Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Sustainability Assessment: Does the OECD/G20 Inclusive Framework for BEPS (Base Erosion and Profit Shifting Project) Put an End to Disputes Over The Recognition and Measurement of Intellectual Capital?

Nowadays, sustainability assessment procedures, sustainability assessment indicators, and sustainability assessment models are regarded by specialists as powerful decision-supporting tools able to foster sustainable development worldwide by addressing the main economic, financial, social, and environmental challenges. In like manner, the role and relevance of intangible assets have managed to produce an irreversible change in today’s world which also seriously affected the general traits of our economic systems, leading to a phenomenon known by specialists as the “revolution of intangibles”. Over the last decades, the controversies regarding the recognition and measurement of intellectual capital (IC) have led, on the one hand, to the development of possible solutions and systems for calculating and disclosing the performance generated or stimulated by various components of IC, but, on the other hand, they have also been the main premise that favored the use of intangible assets, in general, and intellectual property (IP), in particular, the transfer of results and the reduction of the tax base by transferring income to tax havens or jurisdictions that do not tax these categories of assets. Against these aggressive methods of fiscal planning, the countries reacted unitarily and coordinated through the BEPS (Base Erosion and Profit Shifting Project) plan. Based on the country’s profile as well as on the results of the annual evaluations published by the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development), our study verifies whether there are premises for IP use for income transfer into favorable jurisdictions and whether the measures and solutions proposed by Action 5 of the BEPS end disputes over the recognition and evaluation of IC. In addition, our work presents a novel methodological framework for sustainability assessment, which focuses on establishing important connections between the recognition and measurement of intellectual capital, the role of sustainability assessment tools, and the implications of corporate social responsibility, since, these days, the real “values” associated with a country or business profile may be found in the intangible assets they possess.
Seasonal to Decadal Variability in Focused Groundwater and Contaminant Discharge along a Channelized Stream

Focused groundwater discharge to streams is problematic at contaminated sites because high fluxes can limit natural attenuation in the hyporheic zone. However, information on location, spatial evolution, and temporal persistence of springs in unlithified sediments over multiyear time scales is limited. We examine discharge at point (~1‐m) to reach (~300‐m) scales along a stream that intercepts trichloroethene and technetium‐99 plumes from a Superfund site. During 2011 to 2012, we seasonally monitored stream and spring flow and contaminant concentrations, along with probing streambed temperatures on a grid in winter and summer, building on prior monitoring during 1999 to 2002. Baseflow measured by both gauging and dye dilution generally increased with distance downstream, and stream and spring discharge varied seasonally, from minima in October to January to maxima in February to June. Thermal anomalies identified by probing occupied approximately 3% to 6% of the reach and typically coincided with visible springs or seeps. Locations of anomalies were similar to those identified in summer 2002, although some orifices disappeared and others emerged. Vertical groundwater fluxes calculated from probing tended to be less than net fluxes calculated from stream discharge, perhaps in part because the assumption of one‐dimensional, steady‐state flow in calculating point fluxes was simplistic. Maximum contaminant concentrations and fluxes decreased between 1999 to 2001 and 2011 to 2012 as a result of partial capture by an upgradient pump‐and‐treat system. Our findings confirm that springs in unlithified sediments can remain stationary within a few meters over decadal time scales, and seasonal variability in discharge can be greater than decadal variability.
Stroke Gesture Synthesis in Human-Computer Interaction

Gesture recognizers usually require a large number of examples to achieve good accuracy. To achieve this goal, a series of time-consuming and expensive experiments must be followed, e.g. preparing the lab, recruiting participants, data collection and labeling, and often reporting to review boards. Fortunately, the Kinematic Theory allows to easily bootstrap gesture data generation. The synthesized data, in turn, may enable further applications of interest. In this chapter, we review the foundations of synthetic stroke gestures generation; i.e. the synthesis of data sequences comprising 2D points and associated timestamps, derived e.g. from electronic pens and touchscreens. We show that synthesized gestures not only perform equally similar to gestures generated by human users, but also they “look and feel” the same. We also discuss how the synthesized gestures can be used to estimate production time, which is a fundamental measure of performance in Human-Computer Interaction. Ultimately, this work benefits researchers and designers who wish to create gesture-driven prototypes or use the synthesized data to build more sophisticated applications.
Flammability Characterization of a Polysulfide Based Ramjet Fuel

ABSTRACT This research program seeks to understand how the proportions of the fuel ingredients affect the ignition and decomposition characteristics of a novel solid ramjet fuel. The approach involves an ingredient mixture study that varies the proportions of three fuel components over a 10% range: epoxy cured polysulfide polymer, sulfur, and a perfluoropolyether. The primary objective of this work is to demonstrate the manipulation of the lower flammability limit and the thermal desorption species of the various formulations as a direct result of the doping fractions of sulfur and perfluoropolyether. Laboratory experiments include closed cup flash point testing and pyrolysis gas chromatography mass spectroscopy. The results show that, for the conditions investigated, both sulfur and perfluoropolyether act to decrease the lower flammability limit when added to polysulfide fuel. Low ignition temperature species including hydrogen sulfide are desorbed from sulfur-doped formulations. The mole fractions of diluent species decrease with the addition of either sulfur or perfluoropolyether. These experiments isolate the fundamental fuel properties by decoupling fuel behavior from combustor operating parameters such as geometry, chamber pressure, air temperature, and flux. Understanding relationships between the controlling mechanisms of solid fuel ramjet performance and fundamental fuel properties can aid in design prior to static firings.
Molecular beam epitaxy growth of boron-containing nitrides

Layers of BN, BGaN and BAlN were grown by molecular beam epitaxy using ammonia on (0001) sapphire substrates. The crystal structure and material quality of these layers were assessed by reflection high energy electron diffraction, x-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared reflectance, and photoluminescence spectroscopy. These measurements reveal that while BN layers grow as polycrystalline films, BGaN and BAlN layers grow as single crystals with boron composition up to 2% and 6%, respectively. A monotonic increase in the band gap energy and a decrease in c-lattice constant were observed with increasing boron concentrations in BGaN samples. Yellow-band emission and increased surface roughening were also observed in samples with higher boron compositions.
Optimum circuit design for the detection of laser photodetachment signals

Laser photodetachment is a widely used diagnostic technique for the detection of negative ions in low-temperature plasma sources. In one common method electrons, photodetached from the negative ions by an incident laser beam, are collected by a Langmuir probe biased above the local plasma potential. The photodetachment current signal, transmitted through the Langmuir probe feedthrough and interconnecting cables (transmission circuit), is converted into a voltage signal by a detection circuit. The negative ion density and temperature (using the two-pulse technique) are obtained from signal processing. Circuit analysis of the signal acquisition circuit, both transmission and detection parts, is used to obtain the design criteria for the undistorted transmission of the photodetachment signal. The effects of changing the circuit parameters from their optimum values are investigated experimentally in a conventional low-pressure magnetron system. The results show that an inappropriate choice of the circuit parameters can lead to significant distortion of the temporal photodetachment signal, leading to large measurement errors of the negative ion density and temperature.
Green Design Tools: Building Values and Politics into Material Choices

Green design tools are emerging as a new response to the dilemmas that architects and designers face in preventing the toxic impacts of building construction. Environmental health advocates, scientists, and consulting firms are stepping in to provide designers with new tools—including science-based assessment methods, standards, databases, and software—intended to help structure and inform decision-making in sustainable design. We argue that green design tools play an important but largely uninvestigated role in giving designers new forms of influence while mediating how designers’ values are translated into actual design choices. Tool makers embed their own values and politics into the construction of the tools, which function as “black boxes”—their internal operations are understood as less important than their outputs for informing sustainable design. Using the green building movement as a case study, we consider three tools for selecting environmentally benign materials: the GreenScreen for Safer Chemicals, Pharos, and the Health Product Declaration. Examining controversies about the scientific validity of green design tools, we suggest that they are rooted in value conflicts and tensions in the politics of chemical knowledge. Transparent engagement with values and politics among tool developers and users could strengthen the legitimacy and credibility of green design tools.
Effects of managers' environmental attitudes on waste management practices in small hotels in Accra

PurposeDrawing on the upper echelons theory, the study examines the effects of environmental attitudes of hotel managers on the waste management practices of small hotels in the context of a developing country.Design/methodology/approachA survey involving 246 managers of small hotels in the Accra Metropolitan Area was undertaken using a questionnaire that was based on the Waste Management Hierarchy and the revised New Ecological Paradigm (NEP) scales.FindingsResults of the study showed that environmental attitudes of managers significantly influence the waste management practices of hotels, specifically, the anti-anthropocentricism, anti-exceptionalism, eco-crisis and balance-of-nature dimensions of the NEP scale. The study also found that all the environmental attitude dimensions had more significant effects on the waste disposal option because usually in developing countries, small hotels by their nature are more predisposed to undertaking this option.Research limitations/implicationsFuture studies should use longitudinal data to make causal inferences and consider the use of a rigorous statistical test such as common latent factor analysis.Practical implicationsWaste management problems in small hotels require softer sustainability strategies geared towards creating environmental awareness and inculcating the right environmental values in hotel managers in order to change the way managers view the environment.Originality/valueResults of the study indicate that in the context of small hotels in developing countries, managers with eco-centric attitudes are more likely to engage in less expensive waste management practices rather than the most environmentally-friendly options.
Visible-Light-Harvesting Triphenylamine Ethynyl C60-BODIPY Dyads as Heavy-Atom-Free Organic Triplet Photosensitizers for Triplet-Triplet Annihilation Upconversion

C-60-boron dipyrromethene (BODIPY) dyads (C-1 and C-2) were prepared as heavy-atom-free organic triplet photosensitizers for triplet-triplet annihilation (TTA) based upconversion. BODIPY-C equivalent to C-triphenylamine chromophores were used as the light-harvesting antennas and C-60 was used as the singlet energy acceptor and the spin convertor to facilitate the intersystem crossing (ISC) of the dyads from the singlet excited state to the triplet excited state. The C-60 dyads strongly absorb visible light (molar extinction coefficients of up to 118800m 1cm(-1) at 539 nm) and have a long-lived triplet excited state (T= 32.3 ms). The photophysical properties of the C-60-dyads were studied with steady-state and time-resolved spectroscopy. Photoexcitation of the dyad with visible light produces firstly the singlet excited state of the antenna, then the singlet excited state of the C-60 unit through intramolecular energy transfer. In turn, the triplet ex-cited state of the C-60 unit will be populated because of the intrinsic ISC property of C-60. As a proof of concept, the dyads were used as heavyatom- free organic triplet photosensitizers for TTA-based upconversion.
Consistency of Pairwise Comparisons and Its Role in Optimal Detection of Customers’ Preferences

Purpose: This paper analyses a problem that originates in the weighted-average model, a mathematical construct introduced by the theory of multicriteria decision-making that can be used to detect what product a customer desires. The problem occurs because the model needs to know the weight the customer assigns to each product feature, aside from the levels of all the product characteristics, in order to calculate the overall value of the product. And since by one approach the weights can be estimated by optimization, the question arises which optimization criterion to select for the procedure, as different criteria will lead to different weights and thus to different product evaluations. The paper analyses the problem in connection with the so-called consistency of pairwise comparisons, which are utilized in the optimization and describe how much the customer prefers one product feature to another. The analysis shows that the problem of which criterion to use to calculate the weights can be eliminated if the pairwise comparisons are consistent. The analysis is performed within pre-defined criteria and is supplemented with case studies supporting the findings. Methodology/Approach: Linear algebra, optimization techniques, case studies. Findings: The results represent a prescription customers can use if they want to avoid the pitfalls of selecting a specific optimization criterion when informing the product maker about what they want based on the weighted-average model. Research Limitation/Implication: The results are related to a specific decision-making model, although that model is still very general and natural. Originality/Value of paper: The problem of selecting an optimization criterion to determine decision weights is not discussed in the theory.
Materials informatics with PoreBlazer v4.0 and CSD MOF database

The development of computational methods to explore crystalline materials has received significant attention in the last decades. Different codes have been reported to help researchers to evaluate and learn about the structure of materials and to understand and predict their properties. Here, we present an updated version of PoreBlazer, an open-access, open-source Fortran 90 code to calculate structural properties of porous materials. The article describes the properties calculated by the code, their physical meaning and their relationship to the properties that can be measured experimentally. Here, we reflect on the methods in the code and discuss features of the most recent version. First, we demonstarte the capabilities of PoreBlazer on the prototypical metal-organic framework (MOF) materials, HKUST-1, IRMOF-1 and ZIF-8, and compare the results to those obtained with other codes, Zeo++ and RASPA. Second, we apply PoreBlazer to the recently assembled database of MOF materials – the CSD MOF subset – and compare properties such as accessible surface area and pore volume from PoreBlazer and the two other codes, and reflect on the possible sources of the differences. Finally, we use PoreBlazer to illustrate how correlations between various structural characteristics can be mined using interactive, dynamic data visualization and how material informatics approaches – including principal component analysis and machine learning – can accelerate the discovery of new materials and new functionalities. The results of these calculations, along with the PoreBlazer code, documentation, and case studies are available online from The data visualization tool is available at https://aaml-explorer-geo-prop.herokuapp. com),
Diesel autogignition at elevated in-cylinder pressueres

Abstract The autoignition of diesel sprays at in-cylinder pressures from 5 to 9 MPa and injection pressures from 100 to 160 MPa was investigated. A pseudo three-dimensional view was obtained by using two high-speed video cameras recording the autoignition process simultaneously from two different viewpoints, so that the positional ambiguity of the ignition sites may be removed. The autoignition recordings were related to spray liquid core and vapour phase video recordings reported previously, in order to obtain a detailed understanding of the structure of the sprays. The autoignition delay was found to decrease with an increase of in-cylinder pressure up to 7 MPa. However, contrary to common belief, a reverse in this trend was observed at higher pressures, with a rapid increase in the delay at in-cylinder pressures above 7 MPa. This effect was related to a decrease in spray penetration, a decrease of diffusion coefficient and an increase in chemical delay.
On the Use of Mathematical Models for Wastewater Treatment: A Review and Analysis of Activated Sludge Models ASM1 and ASM3

Mathematical models describing the dynamics of key biochemical processes in conventional activated sludge processes are commonly used to design and operate wastewater treatment plants. Since the introduction of the first activated sludge model, namely Activated Sludge Model No. 1 (ASM1), in 1987 by the International Water Association, ASM models received considerable attention and several extensions were suggested. In this study, we briefly review the literature on two important activated sludge models, ASM1 and ASM3. Our literature review indicates that despite the presence of many articles on ASM there is no study on the parameter sensitivity of these differential equation models. In the second part of the study, these two models are simulated in MATLAB with different initial values and parameter combinations to develop further insight into the model structures. In the third part of the study, experiments with ASM1 and ASM3 models are conducted in MATLAB and a basic sensitivity analysis is applied for the parameters of the two models.
ETHICAL LEADERSHIP ON ORGANIZATIONAL INNOVATION AND THE ROLE OF KNOWLEDGE SHARING

This study examines the role of knowledge sharing (KS) as the mediating variable for ethical leadership (EL) and organizational innovation (OI). Based on the theory, data were collected from 104 participants and 75 participants gave valid responses from one private university in Jakarta, Indonesia. The results show that KS partially mediates the relationship between EI and OI.
Effect of inorganic and organic germanium treatments on the growth of lettuce (Lactuca sativa)

Germanium (Ge) is a rare heavy metal and is known to toxic to plants at high level. However, there is little evidence about the Ge effect on plant growth. Here, we investigated the effect of inorganic (GeO2) and organic (Ge-132) germanium on lettuce growth by treatment with various concentrations of GeO2 and Ge-132. Under GeO2 treatment, lettuce growth was not much inhibited at 2.5 mg/L concentration and then significantly inhibited at 5 mg/L concentration. However, under Ge-132 treatment, lettuce growth was not much inhibited by concentrations up to 10 mg/L. Relative fresh weight of lettuce at 2.5, 5, 10 and 25 mg/L concentrations was 99, 76, 65 and 35% in GeO2 treatments and was 105, 99, 97 and 75% in Ge-132 treatments, respectively. In GeO2 treatments, Ge was highly accumulated in the roots at concentration below 10 mg/L and in the shoots at concentration above 25 mg/L. However, Ge was primarily accumulated in the roots at all Ge-132 concentrations. Accumulated Ge amounts of plants under GeO2 treatment were 0.72 mg/ g DW in roots and 0.27 mg/ g DW in shoots at a 10 mg/L concentration. At a 50 mg/L concentration of GeO2, the Ge content was 0.77 mg/g DW in roots and 1.58 mg/g DW in shoots, respectively. Based on our results, inorganic germanium is more toxic for lettuce growth than organic germanium. Upper critical toxic levels for lettuce growth were 2.5 to 5 mg/L concentrations in GeO2 treatments and 10 to 25 mg/L concentration in Ge-132 treatments, respectively.
A relationship between molecular orientation and current-voltage characteristics in poly(3-hexylthiophene) thin film

Simultaneous measurement of molecular orientation and current as a function of voltage has been conducted. Molecular orientation was measured using the polarization dependence of intramolecular electronic transition. In ITO/poly(3-hexylthiophene)/Al structure, it was found that the molecular orientation change assists the hysteretic current-voltage (J-V) characteristics. The result indicates that this measuring method can be useful in investigating the effects of molecular orientation change on unusual J-V characteristics.
Segment Solid-Phase Total Synthesis of the Anthelmintic Cyclooctadepsipeptides PF1022A and Emodepside

Cyclodepsipeptides of the enniation, PF1022 and verticilide families represent a diverse class of highly interesting natural products with respect to their manifold biological activities. However, until now, no practicable solid-phase syntheses of these compounds have been accomplished, probably due to the problematic combination of N-methyl amino acids and hydroxycarboxylic acids. We report herein an efficient synthesis of the anthelmintic PF1022A and its commercial analogue emodepside on Kaiser and Wang resins. Our protocol provides the basis for the solid-phase synthesis of cyclodepsipeptide libraries with a high probability of anthelmintic, antibacterial or insecticidal activity.