Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A study of the metrological properties of a two-channel sampling module for an AC standard resistor calibration system

The paper presents the concept of a measurement system for the calibration of AC standard resistors with low resistance values and the selected research results of a commercial sampling module constituting a key element of the system which is being developed. Among others there is presented the results of a 24-hour stability study of the analog-to-digital processing paths of a sampling module. Streszczenie. Przedstawiono koncepcje systemu pomiarowego do wzorcowania rezystorow wzorcowych prądu przemiennego o malych wartościach rezystancji oraz wybrane wyniki badan komercyjnego modulu probkującego stanowiącego podstawowy element opracowywanego systemu. Miedzy innymi przedstawiono wyniki badan 24-godzinnej stabilności torow przetwarzania analogowo-cyfrowego modulu probkującego. (Badanie wlaściwości metrologicznych dwukanalowego modulu probkującego do sytemu wzorcowania rezystorow wzorcowych prądu przemiennego).
EFFECTS OF OBSERVATIONAL LEARNING ON STUDENTS' USE OF AND ATTITUDE TOWARDS READING AND LEARNING STRATEGIES

Previous research has shown that observation can be effective for learning in various domains, for instance writing, reading and creative art work. By observing models at work, students may develop strategic knowledge and they may also change their conception of what the modeled skill involves. The question in this study is which instructional approach is more effective for students’ processes of text studying: learning by observation or learning by practicing? We designed an intervention that enables students to learn from observation of video models. The models in these videos are peers, who read and learn a history text while thinking aloud. In a pre-test/post-test control group design we assigned 52 Dutch students (15-18 years old) to one of two conditions; one observational learning condition and a control condition (learning by practicing). In the observational learning condition students were asked to observe and evaluate the thinking processes of two peers on video, and decide which one was the weaker or better performer of a study task. In the control condition, students received direct instruction in reading and learning strategies. We measured students’ attitude and self-reported use of learning strategies with a questionnaire (at pre- and post-test) and a learner report (post-test only). Students’ use of strategies at pre- and post-test was measured with a thinking-aloud task with eight participants of each condition. Results of the thinking-aloud task showed that students in the observational learning condition more often checked their own understanding of the text while studying for a history test than students in the control condition. Moreover, experimental students reported more learning experiences in their learner reports than the control group. This group also reported almost 10% more metacognitive learner experiences in the same learner reports.
Modeling the Extended Warranty: A Managerial Focus

We provide a model of an extended warranty. To maximize profit, a producer always wants to sell with some type of warranty as opposed to selling with no warranty. The extended warranty is more likely to be provided as the consumer becomes more patient, as the producer becomes impatient, or if the likelihood of product failure does not increase too much in the extended period. We show that there is a separating equilibrium in which the high quality producers sell with warranties and the low quality producers sell without warranties. We discuss the implications of warranty management in a government.
Farmland Investments in Africa: What's the Deal?

Large-scale foreign investments in African farmland are rising and may contribute to agricultural productivity growth and economic development. However, host countries sometimes have to wait longer for the economic benefits to arrive than initially expected. In this respect, the timing of project development is crucial and depends on the economic incentives provided to the investors. We therefore present a dynamic stochastic programming model that reflects the typical bargaining situation concerning large land deals in Africa and allows the effect of market- and country-specific risks and taxation to be assessed. The model shows that commodity price volatility increases the value of the land development option, but slows down the land development process. Furthermore, it shows that host country attempts to negotiate fixed commitments to the speed of project development may run counter to the structure of economic incentives at the project site. The applicability of the model is demonstrated for a recent 10,000-hectare cotton project in Ethiopia. Response surface estimations suggest that Ethiopia has negotiated a contract under which it will receive about half the expected total project value, as long as it levies the regular corporate tax rate.
Student Challenges in a Virtual Collaborative Learning Course Spanning Multiple Countries

Web 2.0 technologies have been instrumental in the development of a new collaborative learning space called Virtual Learning Environments. There are a variety of challenges in virtual learning environments, including team issues, technological problems and pedagogical practices. However these challenges can be broadly grouped into student challenges and lecturer challenges. Virtual Worlds such as Second Life (SL) and Social Learning Networks have provided many opportunities for lecturers to explore these challenges and ways of overcoming them. This study focuses on student challenges in these environments. In terms of the findings of this study, student responses were generally positive, with 77% of students finding international collaboration on their project beneficial. In addition, they report spending more time on the course and exerting more mental effort. They are satisfied with the organization and scaffolding of their learning but are still overwhelmingly dependent on campus computing resources, which is a limitation. The limitation points to the potential value of a beta-mindset approach supported by scaffolded learning. This research reports on the experiences and lessons learned during a virtual collaborative learning experience in an Honours module involving fourth year Information Systems and Technology students at both the University of KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa, and Applied
Heavy Quark Potential with Hyperscaling Violation

We investigate the behavior of the heavy quark potential in the backgrounds with hyperscaling violation. The metrics are covariant under a generalized Lifshitz scaling symmetry with the dynamical Lifshitz parameter and hyperscaling violation exponent . We calculate the potential for a certain range of and and discuss how it changes in the presence of the two parameters. Moreover, we add a constant electric field to the backgrounds and study its effects on the potential. It is shown that the heavy quark potential depends on the nonrelativistic parameters. Also, the presence of the constant electric field tends to increase the potential.
The Impact of Corporate Governance on the Performance of the Firms: A Study of Pakistani Pharmaceutical Industry

This study is initiated on "corporate governance and performance of the firms" with the samples of 8 pharmaceutical companies, using the data from their annual reports- from a time period of year 2008 - 2012. Board committee, board meeting and board size including executive directors and non- executive directors were used as the determinants of corporate governance whereas return on assets (ROA) and return on equity (ROE) were used as the measures of firm performance. The study found that determinants of corporate governance are not correlated to the performance measures of the organization. Regression model showed that corporate governance do not affect companies' return on assets (ROA) and return on equity (ROE). Further recommendations are also put forwarded in the research.
Route optimization with Q-learning

Due to increasing energy requirement the consideration of route determination is becoming important. The aim of this project is to find optimum result considering its important criteria. In this work, Geographic Information System (GIS) based energy transmission route optimization had been performed. In this optimization, using Multiagent Systems which is subdirectory of Distributed Artificial Intelligence the criteria affecting energy transmission line had been severally analyzed. The application had been actualized on the Selcuk University Campus Area. Therefore the digital map of the campus area particularly had been composed containing of relevant criteria. Using Q- learning Algorithm of Multiagent System the optimum route had been determined.
Simultaneous Determination of Montelukast Sodium S-Enantiomer and A5 Enantiomers in Montelukast Sodium Bulk Drug by Normal-Phase Chiral HPLC

A sensitive and validated high performance liquid chromatographic method was developed for determination of montelukast sodium S-enantiomer, A5 and A5 R-enantiomer in montelukast sodium bulk drug. Chromatographic analysis was performed on a Daicel Chiralpak® AD-H column at 30°, the flow rate was set 0.9 ml/min, eluent was n-hexane:isopropanol:ethanol:trifluoroacetic acid:diethylamine (65:15:20:0.1:0.1, v/v/v/v/v), determination wavelength was 280 nm and the injection volume was 10 μl. The high performance liquid chromatography was validated for system suitability, precision, limit of detection and limit of quantitation, linearity, accuracy and robustness. The results indicated that the system suitability test met the requirement with resolution more than 2.0 between montelukast sodium enantiomers and greater than 6.0 between A5 enantiomers. The values of relative standard deviation were not more than 4.0% for precision test, the limit of detection from 0.11 to 0.24 μg/ml, and the limit of quantitation from 0.22 to 0.61 μg/ml, respectively. The linearity correlation coefficients (r) were greater than 0.99 for three analyses. The recovery values were ranged from 89.35 to 108.78%. The proposed method was adequate for the determination of montelukast sodium S-enantiomer, A5 and A5 R-enantiomer in montelukast sodium bulk drug.
Current aspects of blastocyst culture, biopsy and vitrification

Despite the considerable improvements achieved in the field of human reproduction since the first baby was born in 1978, the IVF success rates reported worldwide are still unsatisfactory. A possible explanation is the high proportion of aneuploidies observed in human embryos, which lead to a high percentage of implantation failure. Recently, with the enhancement of culture conditions and the development of accurate technologies for whole genome amplification, it has become possible to screen the genetic status of the blastocysts in order to select those with higher potential to implant. These applications, together with highly successful vitrification procedures for embryo cryopreservation are leading to significantly increased clinical outcomes. In this review, we present the current state of art of some technical procedures and applications regarding blastocyst culture, vitrification and biopsy.
Association of BoLA-DRB 3 and TLR 4 alleles with subclinical mastitis in cattle from Colombia ¤ Asociación de los alelos BoLA-DRB 3 y TLR 4 con mastitis subclínica en vacas de Colombia

1Línea de epidemiología y salud pública veterinaria, Grupo de Investigación Centauro, Escuela de Medicina Veterinaria, Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias, Universidad de Antioquia, Calle 70 No. 52-21, Medellín, Colombia. 2Grupo de Investigación GaMMa, Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias, Universidad de Antioquia, Calle 70 No. 52-21, Medellín, Colombia. 3Grupo de Investigación Biogenesis, Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias, Universidad de Antioquia, Calle 70 No. 52-21, Medellín, Colombia.
Effects of Ubiquinol in Reducing the Development of Heart Failurewith Preserved Ejection Fraction and Mitochondrial Injury

There is currently no effective clinical treatment for diastolic heart failure also termed heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) which is associated with reduced myocardial adenosine triphosphate. Ubiquinol in the electron chain is required for adenosine triphosphate synthesis. Thus, the purpose of this pilot study was to examine in a rat model the effects of ubiquinol (reduced form of Coenzyme Q10) in the development of HFpEF. Six Dahl salt-sensitive rats were randomly assigned to either control or experimental groups. Starting at the age of 7 weeks, all rats were fed 8% NaCl diet and water for 12 weeks. The rats in the experimental group were fed ubiquinol (2 mg/100 g) in the water. Blood pressures, heart rate, and echocardiographic data were obtained at baseline and at the end of experiment. Rats in the ubiquinol group had lower increases in blood pressures and left ventricular wall thickness. Heart rate variability was not significantly different although there was a decrease in heart rate and an increase in parasympathetic nervous system output in the ubiquinol group. There was also less cardiac mitochondrial damage in the ubiquinol group compared to the control rats. Though the sample size is small, the supplementation of ubiquinol appears to reduce blood pressure and myocardial mitochondrial injury.
Social Networking Websites and Posting Personal Information: An Evaluation of Protection Motivation Theory

The popularity of social networking websites among Internet users continues to grow, even though social networking remains a risk for users who do not participate with caution. Using protection motivation theory (PMT) as a theoretical lens to provide a research model, and by issuing a fear appeal to social network users about the potential threat to their privacy, this study identified perceptions and beliefs held by users that influence their behavioral responses to the imposed threats. A snowball sample survey measuring the variables conceptualized by PMT was completed by 522 social network users. A time-ordered hierarchical regression analysis of the responses showed that PMT provides explanations for both adaptive and maladaptive responses, particularly for the response of hopelessness. Implications and directions for future research in this area are offered.
Efficient non-tomographic tools for the characterization of multipartite entanglement

Entanglement is the crucial resource in the field of quantum information processing and consequently a better understanding of its properties is very desirable. While for bipartite entangled qubit states many tools for characterization exist and also the experimental implementation of the tools is feasible, the situation for multipartite entangled states is different: The available tools have to be suited for a much greater diversity of entanglement properties, e.g. to analyze all the different entanglement classes [1]. A full experimental characterization via state tomography is increasingly difficult as the number of necessary measurement settings grows exponentially with the number of particles. In this contribution we focus on efficient, non-tomographic methods to characterize experimentally observed, multipartite entangled states. First steps towards this goal were demonstrated recently, for instance, for the proof of genuine multipartite entanglement [2] or for the analysis of the persistency of entanglement under loss [3]. Such methods can be further optimized by tailoring them to particular properties of states. We show how three important characteristic quantities, the fidelity, the non-separability and the permutation symmetry, can be evaluated with a significantly lower number of measurement settings than required for a complete tomography. Although the determination of these particular properties provides less information than the reconstruction of the complete density matrix, it allows to judge how well state characteristics are reproduced experimentally. This might be important with respect to an experimental application of states in quantum information. Exemplarily we apply the analysis tools to two genuinely four-qubit entangled states: the Dicke state with two excitations |D 4 〉 [4] and the cluster state |C4 〉 [5, 6]. These states are relevant for particular tasks: The state |D 4 〉 is a resource for telecloning [7], cluster states find an application in one-way quantum computation [6, 8] and are a subgroup of graph states, which play an important role for quantum error correction.
IMPROVEMENT OF TRADITIONAL ESR PERFORMANCE FOR RAPID DETECTION OF FREE RADICALS IN MATERIALS

To detect the presence of free radicals in materials, a traditional Electron Spin Resonance (ESR) requires repeating setting values of the external magnetic field ( B 0 ) as well as the frequency of microwave signal ( u ) to achieve resonance conditions, and it must be conducted manually. The procedure requires considerable time, so that become ineffective. In this paper, we propose a simple technique to improve the functionality of the traditional ESR by implementation of ramp-type magnetic field and high-speed data acquisition system. In here, we generate ramp-type voltage signal based on PIC16F876 microcontroller as the main device. This signal is converted to the current source by using the circuit of V to I converter, then injected to the Helmholtz coil to generate a ramp-type magnetic field. Some experiments are carried out in order to make validation and determine the performance of the developed system. By the technique, the traditional ESR becomes an automatic ESR-spectrometer and has the capability to identify some kinds of free radicals faster. Keywords: ESR , free-radical , ramp-B .
Construction process categorisation towards developing an E-business maturity model

The rapid pace of change in technology coupled with global economic and environmental changes has had considerable impact on all business sectors. Consequently, organisations are forced to drive towards efficiency savings, productivity improvements and increased collaboration to cope with current demands. This has resulted in execution of electronic ways of conducting business activities increasingly becoming a key strategic approach for many organizations. Electronic business (e-business) processes have taken businesses to new dimensions and organisations are moving away from traditional processes to modern ways of working through the use of electronic media. These new approaches create new pathways to gain competitive advantage and they guarantee valuable rewards for organizations. Even though the possibilities afforded are evident, compared to other industries the level of e-business implementation within the construction industry is not widespread and robust as anticipated. This indicates that there is a need for advancement of construction e-business practices. Hence, for construction organisations currently using e-business tools and for those who have yet to utilize and seek to adopt e-business tools, there is a need to undertake an analysis of their business processes and working methods to ensure a productive and beneficial implementation of these tools. This necessitates undertaking an analysis of current construction e-business processes to ensure productive implementation in order to develop their e-business capabilities and levels of maturity. This paper acknowledges the niche for research into e-business capability and maturity of e-business processes and presents a protocol for categorizing the construction processes for the development of a construction e-business capability maturity model. Process classification methodology comprised of two stages; initially an archival analysis to identify and categorise construction processes followed by expert interviews to review and refine the categorisation. Results of this classification aided in developing a construction e-business capability maturity model which can use to identify the status of their current e-business process implementation.
Measurement Back-Action and Photon Detection in Microwave Quantum Optics

In quantum optics, the interaction between atoms and photons is studied. In recent years, microwave quantum optics with superconducting circuits has emerged as an important tool for fundamental quantum optics experiments, and also as a promising way for implementing quantum computation. The main reason for this development is the ease with which strong coupling and other properties of artificial atoms and microwave photons can be engineered in such a setup. This thesis is comprised of two papers dealing with measurements in microwave quantum optics. In Paper I, we show how unwanted measurement back-action can be undone for certain measurements on one and two qubits dispersively coupled to a microwave resonator. An important application of this result is to improve parity measurements, which are integral to error-correction codes needed to implement large-scale quantum computing. In Paper II, we investigate the possibility of using a three-level artificial atom, a transmon, to mediate a cross-Kerr type interaction between photons. The idea is to use it as a single-photon detector in the microwave regime, a component currently missing in the experimentalist's toolbox. We show that there are fundamental limitations to this setup, resulting in an unsatisfactory signal-to-noise ratio.
Porotic hyperostosis and cribra orbitalia: the erythropoietic response to iron-deficiency anaemia

A recent paper by Walker et al. (2009) states that iron-deficiency anaemia can no longer be regarded as being a cause of porotic hyperostosis (PH) or cribra orbitalia (CO). It is argued here that this conclusion is not supported by the current literature on iron-deficiency anaemia and associated haematopoietic responses or consequences to this condition. Indeed, iron-deficiency anaemia is still a plausible candidate in any differential diagnosis of lesions identified as PH and/or CO.
Monetary Policy and Capital Regulation: is there a conflict?

It may be skill or it may be luck. Regardless, the world today is a much more stable place than it was a decade ago – or, at least much of it is. Monetary policymakers’ commitment to price stability means that today only 4 of the 29 countries the IMF lists as “advanced economies” has inflation in excess of 3 percent. And since the collapse of Long Term Capital Management in the fall of 1998, there has not been a serious financial disturbance. The system has withstood the century date change on 1 January 2000, the bursting of the dotcom bubble several months later, the terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001, and most recently the collapse of both General Motors bonds and hedge fund Amaranth Advisors.1 All of this has yielded a world more stable growth.2 Whatever policymakers are doing (or not doing), it is working – at least, so far. 153
Drivers, Benefits and Challenges of ICT adoption by small and medium sized en-terprises (SMEs): A Literature Review

In the knowledge society, firms need to develop competitive advantages based on an adequate and intensive use of information and communication technologies (ICTs), which is an essential ele- ment of success in today's market. This fact is especially relevant for small and medium sized en- terprises (SMEs), whose survival depends, among other factors, on the use they make of ICTs to develop new organizational models, compete in new markets or enhance their internal and external communication relationships. Given the relevance of this topic, the present work studies the impact of the adoption of ICT among SMEs. To do this, we first analyze the current situation of the use of ICT among SMEs in order to show their increasing penetration into the business environment. Then, we study the ob- jectives as well as the main challenges behind the adoption of ICT among SMEs. Later, we ana- lyse the entrepreneur as well as the innovation orientation as key factors in the ICT adoption proc- ess. Finally, we conclude by reviewing the main benefits that ICT can bring to certain areas of SMEs.