Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Demonstration Project of the Solar Hydrogen Energy System Located on Taleghan-Iran: Technical-Economic Assessments

One of the most attractive features of hydrogen as an energy carrier is that it can be produced from abundant material like water. The use of electrolysis to produce hydrogen from water is an efficient method from small to large scales. Energy for supplying water electrolysis systems can be provided by photovoltaic arrays. During the daylight hours, the sunlight on the photovoltaic arrays converts into electrical energy which can be used for electrolyzer. The hydrogen produced by the electrolyzer is compressed and stored in hydrogen vessel and provides energy for the fuel cell to meet the load when the solar energy is insufficient. This study investigates a stand-alone power system that consists of 10 kW PV arrays as power supply and 5 kW electrolyzer. They have been integrated and worked at Taleghan site in Iran. Result was simulated and optimized by using HOMER simulation tools and techno-economic analysis of system presented in this paper.
The Performance of Saudi Banking Industry 2000 -2011: Have the Banks Distinguished Themselves from One Another?

This paper studies the technical efficiency of Saudi banking sector using stochastic frontier model. A sample of 12 banks over the period 2000 - 2011 is selected to investigate their technical efficiencies in mobilizing deposits, allocating investments and generating income. The banks are categorized as Saudi-owned banks, Saudi - foreign owned banks and Islamic banks. The findings show some consistent pattern of these bank types; and there exist significant disparities among the banks in terms of technical efficiency. The banque Saudi Fransi stands out as a benchmark for the industry, and it is a Saudi -foreign owned bank type. The Saudi owned bank type has shown fluctuating performance during the period; and the Islamic bank type is not significantly different from Saudi-owned bank type.
Principes et mise en oeuvre de l'interopérabilité dans le système d'analyse de documents Qgar

Cet article decrit d'abord brievement la plateforme logicielle d'analyse de documents Qgar, son architecture, ses grandes composantes, ainsi que les choix techniques retenus pour les outils et les formats utilises. Il decrit ensuite plus precisement la solution mise en oeuvre pour faciliter l'interoperabilite au sein de la plate-forme, c'est-a-dire l'integration des applications realisees avec les briques logicielles fournies par la bibliotheque du systeme et l'integration des applications importees. Chaque application est associee a un document XML qui fournit ses caract eristiques : description a l'usage des clients, types et valeurs des parametres. Bien que simple et pragmatique, cette solution se revele performante, pour exporter des applications Qgar ou pour importer des applications tierces, comme le montrent les exemples donnes.
Modeling and Analysis on Cushion Characteristics of Fast and High-Flow-Rate Hydraulic Cylinder

As an indispensable actuator, the hydraulic cylinder has widespread industrial applications in mechanical engineering. The cushion characteristics of hydraulic cylinder directly affect its performance and reliability, especially the one utilized in hydraulic system with fast response, high flow rate, and instantaneous super power. In order to analyze the cushion characteristics, three different simulation models are established. Furthermore, experiments concerning the pressure characteristics of hydraulic cylinder are accomplished to verify the validation of simulation models. It was found that the integrated simulation model had the highest precision and CFD model showed better pattern of cushion process compared with other models. On the basis of the integrated simulation model, plunger structure and key structural parameters were studied in detail with optimal schemes given. The conical structure, proper design of the diameter of cushion hole, and length of plunger turned out to be effective in promoting the cushion performance. The proposed simulation models and research of cushion structure have scientific and engineering value to promote the innovative development of hydraulic cylinder.
Mindfulness and Divergent Thinking: The Value of Heart Rate Variability as an Objective Manipulation Check

Mindfulness (MF) is a form of mental training that has been linked to increased creativity in problem-solving. Most MF studies recruit participants interested in meditation, and thus are biased towards positive effects. Participants in this study (n = 73) therefore signed up for "mental training," not "mindfulness meditation"; the vast majority (54) had little to no prior meditation experience. This is also the first such experiment to use an objective measure of MF (coherence, a physiological correlate of MF that can be indexed by heart rate variability or HRV) as a manipulation check. Participants were randomly assigned to either MF training or a control condition (a memory exercise), and completed a test of divergent thinking (Unusual Uses Task) before and after mental training. Coherence was significantly higher in the MF group and heart rate was significantly lower in the MF group.
Induction of Somatic Embryogenesis from Immature Cotyledons in ‘Tombul’ Hazelnut

Effects of 6-benzyladenine (BA) in combination with auxins either 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D) or α-naphthaleneacetic acid (NAA) on the induction of somatic embryogenesis in different cotyledon maturity stages of open-pollinated seeds of "Tombul" hazelnut cultivar were investigated. Immature cotyledon explants were collected 45 and 30 days before harvest on July 1 and July 15 respectively. Initial Murashige and Skoog (MS) basal medium with half-strength of macronutrients containing 1.0 mg L -1 BA, 0.5 mg L -1 NAA and 250 mg L -1 L-glutamine resulted in the highest embryogenesis (66.7%) and the highest number of somatic embryo (5.5) per cotyledon explant. The cotyledons collected 45 days before the harvest were more inductive than those collected 30 days before the harvest on embryogenesis.
Fiscal instruments in sustainable housing policies in the EU and the accession countries

guidelines and knowledge about sustainable housing exist, progress in implementing them in practice has been slow. The perceived costs and the lack of market demand have been identified as the main barriers. A choice of fiscal instruments is essential in sustainable housing policies. This article presents an analysis of economic measures currently used to support sustainable housing in the EU and the accession countries, indicating the areas where policy instruments are either focused or lacking. Based on the country progress reports of the Third European Ministers Conference on Sustainable Housing in Belgium in 2002, the results indicate that environmental taxes and subsidies are used in the EU and the accession countries, but that they have had a low impact on the housing sector. An examination of the developments since 1996 shows that apart from energy initiatives resulting from the Kyoto Protocol, the lack of a strong driving force has kept progress slow. Conclusions are based on the analysis findings – the low impact of taxation on housing, the lack of environmental criteria in the reduced VAT rate and the narrow focus of subsidies. This article argues that enlargement of the EU presents opportunities for sustainable housing in Europe, if the fiscal instruments are enforced by legal means. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.
Optical coherence and Doppler tomography for monitoring tissue changes induced by laser thermal therapy: An in vivo feasibility study

A high-speed optical coherence and Doppler tomography system suitable for real-time monitoring of the microstructural and microvascular tissue changes induced by laser thermal therapy is described. The performance of the system is demonstrated experimentally in vivo by noting the morphological change, manifest as an increase in the optical extinction coefficient, and the reduction in the blood flow during and after laser thermal therapy in an animal model.
The Speech Continuum Reconsidered: A Case Study of a Speaker of Indian English

This study highlights the dynamics of the speech continuum by analyzing the sound system of a speaker of Indian English (IndE). Utterances were collected via the reading of commonly spoken words and a semi-structured interview. The findings indicate that the speaker’s sound features are much fewer than those described in earlier studies on IndE accents. Moreover, his pronunciation patterns display a mixture of the basilectal, meoslectal and acrolectal forms of Indian English, reflecting the characteristics of the non-linear speech continuum. This study concludes by discussing the speaker’s sound patterns with relation to his sociolinguistic background.
Comparison of TQM and ISO 9000 effects in company performance: an empirical study in spanish companies

The effect of Total Quality Management (TQM) and ISO 9000 on performance has been extensively analysed by researchers, but this sort of research has usually been developed in separated cells. However, there are few articles analysing the effect of both systems within the same sample of companies. Our paper analyses both the effect of a TQM system and the ISO 9000 implementation in company performance. A structured questionnaire using the Flynn et al. (1994) scale for measuring TQM has been used to get the data. A postal survey to nearly 3000 industrial Spanish companies with more than 100 employees was sent. This questionnaire was answered by 713 quality managers. The results show a positive relationship between TQM application and hard and soft results while only an improvement in hard results after the ISO 9000 implementation has been found.
Examination of water saving behavior within framework of Theory of Planned Behavior

Education is seen as an effective strategy to improve water saving awareness and thus existing water sources are used carefully. In this study, water saving behaviors of secondary school students and the factors affecting these behaviors were examined within the framework of the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) [1, 2]. The study was realized with the participation of 497 students. As a result of the study, it was seen that the water saving intentions and behaviors of students were high. It was determined that TPB explained students’ water saving behavioral intentions in 62%, and that their intentions were under the influence of subjective norm, perceived behavioral control and attitude, respectively. Behavioral explanation rate of behavioral intention and perceived behavioral control was calculated as 78%.
Spatial variability of the hydraulic properties of a drip irrigated andisol under blueberries

The objective of the present investigation was to identify the spatial variability of hydraulic properties of a volcanic ash soil under irrigated Blueberry crops, in order to improve the irrigation efficiency in a very sensitive crop by excess or lack of water. Undisturbed samples (230 cm 3 ) were collected in area of 945 m 2 (grid: 72 points separated by 3.2 and 6.4 m) between 1 and 7 cm depth in an Acrudoxic Fulvudands to determine the bulk density (Bd), total porosity (TP), the volume of water-filled pore space (ea (6kPa) ), plant available water (PAW), permanent wilting point (PWP) and saturated hydraulic conductivity (Ks). Along with sampling, volumetric water content (θ (Field) ) was measured using a TDR (grid: 120 points spaced by 1.4 and 3.2 m). From all results contour maps were developed, using geostatistical tools. The coefficient of variation of (θ (Field) ), Ks, (ea (6kPa) ) and PAW showed a moderate variability (15 % - 35 %). The dependence degree (DD) was considered as weak for θ (Field) , moderate for θ (6kPa) , ea (6kPa) , PAW and high for Bd, TP, Ks and θ (0.1kPa) . The properties with largest DD were soil structure-dependent, whereas, the lowest values were observed for those related to soil texture (in this case θ (Field) , which were close to the PMP). The spatial variability was related to the high water storage capacity and the ability of the soil to conduct water with different intensities, what is related to the amount of water-filled macropores.
earGram Actors: An Interact ive Audiov isual System Based on Socia l Behavior

In multi-agent systems, local interactions among system components following relatively simple rules often result in complex overall systemic behavior. Complex behavioral and morphological patterns have been used to generate and organize audiovisual systems with artistic purposes. In this work, we propose to use the Actor model of social interactions to drive a concatenative synthesis engine called earGram in real time. The Actor model was originally developed to explore the emergence of complex visual patterns. In turn, earGram was originally developed to facilitate the creative exploration of concatenative sound synthesis. The integrated audiovisual system allows a human performer to interact with the system dynamics while receiving visual and auditory feedback. The interaction happens indirectly by disturbing the rules governing the social relationships amongst the actors, which results in a wide range of dynamic spatiotemporal patterns. A user-performer thus improvises within the behavioral scope of the system while evaluating the apparent connections between parameter values and actual complexity of the system output.
Equity dimensions of hazardous waste generation in rapidly industrialising cities along the United States–Mexico border

During the last 30 years, researchers and policy analysts have voiced concerns about the potential impact of pollution and hazard generated by foreign-owned manufacturing companies operating in Mexican cities bordering the USA. Despite the salience of the problem, to date, efforts to characterise unequal exposure to hazard in these cities have produced limited and inconclusive evidence. This study examines the relationship between the spatial distribution of hazardous waste generation facilities and socio-economic characteristics of neighbourhoods in the Mexican border city of Nogales. It assembles a geographic information system (GIS) to relate demographic data with an inventory of export-oriented industrial facilities and explores whether there is a spatial correlation between the location of these facilities, different levels of hazard and the neighbourhoods' socio-economic characteristics. In contrast to prevailing environmental justice findings, it is suggested that industry siting is not primarily associated with the location of low socio-economic status neighbourhoods in the city of Nogales. Rather, it shows that the spatial distribution of hazards seems to be influenced mainly by the location and accessibility of urban and transportation infrastructure, suggesting that the environmental equity hypothesis may have to be reframed in the context of rapidly developing urban areas with basic infrastructure deficits.
Optimization of Eugenol Extraction from Clove Oil using Response Surface Methodology

The objective of this research was to obtain optimum condition of eugenol production from clove oil using a central composite design method. The main process occured in the eugenol production was saphonification and neutralization processes. In order to optimize these processes, the ratio of NaOH/clove oil and temperature were studied as design variables i.e. ratio of NaOH/clove oil=1:2.5-1:3.5 while temperature was varied between 40 and 60oC. The yield of eugenol was considered as the main response in of this experiment. The result showed that the optimum condition was achieved when the temperature and the ratio of NaOH/clove oil were 50oC and 2.75:1, respectively and the yield was 39.17%.
The influence of architecture on the deformation localisation of cellular materials

(1) Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces, Department of Biomaterials 14424 Potsdam, Germany (2) GPM2, Domaine Universitaire de Grenoble, 38402 Saint Martin d’Heres Cedex, France email john.dunlop@mpikg.mpg. de Abtract : In general cellular materials fail by localisation of deformation. For random cellular materials, the localisation plane due to compressive deformation is found to be perpendicular to the applied stress. For periodic cellular materials, however the localisation occurs in particular directions that are related to the underlying “crystallography” of the cellular architecture. In this contribution we treat the deformation localisation like a martensitic instability, that is a deformation corresponding to a “soft” elastic deformation mode. The model of Khachaturyan is applied to different cellular architectures both in two and three dimensions.
Development of Prototype of Analytical Subsystem in R and Integration with Enterprise Resource Planning System

Author Title Number of Pages Date Andrei Hämäläinen Development of Prototype of Analytical Subsystem in R and Integration with Enterprise Resource Planning System 65 pages + 6 appendices 26 May 2017 Degree Master’s Degree Degree Programme Information Technology Instructors Heikki Lauranto, Senior Lecturer Tero Pesonen, Project Manager This master’s thesis is devoted to customer analysis of fund-raising processes in non-profit organisations. Non-profit organisations are interested in the analysis of collected fund-raising data because it helps them to improve their possibilities for communication with donors and volunteers. They need to analyze and classify the fund-raising data to look for the most profitable ways of working with different segments of donors. To achieve the claimed goal, the data collected in fund-raising processes needs analysis and presentation of analysis results in forms the most convenient for end users. Based on the presented information, end users will get a current view of the situation, its historical development and future trends. The present study examined customer analysis methodologies and tools and their integration possibilities with the existing Enterprise Resource Planning System written in Java and implemented as a web-system. In the practical part of the study, a prototype was created to support the analytical needs of fund-raising processes in non-profit organisations and the analytical subsystem was integrated with the existing Java ERP web-system.
Electroacoustic Analysis of a Controlled Damping Planar CMOS-MEMS Electrodynamic Microphone

This paper gives a detailed electroacoustic study of a new generation of monolithic CMOS micromachined electrodynamic microphone, made with standard CMOS technology. The monolithic integration of the mechanical sensor with the electronics using a standard CMOS process is respected in the design, which presents the advantage of being inexpensive while having satisfactory performance. The MEMS microphone structure consists mainly of two planar inductors which occupy separate regions on substrate. One inductor is fixed; the other can exercise out-off plane movement. Firstly, we detail the process flow, which is used to fabricate our monolithic microphone. Subsequently, using the analogy between the three different physical domains, a detailed electro-mechanical-acoustic analogical analysis has been performed in order to model both frequency response and sensitivity of the microphone. Finally, we show that the theoretical microphone sensitivity is maximal for a constant vertical position of the diaphragm relative to the substrate, which means the distance between the outer and the inner inductor. The pressure sensitivity, which is found to be of the order of a few tens of μV/Pa, is flat within a bandwidth from 50 Hz to 5 kHz.
A FOSS approach to Integrated Water Resource Management: the case study of Red-Thai Binh rivers system in Vietnam

The paper describes the development of a FOSS Geoportal targeted to manage information related to water resource management projects. It gives important insights on Spatial Data Infrastructures (SDI) using FOSS, demonstrating that are a feasible and effective solution to data and metadata collection, storage, sharing and visualization in water resources management, using open international standards. A first application of the Geoportal is also presented on the case study of Red River in Vietnam.
EDUCATING ASYLUM SEEKERS AND REFUGEES TO COPE WITH POST-TRAUMATIC STRESS: AN ETHNIC APPROACH TO PROFESSIONAL AND LAY INTERVENTIONS

According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), in January 2015 there were 622,384 asylum seekers or refugees from Syria living in Jordan. According to the same source, there are intense endeavors by private and public agencies aiming at improving their living conditions especially from an educational perspective. Focusing on this current challenge to Jordan, we present suggestions to deal with posttraumatic symptomatology in refugees in a culturally sensitive way in order to educate clients towards effective coping with their symptoms. First, we present experiences from a qualitative study on ethnic interventions at the Waiern Clinic in Austria for refugees from former Yugoslavia. Preliminary results have been highly encouraging, as participants reported to have benefitted especially from the culturally sensitive aspects of the interventions. Second, we report about a randomized, controlled study from Austria (total sample of N = 94), which examined the effects of self-help groups for asylum seekers and refugees from Chechnya. In the course of 15 sessions of guided self-help groups, we found statistically significant and large effects with respect to the reduction of clinical symptoms as compared to the Wait-List Control Group in traumatized participants. These effects remained stable over a six-month follow-up period. From the results it is concluded that ethnic interventions can be highly beneficial for asylum seekers and refugees towards educating them in dealing with post-traumatic symptomatology. The findings could instigate additional endeavors to assist Syrian refugees and might be of interest for psychiatrists, clinical psychologists, social workers, and policy makers.
Femtosecond laser inscribed Bragg sensor in Terfenol-D coated optical fibre with ablated microslot for the detection of static magnetic fields

A novel device for the detection and characterisation of static magnetic fields is presented. It consists of a femtosecond laser inscribed fibre Bragg grating (FBG) that is incorporated into an optical fibre with a femtosecond laser micromachined slot. The symmetry of the fibre is broken by the micro-slot, producing non-uniform strain across the fibre cross section. The sensing region is coated with Terfenol-D making the device sensitive to static magnetic fields, whereas the symmetry breaking results in a vectorial sensor for the detection of magnetic fields as low as 0.046 mT with a resolution of ±0.3mT in transmission and ±0.7mT in reflection. The sensor output is directly wavelength encoded from the FBG filtering, leading to simple demodulation through the monitoring of wavelength shifts that result as the fibre structure changes shape in response to the external magnetic field. The use of a femtosecond laser to both inscribe the FBG and micro-machine the slot in a single stage, prior to coating the device, significantly simplifies the sensor fabrication.