Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Advances in ultrashallow doping of silicon

ABSTRACT Ultrashallow doping is required for both classical field-effect transistors in integrated circuits and revolutionary quantum devices in quantum computing. In this review, we give a brief overview on recent research advances in three technologies to form ultrashallow doping, namely molecular monolayer doping, molecular beam epitaxy, and low energy ion implantation. A research perspective will be provided at the end of this review. GRAPHICAL ABSTRACT
Diversity and distribution of epiphytic lichens on Cedrus atlantica and Quercus faginea in Mount Babor Forest, Algeria

Abstract. Belguidoum A, Lograda T, Ramdani M. 2021. Diversity and distribution of epiphytic lichens on Cedrus atlantica and Quercus faginea in Mount Babor Forest, Algeria. Biodiversitas 22: 887-899. Information about lichen diversity in Algeria is limited despite their important role as biological indicators of ecosystem health. The aim of the study was to carry out an inventory of epiphytic lichens in the Mount Babor Forest on two types of phorophytes (host trees), i.e., Cedrus atlantica and Quercus faginea, in varying altitudinal gradients and the diameter of host tree. The similarity of the sampled sites was assessed by the Sorensen index (β). Sixty-six species of epiphytic lichens were identified, which belong to 24 families and 38 genera. C. atlantica hosted a higher number of species than Q. faginea. The majority of lichen on C. atlantica belonged to the Parmeliaceae family, whereas those on Q. faginea belonged to the Physciaceae family. Crustose and foliose lichens were the most common species in the study area. The results showed the existence of a distinct relationship between the parameters of the distribution (i.e., tree diameter, elevation) and the specific lichen richness. The greatest number of lichen species (59 species) was observed on large diameter trunks (41-60 cm). Lichen diversity increased along with the increase in altitude. Sorensen’s similarity index revealed the presence of heterogeneity in the community composition of lichen vegetation.
Influencing Factors on Knowledge Management for Organizational Sustainability

This paper analyses the level of knowledge management implementation in organizations and the impact of control variables on knowledge management dimensions. In addition, the importance of knowledge management influence on the competitive sustainability of an organization is addressed. The idea of the research is to highlight key factors that affect the effectiveness and efficiency of knowledge management applications in transition conditions. Data for the study were obtained by surveying 520 respondents—managers of all levels from manufacturing enterprises in Serbia. A t-test was conducted in several variations. More precisely, the t-test analysis was conducted on the average assessments of knowledge management dimensions and with specific control variables. The findings indicate that knowledge management dimensions differ in domestic enterprises and foreign enterprises as well as that their impact differs across organizational levels. Financial performance (profitability, sales growth, asset growth, market share, competitive position in a specific industry, productivity, and salaries) was found to be a reliable indicator of knowledge management success. It can be concluded that knowledge management dimensions have an important role in transition countries, and it is evident that effective knowledge management is imperative for the competitive sustainability of an organization.
A Comparative Study of Soil and Foliar Nickel Application on Growth, Yield and Nutritional Quality of Barley (Hordeum Vulgare L.) Grown in Inceptisol

ABSTRACT Nickel (Ni) deficiency is common in intensively cultivated soils. As Ni is a costly input, thus, judicious use in agriculture is needed to address its deficiency economically. In view of deficiency of Ni, a field experiment was conducted to evaluate the responses for soil (SA), foliar (FA) and combination of these two methods of Ni application on growth, yield, nutritional quality and bio-chemical properties of soil using barley as a test crop. Foliar application of 0.2% NiSO4 significantly enhanced growth, yield, and nutrients concentration in grain as compared to SA. The highest grain and straw yield was in 5.0 kg SA Ni ha−1 + 0.2% FA of NiSO4 but it was statically at par with 0.2% FA of NiSO4. Application of 10 kg SA Ni ha−1 + 0.2% FA of NiSO4 resulted in a significant yield decrease. The maximum bacterial population was with 5 kg SA Ni ha−1, whereas actinomycetes population in 7.5 kg SA Ni ha−1. However, higher dose of Ni had a synergistic effect on the fungal population and urease enzyme activity. It was inferred that 0.2% FA of NiSO4 may be economically used over soil application to mitigate the deficiency of Ni in barley.
Bioinformatics Analyses Reveals a Comprehensive Landscape of CXC Chemokine Family Functions in Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer

Backgrounds. Lung cancer is a major source of tumor-related death each year with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) being a prevalent subtype. The metastasis from NSCLC to the brain usually imposes many neuron disorders. Previous studies have suggested that communications among cancer cells and interstitial cells are essential in tumorigenesis and are influenced by chemokines. In the tumor microenvironment, CXC chemokines can participate in the shifting of immune cells and manage tumor cell condition, thus affecting the progression of cancer and patient destinies. However, the expression and values of CXC chemokine family in NSCLC have not been systematically illustrated using public databases. Methods. UALCAN, STRING, ONCOMINE, GeneMANIA, cBioPortal, GEPIA, TISIDB, TRRUST, TIMER, Kaplan-Meier Plotter, and R software were utilized in this study. Results. Based on the TIMER and UACLCAN databases, in LUAD patients, the expression levels of CXCL10, CXCL13, and CXCL14 were significantly elevated while the transcriptional levels of CXCL2/3/4/7/12/16 were significantly reduced; in LUSC patients, the expression levels of CXCL6/10/13/14 were significantly elevated while the expression levels of CXCL2/3/4/5/7/11/12/16/17 were significantly reduced. We found remarkable relevance between the pathological stages of LUAD patients and the expressions of CXCL8 (positive) and CXCL17 (negative). Similarly, there are significant correlations between the pathological stages of LUSC patients and the expressions of CXCL1/2/6/17. In LUAD, patients with low expression levels of CXCL1/4/7/8 and patients with high expression levels of CXCL12/14/16 were associated with a significantly better prognosis. But in LUSC, all correlations between chemokines and prognosis are statistically insignificant. Pairwise expression correlation analysis among CXC chemokines shows that there are 7 significant correlations (between CXCL1 and CXCL2, between CXCL1 and CXCL3, between CXCL1 and CXCL8, between CXCL2 and CXCL3, between CXCL4 and CXCL7, between CXCL9 and CXCL10, and between CXCL9 and CXCL11) in LUAD and 4 significant correlations (between CXCL1 and CXCL8, between CXCL2 and CXCL3, between CXCL4 and CXCL7, and between CXCL10 and CXCL11) in LUSC. Significant correlations between the expressions of CXC chemokines and the infiltration of six common types of immune cells were also discovered in both LUAD and LUSC. Conclusions. We provided a comprehensive landscape of the CXC chemokine family in LUAD and LUSC using the bioinformatics method and found differences between LUSC and LUAD in the field of CXC chemokines. Our study may help validate and identify known novel immunotherapeutic targets and prognostic biomarkers.
Are Traditional Performance Reviews Outdated?: An Empirical Analysis on Continuous Real-Time Mobile Feedback in the Workplace

In order to deliver real-time feedback to support employee development and rapid innovation, many companies are replacing formal review-based performance management with systems that enable frequent and continuous employee evaluation. Real-time feedback applications enable supervisors and employees to give, seek, and receive competency-based feedback using their computers, smartphones, or other devices. In this study, we examine the role of one such real-time feedback application to understand its effects on employee performance appraisals. First, we seek better understanding of how workplace relationships affect employee feedback across managers, colleagues, and direct reports and find that feedback tends to be more critical when given by managers. What is even more important from an industry perspective is the role of preferential treatment and retaliation. Managers can be more transactional, but colleagues are not. We also highlight a series of gender observations: men rate women higher than men, and women rate men and women similar to how men rate men. We conclude by finding that positive real-time feedback has a stronger effect on an employee’s future ratings than negative feedback. Our findings have direct implications for the design and implementation of performance management systems and highlight how companies can use information systems to create an innovative human resource operation that delivers flexibility and agility.
Picene thin films on metal surfaces: Impact of molecular shape on interfacial coupling

The energetics at organic‐metal interfaces are, to large extend, determined by the structure of the molecular adsorbate on the substrate surface. As shown by low‐energy electron diffraction (LEED) the zigzag shape of picene leads to a peculiar monolayer structure on Ag(111), Ag(110), and Cu(111) with one molecule in the unit cell lying essentially flat and the other one adopting an edge‐on orientation. The adsorbate‐substrate coupling is weak as shown by ultraviolet photoelectron spectroscopy (UPS). This is in striking contrast to monolayers of straight pentacene, where all molecules lie flat and are strongly coupled, involving charge transfer complex formation on most of these surfaces.
Extreme effects of drought on composition of the soil bacterial community and decomposition of plant tissue

The decomposition of soil organic matter, as an essential part of nutrient cycling, has a crucial role in maintaining soil fertility and the regulation of climate. This function of the soil is likely to be affected by extreme weather events that are expected to be more frequent and severe in the future. We conducted an experiment from March 2014 to March 2015 to test the effects of extreme drought on composition of the bacterial community and decomposition of plant tissue with soil microclimate variables such as soil temperature and moisture. Precipitation was excluded for a 5‐month period by transparent roofs. To follow organic matter decomposition, we used the tea bag method. Soil samples were taken to determine the effects of extreme drought on the bacterial community 6 months after the dry period (mid‐term). Drought plots were drier (P < 0.001) and warmer (P < 0.001) than control plots as a consequence of the extreme drought treatment. The permanova test showed that the dry period altered soil bacterial communities accordingly (Fpermanova = 10.36, P = 0.002). However, there was no significant difference between the control and drought‐treated plots 6 months after the dry period in terms of bacterial alpha diversity. Furthermore, rates of organic matter decomposition in the control plots were significantly larger by an average of 93.7% than in the drought plots. The results also indicated that soil temperature and moisture had significant effects on decomposition. Overall, the findings demonstrate clearly the response of soil bacteria and soil function to experimental drought. The strong effect of changes in precipitation and increasing temperature on mass loss suggests that extreme weather events, such as extreme droughts, can markedly change the composition of soil bacterial communities and processes of decomposition. This effect is expected to be more pronounced during dry periods of increasing severity and frequency.
Critical thinking skills in mathematics

Teachers’ low mathematical critical thinking skills (MCTS) resulted in students’ low MCTS in the learning process. A teacher needs to have a good foundation of MCTS so that they can pass on their MCTS to their students. This study aims to improve the teaching and learning activities of teachers through prospective teachers and to find out whether there is an effect of the interaction between learning and Mathematical Prior Knowledge (MPK) of prospective teachers on the achievement of the MCTS. The solution offered in the learning process is Realistic Mathematics Education based on Emergent Modeling (RME-EM). The research method used is quantitative research methods. The research sample is prospective teachers at one of the private universities in West Java, as many as 51 people. The result of the research is that the achievement of the student teaching and learning activities of prospective teachers who get RME-EM learning is better than the achievement of the MCTS of prospective teachers who get conventional learning. On the influence of the interaction between learning (RME-EM and Conventional) and MPK (high, medium, and low) prospective teachers on the achievement of MCTS, it is found that there is an influence on the achievement of student teaching and learning activities based on learning and MPK, but there is no interaction between learning and MPK towards the achievement of prospective teachers. RME-EM learning can be implemented at various student levels and is quite successful in improving teaching and learning activities for prospective teachers. However, RME-EM learning activities are not sufficient to have a significant impact on the interaction between learning and MPK on prospective teachers. RME-EM can be a solution for teachers who want to improve their students’ MCTS in the classroom.
The Role of Financial Flexibility on Enterprise Sustainable Development during the COVID-19 Crisis—A Consideration of Tangible Assets

Financial flexibility refers to the ability of a firm to respond effectively to unanticipated shocks to its cash flows or its investment opportunities and is a key factor in the sustainable development of enterprise. This article explores the effect of financial flexibility on the enterprise performance of Taiwan’s manufacturing industry during the COVID-19 pandemic. Data for the first and second quarter of 2020 from companies listed on the Taiwan Stock Exchange were collected and analyzed. The results indicate that for listed manufacturing companies on the Taiwan Stock Exchange, financial flexibility has a significant and positive effect on enterprise performance (return on assets, ROA), particularly in the asset-heavy manufacturing industry. However, financial flexibility has no significant effect on the enterprise performance of the asset-light manufacturing industry or the semiconductor industry. This study also show evidence that Taiwan’s asset-light manufacturing industry suffered the most from the COVID-19 crisis, which is not conducive to its sustainable development. In summary, the results show that Taiwan’s manufacturing industry has poor financial flexibility and one of the worst ROA during the COVID-19 pandemic. Based on the results of this research, effective suggestions to rationally retain financial flexibility and pay more attention to liquidity risk management for sustainable development are proposed for Taiwan’s manufacturing industry.
Junior high school students’ mathematical connection: a comparative study of children who have reflective and impulsive cognitive styles

Mathematical connections are the link between mathematical topics and mathematics, with other disciplines and to the real world or in daily life. The purpose of this study was to describe the mathematical connection ability of junior high school children who have impulsive and reflective cognitive styles. To achieve that objective, comparative research is done both qualitatively and quantitatively between reflective and impulsive students. The research subjects were students of SMP Negeri 1 Palang who had impulsive and reflective cognitive styles. To measure impulsive and reflective cognitive styles the MFFT (Matching Familiar Figures Test) instrument is used. The mathematical connection instrument is a mathematical connection test while exploring the mathematical connection skills used by task-based interviews. Based on the results of the qualitative analysis, it was concluded that reflective students can recognize and use the relationship between ideas in mathematics better than impulsive students. Reflective students are also able to show quite well how mathematical ideas are interconnected and build on each other to produce a coherent whole, but impulsive students are less able. On indicators of recognizing and applying mathematics in contexts outside mathematics, both reflective and impulsive children have the same difficulty. The results of the statistical analysis of the mathematical connection score, there were no significant differences between reflective and impulsive students.
Connecting farmer mental health with cow health and welfare on dairy farms using robotic milking systems

The objective of this exploratory, preliminary study was to survey dairy farmers using robotic milking systems to better understand their mental health and potential connections to their cow health and welfare. Only farms using robotic milking systems in Ontario, Canada were visited for collection of data on management practices, cow welfare, and milk production and quality. Those farmers also completed an online survey that included validated psychometric scales used to assess resilience, stress, anxiety, and depression; results from 28 farms were analysed. Thirty cows per farm (or 30% for herds > 100 milking cows) were scored for body condition (five-point scale: 1 = thin to 5 = over-conditioned) and lameness (five-point scale: 1 = sound to 5 = lame); cows with a Body Condition Score ≤ 2.5 and lameness score ≥ 4 were defined as under-conditioned and severely lame, respectively. Farmer stress was positively associated with severe lameness prevalence, was greater for females vs males, and was greater for those feeding manually vs using an automated feeder. Anxiety and depression were greater for females vs males, and for those working alone, feeding manually, and with lesser milk protein percentage. Anxiety was also positively associated with the prevalence of severe lameness. Resilience was greater for those with automated feeding systems, but tended to be negatively associated with milk yield per robot and positively associated with milk somatic cell count. This is the first study to identify associations between farmer well-being and cow lameness, udder health, and milk yield. With future research, we can better understand this relationship to improve the well-being of both agricultural animals and their caretakers.
Life loss per death of respiratory disease attributable to non-optimal temperature: results from a national study in 364 Chinese locations

Many studies have linked temperature with respiratory deaths, but epidemiological evidence of temperature-attributable years of life lost (YLL) from respiratory diseases is limited. Daily respiratory YLL rates were calculated using mortality data from 364 locations of China during 2006–2017, and meteorological data were collected for the same period. First, the distributed lag non-linear model (DLNM) was applied to estimate specific temperature-respiratory YLL rate associations in each location. Then multivariable meta-analysis was conducted to pool the location-specific estimates. Finally, we calculated the average life loss per death (LLD) to quantify the respiratory mortality burden of non-optimal temperature. Subgroup analyses were conducted by gender, age, region and cause of death. Inversely J-shaped association was observed between non-optimal temperature and respiratory YLL rate in China. The minimum YLL-rate temperature was 26.9 °C nationwide. An average of 1.37 years (95% CI: 1.06–1.65) LLD was attributable to non-optimal temperatures with 2.06 years (95% CI: 1.57–2.60) for pneumonia, 2.03 years (95% CI: 1.76–2.31) for chronic lower respiratory infections (LRTI), 0.88 years (95% CI: 0.65–1.09) for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), most of which was attributed to moderate cold (0.73 years, 95% CI: 0.65–0.80). LLD caused by non-optimal temperature was higher in males, the young, and north China. Exposure to non-optimal temperature increases respiratory YLL rate in China, most of which were attributed to moderate cold. People with respiratory diseases including pneumonia, chronic LRTI and COPD are vulnerable to non-optimal temperature exposure. The result of this study provides useful information to reduce temperature-related respiratory disease burden.
Effect of bacterial amylase pretreatment on bioethanol production from starch-based solid waste (SBSW)

ABSTRACT Fuels derived from biomass are essential in order to overcome the excessive dependence on petroleum. They also minimize the emissions of greenhouse gases. Pretreatment in biofuel production is a very important step. Pretreatment is not only costly in its own right but also has a pervasive impact on the cost of virtually all other processing operations. The present study investigates the effect of bacterial amylase pretreatment on ethanol production from different kinds of starch-based solid waste (SBSW). For this purpose four amylase-producing bacterial isolates were obtained from samples collected from municipal waste dumping sites. The isolated bacteria were then used for the pretreatment of SBSW for ethanol production. After bacterial amylase pretreatment, 13% yield of ethanol was obtained.
On the oblique collision of gaseous molecules with graphene nanosheets

Abstract In this paper, normal and tangential coefficients of restitution for gaseous molecules colliding with layerwise (single and few layers) graphene nanosheets were calculated using non-equilibrium molecular dynamics method. The normal and tangential coefficients of restitution depend on impact angle, velocity and landing position of projectiles. These parameters were evaluated computationally by implementation of several operations. Some differences were observed between proposed problem and macro-scale nature. The most notable difference was proportionality between the restitution coefficients and impact velocity, while in the case of macro-scale systems, they have inverse relation. Number of layers of graphene substrate does not contribute significantly to the normal and tangential coefficients of restitution. On the other hand, except for hydrogen, where its normal coefficient of restitution is approximately unity, the normal coefficient of restitution for other gasses increases as impact angle increases. Furthermore, tangential coefficients of restitution reduce with impact angle. These results can offer additional insights for further understanding the impact mechanisms and bombardment-related phenomena in low-dimensional materials. Presented results could be utilised to optimise some applied operations such as porosity generation via bombardment of layered nanostructures, gas detection process, thermal management and pressure sensor applications.