysis of alpha-pinene also showed a linear relation between collection time and the mass spectrometer's signal intensity. The resulting mass spectra from the collection experiments are in good agreement with published work on particles generated by the ozonolysis of alpha-pinene. A sensitivity study shows that the current setup of CAChUP is ready for laboratory measurements and for the observation of new particle formation events in the field.
LOCALIZATION USING DIFFERENT AMPLITUDE-PANNING METHODS IN THE FRONTAL HORIZONTAL PLANE

Amplitude panning is the simplest method to create phantom sources in the horizontal plane. The most commonly employed amplitudepanning methods are Vector-Base Amplitude Panning (VBAP), Multiple-Direction Amplitude Panning (MDAP), and Ambisonics. This article investigates the localization of frontal phantom sources created by VBAP, MDAP, and Ambisonics (with and without maxrE weighting) at the central listening position in a listening experiment. The experiment was conducted under typical non-anechoic studio listening conditions and utilized pink noise and a regular array of 8 loudspeakers for all methods. The experimental results are compared to different predictors: a binaural localization model using measured binaural room impulse responses, the direction of the measured sound intensity vector, and the directions of the simpler velocity and energy vectors. The article hereby addresses the questions of how close the actually localized directions of the different panning methods are compared to the desired directions, and how good the predictors match the experimental results.
Saat Numerical Stroop Task

Cognitive process show how brain work from stimulus reception until stimuls reaction. With electroencephalogram (EEG) device, cognate process can be observerd in brain signal or EEG signal form. In cognitive process different kind of stimulus could affect generated brain signal. Also, given interference in cognitive prcess could affect brain signal. In this research, conducted observation whether gender difference has effect in cognitive process. Numerical stroop task with three kinds of conditions (congruence, incongruence, and neutral) are used as reference in signal observation process which is generated when the cognitive process in difference genders are done. The resulting EEG signal then conducted three kinds of analysis that is ERP analysis, reaction time, and energy analysis. The result of ERP analysis show both subject class have difference in response time that indicated with P3 peak time. On average, respons time in female (kongruent = 623,34 ms; inkongruent = 645,18 ms ; neutral = 614,91 ms)subject class is faster than male (kongruent = 709,67 ms; inkongruent = 745,00 ms; neutral =715,37 ms) subject class. Energy analysis show when numerical stroop task takes place, left side of the brain (51,36%) and cetral side of the brain (50,65%) more dominant than others parts of the brain. Keywords— EEG, ERP, Stroop Task, Numerical Stroop Task  ISSN (print): 2088-3714, ISSN (online): 2460-7681 IJEIS Vol. 8, No. 1, April 2018 : 107 – 118 108
Optimal Tax Salience

Recent empirical work finds that consumers under-account for commodity taxes when the after-tax price is not prominent. I investigate how policymakers may utilize such “low-salience” taxes to promote welfare. The optimal combination of high- and low-salience taxes balances two competing effects: low-salience taxes dampen distortionary substitution but cause consumers to misallocate their budgets. Using a stylized model, I show the availability of taxes with differing salience provides an extra degree of freedom that can be used to implement the first-best welfare outcome. I characterize the optimal policy and derive a formula for incremental adjustments when the first-best is unattainable.
Role of renewable energy in climate mitigation: a synthesis of recent scenarios

The role of renewable energy in climate change mitigation is explored through a review of 162 recent medium- to long-term scenarios from 15 large-scale, energy-economic and integrated assessment models. The current state of knowledge from this community is assessed and its implications drawn for the strategic context in which policymakers and other decision-makers might consider renewable energy. The scenario set is distinguished from previous ones in that it contains more detailed information on renewable deployment levels. All the scenarios in this study were published during or after 2006. Within the context of a large-scale assessment, the analysis is guided primarily by four questions. What sorts of future levels of renewable energy deployment are consistent with different CO2 concentration goals? Which classes of renewable energy will be the most prominent energy producers and how quickly might they expand production? Where might an expansion in renewable energy occur? What is the linkage between the costs of mitigation and an expansion of renewable energy?
Skyline matching based camera orientation from images and mobile mapping point clouds

Abstract. Mobile Mapping is widely used for collecting large amounts of geo-referenced data. An important role plays sensor fusion, in order to evaluate multiple sensors such as laser scanner and cameras jointly. This requires to determine the relative orientation between sensors. Based on data of a RIEGL VMX-250 mobile mapping system equipped with two laser scanners, four optional cameras, and a highly precise GNSS/IMU system, we propose an approach to improve camera orientations. A manually determined orientation is used as an initial approximation for matching a large number of points in optical images and the corresponding projected scan images. The search space of the point correspondences is reduced to skylines found in both the optical as well as the scan image. The skyline determination is based on alpha shapes, the actual matching is done via an adapted ICP algorithm. The approximate values of the relative orientation are used as starting values for an iterative resection process. Outliers are removed at several stages of the process. Our approach is fully automatic and improves the camera orientation significantly.
Torque Estimation Using Precise Calculations of Inductance and Iron loss Mathematization

Abstract – The torque was calculated with inductance and iron loss. Because the linkage flux can change the inductance, and q-axis current can change the iron loss. Therefore, precise estimation of torque can achieve with the inductance and iron loss detail calculations. So, in this paper, the d, q-axis inductance was verified through CVCT(Current Vector Control Test) and DCT(Direct Current Test). Also in the iron loss calculation, the prediction of all areas of current magnitude, phase angle and speed was very difficult. And LUT(Look-Up Table) was spent time and resource largely. Therefore, iron loss mathematization was proposed according to current magnitude, phase angle and speed. Also, characteristics of IPMSM were comprised of analyzed and experimental values. Keywords: d, q -axis inductance, Iron loss mathematization, Torque, Linkage flux 1. Introduction speed. Because, the iron loss should respond very quickly Generally, operating characteristics of IPMSM