Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
TRIBOLOGICAL AND STRUCTURAL PROPERTIES OF TITANIUM NITRIDE AND TITANIUM ALUMINUM NITRIDE COATINGS DEPOSITED WITH MODULATED PULSED POWER MAGNETRON SPUTTERING

iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS . iv LIST OF FIGURES . v LIST OF TABLES . xi TABLE OF CONTENTS . xii CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION . 1 1.1 Motivation . 1 1.2 Objectives and Approach . 1 CHAPTER 2: BACKGROUND & LITERATURE REVIEW . 3 2.1 Physical Vapor Deposition (PVD) . 3 2.2 Magnetron Sputtering . 4 2.2.1 Plasma Fundamentals . 6 2.2.2 Magnetron Sputtering Methods . 9 2.2.3 Direct Current Magnetron Sputtering (DCMS) and Pulsed Magnetron Sputtering (PMS) 10 2.2.4 High Power Pulsed Magnetron Sputtering (HPPMS) and Modulated Pulsed Power Magnetron Sputtering (MPPMS) . 10 2.2.5 Deep Oscillation Magnetron Sputtering (DOMS) . 14 2.3 Growth and Microstructure of Magnetron Sputtered Coatings . 15 2.4 Structure and Properties of TiN Coatings . 18 2.5 Structure and Properties of Ti1-xAlxN Coatings . 19 2.6 Substrate Effects . 22 2.6. 1 Ti-6Al-4V . 22 2.6. 2 Inconel 718 . 22 2.7 Surface Roughness . 24 CHAPTER 3: EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURES . 25 3.1 Substrate Preparation . 25 3.2 Deposition Process . 25 3.3 Characterization of Microstructure and Composition . 29 3.3.1 Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) . 29 3.3.2 Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) . 30 3.3.3 X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) . 30 3.4 Measurement of Coating Properties . 31
Consumer Acceptance of Windows 7 and Office 2010 - The Moderating Effect of Personal Innovativeness

The sustained upgrade of information systems provides most users with more comprehensive functions that make an individual's everyday tasks simpler and easier. This study investigated the moderating effect of an individual's personal innovativeness (PI) on the relationship within a core attitudinal model to Windows 7 and Office 2010. A total of 812 usable subjects, coming from two phases of field survey from different time periods, chosen from university students and faculty members for phase I and professionals and employees for phase II, were split into two groups - high personal innovativeness and low personal innovativeness - to test empirically the proposed research model. Results indicated that, with greater PI, positive relationship compatibility and attitude was significantly strengthened, and a positive relationship between attitude and adoption intention was significantly strengthened, but the relationships between computer playfulness and attitude, and between relative advantage and attitude were attenuated; the influence of both computer playfulness and relative advantage on perceived usability indicated a positively strengthened relationship. The findings provide a foundation for an enhanced theory on users' acceptance of a new OS and its applications.
Organic Rice Farming Systems in Cambodia : Socio-economic Impact of Smallholder Systems in Takeo Province

Organic farming is recognized as an important system of agriculture and food production, that is environmentally sustainable and can generate several positive impacts to rural society. The development of organic farming in Cambodia is in its early stage. Thus, the objectives of this research were to identify the farmers’ perception on organic rice farming and to analyze the economic effects of the system. Data collection was carried out through a pretested interview schedule, two types of questionnaires and a personal observation schedule while descriptive and inferential statistics were analyzed with the use of statistical package for the social sciences or SPSS software. The results showed that the majority of farmers converted their farms into organic farms because of premium prices on organic products and 15% increase from their farm incomes compared to conventional farms. Adapting organic rice farming is able to increase rice yields by 5% accounting from 2.46 to 2.59 tons per hectare. The increased amounts of rice production were equivalent to 21%. Furthermore, organic farming systems could be more stable since the analysis of its economic efficiency was higher than conventional farming system.
A twin study of alcohol dependence, binge eating, and compensatory behaviors.

OBJECTIVE Rates of alcohol dependence are elevated in women with eating disorders who engage in binge eating or compensatory behaviors compared with women with eating disorders who do not report binge eating or compensatory behaviors and with healthy controls. Alcohol dependence, binge eating, and compensatory behaviors are heritable; however, it is unclear whether a shared genetic liability contributes to the phenotypic association among these traits, and little information exists regarding this shared liability in men. We investigated genetic and environmental correlations among alcohol dependence, binge eating, and compensatory behaviors in male and female twins. METHOD Participants included 5,993 same- and opposite-sex twins from the Australian Twin Registry who completed a modified version of the Semi-Structured Assessment for the Genetics of Alcoholism that assessed lifetime alcohol dependence and binge eating as defined in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Third Edition, Revised. Compensatory behaviors were assessed via a general health questionnaire in women only. Biometrical twin models estimated genetic and environmental influences on alcohol dependence, binge eating, and compensatory behaviors. RESULTS In women, the multivariate twin model suggested that additive genetic and nonshared environmental effects influenced alcohol dependence, binge eating, and compensatory behaviors, with heritability estimates ranging from 38% to 53%. The best-fitting sex-limitation model was a common effects model that equated all genetic and nonshared environmental influences in men and women. The heritability estimates were 50% and 38% for alcohol dependence and binge eating, respectively. Overall, there were significant genetic correlations between alcohol dependence and binge eating, alcohol dependence and compensatory behaviors, and binge eating and compensatory behaviors. CONCLUSIONS These findings indicate that common genetic factors may underlie the vulnerability to alcohol dependence and the liability to binge eating and compensatory behaviors.
Atrazine concentrations , gonadal gross morphology and histology in ranid frogs collected in Michigan agricultural areas

a Department of Biology and Chemistry, City University of Hong Kong, 83 Tat Chee Ave., Kowloon, Hong Kong, SAR, People’s Republic of China b Department of Zoology, National Food Safety and Toxicology Center and Center for Integrative Toxicology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA c Department of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, Warner Southern College, Lake Wales, FL 33859, USA d School of Environmental Sciences and Development, North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, Private Bag X6001, Potchefstroom 2520, South Africa e Centre for Toxicology and Department of Environmental Biology, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ont. , Canada N1G 2W1 f Department of Biological Sciences, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX 79409, USA g The Institute of Environmental and Human Health and Department of Environmental Toxicology, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX 79416, USA h Department of Integrative Biology, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ont. , Canada N1G 2W1
Bimaxillary Protrusion in Malay Population : Cephalometric Analysis of Skeletal , Dental and Soft Tissue Components

This cross-sectional study aimed to analyze skeletal, dental and soft tissue components of bimaxillary protrusion in a sample of Malay population in Malaysia. 116 lateral cephalometric radiographs were traced and digitized using Dolphin Imaging software. Thirty radiographs were randomly selected for calibration of two weeks interval by 2 operators. Eight angular and eight linear parameters were measured to assess the cephalometric characteristics. Intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) and descriptive statistics were used to assess operator’s calibration and cephalometric characteristics respectively. Inter-rater and intra-rater reliability showed excellent correlation at ICC 0.831 and ICC 0.99 respectively. Significant biskeletal protrusion with SNA of 84.3° (SD 3.9) and SNB of 80.1° (SD 3.9) and bidental protrusion of incisors were also observed (UIA: 125.48°; LIA: 102.56°) with acute interincisal angle (102.73°). A marked difference to Caucasian and Chinese standards were observed. They also have evident soft tissue protrusion. Bimaxillary protrusion is significant in Malay population with varying degree of protrusion in skeletal, dental and soft tissue. Thus, diagnosis and treatment plan should be made according to their characteristics. Clinical article (J Int Dent Med Res 2019; 12(1): 203-211)
An Optimization Framework for Combining Ensembles of Classifiers and Clusterers with Applications to Nontransductive Semisupervised Learning and Transfer Learning

Unsupervised models can provide supplementary soft constraints to help classify new “target” data because similar instances in the target set are more likely to share the same class label. Such models can also help detect possible differences between training and target distributions, which is useful in applications where concept drift may take place, as in transfer learning settings. This article describes a general optimization framework that takes as input class membership estimates from existing classifiers learned on previously encountered “source” (or training) data, as well as a similarity matrix from a cluster ensemble operating solely on the target (or test) data to be classified, and yields a consensus labeling of the target data. More precisely, the application settings considered are nontransductive semisupervised and transfer learning scenarios where the training data are used only to build an ensemble of classifiers and are subsequently discarded before classifying the target data. The framework admits a wide range of loss functions and classification/clustering methods. It exploits properties of Bregman divergences in conjunction with Legendre duality to yield a principled and scalable approach. A variety of experiments show that the proposed framework can yield results substantially superior to those provided by naïvely applying classifiers learned on the original task to the target data. In addition, we show that the proposed approach, even not being conceptually transductive, can provide better results compared to some popular transductive learning techniques.
Simultaneous Native Nephrectomy and Kidney Transplantation in Patients With Autosomal Dominant Polycystic Kidney Disease

Introduction To evaluate the feasibility of simultaneous unilateral nephrectomy with kidney transplantation and to determine the effect of this procedure on perioperative morbidity and mortality and graft and patient survival. Methods Between January 2000 and May 2015, 145 patients with autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD) underwent kidney transplantation. Of those, 40 (27.5%) underwent concurrent ipsilateral native nephrectomy (group NT). Patients in group NT were compared with patients with ADPKD not undergoing concurrent nephrectomy (group NT-) and asymptomatic patients undergoing pretransplant nephrectomy (group PNT). Results The average follow-up was 66 months. The graft survival rate at 1 and 5 years was 95% and 87.5% versus 93% and 76.2% in the NT and NT- groups, respectively (P = .903 and P = .544, respectively); 1-year patient survival was 100% for NT and 97% for NT- patients (P = .288), whereas 5-year patient survival was 100% and 92% for NT and NT- groups, respectively (P = .128). After propensity score matching (34 patients per group) no significant differences were observed in 1-year (97.1% in NT and 94.1%; P = 1) and 5-year (88.2% in NT and 91.2% in NT-; P = 1) graft survival, and in 1-year (100% for both groups; P = 1) and 5-year (100% in NT and 94.1% in NT-; P = 1) patient survival. Perioperative mortality was 0% among NT and 1.2% among NT- patients, whereas perioperative surgical complications were similar in both groups. One- and 5-year graft and patient survival were similar between the NT and PNT groups, but patients in the PNT group had significantly lower levels of hemoglobin and residual diuresis volumes at the time of transplant. Moreover, PNT patients had a longer pretransplant dialysis and a longer time on the waiting list. Conclusions Simultaneous unilateral nephrectomy does not have a negative effect on patient and graft survival in patients with ADPKD and is associated with low morbidity. Pretransplant nephrectomy should be restricted only to highly symptomatic patients, whereas unilateral nephrectomy in asymptomatic patients should be performed during kidney transplantation only if massive kidney size precludes graft positioning.
3-D Imaging of Inhomogeneous Materials Loaded in a Rectangular Waveguide

A Newton-type method for the reconstruction of inhomogeneous 3-D complex permittivity variation of arbitrary shaped materials loaded in a rectangular waveguide is presented. The problem is first formulated as a system of integral equations consist of the well-known data and object equations, which contain the dyadic Green's function of an empty rectangular waveguide. Two unknowns of this system are solved in an iterative fashion by linearizing one of them, i.e., the data equation in the sense of the Newton method, which corresponds to a first-order Taylor expansion of the related integral operator. Since the problem is severely ill posed by nature, a regularization in the sense of Tikhonov is applied to the data equation. A detailed numerical implementation of the method, together with some numerical examples are also given to show the capabilities and validation limits of the method.
MHC‐dependent shaping of the inhibitory Ly49 receptor repertoire on NK cells: evidence for a regulated sequential model

Engagement of MHC class I‐specific inhibitory receptors regulates natural killer (NK) cell development and function. Using both new and previously characterized anti‐Ly49 monoclonal antibodies, we comprehensively determined expression and co‐expression frequencies of four Ly49 receptors by NK cells from MHC‐congenic, MHC class I‐deficient, and Ly49A‐transgenic mice to study mechanisms that shape the inhibitory Ly49 repertoire. All Ly49 receptors were expressed on partially overlapping subsets. Significantly, in the absence of class I MHC, several receptor pairs were co‐expressed more frequently than predicted from a purely random expression model, indicating that biases independent of MHC class I underlie receptor co‐expression in some cases. MHC interactions were found to inhibit Ly49 co‐expression variably depending on the MHC allele and the receptor pair examined. These data extend previous evidence that interactions with MHC shape the repertoire. It was previously proposed that developing NK cells express Ly49 receptors sequentially and cumulatively, until self‐MHC specific receptors are expressed and inhibit new receptor expression. Fulfilling a major prediction of this model, we found that class I recognition by a Ly49A transgene expressed by all developing NK cells equivalently inhibited expression of endogenous self‐specific and nonself‐specific Ly49 receptors.
Statistical Relative Equal Convergence Of Double Function Sequences And Korovkin-Type Approximation Theorem ∗

In this work, we introduce our new concept of the statistical equal convergence for double function sequences. Later, we introduce the concept of statistical relative equal convergence of double function sequences which is stronger than the notion of statistical relative convergence and statistical uniform convergence to demonstrate a Korovkin type approximation theorem and prove that our theorem is a non-trivial extension of some well-known Korovkin type approximation theorems which were proven by earlier authors. We present an example in support of our definition and result presented in this paper. Finally, we study Voronovskaya type theorem via statistical relative equal convergence.
Multivariate Industrial Time Series with Cyber-Attack Simulation: Fault Detection Using an LSTM-based Predictive Data Model

We adopted an approach based on an LSTM neural network to monitor and detect faults in industrial multivariate time series data. To validate the approach we created a Modelica model of part of a real gasoil plant. By introducing hacks into the logic of the Modelica model, we were able to generate both the roots and causes of fault behavior in the plant. Having a self-consistent data set with labeled faults, we used an LSTM architecture with a forecasting error threshold to obtain precision and recall quality metrics. The dependency of the quality metric on the threshold level is considered. An appropriate mechanism such as "one handle" was introduced for filtering faults that are outside of the plant operator field of interest.
PREGNANCY HISTORY AND COGNITION DURING AND AFTER PREGNANCY

An increasing body of literature confirms anecdotal reports that cognitive changes occur during pregnancy. This article assessed whether prior pregnancy, which alters a woman's subsequent hormonal environment, is associated with a specific cognitive profile during and after pregnancy. Seven primigravids and nine multigravids were compared, equivalent for age and education. No differences between groups were found during- pregnancy. After delivery, multigravids performed better than primigravids on verbal memory tasks. After controlling for mood, a significant difference- in verbal memory remained. A neuroadaptive mechanism may develop after first pregnancy that increases the ability to recover from some cognitive deficits after later pregnancies.
Does internal board monitoring affect debt maturity?

Using the Sarbanes–Oxley Act (SOX) as an exogenous shock to board structure, we identify internal monitoring via board independence and estimate its impact on corporate debt maturity. We introduce a triple difference-in-difference approach. Additionally, we use a simultaneous equations model and address that decisions about leverage and debt maturity are simultaneous. We also incorporate new debt issuance in the model to ensure the causality in the relation is from internal monitoring towards the maturity of new debt. The findings provide support for agency theory. As board independence increases, internal monitoring becomes stronger, and good governance substitutes for external control over managers through short-term debt. Subsequently, firms have more long-maturity debt. The results are robust to controlling for other internal monitoring mechanisms, CEO characteristics, financial constraints, cash, bond ratings, yield, and debt seniority. The impact of increased board independence on debt maturity is more significant for conglomerates and cases where there is a greater need for internal control over managers, such as CEO duality, high GIM index, straight debt, less strict covenants, high intangibility, high free cash flow, no majority blockholders, high discretionary accruals, or high real earnings management. In further analyses, we rule out the concern that our results are due to better reporting of internal controls through SOX Section 404 or an increase in auditors’ liability after SOX, rather than increased board independence.
From Population Growth to Firm Demographics: Implications for Concentration, Entrepreneurship and the Labor Share

In the U.S., large firms now account for a greater share of economic activity, new firms are being created at slower rates, and workers are receiving a smaller share of GDP. Changes in population growth provide a unified quantitative explanation. A decrease in population growth lowers firm entry rates, shifting the firm‐age distribution toward older firms. Firm aging accounts for (i) the concentration of employment in large firms, (ii) and trends in average firm size and exit rates, key determinants of firm entry rates. Feedback effects from firm demographics generate two‐thirds of the effect. Prior to the decrease, entry rates rose steadily reflecting the earlier baby boom. The glut of firms due to the baby boom lead to rich transitional dynamics within the feedback effects, accounting for more than half the total change. Baby boom induced changes in the firm‐age distribution provide a driving force for the post‐WWII rise and fall in the aggregate labor share. Ignoring changes in population growth attributes all the long run decline in entry rates to a decrease in firm exit rates, which in reality have been only one‐third as large.
Resident pasture growth and the microenvironment beneath young , wide-spaced poplars in New Zealand

Poplar (Populus spp.) trees are planted on pastoral hill country throughout New Zealand, primarily for soil conservation. The effect of wide-spaced trees (16–100/ha) aged 8–15 years on understorey pasture growth, botanical composition, and microenvironmental characteristics, was determined at Pohangina (1997–2000) and Lawrence (1998– 2000) in the lower North and South Islands, respectively. Relative to environments without trees, at Lawrence pasture growth (13 100 kg dry matter (DM)/ha/yr) was reduced by 20% and 34% on north and south sides of trees, respectively. At Pohangina (7915 kg DM/ha/yr), trees had less influence (7% and 14% reduction) on understorey pasture growth. There were also strong seasonal effects at both sites, corresponding to when the trees were foliated. Swards at each site comprised 81–93% grass. At Lawrence, swards had similar botanical composition beneath and beyond trees. Swards on the north side of trees at Pohangina comprised relatively high grass and low legume content compared with those on the south side and in the open. Compared with open pasture, areas beneath young poplars received up to 24% less rainfall and 31% less solar irradiance, and soil water content (0–200 mm depth) was up to 33% lower in summer and autumn. At intermediate soil water contents (0.25–0.35 m3/m3), the profile of soil water content around trees during drying was frequently U-shaped, being lowest beneath the stem and increasing with distance away from the tree. Likely reasons for the pasture responses and variation in tree-pasture interactions between sites are discussed. The results will be used to model changes in tree-pasture interactions over time.