Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Remote automatic plasma arc-closure welding of a dry-storage canister for spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste

A carbon steel storage canister has been designed for the dry encapsulation of spent nuclear fuel assemblies or of logs of vitrified high level radioactive waste. The canister design is in conformance with the requirements of the ASME Code, Section III, Division 1 for a Class 3 vessel. The canisters will be loaded and sealed as part of a completely remote process sequence to be performed in the hot bay of an experimental encapsulation facility at the Nevada Test Site. The final closure to be made is a full penetration butt weld between the canister body, a 12.75-in O.D. x 0.25-in wall pipe, and a mating semiellipsoidal closure lid. Due to a combination of design, application and facility constraints, the closure weld must be made in the 2G position (canister vertical). The plasma arc welding system is described, and the final welding procedure is described and discussed in detail. Several aspects and results of the procedure development activity, which are of both specific and general interest, are highlighted; these include: The critical welding torch features which must be exactly controlled to permit reproducible energy input to, and gas stream interaction with, the weld puddle. A comparison of results using automatic arc voltage control with those obtained using a mechanically fixed initial arc gap. The optimization of a keyhole initiation procedure. A comparison of results using an autogenous keyhole closure procedure with those obtained using a filler metal addition. The sensitivity of the welding process and procedure to variations in joint configuration and dimensions and to variations in base metal chemistry. Finally, the advantages and disadvantages of the plasma arc process for this application are summarized from the current viewpoint, and the applicability of this process to other similar applications is briefly indicated.
How does employees' branding and employees' behavior influence hotel service quality

The primary aim of this research is to investigate whether organizational citizenship behaviors, in-role behaviors, employees’ empowerment and employees’ branding can influence customers’ perceived service quality. A model is proposed based on three interlinked literature strands that consider human resources management, brand management, and hospitality management. The survey instruments will be developed based on the results of the focus groups and the literature. A set of relationships among employees’ behaviors, employees’ branding and service quality will be examined by structural equation modeling. The findings would encourage hotels to allocate resources to improve those critical elements that can help to achieve the best results.
Impact of background noise and sentence complexity on cognitive processing demands

Speech comprehension in adverse listening conditions requires cognitive pro-cessing demands. Processing demands can increase with acoustically degraded speech but also depend on linguistic aspects of the speech signal, such as syntactic complexity. In the present study, pupil dilations were recorded in 19 normal-hearing participants while processing sentences that were either syntactically simple or complex and presented in either high- or low-level background noise. Furthermore, the participants were asked to rate the sub-jectively perceived difficulty of sentence comprehension. The results showed that increasing noise levels had a greater impact on the perceived difficulty than sentence complexity. In contrast, the processing of complex sentences resulted in greater and more prolonged pupil dilations. The results suggest that while pupil dilations may correlate with cognitive processing demands, acoustic noise has a greater impact on the subjective perception of difficulty.
Structural analysis of FOXL2 gene and its role in kidney failure

FOXL2 is a 2.7kb long gene which codes for a transcriptional factor from the forkhead-winged helix family. Not a lot of studies have been done using this gene and especially one that attempts to find the link between this gene and renal failure. In this paper, we aim to find if FOXL2 gene plays any significant role in renal failure by reviewing past experiments. FOXL2 plays a major role in the production of estrogen and progesterone and these hormones have been found in increased levels in mixed epithelial and stromal tumor of the kidney (MEST). This could possibly mean that FOXL2 is indeed involved in kidney failure, although experimental evidence is required. Also, the 3-dimensional structure of this protein is yet to be predicted in detail. Therefore, this paper also aims at predicting the structure of the protein, in silico, using two different software, namely ITASSER and PHYRE2. The structure was predicted by PHYRE2 software through comparative modeling and I-TASSER predicted the structure using ab initio modeling. Although the predicted structure is not good enough to be used for further experiments, hence, we conclude that the structure of FOXL2 gene cannot be predicted using in silico approaches but must be predicted using experimental methods such as X-ray crystallography and NMR. OPEN ACCESS
Student Teachers’ Perceptions of Success: A Tale of Two Universities

This article is primarily focused on a recent group (tale 2) experiencing a series of embedded and interactive field based experiences (field learning); the discussion is benchmarked to a previous study (tale 1) of student teachers having had a more traditional semester practicum as part of their field-based experience. It is within this context that the authors’ show support for rarely noted findings (knowledge) supporting the efficacy of university campus programs: novice teachers linking their success in field-based teaching to their university campus program (campus learning). We contend this is important evidence supporting the link between theory and practice that has the potential to better inform educational management decisions.
Estimation of Soil Moisture in an Alpine Catchment with RADARSAT2 Images

Soil moisture retrieval is one of the most challenging problems in the context of biophysical parameter estimation from remotely sensed data. Typically, microwave signals are used thanks to their sensitivity to variations in the water content of soil. However, especially in the Alps, the presence of vegetation and the heterogeneity of topography may significantly affect the microwave signal, thus increasing the complexity of the retrieval. In this paper, the effectiveness of RADARSAT2 SAR images for the estimation of soil moisture in an alpine catchment is investigated. We first carry out a sensitivity analysis of the SAR signal to the moisture content of soil and other target properties (e.g., topography and vegetation). Then we propose a technique for estimating soil moisture based on the Support Vector Regression algorithm and the integration of ancillary data. Preliminary results are discussed both in terms of accuracy over point measurements and effectiveness in handling spatially distributed data.
Quorum quenching and antibacterial activity of silver nanoparticles synthesized from Sargassum polyphyllum

Development of efficient methodology for the green synthesis of silver nanoparticles using marine algae is a modern area of research in the field of phyconanotechnology. In this regard, the present study deals with green synthesis of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) by using aqueous extracts of marine brown seaweed Sargassum polyphyllum . UV-visible spectral analysis reveals the formation of AgNPs by showing absorption maximum at 420 nm wavelength and SEM analysis clearly elucidate the polydispersed structure of AgNPs without aggregation and ranged in size from 37-43 nm. X-ray Diffraction pattern confirmed the AgNPs crystalline personality. The synthesized AgNPs showed more enduring antibacterial activity against test bacterial pathogens. Furthermore, the synthesized AgNPs exhibited varying level of inhibition of violacein production and swarming motility. In the near future, silver nanoparticles can be extremely useful in clinical medicine as an alternative method for the treatment of wound infection. DOI: http://dx.doi. org/10.3329/bjp.v9i1. 17301 Bangladesh J Pharmacol 2014; 9: 54-59
Adoption of high performance work systems by local subsidiaries of developed country and Turkish MNEs and indigenous firms in Turkey

High performance work systems (HPWS) are seen as important in helping strengthen competitive strategies of multinational enterprises from developed countries (DC MNEs). Commensurate with global competitive pressures and internationalization strategies, emerging country MNEs (EC MNEs) and indigenous firms are also increasingly adopting HPWS. HPWS are not only seen as simply performance enhancing systems, but also as facilitators of internationalization. MNEs represent an important test bed for the HPWS and their applicability in different national contexts. In this paper, we contribute to the extant literature by focusing on HPWS adoption level within domestic subsidiaries of DC MNEs and EC MNEs along with stand alone indigenous firms in a single country setting by keeping the host country environment as constant.
A New Robust Controller with Applications to Bioreactors

In this work an anaerobic digester is controlled using input-output linearization and Lyapunov-like function methods. It is assumed that model parameters are unknown, time-varying, and bounded, and upper or lower bounds are also unknown. To tackle the effect of input saturation, a state observer is designed. The tracking and observer errors are defined in terms of the noisy measured output instead of ideal output, given by the mathematical model. The design of the observer mechanism and the update laws is based on the Lyapunov-like function technique, whereas the design of the control law is based on the input-output linearization method. In this paper two important properties of the controlled system are proven. First, the observer error converges asymptotically to a residual set whose size is user-defined, and such convergence is not disrupted, neither by the input saturation nor by the parameter uncertainties. Second, when the control input is nonsaturated the tracking error converges to a residual set whose size is user-defined. The model parameter uncertainties are included to prove the convergence of errors. Finally, a numerical example to validate the developed control is presented.
Question Bias in Repetitive Crowdsourcing Tasks

Crowdsourcing is the process of outsourcing work to a large group of people, known as crowd workers, to solve a problem or complete a task in exchange for a monetary gain. It has been extensively used to collect labeled data quickly and inexpensively. Although requesters leverage the crowd’s wisdom to solve problems, crowdsourcing can suffer from unreliable and noisy output quality. Even in presumably simple tasks, workers can provide erroneous judgments unintentionally. For example, a worker might make a mistake in identifying correctly two similar buildings shown in repetitive entity resolution tasks. This thesis addresses the challenging problem of learning whether the repetitive execution of a crowdsourced task leads to variations in the worker’s error behavior. For that purpose, we examine the workers’ output quality over time through a data analysis on three real-world datasets for crowdsourcing entity identification and entity resolution tasks. Afterwards, we develop an understanding of the error behavior of crowd workers for repetitive task execution. In our experimental evaluation we observe the trade-off between label accuracy, task duration time, and task difficulty in three different entity resolution task interfaces that we used as alternatives to a previously studied entity resolution task. Furthermore, we examine whether there is an entity resolution task interface which facilitates transitional relationships and minimizes cost with no loss in result quality. Our results show that the output quality varies over time as workers gain experience or lose interest while executing a specific task. These variations differ depending on two factors: task difficulty and task design. For example, we show that the repetitive execution of multi-item entity resolution tasks provides higher quality labels with slightly higher latency compared to pair-wise entity resolution tasks.
THREE-DIMENSIONAL RECONSTRUCTION OF THE VIRTUAL PLANT BRANCHING STRUCTURE BASED ON TERRESTRIAL LIDAR TECHNOLOGIES AND L-SYSTEM

For the purpose of extracting productions of some specific branching plants effectively and realizing its 3D reconstruction, Terrestrial LiDAR data was used as extraction source of production, and a 3D reconstruction method based on Terrestrial LiDAR technologies combined with the L-system was proposed in this article. The topology structure of the plant architectures was extracted using the point cloud data of the target plant with space level segmentation mechanism. Subsequently, L-system productions were obtained and the structural parameters and production rules of branches, which fit the given plant, was generated. A three-dimensional simulation model of target plant was established combined with computer visualization algorithm finally. The results suggest that the method can effectively extract a given branching plant topology and describes its production, realizing the extraction of topology structure by the computer algorithm for given branching plant and also simplifying the extraction of branching plant productions which would be complex and time-consuming by L-system. It improves the degree of automation in the L-system extraction of productions of specific branching plants, providing a new way for the extraction of branching plant production rules.
The surface domain of neisserial IgA1 protease plays a role in induction of bacterial adherence to human epithelial cells

Backgrounds: Surface-exposed domain (SD) linked with membrane-embedded autotransporter (b-core) is the results of autoproteolysis during autotransportation, but its role in bacterial adherence to human epithelial cells has never been studied. Objectives: Reveal the function of SD domain in bacterial adherence to human epithelial cells. Methods: iga gene fragment for SD domain was amplified by PCR using Neisseria meningitides (Nm) iga DNA template (GenBank DQ683357), expressed in E. coli, and purified to homogeneity. Recombinant α-protein domain linked with SD (L1 domain) was also included in the study. Then, the SD and L1 domains were used in cellular assays for bacterial adherence to human lung carcinoma A549 with four different IgA1 protease-producing and -negative Haemophilus influenzae strains. Results: The α-protein and SD domains were indeed cleaved by IgA1 protease, confirming autoproteolysis. Recombinant SD played a role in induction of bacterial adherence to human epithelial cells at relatively low concentration (0.25 μg/mL). The effect of L1 domain on induction of bacterial adherence was not significant at the concentration below 1 μg/mL, but a significantly negative effect was achieved when its concentration was increased to 2 μg/mL or more. Conclusion: SD was a physiologically important domain for bacterial adherence. A mix of SD (0.25 μg/ml) with IgA1 protease (0.1 μg/mL) greatly increased bacterial adherence rates, suggesting additive effects physiologically during bacterial infection.
Population dynamics of the red fox in central Poland

The analysis of changes in the density of the red fox population over a period of several years showed a considerable stability of this population.The average density in winter was about 0.43 animal/km2. A high reduction of foxes in winter (52%) seems to be mainly a result of hunting. In the population of adult foxes females prevailed. Litter size and the survival of cubs till the hunting season depended on the availability of small mammals (mainly rodents). The expected mean life span at birth (E0) was low (0.84-0.91 year) as compared to populations subjected to lower hunting pressure. Only one fourth of foxes born survived to the age of 12 months.
Cyclin-like F-box protein plays a role in growth and development of the three model species Medicago truncatula , Lotus japonicus , and Arabidopsis thaliana

License. The full terms of the License are available at http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/. Non-commercial uses of the work are permitted without any further permission from Dove Medical Press Limited, provided the work is properly attributed. Permissions beyond the scope of the License are administered by Dove Medical Press Limited. Information on how to request permission may be found at: http://www.dovepress. com/permissions.php Research and Reports in Biology 2015:6 117–130 Research and Reports in Biology Dovepress
Capability Lifecycle and its motivating force on strategy: the case of Green IT/S Dynamic Capability

While a great amount of literature has focused on dynamic capability and IT dynamic capabilities, there has been little theory and systematic research done on their lifecycle. Based on the dynamic capability and IS literature, this paper aims to contribute to this body of knowledge by studying the lifecycle of the Green Information Technologies/Systems (IT/S). Dynamic Capability is defined as the two-fold organizational process of: (1) recognizing the role played in ecological sustainability by the Information Technologies and Systems (IT/S), and (2) the contribution made to the ecological sustainability by the IT/S. We advance a research model aimed at understanding the role of the Green IT/S' Dynamic Capability in choosing and managing green IT/S strategies. Keywords: Dynamic
Weighted Nonlinear Least Squares Technique for Parameters Estimation of the NHPP Gompertz Model

With the problem of heteroscedasticity an alternative precise estimation method of the nonlinear least squares (NLS) technique is needed. Weighted nonlinear least squares estimation (WNLSE) technique is an alternative that may increase the accuracy of parameters estimation by assigning suitable weights to the time between failures data. In the present study, the traditional maximum likelihood (ML), nonlinear least squares (NLS), and weighted nonlinear least squares (WNLS) techniques are formulated to estimate the three parameters of the NHPP Gompertz model. Empirical weighting method is investigated in NHPP Gompertz model prediction process. Three real software failure data examples are provided to analyze the performance of the three considered methods of estimation. The results of this numerical study indicate the preferences to the WNLSE method with respect to the NHPP Gompertz model’s performance, also the value of the weighting factors which give the optimum solution differ according to the nature of software failure data.
LoRaWAN Performance Evaluation with Optimized Configuration

LoRaWAN is an access technology coupled with protocol stack specification which is exclusively presented to serve IoT application. IoT application commonly has small data and infrequent transmission. However, the challenge in presenting wireless access technology for IoT lies in its characteristic of massive node deployment and power-constrained transmission. Among several technologies, LoRaWAN promises the ability to handle massive number of nodes, longer transmission range, lower power consumption, as well as cheaper communication module. This paper presents a performance evaluation of LoRa network in respect to those claims. The performance of the network in term of packet delivery ratio, average energy consumption per transmission and average energy wasted in collision per nodes are investigated. A realistic scenario is considered, and the scalability study is also conducted via computer simulation. The result shows that the performance of LoRa network is highly dependent to the configuration of spreading factor, coding rate, and frequency selection. The performed experiment shows that the limitation inherited from pure ALOHA access strategy can be alleviated by randomizing frequency selection and node-specific optimization to maximize data rate relative to its location (i.e. channel condition) and contention severity.
Facies Development and Porosity Relationships in the Dundee Limestone of Gladwin County, Michigan

The Devonian of the Michigan basin was a time of transgressive seas and extensive carbonate deposition, including coral and stromatoporoid buildups. Deposited during the Middle Devonian, the Dundee Limestone represents deposition in subtidal, intertidal, and restricted environments. The Buckeye oil field, located in south-central Gladwin County, is a combined stratigraphic and structural carbonate trap that produces from a series of intertonguing patch reefs, fringing sand bodies, and intertidal island fenestral zones. The major reef-building organisms include stromatoporoids, corals, calcareous algae, brachiopods, and crinoids, with the stromatoporoids providing the major framework. The patch-reef facies is composed of massive stromatoporoid boundstones that contain primary intraparticle porosity. The fringing grainstone sands are composed of coarse crinoid and brachiopod skeletal debris that have interparticle porosity. The intertidal island zone found in the North Buckeye field is represented by a pelletal packstone that has abundant fenestral porosity.
Expanding the Customer Relationship Management Scope to the Non-Profit Organizations: An Analysis Focused on the e- University Domain

In this paper, we reflect about the broadening of the field of application of CRM from the business domain to a wider context of relationships in which the inclusion of non-profit making organizations seems natural. In particular, we focus on analyzing the suitability of adopting CRM processes by universities and higher educational institutions dedicated to elearning. This is an issue that, in our opinion, has much potential but has received little attention in research so far.
Modelling of the plasticity in cold compaction of metal powders

Powder Metallurgical Industry is very interested in spreading its applications and improve the quality of the PM products. Therefore, a detailed knowledge of their processes, in order to control them, is necessary. Many different types of models have been used to represent the mechanical behaviour of these materials; however, nowadays, most of the groups working in this field admit that metallic powders and green compacts have to be considered as granular materials. Plasticity models specially defined for geological materials are being applied on metallic aggregates. Nevertheless, none of the known ones can represent adequately their mechanical behaviour, specially in states of failure.
SIRE-DP-2009-10 Exchange rate forecasters ’ performance : evidence of skill ?

This paper sheds new light on a long-standing puzzle in the international finance literature, namely, that exchange rate expectations appear inaccurate and even irrational. We find for a comprehensive dataset that individual forecasters’ performance is skill-based. ‘Superior’ forecasters show consistent ability as their forecasting success holds across currencies. They seem to possess knowledge on the role of fundamentals in explaining exchange rate behavior, as indicated by better interest rate forecasts. Superior forecasters are more experienced than the median forecaster and have fewer personnel responsibilities. Accordingly, foreign exchange markets may function in less puzzling and irrational ways than is often thought. JEL classification: F31, G14