Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Internal Factors which Influence Capital Structure Choice of Albanian Firms

This paper attempts to study the influence of firm’s internal factors on capital structure decision for a sample of 69 non-listed firms, which operate in Albania, over the period 2008-2011. In this paper are used short-term debt to total assets (SDTA) and long-term debt to total assets (LDTA) as dependent variables and eight independent variables: return on asset (ROA), return on equity (ROE), tangibility (TANG), liquidity (LIQ), size (SIZE), business risk (RISK), flexibility (FLEX) and non-debt tax shields (NDTSH). The investigation uses cross-sectional time series data which are collected from the Balance Sheet Annual Reports, the official document delivered to the State Tax Office. This study found that ROA (net income to total assets), ROE (net income to equity), tangibility (the ratio of fixed assets to total assets) and liquidity (the ratio of current assets to current liabilities) have a significant impact on both SDTA and LDTA. While size, risk, flexibility and non-debt tax shields resulted statistically significant in determining only LDTA. Keywords : Albania, Capital structure, Firm’s internal factors
Experimental study on the optimisation of staged air supply in the retort pellet burner

The use of biofuels for heating purposes is beneficial from a greenhouse gas emission point of view. But combustion of solid biofuels typically is related with high emission rates of CO, NOx, PAHs, VOCs and particle matter. The most important factor that is affecting the formation of harmful emissions is the way the combustion process is organised. The amount of air injected and approach for the air supply system, are the most important factors affecting combustion process. Air staging is one of the most effective technical solutions for achieving complete combustion and low emissions. The main idea of air staging is to inject air into different zones of a combustion process. The main goal of this study is to optimise pellet combustion process in a 500 kW boiler with staged air supply. The research is based on on-site experiments and application of scientific instrumentation. Fly- away unburned fuel particles were discovered during the on-site experiments. Reduction of the amount of fly-away particles was set as a target function for the optimisation. The amount of emissions (CO, NOx and particle matter) and the amount of incombustibles in fly ashes were identified. Two different solutions with applied secondary air supply nozzles were analysed. The results of the study show that even small changes in the way the combustion air is injected can significantly affect the combustion process.
A colorimetric assay using tetrazolium salts with an electron mediator to evaluate yeast growth in opaque dispersed systems

Background: Traditional microbiological enumeration techniques such as colony count are time consuming. Visual evaluation of turbidity growth lacks objectivity and precision. On the other hand, the accuracy of the spectrophotometric readings can be limited by media opacity and/or additives. In this context, colorimetric methods based on tetrazolium salts are an alternative to traditional methods due to their ability to generate endpoints based on color change. The objective of this study was to develop a colorimetric assay based on two different tetrazolium salts and an electron mediator in order to replace the conventional method of viable plate count or absorbance for microbial growth detection in opaque dispersed systems. Methods: A color imetr ic method to evaluate yeast growth in broth and opaque dispersed systems using two tetrazolium salts, 2,3,5-triphenyl-2H-tetrazolium chloride (TTC), 2-(4-Iodophenyl)-3-(4-nitrophenyl)-5 -phenyl-2H-tetrazolium chloride (INT) and an electron mediator, 2-methoxy-1,4-Naphthoquinone (MNQ) was developed. In addition, the minimum inhibitory concentrations against Zygosaccharomyces bailii for natamycin and lemongrass essential oil were determined by the proposed method and compared with those obtained using the conventional broth microdilution and plate count methods. Results: Showed that the mixture of INT/MNQ, was more effective than TTC/MNQ. In opaque structure systems, the later showed to be more sensitive than absorbance However, in broth it was as sensitivity as absorbance to detect yeast growth. Besides, the INT/MNQ reagent functioned adequately to determine the minimum inhibitory concentrations of antimicrobials in opaque structured systems. Conclusions: These results demonstrated that the proposed method functioned adequately to determine the minimum inhibitory concentrations of antimicrobials in opaque structured systems showing an excellent agreement with the plate count method and the proposed technique allowed the evaluation of yeast growth with lower population levels than the ones required through absorbance readings. Moreover, this colorimetric method is easy to perform and less time consuming.
Celiac Disease or Gluten Sensitivity? A mini update review.

Arab Journal of Nutrition and Exercise ISSN:2518-6590 Published on 31 st August, 2017 Abstract Celiac disease is described when some people have with foods that contain gluten. Gluten is a type of protein. It's found in the grains wheat, barley and rye. It has antigenic properties and usually triggers an immune response. On the other hand, gluten sensitivity or intolerance is a similar condition that causes a person to react to gluten found in the above food items described. Even though the clinical symptoms are similar to both conditions, the pathology, diagnosis and treatment is different, thus it is very important to get the correct diagnosis. The purpose of this mini review is to compare the main aspects of these two conditions.
Chemical characteristics of size-resolved atmospheric aerosols in Iasi, north-eastern Romania: nitrogen-containing inorganic compounds control aerosol chemistry in the area

Abstract. This study assesses the effects of particle size and season on the content of the major inorganic and organic aerosol ionic components in the Iasi urban area, north-eastern Romania. Continuous measurements were carried out over 2016 using a cascade Dekati low-pressure impactor (DLPI) performing aerosol size classification in 13 specific fractions over the 0.0276–9.94 µ m size range. Fine-particulate Cl − , NO 3 - , NH 4 + , and K + exhibited clear minima during the warm season and clear maxima over the cold season, mainly due to trends in emission sources, changes in the mixing layer depth and specific meteorological conditions. Fine-particulate SO 4 2 - did not show much variation with respect to seasons. Particulate NH 4 + and NO 3 - ions were identified as critical parameters controlling aerosol chemistry in the area, and their measured concentrations in fine-mode (PM 2.5) aerosols were found to be in reasonable good agreement with modelled values for winter but not for summer. The likely reason is that NH 4 NO 3 aerosols are lost due to volatility over the warm season. We found that NH 4 + in PM 2.5 is primarily associated with SO 4 2 - and NO 3 - but not with Cl − . Actually, indirect ISORROPIA-II estimations showed that the atmosphere in the Iasi area might be ammonia rich during both the cold and warm seasons, enabling enough NH 3 to be present to neutralize H 2 SO 4 , HNO 3 , and HCl acidic components and to generate fine-particulate ammonium salts, in the form of (NH 4)2 SO 4 , NH 4 NO 3 , and NH 4 Cl. ISORROPIA-II runs allowed us to estimate that over the warm season ∼ 35 % of the total analysed samples had very strongly acidic pH (0–3), a fraction that rose to ∼ 43 % over the cold season. Moreover, while in the cold season the acidity is mainly accounted for by inorganic acids, in the warm ones there is an important contribution by other compounds, possibly organic. Indeed, changes in aerosol acidity would most likely impact the gas–particle partitioning of semi-volatile organic acids. Overall, we estimate that within the aerosol mass concentration the ionic mass brings a contribution as high as 40.6 %, with the rest still being unaccounted for.
Ethnic Identity and Aspirations among Rural Alaska Youth

The villages of rural Alaska comprise one of the most exceptional, yet least visible, sociocultural environments in the United States They are geographically remote, and set off from the mainstream also by their unique Eskimo, Indian or Aleut cultures. At the same time many economic, legal and cultural connections pull these villages toward the dominant U.S. society, impelling continual and rapid social change. Our research focuses on adolescents growing up in this culturally complex and changing environment. We employ survey data from adolescents in 19 rural schools to explore relationships between ethnic identity and students' expectations about moving away or attending college. Many students describe their ethnic identity as mixed, both Native and non-Native. On some key variables, the responses of mixed-identity students fall between those of Natives and non-Natives, supporting a theoretical conception of ethnicity as a matter of degree rather than category. Migration and college expectations vary with ethnic identity, but the college expectations/identity relationship fades when we adjust for other variables. Ethnicity affects expectations for the most part indirectly, through “cultural tool kit” variables including family role models and support. Gender differences in expectations, on the other hand, remain substantial even after adjusting for other variables.
Evaluation of Some Local Sorghum (Sorghum Bicolor L. Moench) Genotypes in Rain-Fed

A two-year study was conducted on Sorghum (Sorghum bicolor L.Moench) across two environments in North Kordofan State, Sudan, to examine eight grain sorghum genotypes (Qusari, Wad-mergani, Sefera Red-Zinnari, Fraikh, Hamadi, Nilla and Kelash). The Quasari and Kelash genotypes are early flowering and early maturing. The genotype Qua- sari ,Fraikh and Nilla were superior in yield and yield's performance across all environmental conditions. Positive and sig- nificant phenotypic and genotypic correlations were found. Grain yield per hectare had high significant positive correlation with number of grain per panicle and number of panicles per unit area. The variance components for the two environments showed that most of the characters had higher phenotypic and genotypic variance estimates than the environmental variance estimates.
Participation in Transition(s): Reconceiving Public Engagements in Energy Transitions as Co-Produced, Emergent and Diverse

Abstract This paper brings the transitions literature into conversation with constructivist Science and Technology Studies (STS) perspectives on participation for the first time. In doing so we put forward a conception of public and civil society engagement in sustainability transitions as co-produced, relational, and emergent. Through paying close attention to the ways in which the subjects, objects, and procedural formats of public engagement are constructed through the performance of participatory collectives, our approach offers a framework to open up to and symmetrically compare diverse and interconnected forms of participation that make up wider socio-technical systems. We apply this framework in a comparative analysis of four diverse cases of civil society involvement in UK low carbon energy transitions. This highlights similarities and differences in how these distinct participatory collectives are orchestrated, mediated, and subject to exclusions, as well as their effects in producing particular visions of the issue at stake and implicit models of participation and ‘the public’. In conclusion we reflect on the value of this approach for opening up the politics of societal engagement in transitions, building systemic perspectives of interconnected ‘ecologies of participation’, and better accounting for the emergence, inherent uncertainties, and indeterminacies of all forms of participation in transitions.
An Efficient and Stereoselective Synthesis of S-(+)-Pregabalin Using a Chiral Auxiliary Reagent

A highly efficient and enantio selective synthesis of (S)-3-amino-5-methylhexanoic acid 1 (Pregabalin) is reported. Evans enolate based asymmetric alkylation reaction was used as the key step to set up the required chirality. This procedure allows the rapid process to provide the (S)-(+)-Pregabalin 1 in excellent overall yields and purity.
Topological quasitopos hulls of categories containing topological and metric objects

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Regional trends in fish mean length at age : components of variance and the statistical power to detect trends

We examined statewide time series (1940s-2002) of mean length at ages 2, 3, and 4 for seven fish species sampled from Michigan and Wisconsin inland lakes for temporal trends. We used a components of variance approach to examine how total variation in mean length at age was partitioned into lake-to-lake, coherent temporal, ephemeral temporal, trend, and residual variation. Using these estimated variance components, we simulated the effects of differ- ent variance structures on the power to detect trends in mean length at age. Of the 42 data sets examined, only four demonstrated significant regional (statewide) trends: age 4 largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides) from Wisconsin lakes increased about 0.7 mm·year -1 in mean length at age, and ages 2, 3, and 4 walleye (Sander vitreus) from Wis- consin lakes decreased between 0.5 and 0.9 mm·year -1 in mean length at age. The structure of variation differed sub- stantially among data sets, and these differences strongly affected the power to detect trends. Of particular note was that even modest levels of coherent temporal variation led to substantial decreases in power for detecting trends. To maximize trend detection capabilities, fisheries management agencies should consider variance structures prior to choosing indices for monitoring and realize that trend detection capabilities are species- and region-specific.
Customer heterogenity in the development of e-loyalty

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to identify customer-specific differences in a general model of e-loyalty taking into account the existence of unobserved heterogeneity. Specifically, this paper aims to test for the presence of customer heterogeneity; assess the impact of potential bias when there is no control for heterogeneity; analyse the distinct customer segments that emerge from the empirical estimation of the model; and describe the segments by their demographic and psychological characteristics. Design/methodology/approach – Panel data from a survey of online shoppers are used in a post hoc segmentation method, which will enable us to identify segments, while estimating the parameters by means of structural equation models. Findings – Three distinct consumer segments emerge. The relative importance of e-loyalty and e-satisfaction is significantly determined by consumers’ shopping styles. Originality/value – This study highlights the need to consider unobserved customer heterogeneity when att.
Tetraponera periyarensis, a new pseudomyrmecine ant species (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) from India

Tetraponera periyarensis sp. nov. is described based on a single worker collected from Manalar, part of Periyar Tiger Reserve, Kerala, India. This is the fourth species of the rufonigra-group of Tetraponera known from the Indo-Australian region, with T. concava Xu & Chai, 2004, T. pilosa smith, 1858 and T. rufonigra Jerdon, 1851 reported earlier. An identification key to the worker caste of Indian species is provided.
Human Centred Design for Maritime Safety: A User Perspective on the Benefits and Success Factors of User Participation in the Design of Ships and Ship Systems

For over six decades, Human Centred Design (HCD) has been considered a desired design approach for the implementation of Human Factors/Ergonomics (HF/E) knowledge and methods for understanding the needs of the end-users. Although other comparable frameworks exist, they can be seen as subcategories or as tools for HCD, as HCD is considered by some as an overarching approach. This design approach has gradually been integrated into different fields, but engineering sciences have been more reluctant towards embracing its adoption. Although these challenges may be explicable – one of them being that HF/E methods are often not immediately understood and applicable in industrial settings – the maritime sector has begun to overcome these challenges and to understand and highlight the impact of the human element on the safety and efficiency of maritime operations and environmental protection. Nevertheless, more initiative and attention to HF/E is needed. Thus, the work considered in this thesis takes a proactive approach towards the integration of HCD in the maritime domain by involving maritime end-users in a discussion about the opportunities of human-centred and participatory design. This was done through two focus group interviews with two different participant samples of end-users, with special focus on the navigation of merchant vessels. The analysis of the focus group interviews was guided by a Grounded Theory approach. The work presented in this thesis is part of the project Crew-Centered Design and Operation of Ships and Ship Systems (CyClaDes), supported by funds from the European Commission and its Seventh Framework Programme. The CyClaDes project intended to promote the increased potential impact of HF/E and HCD knowledge on ship design and operations, by understanding where and how to best integrate it and where and how barriers to its integration occur. The findings in this thesis highlight HCD and its participatory principle as a means to attain a set of benefits at a physical, cognitive, psychosocial, organizational, and socio-political levels, and ultimately attain safer maritime operations. The results suggest that successful integration of a human-centred and participatory design philosophy in the maritime domain should include more and appropriate user representativeness within design, rule-making and purchasing to bridge the gap between the requirements of the users and of other stakeholders, between design and usability. The benefits of, and the prerequisites for, successful HCD integration within the complex sociotechnical system of shipping describe a holistic model for maritime HCD.
Hydration change on complexation of aromatic ligands with DNA: molecular dynamics simulations

Aim. Analysis of the hydration changes at formation of DNA complexes with biologically active aromatic compounds (BAC): antibiotics actinomycin D, daunomycin, nogalamycin, novantrone and mutagens ethidium bromide and proflavine. Methods. Molecular dynamics simulations. Results. The hydration indexes for double-helical DNA and ligands in a free and complexed states were calculated. A critical analysis of modern ideas about changing water environment at binding of aromatic ligands to DNA was performed. Conclusions. It is shown that upon binding of aromatic BAC with DNA a significant (from 2.6 for novantrone to 13.1 for actinomycin D) liberation of water molecules out of hydration shells with the disruption of hydrogen bonds takes place.
Women on Boards in Finance and STEM Industries

We document that women are less represented on corporate boards in Finance and more traditional STEM industry sectors. Even after controlling for differences in firm and country characteristics, average diversity in these sectors is 24% lower than the mean. Our findings suggest that well-documented gender differences in STEM university enrolments and occupations have long-term consequences for female business leadership. The leadership gap in Finance and STEM may be difficult to eliminate using blanket boardroom diversity policies. Diversity policies are also likely to have a different impact on firms in these sectors than in non-STEM sectors.
Evaluation of the effects of fine sediment inputs from stream culverts on brown trout egg survival through field and laboratory assessments

Abstract Laboratory and field assessments were used to determine whether the construction of culverts affects brown trout (Salmo trutta L.) egg survival through the introduction of elevated sediment levels. In the laboratory, survival was closely related to fine sediment. Survival to hatching was reduced to 28% for eggs incubating in medium fine sediment treatment (20%), and no eggs survived to hatching in high fine sediment (40%). An exposure index was developed to investigate the effect on survival of increased exposure time of eggs to sediment. This index, suggests that exposure time to sediment was negatively related to survival and confirmed the importance of incorporating exposure time in future studies. In the field, no significant difference was detected in egg survival between the control sites (upstream of culverts) and test sites (downstream of culverts), and a similar result was found for total fine sediment. The assessment did highlight that variation in culvert location and design can influence sediment input into rivers, and the exposure index again confirmed that exposure time to sediment is important in the field.
CABOTAGESTUDIEN - A study on trucking deregulation and cabotage in Scandinavia and beyond

An open European market for goods and services, including transport services, stimulates trade, global competitiveness and economic growth. At the same time, concerns about domestic job security, regulation compliance and the environment have sparked a debate. This report should be considered one of the first modest contributions to the mainly unexplored area of European freight deregulation. Our contribution is a review of previous research, a snapshot of the movement patterns of the foreign trucks on Scandinavian roads, statistical analyses and case investigations. Parts of the data collection presented in this report are based on an innovative smartphone app for counting trucks that registers vehicle movements with the assistance of 8 000 volunteers. Given the novelty of the methods employed one must keep in mind the underlying assumptions stated in the report when interpreting the results. Our study offers the following indications: 1) Denmark, Norway and Sweden are three different markets, with significant differences in terms of how cabotage and combined transportation are carried out. 2) The actors in the market are very flexible and are adapting their businesses according to the possibilities the current road freight regulations offer. The Cabotage Directive may have been introduced as a way to increase fill rate, but is in practice viewed as a tool for gaining access to low-cost drivers on Scandinavian roads. 3) The data for Sweden indicate that there are legal infringements of the cabotage rules, which means that trucks make more than 3 trips and/or stay longer than 7 days. There are also indications of frequent violations of tax rules regarding posted workers. 4) The data collected can be used to complement the Eurostat cabotage statistics, particularly since many of the most frequently occurring truck nationalities are not represented in Eurostat. In addition to the indications outlined, our data also provide a rich picture of Bulgarian hauliers in Scandinavia.