Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Diatoms as Indicator of Pollution Gradients of the River Ganga, Allahabad, India

Fresh waters are perhaps the most vulnerable habitats and are most likely to be changed by the activities of man. This essential resource is becoming increasingly scarce in many parts of the world due to the severe impairment of water quality. City wastes contribute at least 2/3 of the organic matter entering into our water resources. Within the last decades, limnologists have aimed at describing the structure and function of streams; a short review of concept in river ecology is given a Townsend (1996). The demand was for a more integrated assessment of rivers system that could evaluate the various and widereaching impacts of anthropogenic activities on the aquatic environment (Chovanec and Winkler, 1994; Tallberg et al., 1999; Muhur et al., 2000; Muhur and Jungwirth, 1998; Chovanec et. al., 2000; Dwivedi et al., 2012. Dwivedi and Srivastava, 2015; Dwivedi, 2016c). These activities, including wastewater discharge, changes of habitat structure and connectivity aspects, as well as altered flow regimes, are often complex and difficult to describe directly in terms of their ecological repercussions. Phytoplankton encountered in the water body reflects the average ecological condition and therefore, they may be used as The impact of liquid wastes from a city sewage/ waste water on the benthic diatoms in flowing waters has been studied for a period a year (May 2015April 2016). Water and algal samples were analyzed seasonally intervals at five sites along the course of the rivers Ganga, Allahabad. The hydrological strata of river water before the confluence of sewage / waste water were recorded low concentration of NH3 and other nutrients. At the entry of sewage/ waste water, the water showed considerable decline in dissolved oxygen content, increase in organic matter, hardness, CI, HCO3 and total dissolved solids. Diatoms constituted 61% by numerical abundance. Multiple regression analysis was employed to discover the relative importance of various physicochemical variables on the abundance and distribution of diatoms at various sampling stations. Mathematical equations were derived involving the physicochemical variables for better prediction of algal number. K e y w o r d s
Linkages between Foreign Direct Investment, Domestic Investment and Economic Growth in Malaysia

This paper examines the linkages between foreign direct investment (FDI), domestic investment and economic growth in Malaysia for the period of 1970-2009. Specifically, it attempts to determine the impact of FDI and domestic investment on economic growth respectively and whether FDI crowds in or crowds out domestic investment. It is expected that the empirical analysis and findings would show some insightful implications to the policy makers and market players. Furthermore, the recently announced Tenth Malaysia Plan attaches an important mission of leading the country towards a high-income nation. The private sector is in a critical position to drive this new growth aspiration. The question of how to attract investment is foreseen to become a “hot” debate topic once again despite numerous previous studies on the subject.
Industry Association Influence Upon State Aquaculture Policy in the North Central Region

States within the North Central Region of the U.S. differ in their approaches to regulating the aquaculture industry. According to interest group theory, these policy differences may be attributable to differences in the abilities of state aquaculture associations to influence state policy makers. The influence abilities of six aquaculture industry associations were examined in relation to the corresponding state policy outputs. Influence was defined in terms of each group's relative cohesion, power, and access to policy makers at both the administrative and legislative levels. Each component was measured separately and subsequently aggregated to form an overall influence index for each association. State policy outputs were assessed by means of a matrix analysis which enabled the states to be ranked in order of regulatory control. A moderately positive relationship was found between association influence and state policy output. Power and access variables were indicated as the more important determinants of influence. Factors external to the groups themselves, such as the political and social cultures of the states, also played an important role in aquaculture association influence upon state-level policies.
INSULIN RESISTANCE AMONG BISPHENOL A EXPOSED WORKERS IN FIBERGLASS PIPES INDUSTRY

Introduction: Despite that bisphenol A (BPA) was widely used in industry, it can exert a number of toxicological effects on tissues mainly the endocrine system through its estrogenic action. Aim of work: The aim of the study was to evaluate the possible effect of occupational exposure of BPA on insulin homeostasis and diabetes mellitus. Materials and Methods: A case control cross sectional study was performed in one of the international factories manufacturing fiberglass and PVC pipes located in 6th of October City. The study population was divided into 2 groups; an exposed group consisted of 40 workers occupationally-exposed to BPA and a control group of 45 workers from outpatient clinic in Kasr Al Aini hospital. The exposed group was subdivided into 2 subgroups according to insulin resistance index: 1) Bisphenol A exposed subgroup with insulin resistance index < 4 (n=31), 2) Bisphenol A exposed subgroup with insulin resistance index ≥ 4 (n=9). The whole studied population was subjected to a detailed questionnaire including personal and medical history. General and systemic examinations were performed in addition to measuring both height and weight to all subjects to calculate BMI. All participants were subjected to laboratory investigations in the form of serum insulin level, fasting blood sugar (FBS) and 2 hours post prandial blood sugar level (2hPPBS). Urine level of BPA was estimated as a biomarker for BPA exposure. Statistical analysis was done using (SPSS) Statistical Package for Special Sciences version 16. Results: This study showed an elevation in urinary BPA level among workers as well as an increased insulin level, fasting blood sugar and post prandial blood sugar levels. The prevalence of type 2 diabetes mellitus and insulin resistance was higher among the exposed group with positive correlation with the urinary BPA level. Conclusion: occupational exposure to BPA increases the risk of developing insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes mellitus.
Adolescent girls, capabilities and gender justice: Review of the literature for East

M ainstream development actors increasingly recognise that investment in young women and girls is an effective and necessary means of reaching development goals. High-profile campaigns such as Plan International’s ‘Because I am a Girl’, the 2005 and 2010 follow-ups to the Beijing Platform for Action in Africa (Beijing +10 and Beijing +15) and the UN Girls’ Education Initiative have made explicit the links between poverty and discrimination against girls. Some major successes have been achieved, especially concerning gender parity in primary education, but girls throughout the developing world continue to be constrained by the intergenerational transmission of poverty and gender inequality. The approaching deadline for achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) provides an opportunity to infuse development and poverty reduction frameworks with a more nuanced understanding of persistent gender discrimination, which is essential to support gender justice and enable girls and young women to realise a full and productive life. This Background Note synthesises the results of three extensive literature reviews prepared as part of continuing work by the Overseas Development Institute (ODI) exploring the extent to which gender justice for adolescent girls is shaped by formal and informal laws, norms, attitudes and practices that limit them in the attainment and exercise of their capabilities. Providing a snapshot of the social, economic and political conditions that shape girls’ everyday lives, this paper covers reviews conducted over three regions: East and SouthEast Asia (ESEA), South Asia (SA) and East Africa and the Horn of Africa (EA) (Figure 1). These regions were chosen to represent geographic diversity and a range of levels of economic development, socio-cultural institutions and governance conditions, including fragile and conflict/ post-conflict state contexts. Coming country studies will bear out the analysis of these individual topical areas through direct study of four focus countries: Ethiopia (fragile), Nepal (post-conflict), Uganda (fragile/postconflict) and Viet Nam (stable). Future reports will examine policy, programmes or interventions intended to address gender injustice or enhance girls’ capabilities.
Vitreous Levels of CD4, CD8 and CD28 T-Lymphocytes in Patients with Proliferative Diabetic Retinopathy and Proliferative Vitreoretinopathy

3 Abstract: This is a prospective comparative non-randomized study aimed to detect T-lymphocyte subsets expression in the vitreous fluid of patients with proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR) and proliferative vitreoretinopathy (PVR) and to evaluate their role in the pathogenesis of these diseases. This study included 3 groups of patients undergoing vitrectomy for PDR (Group I), PVR (Group II) and for other pathologies serving as control (Group III). Vitreous and blood samples were collected from all patients. Flow cytometry was used to detect CD4, CD8 and CD28 expression in the vitreous as compared to peripheral blood. Results revealed that ten (43.4%) patients had PDR. Six patients (26%) had PVR. The control group consisted of 7 patients (30.4%). T-lymphocytes were detected in vitreous fluid of all PDR patients and all PVR patients but in none of the 7 control patients. In conclusion, flow cytometry analysis of vitreous fluid promotes better understanding of the intraocular immune response implicated in the pathogenesis of PDR and PVR.
Collective two-particle resonances induced by photon entanglement

An assembly of noninteracting atoms may become correlated upon interaction with entangled photons, and certain elements of their joint density matrix can then show collective resonances. We explore experimental signatures of these resonances in the nonlinear response of a pair of two-level atoms. We find that these resonances are canceled out in stimulated signals such as pump-probe and two-photon absorption due to the destructive interference of two-photon-absorption and emission pathways in the joint two-particle space. However, they may be observed in photon statistics (Hanbury-Brown-Twiss) measurements through the attenuation of two-time intensity correlations.
It Takes Three to Tango in Employment: Matching Vocational Education, Organizations and Students and Companies in Labour market

We examine the determinants of labour market status after the initial vocational basic education (ISCED 3) by use of unique linked register data on students, their parents, teachers, educational organisations and business companies in Finland. We distinguish between four outcomes : 1) employment 2) further studies 3) non-employment and 4) drop-out. The explanatory factors are classified into three main groups : the characteristics of 1) the educational organisation and their institutions, 2) the students and 3) the local business conditions. Teaching expenditures do not matter but teachers skills do. Parental background plays a central role. Local business development matters for boys.
Development of A New Efficient Routing Scheme for WiMAX Mesh Networks

The emerging WiMAX (Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access) technology (IEEE 802.16) can offer low-cost, high speed and long- range communications. The WiMAX supports a point-to- multipoint (PMP) topology and a mesh topology. A WiMAX network is composed of a Base Station (BS) and multiple Subscriber Station (SS). A BS is the mother node and the SS is the child node, though a SS can also be a mother node of a SS if the child node is connected with him to reach to the BS. The BS serves as a gateway connecting to external networks such as the Internet. Number of nodes situated beside a node is called neighbor nodes. In PMP architecture, there is a multi-hop mesh that can be used to gain the high speed wide area network. Again in mesh topology, it increases the wireless coverage and reconfigures ability. In this mode performance depends on a good routing and scheduling protocol. Routing is the way by which a SS will connect with the BS. A good and efficient routing algorithm along with a scheduling algorithm can improve the total network performance significantly. Scheduling algorithm gives the time slot to all SS in a way so that a SS can transmit data or signal in that time slot. There are many research scopes on IEEE 802.16 mesh network especially in routing and scheduling protocol. The purpose of our thesis work is to propose a new routing algorithm to maximize the performance of the network.
Short-Term Effect of Drought and Salinity on Growth and Mineral Elements in Wheat Seedlings

ABSTRACT Both drought and salinity cause nutrient disturbance, albeit for different reasons: a decrease in the diffusion rate of nutrients in the soil and the restricted transpiration rates in plants for drought and extreme soil sodium (Na)/calcium (Ca), Na/potassium (K), and chloride (Cl)/nitrate (NO3) ratios for salinity. The objective of this study was to examine short-term effects of drought and salinity on nutrient disturbance in wheat seedlings. Wheat was grown in a greenhouse in soil under drought and saline conditions for 26 days after sowing. At harvest, shoot biomass and length, and fresh weight and dry weight of the blade and sheath in expanded leaves 3 and 4 and expanding leaf 5 were determined. Mineral elements (K, Ca, magnesium (Mg), phosphorus (P), nitrogen (N), Na, sulphur (S), iron (Fe), zinc (Zn), and manganese (Mn)) in leaf blades and sheaths were also analyzed. At harvest, the reduction in plant height, shoot biomass, and accumulative evapotranspiration under drought was similar to that under salinity as compared with control plants. However, drought decreased the accumulation of all ions in the blade of the youngest leaf 5 compared with the control, whereas there was either an increase or no difference in all ion concentrations under saline conditions. The change in concentration for most ions in the blade and sheath of expanded leaves 3 and 4 varied among control, drought, and salinity plants, which indicated a different competition for nutrients between the sheath and blade of expanded leaves under drought and saline conditions. It can be concluded from this study that ion deficiency might occur in expanding leaves under drought but not saline conditions.
The mediating role of total quality management between entrepreneurial orientation and SMEs export performance

The purpose of this study was to investigate the mediating role of total quality management (TQM) between entrepreneurial orientation (EO) and SME export performance in the manufacturing sector of Pakistan. This study was originated from the fact that only a few studies have examined on how the firm’s intangible resources and capabilities such as EO and TQM drive SMEs’ export performance. Some questionnaires in Likert scale were used to collect the data and 364 usable responses were received from the owner/managers of exporting SMEs. Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) was used for the data analysis. The findings reveal significant relationship between EO and TQM with SME export performance. Furthermore, this study found the complementary mediating role of TQM between EO and SME export performance of manufacturing sector of Pakistan. This study has implications for owner/managers of SMEs. The results offer a better understanding regarding EO and TQM implementation to SMEs owner / managers. Thus, owner/managers of SMEs can take better decisions for the implementation of TQM practices. Furthermore, to the best of researcher’s knowledge, this study is the first work, which examines Pakistan`s SMEs export performance in association with the TQM as the mediating factor between EO and SME export performance.
Can Profit Sharing Lower Flexible Outsourcing? A Note

We analyze the following question associated with flexible outsourcing under imperfect domestic labour market: How does the implementation of profit sharing influence flexible outsourcing? We show that in general profit sharing has a negative effect on low skilled wage and thus an outsourcing decreasing character. However due to labour union determination of effort a constant effort level will result so that in this case firm's optimal choice of profit sharing is zero.
The Gerber-Shiu Discounted Penalty Function of Sparre Andersen Risk Model with a Constant Dividend Barrier

This paper constructs a Sparre Andersen risk model with a constant dividend barrier in which the claim interarrival distribution is a mixture of an exponential distribution and an Erlang(n) distribution. We derive the integro-differential equation satisfied by the Gerber-Shiu discounted penalty function of this risk model. Finally, we provide a numerical example.
Diapycnal dissolved organic matter supply into the upper 
Peruvian 
oxycline

Abstract. The Eastern Tropical South Pacific (ETSP) hosts the Peruvian upwelling system, which represents one of the most productive areas in the world ocean. High primary production followed by rapid heterotrophic utilization of organic matter supports the formation of one of the most intense oxygen minimum zones (OMZ) in the world ocean where dissolved oxygen (O2) concentrations reach well below 1 µmol kg−1. The high productivity leads to an accumulation of dissolved organic matter (DOM) in the surface layers that may serve as a substrate for heterotrophic respiration. However, the importance of DOM utilization for O2 respiration within the Peruvian OMZ remains unclear so far. Here, we evaluate the diapycnal fluxes of O2, dissolved organic carbon (DOC), dissolved organic nitrogen, dissolved hydrolysable amino acids (DHAA) and dissolved combined carbohydrates (DCCHO) and the composition of DOM in the ETSP off Peru to learn, whether labile DOM is reaching into the core of the OMZ and how important DOM utilization might be for O2 attenuation. The observed diapycnal 2 flux (50 mmol O2 m−2 day−1 at max) was limited to the upper 80 m of the water column, the flux attenuation of ~1 µmol L−1day−1, was comparable to previously published O2 consumption rates for the North and South Pacific OMZs. The diapycnal DOM flux (31 mmol C m−2 day−1 at max) was limited to ~30 m water depth, suggesting that the labile DOM is already utilized within the upper part of the shallow oxycline off Peru. The analyses of DCCHO and DHAA composition support this finding, suggesting that DOM undergoes comprehensive remineralization already within the upper part of the oxycline, as the DOM within the core of the OMZ was found to be largely altered. Estimated by a simple equation for carbon combustion, aerobic respiration of DCCHO and DHAA, supplied by diapycnal mixing (0.46 µmol L−1 day−1 at max), could account for up to 38 % of the diapycnal O2 supply in the upper oxycline, which suggests that DOM utilization may play a significant role for shape of the upper Peruvian oxycline.
The relationship between locus of control, gender, and academic achievement

Helene Eksterowicz The Relationship Between Locus of Control, Gender, and Academic Achievement 1999 Advisors: Dr. Klanderman and Dr. Dihoff School Psychology MA Program This study intended to look at the relationship between locus of control, gender, and academic achievement. The following variables were used: Rotter's I-E scale, Trice's Academic Locus of Control Scale, gender, and college GPA/grades. A sample of 59 subjects (36 female, 23 males) were obtained from the Rowan University student body and each were given the two scales. Six hypotheses were tested using correlational statistics such as the Pearson r, independent t-test, and analysis of means. Results found that a positive relationship existed between Rotter's and Trice's scales. It was also found that although no relationship existed between Rotter's scale and GPA/grades, a significant correlation was found between Trice's measure and GPA/grades. In addition, sex differences were found using Trice's measure but not Rotter's scale. Significant differences were also found between the sexes on the variables of GPA and grade scores, with females possessing higher GPA and grades. Lastly, upon analyzing the mean scores of both sexes on samples cited in Rotter's 1966 article and that of the current Rowan sample, it was found that there were indeed apparent differences; mainly, individuals from both sexes of the Rowan 1998 study tended to score more externally as compared to
Qualitative Determination of Lignocellulolytic Enzymes in Eight Wood-Decomposing Fungi

Many fungal species are capable of degrading wood components by the secretion of specialized enzymes including the lignocellulotyic enzymes. A qualitative study was conducted to determine the production of lignocellulotyic enzymes in eight wood-decomposing fungi: Armillaria mellea, Auricularia auricular, Chaetomium cupreum, Daedalea elegans, Fomes noxious, Ganoderma applanatum, Laetiporus sulphureus and Pleurotus pulmonarius. The dye diffusion method was used in determining the cellulose and hemicellulose modifying enzymes, while brilliant blue agar clearance method of qualitative assay (using brilliant cresyl blue C.I.52010 dye) was used in determining the lignin modifying enzymes production by the fungi. The results showed that Armillaria mellea, C. cupreum, F. noxious and L. sulphureus tested positive for the production of cellulose and hemicellulose modifying enzymes, while Auricularia auricular, D. elegans , G. applanatum and P. pulmonarius tested positive for lignin modifying enzymes, negative for cellulose and hemicellulose modifying enzymes. Armillaria mellea and Chaetomium cupreum appeared to possess all the lignocellulose modifying enzymes tested. This study showed that all the 8 wood decomposing fungi have at least one lignocellulolytic enzyme that could be utilized for industrial purposes, especially in chemical, fuel and food industries. Keywords : Cellulose, Enzymes, Fungi, Lignin, Lignocellulose
Electric Wind Produced by a Surface Dielectric Barrier Discharge Operating Over a Wide Range of Relative Humidity

The use of plasma actuators for airflow control cou ld be restricted to specific atmospheric conditions. Pressure, temperature and relative humi dity could affect the effectiveness of surface plasma discharge by disturbing the plasma regime. In the present study, the effects of humid ambient air are investigated. A typical dielectric barrier discharge actuator is operated in relative humidity (RH) ranging from 40% up to 98%. The current behaviour of the plasma discharge is analyzed and time-averaged and time-resolved measurements of the produced electric wind are proposed. Two plasma discharge modes are observed, regardless of the relative humidity. A brief statistical analysis of the curre nt discharge indicates that the number of negative current peaks is reduced when RH is increased. Positive current peaks also encounter a decrease in number for RH from 40% up to 85%. At higher RH, the number of positive current peaks drastically increases, presumably due to cond ensation over the dielectric material. Nevertheless, the present results demonstrate that DBD actuators can be operated at high relative humidity. Measurements of the induced electric wind clearly indicate a reduction of the momentum transfer effectiveness for increasing RH levels. Indeed, beyond 70% of RH, the electric wind production is weaker but the actuator conserves it capability to transfer momentum at the applied electrical frequency. Moreover, the detrimental effects of high RH on the actuator effectiveness can easily be compensate d by increasing the applied high-voltage.