Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
New EDM Generator Used for the Machining of 1.2363 and 1.2343ESR Steels

The basic building block of any electric discharge machine is a generator, which ensures the operation of material separation itself. Not only the erosion rate and electricity consumption but also the quality of the machined surfaces depend on the design of the generator. These key factors for efficient machining have been investigated using a new energy-saving and powerful generator developed for the electric discharge machine (EDM) while machining 1.2363 and 1.2343ESR steels. In order to monitor and model the responses in the form of eroding rate and surface quality, a two-level half-factor experiment was performed with one replication at the corner points and two replications at the central points, for a total of 80 rounds. Both graphite and copper electrodes of sizes 10x10 mm and 100x100 mm were used for eroding and the influence of parameter settings: Open-voltage, Pulse current, Pulse on-time and Pulse off-time was monitored. It was found out that the shape of the electrode and Pulse current have the most significant effect on the erosion rate. The parameters Pulse current, Pulse on-time and their mutual interaction have the most significant effect on the surface topography. Statistically significant factors influencing the occurrence of defects turned out to be Pulse current, Pulse on-time and Material of workpiece, where it can be seen that the material 1.2343ESR is significantly less prone to the formation of surface defects.
An analysis of manufacturers’ supply and demand uncertainty based on the dynamic customisation degree

Diverse demands regarding products are common; however, manufacturers usually cannot respond immediately to meet such changes upon demand, and thus, customer satisfaction tends to be reduced. Notebook computer manufacturers adopt a production mode of mass customisation; hence, a certain degree of dynamic customisation measurements, inherent in different supply chain models, allow manufacturers to evaluate costs and profits in advance. The application of the model, as proposed in this study, indicates that the most important factor of the customisation degree is product price. The dynamic customisation degree is adjusted based on monitoring indicators, which requires less total cost and produces greater accuracy in forecast results regarding the prediction model of customer demands. This study develops a dynamic customisation model for total product profits, inventory cost of semi-manufactured products, shortage costs and buffer inventory costs, which are affected by the degree of dynamic customisation of the products. It also analyses the supply and demand uncertainties of the Direct Shipment of the Manufactured Model, as well as the Door-to-Door Direct Shipment of the End User Model in the notebook computer industry, as the criteria with respect to a firm's customisation degree, costs, and profits in different supply chain mode operations.
Preliminary investigation of Emirati women entrepreneurs in the UAE

This study presents an exploratory investigation of Emirati female entrepreneurs in the United Arab Emirates. In depth interviews with seventeen Emirati entrepreneurs were conducted exploring their motivation for establishing their own business as well as the level of support they received from within their personal social network. Findings indicate that the primary motivating factor driving Emirati women to start their own business is a desire for independence. In other words, their desire is to gain control over both their working and personal lives. Women who receive support from their male family members were less inhibited in starting their own business. Further research is needed with female non-entrepreneurs in order to better understand what barriers or inhibitors may be preventing them from becoming an entrepreneur. It is hoped that the findings of this paper will enable decision makers in the UAE to better formulate policy and support programs aimed at creating an environment more accepting of female Emirati entrepreneurs, empowering them to harness their entrepreneurial talents while at the same time satisfying the demands placed on them by both their families and society. Key words: Women, entrepreneurs, United Arab Emirates, motivation, social network support, male network partners.
Do innovation and human capital actually narrow the technology gap? Champions and laggards of European regional productive performance

ABSTRACT This paper studies regional productive performance differentials among 243 NUTS-2 European regions for the period 2003–11. Within the last two decades the technology gap between European regions has increased considerably. Building on previous studies that have used data envelopment analysis (DEA) and which have neglected national production structures and pre-existing technological heterogeneity, we examine differences in regional productive performance by using a meta-frontier framework. Our findings confirm significant differences in productive performance across European regions and a large North–South technology gap. A panel vector autoregression (PVAR) shows that this regional technology gap can be attributed to differences in human capital and innovation activity.
Does Terms of Trade Matter for Economic Growth? A Focus on Natural Resource-Rich Sub-Saharan African Countries

The contention that deteriorating terms of trade exists in countries that rely heavily on the exploitation and export of natural resources motivated us in this study. We therefore sought to investigate the impact of terms of trade on economic growth in natural resource-rich sub-Saharan African countries. We carried out the study using annual series that span a period of 1990-2019 under the framework of panel Random and Fixed effects. Our findings indicate that a long run relationship exists between GDP and the explanatory variables used in the study. Results also show that, while cross-section random effects indicates that terms of trade positively impacts on GDP, period fixed effects shows that terms of trade negatively impacts on GDP even though it is not significant. Results of our study also show that in all the models, labour force total and FDI have positive impact on GDP, while trade openness impacts on GDP negatively. We therefore recommend that the SSA natural resource-rich countries should diversify their economies away from the traditional natural resources base. Also human capital should be improved through sound education and training, while all the bottlenecks that constrain the inflow of foreign direct investment should be dismantled.
Operationalizing productivity improvement programs through total quality management

The intent of this empirical research is to identify the critical factors that are potentially “fatal” to productivity improvement programs and to analyze these factors relative to documented quality concepts. From this analysis we determine that these “fatal” factors can be prevented by the pre‐existence of a quality program, specifically total quality management, which requires participative involvement of all members of an organization, continuous improvement, and customer satisfaction.
Revealing Britain’s Systemic Racism: The Case of Meghan Markle and the Royal Family

the other hand, is the careful tone and the many hypotheses that Schwarzenbach is refining and testing. This is a systematic and transparent piece of work, a bit repetitious but still informative. I also appreciate the efforts to complicate Tom R. Tyler’s influential theory of procedural justice, in which the perceived neutrality, consistence and respectfulness during police encounters are understood as explaining people’s attribution of legitimacy. This book widens the perspective and includes more flesh and bone. When we examine how young people relate to the police we cannot just focus on police procedures. We need to understand the circumstances producing these procedures and in which interpretative contexts they are enacted, observed, assessed and dealt with.
A Classification Method of Road Transport Missions and Applications Using the Operating Cycle Format

When dealing with customers, original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) classify vehicular usage by resorting to simplified, often colloquial, descriptions that allow for a rough understanding of the operating conditions and the user’s needs. In this way, the information retrieved from the customers is exploited to guide their choices in terms of vehicle design and configuration, based on the characteristics of the transport application, labeled using intuitive metrics. However, a common problem in this context is the absence of any formal connection to lower levels of representation that might effectively be used to assess vehicular energy performance in simulation, or for design optimization using mathematical algorithms. Indeed, both processes require more accurate modeling of the surroundings, including exhaustive information about the local road, weather, and traffic conditions. Therefore, starting with a detailed statistical description of the environment, this paper proposes a method for mathematical classification of transport missions and applications within the theoretical framework of the operating cycle (OC). The approach discussed in the paper combines a collection of statistical models structured hierarchically, called a stochastic operating cycle (sOC), with a bird’s-eye view description of the operating environment. The latter postulates the existence of different classes, which are representative of the usage and whose definition is based on simple metrics and thresholds expressed mathematically in terms of statistical measures. Algebraic expressions, called operating classes in the paper, are derived analytically for all the stochastic models presented. This establishes a connection between the two levels of representation, enabling to simulate longitudinal vehicle dynamics in virtual environments generated based on the characteristics of the intended application, using log data collected from vehicles and/or information provided by customers. Additionally, the relationships between the two descriptions are formalized using elementary probability operators, allowing for an intuitive characterization of a transport operation. An example is adduced to illustrate a possible application of the proposed method, using six sOCs parametrized from log data collected during real-world missions. The proposed approach may facilitate the interaction between OEMs, customers, and road operators, allowing for planning of maintenance, and optimization of transport missions, components, and configurations using standard procedures and routines.
Effect of oil viscosity on transformer loading capability at low ambient temperatures

The applicability of the ANSI loading guide for power transformers is limited to ambient temperatures above 0 degrees C because the thermal model does not account for variations in the oil viscosity and winding resistance. A practical calculation method based on the bottom-oil temperature and the surface temperature at the top of the cooling duct has been developed. Results indicate that the proposed thermal model could provide a sound basis for calculating the overload capacity for ambient temperatures below 0 degrees C or for severe overloads of short duration. >
A Novel 3D Non-Stationary Maritime Wireless Channel Model

In this paper, a novel 3-dimensional (3D) non-stationary geometry-based stochastic model (GBSM) is proposed to mimic the ship-to-ship multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) communication channels. To reflect the realistic maritime propagation environment, the effects of rough sea surface scattering and evaporation duct propagation are investigated in the proposed channel model. The model considers the movements of transmitter (Tx), receiver (Rx), and scatterers, and is capable of capturing the channel characteristics, including non-stationary characteristics, spatial consistency, location-dependent property, etc. Through taking the array cluster evolution into account, the proposed channel model can describe massive MIMO channels and can easily switch to conventional MIMO channel model by adjusting corresponding parameters. Based on the proposed model, key statistical properties like delay/angular/Doppler power spectrum density (PSD), space-time correlation function (STCF), stationary interval, and root mean square (RMS) Doppler/delay spreads in multi-scenarios are derived. The usefulness and accuracy of the proposed model are demonstrated by comparing theoretical results, simulation results, and corresponding measurement results.
Ethical leadership and public accountability: Problematiques of South Africa’s State-Owned Enterprises

This paper aims to explore the potency of ethical frameworks in the advent of a democratic dispensation in State-Owned Enterprises in an attempt to address conundrums of unethical leadership and devastating public accountability. This paper argues that South Africa is grappling with fitting in the notion of ethos and accountability. On the same line, the contestation about the impasse of the State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) befits germane in the topical and constant political transformation in South Africa. SOEs endure eccentric to those serving it and those who benefit from it, leading to a lack of orthodoxy by public officials to ethical framework prescribed and contemplated in legislation for good conduct in public services. Ethical leadership and public accountability are two sides of the same coin; however, they serve as a nut and bolt of a well-functioning public administration. The two are inseparable. The paper is theoretical as such, and it is epistemologically juxtaposed and grounded or underpinned by agency theory and its ideals. Be that as it may, it further depends on literature base review for its premise, argument, crux, and purpose and drawing up results and conclusion. Thus, the paper gathers information regarding the various scholars’ notions on ethical leadership and public accountability from related articles, journals, and books. The paper reveals that the South African State-Owned Enterprises are antagonized and branded by unethical leaders and public accountability challenges. At this juncture, the SOEs are faced with poor fiscal coordination and management. The paper further reveals that the SOEs are swimming in the pool of debts. The conclusion that can be deduced from this paper is that it calls for strengthening and reforming all legislative prescripts that govern the State-Owned Enterprises. Public administrators must avoid incubating politicians as it creates the ground for corruption and various types of ethical dilemmas.
Industrial Hemp (Cannabis sativa L.) - a High-Yielding Energy Crop

Bioenergy is currently the fastest growing source of renewable energy. Tighter sustainability criteria for the production of vehicle biofuels and an increasing interest in combined heat and power (CHP) production from biomass have led to a demand for high-yielding energy crops with good conversion efficiencies. Industrial hemp was studied as an energy crop for production of biogas and solid biofuel. Based on field trials, the development of biomass and energy yield, the specific methane yield and elemental composition of the biomass were studied over the growing and senescence period of the crop, i.e. from autumn to the following spring. The energy yield of hemp for both solid biofuel and biogas production proved similar or superior to that of most energy crops common in northern Europe. The high energy yield of biogas from hemp is based on a high biomass yield per hectare and good specific methane yield with large potential for increases by pretreatment of the biomass. The methane energy yield per hectare is highest in autumn when hemp biomass yield is highest. The energy yield per hectare of hemp for use as a solid biofuel is highest in autumn when the biomass yield is highest. However, important combustion-related fuel properties, such as moisture, alkali, chlorine and ash content and ash melting temperature, are significantly improved when industrial hemp is harvested in spring instead of in autumn. Major fuel properties of hemp are not significantly influenced by annual cultivation conditions, latitude or choice of cultivar. Net energy yields per hectare and energy output-to-input ratios of hemp are above-average in most applications, and are highest for use of hemp as solid biofuel. Use of hemp as a biogas substrate suffers from higher energy inputs and lower conversion efficiencies, but produces a high-quality vehicle fuel. Advantages over other energy crops are also found outside the energy balance, e.g. low pesticide requirements, good weed competition and suitability as break crop in cereal-oriented crop rotations. Improvements in hemp biomass and energy yields may strengthen its competitive position against maize and sugar beet for biogas production and against perennial energy crops for solid biofuel production.
C3ONTEXT: A Common Consensus on Convective OrgaNizaTion during the EUREC4A eXperimenT

Abstract. The C3ONTEXT (A Common Consensus on Convective OrgaNizaTion during the EUREC4A eXperimenT) dataset is presented as an overview about the meso-scale cloud patterns identified during the EUREC4A field campaign in early 2020. Based on infrared and visible satellite images, 50 researchers of the EUREC4A science team manually identified the four prevailing meso-scale patterns of shallow convection observed by Stevens et al. (2020). The common consensus on the observed meso-scale cloud patterns emerging from these manual classifications is presented. It builds the basis for future studies and reduces the subjective nature of these visually defined cloud patterns. This consensus makes it possible to contextualize the measurements of the EUREC4A field campaign and interpret them in the meso-scale setting. Commonly used approaches to capture the meso-scale patterns are computed for comparison and show good agreement with the manual classifications. All four patterns as classified by Stevens et al. (2020) were present in January–February 2020 although not all were dominant during the observing period of EUREC4A. The full dataset including postprocessed datasets for easier usage are openly available at the Zenodo archive at https://doi. org/10.5281/zenodo.5724585 (Schulz, 2021b).
Hayvansal Üretim Verilerinde Çoklu Bağlantı Probleminin Yanlı Regresyon Yöntemi İle Çözümlenmesi

Bu calismanin amaci, kucuk orneklemlerde karkas agirliginin tahmin edilmesinde yanli tahmin tekniklerindenRidge Regression (RR) yonteminin en kucuk kareler EKK yontemine karsi etkinligini arastirmaktir. Bu amaclabroilerde karkas agirligi ile aciklayici degiskenler arasindaki dogrusal iliskinin tahmininde EKK ve yanli tahmintekniklerinden Ridge Regression yontemi karsilastirilmaktadir. Arastirmada, bagimsiz degiskenler arasindakiyuksek coklu dogrusal baglanti problemine dayanarak RR yonteminin EKK yontemine gore daha kucuk standarthatali, duragan ve kuramsal beklentilere uygun tahminler saglayacagi beklenmistir
Mechanical Properties of Differently Nanostructured and High-Pressure Compressed Hydroxyapatite-Based Materials for Bone Tissue Regeneration

Hydroxyapatite (HAp) has long been considered the gold standard in the biomedical field, considering its composition and close resemblance to human bone. However, the brittle nature of hydroxyapatite (HAp) biomaterial, constrained by its low fracture toughness (of up to 1.2 vs. 2–12 MPa m1/2 of human bone), remains one of the significant factors impairing its use in bone regeneration. In the present study, HAp nanoparticles synthesized by the solid-state (SHAp) and sonochemical (EHAp) approaches using eggshell-derived calcium hydroxide and ammonium dihydrogen orthophosphate as precursors are compared with those synthesized using commercially available calcium hydroxide and ammonium dihydrogen orthophosphate as precursors (CHAp) employing sonochemical method. The HAp samples were then compressed into compact materials using a uniaxial high-pressure compression technique at a preoptimized load and subsequently characterized for mechanical properties using the Vickers indentation method and compressive strength testing. The analysis revealed that the material with smaller particle size (30–40 nm) and crystalline nature (EHAp and CHAp) resulted in mechanically robust materials (σm = 54.53 MPa and 47.72 MPa) with high elastic modulus (E = 4011.1 MPa and 2750.25 MPa) and density/hardness-dependent fracture toughness (σf = 4.34 MPa m1/2and 6.57 MPa m1/2) than SHAp (σm =28.40 MPa, E = 2116.75 MPa, σf = 5.39 MPa m1/2). The CHAp material was found to be the most suitable for applications in bone regeneration.
COMPARISON OF BEHAVIORAL AND PHYSIOLOGICAL RESPONSE TO ELECTRIC SHOCK IN LACTATING DAIRY COWS

Summary: A series of experiments were performed to measure behavioral and blood cortisol concentration responses of cows exposed to current applied from front to rear hooves. Increased activity level was not a consistent indicator of response to current, whereas a startle response (flinch) was a consistent and repeatable indicator. Cows responded at lower current levels to the 1-front to 2-rear hoof pathway than to muzzle to 4-hooves pathway. Cortisol levels did not increase in response to current exposure at levels up to 1.5 times the behavioral reaction level. Cortisol concentrations were found, however, to increase in response to hoof trimming. It appears for these results that behavioral changes are a more sensitive indicator of response to current than blood cortisol levels. This result agrees with several past studies. Experiments were performed to compare milking performance of cows subjected to electrical current exposure applied during milking to the response to two common milking machine problems. The electrical exposure of one mA, rms of 60 Hz electrical current was applied from front to back hooves during milking. The milking machine problems created were either a pulsation failure (no massage phase) or excessively aged milking machine liners. The response measures included milk yield, average milk flow rate, maximum milk flow rate, cow activity, and strip yield (hand stripping yield). There was no statistically significant main effect on any of these variables for current exposure. Pulsation failure produced a significant decrease in cow activity (5.8 fewer weight shifts during a milking). Aged liners produced a significant effect on milk yield (2.2 kg increase), average flow rate (0.77 kg/min reduction), maximum flow rate (1.2 kg/min reduction) and liner slips (21 more per milking).
A Recovery Voltage as non-Destructive Tool for Moisture Appreciation of Oil Impregnated Pressboard: An Approach for Power Transformers Testing

This paper is devoted to recovery voltage as a diagnostic non destructive method for an assessment of an insulating state of power transformers. The insulating pressboard used in power transformers is tested for different moisture levels. Experiments were carried out with samples from the same material intended to power transformers building. A charge and discharge of a capacitor having pressboard paper as dielectric is a suitable tool for an appreciation of the polarization and relaxation processes. The polar character of the water's molecules has an influence on the permittivity. Then the polarization of the paper will be affected by a moisture presence. Time evolution of the recovery voltage for different durations of the charges was examined. An increase of the recovery voltage with the moisture content was observed. The maximum of recovery voltage occurs much later starting from the moment of the opening of the circuit for higher moisture for all examined levels. Thus, the time separating the short circuit and the maximum's occurring can be considered like an important parameter allowing an appreciation of the moisture state of oil impregnated paper.