Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Spatial and Temporal Variation of NO2 Vertical Column Densities (VCDs) over Poland: Comparison of the Sentinel-5P TROPOMI Observations and the GEM-AQ Model Simulations

TRPOMI instrument aboard Sentinel-5P is a relatively new, high-resolution source of information about atmosphere composition. One of the primary atmospheric trace gases that we can observe through it is nitrogen dioxide. By now, we were using the chemical weather model (GEM-AQ) as a mean for estimating nitrogen dioxide concentration on a regional scale. Although well established in atmospheric science, the GEM-AQ simulations were always based on emission data, which in the case of the energy sector were reported by stack owners. In this paper, we attempted to compare the TROPOMI and GEM-AQ derived VCDs over Poland with a particular focus on large point emitters. We also checked how cloudy conditions influence TROPOMI results. Finally, we tried to link the NO2 column number densities with surface concentration using boundary layer height as an additional explanatory variable
Improve Consumer Purchasing Decisions Through Quality of Service, Promotion And Quality of Information At PT. Ng Tech Supplies

The main objective of this research is to analyze the influence of service quality, promotion and information quality on customer purchasing decisions at PT. Ng Tech Supplies. This research is causal research (cause-effect research) . The population and sample in this study were 164 regular customers during January 2019 to July 2019 period. The sampling technique that the researcher used in this study was the simple random sampling technique. So that the sample in this study was 116 respondents. The results showed that partially service quality and information quality variables had a significant effect on customer purchasing decisions at PT. Ng Tech Supplies. Meanwhile, promotion has no effect on customer purchasing decisions at PT. Ng Tech Supplies.
Measuring the Economic Use Values of Recreation Resources in Protected Areas, Evidence from Nyerere National Park in Tanzania

Natural recreation resources play a central role in tourism activities in most part of the world as they are main source of tourist attractions. Despite this, little is known on the economic use values of natural recreation resources in Tanzania. Little information on the economic use values of natural recreational resources is attributed by market failure issues embedded with these resources as they belong to non-market goods and services which normally do not have actual market prices. In most instances these resources are considered free gifts of nature and in case they are priced their values are usually under estimated. Environmental valuation techniques can quantify the economic use value of non market goods and services such as natural recreation resources. This study employed the Individual Travel Cost Method to measure the economic use value of recreation resources in Nyerere National Park (NNP). Specifically, the study measured the consumer surplus per tourist per trip and estimated the annual recreation use value of the park. The study involved 215 tourists who were grouped into resident and non-resident tourists. Data were analyzed using STATA version 14 and a Zero Truncated Poisson Regression Model was employed to estimate tourists’ demand function. The findings show that consumer surplus for resident, non-resident and when the two groups were combined together were $62.25, $490.48 and $517.01 respectively. The annual recreation use value for resident, non-resident and both resident and non-resident tourists were respectively $89,017.5, $4,255,404.48 and $7,251,661.36. The recreational value estimated in this study underscores the significance of conserving recreation resources in NNP. It also demonstrates that recreation activities can contribute significantly to the country economy like other economic activities thus natural recreation resources should not be underrated due to their embedded market failures. The study concludes that NNP has a significant economic value which calls for the responsible institutions in the country to properly manage the park so as to ensure a continuous flow of these benefits. Specifically, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism and Tanzania National Parks could use the findings of this study to improve tourism activities in NNP and the country at large by designing sustainable nature based tourism strategies which meet tourists’ preferences and country tourism goals. This will attract more tourists in the country which will increase the recreation values of NNP and other natural recreation areas.
Designing a Hypothetical Learning Trajectory Based on Investigative Learning

This research is a design research that aims to design a hypothetical learning trajectory based on investigative learning. This study’s subjects were students of class VII in a junior high school in Aceh Barat Daya, consisting of 32 students for the pilot experiment and 31 students for the teaching experiment. The selection of research subjects for these two classes used a random sampling technique. The data collection technique were carried out by observation, interview, and documentation. The research data were analyzed using qualitative analysis. This design research model consists of three stages: preparing for the experiment, experimental design, and retrospective analysis. The results showed that the hypothetical learning trajectory based on group investigative learning that has been designed can help students achieve learning goals. The learning trajectories produced in this study are (1) students can find the size of the object on the two sketchs by measuring and making comparisons of the two sketchs object values (the same amount); (2) students can find the form of the ratio from the size of the two sketchs and students can draw the conclusion that from the ratio value can be obtained the scale value; (3) students can determine the ratio of two different quantities of the investigative activity carried out and can write a form of direct proportion; and (4) students can distinguish the form of direct proportion and inverse proportion problems
Effect of Unimodal and Bimodal Soil Hydraulic Properties on Slope Stability Analysis

Rainfall infiltration is the primary triggering factor of slope instability. The process of rainfall infiltration leads to changes in the water content and internal stress of the slope soil, thereby affecting slope stability. The soil water retention curve (SWRC) was used to describe the relationship between soil water content, matric suction, and the water retention characteristics of the soil. This characteristic is essential for estimating the properties of unsaturated soils, such as unsaturated hydraulic conductivity function and shear strength. Thus, SWRC is regarded as important information for depicting the properties of unsaturated soil. The SWRC is primarily affected by the soil pore size distribution (PSD) and has unimodal and bimodal features. The bimodal SWRC is suitable for soils with structural or dual-porous media. This model can describe the structure of micropores and macropores in the soil and allow the hydraulic behavior at different pore scales to be understood. Therefore, this model is more consistent with the properties of onsite soil. Few studies have explored the differences in the impact of unimodal and bimodal models on unsaturated slopes. This study aims to consider unimodal and bimodal SWRC to evaluate the impact of unsaturated slope stability under actual rainfall conditions. A conceptual model of the slope was built based on field data to simulate changes in the hydraulic behavior of the slope. The results of seepage analysis show that the bimodal model has a better water retention capacity than the unimodal model, and therefore, its water storage performance is better. Under the same saturated hydraulic conductivity function, the wetting front of the bimodal model moves down faster. This results in changes in the pressure head, water content, and internal stress of the soil. The results show that the water content and suction stress changes of the bimodal model are higher than those of the unimodal model due to the difference in water retention capacity. Based on the stability of the slope, calculated using the seepage analysis, the results indicate that the potential failure depth of the bimodal model is deeper than that of the unimodal model.
[Re] Neural Networks Fail to Learn Periodic Functions and How to Fix It

The central claims of the paper are two-fold: (1) The properties of the activation functions are carried over to the neural networks. Atanhnetworkwill be smooth and extrapolates to a constant function, while ReLU extrapolates in a linear way. Standard neural networks with conventional activation functions are insufficient for extrapolating periodic functions. (2) The proposed activation function manages to learn periodic functions while being able to optimize as well as conventional activation functions. While both experimental proof and theoretical justifications are provided for the claims, we shall only be concerned with testing the claims via experimental means.
Tensile Properties of Bagasse Fiber Composites

Bagasse is a waste generated in abundance from the sugarcane industry. This investigation was planned to convert bagasse waste into a useful composite. For this purpose the bagasse waste was obtained from sugar cane juice producer. In this study, the extraction of bagasse fibers was done manually and they were treated with sodium hydroxide. The treated bagasse fibers had higher tensile properties as compared to untreated ones, so the alkali treated fibers were used as reinforcement for making composites. Hand lay-up technique was used to manufacture bagasse composite samples. The fiber length (1 inch and 2 inch) and fiber weight percentage (10 wt% and 20 wt%) were considered as variables. It was found that better tensile properties were obtained with higher fiber length (2 inch) and weight percentage (20 wt%). Bagasse-cotton fabric composites were also produced using cotton fabric as a base material and the bagasse fibers were sandwiched between a printed and plain cotton fabric. The idea was to consider these composites useful for sun-shades or for decorative purposes. It was also found that bagasse-cotton fabric reinforced composites had higher tensile strength and strain; however the modulus had reduced due to higher elongation of cotton fabrics. With the increase in the weight percentage the tensile properties had reduced this might be because during the composite manufacturing the epoxy resin had to pass through the fabric to wet the bagasse fiber out and they were not wetted out properly. This phenomenon needs further investigation.
Antimicrobial activity of the aqueous extract and fractions from the leaf of the aroeira-do-sertão

The plants popularly used in the treatment of various diseases, such as Myracrodruon urundeuva Allemão, have been investigated about the action on microorganisms, aiming the discovery and use of new natural additives. This research aimed to evaluate the in vitro antimicrobial activity of the aqueous extract of Myracrodruon urundeuva leaves and its fractions on pathogenic bacteria associated with foodborne diseases. The aqueous extract was obtained by decoction of the fresh leaves and fractionated by high-speed counter-current chromatography. The antimicrobial activity was performed using microdilution in a plate. The aqueous extract of “aroeira-do-sertão” leaves was effective against all tested microorganisms. Antimicrobial activity was verified for Staphylococcus aureus and Listeria monocytogenes (0.2 and 0.8 mg/mL, respectively) and for Salmonella Enteritidis, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Escherichia coli (6, 10 and 16 mg/mL respectively). Twenty-four secondary compounds were isolated, distributed in six fractions. The fractions showed antimicrobial activity on Gram-positive bacteria at low concentrations (0.011 to 0.095 mg/mL) and at higher concentrations (2.4 to 33 mg/mL), two fractions showed activity on Gram-negative bacteria. The union of the compounds in the extract was favorable for antimicrobial activity on all the studied bacteria, demonstrating that the susceptibility of the microorganisms to the extract varied according to the chemical compounds present.
Labour Rights from Labour Wrongs? Transnational Compensation and the Spatial Politics of Labour Rights after Bangladesh’s Rana Plaza Garment Factory Collapse

The collapse of the Rana Plaza garment factory building in Bangladesh, which resulted in the loss of at least 1134 lives and injuries to hundreds more, exposed the brutality of a global production system in which labour rights have become privatised, circumscribed, and deterritorialised. Unprecedented for an incident of its kind, affected families received $30 million in “compensation” from global apparel companies through the Rana Plaza Arrangement, a voluntary initiative overseen by the International Labour Organization (ILO). This article situates the Arrangement in debates over labour rights in global supply chains, presenting it as a hybrid mechanism that recognises workers’ right to compensation for injury or death but relies on the voluntarism of corporate social responsibility for funding. Exploring the complex role of neoliberal regulation in reproducing geographies of uneven development, I show how a transnational initiative can restrict labour rights even as it attempts to expand such rights.
Effect of Visual Experience on Spatial Learning of Rats

Background: Visual information acquired through observation plays a pivotal role in learning a movement pattern and motor control. Objectives: This study aimed to analyze the effect of visual deprivation on learning in rats. Methods: The study sample consisted of 12 male rats, divided into three groups. Group I consisted of four rats and was considered the control group. Transection of the two optic nerves was performed on rats of group II on the seventh day after birth and group III on the seventh week after birth to develop the early blind and late blind models, respectively. A T-shaped maze device was utilized to evaluate the learning behavior of rats. Rats of groups II and III were blinded by the optic nerve surgery. In total, 20 trials per day were conducted for nine consecutive days, in which the time and number of correct arm entries were recorded. The ANOVA and Kruskal-Wallis tests were employed to analyze the results in SPSS software (version 16.0). A p-value of less than 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: There was a significant difference between the three groups regarding the number of correct arm entries on days one, three, and seven (P<0.05). There was also a significant difference between the three groups regarding how long it took them to enter the target box on days two and three (P<0.05). Group III had a lower number of entries to the target box and it took them a significantly longer time to enter the target box, compared to the other groups. Conclusion: According to the results, visual deprivation may affect the learning of rats during the early days; however, their learning levels increased over the following days. Moreover, the early blinded rats had a higher level of learning than the lately blinded adult rats and the same level of learning as that of the sighted adult rats.
Atomic Layer Deposition of Aluminum Sulfide: Growth Mechanism and Electrochemical Evaluation in Lithium-Ion Batteries

This study describes the synthesis of aluminum sulfide (AlSx) thin films by atomic layer deposition (ALD) using tris(dimethylamido)aluminum and hydrogen sulfide. We employed a suite of in situ measurement techniques to explore the ALD AlSx growth mechanism, including quartz crystal microbalance, quadrupole mass spectrometry, and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. A variety of ex situ characterization techniques were used to determine the growth characteristics, morphology, elemental composition, and crystallinity of the resultant AlSx films. This study revealed that the AlSx growth was self-limiting in the temperature range 100–250 °C, and the growth per cycle decreased linearly with increasing temperature from ∼0.45 A/cycle at 100 °C to ∼0.1 A/cycle at 250 °C. The AlSx films were amorphous in this temperature range. We conducted electrochemical testing to evaluate the ALD AlSx as a potential anode material for lithium-ion batteries (LIBs). The ALD AlSx exhibited reliable cyclability over 60 dischar.
Cooperation for innovation in liberal market economies: STI and DUI innovation modes in SMEs in the United Kingdom

ABSTRACT This study focuses on the collaboration patterns that small firms hold with other agents within liberal market economies and identifies the collaborative drivers that in this context deliver a superior impact on innovation output measured by product and process innovations. To explore this research question, the study combines the literature on innovation systems with a growing literature on business innovation modes that studies whether businesses are driven by science and technology factors (STI), or experience-based factors such as learning-by-doing, by-using and by-interacting (DUI). In the UK liberal market economy, universities and research centres are expected to play a critical role for innovation well beyond the typical impact they produce in coordinated market economies. This hypothesis is largely verified through our empirical evidence. Methodologically, this research is developed through the application of propensity score matching in the context of the UK longitudinal small business survey (LSBS) for 2015.
Obtaining Large Columnar CdTe Grains and Long Lifetime on Nanocrystalline CdSe, MgZnO, or CdS Layers

CdTe solar cells have reached efficiencies comparable to multicrystalline silicon and produce electricity at costs competitive with traditional energy sources. Recent efficiency gains have come partly from shifting from the traditional CdS window layer to new materials such as CdSe and MgZnO, yet substantial headroom still exists to improve performance. Thin film technologies including Cu(In,Ga)Se2, perovskites, Cu2ZnSn(S,Se)4, and CdTe inherently have many grain boundaries that can form recombination centers and impede carrier transport; however, grain boundary engineering has been difficult and not practical. In this work, it is demonstrated that wide columnar grains reaching through the entire CdTe layer can be achieved by aggressive postdeposition CdTe recrystallization. This reduces the grain structure constraints imposed by nucleation on nanocrystalline window layers and enables diverse window layers to be selected for other properties critical for electro‐optical applications. Computational simulations indicate that increasing grain size from 1 to 7 µm can be equivalent to decreasing grain‐boundary recombination velocity by three orders of magnitude. Here, large high‐quality grains enable CdTe lifetimes exceeding 50 ns.
The Nexus between Sustainable Economic Development and Government Health Expenditure in Asian Countries Based on Ecological Footprint Consumption

Health has vital importance in maintaining economic development since it is essential for, and a result of, economic development. This indicates that health makes a large contribution in achieving sustainable development and health outcomes. The significance of health is shown in the millennium development goals (MDGs) and in the sustainable development goals (SDGs), where four of the seventeen objectives focus on improving health outcomes (UN, 2021). As compared to other countries, some Asian countries are still worse off regarding health outcomes and are facing challenges in achieving positive outcomes for such goals. This study mainly focuses on identifying the link between public health expenditures and health outcomes in nine Asian economies from 2000 to 2018. The study implements fixed effects panel data estimations by using the Hausman specification test to identify the fixed effects model as the suitable estimator for the study. The empirical results from the fixed effects technique show that immunization, GDP per capita, trade openness, and utilization of basic water service facilities improve under-five and infant mortality in Asian economies. However, ecological footprint increases under-five and infant deaths by damaging the environment.
The Role of Coping Strategies in the Resilience and Well-Being of College Students during COVID-19 Pandemic

The study aimed to investigate the relationship between resilience and well-being of college students during the Covid-19 pandemic and to determine the moderating role of coping strategies in this relationship. Resilience was defined based on the concept of Connor and Davidson (2003), who defined it as an individual characteristic that allows an individual to thrive in the face of adversity, coping strategies were categorized into approach or avoidant coping strategies as measured by COPE Brief, and well-being was conceptualized based on Warwick-Edinburgh's concept of mental well-being. It included 243 college students enrolled in one of the 12 online social science courses in one college in Metro Manila who were administered through online platform the Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-being Scale, Brief COPE, Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC-10), and Impacts of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Life of Higher Education Students Questionnaire. Results showed a significant relationship between resilience and well-being. Approach coping strategy also showed significant positive relationships with the three criterion variables: academic, social, and mental well-being, indicating that the more a student employs approach coping strategy, the better is his or her academic, social, and mental well-being. On the other hand, the Avoidant coping strategy was negatively associated with academic-related emotions, showing that the less the use of the Avoidant coping approach, the more positive are the academic-related emotions felt by students during online classes. However, both coping strategies failed to moderate the relationship between resilience and well-being. It is recommended that schools implement programs and services that will train students on how to cope during pandemic.
The readability of 10-K reports and insider trading profitability

This study links the readability of 10-K reports to insider trading profitability. Using a sample of 102,060 insider transactions in the United States between 1994 and 2016, we empirically demonstrate that less readable 10-K reports increase profitability from insider trading. Consistent with the proprietary cost argument, we also document that readability impacts on insider trading profitability are more pronounced for research and development–intensive firms, for firms facing higher product market competition and trade secrecy, and for firms with lower levels of voluntary management disclosures. Overall, this study supports the proprietary cost and strategic information asymmetry channel of readability and suggests that less readable reports lead to the exploitation of information advantages by insiders. JEL Classification: D4, G14, G34, G40