Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Study of HfO 2 /AlGaN/GaN MOS-HEMT for High Power Application

HfO2/AlGaN/GaN MOS-HEMT with different post deposition annealing (PDA) temperatures is characterized for high power application. The results indicated that AlGaN/GaN MOS-HEMT with HfO2 as gate insulator have better electrical characteristics, including reduction of gate leakage current and improvement of the drain current degradation under high voltage stress. Furthermore, reliability of HfO2 MOS-HEMT after PDA 500°C is more stable compared to other techniques HEMT devices.
Dealing with social networking site addiction: a cognitive-affective model of discontinuance decisions

PurposeExtant research has shown the prevalence of social networking site (SNS) addiction and provided evidence for its negative consequences. Given such consequences, it is conceivable that some users decide to discontinue their SNS use in response to SNS addiction. This paper examines key mechanisms that translate SNS addiction into discontinuance decisions.Design/methodology/approachA theoretical model is proposed based on the cognitive-affective model of behavior. It is empirically tested with data from 499 SNS users.FindingsResults show that cognitive dissonance (as primary cognitive response) and guilt (as primary affective response) mediate the relation between SNS addiction and decision to discontinue SNS use, whereas self-accountability and perceived self-efficacy play positive and negative moderating roles. Additional analysis reveals that the effect of guilt on decision to discontinue SNS use follows a nonlinear pattern.Research limitations/implicationsAdditional cognitive and affective responses, beyond cognitive dissonance and guilt, as well as additional contextual factors may influence the relation between SNS addiction and decision to discontinue SNS use. In addition, the relation between decisions and actual discontinuance should be examined by future research.Originality/valueThis study highlights important key antecedents of the decision to discontinue SNS use, namely cognitive dissonance, guilt, self-accountability, and perceived self-efficacy, and the mechanisms underlying their influence. It also explains the nonlinear effect of guilt on the decision to discontinue SNS use.
Forest bioenergy harvesting changes carbon balance and risks biodiversity in boreal forest landscapes

Climate solutions relying on forest bioenergy may be in conflict with carbon sequestration and storage by forests as well as conservation of biodiversity. We quantified effects of forest-residue harvesting for bioenergy on both forest carbon balance and biodiversity in a boreal forest landscape. Through a modeling framework, we simulated forest development in four real watersheds with three scenarios: (i) with and (ii) without forest-residue harvesting and (iii) set aside to study the conservation potential of these landscapes in the future without management. We simulated changes in the forest carbon stocks and in the quality and quantity of deadwood resources for 100 years and combined this information with the information on species habitat associations based on expert judgements. In this study, current practices of slash and stump harvesting reduced forest carbon stocks and deadwood volumes at the landscape scale and, consequently, halved the emissions savings that can be obtained with bioenergy. In addition, logging-residue harvesting reduced 15%–21% of the combined species conservation capacity of the landscape for red-listed, saproxylic species compared with forest management without bioenergy harvesting. Furthermore, the results indicated a potential conflict between areas of high bioenergy potential and high conservation potential.
Weak latitudinal gradients in insect herbivory for dominant rangeland grasses of North America

Abstract Patterns of insect herbivory may follow predictable geographical gradients, with greater herbivory at low latitudes. However, biogeographic studies of insect herbivory often do not account for multiple abiotic factors (e.g., precipitation and soil nutrients) that could underlie gradients. We tested for latitudinal clines in insect herbivory as well as climatic, edaphic, and trait‐based drivers of herbivory. We quantified herbivory on five dominant grass species over 23 sites across the Great Plains, USA. We examined the importance of climate, edaphic factors, and traits as correlates of herbivory. Herbivory increased at low latitudes when all grass species were analyzed together and for two grass species individually, while two other grasses trended in this direction. Higher precipitation was related to more herbivory for two species but less herbivory for a different species, while higher specific root length was related to more herbivory for one species and less herbivory for a different species. Taken together, results highlight that climate and trait‐based correlates of herbivory can be highly contextual and species‐specific. Patterns of insect herbivory on dominant grasses support the hypothesis that herbivory increases toward lower latitudes, though weakly, and indicates that climate change may have species‐specific effects on plant–herbivore interactions.
PENGUKURAN NARSISME CEO DALAM PENELITIAN DI BIDANG BISNIS, MANAJEMEN DAN AKUNTANSI: SEBUAH STUDI LITERATUR

This study is objected to discussing a literature review that challenges and trends of CEO narcissism measurement study in the field of business, management and accounting.The literatures were obtained from search results in the scopus and google scholar database. This research successfully identified and analyzing by using netha analysys of 212 articles during the period 2009-2019 and found 33 articles that discussed CEO’s narcissism in business, management and accounting study. This study found six narcissism measurements used in the fields of business, management and accounting study. Six narcissism measurements are narcissistic personality inventor (NPI), gough adjective check list (ACL), five indicators of narcissism Chatterjee & Hambrick (2007), fifteen indicators of narcissism Rijsenbilt (2011), LinkedIn Aabo & Eriksen (2018) measurement and CEO’s signature size.
Fighting Corruption While Having Hands Tied: A Case Study of Thailand’s Public Sector Anti-Corruption Commission

Grounded in 41 semi-structured interviews, this article examines the extent to which the complaints system under regulatory oversight of the Public Sector Anti-Corruption Commission (PACC) in Thailand has been effective for addressing corruption complaints. The present article revisits the theoretical arguments of the structural school and the reputational school over agency independence, deploying such arguments to analyze the way in which de facto independence of the anti-corruption agencies (ACAs) operating in a highly politicized environment can be protected. The analysis finds that a high level of legal independence is the best possible way to safeguard de facto independence, enhancing the overall effectiveness of the ACAs working in highly politicized countries. In addition, the empirical findings suggest that a low level of legal independence, a lack of prosecution power, inadequate qualified staffing, and the absence of meaningful public participation are the core factors contributing to the ineffectiveness of the PACC system.
Enabling Relationships with Nature in Cities

Limited exposure to direct nature experiences is a worrying sign of urbanization, particularly for children. Experiencing nature during childhood shapes aspects of a personal relationship with nature, crucial for sustainable decision-making processes in adulthood. Scholars often stress the need to ‘reconnect’ urban dwellers with nature; however, few elaborate on how this can be achieved. Here, we argue that nature reconnection requires urban ecosystems, with a capacity to enable environmental learning in the cognitive, affective and psychomotor domains, i.e., learning that occurs in the head, heart and hands of individuals. Drawing on environmental psychology, urban ecology, institutional analysis and urban planning, we present a theoretical framework for Human–Nature Connection (HNC), discuss the importance of nurturing HNC for children, elaborate on the role of property-rights and the importance of creating collective action arenas in cities for the promotion of urban resilience building. As values and environmental preconceptions underly environmental behavior, there are limits to achieving HNC in cities, as presumptive sentiments toward nature not always are positive. We end by discussing the role of new digital technologies in relation to HNC, and conclude by summarizing the major points brought forward herein, offering policy recommendations for HNC as a resilience strategy that can be adopted in cities throughout the world.
Green and chemically synthesized ZnO nanoparticles: A comparative study

Green synthesis of ZnO nanoparticles using plant extract is an alternative method to traditional chemical synthesis method. In the present work, we report the synthesis of zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO) synthesized by two methods, first by green synthesis by using zinc acetate and leaves extract of Ocimum Tenuiflorum (Tulsi leaves) and secondly by chemical route method using organic capping agent. The effect of synthesis methods on structural, optical, and photoluminescence property of ZnO nanoparticle were analyzed. Formation of zinc oxide nanoparticles has been confirmed by UV-Visible absorption spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM). The Scanning Electron Microscope reveals non spherical morphology of nanoparticles. The particle sizes of nanoparticles were calculated experimentally using XRD and SEM. The particle size measured by XRD pattern was found to be 63nm for chemically synthesized ZnO and 38nm for ZnO sample prepared by green synthesis. SEM images showed interesting flower like structure and agglomeration of nanoparticles. The blue-shift in absorption spectra was observed with reducing size of the nanoparticles. The FTIR spectra inferred that the stabilizing agent passivated the surface of the particles. The PL spectra showed blue shift for the sample prepared by green synthesis. The results suggest that ZnO sample synthesized be green route is better in comparison to the chemically synthesized samples.
Self-Similar Markovian Sources

Markov queueing models are a powerful tool to evaluate the performance of computer networks and have been used in telecommunication studies for over 100 years. To apply them to the evaluation of the modern Internet, we should not only adapt them to the contemporary network structures but also include a description of the complex stochastic patterns (self-similarity and long-range dependance) of transmitted flows. We examine the features of two Markov models of an almost self-similar process, keeping in mind the modeling of Internet traffic. We have found that the obtained results are comparable with those achieved using a well-known generator of self-similar traffic.
Metagenomic Profiles of Antibiotic Resistance Genes in Activated Sludge, Dewatered Sludge and Bioaerosols

Wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) have been considered hotspots for the development and dissemination of antibiotic resistance in the environment. Although researchers have reported a significant increase in bioaerosols in WWTPs, the associated bacterial taxa, antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs), and mobile genetic elements (MGEs) remain relatively unknown. In this study, we have investigated the abundance and occurrences of ARGs and MGEs, as well as the bacterial community compositions in activated sludge (AS), dewatered sludge (DS) and bioaerosols (BA) in a WWTP. In total, 153 ARG subtypes belonging to 19 ARG types were identified by the broad scanning of metagenomic profiles obtained using Illumina HiSeq. The results indicated that the total occurrences and abundances of ARGs in AS and DS samples were significantly higher than those in BA samples (p < 0.05). However, some specific ARG types related to sulfonamide, tetracycline, macrolide resistance were present in relatively high abundance in BA samples. Similar to many other full-scale WWTPs, the Proteobacteria (58%) and Bacteroidetes (18%) phyla were dominant in the AS and DS samples, while the Firmicutes (25%) and Actinobacteria (20%) phyla were the most dominant in the BA samples. Although the abundance of genes related to plasmids and integrons in bioaerosols were two to five times less than those in AS and DS samples, different types of MGEs were observed in BA samples. These results suggest that comprehensive analyses of resistomes in BA are required to better understand the emergence of both ARGs and MGEs in the wastewater treatment process due to the significant increase of scientific attention toward bioaerosols effects.
Exploring Absolute Differences Arithmetic Operators for Power and Area-Efficient SAD Hardware Architectures

Managing the energy requirements of video encoders has been an important research topic throughout the latest years, given the limited resources of battery-powered systems. Sum of Absolute Differences (SAD) stands out among the most costly steps in the video encoding process compliant with the High Efficiency Video Coding (HEVC) standard. This metric is mainly used to explore temporal redundancies during the inter prediction stage of the encoder, and it is applied by adding the absolute differences of the colocalized pixels of two video blocks, as a means of measuring the similarity between them. SAD architectures are usually designed by using an adder tree, with its first level consisting of subtractors and absolute operators. This paper explores various structures of absolute operators in the context of SAD architectures, in order to define the most suitable implementation for a power-efficient SAD module. Besides the analysis of several different models, we exploit the use of pipelining, and the impact of varying block input bitwidth, to determine which versions scale better with the increase of input size. We have synthesized the architectures for ASIC CMOS technology using real-input vectors taking the delays into consideration, with an ST 65 nm standard cells library, and compared them with the default absolute operator macrofunction from the synthesis tool.
Average Power: A Cautionary Note

Replication is an important contemporary issue in psychological research, and there is great interest in ways of assessing replicability, in particular, retrospectively via prior studies. The average power of a set of prior studies is a quantity that has attracted considerable attention for this purpose, and techniques to estimate this quantity via a meta-analytic approach have recently been proposed. In this article, we have two aims. First, we clarify the nature of average power and its implications for replicability. We explain that average power is not relevant to the replicability of actual prospective replication studies. Instead, it relates to efforts in the history of science to catalogue the power of prior studies. Second, we evaluate the statistical properties of point estimates and interval estimates of average power obtained via the meta-analytic approach. We find that point estimates of average power are too variable and inaccurate for use in application. We also find that the width of interval estimates of average power depends on the corresponding point estimates; consequently, the width of an interval estimate of average power cannot serve as an independent measure of the precision of the point estimate. Our findings resolve a seeming puzzle posed by three estimates of the average power of the power-posing literature obtained via the meta-analytic approach.
Growth effect of income inequality in sub-Saharan Africa: exploring the transmission channels

Abstract Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) ranks as the second most unequal region globally (in terms of income distribution), harboring 10 of the 19 most unequal countries in the world. This paper explores the channels through which income inequality exerts its effects on economic growth in SSA. The study spans the period 1995–2015, focusing on 31 SSA countries. Findings from the two-step system generalized method of moments suggest that income inequality exerts a significant positive effect on economic growth via the saving transmission channel, while it has a statistically significant negative effect on economic growth in the region through the channels of fertility, credit market imperfection, and fiscal policy.
Gut Microbiome Alterations Precede Cerebral Amyloidosis and Microglial Pathology in a Mouse Model of Alzheimer's Disease

Emerging evidence suggests that the gut microbiome actively regulates cognitive functions and that gut microbiome imbalance is associated with Alzheimer's disease (AD), the most prevalent neurodegenerative disorder. However, the changes in gut microbiome composition in AD and their association with disease pathology, especially in the early stages, are unclear. Here, we compared the profiles of gut microbiota between APP/PS1 transgenic mice (an AD mouse model) and their wild-type littermates at different ages by amplicon-based sequencing of 16S ribosomal RNA genes. Microbiota composition started diverging between the APP/PS1 and wild-type mice at young ages (i.e., 1–3 months), before obvious amyloid deposition and plaque-localized microglial activation in the cerebral cortex in APP/PS1 mice. At later ages (i.e., 6 and 9 months), there were distinct changes in the abundance of inflammation-related bacterial taxa including Escherichia-Shigella, Desulfovibrio, Akkermansia, and Blautia in APP/PS1 mice. These findings suggest that gut microbiota alterations precede the development of key pathological features of AD, including amyloidosis and plaque-localized neuroinflammation. Thus, the investigation of gut microbiota might provide new avenues for developing diagnostic biomarkers and therapeutic targets for AD.
Blockchain Adoption from an Interorganizational Systems Perspective – A Mixed-Methods Approach

ABSTRACT This study investigates the potential influence of blockchain technology adoption on a company’s competitive performance from an interorganizational systems perspective. A research framework is derived based on expert interviews and tested with a quantitative survey. The results show, that by offering traceability and immutability of transactions, blockchain technology could positively impact a company’s competitive performance. The study further identified a positive influence of smart contract technology on partnering flexibility and competitive performance.
Evolution of feeding habits of sap beetles (Coleoptera: Nitidulidae) and placement of Calonecrinae

Nitidulidae includes some 4500 species under 350 genera in ten subfamilies, making it the most species‐rich family in Cucujoidea. In this study, we present a phylogeny of the family based on five gene regions (COI, 28s, CAD, H3, Wingless) for 73 ingroup taxa representing nine of the ten currently recognized subfamilies of Nitidulidae, including the enigmatic subfamily Calonecrinae. Our results are consistent with a prior molecular study that recovered (i) paraphyletic Nitidulinae with the inclusion of Meligethinae and Cillaeinae and (ii) subfamilial status of Prometopiinae. The molecular phylogenetic position of Calonecrinae is recovered for the first time, as a sister taxon to Epuraeinae. Ancestral state reconstruction of feeding behaviour indicates that the stem group nitidulids were largely mycophagous with transitions to other feeding types independently derived.
The efficacy and safety of PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitors in breast cancer: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Background Immune checkpoint inhibition has been increasingly used in breast cancer therapy. Understanding the benefit and risk of programmed cell death 1 (PD-1) and programmed cell death ligand 1 (PD-L1) inhibitors is critical for clinical practice. This study aims to determine the objective response, disease control and adverse events of breast cancer patients treated with PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitors. Methods PubMed, Cochrane Library, Web of Science and EMBASE databases were searched up to Aug 1, 2019. Both nonrandomized and randomized studies were included. Pooled objective response rate (ORR), disease control rate (DCR) and adverse events were pooled analyzed. Results A total of nine clinical studies were identified. Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) showed the highest estimates of ORR [overall population: 49.7%, 95% confidence interval (CI): 33.9–65.5%; PD-L1 positive population: 55.8%, 95% CI: 42.9–68.8%] and DCR (overall population: 67.5%, 95% CI: 38.6–96.4%; PD-L1 positive population: 83.4%, 95% CI: 72.2–94.5%) post-anti-PD-L1 plus nab-paclitaxel treatment. With respect to grade ≥3 treatment related adverse events, the pooled estimates ranged from 12.0% to 50.9% for anti-PD-1/PD-L1 monotherapy. The pooled estimates percentages of grade ≥3 treatment related adverse events in TNBC patients treated with anti-PD-L1 plus nab-paclitaxel were 59.6% (95% CI: 36.1–83.0). Conclusions We presented the aggregate estimates of ORR, DCR, and treatment related adverse events for breast cancer patients receiving anti-PD-1/PD-L1 treatment. However, these results were largely derived from single-arm studies, and randomized studies with head-to-head comparison of PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitors and chemotherapy are lacking. Additionally, the incidence of varying treatment related adverse events should be also carefully monitored.
Daily strength testing of the Portland cement mortars

The study of daily tests (1-28 days) for compressive and flexural strength of cement mortars is presented in the article. The mortars were made from ordinary Portland cement, two different classes of cement were considered. Graphs with daily test strengths were obtained from the results of the experiment and the test results were fitted by exponential curves. To estimate the strength rates of mortars, numerical derivatives are calculated from experimental data and the exponential curves are fitted by the obtained values of numerical differentiation. As a result of experimental data processing, it was found that the flexural strength rate decreases to zero on the 12-14th day hardening of mortars, which can be explained by the end of the formation of macroporosity (voids) of the cement paste and the end of the chemical-physical processes of the formation of most contacts between the cement paste and the aggregate (sand grains).
Determining the Financial Inclusion Output of Banking Sector of Pakistan—Supply-Side Analysis

Financial inclusion is the process of including the people who lack formal financial services. The concept of financial inclusion emerged globally in the times of millennium and is defined as the availability and usage of formal financial services. It essentially facilitates economic growth; the financially included individuals can invest in business, education, and entrepreneurship, which can pave way to poverty alleviation and economic development. In the context of Pakistan, a developing economy of South Asia, the financial landscape presents a grim picture of financial inclusion where only 16 percent of the population is financially included. Despite the current focus of policies and regulations devoted to enhancing access to finance in Pakistan from the supply side, the current state of financial inclusion is limited. Therefore, this study investigates the financial inclusion process for Pakistan from the supply side. We analyze the supply-side dimension of access by employing econometric technique of autoregressive distributive lag (ARDL) and using time series data of banking sector of Pakistan. Our empirical findings suggest that the greater the size, geographic outreach, and demographic outreach of the banks, the greater the contribution to the financial inclusion. Additionally, improvement in soft consumer loans and increase in small-sized advances reinforces the financial inclusion process.