Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Biochemical composition of five fish species (C. laticeps; D. rostratus; S. schall; S. mystus and H. bebe) from river Niger in Edo State, Nigeria

Five West Africa freshwater fishes namely Clarotes laticeps; Distichodus rostratus; Synodontis schall; Schilbe mystus and Hyperopisus bebe from the River Niger, Illushi, in Esan South East Local Government Area of Edo State were analysed to determine their biochemical composition. The fish specimens were purchased at the bank of the river, between June 2006 and January 2007. They were put in an iced box and immediately transported to the laboratory where routine body measurement and biochemical analysis were carried out. The result of the proximate compositions showed protein had a value of 11.29%; 23.59%; 11.79%; 12.95% and 14.10%, while lipid had a value of 5.49; 6.81; 8.80; 5.06 and 6.27. Moisture had a value of 68.81; 64.83; 67.76; 69.00; and 70.5 while ash had a value of 4.99; 3.74; 5.10; 4.29; 5.4 for C laticeps; D rostratus; S. schall; S. mystus and H. bebe respectively. This result shows that taste, size, freshness and other related external appearances should not be the only factors to be considered in making choice for marketing and consumption of fishes. The result obtained in this study has provided scientific information and detailed knowledge of the proximate composition of these five important commercial fish species.
A NON-OVERLAPPED PRINTED MONOPOLE ANTENNA FOR UWB APPLICATIONS

In this paper, a novel small ultra-wideband (UWB) printed monopole antenna, designed to operate in 3.1-10.6 GHz frequency band, is presented. The antenna is composed of five non-overlapped rectangular patches, a partial ground plane and a standard 50-Ω microstrip feed line. The overall size of the proposed antenna is 22.8 mm  29.5 mm  0.813 mm. The design procedure that we have used is based on a mixed integer genetic algorithm (GA) and the finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) method with uniaxial perfectly matched layer (UPML) absorbing boundary condition. The optimized printed monopole antenna is analyzed using our own FDTD code and the high frequency structure simulator (HFSS).
Socio-economic issues of prawn-seed collection in an open riverene fishery: a case study of prawn-seed collectors in West Bengal

This paper attempts to examine the socio-economic status of prawn seed collectors, who traditionally live on fishing, in open riverene fishery under 24 Parganas district in West Bengal. The study suggests that the prawn seed collectors’ households are the most vulnerable segment among the poorest of the poor and live under BPL (Below Poverty Line) category. There is high incidence of illiteracy, unemployment, poverty, negligence of children’s health and high family size among the majority of prawn seed collectors’ households. Despite the disliking of this occupation, female and adolescent girls, acting as main earners of their households, are compelled to be engaged in prawn seed collection to support their families in addition to their household duties at the cost of hard labour over day and night; high risks and high occupational health hazard; the monthly income of these families is too low to support their families throughout the year and other members of their families have to supplement them with subsidiary sources of income. The study also suggests that the practice of prawn seed collection under open riverene fishery is economically inefficient, ecologically unsustainable and socially unsound
Optimal taxation theory and principles of fairness

The achievements and limitations of the classical theory of optimal labor-income taxation based on social welfare functions are now well known, although utilitarianism still dominates public economics. We review the recent interest that has arisen for broadening the normative approach and making room for fairness principles such as desert or responsibility. Fairness principles sometimes provide immediate recommendations about the relative weights to assign to various income ranges, but in general require a careful choice of utility representations embodying the relevant interpersonal comparisons. The main message of this paper is that the traditional tool of welfare economics, the social welfare function framework, is flexible enough to incorporate many approaches, from egalitarianism to libertarianism.
Empirical Estimation of the Solow Growth Model: A Panel Approach

This research examines the relevancy of Solow growth model in 20 OECD countries over the period 1971-2011. Following Mankiw-Romer-Weil (1992) and Islam (1995), I estimate both textbook and augmented Solow model. Along with OLS, estimation is carried out implementing both static panel and dynamic panel GMM carries out estimation. Results imply that appending human capital measure in augmented Solow model can better explain the international differences in levels of output per worker.Importantly, convergence rate is relatively stronger when growth is conditioned on workforce growth rate, rate of savings and human capital. Using efficient system GMM in dynamic panel, I have shown that speed of convergence is about 4.7 percent, which is twice than the standard consensus about convergence rate in literature.
Gradual transition detection in shot boundary using gradual curve point

Video shot boundary detection (SBD) is a fundamental step in automatic video content analysis. Gradual transition is based on the gradual curves characterised by distribution of average edge information in the sequence of frames. An average edge frame is obtained from optimal edge detector. Features are extracted based on the minimum difference between the sequences of frames. The minimum variance in the local frame sequence is chosen as a gradual curve point. Finally, the performance is computed based on the precision (quality) and recall (quantity) value.
Potentially preventable cancers diagnosed among Alaska Native people

Cancer is the leading cause of death among Alaska Native (AN) people, and the third leading cause of years of potential life lost. AN tribal health leaders and researchers want to understand the cancer burden attributable to modifiable risk factors among AN people to inform the design of cancer prevention strategies. To address this question, we estimated the population attributable risk (PAR) associated with modifiable cancer risk factors including obesity, smoking, physical inactivity, and alcohol use among AN people. PAR varied by cancer site and risk factor, and was highest for lung cancer and smoking, with an estimated 78.8% of cancers among males, and 69.8% among females attributable to this risk factor. A smaller, but still substantial proportion of cancers were associated with obesity (up to 37% for endometrial cancer among females), physical inactivity (up to 18% for endometrial cancer among females), and alcohol use (up to 34% for breast cancers among heavy drinking females). Overall, we estimated that approximately 1500 cancers could be prevented over a 10-year period if these four risk factors were eliminated among AN people. This study demonstrates the importance of smoking as a primary prevention target to reduce the burden of cancer and other chronic diseases among AN people. However, it also indicates that obesity, physical activity, and alcohol use may account for a varying, but substantial proportion of cancers in this population. Given the high burden of cancer among AN people, a comprehensive approach to primary prevention is warranted.
Tissue distribution of artemisinin in broiler chickens following single or multiple oral administration

Background: Artemisinin is commonly used for the treatment of malaria, but recently has been considered as a potential substance to control poultry coccidiosis. OBJECTIVES: The aim of the present study was to determine the tissue distribution of artemisinin following single or multiple oral administration of different doses in broiler chickens. METHODS: A total number of 390 one day old Ross broiler chicks were divided randomly into two main groups, in the first group 0, 1, 5, 25, 125, 250, 500 or 1000 mg/kg artemisinin as a single oral dose was administered on day 44, but the second group were treated with 0, 17, 34, 68 or 136 ppm artemisinin from day 8 to day 44. The HPLC system was used to determine the level of artemisinin in different tissue samples. Data were assessed using one way analysis of variance (ANOVA) followed by the Tukey’s test (p<0.05). RESULTS: Maximum concentrations of artemisinin were found in the liver of chickens in both groups in a dose dependent manner. While, the minimum level was determined in the brain and the kidney of chickens received multiple artemisinin administration; in the spleen of those chickens a single oral dose was administered. The concentration of artemisinin in the brain reached a plateau at 68 ppm in multiple administration and 125mg/kg at single dose, no shift was found with dose increment. CONCLUSIONS: It can be concluded that tissue accumulation of artemisinin is time and dose dependent. Moreover, redistribution, saturation effect and tissue selectivity were also observed.
Stratospheric impact of the Chisholm pyrocumulonimbus eruption: 2. Vertical profile perspective

[1] Extreme pyrocumulonimbus (pyroCb) blowups that pollute the stratosphere have been documented on at least five occasions. However, the frequency of these events is still uncertain. One published pyroCb case study, the Chisholm Fire in May 2001, was restricted to the convective phase and its immediate aftermath. Here and in a companion paper we describe the stratospheric impact of the Chisholm pyroCb. The companion paper focuses on nadir satellite views of the plume. This paper synthesizes a broad array of space-, balloon-, and ground-based profile measurements. The Chisholm pyroCb, which we identify as the singular cause of stratospheric aerosol increase in northern spring/summer of 2001, created a doubling of the zonal average aerosol optical depth in the lowermost stratosphere. The meridional spread of the plume was from the tropics (20°N) to the high Arctic (79°N) within the first month. The stratospheric Chisholm smoke became a hemispheric phenomenon in midlatitudes and northern tropics and persisted for at least 3 months. A size-resolved particle concentration profile over Laramie, Wyoming, indicated a lower stratospheric aerosol with a twofold to threefold increase in volume of particles with radii between 0.3 and 0.6 μm. We also find evidence of localized warming in the air masses of four of the lidar-measured smoke layers. This work contains the first reported stratospheric smoke layers measured by lidar at Ny Alesund, Esrange, Kuhlungsborn, Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Boulder, and Mauna Loa. In addition, the first detection of smoke-enhanced aerosol extinction at near IR wavelengths by the Halogen Occultation Experiment (HALOE) is introduced.
Mineral Carbon Sequestration by Alkaline Waste and Its Use in Landfill

The Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) is among the largest municipal bodies in the world. It provides its civic services about 18 million people (estimated population of Delhi). Environmental impacts of municipal solid waste (MSW) management like emissions of greenhouse gases (GHGs) have been greatly reduced by Technological advancements, environmental regulations, and emphasis on resource conservation and recovery. The aim of this work was to quantify the volume of CO2 emitted from MSW Landfill and sequester it with a view to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The alkaline waste like construction and demolition (C&D) waste or Hospital Incineration (HI) waste has ability to capture carbon dioxide. The theoretical carbon dioxide sequestration potential of C&D waste and HI ash is 32.55% and 28.57% respectively through various models like Default methodology and Land GEM model.
Dual-Band Planar Monopole Antenna for Bluetooth and UWB Applications with WiMAX and WLAN Band-Notched

A small-sized, low-cost, and planar integrated Bluetooth and ultrawideband (UWB) monopole antenna with band-notched characteristics in the 3.5GHz WiMAX and 5.2/5.8GHz WLAN band is proposed. It is fed by a microstrip line and built on a FR-4 substrate with a whole size of 18 ⁄ 30mm 2 . This proposed antenna consists of a slot on the edge of the radiation patch, which not only makes it achieve Bluetooth and UWB performance but also produces a high isolation between them. Additionally, two split rectangular ring resonators (SRRR) are placed close to the microstrip line to reject the WLAN band. Measured S11 is • i10dB over 2.28{2.52, 3.66{ 5.02, and 6.05{12GHz. The group delay characteristic indicates good transient response in the working band. The antenna shows acceptable gain ∞atness with stable omnidirectional radiation patterns across the integrated Bluetooth and UWB (3.1{10.6GHz) band.
NGOs and the Creation of Value in Supply Chains

Firms and NGOs often collaborate to establish new supply chains. With a formal model, we analyze how NGOs can alleviate market failures and improve supplier economic inclusion while strategically interacting with firms. We account for the specific goals of the NGO and the need to induce collaboration between firms and their suppliers. The analysis reveals a "valley of disappointment", when NGO efforts benefit all actors but only marginally the firm. We also show that more powerful firms might prefer to internalize NGO functions, while firms with lower bargaining power and higher investment requirements are better off collaborating with NGOs. Finally, we study NGOs-firms matching patterns and find that firms with higher bargaining power match with NGOs holding stronger capabilities.
FOUNDATION OF THE CONSTRUCTION OF MIXED DIAGNOSTIC TESTS IN SYSTEMS FOR QUALITY CONTROL OF EDUCATION

The relevance of computer-based testing of students, as well as the currently existing approaches for the control of knowledge and learning are discussed. Construction of mixed diagnostic tests, representing an optimal combination of unconditional and conditional components, in order to create a telecommunication system for monitoring of students' knowledge is proposed. Authors suggest a technique for construction of optimal mixed diagnostic tests only on the basis of expert knowledge about the subjects under control.
The case of the e-book in "small language" culture: media technology and the digital society

The article describes a research project conducted in Sweden and its initial base-line results that were produced by investigating statistical data from general statistical sources, representative surveys of the Swedish population, and from public and academic libraries. The project looks into the change introduced into the book sector by e-books. Sweden was chosen as a special case – a country with a high literacy level and high penetration of information technology into everyday life of people. At the same time, the spread of e-books is at the very start and it seems that the diffusion of e-books, their production, distribution and use are affected by the problems characteristic of a typical small publishing markets. The authors present the goals of the project and the theoretical framework. The data were collected in 2012 and demonstrate the relatively low scale of e-book publishing and use. Libraries emerge as the main channel of access to e-books for readers. The usual problems of e-book production and distribution that are visible in other countries are observed in Sweden as well: e-books legally are not books, but services of licensed software and thus excluded from the privileges enjoyed by paper books; readers demand more e-books but are not ready to pay for them the same price as for traditional books and prefer to acquire them through free channels. Publishers seek to maintain the monopoly of e-book distribution and fear piracy. Libraries lose independence of acquisition and collection management. The choice of e-books by readers is determined by access to technology, age and education as well as reading habits. KEYWORDS: digital books, Sweden, publishing industry, reading, book distribution, libraries
Is the Affordable Care Act's Individual Mandate a Certified Job-Killer?

Opponents of the Affordable Care Act argue that its individual mandate component is a “certified job-killer. ” In this paper, I develop a Real Business Cycle model with a search-based labor market to test the validity of these concerns. I integrate the individual mandate into the model and conduct a general equilibrium analysis of its effects. The simulated results show that the imposition of the individual mandate regime should result in higher levels of aggregate employment and output. ∗I am extremely grateful to my honors advisor, Mario Solis-Garcia, who was invaluable to me throughout the development of this project. I am also extremely appreciative of my readers, Sarah West and David Shuman. Finally, I thank all the members of the Department of Economics at Macalester College for their guidance and support over the last four years.
Designing a network of critical zone observatories to explore the living skin of the terrestrial Earth

Abstract. The critical zone (CZ), the dynamic living skin of the Earth, extends from the top of the vegetative canopy through the soil and down to fresh bedrock and the bottom of the groundwater. All humans live in and depend on the CZ. This zone has three co-evolving surfaces: the top of the vegetative canopy, the ground surface, and a deep subsurface below which Earth's materials are unweathered. The network of nine CZ observatories supported by the US National Science Foundation has made advances in three broad areas of CZ research relating to the co-evolving surfaces. First, monitoring has revealed how natural and anthropogenic inputs at the vegetation canopy and ground surface cause subsurface responses in water, regolith structure, minerals, and biotic activity to considerable depths. This response, in turn, impacts aboveground biota and climate. Second, drilling and geophysical imaging now reveal how the deep subsurface of the CZ varies across landscapes, which in turn influences aboveground ecosystems. Third, several new mechanistic models now provide quantitative predictions of the spatial structure of the subsurface of the CZ. Many countries fund critical zone observatories (CZOs) to measure the fluxes of solutes, water, energy, gases, and sediments in the CZ and some relate these observations to the histories of those fluxes recorded in landforms, biota, soils, sediments, and rocks. Each US observatory has succeeded in (i) synthesizing research across disciplines into convergent approaches; (ii) providing long-term measurements to compare across sites; (iii) testing and developing models; (iv) collecting and measuring baseline data for comparison to catastrophic events; (v) stimulating new process-based hypotheses; (vi) catalyzing development of new techniques and instrumentation; (vii) informing the public about the CZ; (viii) mentoring students and teaching about emerging multidisciplinary CZ science; and (ix) discovering new insights about the CZ. Many of these activities can only be accomplished with observatories. Here we review the CZO enterprise in the United States and identify how such observatories could operate in the future as a network designed to generate critical scientific insights. Specifically, we recognize the need for the network to study network-level questions, expand the environments under investigation, accommodate both hypothesis testing and monitoring, and involve more stakeholders. We propose a driving question for future CZ science and a hubs-and-campaigns model to address that question and target the CZ as one unit. Only with such integrative efforts will we learn to steward the life-sustaining critical zone now and into the future.
Effect of pomegranate pretreatment on genotoxicity and hepatotoxicity induced by carbon tetrachloride (CCl4) in male rats

Several in vivo studies had documented that pomegranate plant had antioxidants that were powerful and beneficial to overall health. They were called polyphenols and flavonoids. It was also a highly regarded defender against free-radicals in the body. In the present study, the anti-oxidant properties of pomegranate peel and seed (diet or extract) were investigated in CCl4 – induced rat genotoxicity and hepatotoxicity. The studied male Sprague-Dawley albino rats were divided into seven groups (control, CCl4, CCl4 + silymarin, CCl4 + pomegranate peel diet, CCl4 + peel exact, CCl4 + seed diet and CCl4 + seed extract). Chromosomal aberration, sperm abnormalities, molecular assay and determination of nucleic acid (DNA and RNA) of testes were carried out. Results documented that CCl4produced genotoxicity as it increased chromosomal aberrations, sperm abnormalities and the number of amplified fragments DNA and decrease the content of total soluble protein. Administration of silymarin and pomegranate (diet or extract) after CCl4 significantly decrease the genotoxicity of CCl4, yet it failed in complete protection against toxic alterations caused by CCl4. Treatment with pomegranate appeared to have highly protective effect especially in animals treated with pomegranate seed extract. It can be concluded that pomegranate possess protective effects against CCl4 genotoxicity and hepatotoixicity in animal models. This protective effect might be attributed to its antioxidant and free radical scavenger effects. Key word: Pomegranate peel and seeds, Sprague-Dawley albino male rats, CCl4,genotoxicity, hepatotoixicity.
Effects of turbulence conditions on the balance between production and respiration in marine planktonic communities

The control exerted by different intensities and temporal inputs of small-scale turbu- lence on the balance between C production and respiration in planktonic communities has been studied by means of laboratory microcosms. The different turbulence conditions modified the tempo- ral pattern of phytoplankton (chlorophyll a) and total biomass development. However, the differences between average values of total (after re-suspension) biomass were not statistically significant. Net primary production (NP) was significantly higher at intermittent turbulence (alternating turbulence and calm periods), with maxima coinciding with the turbulence periods. Respiration (R) was less sen- sitive to turbulence conditions, but on average was significantly higher under continuous turbulence. The relationships between analysed total particulate organic carbon (TPOC) and theoretical esti- mates of total organic carbon (according to the daily balance between NP and R) indicated that between 30 and 50% of NP could be released as dissolved organic carbon. The quotient between daily C production and R (indicative of auto- or heterotrophic conditions) was higher under turbu- lence conditions. Autotrophy lasted for longer periods of time under intermittent turbulence. These results confirm the importance of turbulence in the modulation of the trophic status of the system, opening new perspectives for the study of the mechanisms controlling the selection of planktonic food webs.
Spontaneous Emission of Organic Molecules Embedded in a Photonic Crystal

We report on modification of the spontaneous emission of dye molecules embedded in a threedimensional solid-state photonic crystal exhibiting a stop band in the visible range. Molecules embedded in artificial opal filled with a polymer show a dip in the fluorescence spectrum and nonexponential spontaneous decay kinetics containing both accelerated and inhibited components compared to the dye fluorescence in a reference polymer matrix. Results are interpreted in terms of redistribution of the photon density of states in the photonic crystal. [S0031-9007(98)06494-1] PACS numbers: 42.50. ‐ p