Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
INDUSTRIAL R&D INVESTMENT IN EU: RECENT TRENDS AND LESSONS FOR ROMANIA

R&D and innovation are broadly acknowledged as the main drivers of an economy's competitiveness and growth and the measures to encourage investment in research are a central part of economic policies. This paper addresses the question of R&D investment by the private sector and aims at investigating its economic effects in terms of profit and net sales increase R&D investment, industry, EUfor the top 1000 R&D industrial investors based in the EU.
The Cognitive Interplay between the Screen and the Hands

Lausberg and Kita (2003) found that hand choice was determined by the spatial location of geometrical objects on screen. The left hand displayed the object on the left side of the screen, and the object on the right was referred to with the right hand. This paper aimed to investigate the influence of the movements and locations of entities in a cartoon video on hand choice and its concurrent speech. The cartoon video was more complex than Lausberg and Kita’s (2003) experiment in that it revolved around character’s attributes, actions, and events. The methodology consisted of participants retelling the events of a cartoon video to a recipient. Hand choice was thoroughly examined through a qualitative analysis in relation to the following motion features of the video: location, trajectory, viewpoint and manner. The research questions under scrutiny were: how is spatio-motoric information of the stimulus video represented in gesture? Which hands are used to depict the video’s motion properties? And furthermore, why do the hands depict these spatial features in this way? The whyquestion linked the findings to Kita and Özyürek’s (2003) Interface Hypothesis. It was found that (1) character and dual viewpoint gestures were sometimes narrated from observer perspective, (2) the location and trajectory of the hands tended to be similar to the spatial location and path of the protagonist on screen, and (3) manner gestures from observer viewpoint sometimes had a trajectory that did not correspond to the trajectory in the video. In light of the Interface Hypothesis, the Action Generator might alter the trajectory of such manner gestures. This cognitive alteration facilitates the classification of event sequences from each other, and could therefore be considered a mnemonic benefit for speakers to cognitively organise their narrative for the purpose of the cartoon retelling task.
Comparative Study of Performances between Private and Public Schools in English Language Programme

This study investigated the performances of students in English language in Public and Private schools. The stand of one as regards the output was compared with the stand of the other. The areas of concern included the level of performance, teachers’ qualifications and teachers’ experience on the job. The population of the study consists of 15700 students. Ten senior secondary schools were randomly selected from the available sixty four secondary schools in the Local Government Area. Staff statistics and record of WAEC results of the students were collected from the schools. It was discovered from the available statistics that Public schools had more qualified teachers with more years of experience than their Private schools counterparts. It was against the run of play that the students in Private schools performed better than the students in Public schools. The physical outlook of the Public schools visited suggested that maintenance culture was lacking as revealed in the unkempt school plants which might be as a result of lack of supervision. Consistent and meaningful supervision is therefore recommended among others in order to promote good performance in the Public school system especially in the teaching and learning of English language as a language of utility in Nigeria peculiar linguistic situation.
Overview of the O3M SAF GOME-2 operational atmospheric composition and UV radiation data products and data availability

Abstract. The three Global Ozone Monitoring Experiment-2 instruments will provide unique and long data sets for atmospheric research and applications. The complete time period will be 2007–2022, including the period of ozone depletion as well as the beginning of ozone layer recovery. Besides ozone chemistry, the GOME-2 (Global Ozone Monitoring Experiment-2) products are important e.g. for air quality studies, climate modelling, policy monitoring and hazard warnings. The heritage for GOME-2 is in the ERS/GOME and Envisat/SCIAMACHY instruments. The current Level 2 (L2) data cover a wide range of products such as ozone and minor trace gas columns (NO2, BrO, HCHO, H2O, SO2), vertical ozone profiles in high and low spatial resolution, absorbing aerosol indices, surface Lambertian-equivalent reflectivity database, clear-sky and cloud-corrected UV indices and surface UV fields with different weightings and photolysis rates. The Satellite Application Facility on Ozone and Atmospheric Chemistry Monitoring (O3M SAF) processes and disseminates data 24/7. Data quality is guaranteed by the detailed review processes for the algorithms, validation of the products as well as by a continuous quality monitoring of the products and processing. This paper provides an overview of the O3M SAF project background, current status and future plans for the utilisation of the GOME-2 data. An important focus is the provision of summaries of the GOME-2 products including product principles and validation examples together with sample images. Furthermore, this paper collects references to the detailed product algorithm and validation papers.
Biochar alters the soil microbiome and soil function: results of next‐generation amplicon sequencing across Europe

Wide‐scale application of biochar to soil has been suggested as a mechanism to offset increases in CO2 emissions through the long‐term sequestration of a carbon rich and inert substance to the soil, but the implications of this for soil diversity and function remain to be determined. Biochar is capable of inducing changes in soil bacterial communities, but the exact impacts of its application are poorly understood. Using three European sites [UK SRC, short rotation coppice, French grassland (FR) and Italian SRF, short rotation forestry (IT)] treated with identical biochar applications, we undertook 16S and ITS amplicon DNA sequencing. In addition, we carried out assessments of community change over time and N and P mobilization in the UK. Significant changes in bacterial and community structure occurred due to treatment, although the nature of the changes varied by site. STAMP differential abundance analysis showed enrichment of Gemmatimonadete and Acidobacteria in UK biochar plots 1 year after application, whilst control plots exhibited enriched Gemmataceae, Isosphaeraceae and Koribacteraceae. Increased mobility of ammonium and phosphates was also detected after 1 year, coupled with a shift from acid to alkaline phosphomonoesterase activity, which may suggest an ecological and functional shift towards a more copiotrophic ecology. Italy also exhibited enrichments, in both the Proteobacteria (driven by an increase in the order Rhizobiales) and the Gemmatimonadetes. No significant change in the abundance of individual taxa was noted in FR, although a small significant change in unweighted UNIFRAC occurred, indicating variation in the identities of taxa present due to treatment. Fungal β diversity was affected by treatment in IT and FR, but was unaffected in UK samples. The effects of time and site were greater than that of biochar application in UK samples. Overall, this report gives a tantalizing view of the soil microbiome at several sites across Europe and suggests that although application of biochar has significant effects on microbial communities, these may be small compared with the highly variable soil microbiome that is found in different soils and changes with time.
A contingency view on the impact of supplier development on design and conformance quality performance

Abstract This study extends contingency theory’s account of organisational size and culture by exploring the relationship between supplier development and internal quality performance. Drawing on supplier development research, the study aims to examine the moderating impact of organisational size and culture on the relationship between supplier development and design and conformance quality dimensions. Using survey data of 518 UK manufacturing organisations, we found that larger organisations with greater access to resources and a strong supply chain orientation culture tend to place the most weight on supplier development programmes which in turn yield higher internal quality performance. These findings contribute to ‘Operations Management Practice Contingency Research (OM PCR)’ and will raise awareness among operations managers of their future sourcing decisions.
Competitive ability, thermal tolerance and invasion success in exotic Daphnia lumholtzi.

We performed laboratory competition experiments with the invasive Daphnia lumholtzi and native North American Daphnia pulicaria at three temperatures. Daphnia pulicaria was the superior competitor at 20 and 248C, while this dominance pattern shifted at 288C. This observation of a temperature-mediated shift in competitive dominance suggests that a high thermal tolerance in D. lumholtzi has favoured its successful invasion in southern areas of North America. Combined with benefits of inducible defences, our work suggests a multi-faceted explanation for this invader’s success.
Relationship between Mothers’ Socio Demographic Characteristics and Food Security Status in Kangai and Mutithi Locations of Mwea West Sub County, Kenya

The purpose of the study was to determine the relationship between mothers’ socio demographic characteristics and food security status in Kangai and Mutithi Locations of Mwea West Sub County, Kenya. The design was cross sectional survey while the data instrument was a structured researcher administered household questionnaire. Sampling techniques included probability proportionate to population, The Socio Demographic data were analyzed by the use of proportions and t-tests while food security status data were analyzed by the use of Health Canada’s, Household Food Security Survey Model (Health Canada, 2012). Logistical regression model was used to determine the relationship between Socio Demographics and Food Security Status. It was found out that the socio demographics of the mothers in the two locations were significantly different. The house hold food security status for the Sub County was that 39% of households were food secure, 21% were moderately food insecure while 40% were severely food insecure. Gender of the household head, marital status, religion, age, occupation, education, income sources, expenditure on food and land size were the most pronounced proxy indicators for food security status in the Sub County and they underscore the poverty levels in the area. Further research is suggested on possible interventions for food insecurity in the sub county. Keywords: Food Security Status, Socio Demographic Characteristics, Socio Economic Characteristics, Poverty
Suárez 0 Characterization of properties and damage in piezoelectrics

The aim of this chapter is to review the state of the art of the possibilities and existing knowledge on characterization of mechanical and coupling properties and damage detection in piezoelectric ceramics. To address the theoretical problem with a proper rational basis, a review of numerical and experimental techniques to solve the so-called inverse problem of characterization of properties and damage is given. Finally, the relevant details of finite element and boundary element formulations and implementation when addressing correct damage simulation in piezoelectric ceramics (Pérez-Aparicio et al. (2007)) is presented. In recent years, the theoretical framework of inverse problems has been developed to understand and formalize the property and damage characterization problems. This theory has been applied in a variety of continuum mechanics applications, by the groups of Liu & Chen (1996), Oh et al. (2005), Pagano (1970), Rus et al. (2005) and Tarantola & Valette (1982). There is a growing body of knowledge in identification inverse problems for elasticity, like the groups of Tardieu & Constantinescu (2000) or Bonnet & Constantinescu (2005), but due to the intrinsic coupling of magnitudes, the formulation of the piezoelectric problems is more complex than in elastic problems. Despite this difficulty, the electric field and its coupling with the elastic field has the potential to be exploited in monitoring piezoelectrics and in the solution of the inverse problem. Inverse problem techniques have been applied specifically for the piezoelectric ceramics for:
Evaluating the influence of water developments on the demography and spatial ecology of a rare, desert-adapted carnivore: the kit fox (Vulpes macrotis)

Constructing water developments to support anthropogenic activities and particular fauna is pervasive across many arid regions of the globe. Despite their prevalence and a predicted increase as a management and conservation tool, water developments may have complex and unanticipated impacts on wildlife. For example, the addition of water developments to the Great Basin Desert in the western United States may have indirectly contributed to a decrease in distribution and abundance of kit foxes (Vulpes macrotis). From 2010 to 2013, we examined survival, relative abundance, and habitat characteristics of kit foxes in relation to water developments on the U.S. Army Dugway Proving Ground, Utah, using a before-after control-impact design. We collected 2 years of baseline data prior to reducing availability of water and continued data collection for another 2 years after removal of water on one-half of the study area. We found no evidence that removing water influenced survival or abundance of kit foxes. In addition, we found areas associated with the majority of water developments differed from current kit fox territories in elevation, soil type, and dominant cover type; historical use by kit foxes of areas associated with water developments is largely unknown. One explanation for our inability to find support for a water effect is that observed changes in the kit fox population and canid community in the Great Basin are attributable to changes in coyote management practices that temporally coincided with, but were largely unrelated to increases in water availability.
Optimization of construction time-cost trade-off analysis using genetic algorithms

F.Shirvani M.sc. in Civil Engineering Construction and Project Management Islamic Azad University Shoushtar Branch ,Tehran, Iran Civil Ph.D. Faculty Member of Islamic Azad University Shoushtar Branch ,Tehran, Iran Paper Reference Number: 1212-312 Name of the Presenter: F. Farshi Jalali In the management of a construction project, the project duration can often be compressed by accelerating some of its activities at an additional expense. This is the so-called time–cost trade-off (TCT) problem, which has been studied extensively in the project management literature. TCT decisions, however, are complex and require planners to select appropriate resources for each project task, including crew size, equipment, methods, and technology. As combinatorial optimization problems, finding optimal decisions is difficult and time consuming considering the number of possible permutations involved. In this paper, a practical model for TCT optimization is developed using the principle of genetic algorithms (GAs). With its robust optimization search, the GAs model minimizes the total project cost as an objective function and accounts for project-specific constraints on time and cost. To maximize its benefits, the model has been implemented as a VBA macro program. This automates TCT analysis and combines it with standard resource-management procedures. Details of the proposed TCT model are described and several experiments conducted to demonstrate its benefits. The developments made in this paper provide guidelines for designing and implementing practical GA applications in the civil engineering domain.
EAST ASIAN CORPORATE GOVERNANCE: A TEST OF THE RELATION BETWEEN CAPITAL STRUCTURE AND FIRM PERFORMANCE

Corporate governance theory predicts that leverage affects agency costs and thereby influences firm performance. Agency costs represent important problems in corporate governance in both financial and non-financial industries.Prior evidences have demonstrated an association between ownership structures, capital structure, and firm performance.This study extends the literature by proposing a further link between capital structure and firm performance in term of post Asian Financial Crisis that is rarely investigated. Using an agency framework, the research argues that the distribution of equity ownership among corporate managers and external block holders has a significant relationship with leverage and firm performance, and there is reverse causality effect between ownership structure, capital structure, and firm performance.The paper tests two hypotheses that explore various aspects of this relationship.This study uses 532 East Asian companies, which are located in seven most affected countries when the crisis took place during period 1996-1997.The time frame of analysis is 2000-2001 period that is believed as a start of recovery period.Statistic methods used for testing the hypothesis are t-test and multivariate regression model.The empirical results indicate that the East Asian companies after the crisis apply the efficiency-risk argument.In analyzing the reverse causation of capital structure and corporate performance relation, the result confirms the incentive signaling approach, which debt can be used to signal the fact that firm has prospect and equity issues may be interpreted as a negative signal.
Different dynamical histories for comets C/2001 Q4 and C/2002 T7?

Context. Both, C/2001 Q4 and C/2002 T7, are widely regarded in the literature as dynamically new comets that are visiting our planetary system for the first time from the Oort Cloud. Aims. We study the past dynamical evolution of these two bright comets that both have an original semimajor axis inside the so-called Oort spike (i.e. with 1/aori < 10 −4 AU −1 ). Methods. For each comet, we constructed a dedicated grid of independent, starting, osculating swarms of 5000 orbits based on different subsets of positional data and different dependences of the non-gravitational acceleration on the heliocentric distance. We then followed numerically each swarm of non-gravitational orbits one orbital revolution into the past, taking into account both planetary and Galactic perturbations and checking for all known stellar perturbers. This method allows us to obtain the orbital elements and their uncertainties at the previous perihelion passage. Results. We find that the dedicated g(r)-like function seems to be more adequate for describing the non-gravitational effects than the standard g(r)-function in the motion of both comets, but we are able to estimate only two parameters: the scale distance r0 ,a nd the exponent m. We show, however, that the greatest change in the previous perihelion value relative to that obtained in the standard approach results from the type of data subset used for non-gravitational orbit determination. The form of the dependence of nongravitational acceleration on heliocentric distance is of secondary importance for both investigated comets in this context. We find that only comet C/2002 T7 passed far beyond the planetary system during its previous perihelion passage and that C/2001 Q4 was probably well inside the Saturn orbit at a previous perihelion. Conclusions. We argue that for these comets (which have long sequences of positional data), the safest method for the previous perihelion determination is to exclude data within time intervals where some local outbursts were reported. We recommend that the non-gravitational models based on data taken at larger perihelion distance are more appropriate for estimating the distance of previous perihelion passage of C/2001 Q4 and those based on a pre-perihelion data set for previous perihelion estimation of C/2002 T7. These models suggest that C/2001 Q4 passed its previous perihelion closer than 6–7 AU from the Sun, so is dynamically old, whereas C/2002 T7 at a distance larger than 400 AU, is a dynamically new comet since it overcame the Jupiter-Saturn barrier.
INFLUENCE OF VARIOUS PLANT POPULATIONS ON WEED REMOVAL TIMING IN GLYPHOSATE-RESISTANT SOYBEAN

OF THESIS INFLUENCE OF VARIOUS PLANT POPULATIONS ON WEED REMOVAL TIMING IN GLYPHOSATE-RESISTANT SOYBEAN Reduced plant population in glyphosate-resistant soybean [Glycine max (L) Merr. ] may influence the critical time of herbicide application. Field studies were conducted in 2007 and 2008 at two locations in Kentucky to determine the effect of four weed control programs on soybean seed yield, seed quality, crop canopy, and weed pressure when planted at three densities 185,000, 309,000, and 432,000 plants ha. Plots were treated with glyphosate at either 3 weeks after planting (WAP), 5 WAP, 7 WAP, 3 & 7 WAP, representing common weed control protocols within the state. No differences in seed yield were discovered between plant densities in two of four siteyears. 254,500 plants ha was sufficient for maximum yields in all site-years and was also sufficient to achieve maximum canopy amongst those populations tested in the study. Sequential applications at 3 and 7 WAP provided the highest seed yield, while the 5 WAP and 7 WAP application timings were generally the single applications that allowed for the highest yield and canopy closure, along with the highest visual estimate of weeds controlled. Plant density did not influence the critical period for weed control.
The long γ-ray burst rate and the correlation with host galaxy properties

To answer questions on the start and duration of the epoch of reionisation, periods of galaxy mergers and properties of other cosmological encounters, the cosmic star formation history (CSFH), is of fundamental importance. Using the association of long gamma-ray bursts (LGRBs) with the death of massive stars and their ultra-luminous nature, the CSFH can be probed to higher redshifts than current conventional methods. Unfortunately, no consensus has been reached on the manner in which the LGRB rate (LGRBR) traces the CSFH, leaving many of the questions mentioned mostly unexplored by this method. Observations by the GRB NIR detector (GROND) over the past 4 years have, for the first time, acquired highly complete LGRB samples. Driven by these completeness levels and new evidence of LGRBs also occurring in more massive and metal rich galaxies than previously thought, the possible biases of the LGRBR-CSFH connection are investigated over a large range of galaxy properties. The CSFH is modelled using empirical fits to the galaxy mass function and galaxy star formation rates. Biasing the CSFH by metallicity cuts, mass range boundaries, and other unknown redshift dependencies, a LGRBR is generated and compared to the highly complete GROND sample. It is found that there is no strong preference for a metallicity cut or fixed galaxy mass boundaries and that there are no unknown redshift effects, in contrast to previous work which suggest values of Z/Z_sun~0.1-0.3. From the best-fit models, we predict that ~1.2% of the LGRB burst sample exists above z=6. The linear relationship between the LGRBR and the CSFH suggested by our results implies that redshift biases present in previous LGRB samples significantly affect the inferred dependencies of LGRBs on their host galaxy properties. Such biases can lead to, e.g., an interpretation of metallicity limitations and evolving LGRB luminosity functions.