Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Optimal control and optimal time location problems of differential-algebraic systems by differential evolution

An efficient method is introduced for solving optimal control and optimal parameter selection problems of nonlinear differential-algebraic systems involving general constraints. These infinite dimensional problems are converted into the finite dimensional optimization problems by using the control parametrization technique. Moreover, the transformed time locations for the control variables are included in such problems. As a result, optimal control problems become acausal optimal parameter selection problems. A modified version of differential evolution is introduced to solve these problems. The integration of the penalty functions is used to ensure the solution onto the feasible domain of the problems. Two industrial systems, a chemical reactor and a robotics arm, are used to illustrate the robustness and effectiveness of the method. The control effects can be improved by selecting the proper time locations as observed from the simulated results.
Au/Pt/Ti/Pt base contacts to n-InGaP/p+-GaAs for self-passivating HBT ledge structures

Multi-layer ohmic contact systems such as Au/Pt/Ti/Pt on III-V double layers such as n-InGaP/p+-GaAs are of considerable technological relevance, e.g. for heterojunction bipolar transistors. The paper shows that such contacts can be effectively reacted through the InGaP layer and exhibit very good contact resistances (0.1 Ω mm) to the base layer if the thickness of the first Pt layer is properly matched to the thickness of the contacted InGaP layer. Interdiffusion and phase formation associated with the annealing processes are studied by cross-sectional analytical transmission electron microscopy, thin-film x-ray diffraction and Auger electron spectroscopy depth profiling. Thermal ageing experiments up to 400 °C show good electrical stability. Device related reliability tests do not show any degradation effect related to this novel base contact.
Three Perspectives/One Service Dog: The Human- Animal Bond

This narrative focuses on the impact of an assistance dog (indy) from three perspectives. The first section describes how Indy contributed to major changes in Amy's life. The second section expands on this transformation from the perspective of Amy's mother. The final section uses Amy's experiences to support the importance of AnimalAssisted Social Work.
Life Cycle Costing Comparison of Diesel Bus vs Electric Bus in the Context of Nepal

Government of Nepal is planning to purchase 300 Electric buses in Kathmandu valley with the motive of providing some relief to the denizens of Kathmandu. As the transportation sector is considered as significant sources of the pollution in the valley, it forms the rationale behind the decision to switch from Diesel buses to Electric buses despite investing the large sum of money. In this paper, we make an effort to compare the life cycle costing of Diesel buses versus electrical buses with considerations of the time value of money and environmental impact in the context of Nepal. Our study shows that savings on fuel cost and maintenance cost of Electric buses are significant to offset the higher purchase price, NPR 16 Million, of the buses. The life cycle cost of Diesel Bus is NPR 20.3 million for 10 years, whereas the life cycle cost of Electric bus is NPR 21.2 million for the same period. However, if the environmental costs of NPR 1.3 million due to CO2 emission by diesel bus is considered, Electrical buses already have lower lifetime cost by NPR 0.4 million. Given the purchase price of electric buses decreased by NPR 1 million, which is likely to happen due to the ongoing trend of decrement in cost of the electric buses, electric buses will become financially competitive against Diesel buses with additional local environmental benefits. Also, if the operation time of buses is beyond the breakeven time, 10.7 years, Electric buses have financial advantages over the Diesel Buses This analysis will help to ease the decisions regarding acquisition of buses and subsidies in the future for prospective transportation companies and the government. Keywords— Diesel Bus; Electric Bus; Life-cycle costing; Sensitivity Analysis
My family and friends are worth their weight in gold: consumer financial decision-making in the context of Brazil

A tomada de decisao financeira do consumidor e uma questao importante em todo o mundo. Nesta pesquisa, esse tema e investigado por meio das abordagens qualitativa e quantitativa. Com base no conceito de capital social, o estudo qualitativo explora o fenomeno da vulnerabilidade financeira no Brasil sob a perspectiva do jeitinho—sob a forma de resolver situacoes por meio de relacionamentos pessoais. A analise de 21 entrevistas em profundidade fornece um contexto unico para mostrar como o jeitinho molda o mercado e as praticas de consumo, criando um ciclo de dependencia e vulnerabilidade financeira que se reforca mutuamente. A abordagem socioecologica destaca como as interacoes entre caracteristicas pessoais (micro sistema) e praticas de mercado e estruturas sociais (meso e macro sistemas) podem levar os individuos a experimentar ou evitar a vulnerabilidade financeira. Os valores tipicos dos brasileiros tambem foram utilizados para explicar comportamentos de gestao financeira, resistencia e responsabilidade do consumidor no mercado. Os resultados fornecem insights para entender a vulnerabilidade financeira a partir de uma perspectiva cultural: mostrando que os consumidores se endividam para sustentar seus relacionamentos—as vezes ate os usando como uma desculpa para justificar o consumo hedonico—e que as empresas aproveitam essa reciprocidade social em suas praticas de mercado, perpetuando o ciclo de dependencia e vulnerabilidade. A dinâmica de emprestimos entre parentes e amigos e, entao, explorada no estudo quantitativo. O quadro teorico inclui literatura sobre materialismo, autocontrole e o uso de credito. Uma pesquisa do tipo survey com 997 brasileiros foi realizada para testar duas hipoteses. As evidencias sustentam que: individuos mais materialistas sao mais propensos a pegar dinheiro emprestado de parentes e amigos (H1) e individuos com alto nivel de autocontrole dos gastos sao menos propensos a pegar dinheiro emprestado de parentes e amigos (H2). Os resultados sugerem que tanto o materialismo quanto o autocontrole dos gastos predizem o comportamento dos emprestimos. Implicacoes para politicas publicas e sugestoes para pesquisas futuras sao apresentadas.
Effects of Web-Based Multimedia Homework with Immediate Rich Feedback on Student Learning in General Chemistry

Continuing developments in computer technology, and specifically technology of the World Wide Web, have the potential to improve instruction in many different subjects, including chemistry. We have developed a series of Web-based homework and tutorial programs implemented through WebCT that are designed to help students gain a better understanding of chemistry. This project has two major instructional goals: to encourage students to take responsibility for their own learning and to provide a resource to help students focus their study efforts. The system is designed to structure students' studying and make the student responsible for doing the work necessary for success. This approach allowed the instructor to give graded homework assignments with feedback without having to invest the considerable time typically required in grading homework assignments. We analyzed student performance in the course as well as results from student interviews concerning their reactions to the online material. The study show.
Carbonic Acid Revisited: Vibrational Spectra, Energetics and the Possibility of Detecting an Elusive Molecule

We calculate harmonic frequencies of the three most abundant carbonic acid conformers. For this, different model chemistries are investigated with respect to their benefits and shortcomings. Based on these results we use perturbation theory to calculate anharmonic corrections at the {\omega}B97XD/aug-cc-pVXZ, X=D,T,Q, level of theory and compare them with recent experimental data and theoretical predictions. A discrete variable representation method is used to predict the large anharmonic contributions to the frequencies of the stretching vibrations in the hydrogen bonds in the carbonic acid dimer. Moreover, we re-investigate the energetics of the formation of the carbonic acid dimer from its constituents water and carbon dioxide using a high-level extrapolation method. We find that the {\omega}B97XD functional performs well in estimating the fundamental frequencies of the carbonic acid conformers. Concerning the reaction energetics, the accuracy of {\omega}B97XD is even comparable to the high-level extrapolation method. We discuss possibilities to detect carbonic acid in various natural environments such as Earth's and Martian atmospheres.
(4‐Carboxybutyl)triphenylphosphonium bromide

The asymmetric unit of the title triphenyl­phospho­nium salt, C23H24O2P+·Br−, contains two cations and two anions. In the crystal structure, O—H⋯Br, C—H⋯O and C—H⋯Br hydrogen bonds link the ions.
Inner filter correction of dissolved organic matter fluorescence

The fluorescence of dissolved organic matter (DOM) is suppressed by a phenomenon of self‐quenching known as the inner filter effect (IFE). Despite widespread use of fluorescence to characterize DOM in surface waters, the advantages and constraints of IFE correction are poorly defined. We assessed the effectiveness of a commonly used absorbance‐based approach (ABA), and a recently proposed controlled dilution approach (CDA) to correct for IFE. Linearity between corrected fluorescence and total absorbance (ATotal; the sum of absorbance at excitation and emission wavelengths) across the full excitation‐emission matrix (EEM) in dilution series of four samples indicated both ABA and CDA were effective to an absorbance of at least 1.5 in a 1 cm cell, regardless of wavelength positioning. In regions of the EEMs where signal to background noise (S/N) was low, CDA correction resulted in more variability than ABA correction. From the ABA algorithm, the onset of significant IFE (>5%) occurs when absorbance exceeds 0.042. In these cases, IFE correction is required, which was the case for the vast majority (97%) of lakes in a nationwide survey (n= 554). For highly absorbing samples, undesirably large dilution factors would be necessary to reduce absorbance below 0.042. For rare EEMs with ATotal > 1.5 (3.0% of the lakes in the Swedish survey), a 2‐fold dilution is recommended followed by ABA or CDA correction. This study shows that for the vast majority of natural DOM samples the most commonly applied ABA algorithm provides adequate correction without prior dilution.
Zombie Firm Dynamics and China’s Monetary Policy

By examining dynamics of zombie firms with respect to both the intensive margin and extensive margin, we study the distributional effects of monetary policy on firm performance and reallocation dynamics in China. Based on China Industrial Enterprise database from 1998 to 2013, this paper documents the evidence of two competing forces arising from China’s monetary policy practices. First, monetary expansion leads to an improvement upon the extensive margin of Chinese firm dynamics by selecting good firms out of the bad league of “zombie” firms that are marked by negative profits and subsidized borrowing. Simultaneously, conditional on staying as zombies, these firms are associated with greater resource misallocations, thus an deterioration at the intensive margin. Precisely, we show why zombie firms exits: monetary stimulus brings forth improved revenue without further distorting the borrowing cost of these firms. For very persistent zombie firms, leverage went up and revenue was down in spite of increasingly subsidized borrowings. We then build a heterogeneous-firm model to study zombie firm dynamics. JEL codes: E22, E44, E52, G32, O47
Introduction to special section on ‘East Asia Climate and Environment’

Activities within the collaborative project East Asia Climate and Environment focus on the impact on the composition of chemically active greenhouse compounds from the rapidly growing emissions in Asia. Estimates of emissions (past and future) are discussed in light of the demand for energy in the different sectors. The impact includes regional scale contributions through short-lived climate compounds like particles and ozone, while global scale contributions are demonstrated through changes in oxidation capacity affecting compounds like CH4. One key issue is the important and increasing contribution from China to atmospheric chemical changes.
Whether electronegativity and hardness are manifest two different descriptors of the one and the same fundamental property of atoms—A quest

In this report, we have tried to reveal that there is much conceptual commonality between the two fundamental theoretical descriptors of chemistry and physics—the electronegativity and the hardness. The physical hardness was introduced and theorized by condensed matter physicists. The chemical hardness was introduced by chemists to generalize and rationalize the HSAB principle. We have tried to establish that the physical hardness and the chemical hardness with evolution of time have converged to one and the same general principle—the hardness. We have also tried to understand the physical basis and operational significance of another very important descriptor arising out of theoretical constructs of chemistry—the electronegativity. We have relied upon the fact that, since these descriptors are not observables, there is no possibility of their quantum mechanical evaluation. These descriptors, therefore, should be and must be reified before suggesting ansatz for their evaluation. We have dwelt at length upon the effort of density functional definition and evaluation of electronegativity and hardness and discovered the inherent inner contradiction of the theory and measurement. We have also noted that a good number of scientists hold the opinion that the density functional formula of electronegativity is I and that of hardness is I, where I is the ionization potential of the chemical system. This study concludes that the two fundamental descriptors—the hardness and the electronegativity originate from the same source—the electron attracting power of the screened nucleus upon valence electrons and discovers the surprising result that if one measures hardness, the electronegativity is simultaneously measured and vice versa. We have also explored the ansatz of semiempirical evaluation of electronegativity and hardness
Morphological, thermal, rheological and noodle-making properties of potato and corn starch

A comparison between the morphological, thermal, rheological and noodle-making properties of corn starch and potato starches separated from five different potato cultivars was made. The granule size and shape of all starches differed significantly. Potato starch granules were comparatively larger than corn starch granules, while the transition temperatures were found to be higher for corn starch. Consistency coefficients and flow behaviour indices measured by back extrusion were higher for potato starches than for corn starch. Stickiness of cooked starch pastes was observed to depend upon their consistency coefficient. The gels made from all potato starches showed higher gel strength than those from corn starch. The gel strength of starches from both corn and potato increased during refrigerated storage. The amylose content, swelling power, solubility and light transmittance values of potato starches were significantly higher than those of corn starch. Noodles made from potato starches had higher cooked weight and cooking loss than corn starch noodles. Texture profile analysis revealed that potato starch noodles also had higher hardness and cohesiveness than corn starch noodles. Hardness of cooked noodles from all starches increased and cohesiveness decreased during storage. Noodles made from starches of higher viscosity exhibited higher hardness and cohesiveness. Textural differences among cooked starch noodles appeared to be associated with morphological, thermal and rheological properties of corn starch and potato starches. © 2002 Society of Chemical Industry
InGaN Light-Emitting Diodes on c-Face Sapphire Substrates in Green Gap Spectral Range

High-efficiency InGaN light-emitting diodes (LEDs) in the “green gap” range were fabricated on c-face sapphire (0001) substrates. Optical properties were enhanced by band engineering of active layers and optimization of growth conditions. Output power and external quantum efficiency of 11.0 mW and 24.7% for a 559 nm green-yellow LED and 4.7 mW and 13.3% for a 576 nm yellow LED with the injection current of 20 mA were achieved, respectively.
Electrochemistry and Adsorptive Stripping Voltammetric Determination of Amoxicillin on a Multiwalled Carbon Nanotubes Modified Glassy Carbon Electrode

The study of electrochemical behavior of amoxicillin (AMX), a β-lactam antibiotic, is described on a multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) modified electrode by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and adsorptive stripping voltammetry for sensitive determination of AMX in pharmaceutical and human urine samples within a wide pH range from 2.0 to 10.0. Also, studies by Fe2O3 nanoparticles modified carbon paste electrode show that iron oxide impurities in the MWCNTs are not active sites for sensing of amoxicillin. Under optimized conditions, the oxidation peak has two linear dynamic ranges of 0.6–8.0 and 10.0–80.0 μM with a detection limit of 0.2 μM and a precision of <4%.
The Influence of Fatty Acid Ester Alcohol Moiety Molecular Structure on Diesel Combustion and Emissions

At present, biodiesel is primarily comprised of fatty acid methyl esters (FAMEs) obtained by the transesterification of a variety of vegetable oils with methanol. However, transesterification can be carried out with a wide variety of alcohols other than methanol. This paper presents experimental studies carried out on a diesel engine supplied with a range of single-molecule fuels to investigate the effect of fuel molecular structure on combustion and emissions. Eight fatty acid esters that can be produced by transesterification of vegetable oils and animal fats using methanol, ethanol, n-propanol, n-butanol, iso-propanol, iso-butanol, and tert-butanol were investigated. The aim was to ascertain the way in which the structure of the alcohol reactant and the corresponding moiety in the ester molecule affects combustion and emissions. Previously obtained experimental results from a second set of 18 nonoxygenated acyclic hydrocarbons were used to assist the interpretation of the test results from the eight fa.
Theoretical study of the rovibrational energy spectrum and the numbers and densities of bound vibrational states for the system HCO + /HOC +

Large-scale calculations of accurate energy levels for the system HCO+/HOC+ in its electronic ground state are reported. The rovibrational levels are calculated for total angular momentum J=0, 1, and 2 by means of the discrete variable representation of the angular coordinate in conjunction with a distributed Gaussian basis for the radial degrees of freedom. A new analytical potential energy surface is used which is based on high level ab initio calculations [CCSD(T)/cc-pVQZ]. The rovibrational energy spectra of HCO+ and HOC+, as well as of the isotopomers DCO+ and DOC+, are analyzed in detail up to the ground state adiabatic isomerization barrier at 28 798 cm−1. Spectroscopic parameters calculated for low lying vibrational states show distinct differences between HCO+ and HOC+. A total number of 6042 bound states up to the first classical dissociation limit (H++CO) at 51 621 cm−1 and a density at the threshold of 0.52/cm−1 are estimated for J=0. Semiclassical phase space integration yields nearly identic.
Predicting nitrate leaching from drained arable soils derived from glacial till

Regional-scale prediction of ground and surface water pollution by nitrate (NO 3 ) requires field-scale prediction of NO 3 leaching. This can be done by a N balance sheet approach, but this is not robust, because no account is taken of organic matter dynamics or denitrification. In this paper, predictions of NO 3 Ieaching made using a balance sheet method and those using a dynamic N cycle model, Agricultural Nitrogen Model (ANIMO), are compared with observations of NO 3 leaching from drained plot experiments on two Scottish arable soils, a clay loam (aquic Haplaquept) and a sandy loam (dystric Eutrochrept). Mineral N fertilizer applications in these experiments varied from 0 to 210 kg N ha -1 and the mean observed NO 3 -N leaching to drains was 21kg N ha -1 for the clay loam and 53 kg N ha -1 for the sandy loam. The balance sheet method on average overpredicted NO 3 leaching by 120% for the clay loam and underpredicted by 16% for the sandy loam. ANIMO predictions using default parameters were poor but when subsoil respiration was included to a depth of 0.7 m at the clay loam site and 2.0 m at the sandy loam site, the mean predicted NO 3 -N leaching was within 2% of observed. The root mean square error was still quite large (76 and 53% for the clay loam and sandy loam, respectively) and the correlation coefficient was poor at the clay loam site (r = 0.09 and 0.91 for the clay loam and sandy loam, respectively). Simulated denitrification losses are strongly dependent on the depth to which soil respiration occurs. Work is needed to obtain more direct evidence of subsoil denitrification. Heterogeneity of topsoil organic matter and respiration may also need to be taken into account.
Properties of soil organic matter of Plaggic Anthrosols from Northwest Germany, Northwest and North Russia

The study focuses on the properties of soil organic matter (SOM) of Plaggic Anthrosols from Northwest Germany, Northwest Russia and North Russia. As the sites differ in type of plaggen material and manner and duration of plaggen management, the aim was to find out whether these differences influence SOM. The studied soils show different SOM qualities by the C/N ratios of TOC, by the C/N ratios in the particle size fractions and IR spectra, the latter indicating the occurrence of keto- and carboxyl groups only for the German soil and amides exclusively for the Russian ones. The HCl-resistant organic carbon (OC) and the H2O2-resistant OC was largest and the HF-soluble OC was lowest in the Northwest Russian soil. With decreasing amounts in the sequence Northwest Germany, North Russia and Northwest Russia, the highest OC content was found in the fine silt and clay fractions. With the exception of the HF-soluble OC the parameters stay constant with depths of the plaggic epipedons, indicating no alteration with time. C/N ratios of TOC and different fractions as well as IR-spectra show distinct differences in the properties of SOM, reflecting different kinds of plaggen material and differences within the plaggen fertilization system.