Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Cumulative effects of land use practices on water quality

Trends in water quality parameters (K+, Na+, Ca2+, Mg2+, PO43', SO42', NO3", Cr, SiO2, pH, turbidity, conductivity, temperature, faecal and total coliform bacteria, and faecal streptococcus) were observed down a Southern Appalachian stream-order gradient, and these trends were then related to cumulative changes in landscape variables. Water samples were collected bi-weekly at six stations along a first- to fifth-order stream gradient, and landscape variables (hydrography, landcover, roads, slope, surficial geology, bedrock geology, soils) were mapped for the contributing watersheds above each station. Water quality was high under baseflow conditions in the predominantly forested study area, with solute concentrations usually less than 1 mg I"1 and turbidity values less than 3 NTU, with small, consistent increases downstream. In contrast, large, steep gradients in water quality parameters were observed under stormflow conditions, in some cases increasing three- to six-fold. A number of water quality parameters (Cr, K+, Na+, Ca+, Mg+, S042', SiO2, turbidity, faecal streptococcus, and faecal coliform) exhibited significant linear relationships with several landscape variables (percent non-forest, structure density, and paved road density).
Thermodynamical and mechanical modelling analysis of high-speed turbomachine rotors

In this study it is considered problems appearing in the different applications of high-speed technology, having as the viewpoint the rotor structure. High-speed technology means a system, where the electric machine and the unit to be driven (turbine, compressor) are directly coupled to each other without a gear box, and where the speed of this common shaft is significantly higher than the synchronous speed of two pole electric machines connected to the 50/60 Hz network. The high power density is typical for rotors of high-speed machines. The objective of this study is to analyze the mechanical structure of the combined electric machine – turbo machine rotor in three points of view: 1) the literature review and summary of governing equations for design of high speed machines. 2) to reduce the heat sources and to improve the cooling of critical points. This involves the reduction of electric losses and the concentration of the losses to places favorable for cooling. 3) to analyze the strength of the fittings at assembly and at high speeds.
Effect of Different Fertilizing Systems on Seed Yield and Phosphorus Uptake in Annual Medics under Dryland Farming Conditions

The effect of different fertilizing systems on the seed yield and phosphorus uptake in annual medic (Medicago scutellata cv. Robinson) was examined at two locations under dry farming conditions in Kermanshah province, Iran, in 2009. Experiments were conducted based on a randomized complete block design with three replications; the treatments consisted of control (no fertilizer), chemical fertilizer, biological fertilizer and different combinations of chemical and biological fertilizing systems. The results showed that application of different fertilizing systems had a highly significant effect on the number of pods per plant. The highest values were obtained in the treatment using the urea chemical fertilizer + phosphorus-solubilizing bacteria + mycorrhiza. The highest soil seed bank was recorded in the nitrogen-fixing bacteria + phosphorus-solubilizing bacteria treatment; it increased the number of seeds by approximately 50 percent compared to the control (only 134 pod containing seeds). The highest pod yield was obtained after applying nitrogen-fixing bacteria + mycorrhiza (445 kg/ha), the lowest yield in the control treatment (266 kg/ha). In general, under the conditions of this experiment, the seed yield of annual medic var. Robinson receiving nitrogen-fixing + phosphorus-solubilizing bacteria out-yielded other fertilizing treatments. This indicates a synergistic interaction between these groups of bacteria that increases seed yield, the soil seed bank as well as the seed phosphorus uptake of this plant species under dry farming conditions.
Documents de Treball de l ’ IEB 2015 / 21 FISCAL EQUALIZATION UNDER POLITICAL PRESSURES *

We examine the design of fiscal equalization transfers aimed at interregional redistribution in a setting in which special interest groups distort the fiscal policies of local governments. Equity always calls for tax-base equalization while efficiency calls for tax-base equalization of fiscal capacities backed by strong lobby groups and for taxrevenue equalization of those backed by weak lobby groups. Hence, it is optimal to rely only on tax-base equalization if the special interest groups are similar in terms of lobbying power, whereas a mixed system is optimal if they are highly heterogeneous. Tax competition reinforces the role of tax-base, while tax exporting that of tax-revenue, fiscal equalization. JEL Codes: H77, D72, H21
The Implications of Legislative Controls on Private Hospitals in Malaysia

The emergence of proprietary private hospitals in the 1980s has led to a rise in cost of health care services, variation in care and increase in adverse events. These have contributed to societal concerns prompting the authorities to enforce Private Healthcare Facilities and Services Act 1998 (Act 586) that regulates all private hospitals nationwide in 2006. Employing a case study approach, this paper discusses some salient themes on the impact of Act 586 on 15 purposively selected private hospitals in the Klang Valley in terms of achieving the national objectives of accessibility, equity and quality care. This study reveals several interrelated themes such as of policy, power, governance, compliance, and quality of care in achieving the national objective. Findings point to high investment of the state in private hospitals. Although a private hospital is stipulated to be a physician-led institution, in reality the majority of these hospitals are owned by government-linked corporations. Many private hospitals face major challenges in terms of compliance with the new regulations meant to improve patient safety and quality of care. However, full compliance to the regulations remains an insurmountable challenge as the private providers are influential. Faced with political constraints, asymmetric information and inadequate human resources, the regulatory authority seems hampered in its enforcement capacity.
Analyzing Cloud-based Startups: Evidence from a Case Study in Italy

The aim of this study is to analyze the reasons behind the adoption of cloud computing and its implementation process in startup firms as well as to verify the advantages and disadvantages deriving from the adoption of this tool and how it could increase entrepreneurial activities. We applied a research framework developed by previous scholars on cloud adoption within SMEs in an attempt to adapt it to startup firms. In particular, we conducted a case study in an Italian technological startup. Our results show that cloud technology supports and facilitates entrepreneurial activity, especially reducing several entry barriers for new entrepreneurs. This study contributes to the existing literature on cloud computing, and it has several managerial implications. First, it shows that setting up the organizational model on cloud computing allows entrepreneurs to reduce organizational efforts and ICT investments. Furthermore, this technology can reduce diversification costs by eliminating entry barriers, thus opening new markets and opportunities for entrepreneurs.
Expressing joy through hip-hop dance steps: Focus on new jack swing

This study aimed to differentiate hip-hop dance steps based on whether joy was expressed and explained their movement features using three-dimensional motion analysis. Ten male and female participants (26.9 ± 12.8 years old) were instructed to perform an 80-second hip-hop dance, and the step performed after 60 s (new jack swing) was analyzed. Discriminant analysis was conducted, and the differences in the motion feature values were calculated by establishing 34 variables related to time and space. Furthermore, correlations between major joint sites that contributed to differentiation and other variables were calculated. The results revealed the following three points: The discriminant analysis, which was used to predict whether there was emotion, correctly classified cases at a rate of 70% or higher in four stages, which were motion phases. When the differences in motion features by intensity were identified in Phase 2—the phase with the highest correct classification rate—significant differences were found in the mean of the height in the shoulders, the speed of the left acromion, the speed of the capitellum of the left elbow joint, the speed of the center of the left wrist joint, the speed of the lateral condyle of the left femur, the speed of the right acromion, the speed of the capitellum of the right elbow joint, and the flexion angle of the upper torso. Under Strong Emotion, the speed of the left elbow joint and the speed of the center of the left wrist joint had the highest correlation (r = 0.92). Based on these results, we can conclude that it is possible to express joy through hip-hop dance, and, in the case of new jack swing, emotional expression is related mainly to the speed of the upper limbs. Key words: Hip-hop dance, dance step, emotional expression.
Considering the relationship between internet services and using internet banking in Branches of Sepah bank in Guilan province

This research is considering the relationship between internet service quality and using internet banking in branches of Sepah bank in Guilanprovince. Statisticalsociety of this research is customers of branches of Sepah bank in Guilan province that is unlimited. Statistical sample of this research was 384 people regarding Morgan table and unlimited society and sampling method of the research was simple random. Current research based on goal is applied and regarding method of data collection it is descriptive and correlation type. For determining validity of research variable content method and for reliability cronbach alpha correlation has been used. For data analysis firstly by using kolmogrov-smirnov test normality of data were considered. For testing hypothesis Pearson correlation has been used. The result of research showed that there is relationship between internet service quality and using internet banking. Also there is relationship between accessibility, certainty of implementation, responsibility, attraction of website with using internet banking.
FOG DENSITY RECOGNITION BY IN-VEHICLE CAMERA AND MILLIMETER WAVE RADAR

Driving support techniques using in-vehicle sensors have attracted much at- tentions and have been applied to practical systems. We focus on supporting drivers in poor visibility conditions. Fog is one of the causes that lead to lack of visibility. In this paper, we propose a method of judging fog density by using in-vehicle camera images and millimeter-wave (mm-W) radar data. This method determines fog density by evaluating both the visibility of a preceding vehicle and the distance to it. Experiments showed that judgments made by the proposed method achieve a precision rate of 85% when compared to the ground-truth obtained by human judgments.
A comparative study of impact of job satisfaction on Individual Performance Among Academicians in Punjab

The satisfaction of teaching fraternity is very important in improving the educational level of the society and furthering the overall interest of society. The present study was conducted to find out the level of job satisfaction among the College Teachers of Professional and Non-Professional Institutions in Punjab and to present their comparative position regarding the impact of the level of Job Satisfaction on their individual performance. To fulfill the objectives of the study, 516 college teachers (258 college teachers from professional institutions and 258 college teachers from non-professional institutions in Punjab), representing five districts (i.e., Amritsar, Bathinda, Jalandhar, Patiala, Ropar) out of 22 districts of Punjab, were selected to constitute the sample. Information from selected college teachers was collected through a questionnaire. The data were further analyzed by using statistical techniques. College teachers of both professional and non-professional institutions in Punjab were found to have high degree of job satisfaction but college teachers of non-professional institutions had an edge over college teachers of professional institutions. The results depicted that college teachers of both the institutions, who enjoyed high level of job satisfaction, did not give their best individual performance.
Research Trends in Turkish Distance Education: A Content Analysis of Dissertations, 1986-2014

Abstract This paper presents a content analytic approach on doctoral dissertations in the field of distance education in Turkish Higher Education context from the years of 1986 through 2014. A total of 61 dissertations were examined to explore keywords, academic discipline, research areas, theoretical/conceptual frameworks, research designs, research models, tests and analyses, data collection tools, participants, variables/research interests, and leading contributor institutions. It is believed that this study can be beneficial to the field of distance education in Turkish context to identify research trends and set a research agenda by exploring dissertations that were published between 1986 and 2014.
Predictive Meteorological Factors for Elevated PM2.5 Levels at an Air Monitoring Station Near a Petrochemical Complex in Yunlin County, Taiwan

Since 1991, air pollution has gained special attention in Taiwan after a petrochemical complex was constructed in Mailiao Township, Yunlin County. We explored the association between the magnitude of PM2.5 and meteorological factors during 2012-2016. Our findings revealed that 1) mean PM2.5 levels gradually decreased from 30.70 μg/m3 in 2013 to 25.36 μg/m3 in 2016; 2) wind speed is the main determinant of air quality—air quality significantly improved when it was faster than 4 m/sec; and 3) wind direction is another determinant of air quality—when the wind direction was southerly, air quality improved. Elevated PM2.5 levels were defined as those hourly levels higher than the third quartile (36 μg/m3). The significantly negative predictive factors for elevated PM2.5 levels were the summer or autumn seasons, rainfall, increased wind speed, and wind direction from 150° to 230° from the north. The significantly positive predictive factors for elevated PM2.5 levels were working hours from 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. , a temperature between 11°C and 25°C, relative humidity between 40% and 68%, and wind direction (e.g., northerly wind, northeasterly wind, and easterly wind). The predictive formula is attached in the Appendix. Therefore, people should protect themselves on these high-risk days.
Snow density climatology across the former USSR

Snow density is one of the basic properties used to describe snow cover characteristics, and it is a key factor for linking snow depth and snow water equivalent, which are critical for water resources assessment and modeling inputs. In this study, we used long-term data from ground-based measurements to investigate snow density (bulk density) climatology and its spatiotemporal variations across the former Soviet Union (USSR) from 1966 to 2008. The results showed that the long-term monthly mean snow density was approximately 0.22 ± 0.05 g cm −3 over the study area. The maximum and minimum monthly mean snow density was about 0.33 g cm −3 in June, and 0.14 g cm −3 in October, respectively. Maritime and ephemeral snow had the highest monthly mean snow density, while taiga snow had the lowest. The higher values of monthly snow density were mainly located in the European regions of the former USSR, on the coast of Arctic Russia, and the Kamchatka Peninsula, while the lower snow density occurred in central Siberia. Significant increasing trends of snow density from September through June of the next year were observed, however, the rate of the increase varied with different snow classes. The long-term (1966–2008) monthly and annual mean snow densities had significant decreasing trends, especially during the autumn months. Spatially, significant positive trends in monthly mean snow density lay in the southwestern areas of the former USSR in November and December and gradually expanded in Russia from February through April. Significant negative trends mainly lay in the European Russia and the southern Russia. There was a high correlation of snow density with elevation for tundra snow and snow density was highly correlated with latitude for prairie snow.
Gender Differences in Slow Expressive Language Development

An abstract of the thesis of Cynthia Lee Hare-Blye for the Master of Science in Speech Communication: Speech and Hearing Science presented October 31, 1994. Title: Gender Differences in Slow Expressive Language Development The contemporary research suggests that some children who present with early language delays as toddlers outgrow their delays while others continue to develop long-term language difficulties. Several studies over the years have focused on factors that might aid in predicting the outcome of late talkers. This current study emphasized exploring gender as a possible predictive factor. The purpose of this study was to determine if significant differences exist in the rate of growth in language skills, as indexed by scores on the Developmental Sentence Scoring (DSS) procedure (Lee, 1974) of boys versus girls who are late to start talking as toddlers. The research hypothesis was that boys who present as LT toddlers would score significantly higher than LT girls at each age level tested. The DSS is a norm-referenced instrument that assesses age-appropriate morphological development and syntax. The LT subjects used were part of the Portland Language Development Project, a longitudinal study. Spontaneous speech samples were collected, transcribed, and analyzed using the DSS procedure once each year from the time they were approximately 3 years of age, until the age of 7. Late talking children in this present study were grouped by gender. A Chi Square test was used to determine if the proportion of males scoring above the 10th percentile on the DSS was significantly different than the proportion of females scoring above the 10th percentile at each age. Results from this analysis indicated that at the age of 3 years, more boys than girls scored above the 10th percentile on the DSS. There were no significant differences found at the ages of 4, 5, 6, and 7. 2 At-test was used to compare average DSS scores between the two genders for each year of the study. This test revealed a significant difference between the LT girls' and LT boys' scores at the age of 3 years. No significant differences were found for the subsequent years. However, difference between boys' and girls' scores at age 7 approached significance, with boys again scoring higher. GENDER DIFFERENCES IN SLOW EXPRESSIVE LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT by CYNTHIA LEE HARE-BL YE A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF SCIENCE in SPEECH COMMUNICATION: SPEECH AND HEARING SCIENCE Portland State University 1994
Physical Aspects of Rarefied Gas Flow in Micro to Nano Scale Geometries Using DSMC

Rarefied gas flow in micro/nano electro mechanical systems (MEMS/NEMS) does not perform exactly as that in macro-scale devices. The main goal in this study is to investigate mixed subsonic-supersonic flows in micro/nano channels and nozzles and to provide physical descriptions on their behaviors. We use DSMC method as a reliable numerical tool to extend our simulation. It is because the DSMC provides accurate solution for the Boltzmann equations over the entire range of rarefied flow regime or Knudsen numbers. As is known, the appearance of oblique/normal shocks at the inlet of a channel or a nozzle adds to the complexity of internal flow field analyses. We found some very unique physical aspects of micro/nano flows including mixed supersonic-subsonic flow regimes in constant area ducts and the attenuation of emitted shocks, which are attributed to the strong viscous forces and dominant rarefaction effects in micro/nano scales. We simulated nozzle flow under different flow conditions including different Knudsen and Reynolds numbers and inlet-outlet pressure ratios. It was observed that as the Knudsen number increases, the viscous dissipation forces increase and the flow in nozzle would not be choked at its throat and no supersonic flow is observed in the divergent part. Contrary to the classical gas dynamics, no shock stands in the divergent part despite specifying a back pressure at the outlet. Alternatively, we observed that multiple expansion-compression waves would be generated and amplified as the back pressure was decreased.
The communication at the Lithuanian Wind Power Association and a scrutiny on the replacement of current EU support scheme

The Lithuanian government wants to amend existing EU support scheme, which should promote renewable energy within the country. The Lithuanian Wind Power Association is, however, against the amendment procedure on the pretense that it hinders the development of renewable energy and this thesis work is an investigation on the communication process of the Lithuanian Wind Power Association and its relationship with different actors on the amendment of current support scheme. This paper presents activities, relations, strategies and the role of the Lithuanian Wind Power Association and brings significance of environmental communication at forefront on this phenomenon. This issue is investigated on the basis of findings from collected data along with the analysis of theoretical concepts. However, it must be noted that qualitative data collection of this study is mostly restricted to Lithuanian Wind Power Association’s impression and interpretation of the problem and process. During the replacement of current support scheme, the Lithuanian Wind Power Association has been mostly engaging with the government. Although the government does not take any suggestions into consideration from associations, both sides do not describe the situation as a conflict. The findings of this thesis also demonstrate that strategies and activities are not efficient enough and much work needs to be done on this matter. Based on the conducted small-scaled survey, even though people are aware of renewable energy sources, they are still oblivious of the EU support schemes and amendment issue at the parliament. Consequently, activities in order to raise awareness of public and effect the decision made by the government need to be overhauled. Building on findings and data gathering, employees of the Lithuanian Wind Power Association are not satisfied regarding the content of probable support mechanism, and to top it all off, there are some shortcomings even on the current support scheme, which does not correspond with the principles of sustainability.