Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
PROCESSING AND CHARACTERIZATION OF POLYETHYLENE TEREPHTALATE GLYCOL-MODIFIED / EPOXY CARBON NANOTUBES-GLASS FIBERS COMPOSITES

Glass fibers are materials commonly employed for the reinforcement of several polymers. Aircraft parts, rocket motor cases and automobiles, are examples of several structural composites where glass fibers have been used. It is well known that increasing the efficiency of stress transfer from the polymeric material to the fiber may lead to enhanced mechanical performance and, as with any composite materials, the interface between both materials play a critical role in the final mechanical properties. The presence of carbon nanotubes on the fibers surface may improve the adhesion between fibres and matrix since they may interlock with the polymer chains and thus creating a physically strong adhesion between the two phases. In this work, carbon nanotubes were synthesized on the surface of carbon and glass fibers, by chemical vapour deposition of ethylene, under different experimental conditions. The resulting fibers-carbon nanotubes hybrids were further characterized by energy dispersive X-ray analyses, scanning electron microscopy, Raman spectroscopy and thermogravimetric analyses. The selected glass fibers-carbon nanotubes synthesized were embedded in polyethylene terephtalate glycol (PETG) and epoxy resin and the effect of the quality and amount of carbon nanotubes within the different samples on the fiber/matrix interfacial strength of PETG and epoxy fiber composites was evaluated by single fiber fragmentation tests (SFFT), microscopy and photoelasticity analyses. The results were compared with the sized treated fibers. In relation to the PETG fiber composites, the results show that the sized treated fibers have a better fiber/matrix adhesion, when compared to fibers with CNTs grown on their surfaces. No significant difference in the fiber/matrix interfacial strength was found between the PETG composites using glass fibers containing carbon nanotubes on their surfaces. On the other hand, the presence of carbon nanotubes on the fibers surface seems to enhance the interfacial bonding between fiber and epoxy. These observations are however only based on microscopy and photoelasticity analyses. PROCESSING AND CHARACTERIZATION OF POLYETHYLENE TEREPHTALATE GLYCOL-MODIFIED/EPOXY CARBON NANOTUBES-GLASS FIBERS COMPOSITES MASTER THESIS
A Cross-Sectional Study on Perceived Stress and Coping Mechanisms among Children Suffering With Mute and Hearing Impairment

Deafness is one of the disabilities seen in all age group. Deafness in younger age group is an emerging health problem in our country. There are 32 million (9%) children in the world with disabling hearing loss (WHO 2012). Prevalence of deaf and mute children in India is 10.8 and 6.8 in rural and urban areas respectively (Jasmie 2013). Many researches were done on deaf-dumb children about their physical health, causes of deafness, cochlear implantation, degree of hearing loss, etc. Permanent childhood hearing impairment can have a devastating impact on communication skills, educational attainment, mental health and quality of life, with a high cost to society. Education of parents has also significant effect on development of the deaf children. Social problems were seen in the children with low education level of parents. Deaf children are more vulnerable to mental health problems than hearing children. The prevalence of mental health problems in community samples of deaf children is approximately 40% (Hindley.P 2000).
Risk-neutral and Physical Jumps in Option Pricing

When jumps are present in the price dynamics of the underlying asset, the market is no longer complete, and a more general pricing framework than the risk-neutral valuation is needed. Using Monte Carlo simulation, we investigate the important diffrence between risk- neutral and physical jumps in option pricing, especially for medium- and long-term options.
The Effect of Population Ageing on Portfolio Choices in Italy by Marianna Brunetti *

Based on widely accepted evidence on the exceptional ageing of the Italian population, this paper aims to assess the impact of ageing on household portfolios in Italy and hence ultimately on financial markets. To this end, we use data taken by the Bank of Italy Survey of Household Income and Wealth (SHIW) over the last decade and we analyse the average household portfolio in relation to demographic characteristics. In contrast to some results reported in the literature for the US, we find that financial choices of Italian households are sensibly affected by age. It follows that the exceptional ageing of the population in Italy is going to have relevant consequences on the Italian financial market.
Assessment of Canada Lynx Research and Conservation Needs in the Southern Range: Another Kick at the Cat

Abstract The ecology of Canada lynx (Lynx canadensis) and their main prey, snowshoe hares (Lepus americanus), is poorly understood in southern Canada and the contiguous United States compared to the boreal forest of Canada and Alaska, USA, where both species are well studied. However, given recent listing of lynx under the Endangered Species Act, accurate understanding of lynx and snowshoe hare ecology and conservation requirements in the United States is a high priority. We critically examined unchallenged perceptions and important research needs related to lynx and hare ecology and conservation at the southern extent of their range. Contrary to popular dogma, lynx do not require old-growth forest for denning, but further research on lynx and hare use of fragmented landscapes at lower latitudes is required. The contention that southern lynx are subject to higher interference or exploitative competition compared to their northern counterparts remains without strong empirical support. Lynx rely more on red squirrels (Tamiasciurus hudsonicus) and possibly other alternate prey at lower latitudes, but hares are the predominant food type for lynx across their range. Southern lynx and hare populations do not exhibit periodic cyclicity, but harvest statistics suggest that lynx abundance in the southern range is highly variable, implying that numerical fluctuations likely are fueled by immigration from Canada. Southern lynx population viability in the absence of ingress is suspect and thus maintaining connectivity with northern areas of occupancy should be a priority. Successful conservation of lynx populations in the contiguous United States will require 1) improved understanding of lynx population and habitat ecology at lower latitudes, 2) protection and management of large tracts of lynx and snowshoe hare habitat, and 3) ensured connectivity between lynx populations at the core and periphery of the species' range. However, in light of the numerous challenges facing conservation of populations of many species at their southern distributional limit, the long-term prognosis for lynx in the southern range currently is uncertain.
Non linear finite volume schemes for the heat equation in 1D.

We construct various explicit non linear finite volume schemes for the heat equation in dimension one. These schemes are inspired by the Le Potier's trick [CRAS Paris, I 348, 2010]. They preserve the maximum principle and admit a finite volume formulation. We provide a functional setting for the analysis of convergence of such methods. Finally we construct, analyze and test a new explicit non linear maximum preserving scheme: we prove third order convergence: it is optimal on numerical tests.
Economics of Organic Grain and Soybean Production in the Midwestern United States

Organic agriculture offers expanding market opportunities for many farmers, processors, distributors, and retailers in the food system (Anton Dunn, 1997a; 1997b). The recent launch of an organic breakfast cereal line by General Mills, complete with a multi-million dollar advertizing budget, exemplifies the expansion. Filling those cereal boxes likely means more organic grain and soybeans from u.s. farmers, many of them in the Midwest. But, is organic production a profitable alternative for the region's farmers? A growing body of research sheds new light on the answer. This report synthesizes and interprets economic studies of organic grain and soybean production by midwestern universities. The central conclusion is that organic production systems are competitive with the most common conventional production systems. Indeed, if farmers obtain current market premiums for organic grains and soybeans, their organic production generally delivers higher profits than non-organic grain and soybean production. The answer for any individual farmer depends, of course, on his or her particular situation. However, the main finding passes the commonsense test. By all accounts, the acreage of organic production is increasing nationwide, as well as in the Midwest. Will the estimated higher profitability of organic grain and soybean production hold, relative to conventional production, as the industry expands? Farmers who face the decision to invest substantial amounts of time and money need sound information to make careful decisions. While no one can forecast the future of the organic grain and soybean industry with certainty, understanding the forces that drive costs and prices is a key factor for anticipating likely trends in profits.
Focussing on Neutrophils for Evaluating In vitro and In vivo Inflammatory Activities of Nanoparticles

A tremendous interest to use nanomaterials for medical diagnosis and therapeutic purposes has increased in the past few years. Although a lot of investigations focus on the use of nanoparticles (NPs) for drug delivery in cancer therapies, there are several studies investigating the potential use of NPs as carriers to detect allergies or to alleviate inflammatory symptoms. However, although this represents a very interesting interest and a potential avenue to use nanodrug systems, there are some potential toxic risks. For example, cytotoxicity, oxidative stress, genotoxicity, and inflammation have been reported both in in vitro and in vivo models for testing NPs. In addition to medicine, a variety of other sectors, including electronics, cosmetics, aerospace, textile industries, and even in food, used NPs. Consequently, the proba‐ bility of human exposure to NPs has risen, leading to the possibility that NPs may reach the blood circulation and interact with immune blood cells. Therefore, it is crucial to evaluate the risk that NPs represent to human health. In different studies using in vivo models of inflammation, especially those investigating airway NP exposure, an increased number of leukocytes, mainly neutrophils, in the lungs and bronchoalveolar lavages have been reported. In fact, neutrophil counts are used as biomarkers of inflammation. Despite this and knowing that neutrophils are key player cells in inflammation, it is intriguing that few nanotoxicology studies have focused on how NPs can directly alter the biology of these cells. However, an increasing amount of studies, including some from my laboratory, demonstrate that NPs can activate human neutrophils by different manners in vitro and can attract them or not in vivo. The focus of this review will be to cover this new area of research.
An Analysis of Relationship between Occupational Stress and Demographics in Universities: The Case of Pakistan

The purpose of this study is to explore the level of occupational stress among university teachers based on age, gender and type of organization. The Questionnaire is used after pilot testing in order to accomplish the desired objective with the help of respondents’ responses. Descriptive statistics, inferential statistics, frequency tables, and ANOVA analysis have been used to analyze the data. Although the level of female and private sector university faculty is high, the study found that no significant difference between stress level of male and female faculty. No significant difference between stress level of faculty members of public and private sectors universities is reported. The results indicate significant difference in the mean scores of faculty members having different age brackets regarding their perceived level of stress. The statistics shows the decreasing trend of stress with the increasing of age among the faculty members.
Dimer models from mirror symmetry and quivering amoebae

Dimer models are 2-dimensional combinatorial systems that have been shown to encode the gauge groups, matter content and tree-level superpotential of the world-volume quiver gauge theories obtained by placing D3-branes at the tip of a singular toric Calabi-Yau cone. In particular the dimer graph is dual to the quiver graph. However, the string theoretic explanation of this was unclear. In this paper we use mirror symmetry to shed light on this: the dimer models live on a T^2 subspace of the T^3 fiber that is involved in mirror symmetry and is wrapped by D6-branes. These D6-branes are mirror to the D3-branes at the singular point, and geometrically encode the same quiver theory on their world-volume.
THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SPIRITUAL INTELLIGENCE AND ANXIETY MEDIATE THE RELIGIOUS ATTITUDE IN UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS OF ISLAMIC AZAD UNIVERSITY, FARS SCIENCE AND RESEARCH BRANCH

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between spiritual intelligence and anxiety mediates the religious attitude in undergraduate students of Islamic Azad University, Fars Science and Research branch. Due to the nature and objectives, this study is a fundamental and the implementation of the correlation method is used. The population in this research, all Students of Islamic Azad University, Fars Science and Research (6000 people) that is, using a multistage cluster sampling as the sample size was estimated to have 300. Data from the questionnaires, Religious attitudes Serajzadeh Spiritual Intelligence Abdollahzadeh, And Anxiety Inventory is used. Analysis of Data Surveys has been carried out at two levels: descriptive and inferential statistics. Descriptive statistics such as frequency statistics, Percentage, mean and standard deviation were used. Inferential test of the Pearson correlation coefficient, multiple regression techniques and path analysis were used simultaneously. The results showed a Positive relationship between spiritual intelligence with religious attitudes there is a significant, dimension of spiritual intelligence, there is a significant relationship between the spiritual life anxiety and significant relationship between religious attitudes and anxiety of students the results showed that religious attitudes did not show the mediating role in the relationship between intellectual intelligence and anxiety.
A simulation of a radiotherapy treatment system: A case study of a local cancer centre

This paper describes a study of a complex radiotherapy treatment system observed at a local cancer centre. In the system, patients undergo processing on several machines to complete their treatment regimen. Several parts of the process have disturbances that impede the flow of patients, adversely impacting patient waiting time and throughput. This study aims at understanding the treatment process, and identifying complexities and bottle- necks from the interactions between patients and human or machine resources using discrete-event simulation.
Real-time pyramidal Lukas-Kanade tracker performance estimation

One of the effective ways to improve object tracking performance is a fusion of base tracking algorithms to their advantages and eliminate disadvantages. This fusion requires the estimation of the performances of the base object tracking algorithms. So the real-time estimation of the performance of each base tracking algorithm is required for the algorithm result to be used for the fusion. In this paper we propose an algorithm for performance estimation for the object tracking algorithm based on the pyramidal implementation of Lukas-Kanade feature tracker. The performance estimation is based on the analysis of the variations of the intermediate algorithm parameters calculated during object tracking, such as total and mean feature lifetime, eigenvalues, inter-frame mean square coordinate difference, etc. Different combinations of these parameters were tested to obtain the best evaluation quality. The statistic measures were calculated for the image sequence, one or two hundred frames long. These statistic measures are highly correlated with the algorithm performance measures, based on the ground truth data: tracking precision and the ratio of the false detected features. The experimental research was performed using synthetic and real-world image sequences. We investigated performance estimation effectiveness in different observation conditions and during image degradations caused by noise, blur and low contrast. The experimental results show good performance estimation quality. This allows Lukas-Kanade feature tracker to be fused with another tracking algorithms (correlation-based, segmentation, change detection) to obtain reliable tracking. Since the approach is based on the intermediate Lukas-Kanade algorithm parameters, then it does not bring valuable computational complexity to the tracking process. So real-time performance estimation can be implemented.
The Silencing of Latino Student “Voice”: Puerto Rican and Mexican Narratives in Eighth Grade and High School

Narratives of 27 Puerto Rican and Mexican students, written first in eighth grade then again as juniors in high school, address the important question of "Who am I? " and illustrate school-sponsored silencing, with students' critiques of their educational experience ignored by both the elementary and the high school. The narratives also provide a window into the high dropout rates of Latino children, the reasons behind students" academic decisions, and interventions needed to change negative schooling processes and outcomes. By giving witness to these voices, we as readers help ensure that through their writing, these Latino adolescents do not just speak but that they are heard. In sixth grade my teacher was Mr. S. Mr. S. had a stick. If you were talking or something he would hit you with it. His stick's name was "George. " He had wrapped it in tape so that when he hit you it would hurt more. In seventh grade my teacher had red hair and when she spoke to someone she always spit at that person. Since she retired we got a substitute until the principal could find another capable teacher. So our teacher for a long period of time was Mrs. R. We used to call her "chocolate chip" because she had a big mole on her upper lip. After Mrs. R. we had another teacher who we thought was going to be our permanent seventh grade teacher. She lasted about two days I think. Then she left for an eighth grade class. and the teachers kept changing. That seventh grade was so confusing I didn't learn a thing but I tried.
How Six Sigma Methodology Improved Doctors' Performance.

Six Sigma methodology was used in a District General Hospital to assess the effect of the introduction of an educational programme to limit unnecessary admissions. The performance of the doctors involved in the programme was assessed. Ishikawa Fishbone and 5 S’s were initially used and Pareto analysis of their findings was performed. The results were analysed and it was found that it was favouring the use of this technique, as the Six Sigma value increased from 2.6 to 4 producing a 99.4% yield. In conclusion this study stresses that The Six Sigma methodology is an acceptable tool which can be used for improvement of the performance of a Hospital Department and also of individuals; it can easily be used to improve the service safety and the patients’ requirements.
Promoting multilingual communicative competence through multimodal academic learning situations

This paper presents information on the factors affecting the development of multilingual and multicultural communicative competence in interactive multimodal learning environments in an academic context. The interdisciplinary course in multilingual interaction offered at the University of Jyväskylä aims to enhance students’ competence in multilingual and multicultural academic communication by promoting the use of their entire linguistic repertoire in various learning situations. Throughout the course, we observed the students’ engagement in multilingual and multicultural activities. These observations suggest that simultaneous use of multiple languages in synchronous and asynchronous learning environments has evident impact on the development of learners’ multilingual and multicultural competences as well as increases their multicultural awareness. Learners’ experiences, collected through learning journals and reflective feedback, suggest that the use of multimodal interactive learning environments may support multilingual and multicultural learning and enhance learner agency.
An evidence based approach to crime and urban design Or , can we have vitality , sustainability and security all at once ?

The following research calls into question some of the most deeply held assumption that have been made on all sides about the relation between spatial design and security. The most important of these is perhaps the ‘safety in numbers’ argument that challenges long held beliefs that small is somehow beautiful in designing for well-working, low-risk communities. On the basis of the evidence we have presented we can argue that the benefits of a residential culture become more apparent with larger rather than smaller numbers. A no less challenging implication of this body of evidence is that the relation between crime and spatial design may not pass through the intervening variable of community formation. Again, the evidence suggests that the simple fact of human co-presence in space, coupled to simple physical features of buildings or spaces is enough to explain differences in victimization rates in different types of location and area, albeit with variations due to social factors.
Student Paper: Increasing the Use of Palliative and Hospice Services

Palliative and hospice services are underutilized as medical interventions. There is a stigma attached to these types of care. People synonymously use phrases such as “giving up” or “ending the fight” to describe palliative and hospice practices. However, research has proven many benefits to including these types of services in the care of those battling cancer regardless of how close they are to death. They can prolong life and increase quality of life at the end of life for both the patient and family. However, there are barriers to these practices that need to be addressed. Uncertain prognosis, misunderstanding of services, and difficulty initiating emotional conversations are just some of the obstacles that block the benefits of palliative and hospice care from being obtained. To increase services, the negative connotation associated with “palliative care” and “hospice care” must be overcome. Conversations about prognosis and treatment options must take place upon a cancer diagnosis. If palliative and hospice services become a standard of care initiated early on in the disease process, it will allow for the achievement of a “good death” by all.
Business cycle implications of mortgage spreads

How do aggregate quantities at the business cycle frequency respond to shocks to the spread between residential mortgage rates and government bonds? Using a structural VAR approach, we find that mortgage spread shocks impact the real economy by both economically and statistically significant magnitudes: a 100 basis point decline in the spread causes a peak increase in consumption, residential investment and GDP by 1.6 percent, 6.2 percent and 1.9 percent, respectively. These effects are magnified when the policy rate is held fixed, as was the case in the US during the recent implementation of unconventional monetary policy.