Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Concerning the Shock Sensitivities of Certain Plastic Bonded Explosives Based on Attractive Cyclic Nitramines .

Plastic bonded explosives (PBXs) based on ε-2,4,6,8,10,12-hexanitro2,4,6,8,10,12-hexaazaisowurtzitane (ε-HNIW), 1,3,5-trinitro-1,3,5-triazinane (RDX), β-1,3,5,7-tetranitro-1,3,5,7-tetrazocane (β-HMX) and cis-1,3,4,6tetranitro-octahydroimidazo-[4,5-d]imidazole (BCHMX) were prepared using a hydroxyl-terminated polybutadiene as a binder (HTPB) and cured with hexamethylene di-isocyanate (HMDI). Recently published data for analogous PBXs with a polyisobutylene binder (i.e. a C4 matrix) are also included. All of these PBXs were tested using the Small Scale Water Gap Test according to STANAG 4490, the results of which are directly proportional to the impact and friction sensitivities of the PBXs studied. Reciprocal ratios between the shock sensitivity of these PBXs and their performance were found using the volume heat of explosion as a variable; a semi-logarithmic analogue, using a representative of the detonation pressure (product ρD2) as a variable, has shown an opposite trend for three of these PBXs. A semi-logarithmic relationship between the shock sensitivity of the PBXs and the impact sensitivity of their pure nitramine fillers has confirmed the higher shock reactivity of the C4 PBXs filled with both technical ε-HNIW and RS-ε-HNIW, while for the HTPB PBXs filled with technical grade ε-HNIW, the shock sensitivity found was as expected. The shape and size of the particles should not be a reason for the increased resistance to shock of HMX-C4.
Minsky Models: A Structured Survey

Minsky’s ideas have recently gained prominence in the mainstream as well as in the heterodox literature. However, there exists no agreement upon the formal presentation of Minsky’s insights. The aim of this paper is to survey the literature and identify differences and similarities in the ways through which Minskyan ideas have been formalised. We distinguish between the models that focus on the dynamics of debt or interest, with no or a secondary role for asset prices, and the models in which asset prices play a key role in the dynamic behaviour of the economy. Within the first category of models we make a classification between (i) the Kalecki-Minsky models, (ii) the Kaldor-Minsky models, (iii) the Goodwin-Minsky models, (iv) the credit rationing Minsky models, (v) the endogenous target debt ratio models and (vi) the Minsky-Veblen models. Within the second category of models, we distinguish between (i) the equity price Minsky models and (ii) the real estate price Minsky models. Key limitations of the models and directions for future research are outlined.
Title Efficient calculation of large finite periodic structures based onsurface wave analysis

The electromagnetic modeling of practical finite periodic structures is a topic of growing interest. Due to the truncation of infinite periodic structures, surface waves will be excited and localized near discontinuous interfaces leading to the edge effect. In this work, surface waves are numerically extracted and their magnitudes and decay rates are analyzed for different materials and geometries. Based on the exponential decay of the surface wave, a novelmethod is developed by connecting the solution to the large finite array problemwith that to a relatively small one to achieve low complexity andmemory consumption. Themethod numerically reconstructs propagating Bloch waves and surface waves according to the Bloch-Floquet theorem of periodic structures and translation invariant properties of semi-infinite periodic structures, respectively. Numerical examples are shown for near-field distributions and far-field radiation patterns. The results obtained from small finite periodic structures capture the edge effect and agree well with the results by the rigorous element-by-element approach.
Scanning tunneling spectroscopy of the surface states of Dirac fermions in thermoelectrics based on bismuth telluride

The morphology of the interlayer van der Waals surface and differential tunneling conductance in p-Bi2−xSbxTe3−ySey solid solutions were studied by scanning tunneling microscopy and spectroscopy in dependence on compositions. The topological characteristics of the Dirac fermion surface states were determined. It was shown that the thermoelectric power factor and the material parameter enhance with the shift of the Dirac point to the top of the valence band with the increasing of atomic substitution in these thermoelectrics. A correlation between topological characteristics, power factor and material parameters was found. A growth contribution of the surface states is determined by an increase of the Fermi velocity for large atomic substitutions of Bi at x > 1.5 and small substitutions in the Te sublattice (y = 0.06). In compositions with smaller substitutions at x = (1–1.3) and y = (0.06–0.09), similar effect of the surface states is determined by raising the surface concentration of charge carriers.
The Evolution of Quality Concepts and the Related Quality Management

Enterprises usually adopt some quality practices to control the product quality during the manufacturing process in order to assure the delivery of qualitative good products to customers. The quality practices or quality management systems adopted by indus‐ tries will further evolve due to the changes of quality concepts as time goes by. This chapter discusses the change of quality concepts and the related revolution of quality management systems in the past century. The quality concepts were gradually changed from the achievement of quality standards, satisfaction of customer needs, and expecta‐ tions to customer delight. Since merely satisfying customers is not enough to ensure customer loyalty, the enterprises gradually focus on customers’ emotional responses and their delight in order to pursue their loyalty. The emotion of “delight” is composed of “joy” and “surprise,” which can be achieved as the customers’ latent requirements are satisfied. Thus, the concept of “customer delight” and the means to provide the inno‐ vative quality so as to meet the unsatisfied customers’ latent needs are elaborated on. Finally, a framework of innovation creation is developed that is based on the mining of customer's latent requirements. This outline will manifest the essential elements of the related operation steps.
Wood quality of Norway spruce grown in plantations in Quebec

This study was conducted as part of the genetic research program on Norway spruce [ Picea abies (L.) Karst. ] grown in Quebec. The objective of the study was to acquire more information on the wood density of Norway spruce grown in plantations and to determine whether the wood density could be used as a selection criterion for species improvement. To this end, 70-year-old commercial plantation-grown trees were first sampled in order to establish the wood density radial variation pattern and determine the existing relationships between the properties of juvenile wood and the average values of mature trees. Subsequently, the study of 22 provenances from central Europe introduced in Quebec was designed to verify the intra- and inter-provenance variation in wood density, determine the correlation between wood density and radial growth rates and origin, and estimate the impact of a selection of superior phenotypes on wood density. The study on 70-year-old trees showed that wood density declines from pith toward bark up to the eighth annual ring, stabilizes until the fourteenth annual ring, and increases thereafter. The simple regression equations calculated between the density of the juvenile wood and the mean density of the trees were significant with R 2 varying from 0.53 to 0.64. The study of the wood density of the trees in the provenance trial, 19 growing seasons after planting, showed the presence of a moderate negative correlation between radial growth rate and wood density. No significant difference was found among provenances with regard to the average density values of the juvenile wood. For the radial variation pattern of wood density and annual growth ring width, comparisons made it possible to identify significant differences between southwestern and northeastern European provenances. There is still, however, strong individual variability in these traits, with 65 to 85% of total variation being due to differences between trees from the same plot. A three-stage selection procedure would make it possible to maintain wood density, to reduce by half the deviation between the internal and external juvenile wood density, and to double the volume output, depending on the selection strategy chosen. These results confirm the potential for rapid growth and the excellent wood quality of Norway spruce provenances that are well adapted to the soil and climate conditions in Quebec.
A validation of parentage-based tagging using hatchery steelhead in the Snake River basin

Parentage-based tagging (PBT) is a promising alternative to traditional coded-wire tag (CWT) methodologies for monitoring and evaluating hatchery stocks. This approach involves the genotyping of hatchery broodstock and uses parentage assignments to identify the origin and brood year of their progeny. In this study we empirically confirmed that fewer than 100 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were needed to accurately conduct PBT, we demonstrated that our selected panel of SNPs was comparable in accuracy to a panel of microsatellites, and we verified that stock assignments made with this panel matched those made using CWTs. We also demonstrated that when sampling of spawners was incomplete, an estimated PBT rate for the offspring could also be predicted with fewer than 100 SNPs. This study in the Snake River basin is one of the first large-scale implementations of PBT in salmonids and lays the foundation for adopting this technology more broadly in the region, thereby allowing the unprecedented ability to mark millions of smolts and an opportunity to address a variety of parentage-based research and management questions. Resume : Le marquage base sur l'ascendance (PBT) est une solution de rechange interessante aux methodes traditionnelles reposant sur les micromarques magnetisees codees (CWT) pour la surveillance et l'evaluation des stocks issus d'ecloseries. Cette approche comprend le genotypage des geniteurs d'ecloserie et le recours al'assignation parentale pour determiner l'origine et l'annee d'eclosion de la progeniture. Dans la presente etude, nous avons confirme de maniere empirique que moins de 100 polymorphismes mononucleotidiques (SNP) etaient necessaires pour assurer l'exactitude du PBT, demontre que le lot de SNP que nous avons selectionne donnait une exactitude semblable acelle obtenue avec un lot de microsatellites et verifie que les assignations parentales obtenues avec ce lot correspondaient acelles obtenues par la methode des CWT. Nous avons egalement demontre que, dans les cas d'echantillonnage incomplet des geniteurs, un taux de PBT estime pour la progeniture pouvait etre predit avec moins de 100 SNP. Cette etude dans le bassin de la riviere Snake est une des premieres applications agrande echelle du PBT ades salmonides et jette les bases de l'adoption elargie de cette technique dans la region, permettant ainsi, pour la premiere fois, le marquage de millions de saumoneaux et offrant la possibilite d'aborder de multiples questions touchant ala recherche axee sur l'ascendance et ala gestion. (Traduit par la Redaction)
Effect of Shear Flow on Crystallization of Sydiotactic Polypropylene/Clay Composites

The high sensitivity of crystallization to shear flow is a subject of great research interest the last several years. A set of syndiotactic polypropylene/clay composite samples were used to examine the effect of shear flow on crystallization kinetics. This phenomenon alters both processing and material final properties. In the present work, the effects of clay contents and shear flow on the rate of flow induced crystallization were investigated using rheological technique. Small amplitude oscillatory shear experiments were performed using advanced rheometric expansion system (ARES). The crystallization rate is found to alter by both shear and clay contents in the polymer composites.
Impact of Quality Corporate Governance on Firm Performance: A Ten Year Perspective

Corporate governance remained most discussed issue in the 2000s during accounting standard adoption, and Asian financial crisis. This study intends to contribute toward the impact of corporate governance features on the firm performance in presence of certain firm specific attributes and uncontrollable (macro) events: firm size, capital structure, adoption of accounting standards, and Asian financial crisis. In this study, corporate governance scores are calculated by adopting an index from earlier studies. This index consists of two sections: structure (ownership concentration and managerial ownership) and independence (board independence and audit committee independence). High scores for the index denote quality corporate governance and vice versa. By using the fixed effects estimation method of panel data of 50 largest (by market capitalization) companies (listed at Karachi Stock Exchange), we found quality corporate governance significantly determining firm performance. Leverage (measured by debt ratio) moderates the relationship between quality corporate governance and firm performance by implying stronger relation for high levered firms and negative relationship of governance scores with performance for the case of low levered firms, firm size (measures by log natural of total assets) also changes the intensity of relation for variables of study (stronger relation for larger firms but no relation for small size firms). However, adoption of accounting standards doesn’t have any significant for the association between the governance scores and firm performance.
Dual processes at work in a call centre: An application of the job demands – resources model

This study among 477 employees working in the call centre of a Dutch telecom company (response 88%) examined the predictive validity of the job demands – resources (JD – R) model for self-reported absenteeism and turnover intentions. The central hypothesis was that job demands would be the most important predictors of absenteeism, through their relationship with health problems (i.e., exhaustion and Repetitive Strain Injury—RSI), whereas job resources would be the most important predictors of turnover intentions, through their relationship with involvement (i.e., organizational commitment and dedication). Results of a series of SEM analyses largely supported these dual processes. In the first energy-driven process, job demands (i.e., work pressure, computer problems, emotional demands, and changes in tasks) were the most important predictors of health problems, which, in turn, were related to sickness absence (duration and long-term absence). In the second motivation-driven process, job resources (i.e., social support, supervisory coaching, performance feedback and time control) were the only predictors of involvement, which, in turn, was related to turnover intentions. Additionally, job resources had a weak negative relationship with health problems, and health problems positively influenced turnover intentions. The application of the JD – R model as a human resource management tool in call centres as well as in other organizations is discussed.
Dynamic millennial‐scale climate changes in the northwestern Pacific over the past 40,000 years

Ice core records of polar temperatures and greenhouse gases document abrupt millennial‐scale oscillations that suggest the reduction or shutdown of thermohaline Circulation (THC) in the North Atlantic Ocean may induce the abrupt cooling in the northern hemisphere. It remains unknown, however, whether the sea surface temperature (SST) is cooling or warming in the Kuroshio of the Northwestern Pacific during the cooling event. Here we present an AMS 14C‐dated foraminiferal Mg/Ca SST record from the central Okinawa Trough and document that the SST variations exhibit two steps of warming since 21 ka — at 14.7 ka and 12.8 ka, and a cooling (∼1.5°C) during the interval of the Younger Dryas. By contrast, we observed no SST change or oceanic warming (∼1.5–2°C) during the episodes of Northern Hemisphere cooling between ∼21–40 ka. We therefore suggest that the “Antarctic‐like” timing and amplitude of millennial‐scale SST variations in the subtropical Northwestern Pacific between 20–40 ka may have been determined by rapid ocean adjustment processes in response to abrupt wind stress and meridional temperature gradient changes in the North Pacific.
Synthesis of Cu Doped ZnO Nanostructures for Ultra Violet Sensing

This paper mainly focused on the synthesis of zinc oxide nanostructures, their characterization and their ultra violet light sensing response at room temperature. Nanowires, nanobelts and nanosheets were synthesized by varying doping material copper by using vapor transport technique governed by the vapor-liquid- solid or vapor-solid mechanisms. The structural, morphological and optical characterization was carried out using X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive X-Ray and ultra violet visible spectroscopy techniques. Finally the ultra violet light sensing response of these nanostructures was observed by using Keithley meter. The high ultra violet photosensitivity and fast response time justifies the effective utilization of these ZnO nanostructures as ultra violet sensors in different areas. Copyright © 2015 IFSA Publishing, S. L.
Mobile Learning in Saudi Arabia – Prospects and Challenges

The continuing expansion of broadband wireless networks and the explosion of power and capacity of the next generation of cellular telephones make it evident that mobile telephones, a familiar tool for communications, have immense possibilities for teaching, learning, and research in work places as well as in educational institutions. This paper reviews the prospects and technological challenges of mobile-learning in Saudi Arabia (SA). An analysis of questionnaire survey findings has been presented to measure students' attitudes and perceptions towards the effectiveness of mobile learning. A total of 131 students from undergraduate level of a Saudi Arabian university participated in this study. More than 75% students show positive attitudes towards m-learning due to the flexibility of learning methods and timings, and improved communications among learners.
Effects of dietary brown propolis on nutrient intake and digestibility in feedlot lambs

The present study tested brown propolis in crude or extract form as a feed supplement for feedlot lambs to identify the type that most improves in vivo nutrient digestibility. Digestibility was assessed by both total fecal collection and internal markers and the results obtained by these techniques were compared. The completely randomized design was used to compare feed intake and nutrient digestibility of 24 male lambs aged seven months among four dietary treatments (crude brown propolis, propolis ethanol extract, monensin sodium, and control). Methods of feces collection were compared using a completely randomized split-plot design, with experimental diets corresponding to the main factor and the methods to estimate fecal production as the sub-factor. The diets had a roughage:concentrate ratio of 50:50, with Tifton-85 bermudagrass hay (Cynodon spp.) as roughage, and ground corn, soybean meal and minerals as concentrate. The lambs fed diets with crude propolis had higher feed intake than those fed diets containing monensin sodium. The different diets did not affect dry matter, organic matter, crude protein, neutral detergent fiber, or acid detergent fiber digestibility, but crude propolis supplementation provided higher ether extract digestibility than monensin sodium. Nutrient digestibility, as indicated by indigestible neutral detergent fiber, indigestible acid detergent fiber and sequentially-determined indigestible acid detergent fiber, was lower than that found with the fecal collection method. The addition of brown propolis has the same effect as monensin, but neither maximized nutrient availability in the diet of feedlot lambs at 7 months of age. Digestibility assessment using the internal markers indigestible neutral detergent fiber, indigestible acid detergent fiber and sequentially-determined indigestible acid detergent fiber is not an efficient method compared with total feces collection.
Employee Involvement and its Impact on job Satisfaction and Organisational Commitment (Evidence from the 2011 Workplace Employment Relations study)

The main goal of this research is to explore the impact of different types of employee involvement (EI) on job satisfaction and organisational commitment to give a clearer method for HR practitioners to identify the most suitable type of EI. This study took place through a quantitative methodology using data from the Workplace Employment Relations study in 2011, which is known as the largest dataset in the UK that explored employees’ relations by surveying a total of 21,981 employees in 2,680 workplaces. The findings of the statistical analyses show a strong correlation between both kinds of direct employee involvement (EI-autonomy and EI-decision) with job satisfaction and organisational commitment. However, involvement through influencing decisions making was found to have a slightly stronger correlation with both satisfaction and commitment than involvement through giving employees autonomy over their work. In addition, age, gender and employee salary were found to have no influence on the relationship between the three constructs.Based on the findings of the data analysis, this research recommends considering the use of both methods of employee involvement in organisations in various situations, regardless of an employee’s age, gender or salary.
Dynamic and steady: shear rheological properties of xanthan and guar gums dispersed in yellow passion fruit pulp (Passiflora edulis f. flavicarpa)

Yellow passion fruit pulp is unstable, presenting phase separation that can be avoided by the addition of hydrocolloids. For this purpose, xanthan and guar gum [0.3, 0.7 and 1.0% (w/w)] were added to yellow passion fruit pulp and the changes in the dynamic and steady - shear rheological behavior evaluated. Xanthan dispersions showed a more pronounced pseudoplasticity and the presence of yield stress, which was not observed in the guar gum dispersions. Cross model fitting to flow curves showed that the xanthan suspensions also had higher zero shear viscosity than the guar suspensions, and, for both gums, an increase in temperature led to lower values for this parameter. The gums showed different behavior as a function of temperature in the range of 5 - 35oC. The activation energy of the apparent viscosity was dependent on the shear rate and gum concentration for guar, whereas for xanthan these values only varied with the concentration. The mechanical spectra were well described by the generalized Maxwell model and the xanthan dispersions showed a more elastic character than the guar dispersions, with higher values for the relaxation time. Xanthan was characterized as a weak gel, while guar presented a concentrated solution behavior. The simultaneous evaluation of temperature and concentration showed a stronger influence of the polysaccharide concentration on the apparent viscosity and the G' and G" moduli than the variation in temperature.
Bank Relationships: A Review

This paper reviews the theoretical and empirical literature on bank relationships. We begin with the event study evidence on bank loan announcements and trace our way forward through an overview of papers discussing the benefits and costs of bank relationships. We follow with a review of the evidence on the nature and strength of bank relationships, covering such topics as duration, scope, control, and number of bank relationships. We also discuss the importance of bank relationships for aggregate economic activity.