Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
An investigation of the influence of the southern annular mode on Indian summer monsoon rainfall

The present research was aimed at identifying the influence of the southern annular mode on the Indian summer monsoon (ISM) by investigating the inter‐annual as well as seasonal variation in the southern annular mode index (SAMI) and the ISM rainfall. It is shown that each month of the ISM is influenced by the southern annular mode of different months. The association between the June SAMI and July rainfall was found to be significant as well as important. The investigation was carried out with the NCEP/NCAR reanalysis dataset. The result shows that the monsoon rainfall anomaly is significantly and negatively correlated with the SAMI. The influence of the June SAMI is estimated with sea surface temperature (SST), horizontal wind at 850 hPa pressure level, vertical wind and moisture convergence. The result shows the existence of warm sea surface at 30 ° S during high SAMI years which is surmised to control the cross‐equatorial flow during the ISM. It was also observed that the enhanced southerly flow over the south of India is divided into two parts. The major flow is observed towards the western Arabian Sea, subsequently turning clockwise and moving towards the western part of India through the north Arabian Sea. The result further shows that an intense ascending motion from the equator to 30 ° N along the western coast coincides with the low rainfall region. These conditions may lead to an enhanced divergence zone over the western and northeastern region of India which, in turn, may result in less rainfall over India.
A Fast Algorithm for Optimal Power Scheduling of Large-Scale Appliances With Temporally Spatially Coupled Constraints

Optimally scheduling power consumption of appliances is the essential feature of smart grid, which enables Demand Response Management (DRM) and helps to shape the power usage profile. This problem is often required to be solved in face of a large number of appliances and many time slots; thus the computational efficiency of solving a large scale optimal power scheduling problem with limited computational resources becomes the major concern of algorithm design. To this end, a novel algorithm is proposed based on Karush-Kuhn-Tucker (KKT) conditions to solve the optimal power scheduling problem with temporally spatially coupled constraints in a distributed manner. The proposed algorithm converts the original problem into equivalently solving an optimal KKT operator in a much lower dimension, thus the computation speed is greatly enhanced. In addition, the proposed method dose not require a step size in the iteration process, thus avoids the oscillation of numerical solution caused by problem parameter changes. Compared with the widely used conventional algorithms, e.g., interior point method and dual decomposition, the higher computational speed and less sensitivity to the problem parameter setting are observed in numerical simulations.
The dream of Agile as a savior - An institutional logic perspective - A qualitative study of an Agile transformation at Volvo Cars

The world is evolving at an extremely fast pace, leading to organizations facing a crossroads, of either change to stay competitive, or continue business as usual and risk falling behind. A management technique claimed to help organizations to change and become flexible is the well-known fashion trend Agile. This paper explores the Agile transformation of Volvo Cars and the challenges encountered when turning the large corporation with legacy from Taylorism, to an Agile structure. Building on previous studies showing how the adoption of a management fashion trend within an organization can be categorized in three categories on a firm level, we contribute by demonstrating how these categories also exist on a lower level within the firm. We point out how departments and teams adapt the Agile concept in order for it to better fit with the business context. We illustrate how these categories is an outcome of diverse challenges being encountered during the transformation, as a result of two competing logics clashing. We find the clash is of a new market logic, including Agile, entering the organization and a corporation logic which has guided the company for many years.
THE IMPACT OF NITROGEN FERTILIZER USE ON GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS IN AN OIL PALM PLANTATION ASSOCIATED WITH LAND USE CHANGE

The emissions of greenhouse gases (GHGs) in an oil palm plantation associated with land use change have been evaluated on a site-specific basis. Nitrous oxide (N ₂ O) emissions from the application of nitrogen fertilizers during the growth stages of the palm oil were analyzed for palms of different ages within the plantation. The N ₂ O release ranges between 19.11-22.17 kg of N 2 O-N/ha, resulting in the emission of 1052.26-1209.51 kg of CO 2 -eq/ha. However, there is no clear relationship between the emissions of N 2 O or CO 2 -eq and the age of the oil palms. On the other hand, the impact from land use change for the development of the site was also evaluated by assessing the emissions from carbon stock changes within the plantation. The transformation of a rubber estate into an oil palm plantation loses the soil carbon content (i.e., release of carbon emissions). However, this phenomenon has been anticipated in literature. Overall, fertilizer-related emissions and fuel emissions during the growth stages contribute to about 79 and 21%, respectively, of the total GHG emissions from the plantation . Therefore, it is likely that the application of nitrogen fertilizer may increase the existing carbon emission from the conversion of rubber to oil palm plantation, but the values are within the estimated for a Malaysian oil palm plantation.
Toward Ultra-Low Efficiency Droop in C-Plane Polar InGaN Light-Emitting Diodes by Reducing Carrier Density with a Wide InGaN Last Quantum Well

We demonstrate an ultra-low efficiency droop in c-plane polar InGaN blue light-emitting diodes (LEDs) by reducing the carrier density using a wide InGaN last quantum well (LQW). It is found that the LEDs with a 5.2 nm thick LQW show a negligible efficiency droop, with an external quantum efficiency (EQE) reducing from a peak value of 38.8% to 36.4% at 100 A/cm2 and the onset-droop current density is raised from 3 A/cm2 to 40 A/cm2 as the LQW thickness increases from 3.0 nm to 5.2 nm. The analysis based on the ABC model indicates that small efficiency droop is caused by the reduced carrier density using a wide LQW. The peak efficiency is reduced with a wide LQW, which is caused by the reduction of the electron-hole wavefunction overlap and the deterioration of the crystal quality of the InGaN layer. This study suggests that the application of the InGaN LEDs with a wide LQW can be a promising and simple remedy for achieving high efficiency at a high current density.
The Impact of Financial and Legal Structures on the Performance of European Listed Firms

This study examines the impact of capital structure on the performance of listed firms in the European region by considering different systems of legal protection. Based on 5,050 listed firms in eight European countries, the results of the study reveal that owners in low level of legal investor protection countries are more likely to use the firmâ€™s capital structure to serve their own interests. In the case of high level of legal protection the results indicate that debt is used as a disciplinary tool to constrain the expropriation of private benefits.
Essential Oil Compositions and Antifungal Activity of Sunflower (Helianthus) Species Growing in North Alabama

Helianthus species are North American members of the Asteraceae, several of which have been used as traditional medicines by Native Americans. The aerial parts of two cultivars of Helianthus annuus, “Chianti” and “Mammoth”, and wild-growing H. strumosus, were collected from locations in north Alabama. The essential oils were obtained by hydrodistillation and analyzed by gas chromatography—mass spectrometry. The Helianthus essential oils were dominated by monoterpene hydrocarbons, in particular α-pinene (50.65%, 48.91%, and 58.65%, respectively), sabinene (6.81%, 17.01%, and 1.91%, respectively), β-pinene (5.79%, 3.27%, and 4.52%, respectively), and limonene (7.2%, 7.1%, and 3.8%, respectively). The essential oils were screened against three opportunistic pathogenic fungal species, Aspergillus niger, Candida albicans, and Cryptococcus neoformans. The most sensitive fungus was C. neoformans with minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) values of 78, 156, and 78 μg/mL, respectively.
Production of Wood Pellets from Poplar Trees Managed as Coppices with Different Harvesting Cycles

High-density biomass plantations have played a key role in the national energy landscape in Italy since the 1990s but, to date, an inversion of tendency and a significant reduction of cultivated areas has been noted. Despite this, the existing plantations have seen their coppicing rotation become significantly lengthened, resulting in large quantities of biomass per hectare. This study aimed to identify the best raw material suitable for pellet production using whole trees or stems without branches from poplar plantations at the end of the third, sixth and ninth year of age. All types of pellets made reach the requirements of class A1 for diameter, length, moisture content, ash melting point, lower heating value, as well as nitrogen (N), sulfur (S), and heavy metals. None of the theses satisfied the bulk density parameters while for ashes and mechanical durability, a great variability was observed according to the different raw materials used. An improvement in terms of heating value was observed by transforming the poplar wood chips refined into pellets. The pelletizing process using high density poplar plantation as a raw material highlights the possibility of obtaining a product that meets many of the quality standards required on the market. These aspects are closely related to the innovation carried out in the agro-forestry sector for effective energetic sustainability.
Influence of the virtual strain rate of noncohesive granular media on the discrete element method

The discrete element method (DEM) is an alternative computational tool for augmenting laboratory experiments because of its advantages in detailing macro- and micro-mechanical information. However, it should be noted that the DEM does not usually consider the convergence for each time step, because of the necessity for a huge calculation time. In that case, it indicates that the uniqueness of the solution is not guaranteed, except in the case of a very small strain rate, even though the behavior looks qualitatively reasonable. At first, the influence of strain rate among numerically imaginary input parameters for a non-cohesive material was investigated for monotonic, biaxial shear tests. Then, new findings were obtained from the DEM simulations. Strain rate has a significant influence on the shear behavior, especially after the peak strength of dense specimens. A quasi-static steady state exists, not a static steady state. The “strong” fabric ratio is closely related to the stress ratio. The maximum slip coordination number occurs around the phase-transformation ratio and the shear band appears around the peak strength.
Comparison of cost and schedule performance of large public projects under P3 and traditional delivery models: a Canadian study

Abstract Cost overrun and schedule delay are pervasive in large public infrastructure projects in Canada and there is an ongoing debate over the root causes of these delivery risks and how best to mitigate them. Since public-private partnerships (P3s) have been long touted as an effective mitigating measure, this study aimed to provide comparative empirical evidence to explore this claim. By collecting cost and schedule data at three key milestones (decision to build, contract awarding and substantial completion) from 39 traditional projects and 27 P3 projects across Canada between 2004 and 2016, the study develops an innovative longitudinal profiling approach to inform the debate about the causes of cost overruns in large public projects. Statistical analyses of the collected data unambiguously demonstrate that P3s outperform non-P3 traditional delivery models during the construction stage in both cost overrun and schedule delay. However, substantial budget underestimation is found in the strategic decision-making process of both models of project delivery. Results from the study also provide solid objective grounds for the development of advanced value-for-money assessment methodology.
Success Information System Analysis in Dapodikdas Purbalingga Using Delone and Mclean Model

This study aims to analyze the relationship between the variables determining the success of information systems proposed by DeLone and McLean on the information system of DAPODIKDAS. Data collection technique used was questionnaire. Hypothesis testing used was with simple regression analysis technique. The biggest variable relation was the relationship between Service Quality variables and Intention to Use, while the biggest variable influence was the influence of Service Quality variables on Intention to Use. The smallest variable relationship was the relationship between intention to use variables against Net Benefit, while the smallest variable influence was the influence of Intention to Use variables against Net Benefit.
Therapeutic Potential of Rosmarinic Acid: A Comprehensive Review

Naturally occurring food-derived active ingredients have received huge attention for their chemopreventive and chemotherapy capabilities in several diseases. Rosmarinic acid (RA) is a caffeic acid ester and a naturally-occurring phenolic compound in a number of plants belonging to the Lamiaceae family, such as Rosmarinus officinalis (rosemary) from which it was formerly isolated. RA intervenes in carcinogenesis through different ways, including in tumor cell proliferation, apoptosis, metastasis, and inflammation. On the other hand, it also exerts powerful antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant and even antidepressant, anti-aging effects. The present review aims to provide an overview on anticancer activities of RA and to deliberate its therapeutic potential against a wide variety of diseases. Given the current evidence, RA may be considered as part of the daily diet in the treatment of several diseases, with pre-determined doses avoiding cytotoxicity.
Corporate survival in Industry 4.0 era: the enabling role of lean-digitized manufacturing

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate how small manufacturing firms can leverage their Information Technology (IT) resources to develop the lean-digitized manufacturing system that offers sustained competitiveness in the Industry 4.0 era. Design/methodology/approach The study performs an in-depth five years case study of a manufacturing firm, and reports its journey from failure in the implementation of enterprise resource planning to its success in integrating IT-based technology trends of Industry 4.0 with the firm’s core capabilities and competencies while pursuing manufacturing digitization. Findings Industry 4.0 transition requires the organizational integration of many IT-based modern technologies and the digitization of entire value chains. However, Industry 4.0 transition for smaller manufacturers can begin with digitization of certain areas of operations in support of organizational core strategies. The development of lean-digitized manufacturing system is a viable business strategy for corporate survivability in the Industry 4.0 setting. Research limitations/implications Although the implementation of lean-digitized manufacturing system is costly and challenging, this manufacturing strategy offers superior corporate competitiveness in the long run. Since this finding is rather limited to the present case study, assessing the business value of lean-digitized manufacturing system in a larger scale research context would be an interesting avenue for future research. Practical implications Industry 4.0 transition for typical manufacturers should commensurate with their organizational, operational and technical particularities. Digitization of certain operations and processes, when aligned with the firm’s core strategies, capabilities and procedures, can offer superior competitiveness even in Industry 4.0 era, meaning that the strategic plan for successful Industry 4.0 transition is idiosyncratic to each particular manufacturer. Social implications Manufacturing digitization can have deep social implications as it alters inter- and intra-organizational relationships, causes unemployment among low-skilled workforce, and raises data security and privacy concerns. Manufacturers should take responsibility for their digitization process and steer it in a direction that simultaneously safeguards economic, social and environmental sustainability. Originality/value The strategic roadmap devised and employed by the case company for managing its digitization process can better reveal what manufacturing digitization, mandated by Industry 4.0, might require of typical manufacturers, and further enable them to better facilitate their digital transformation process.
Insight into Effects of Oxygen Reservoir Layer and Operation Schemes on Data Retention of HfO2-Based RRAM

As a promising new generation of nonvolatile memory, HfO2-based resistive random-access memory (RRAM) has attracted extensive research. However, the problem of data retention has prevented its industrial production as embedded memory. In this paper, from the microscopic understanding, a Monte Carlo simulator is developed to investigate the effects of an oxygen reservoir layer (ORL) on the resistance instability of HfO2-based RRAM. The evolution of conductive filaments (CF) during the retention degradation is visualized by our simulation considering the physical mechanisms of oxygen ions absorbed and released by the ORL. The simulation results are further validated with experiments to provide the prediction of retention performance of RRAMs with different ORLs and operation schemes.
Evaluating the Success of a Project and the Performance of Its Leaders

Although organizations regularly execute projects to improve their performance, there is still no agreement in the literature on how to evaluate their eventual success. As a result, scholars end up using different scales to measure the same outcome variable of project success, thereby causing inconsistency in research results. Existing project success evaluation models suffer from their inability to apply to all project types and lack of separation of project success measurement from that of project individuals’ performance (for e.g., of the project manager). Through two longitudinal studies based on the satisficing theory, this paper develops, validates, and illustrates generic scales to measure the success of any project, as well as the performance of its two key leaders. This results in three distinct project success dimensions: 1) Project management success—evaluates the performance of the project manager in achieving the project plan; 2) Project ownership success—evaluates the performance of the project owner in realizing the business case; and 3) Project investment success—evaluates the investment performance of the project for its funder. This paper contributes to the literature by offering a theoretically robust, multidimensional evaluation model that will enhance performance evaluation of both projects and their leaders.
The Kodály method I : comprehensive music education

1. The Beginnings of the Method in Hungary and Its International Spread. 2. The Method: Its Sequence, Tools, Materials, and Philosophy. 3. Kodaly for North American Schools: Preschool and Grade One. 4. Kodaly for North American Schools: Grade Two. 5. Kodaly for North American Schools: Grade Three. 6. Kodaly for North American Schools: Grade Four. 7. Kodaly for North American Schools: Grades Five and Six. 8. Planning for Musical Learning in North American Schools. 9. The Songs. Alphabetical Index of Songs with Analysis for Teaching Purposes. Appendix. Index.
ANALYSIS OF THE CORRELATION BETWEEN GROUP HETEROGENEITY AND THE SELF‐GOVERNANCE PERFORMANCE OF SMALL‐SCALE WATER CONSERVANCY FACILITIES: BASED ON THE THRESHOLD MODEL OF THE NUMBER OF WATER USER HOUSEHOLDS†

Small‐scale water conservancy facilities are common‐pool resources, the self‐governance performance of which is key to reducing farming costs and determines whether farmers' demand for irrigation is met. The self‐governance performance of small‐scale water conservancy facilities is closely related to institutional arrangements, such as group heterogeneity and the size of the group that use water. According to the stratified random sampling data of 105 villages and 1549 farmers in Hubei, China, and based on the standardization and principal component factor analysis of the variables, the threshold model of the number of water user households is used to analyse the correlation between group heterogeneity and the self‐governance performance of small‐scale water conservancy facilities. The results show that there is a significant positive correlation between group heterogeneity and the self‐governance performance of small‐scale water conservancy facilities in small‐sized villages, a non‐significant correlation in middle‐sized villages, and a significant negative correlation in large‐sized villages; thus, there is an inverse U‐shaped relationship between them. The policy enlightenment is as follows: (i) small‐sized villages should accelerate land circulation, and the new‐style agricultural management subjects should adopt a centralized decision‐making manner; (ii) large‐sized villages should establish civil organizations, such as water users' associations and agricultural professional cooperatives. © 2019 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Reliability constraint stochastic UC by considering the correlation of random variables with Copula theory

This essay performs a reliability constraint stochastic model for unit commitment problem by considering generation and transmission constraints with high wind penetration and volatility of load demands. This query is expressed as a MILP that is based on the linear direct current model. The proposed approach models uncertainty of wind generators output power, load demand fluctuations and stochastic elements outage of the system like generators and transmission lines. In this paper, stochastic interdependence between random variables like wind speed and load demand is recognized. To establish the probability distribution of these correlated random variables, Copula theory is applied. Correlation structure between wind speed of different locations and a group of loads existing in the same area is investigated and studied based on historical data. For representing these uncertainties in the stochastic unit commitment problem, possible scenarios are generated with Monte Carlo simulation method. The reliability constraints are utilized in each scenario to evaluate the feasibility of solutions from a reliability point. The introduced stochastic UC is executed on the RTS 96-bus test system. Numerical results demonstrate the advantages of implementing stochastic programming on the UC problem by taking into account the intermittent behavior of wind energy and load inconstancy.