Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Predicting corporate financial distress in Sri Lanka with reference to Z-score model

Financial Distress is a problem spread all over the world from the history. Even though there are ample research studies on this area, the empirical results on this area provide inconclusive results. The majority of the research works focused only on the bankruptcy and not on the financial distress. Hence, the main purpose of this study is to develop a better financial distress prediction model for Sri Lankan companies using the Z-score model. Multivariate Discriminate Analysis (MDA) was used as the analytical technique and simultaneous estimation method has used to enter the variables in the analysis. The study has examined four accounting ratios for 134 distressed and non-distressed companies from 2002 to 2011. The study has found that the derived model which consists of four accounting ratios is capable of predicting financial distress of quoted public companies in Sri Lanka with 76.9% accurate one year prior to distress. Further, the model has the financial distress predicting ability of 74.6% and 67.2% two years and three years prior to distress respectively. This model can be used to assist investors, creditors, managers, auditors and regulatory bodies in Sri Lanka to predict the financial distress. The Kelaniya Journal of Management, Vol. 3(1); 2014: 1-22
The Hidden Danger: Unintended Overdose With Prescription Medication Due to Non-Medical Use

The non-medical use of pharmaceuticals, which is defined as the intentional intake of medication that is not medically necessary, has become recognised as a public health problem. Many women engaged in non-medical prescription use suffer concurrent mental health problems, often associated with the current and/or past exposure to violence in the home. In these cases, complex clinical presentations are to be entangled, with reports that the substances are used as a coping mechanism, particularly, when sexual violence is part of the victimisation history. This article provides insight into the complex interplay between victimisation experiences, mental health problems and substance use as well as the increased recognition of the danger of accidental overdoses. It demonstrates the importance of flexible multidisciplinary support from specialist services for clients who present with multiple comorbidities and vulnerabilities. As such, the article advocates for multidisciplinary management, which allows assisting women with complex presentations utilising collaborative care provided by an interdisciplinary team.
The effect of Cucumis sativus L. and Cucumbita pepo L. (Cucurbitaceae) aqueous preparations on galactose-induced cataract in Sprague-Dawley rats

In Ghana cataract is said to be the leading cause of blindness. However, management through surgery is accompanied by several adverse effects and takes care of only about a quarter of the need. The study therefore was aimed at investigating claims that Cucumis sativus andCucumbita pepo have anti-cataract properties. Prior to induction of cataract in Sprague-Dawley rats using galactose and through the cataract induction period, groups of rats were treated with 50, 100, and 150 mg/kg of preparations of C. sativus or C. pepo, per os, daily and compared with controls. An acute and delayed toxicity study was also performed on the herbal products. The galactose only treated group showed consistently significant (P ≤ 0.001) development of cataract over the 4-week study period. The Cucumis sativus and Cucumbita pepo preparations steadily and significantly (P ≤ 0.001) delayed cataract formation over the period, with Cucumbita pepo performing better. The cataract scores recorded for the combined treatment with the herbal preparations and galactose were significantly lower (P ≤ 0.001) compared to galactose only treated group. Doses below 150 mg/kg ingested did not show acute toxic symptoms and mortality. This study therefore has established that Cucumis sativus and Cucumbita pepo when used in lower doses regularly could be effective in delaying cataractogenesis. The No-Observable-Adverse-Effect level (NOAEL) was 50-150 mg/kg; LD50was greater than 250 mg/kg.
Optical response features of Si-nanoparticle arrays

Periodic structures of spherical silicon particles are analyzed using the coupled-dipole equations for studying optical response features and local electromagnetic fields. The model takes into account the electric and magnetic dipole moments of the particles embedded in a homogeneous dielectric medium. Particles with radius of 65 nm and larger are considered. It is shown that, due to the large permittivity of silicon, the first two Mie resonances are located in the region of visible light, where the absorption is small and the extinction is basically determined by scattering. The main contribution is given by the induced magnetic and electric dipoles of the particles. Thus, in contrast to metal particle arrays, here is a possibility to combine separately either the electric or magnetic dipole resonances of individual particles with the structural features. As a result, extinction spectra can have additional narrow resonant peaks connected with multiple light scattering by the magnetic dipoles and displaying a Fano-type resonant profile. Reflection and transmission properties of the Si particle arrays are investigated and the conditions of low light reflection and transmission by the particle arrays are discussed, as well as the applicability of the dipole approach. It is shown that the light transmission of finite-size arrays of Si particles can be significantly suppressed at the conditions of the particle magnetic dipole resonance. It is demonstrated that, using resonant conditions, one can separately control the enhancements of local electric and magnetic fields in the structures.
DUAL BAND DIPOLE ANTENNA WITH HARMONIC SUPPRESSION CAPABILITY

Wireless communication system has become very popular, and has been developed rapidly over last one and a half decade. Wireless devices that operate in multiband frequencies, with smaller size, are now used by almost everyone. In this work, multiband dipole antenna with harmonic suppression capability has been designed. The dual-band dipole antenna has been vigorous, since it is simple, easy to be designed and fabricated. However, higher order modes (HOM) in these multiband antennas gives problems when designing such type of antennas. The proposed antenna consists of two designs; first design is building single parasitic element which generates 0.8 GHz, 2.4 GHz and 4 GHz; while the second design was realized by adding three parasitic elements on both sides of the two arms of the design with same frequencies of the first design which generates another frequency component of 5.1 GHz. They are named as MDA1PE and MDA3PE, respectively. The unwanted frequencies have been suppressed by adding the stub. The first design has successfully eliminated frequency component of 4 GHz , while the second design has suppressed frequencies of 4 GHz and 5.1 GHz. The suppression leads to elimination of possible noise interference through removing the unwanted frequencies. Hence, the final design is dual band (0.8 GHz and 2.4 GHz) dipole antenna which is free from noise interference. The proposed concept has been investigated through simulation in CST Microwave studio and actual experimental works. The simulation and experimental results confirm the validity of the proposed antenna. There have been matching agreements between both simulation and measurements results.
Emotional Intelligence and Substance Abuse in College Students

In this study, the relationship between Emotional Intelligence (EI) and substance abuse was examined. Limited research has been conducted to examine the role of EI as a contributing factor in a college student’s propensity to engage in substance abuse related behaviors. This study utilized correlation analyses to explore the relationship between the constructs of EI and substance abuse among a college student sample (N = 105). EI encompasses a subscale of abilities (perception of emotions, managing emotions in the self, social skills or managing others’ emotions, and utilizing emotions) that were measured in undergraduate college students who completed the Schutte Self Report Emotional Intelligence Test, and The Simple Screening Instrument for Substance Abuse Self-Administered Form. Based on the EI construct, 6 research questions were generated. The study utilized Descriptive Statistics, an Independent Samples TTest, a Pearson Product-Moment Coefficient of correlation (Pearson r), and Analysis of Variance to evaluate differences that existed between groups and the relationship between the variables of Emotional Intelligence and Substance Abuse. The results demonstrated a statistically significant relationship existed between the EI subscale of managing emotions in the self and substance abuse at the -. 215 level. This study adds to the existing knowledge of the role of EI as a predictor of risky substance use.
Dissecting Taylor Rules in a Structural VAR

This paper uncovers Taylor rules from estimated monetary policy reactions using a structural VAR on U.S. data from 1959 to 2009. These Taylor rules reveal the dynamic nature of policy responses to different structural shocks. We find that U.S. monetary policy has been far more responsive over time to demand shocks than to supply shocks, and more aggressive toward inflation than output growth. Our estimated dynamic policy coefficients characterize the style of policy as a "bang-bang" control for the pre-1979 period and as a gradual control for the post-1979 period.
Protexin Probiotic and Aquablend Avian Antibody Effects on Broilers breeding, improved feed

Food safety and feed conversion ratio are very important in the production of foods of animal origin. The increased population sizes of farm animals, clustering of food animal production units and the intensive global transport of live animals and animal products facilitate the spread of zoonotic pathogens. Moreover, farm animal health is severely affected by gastro-intestinal infections that occur frequently under large sized farming conditions. Thus, strategies aimed to improve farm animal health may have impact on both animal and public health. In addition, improvement of intestinal health will lead to lower costs since animals with impaired intestinal health have a reduced appetite and / or diarrhea, resulting in a reduced nutrient uptake and, therefore, negatively affect the feed conversion ratio. Additionally, the following immune response may trigger muscle wasting by increasing catabolism to fulfill the excessive need for amino acids necessary to produce immune response effectors, such as cytokines and antibodies (Thomke and Elwinger, 1998). To promote growth, farm animal feed has been supplemented with sub therapeutical doses of antibiotics, so-called growth-promoting antibiotics (GPAs), since the mid-1940’s (Dibner and Richards, 2005). During the first three decades of their use in feed, mean increases of body weight ≥ 8% for Penicillin and Tetracycline were reported (Graham et al. 2007). However, nowadays the magnitude of these effects is marginal, due to selective This study was conducted to investigate the effects of protexin probiotic and aquablend avian antibody on the performance and immune system of broilers. In this experiment, 320 1-day-old male broiler chicks of the Ross 308, with 5 treatments and 4 replications in a completely randomized design were distributed in experimental units (cages). The treatments include: control (C), protexin (P1), protexin (P2) with double there commended dose, aquablend (A1) and aquablend (A2) aquablend twice there commended amount. The results showed that protexin probiotic and aquablend avian antibody in different doses had no significant effects on average weight gain and feed consumption of broilers at different week (P>0.05). A significant difference between treatments was observed in feed conversion ratio at the second and fifth weeks (P<0.05). Consumption protexin probiotic and aquablend avian antibody with different doses has significant effect on the relative weight of carcasses (P<0.01). Consumption protexin probiotic and aquablend avian antibody with different doses had no significant effect on antibody titers produced in primary and secondary challenge with sheep red blood cells (P>0.05). According to results of this research, it seems that the using of protexin probiotic and aquablend avian antibody has not importance effect on improving the performance of broilers except for carcass weight.
Information-oriented design and game AI

Information is a resource that every AI relies on to operate effectively. Although information influences the capabilities and performance of AIs, it is not treated as a design issue. Changing the information available to an AI can potentially enhance or cripple its performance. More direct evaluation of issues such as information selection and acquisition can improve the performance of existing AI implementations. The influence of information on AI behaviour is examined with an emphasis on virtual worlds and game AI, as this domain provides both an effective research environment and opportunities for tangible improvements to AI behaviour.
The empirical evidence for corporate tax competition among the EU member states

Abstract The paper is focused on the problem of corporate tax competition in EU as one of the current key issues for EU member states tax policies. The main objective is to empirically verify theoretical assumptions about corporate tax competition among EU member states. Based on the available empirical data we analyzed trends in effective and statutory tax rates and tested the theoretical assumption of possible spontaneous tax coordination. We found almost no support for spontaneous tax coordination for EU as a whole, but it appears to be more evident among neighbouring member states as well as in within the same regions. The differences in corporate tax rates between neighbour countries are mostly smaller and tend to shrink over the time. We have used panel data cointegration analysis to test for, and DOLS and FMOLS panel estimators to estimate, the long-run parameters. Finally panel vector error correction models (VECM) were used to examine short-run as well as long-run dependencies among the corporate tax policies of neighbouring EU countries. Based on our results we find evidence for relatively strong relationships between neighbouring EU member states in corporate tax rate setting.
Intercultural Education of Nurses and health professionals in Europe 2 (IENE2): training the trainers

This paper reports on one stage of a European Union (EU)-funded project, Intercultural Education of Nurses and health professionals in Europe 2 (IENE2), that aimed to contribute to the vocational education and training (VET) of nurses andother healthcare professionals in Europe by enhancing the capacity of teachers to promote intercultural dialogue and the development of students’ ability to provide culturally competent care. A previous project (IENE1) produced a model for the development of cultural competence for use in the participating institutions. The project reported in this paper describes the transfer of this innovation to a wider audience. A needs analysis of a sample of teachers identified their training needs in relation to integrating the model into their curricula to prepare their students to work in multicultural environments and/or other European countries. The opinions of health services employers and senior managers were also elicited. The results of this investigation informed the production of a Train the Trainer package for use in a series of workshops for teachers in participating organisations.
The Effect of Hen Hatching Eggs Characteristics and Time of its Storage on Embryonic Mortality during Incubation

Hatching eggs of hens’ hybrid combination Shaver Starcross 288 were used to monitor effect of eggs characteristics and time of its storage on embryonic mortality during incubation. During experiment embryonic mortality of 26.604 pieces of hatching eggs in total was evaluated at age 28, 40, 52 and 64 weeks. Hatching eggs of average weight 6065 grams are most appropriate for hatching. Hatching yields from small (50-55 g) as well as from large eggs (70-75 g) are worse and embryonic mortality is higher. Embryonic mortality during incubation was highest in the third stage of incubation (last week of incubation). The best shapes of hatching eggs to achieve the best hatching results are within the shape index 70-75. Any deviation towards a pointed or round eggs lead to increased embryonic mortality. Upon storage of hatching eggs under standard conditions the differences in hatching results and embryonic mortality during the first 10 days were statistically insignificant. Significantly decreased hatchability and increased embryonic mortality was on the rise after 10 days of storage. The storage time of hens hatching eggs in compliance with all storage conditions may be extended to 10 days.
Anthropometrical profile of elite Spanish Judoka: Comparative analysis among ages

BackgroundJudoathletesusuallytrytomaximizemusclemassandtominimizeadiposityineachweightcategory,�butfew� studiesfocusedoncomparisonsofdifferentagecategoriesandlittleisknownaboutsexualdimorphismamong� judoathletes. �Theaimofthestudywastocompareanthropometricalvariablesinmaleandfemalejudokafrom� SpanishNationalTeams. �:� Eighty-sevennationallevelSpanishjudokafromallsevenweightcategoriestookpartinthisstudy:�females�(n=46)� -�cadet�(n=16),�junior�(n=12)�andsenior�(n=18);�males�(n=44)�-�cadet�(n=18),�junior�(n=15)�andsenior�(n=8). � Bodymass,�height,�skinfoldthickness,�circumferencesandbreadthanthropometricmeasurementswerecarriedout. � Somatotypecomponents,�bodymassindex,�bodyfatandmusclemasswerealsoestimated. �Atwoway�(genderand� agegroups)�analysisofvarianceandTukeytestwereusedtocomparegroups. � Results:� (1)�maleswereheavier,�taller,�hadlowerbodyfatandhighermusclemassabsoluteandrelativevalues,�circumfer- encesandbonediameters,�lowerendomorphicandhighermesomorphiccomponentsthanfemales;�(2)�forskin- foldthicknessmalespresentedlowervaluesinlimbs'�sitesthanfemales,�butnodifferencewasfoundintrunkskin- foldthicknesses;�(3)�fewdifferenceswerefoundamongagecategories,�withcadetspresentingsmallerflexedarm� circumferenceandhumerusepicondylebonebreadthcomparedtojuniorandseniors,�andlowerabsolutemuscle� masscomparedtoseniors;�(4)�tendencyforreducingsexualdimorphisminsomeanthropologicaldimensionsand� inendomorphicandmesomorphiccomponentswasobservedacrossagecategories. � Conclusions:� Morphologicallyhighlevelcadetjudoathletesarequitesimilartoolderathletesandcoachescanselectthemfrom� theseages. �Thesedatacanbeusedasreferencetocoachesandphysicalconditioningprofessionals.
A High Accurate Multiple Classifier System for Entity Resolution Using Resampling and Ensemble Selection

Classifiers are often used in entity resolution to classify record pairs into matches, nonmatches, and possible matches, the performance of classifiers is directly related to the performance of entity resolution. In this paper, we develop a multiple classifier system using resampling and ensemble selection. We make full use of the characteristics of entity resolution to distinguish ambiguous instances before classification, so that the algorithm can focus on the ambiguous instances in parallel. Instead of developing an empirical optimal resampling ratio, we vary the ratio in a range to generate multiple resampled data. Further, we use the resampled data to train multiple classifiers and then use ensemble selection to select the best classifiers subset, which is also the best resampling ratio combination. Empirical study shows our method has a relatively high accuracy compared to other state-of-the-art multiple classifiers systems.
The use of the addition of probiotics on the production growth and health of broilers.

Probiotic ingestion can be recommended as a preventative approach to maintaining the balance of the intestinal microflora and thereby enhance ‘well-being’. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of probiotics on the health and growth of broiler chickens. Feed stuff enriched with 0.10 % probiotics was used for this purpose. The experiment was carried out on two groups – control (without addition of probiotics) and experimental group (with addition of 0.10 % of probiotics). Samples of caecal chime were collected and the number of Enterococcus sp . from 5.79 to 5.85 log CFU.g -1 , the number of Lactobacillus sp. from 5.48 to 6.88 log CFU.g -1 , and the number of Enterobacteriaceae sp. from 6.92 to 7.06 log CFU.g -1 was determined. After feeding of feed mixtures with probiotics addition a decrease of Lactobacillus sp. and an increase of Enterococcus sp . counts was detected. Also the increase of Enterobacteriaceae sp. counts in the experimental group comparing with the control group was detected.
Marine alien species in Greek Seas: Additions and amendments by 2010

An update of the inventory of alien marine species from the coastal and offshore waters of Greece is presented. Records were compiled based on the existing scientific and grey literature, including the HCMR database of Greek alien species (ELNAIS), technical reports, scientific congresses, academic dissertations, websites, and unpublished/personal observations. 47 species were added to the inventory, including 34 invertebrates, one vertebrate (fish), three plants, eight protozoa, and one cyanobacterium. With the new records, the inventory of alien marine species of Greece now includes a total of 237 species (33 macrophytes, 131 invertebrates, 42 vertebrates, two bacteria and 29 protozoans). Among these, the presence of the gastropod Hypselodoris infucata , the bivalves Dendrostrea frons and Septifer forskali and the chondrichthyan Rhizoprionodon acutus is reported here for the first time. Based on molecular analysis, the occurrence of Bulla arabica in Greek waters is confirmed, and the suggestion that previous records of Bulla ampulla in the Mediterranean should be considered as misidentification of B. arabica is further supported. The acclimitization status of earlier records was revised in the light of new data, and thus the fish Enchelycore anatina , Seriola fasciata and Tylerius spinosissimus , the red algae Hypnea cornuta and Sarconema scinaioides , the scyphomedusa Cassiopea andromeda , the cephalopod Sepioteuthis lessoniana , the nudibranch Chromodoris annulata and the bivalves Gastrochaena cymbium and Pseudochama corbieri were upgraded from casual records to established populations. The increased rate of introductions of warm water species confirms previous findings, which link the rate of introduction in the eastern Mediterranean to climate change.
Numerical Simulation of Galvanic Corrosion between Carbon Steel and Low Alloy Steel in a Bolted Joint

The galvanic corrosion of a bolt joint combining carbon steel end plate and low alloy steel bolt was investigated electrochemically in a 1 M HCl solution. The corrosion parameters of the joint components were used for numerical simulation using Comsol Multiphysics software to analyze the galvanic corrosion behavior at the contact zone between the head bolt and the end plate. In this research work we evaluate the variation of the corrosion rate in the steel end plate considered as the anode, in order to determine the lifetime of the bolted assembly used in steel structures. Three materials (20MnCr5, 42CrMo4, and 32CrMoV13) and three bolts (M12, M16, and M20) were tested in two thicknesses of electrolyte 1 M HCl ( = 1 mm, = 20 mm). It is found that the corrosion rate of the anode part (end plate) is higher for 32CrMoV13 materials and it increases if both diameter of the bolt and thickness of the electrolyte increase (Cr(M20) > Cr(M16) > Cr(M12) and Cr( = 20 mm) > Cr( = 1 mm)). This corrosion rate is higher in the contact area between the bolt head and the end plate, and it decreases if we move away from this contact area.