Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Energy levels distribution in supersaturated silicon with titanium for photovoltaic applications

In the attempt to form an intermediate band in the bandgap of silicon substrates to give it the capability to absorb infrared radiation, we studied the deep levels in supersaturated silicon with titanium. The technique used to characterize the energy levels was the thermal admittance spectroscopy. Our experimental results showed that in samples with titanium concentration just under Mott limit there was a relationship among the activation energy value and the capture cross section value. This relationship obeys to the well known Meyer-Neldel rule, which typically appears in processes involving multiple excitations, like carrier capture/emission in deep levels, and it is generally observed in disordered systems. The obtained characteristic Meyer-Neldel parameters were Tmn = 176 K and kTmn = 15 meV. The energy value could be associated to the typical energy of the phonons in the substrate. The almost perfect adjust of all experimental data to the same straight line provides further evidence of the validity of the Meyer Neldel rule, and may contribute to obtain a deeper insight on the ultimate meaning of this phenomenon.
Parasite transgenerational effects on infection

Question: Do past conditions experienced by parasites mediate current levels of infectivity and virulence in the host–parasite combination of Daphnia magna and Pasteuria ramosa? Methods: We varied either temperature (three levels: 15, 20 or 25 C) or food supplied to the host (two levels) during a primary infection event, and then harvested parasites and measured their infectivity during a secondary infection event that was subject to the same environmental variation. Result: Past temperatures did not influence any of the infection-related traits measured. By contrast, past food conditions appeared to impact infection, with parasite spores originating from well-fed hosts generally being more harmful. There was no indication that parasites had become specialized to their past environment. Four host genotypes were included in the experiment, and there was evidence that one of four was more sensitive to the environmental history of parasites than were the other hosts, i.e. there was an interaction between host genotype and parasite treatment effects. Conclusion: Overall, parasite transgenerational effects appear to influence the level of harm parasites cause.
Involuntary part-time employment: perspectives from two European labour markets

Part-time employment in Europe has continued to grow faster than overall employment during the Great Recession and its aftermath. But as part-time work becomes more prevalent, so does involuntary part-time – at least in most countries. In this paper we focus on Greece and the UK, two European labour markets characterised by different institutions, but also a common trend of rising involuntary part-time (from different levels). We attempt to detect determinants and/or correlates of involuntary part-time, and changes over time. We analyse Labour Force Survey data for 2008 and 2013. We find that the UK labour market appears to be more successful in aligning workers’ preferences with employers’ demand for part-time work. However, as the economic downturn has made full-time jobs scarcer, involuntary part-time work has risen. Moreover, significant gaps in pay and job quality between voluntary and involuntary part-timers persist. In the case of Greece, involuntary part-time was already very high in 2008, in spite of the fact that pay differentials were relatively small, which suggests that part-time jobs were widely viewed by workers as sub-optimal. Under the impact of the recession and the austerity, the Greek labour market has become more flexible but also more insecure. As pay differentials have risen, and non-standard work has been made more precarious, part-time jobs have become even less attractive, so involuntary part-time has grown further still. We conclude that while the structure of the economy and the business cycle explain some of the differences between the two countries and over time, institutional factors and the quality of part-time jobs on offer are of great importance in shaping workers’ attitudes. We suggest that future research should focus on the interaction between shocks and institutions.
Brighter Great Tit parents build bigger nests

Nest size is commonly believed to be naturally selected,and to covary with requirements of developing eggs andnestlings (Collias & Collias 1984). In many altricial birdspecies, it is an important component of parental effort,as parents devote an important amount of energy andtime to nest building, but by doing so they expose them-selves and their offspring to a substantial predation risk(Martin et al. 2000). In this paper, we studied nest-sizevariation in a Great Tit Parus major population in rela-tion to breeding factors and parental carotenoid-basedplumage characteristics. The Great Tit is a secondary-cavity nesting species and females are solely responsiblefor building the nest (Gosler 1993). Sexual signalling viacarotenoid-based plumage coloration is known to occurin this species (Hill & McGraw 2006). We found thatplumage chroma of female and especially male GreatTits was positively related to nest size, suggesting greaterfemale investment in nest building when mated to malesin good condition.Nest-building behaviour and ultimately the nest itselfare often associated with courtship and pair formation(Collias & Collias 1984, Soler et al. 1998a). Further,nest-building behaviour may be involved in post-matingsexual communication between partners (Soler et al.1998a). In this way, individuals may increase their nest-building effort to signal their quality, or willingness toinvest in the current reproductive event (e.g. Soler et al.2001). Likewise, they may respond to their partner’scharacteristics in a similar way, to promote their invest-ment. However, knowledge of the use of the nest as apost-mating sexual display is limited, and most empiricalevidence comes from species where males are responsi-ble for nest building (Moreno et al. 1994, Hoi et al.1996, Soler et al. 1998b, 2001). Plumage coloration is known to be a sexually selectedcharacter signalling individual quality, and is ofteninvolved in pair formation and courtship (Hill &McGraw 2006). In particular, carotenoid-based plumagecoloration has been the focus of numerous recent stud-ies, and as carotenoids can only be obtained through thediet, they can be reliable indicators of the bearer’s feed-ing efﬁciency (Senar & Escobar 2002, Senar et al. 2008),body condition (Saks et al. 2003a, 2003b, Ferns & Hins-ley 2008) and survival (Horak et al. 2001). Thus, carot-enoid-based plumage coloration can reﬂect individualparenting ability (Senar et al. 2002, Doutrelant et al.2008), and consequently could be expected to affect sev-eral components of parental investment and resourceallocation (Clutton-Brock & Godfray 1991). In this way,nest-size variation may be related to parental quality,which in turn may be reﬂected by the parents’ plumagecoloration.METHODSThe study was performed in a forest area (c.4km
The relationship between management ethics and organizational commitment among employees of the Tehran University of Medical Sciences

Observation of ethical principles by health care organizations managers can direct and control human resources. Moreover, organizational commitment is a type of emotional and fanatical dependence on the values and goals of an organization that can help preparing an appropriate background for employee development. Therefore, this research is aimed to determine the relationship between management ethics and organizational commitment among employees of the Tehran University of Medical Sciences. This is a cross-sectional, descriptive and analytical research conducted among the headquarters employees of the Tehran University of Medical Sciences. One hundred and fifty employees were selected as a research sample using the Cochran formula. The research tools were two types of standard questionnaires including organizational commitment and principles of ethics questionnaires that were completed by the employees. The response rate was 86%. The collection and analysis of data were performed by SPSS software. The results of this research showed that most managers of TUMS headquarters observed the principles of ethics and also most of the employees had a high level of organizational commitment. However, organizational commitment of TUMS employees does not appear to be influenced by managers’ observance of ethical principles, and it seems that other factors like organizational culture or organizational health could be correlated with employees’ organizational commitment. The authors recommend preparation of ethical charters and avoidance of instrumental usage of ethical principles by the managers in order to direct the employees to follow ethical guidelines and create a unified culture within the organization.
Impact of different lining substrata on biological and biochemical characteristics of the Nile Tilapia Oreochromis niloticus

The effect of lining waterbodies on the growth performance and survival rate of the fish Oreochromis niloticus maintained in different lining substrata (cement, plastic and mud) and control (without lining) for 12 weeks was studied . It was found that there was no significant difference in the final mean size (length and weight) among the different groups; the fish length were 18.01±0.26, 17.73±0.15, 17.33±0.2 and 17.83±0.14 cm for cement, plastic, mud and control, respectively and weight (15.94±0.11, 15.73±0.2, 15.52±0.34 and 15.39±0.26 g for cement, plastic, mud and control respectively. The calculated condition factor (K-value) was 0.27±0.01, 0.28±0.0, 0.3±0.0 and 0.27±0.0 for fish maintained in cement, plastic, mud and control, respectively; which also wasn`t significantly differ among the study groups. In addition, determination of length increment (LI), the average weight gain (AWG), average daily weight gain (ADWG), the relative growth rate (RGR %) and specific growth rate (SGR %) of O. niloticus indicated that there is no significant differences obtained between the lining materials and control ones. In the same way, the biochemical analysis of the blood show no significant differences among fish groups maintained in different substrata. The electrophoretic patterns of tissue soluble-proteins extracted from the fish maintained in the tested lining media (mud, cement, and plastic) and control ones for a period of 12 weeks were also studied. It was found that the control group yielded 12 protein fractions of molecular masses between 165.24 and 12.34 kDa. Whereas, only 11 protein bands appeared in fish group maintained in cement substratum ranging from 162.62 to 12.15 kDa. Fish groups maintained in plastic and mud substratum obtained the same number of protein bands (14 bands) with molecular weight varied from 152.54 to 12.49 and from 165.24 to 12.34 kDa, respectively. Fish in cement group demonstrates the highest similarity indices with the two groups; control and mud with similarity index of 0.96 and 0.88, respectively. While the plastic fish groups show a similarity index of 0.69 and 0.79 with the same groups, respectively. It could be concluded that the application of lining the waterbodies (whatever the used material) hasn`t negative impact, on the growth performance, blood biochemical analysis and the protein profiles, comparing to the mud and control groups.
1 WHAT DOES FEARNOT ! LOOK LIKE ?

In this paper we discuss the early stage design of MIXER, a technology-enhanced educational application focused at supporting children in learning about cultural conflict, achieved through the use of a game with an effective embodied AI agent. MIXER is being developed re-using existing technology applied to a different context and purpose with the aim of creating an educational and enjoyable experience for 9-11 year-olds. This paper outlines MIXER’s underpinning technology and theory. It presents early stage design and development, highlighting current research directions.
Quadratic Hamiltonians on pinched spheres

Among other dynamical systems, two normalized perturbed elliptic oscillators in resonance 1:1 may be represented by a parametric quadratic form in a set of Cartesian variables whose Poisson structure is the one of the rigid body and the topology of the phase space is the one of the S 2 sphere. However, when the resonance is p:q, the Poisson structure is different and the phase portrait lies on a “pinched” sphere. In this communication, we show how the loss of the spherical symmetry affects the phase flow and parametric bifurcations for the bi-parametric cases.
Students’ Educational and Occupational Aspirations Predicted by Parents’ and Adolescents’ Characteristics

Education plays a significant role in the future of young people. Education is considered as an essential tool that facilitates the decision making process on one’s future career. The objectives of this study were to examine whether there are gender differences on students’ educational and occupational aspirations as well as whether parents’ and young’s characteristics predicted students’ educational and occupational aspirations during their high school studies. The survey was completed by N=160 where (N=64, 40%) were male and (N=96, 60%) were female students studying in private and public high schools in Tirana and Elbasan known as main cities of Albania. Scale reliability was measured which showed that Cronbach’s alpha coefficient is . 962. By using a T-test analysis, the results showed that males were not significantly different from females on educational and occupational aspirations (p=.88). Multiple regression analysis was conducted to determine the best linear combination of gender, age, parents’ educational level, and parents’ occupational level for predicting students’ educational and occupational aspirations. Results showed that the combination of these variables did not significantly contribute to the prediction of students’ educational and occupational aspirations, F(4,142)=1.09, p=. 36. Among all variables entered in the analysis, it was found that only parental educational level almost significantly contributed to the prediction where p=. 056. It is recommended that more research need to be done to explore the impact of other family and child characteristics on students’ educational and occupational aspirations.
Genotypic Variability for Agronomic and Yield Characters in Some Cowpeas (Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp.)

Cultivated species of crops are usually variable because of artificial selection under diverse environments of which cowpea is not exception. Consequently, genotypic variability study was conducted with eight parent line cowpeas to evaluate some genetic parameters namely coefficient of variation, genetic variance and heritability estimates in the broad-sense. Per se mean performance was variable among the genotypes for all characters investigated which indicated the superiority of some parent lines. Highly significant heritability effects were observed for all characters except for 100-seed weight (42.2%) which expressed moderate heritability estimate. Days to 50% flowering, pod length, pod weight and grain yield characters showed that some levels of genetic variability existed. Consequently, progress could be made from selection and improvement for those characters. (Nature and Science 2010;8(3):48- 55). (ISSN: 1545-0740).
Achieving and Maintaining Price Stability in Nigeria

This paper reviews the historical performance of monetary policy in Nigeria and discusses the relative merits of alternative monetary policy strategies that Nigeria could adopt in the future, once the many operational issues that today obstruct the conduct of monetary policy have been addressed. An analysis of external and fiscal dominance in Nigeria reveals that none of the candidate strategies is particularly appealing although, on various grounds, a long-run target for inflation combined with a free float seems to be the ultimate option. The paper shows how to design and operationalize such a regime in Nigeria when account is taken for the emerging market features of the economy.
Electric Charge Characteristics of Biofilms Formed on Various Surfaces

Biofilm is predominant habitats of microbes in aquatic environments. Biofilm forms when microbes attach on surfaces and produce extracellular polymeric substances. Biofilm matrix has been showed to have high sorption capacity to accumulate various ions including nutrient ions. The main driving force of the accumulation of the ions is supposed to be an electrostatic interaction between the nutrient and the biofilm polymer. Hence, the understanding of electric charge properties of biofilm polymer is critically important to understand the accumulation process. The present study aimed to investigate the characteristics of electric charge properties of biofilm polymer from biofilms formed on various surfaces (stone, wood, glass bottle, teflon, rubber, and stainless steel). The electric charge properties of biofilm polymers were investigated by measuring the electrophoretic mobility of the biofilms in various pHs (range from pH 2 to pH 9) and titrated HCl and NaOH aqueous solution to the biofilm suspension. The results indicated that biofilm matrices seemed to have both negatively and positively charged sites as a result of ionization of functional groups existed in biofilm polymers. According to the results of this study, there is a universal characteristic of electric charge properties of biofilms regardless of the kind of substrate.
On Translation Strategies of Chinese Culture-Loaded Words

Chinese culture-loaded words refer to the words, phrases, or idioms symbolizing unique features of Chinese culture. There are many Chinese culture-loaded words in the process of reading or translating Chinese literary works, intercultural communication. It’s accurate translation of Chinese culture-loaded words is conducive to the development of linguistic, and it is of vital importance for translation and intercultural communication. This article systematically introduces five kinds of Chinese culture-loaded words, thus summarizing foreignization and domestication translation strategy based on relevance translation theory, equivalence translation theory. Through analysis of examples, it lists different translation methods, aiming at choosing the best solution to translate different Chinese culture-loaded words. It not only enables readers to gain better understanding of Chinese literary and make intercultural communication, but also makes great contribution to diffuse Chinese culture around the world.
Why a Single Measure of Photorealism Is Unrealistic

While the concept of photorealism has important applications in computer graphics, the research community has not agreed on a definition of photorealism that specifies how to measure it. We employed two different test procedures, which correspond to different use scenarios, in order to determine the photorealism of a virtual reconstruction of a historic Viking building using two different lighting techniques. Even in this limited case, the measured degree of photorealism appears to depend on both the test procedure as well as the tested imagery; therefore, we conclude that there is no single measure of photorealism that is appropriate in all situations. Instead, photorealism appears to be a multifaceted phenomenon that requires different measurement procedures for different use scenarios. CR Categories: I.3. 7 [Computer Graphics]: Three-Dimensional Graphics and Realism—Color, shading, shadowing, and texture; H.1. 2 [Models and Principles]: User/Machine Systems—Human factors
Biosurfactants Production from Low Cost Substrate and Degradation of Diesel Oil by a Rhodococcus Strain

The ability of a Rhodococcus strain to produce surface-active agents from residual sunflower frying oil (RSFO) has been screened in batch cultures. During cultivation with RSFO at the concentration 3% (vol/vol), the strain has synthesized extra-cellular compounds which increase the E24 emulsion index of the culture medium up to 63%. In their crude form, these substances lower the surface tension of water until 31.9 mN m-1 . The exponential growth with RSFO as the sole carbon source has developed at a specific growth rate μ = 0.55 d-1 . The critical micelle concentration of the crude product reached the value 287 mg L-1 (γ CMC = 31.9 mN m-1 ). After methylesterification, the lipid fraction of biosurfactants has been analyzed by GC-MS in EI, which reveals the presence of fatty acid methyl esters. The microorganism was also cultivated with the diesel oil as the sole carbon source at the concentration 1% (vol/vol): the active growth phase has developed at rate μ = 0.02 d-1 , without production of emulsifying substance: the microorganism seems to develop different modes of substrate uptake, according to the nature of the carbon source. The potential use of surface-active agents synthesized on RSFO by Rhodococcus erythropolis 16 LM.USTHB is in the oil industry with minimum purity specification, so that crude preparation could be used, at low cost, in clean-up of hydrocarbons contaminated sites and for enhanced oil recovery.
Structure and reactivity of surface oxides on Cu ( 100 )

Adsorption of oxygen onto Cu(100) leads to formation of a well-ordered surface structure known as the ‘missing row’ (MR) reconstruction. The aim of the work described in this thesis was to characterize the chemical properties of this MR structure, which serves as a well-defined analogue for oxidized copper surfaces used in catalysis for CO2 hydrogenation. Specifically, the interaction of CO2 with the MR structure has been studied and compared to measurements on the bare Cu(100) surface and on a partially-reduced MR surface prepared by exposure to H2. The results show that the reduction of the MR structure initially takes place at the lower terraces adjacent to step edges and at defects, producing a new phase which appears to have an amorphous structure. XPS results show a new oxygen species appearing upon reduction, which is attributed to this new structure. The XPS data further show that CO2 sticks more strongly on the oxygen-rich surfaces than on clean Cu(100), though CO2 adsorbs dissociatively on clean Cu(100) and the reduced MR surface, but not on the pure MR structure. Preliminary catalytic tests using an in-situ flow reactor showed conversion of CO2 to CO above 650 ◦C, although the signal was weak. These results demonstrate the feasibility of further experiments using this cell for in-situ surface x-ray diffraction experiments to be conducted in the future.
Optimum high temperature strength of two-dimensional nanocomposites

High-temperature nanoindentation was used to reveal nano-layer size effects on the hardness of two-dimensional metallic nanocomposites. We report the existence of a critical layer thickness at which strength achieves optimal thermal stability. Transmission electron microscopy and theoretical bicrystal calculations show that this optimum arises due to a transition from thermally activated glide within the layers to dislocation transmission across the layers. We demonstrate experimentally that the atomic-scale properties of the interfaces profoundly affect this critical transition. The strong implications are that interfaces can be tuned to achieve an optimum in high temperature strength in layered nanocomposite structures.