Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Differences in leaf traits among Mediterranean broad-leaved evergreen shrubs

Leaf morphological and physiological traits of the broad-leaved evergreen shrub species Quercus ilex, Phillyrea latifolia, Pistacia lentiscus, Arbutus unedo and Cistus incanus of the Mediterranean maquis were studied. Specific leaf mass (SLM), leaf tissue density (LTD), leaf life-span (LLS) and water use efficiency (WUE) were the most representative key traits resulting from discriminant analysis. Cluster analysis was used to identify the affinity among the species by statistical linkage. Dendrograms show two clusters characterised by a different integration of morphological and physiological leaf traits: Quercus ilex, Phillyrea latifolia and Pistacia lentiscus were in the same cluster, significantly different from that formed by Arbutus unedo and Cistus incanus.
On the micromechanics of crushable aggregates

This paper presents a study of the micromechanical behaviour of crushable soils. For a single grain loaded diametrically between flat platens, data are presented for the tensile strengths of particles of different size and mineralogy. These data are shown to be consistent with Weibull statistics of brittle fracture. Triaxial tests on different soils of equal relative density show that the dilatational component of internal angle of friction reduces logarithmically with mean effective stress normalized by grain tensile strength. The tensile strength of grains is also shown to govern normal compression. For a sample of uniform grains under uniaxial compression, the yield stress is related to the average grain tensile strength. If particles fracture such that the smallest particles are in geometrically self-similar configurations under increasing geotoscopic stress, with a constant probability of fracture, a fractal geometry evolves with the successive fracture of the smallest grains, in agreement with the a.
Comparison of carcass composition by parts and tissues between cocks and capons

The effect of caponisation on carcass composition by parts and tissues was examined. Twenty-eight castrated and twenty male Penedesenca Negra chicks reared under free-range condi- tions were slaughtered at 28 weeks of age. The birds were castrated at 4 or 8 weeks. The left sides of the carcasses were quartered (wing, breast, thigh and drumstick), and the parts dissected into the tis- sue components (skin, subcutaneous fat, intermuscular fat, muscle, bone and tendons). Capons showed more abdominal, intermuscular and subcutaneous fat than the cocks, both at the same slaugh- ter age and at the same weight. The breast and thigh were heavier in the capons than in the cocks. However, the whole muscle mass in the breast was increased by caponisation. This favourable effect was achieved at the expense of decreasing the carcass yield. The age of castration up to 8 weeks did not affect the carcass composition of the parts and tissues. chicken / capon / carcass / tissue composition
Compositional rules of Korean auxiliary predicates for sentiment analysis

Most sentiment analysis systems count the number of occurrences of sentiment expressions in a text, and evaluate the text by summing polarity values of extracted sentiment expressions. However, linguistic contexts of the expressions should be taken into account in order to analyze sentimental orientation of the text meticulously. Korean auxiliary predicates affect meaning of the main verb or adjective in some ways while attached to it in their usage. In this paper, we introduce a new approach that handles Korean auxiliary predicates in the light of sentiment analysis. We classify the auxiliary predicates according to their strength of impact on sentiment polarity values. We also define compositional rules of auxiliary predicates to update polarity values when the predicates appear along with sentiment expressions. This approach is implemented to a sentiment analysis system to extract opinions about a specific individual from review documents which were collected from various web sites. An experimental result shows approximately 72.6% precision and 52.7% recall for correctly detecting sentiment expressions from a text.
Effect of Continuous Positive Airway Pressure Treatment on Hemograms of Patients with Severe Obstructive Sleep Apnea in the Lack of Comorbidities

In this study, we aimed to evaluate the effect of CPAP treatment on hemograms of patients with severe OSA in the lack of comorbidities which might affect the real values of hematological parameters. This retrospective cohort study patients selected from those whose polysomnography reports were compatible with severe OSAS and who underwent PAP titration in our sleep medicine department. 49 patients were enrolled to the study. The baseline hemograms of the participants were collected from one of the patients' visits before they started to use CPAP devices. The control hemograms were evaluated from one of the control visits in the first six months of treatment. We examined the red cell distribution width (RDW), mean platelet volume (MPV), hemotocrit (Hct) and platelet (Plt) count from the hemograms. The mean age was 58.2 years ± 11.3 years, 38.8% were female and 61.2% were male. 69.4% were non-smokers and 30.6% were ex-smokers. The mean body mass index (BMI) was 31.6 ± 5.8 while the mean apnea hypopnea index (AHI) was 50.2 ± 29. The mean duration of CPAP therapy was 4.8 months ± 3.3 months. The mean RDW, MPV, Hct and Plt count values before CPAP treatment were in normal ranges of laboratory tests. All of the values reduced after CPAP therapy but only the decrease in MPV was statistically significant. The reduced values supported that CPAP treatment helped to control hypercoagulability and prevented from cardiovascular disorders in OSAS. Hemogram may be a cheap and easily found laboratory test for monitoring the response to CPAP therapy.
Different long-term trends of the oxygen red 630.0 nm line nightglow intensity as the result of lowering the ionosphere F2 layer

Long-term observations of total nightglow inten- sity of the atomic oxygen red 630.0 nm line at Abastumani (41.75 N, 42.82 E) in 1957-1993 and measurements of the ionosphere F2 layer parameters from the Tbilisi ionosphere station (41.65 N, 44.75 E) in 1963-1986 have been ana- lyzed. It is shown that a decrease in the long-term trend of the mean annual red 630.0 nm line intensity from the pre- midnight value (+0.770±1.045 R/year) to its minimum nega- tive value ( 1.080±0.670 R/year) at the midnight/after mid- night is a possible result of the observed lowering of the peak height of the ionosphere F2 layer electron density hmF2 ( 0.455±0.343 km/year). A theoretical simulation is carried out using a simple Chapman-type layer (damping in time) for the height distribution of the F2 layer electron density. The estimated values of the lowering in the hmF2, the increase in the red line intensity at pre-midnight and its decrease at midnight/after midnight are close to their observational ones, when a negative trend in the total neutral density of the upper atmosphere and an increase in the mean northward wind (or its possible consequence - a decrease in the southward one) are assumed.
The Impact of Companies' Age on Safety Culture in the Metal Products Industry

Problem statement: Safety culture is a complex structure in an organization that includes values and attitudes, most of which are potentially changeable and related to actual accident behavior. In this study, the components of safety culture included organizational commitment, management involvement, employee empowerment, reporting system and rewarding system. Approach: The numbers of occupational injuries in industries have steadily increased during recent years. The major objectives of this study were to evaluate the safety culture and to analyze the difference in safety culture in the metal products industry in Iran (Guilan province) with regard to companies’ age. Metal products industry was chosen because of the higher occupational injuries rates amongst the industries in Iran. Results: The companies were chosen based on their age. A total of 714 respondents from 14 companies participated in the survey. The method used in this study was a questionnaires quantitative type based on a Lickert scale and the data collected were analyzed statistically. The one-way ANOVA was used to test for significant difference in safety culture in the metal products industry with regard to companies’ age. The results showed that safety culture was not strong based on the mean for average score of 2.58 which was less than 3 compared to the possible maximum of 5. One-way ANOVA analysis revealed that there was a significant difference among safety culture with respect to companies’ age. New companies had stronger safety culture compared to older one. Conclusion: Based on the findings the hypothesis of this study is accepted. This study also indicated that the safety culture in the metal products industry in target population group was not strong however, can be improved through improvement of its five components.
Insights Into Portuguese Stock Market Efficiency Using DEA

US subprime crisis and the European sovereign debt crisis affected indiscriminately both the economic and the financial sectors giving rise to a bank run which made the survival of many other banks became uncertain, and by contagion the equity markets tumbled. In this context, this study runs a Data Envelopment Analysis model to analyse individual market return and net sales in light of the interest income, depreciation, cost of goods and employees. Using data from the largest companies of the Portuguese index stock market, the results showed that energy, communications and banking are the sectors more prevalent regarding revenue efficiency. © 2016 Published by Future Academy www.FutureAcademy. org.uk
Aerosol emissions factors from traditional biomass cookstoves in India: insights from field measurements

Abstract. Residential solid biomass cookstoves are important sources of aerosol emissions in India. Cookstove emissions rates are largely based on laboratory experiments conducted using the standard water-boiling test, but real-world emissions are often higher owing to different stove designs, fuels, and cooking methods. Constraining mass emissions factors (EFs) for prevalent cookstoves is important because they serve as inputs to bottom-up emissions inventories used to evaluate health and climate impacts. Real-world EFs were measured during winter 2015 for a traditional cookstove (chulha) burning fuel wood, agricultural residue, and dung from different regions of India. Average (±95 % confidence interval) EFs for fuel wood, agricultural residue, and dung were (1) PM2.5 mass: 10.5 (7.7–13.4) g kg−1, 11.1 (7.7–15.5) g kg−1, and 22.6 (14.9–32.9) g kg−1, respectively; (2) elemental carbon (EC): 0.9 (0.6–1.4) g kg−1, 1.6 (0.6–3.0) g kg−1, and 1.0 (0.4–2.0) g kg−1, respectively; and (3) organic carbon (OC): 4.9 (3.2–7.1) g kg−1, 7.0 (3.5–12.5) g kg−1, and 12.9 (4.2–15.01) g kg−1, respectively. The mean (±95 % confidence interval) OC ∕ EC mass ratios were 6.5 (4.5–9.1), 7.6 (4.4–12.2), and 12.7 (6.5–23.3), respectively, with OC and EC quantified by the IMPROVE_A thermal-optical reflectance protocol. These real-world EFs are higher than those from previous laboratory-based measurements. Combustion conditions have larger effects on EFs than the fuel types. We also report the carbon mass fractions of our aerosol samples determined using the thermal-optical reflectance method. The mass fraction profiles are consistent between the three fuel categories but markedly different from those reported in past literature – including the source profiles for wood stove PM2.5 emissions developed as inputs to receptor modeling studies conducted by the Central Pollution Control Board of India. Thermally stable OC (OC3 in the IMPROVE_A protocol) contributed nearly 50 % of the total carbon mass for emissions from all fuels.
High-Level Self-Sustaining Information Security Management Framework

This paper is aimed to provide the inclusive approach of collaborative information security management framework architectural reference model. Integration and performance based design of information security models will be revised in sake to provide integrated holistic methodology for construction of a High-level self-sustaining information security management framework (HISM). In addition, this paper summarizes investigations of existing information security management frameworks and models as well as identifies the advantages of the framework proposed by the authors. Future research directions are discussed.
Networkability in the Health Care Sector - Necessity, Measurement and Systematic Development as the Prerequisites for Increasing the Operational Efficiency of Administrative Processes

The health care sector is characterised by a low division of labour and annually rising costs. In order to increase effectiveness and efficiency, other sectors have implemented a high division of labour and extensive networking, in particular through the use of IT. In the health care sector, however, networking is only progressing at a very slow pace and not along a wide front. While initial approaches to networking already exist at the technical level or for the purpose of process optimisation, holistic approaches are missing. In this article, the authors first show how a generic, holistic framework for designing networked structures can be transferred to the health care sector. Then the concept of networkability and its design objects are introduced. In order to assess networkability, the use of development levels for design objects is proposed so that a maturity stage model can be derived on this basis for the various players in the health care sector. Thereafter the results of an expert workshop regarding the main design objects which determine networkability in the health care sector are presented. The article concludes with a description of the procedure for validating and further developing the findings obtained.
Trade, FDI, and International Technology Diffusion

This paper examines international trade and foreign direct investmen channels for technology diffusion among industrialized countries. We find st empirical support for capital goods trade as a channel for internatio technology diffusion and some evidence that multinational enterprises (out FDI) transmit foreign technology back to the home country. We find no evid that inward FDI is a significant channel for international technology diffusi among industrialized countries. Our results also show that technology diffus disembodied forms, with countries that are farther from the world techno frontier benefiting more. • JEL Classifications: F15, F21, O40 •
GaMa Feedback Learning Model: Basic Concept and Design

Ideally, in learning there should be one teacher for one student, supported by sufficient instruments, and appropriate methods. Currently, in universities, a lecturer assists a number of students. Teachers have limited time to monitor and help a student overcome their learning problems. This paper proposes a mastery learning model using e-learning that applied control mechanism to solve above problems. It applies to group learning; yet, its object is in fact individual learning. Teachers have plenty of time to supervise, evaluate, and take necessary actions when finding a student with learning problems. The principles of control mechanism can be operated if it is already equipped with Learning Management System (LMS), in which it has been enriched with Intelligent Tutoring System (ITS) and appropriate instructional. The students will be more autonomous and the teachers serve more as monitors and assistants to promote a bigger number of students that can achieve mastery.
Proximal iterative Gaussian smoothing algorithm for a class of nonsmooth convex minimization problems

In this paper, we consider the problem of minimizing a convex objective which is the sum of three parts: a smooth part, a simple non-smooth Lipschitz part, and a simple non-smooth non-Lipschitz part. A novel optimization algorithm is proposed for solving this problem. By making use of the Gaussian smoothing function of the functions occurring in the objective, we smooth the second part to a convex and differentiable function with Lipschitz continuous gradient by using both variable and constant smoothing parameters. The resulting problem is solved via an accelerated proximal-gradient method and this allows us to recover approximately the optimal solutions to the initial optimization problem with a rate of convergence of order $O(\frac{\ln k}{k})$ for variable smoothing and of order $O(\frac{1}{k})$ for constant smoothing.
The impact of market forces on the provision of childcare: Insights from the 2005 Childcare Act in the Netherlands

In January 2005, the Dutch government introduced the Childcare Act which replaced the former financing system which had elements of both supply- and demand-financing with a fully demand-financing system. Whereas previously public funds partly flowed to suppliers in the form of subsidies granted by local municipalities, they now flow exclusively to parents who are free to choose their childcare provider. This reform was intended to stimulate market forces in the market for childcare. This paper examines the impact of the introduction of market forces on the provision of childcare in the Netherlands.
The Fourth Industrial Revolution: Opportunities and Challenges

The fourth industrial revolution, a term coined by Klaus Schwab, founder and executive chairman of the World Economic Forum, describes a world where individuals move between digital domains and offline reality with the use of connected technology to enable and manage their lives. (Miller 2015, 3) The first industrial revolution changed our lives and economy from an agrarian and handicraft economy to one dominated by industry and machine manufacturing. Oil and electricity facilitated mass production in the second industrial revolution. In the third industrial revolution, information technology was used to automate production. Although each industrial revolution is often considered a separate event, together they can be better understood as a series of events building upon innovations of the previous revolution and leading to more advanced forms of production. This article discusses the major features of the four industrial revolutions, the opportunities of the fourth industrial revolution, and the challenges of the fourth industrial revolution.
Cross Compliance of CAP First Pillar Measures: A Transaction Costs Assessment

The 2003 review of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) has introduced several new policy tools, among which cross-compliance. The introduction of this new policy entails production costs, along with other types of costs arising at the farm level: administrative, information, organisational costs, called transaction costs. The purpose of this paper is to determine the nature of transaction costs and to assess them. The literature on transaction costs in agriculture has, until now, mainly been devoted to the voluntary measures implemented within the framework of the European agri-environmental policy. The first part of the paper intends to use this literature to apply the private transaction costs analysis to the issue of cross compliance. The second part attempts to assess these costs. On the basis of a survey conducted in 2006 among a sample of 39 farmers from the Midi Pyrenees French region, a descriptive statistical analysis (Multiple Classification Analysis - MCA) permits to associate farmer profiles with different levels of incurred transaction costs. These profiles reveal the impact which the farmers’ responsibilities (professional networks) and the role of voluntary commitments previously undertaken may have on the nature and importance of transaction costs. This paper opens up new perspectives on the adoption criteria that should be taken into account in the evolution of agri-environmental regulations. It appears that growing administrative requirements could prompt farmers to outsource tasks which most of them carry out on their own today.
Interactive Global Illumination Effects Using Deterministically Directed Layered Depth Maps

A layered depth map is an extension of the well-known depth map used in rasterization. Multiple layered depth maps can be used as a coarse scene representation. We develop two global illumination methods which use said scene representation. The first is an interactive ambient occlusion method. The second is an interactive singlebounce indirect lighting method based on photon differentials. All of this is implemented in a rasterization-based pipeline.
Internal Mechanisms of Governance and Risk Bearing of Banks: The Case of the CEMAC Zone

This work tries to study the relationship between the internal mechanisms of governance and the bearing of financial risk by 20 banks in the CEMAC region during the period 2007-2013. The results suggest that a small size of the board of directors enables the exercise of managerial control, institutional and foreign directors do not have a significant impact on risk bearing contrary to theoretical predictions whereas public directors have a positive and significant impact on risk bearing. The size of the bank as well as iti¯s capitalisation tend to reduce risk bearing translating an effect of accumulation of experience and diversification of activities as well as bank capitalisation. On the contrary ownership structure has no significant impact on risk taking.
On-line PTR-MS measurements of atmospheric concentrations of volatile organic compounds in a European boreal forest ecosystem

On-line measurements of atmospheric VOC concentrations in the European boreal zone with a proton transfer reaction mass spectrometer were conducted at SMEAR II station in Hyytiala, south-western Finland on 2-22 July 2004. The measurements showed a strong diurnal variation of several compounds. A factor analysis performed for the concentration data was used to classify the measured VOC masses into three classes based on the behavior of their concentrations. The masses in the first class had a high diurnal variation with maximum values in the afternoon. Compounds contributing to masses in this category were e.g. methanol, acetone, methyl-vinyl-ketone and hexanal. The concentrations of masses in the second class had also a high diurnal variation, but with maxima during the night when the mixing of the atmospheric surface layer was weak. Monoterpenes and phenol are compounds contributing to the masses in this category. The masses in the third class did not have a marked diurnal cycle and were not dependent on the local meteorological parameters. The masses having a strong positive loading on this factor were those associated with anthropogenic compounds with relatively long atmospheric life-times, such as benzene. Considering the difference in the measurement height, the total monoterpene concentration measured by the PTR-MS was consistent with the concentration measured by gas chromatography-mass spectrometer with adsorbent sampling.