Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Risk management in supply chain: a real option approach

Purpose – The aim of this paper is that of individualizing a framework for the management of uncertainty in supply chain finalized to reduce the firm risks.Design/methodology/approach – Since a way for reducing the damages deriving from uncertainty sources is increasing the level of flexibility inside the supply chain, and the real option theory allows the increase of the flexibility level, in order to achieve the aim of this work, we utilize the real options theory to coverage of one or more risks inside the supply chain.Findings – A useful theoretical framework has been individualized enabling the selection of possible options to protect the firm against the risk originating from every source of uncertainty. In particular, on two types of risks, using Matlab software, a test has been conducted that proves the ability of the outsource option to cover risks under examination.Practical implications – In the paper a framework providing useful information for the supply chain management is presented.Original.
The changing role of management accounting: assessment of the impact of financial and non-financial performance measures usage on organizational performance in Jordan

This thesis investigated the use of the performance measurement system (PMS) within Jordanian industrial companies. Jordan was selected as an exemplar of a Middle Eastern developing nation. The study investigated the extent of the use of thirty performance measures across six categories. The extent of use of the balanced scorecard (BSC) approach was also investigated. Contingency theory was utilised as the theoretical framework to investigate the effect of seven selected factors on the extent of measurement diversity usage. The study also examined the organisational performance impact of using a range of performance measurement dimensions. Finally, the perceived benefits and difficulties of using PMS were identified and analysed. A survey research methodology was used, which involved a quantitative and a partially qualitative approach. Factor analysis, descriptive statistics, correlation and regression analysis were used to analyse the survey data responses to the main questionnaire. The results showed that Jordanian companies use a diverse set of both financial and non-financial measures. Results also indicated that Jordanian companies operate under significant institutional and government controls. Furthermore, the results indicated that some companies use diverse performance measurements to improve their PMS and not as a strategic decision option. Only a minority of companies (35.1%) reported using the BSC approach. Advanced manufacturing technology; differentiation strategy; intensity of market competition; perceived environmental uncertainty; and, workforce diversity were found to be factors affecting the extent of performance measurement diversity usage. The study findings indicated that using non-financial measures, measurement diversity and the BSC contributed significantly toward overall organisational performance. The qualitative interview results identified a range of benefits from using a diversity approach. The results, however, indicated that using such measures effectively is not a straightforward task. There are obstacles that limited the effective use of PMS. Researchers and practitioners, especially in Middle Eastern countries, should consider and build on the findings of this research.
Comparison of Methods for Predicting Deficient-Network Performance

When a nodal demand is excessive as in a fire-flow condition or when a pump fails or a pipe breaks, a water distribution system (WDS) may temporarily become deficient and unable to satisfy all nodal demands. However, the prediction of the performance of a WDS under a temporarily-deficient condition is necessary for simulation-based reliability analysis and design of WDSs. Available methods for such prediction are reviewed herein. When the actual outlets are considered as demand nodes the methods which simultaneously consider the nodal flows and heads give fairly accurate and similar results. However, when the demands of secondary networks are assumed concentrated at the nodes of the primary WDSs, the prediction of the deficient-condition performance of a primary WDS is rather approximate. For reliability purposes, however, the method using parabolic head-discharge relationship (no flow at minimum head to required flow at desirable head), is the best for prediction of deficient-network performance.
Quantification of Supplementary Motor Area activation with movements of different practice levels using Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging at 3T

It is well known that the supplementary motor area is more active and more critically involved in processing complex movements, which are more difficult to execute, than simple ones. The stronger increase of the slow negative electrical activity in EEG over the supplementary motor area while executing complex movements compared to simple movements was demonstrated [l, 2] s well s the increase of regional cerebral blood flow in the supplementary motor area while performing various complex movements [3]. Similar results were shown with a comparison of a simple finger Opposition task and a complex sequentiai Finger Opposition task [4] and a simple compared to a complex finger tapping task [5]. Stimulating the supplementary motor area with repetitive transcranial magnetic Stimulation caused errors only in the most complex task compared to more simple movement sequences [6], There are many factors that make a movement more or less difficult to execute, like speed and accuracy, involvement of number of joints and muscles, modes of movement selection, but also the degree of experienced practice. The effect of short and long term practice of movements on the activity of the supplementary motor area was described in several studies [e.g. 7]. It was demonstrated that supplementary motor area activity decreases with higher levels of practice. The goal of this study was to investigate whether differential supplementary motor area activation also reflects the different degrees of training which are experienced by the different fingers of a hand duringdaily life.
Earthquake engineering of large underground structures

This study identifies and evaluates the current state of the art of earthquake engineering of transportation tunnels and other large underground structures. A review of the past performance of 127 underground openings during earthquakes indicates that underground structures in general are less severely affected than surface structures at the same geographic location. However, some severe damage, including collapse, has been reported. Stability of tunnels during seismic motion is affected by peak ground motion parameters, earthquake duration, type of support, ground conditions, and in situ stresses. The literature on the nature of underground seismic motion is reviewed in detail. Although recorded underground motions tend to substantiate the idea that motion does reduce with depth, amplification at depth has been observed. The current procedures used in the seismic design of underground structures vary greatly depending upon the type of structure and the ground conditions. Procedures for subaqueous tunnels are fairly well formulated; however, procedures for structures in soil and rock are not as well formulated. Numerical procedures to predict dynamic stresses are not completely compatible with current static design procedures, which are more strongly affected by empirical methods than by stress-prediction models. Recommended research activities include the systematic reconnaissance of underground structures following major earthquakes, the placement of instrumentation for recording seismic motion in tunnels, analytical studies of underground motion, and the further development of seismic design procedures for structures in soil and rock. (Author)
Softening hinges in reinforced concrete beams

Softening in flexure may be of considerable significance at joints, when substantial axial load is present, when detailing is poor, or when very high strength concretes are used. Analysis requires a knowledge of hinge length, rotation capacity and softening slope. An extensive experimental program to determine these parameters is reported. Shear-crack hinges, which have a wedge shape, must be distinguished from constant width flexural hinges. Empirical formulae for hinge parameters are proposed, in terms of non-dimensional beam variables. Once formed in the plastic range, hinge lengths appear to be sensibly constant in the softening range.
Comprehensive Analysis of Process Variability on AlGaN/GaN HEMTs through TCAD Simulations

AlGaN/GaN high electron mobility transistors (HEMTs) have shown outstanding improvements in performance and reliability, becoming the leading option for power applications in the 1-40 GHz range. However, the presence of traps and defects in the hetero-structure are strongly correlated to the tolerance of the fabrication process. New powerful models designed to overcome limitations associated with the Process Variability (PV) may be part of the exploitation outcome. This work describes a methodology useful to characterize the effects of PV on AlGaN/GaN HEMTs performance, by deriving Process Compact Model (PCM) from systematic TCAD simulations. The device under examination is an Al0.26Ga0. 74N/GaN HEMT and the selected critical process parameters are: molar fraction of the first AlGaN layer, AlGaN layer thickness, source-gate and drain-gate distance, field plate extension, gate height and width, recessed effect under the gate contact.
A Comparison between the Behaviour of Young and Older Subjects During the Functional Reach Test

Abstract: The importance of the functional reach (FR) test as an indication of the aptitude of subjects to maintain their balance in an upright position is recalled and the results of tests reported in the literature, which have been performed on young and older subjects (healthy or affected by pathologies), are cited. It is highlighted that in such studies, in addition to determining the value of the FR, the displacement of the centre of pressure is also determined. As a result a new series of tests on 40 healthy subjects, 20 young and 20 older subjects is proposed, concentrating on the equipment used, in particular on a sensor to map the pressure instead of a force platform, and on the possibility of performing the tests at different speeds. The results show a notable decline in performance with age, which is largely supported by a Student's t‐test, and also a partial decrease in performance with the speed of the test. Within the two populations, the influence of gender is observed in the better performance of the male subject but considering the difference in height, the different performances linked to this aspect cannot be considered significant. A comparison of our results with those reported in the literature shows good qualitative agreement (but not from a quantitative point of view); so the need of a correct control of the method of performing the test is underlined.
On-board reforming effects on the performance of proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cell vehicles

This paper incorporates a methanol reformer model with a proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cell system model for automotive applications. The reformer model and fuel cell system model have been integrated into a vehicle performance simulator that determines fuel economy and other performance features. Fuel cell vehicle fuel economy using on-board methanol reforming is compared with fuel economy using direct-hydrogen fueling. The overall performance using reforming is significantly less than in a direct-hydrogen fuel cell vehicle.
Hepatitis B Prevalence among Pregnant Women in Central and West Nile regions of Uganda: Is there a Need to prioritize Prevention of Mother to Child hepatitis B transmission?

Introduction Within sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), the burden of chronic hepatitis B (HBV) is unacceptably high in several countries including Uganda. Elimination of HBV in the context of inadequate resources and several competing health issues, faces challenges including limited data on disease burden in important population sub-groups. In order to optimize available resources, reliable data on HBV among pregnant women is useful to guide policies on prevention. This study estimated HBV prevalence and related factors among pregnant women in Central and West Nile regions of Uganda Methods Using a two-stage sampling approach, we selected a random sample of 310 pregnant women, 18 years or older from public health facility antenatal clinics in central and west Nile, North-western Uganda. Consenting women were interviewed to obtain data on HBV vaccination status, HIV status, selected sexual and lifestyle factors and socio-demographic information. In addition, they underwent phlebotomy to obtain blood for testing for hepatitis B surface antigen, (HBsAg) antibodies to the surface antigen (anti-HBs), and antibodies to the core (anti-HBc), as indicators of chronic infection, prior exposure, and susceptibility (anti-HBs <10 mIU /mL), respectively. Results Out of 310 women, prevalence of chronic HBV infection was 6.2%. Prevalence in the West Nile region was notably higher than in the Central region (11.0% vs. 1.3%), p<0.001. In both regions, majority of pregnant women (61% West Nile region, 76% Central region) were still susceptible to HBV. Overall, proportion who had been tested for HBV and those who reported having been vaccinated was only 5.8% and 11.3% respectively. Conclusion Our findings reveal the burden of HBV in Ugandan pregnant women is still high, with marked regional differences in disease prevalence, and poor levels of HBV testing and vaccination. These data suggest that HBV prevention programs and policies in resource-limited settings like Uganda may need to consider the differential HBV prevalence, as optimizing HBV prevention services in higher prevalence regions may provide greater impact and thereby align with the WHO recommendation on HBV elimination strategy in SSA.
Increasing Productivity and Profit through Health and Safety: The Financial Returns from a Safe Working Environment

INTRODUCTION ECONOMICS FOR THE NON-ECONOMIST INFORMATION SOURCES THE PRODUCTIVITY ASSESSMENT TOOL CASE STUDIES Industrial Cleaning: Safer at a Lower Cost Permanent or Precarious Employment? The Hospitality Industry Why Lift Patients When There's a Better Way? Reducing Back Injuries in the Health Industry Large-scale Experiments: Valuable but not Easy to Carry Out Manual Handling Personal Protectrive Clothing and Equipment Prevention and Rehabilitation NEW SUPERVISORY SYSTEMS ETHICS INSTALLING AND RUNNING THE PRODUCTIVITY ASSESSMENT TOOL GLOSSARY INDEX
Determinants of new vehicle registrations in EU countries: a panel cointegration analysis

This paper investigates the determinants of new vehicle registrations in European Union (EU) countries by focusing on four particular segments – passenger cars, light commercial vehicles, commercial vehicles, and heavy commercial vehicles. A panel cointegration analysis for a panel of 13 EU countries during the period from January 1999 to August 2010 shows that new vehicle sales have long-run cointegration relations with vehicle prices, consumer confidence, income, interest rates, fuel prices, industrial production, and trade. More effective factors in determining new vehicle sales appear to be trade, interest rates, and industrial production.
Robust rotor flux, rotor resistance and speed estimation of an induction machine using the extended Kalman filter

This paper deals with robust flux, speed, and rotor resistance estimation of sensorless induction motor drives using the extended Kalman filter (EKF) algorithm. A reduced dynamic motor model is used which reduces the computational requirements of the EKF. The originality of the proposed structure lies in the simultaneous estimation of the shaft speed and rotor resistance. Due to this aim, the state-space vector is extended to the shaft speed and the rotor resistance. Since these two quantities are correlated, a small high frequency signal is added to the flux reference in order to permit the estimation of both quantities. Computer simulations and experimental tests have been carried out to show the effectiveness of the proposed method.
Letter to the editor regarding “Rotavirus infection beyond the gut”

Alejandro Orrico-Sánchez Mónica López-Lacort Cintia Muñoz-Quiles Miguel Angel MartinezBeneito Javier Díez-Domingo 1Vaccine Research, Fundación para el Fomento de la Investigación Sanitaria y Biomédica de la Comunitat Valenciana, FISABIO-Public Health, Valencia, Spain; 2Health Inequalities, Fundación para el Fomento de la Investigación Sanitaria y Biomédica de la Comunitat Valenciana, FISABIO-Public Health, Valencia, Spain Dear editor Gomez-Rial et al, in their review paper “Rotavirus infection beyond the gut”, concluded that there is some degree of protection of the RV vaccination against seizure hospitalizations. A detailed analysis of the potential biases of the literature could lead to a less optimistic position for the vaccine. For example, the protection found in the USA and Australia could be partly due to the uncontrolled influenza vaccine (where the coverage in children under 5 years in EEUU reached 66–75%). Other studies have small sample sizes, or used poorly adjusted analyses. Beyond their different degrees of appraisal of the papers depending on the direction of the results, there is a lack of discussion of the publication bias, as this bias disrupts the literature promoting positive findings and hiding negative results. It is important to mention some misinterpretations in their review of our previous study:
Wafer floating potential for a high current serial ion implantation system

In situ wafer floating potential measurements were made during high current high dose ion implants. Implants were performed on a ribbon beam implanter, the Varian VIISta 80, that uses a plasma flood gun (PFG) for charge control. Real time potential variations were monitored simultaneously from different areas of the implanted wafer. The effect of plasma flood gun current was measured for different currents and beam energies. Results show that, even with the low beam density in VIISta 80, the Varian's unique plasma flood gun, is still necessary to maintain device potentials below 5 volts.
PENGARUH ELEKTRONIC WORLD OF MOUTH TERHADAP BRAND IMAGE DAN PURCHASE INTENTION SMARTPHONE SAMSUNG DI SURABAYA

Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui dan menganalisis pengaruh electronic word of mouth terhadap brand image dan purchase intention smartphone Samsung di Surabaya. Jenis penelitian yang digunakan adalah applied research yang menggunakan 3 variabel yaitu electronic word of mouth, brand image, dan purchase intention. Sumber data yang digunakan adalah data primer yaitu dengan menyebarkan kuesioner. Sampel yang digunakan dalam penelitian ini sebanyak 140 kuesioner yang disebarkan di Surabaya. Teknik pengambilan sampel yang digunakan adalah convenience sampling dan data akan diolah dengan menggunakan bantuan SPSS 18.0 for windows dan AMOS 18.0. Hasil penelitian yang diperoleh menunjukkan terdapat pengaruh yang signifikan antara electronic word of mouth dan brand image terhadap purchase intention.
Experimental Study on Flexural Behavior of Recycled Coarse Aggregate Concrete Beam

In order to investigate flexural behavior of simply-supported beam using recycled coarse aggregate concrete, the difference of the component normal section stress distortion performance and failure characteristic between the recycled concrete beam and the normal concrete beam is researched. The approaches of testing the flexural behavior of 6 recycled course aggregate beams with the same section size, different replacement ratio of recycled coarse aggregate (0%, 50%, 70% and 100%) and different percentage reinforcement (0.68%, 0.89% and 1.13%). Based on the experimental the following conclusions are draw. There are also 4 phases of elasticity, cracking, yield and ultimate during the stress course of recycled concrete beam component normal section stress; the average strain measured on cross-section obliges to the plane section assumption; the characteristics of stress distortion and destruction of recycled concrete beam are basically the same as those of the normal concrete beam. Under same conditions, the cracking moment and the ultimate flexural carrying capability of recycled concrete beam is almost the same as those of normal concrete beam. The deformation of recycled concrete beam is larger than concrete beam. The conclusion of the paper is that it is still feasible to calculate the ultimate bending moment, cracking moment, and the biggest crack width of recycled concrete beam according to the formula in China Concrete Structure Design Code, but the deflection formula needs to be adjusted.
Hybrid residential end-use energy and greenhouse gas emissions model – development and verification for Canada

This article presents the Canadian Hybrid Residential End-Use Energy and GHG Emissions Model (CHREM), a model based upon building performance simulation, and compares its estimates with residential sector energy consumption surveys and the estimates of other models. The CHREM advances the state of the art of residential sector energy consumption and green house gas (GHG) emissions modelling by three new contributions: (i) the use of a database of 16,952 unique house descriptions of thermal envelope and energy conversion system information that statistically represent the Canadian housing stock; (ii) a ‘hybrid’ modelling approach that integrates the neural network and engineering modelling methods to estimate the energy consumption of the major end-uses, providing the capacity to model alternative and renewable energy technologies, such as solar energy and energy storage systems; and (iii) a method for the accumulation and treatment of energy consumption and GHG emissions results as a function of end-use and energy source.
Experimental Research on Mechanical Behavior of GFRP Bars under High Temperature

Experimental results on tensile mechanics properties of GFRP bars at high temperatures are present in this paper. Thirty commercially produced GFRP tensile specimens of 8mm diameter were tested at high temperature ranging from 10°Cup to 500°C. Tensile test result indicates that, the ultimate tensile stress has significant reduction at two temperature zones, one is glass transition temperature of epoxy resin (80-120°C), with strength degradation 22%, the second is the soften temperature of glass fibers(about 400°C), the strength decrease drastically with almost linear rate and remained 33% residual strength at 500°C. The elastic modulus remained unchanged until glass transition temperature of epoxy resin, and the modulus declined linearly with the temperature elevating. Stress-strain relationships of GFRP bars exhibit liner performance even at high temperatures.
Optical techniques: using coarse and detailed scans for the preventive acquisition of fingerprints with chromatic white-light sensors

The preventive application of automated latent fingerprint acquisition devices can enhance the Homeland Defence, e.g. by improving the border security. Here, contact-less optical acquisition techniques for the capture of traces are subject to research; chromatic white light sensors allow for multi-mode operation using coarse or detailed scans. The presence of potential fingerprints could be detected using fast coarse scans. Those Regions-of- Interest can be acquired afterwards with high-resolution detailed scans to allow for a verification or identification of individuals. An acquisition and analysis of fingerprint traces on different objects that are imported or pass borders might be a great enhancement for security. Additionally, if suspicious objects require a further investigation, an initial securing of potential fingerprints could be very useful. In this paper we show current research results for the coarse detection of fingerprints to prepare the detailed acquisition from various surface materials that are relevant for preventive applications.