Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Green procurement and green supplier development: antecedents and effects on supplier performance

This study adopts the opposing theoretical views of legitimacy – institutional and strategic – in evaluating firm performance and top management commitment as antecedents to green procurement and green supplier development. Additionally, the impact of green procurement and green supplier development on supplier performance is analysed. Using a sample of western European companies, we develop a structural equation model to test our hypotheses. We find that the buying firm’s market performance positively relates to the adoption of green procurement. While financial performance has no effect on green procurement, top management commitment is found to be an important driver of both green procurement and green supplier development. Moreover, the relationship between green procurement and supplier performance is fully mediated by green supplier development. The paper addresses a research gap concerning firm-level antecedents for green procurement and green supplier development showing that both practices may impact supplier performance. Furthermore, it is shown that legitimacy concerns drive basic green procurement, whereas top management is decisive for advanced practices, such as green supplier development.
Use of the star of slots in designing fractional-slot single-layer synchronous motors

Nowadays fractional-slot windings are proposed for synchronous motors for different purposes: reduction of end-winding losses, reduction of torque ripple, reduction of mutual coupling among the phases, fault-tolerant applications, and so on. The design of the single-layer fractional-slot synchronous motors is dealt with, in which each slot contains only one side coil. The star of slots, introduced some time ago, proves itself to be again appropriate. After a brief review of the classical theory of the star of slots, its application is extended to the design of these unconventional windings. Thanks to its graphical representation, a simple analytical formulation is carried out describing the harmonic contents of the winding distribution. Finally, the star of slots allows simple rules for the design of fractional-slot single-layer windings to be determined. As a special case, it is used to determine the synchronous motor winding solutions suitable for critical fault-tolerant applications.
Chinese Arctic Yellow River Station Research Monitoring Program. 1. Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons in Sediment from Svalbard

Surface sediments of the west coast of Svalbard near Ny-Ålesund Spitsbergen were collected. PAHs of lake sediments (mean: 260, range: 11 - 1100 ng/g dry wt) were higher than previously report of surface lake sediment in Svalbard 1995, suggesting significant PAH contamination is occurring due to long-term atmospheric transport and local coal mining and fossil fuel sources, pointing to the role of Arctic lakes as potential reservoirs of semi-volatile organic compounds, including PAHs. Compound-specific analysis revealed different PAH patterns between Svalbard lakes and European high mountain lakes, showing higher proportions of low molecular weight compounds and lower levels of high molecular weight PAHs in Svalbard lakes. PAH indicator ratios suggest that the majority of PAHs in lake sediments have pyrogenic origins (coal mining, fossil fuel and biomass combustion), while coastal marine sediments were mainly contaminated by petroleum-derived PAHs (shipping activities in coastal areas, and perhaps as a result of an oil spill in 1986). Sediment fluxes of PAHs were estimated to be 0.2 - 22 ng cm-2 yr-1. The current PAH levels exceeded Canadian sediment quality guidelines, suggesting the presence of possible risks for aquatic organisms and the need for further studies.
An entropy-based SWOT evaluation process of critical success factors for international market entry: a case study of a medium-sized consulting company

In the UK, construction companies are striving for survival and stable business growth during the economic recession, with many companies exploring the expansion of international business. The strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (SWOT) in relation to international business are well understood; however, in existing literature little emphasis has been placed on the associated critical success factors (CSFs) and their evaluation. The aim is to identify relevant CSFs that can potentially influence the success of international projects. A questionnaire was undertaken to investigate 11 pre-identified common CSFs categories, and 25 SWOT individual factors relevant to a leading international medium-sized consultancy company in the UK. The data were evaluated by using the quantitative method of entropy ranking and SWOT qualitative analysis. Political, physical and corruption factors were found to be the most significant factors to the success of international projects. The findings examine a measure of entropy-based SWOT method to remove uncertainty between respondents (multi-objectives) during the evaluation of CSFs, which is supportive of an accurate, reliable and reasonable basis for the decision-making process. Substantial evidence is also provided regarding the identification and evaluation of CSFs that potentially affect the success of international projects for a medium-sized UK consulting company, when deciding about expansion into the international market.
Resonant Transmission through C-Shaped and H-Shaped Small Apertures and the Mutual Coupling Effect between Two C-Shaped Apertures

Transmission cross section characteristics as a measure of transmission efficiency has been analyzed numerically for the H-shaped and C-shaped small apertures in the infinite conducting plane when illuminated by a plane wave. It has been found that C-shaped aperture has the larger transmission cross section than that of H-shaped aperture under the condition of the same perforated aperture area. Main attention has been focused on studying the mutual coupling effect between two C-shaped apertures on the transmission cross section characteristic. Parallel configuration which is composed of two C-shaped apertures arranged along the x-axis and collinear configuration which is composed of two C-shaped arrayed along the y-axis have been investigated from the viewpoint of enhanced transmission cross section characteristics.
Heat Transfer Enhancement of Internal Cooling Passage With Triangular and Semi-Circular Shaped Pin-Fin Arrays

A systematic experimental study has been conducted to explore the heat transfer behavior of triangular and semicircular shaped pin-fin arrays as compared to the circular shaped pin-fin array, that serve as a baseline case. The main advantage of using triangular and semi-circular shaped pin-fin arrays will results in reduced component weight and potentially increases in heat transfer performance. Three staggered arrays with different inter-pin spacing in both transverse and longitudinal are explored in order to determine the optimal configuration for these three dimensional element. Both semi-circular and circular shaped pin-fin arrays are based on typical inter-pin spacing of 2.5 times the pin diameter. The channel geometry (width, W = 76.2mm, height, E = 25.4mm) simulates an internal cooling passage of wide aspect ratio (3:1) in a gas turbine airfoil. All pin-fin elements are fully bridged from one endwall to the opposite endwall. The Reynolds number, based on the hydraulic diameter of the unobstructed cross-section and the mean bulk velocity, ranges from 10,000 to 25,000. The heat transfer measurement employs a hybrid liquid crystal imaging technique, which combined one-dimensional, transient conduction model and lumped heat-capacitance model. Triangular pin-fin arrays produce the highest heat transfer enhancement, while the semi-circular pin-fin array yields the lowest heat transfer enhancement. Sharp edges at each triangular pin-fin generated more wake and turbulence, resulting in more mixing, induces greater heat transfer enhancement by approximately 10%–20% as compared to the typical pin-fins of circular cross-section. More uniform heat transfer is also observed on the endwall and neighboring pin-fins in all triangular shaped pin-fin arrays. However, triangular pin-fin arrays give the highest pressure loss due to the largest induced form drag among all cases, while circular pin-fin array exhibits the lowest pressure loss. © 2012 ASME
Insect Contamination Impact on Operational and Economic Effectiveness of Natural-Laminar-Flow Aircraft

The objective of this paper is to investigate the effect of insect contamination on operational and economic effectiveness of an aircraft with natural laminar flow wings designed by DLR. It is intended to show how insect debris located close to the wing leading edge influence fuel consumption on single missions as well as economic metrics like net present value. The focus will be on short-to-medium haul operations, i.e., aircraft similar to current state-of-the-art 150 passenger seated aircraft. During the analysis process tools for aircraft design, mission simulation and computation, insect contamination as well as life-cycle cost assessment will be used. The overall goal is to provide aircraft operators with a better understanding of the operational behavior of natural laminar flow aircraft under realistic operational boundary conditions and related economic implications.
Facebook-supported tasks for exploring critical and creative thinking in a physics teaching course

Research shows that traditional teacher-and-content-centered education doesn’t give students good preparation in critical and creative thinking. This article presents a qualitative study of student performances in two original learning tasks, one related to critical thinking and the other related to creative thinking. The study was carried out in an obligatory physics teaching course for undergraduate students. The first learning task focused on critical thinking, in which students were asked to evaluate various defects in an artificially contextualized electrostatic exercise. Students’ performances, collected via Google Classroom, show that they were able to detect and justify its contextual defects using real-world knowledge. A big challenge to students was to provide quantitative arguments against noticed huge electric charge allegedly created in described electrostatic cling. The second learning task focused on creative thinking, in which students engaged in a multi-step learning sequence to elaborate one explanation and two predictions related to enigmatic behavior of a tomato. A secret and closed Facebook group was administered to present the subtasks in the sequence and receive students’ answers in real time. The results show that students performed better in the subtasks that called for a near knowledge transfer than in other ones calling for a far knowledge transfer. In their reflective comments about the sequence, students recognized the importance of “thinking out of the box” for deeper learning of physics. Based on the results, suggestions on the design of critical and creative thinking related tasks are discussed for future implementation.
A comparison of the crash involvement of unlicensed motorcycle riders and unlicensed drivers in Queensland

Despite on-going improvements in traffic law enforcement practices and technology, unlicensed driving and riding remain serious road safety problems in Australia. Previous research into the crash involvement of unlicensed motor vehicle operators has identified unlicensed motorcyclists as a significant high-risk group within the larger unlicensed population. The current investigation compared the crash involvement of unlicensed riders and drivers in Queensland for the period 2000 - 2004. Results indicated that like unlicensed drivers, unlicensed motorcycle riders are over-represented in fatal and serious injury crashes. However, the proportion of unlicensed riders involved in motorcycle crashes is higher than is the case for unlicensed drivers, at all crash severity levels. The three main types of unlicensed riders involved in serious casualty crashes are those with disqualified/suspended licences, those with inappropriate licences, and those who have never been licensed. In terms of contributing factors, serious crashes involving unlicensed drivers and riders both showed an increased involvement of alcohol or drugs, speeding, inexperience and inattention compared to those involving their licensed counterparts. However, relatively more of the crashes involving unlicensed riders occurred in lower speed zones (ie. 60 km/h or less roads) than was the case for unlicensed drivers. The results are discussed in terms of directions for future research and policy.
Real-Time Measurement of Lead in Ambient Air During Bridge Paint Removal

Air quality monitoring involving traditional high-volume air sampling for particulate and lead in association with removal of lead-based paint by abrasive blasting from bridges has consistently been associated with high cost and significant lag time between the time of sample collection and the availability of useful results to project personnel. On the basis of the results of two analytical studies conducted in association with air quality monitoring performed on New York State Department of Transportation bridge painting projects involving abrasive blasting, X-ray fluorescence (XRF) technology can provide useful lead concentration results on a realtime basis. Feasibility and field studies conducted comparing results of traditional laboratory filter analysis for lead and filter measurement by XRF indicate reliable and practical application of this technology for evaluating the effectiveness of abrasive blasting containment.
Probabilistic data association for symbol detection in MIMO systems

The application of the probabilistic data association (PDA) algorithm to the symbol detection in narrowband spatial multiplexed multiple input multiple output systems with known channel state information is investigated. The performance of a new proposed complex formulation of PDA algorithm, which matches the full parameters of the complex Gaussian distribution (which are the mean vector, covariance matrix and the pseudo-covariance matrix), is compared with the real vector formulation of a generalised PDA algorithm and a PDA implementation, which employs complex Gaussian approximations with matched mean and covariance only.
Critical Temperature-Humidity Index Thresholds Based on Surface Temperature for Lactating Dairy Cows in a Temperate Climate

Detecting the early signs of heat stress is highly important in dairy farming. The surface temperature (ST) of cattle can reflect their thermal status and using such a measuring method can be efficient and non-invasive. However, few studies have reported the temperature-humidity index (THI) thresholds for ST. This study aimed to identify the critical THI thresholds for the ST of dairy cows and to evaluate the effects of the lactation stage and the lactation number. The study included 233 Holstein lactating cows from July 2020 to October 2020 in a temperate climate in China. There were 1556 records of the rectal temperature, and the maximum ST (STmax) and average ST (STave) of the head, eye, cheek, ear, neck, trunk, udder, foreleg, and hindleg were recorded. Air temperature and relative humidity were recorded to calculate the average THI. Physiological data were collected twice daily (08:00–12:00, 14:00–16:00). The critical THI thresholds were determined using the breakpoints of piecewise linear models. The significance of breakpoints was tested using the Davies test. A one-way ANOVA was used to test the effect of the lactation stage (0–60 DIM, 61–200 DIM, 201–300 DIM, DIM is days in milk) and the lactation number (1, 2, 3+) on the THI thresholds. The results showed that the rectal temperature was significantly positively correlated with all the ST variables (0.57 ≤ r ≤ 0.71, p < 0.01). The critical THI thresholds for STmax (mean of 76.1 THI, range of 73.6 to 77.9 THI) were significantly higher than those for STave (mean of 72.6 THI, range of 69.1 to 77.2 THI) (p < 0.01). The lactation stage only significantly affected the thresholds for STmax (p < 0.05), and the lactation number did not significantly influence the thresholds for both STmax and STave (p > 0.05). This study concluded that the STave was more appropriate to define thresholds than the STmax. The threshold for the STave of the cheek (69.1 THI) was the lowest among the thresholds, indicating that the STave of the cheek could be a prior ST variable to determine critical THI thresholds. Our findings demonstrated the potential of using ST variables to define critical THI thresholds.
Effect of Thrust-Vectoring Jets on Delta Wing Aerodynamics

The interaction of thrust-vectoring jets with leading-edge vortices over stationary delta wings and its effects on the wing aerodynamics were investigated experimentally. Two models with sweep angles of A = 50 and 65 deg, representing nonslender and slender wings, respectively, were tested with rectangular and circular nozzles. Force, velocity measurements, and flow visualization were performed. It was found that undervortex blowing can significantly affect the aerodynamic forces on both nonslender and slender wings. The maximum lift change occurred near the stall angle, due to the earier reattachment of shear layer and delay of vortex breakdown. Force measurements revealed that the effect of nozzle geometry can be important, because the entrainment effect of the jet depends on it. The jet-vortex interact on, distortion of jet vortices, and merging of wing and jet vortices are more pronounced for the rectangular nozzle and have a larger influence on the delta wing aerodynamics. The effect of the jet yaw angle is small for the nonslender wing, whereas the aerodynamics of the slender wing is very sensitive to the jet yaw angle.
Descriptive Analysis Of Femur Fracture Patterns, Management And Outcome: Descriptive Observational Study From A Level 1 Trauma Center

Background We aimed to assess the patterns, associated injuries, management and outcome of traumatic femoral fractures.Methods This retrospective study was conducted to include all trauma patients with femoral shaft fractures admitted in a level 1 trauma center between January 2012 and December 2015. Data were analyzed and compared according to the time to intramedullary nailing; mechanisms of injury and age groups.Results A total of 605 cases were analyzed, with mean age of 30.7±16.2 years.The majority of fractures were unilateral (96.7%) and 91% were closed fractures. Three-fourth of fractures were treated by reamed intramedullary nailing (rIMN); antegrade in 80%. The pyriform fossa nails were used in 71.6% while trochanteric entry nails was used in 28.4%. Forty five (8.9%) of fractures were treated with external fixator, 37 (6.1%) had conservative management. Victims of traffic-related accidents were younger, sustained severe injuries, and more likely to have rIMN and required more blood transfusion. Traffic-related injuries occured more in patients aged 14-30 years whereas; injuries related to fall were significantly higher in patients aged 31-59 years. Thirty-one patients (7.8%) had rIMN < 0-6 h, 106 (25.5%) had rIMN < 6-12 h and 267 (66.8%) had rIMN > 12 h. The implant type, duration of surgery, DVT prophylaxis, in-hospital complications and mortality were comparable among the three treatment groups.Conclusions the frequency of femoral fracture is 11% mainly in severely injured young males by traffic-related accidents and falls. Further multicenter studies are needed.
A two-dimensional analytical-model-based comparative threshold performance analysis of SOI-SON MOSFETs

A generalized threshold voltage model based on two-dimensional Poisson analysis has been developed for SOI/SON MOSFETs. Different short channel field effects, such as fringing fields, junction-induced lateral fields and substrate fields, are carefully investigated, and the related drain-induced barrier-lowering effects are incorporated in the analytical threshold voltage model. Through analytical model-based simulation, the threshold voltage roll-off and subthreshold slope for both structures are compared for different operational and structural parameter variations. Results of analytical simulation are compared with the results of the ATLAS 2D physics-based simulator for verification of the analytical model. The performance of an SON MOSFET is found to be significantly different from a conventional SOI MOSFET. The short channel effects are found to be reduced in an SON, thereby resulting in a lower threshold voltage roll-off and a smaller subthreshold slope. This type of analysis is quite useful to figure out the performance improvement of SON over SOI structures for next generation short channel MOS devices.
DUAL BAND-NOTCHED ANTENNA WITH THE PARASITIC STRIP FOR UWB

A novel microstrip-fed ultra wideband (UWB) elliptical antenna with dual band-notched characteristics is proposed. Dual band-notched characteristics are achieved by employing a pair of U- shaped slots on the ground plane and a T-shaped parasitic strip on the backside of the substrate. The operation bandwidth of the designed antenna is from 2.9 to 12GHz for voltage standing wave ratio (VSWR) less than 2, except two frequency stop-bands of 3.2{3.9GHz for WiMAX system and 4.9{6.1GHz for WLAN system. Moreover, the proposed antenna provides good radiation patterns across the working bands and a relatively ∞at gain over the entire frequency band excluding the rejected bands.
Patient Discharge Time Improvement by Using the Six Sigma Approach: A Case Study

ABSTRACT Health care has become one of the most important industries in the world, employing 13.4 million people, generating 3.2 million new jobs, and employing professionals from 10 of the 20 fastest growing occupations. Health care is also becoming more expensive and so there is a critical need to increase the efficiency of the health care delivery process. In this article, we look at the patient discharge process at a hospital in Amman, Jordan, with the objective of minimizing the discharge time without significantly increasing costs. This was done by building a simulation model of the discharge process and then optimizing it with a designed experiment and response surface model. This resulted in a 57% improvement in patients being discharged in less time than the goal of 50 minutes.
Flow Behavior in a Rectangular Tunnel Opened and Closed at Both Sides Using CFD

Most tunnel simulations have been focused on the thermal field and the critical velocity for suppression of hot back-layering flow in case of fire and on the characteristics of a tunnel fire in terms of the flame propagation and the toxic gas generation. In this paper, a comparative study of the flow characteristics of polluted air with no heat source in a tunnel model opened and closed at both end sides is implemented into a recognized CFD simulation code. The model is used to investigate the flow characteristics depending on the three different Reynolds numbers of 640, 1270 and 2120, which have been chosen by the flow velocities of 0.3, 0.6 and 1.0 m/s through the inlet. The results of this study have shown that the CFD predictive and experimental approaches are available in qualitatively studying the correlation of flow behaviors for a better tunnel design.