Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
FINISHING INTERMETALLIC COATINGS IN ORDER TO REDUCE THE SURFACE ROUGHNESS

The paper presents a shape and grade of inserts depending on the surface roughness of the intermetallic coatings NiAl and Ni3Al. Intermetallic coatings on nickel based were sprayed with a torch Casto-Dyn 8000 on the steel samples. Thermal spraying intermetallic coatings have been high surface roughness, and therefore they must to be finishing. Experimental research was conducted for unalloyed steel samples with thermal spraying NiAl and Ni3Al intermetallic coatings. Before applying coatings, the samples surface was properly prepared by stream abrasive working, degreasing and finally by cleaning of oxidation products. To testing cutting inserts shape selects square and trigon made tungsten carbide and cubic boron nitride (borazon). Machining intermetallic nickel based coatings were carried out for the cutting speed vc = 214 m/min in the case of after-machining with inserts of borazon, vc = 107 m/min cutting inserts for tungsten carbide, used feed fn = 0.06 mm/rev and depth of cut ap = 0.3 mm. Intermetallic coatings are characterized by high resistance to tribology wear. These materials are used in such fields of technology, such as: electronics, energy, defense, automotive, aviation, shipbuilding, and more industry. The NiAl and Ni3Al intermetallic have found widespread applications as high – temperature structural material due to their high melting point, low density, good thermal conductivity and excellent oxidation resistance. The paper proposes the finishing flame sprayed intermetallic coatings.
Modelling and simulation of oil spills in coastal waters

Over the years many navigation incidents took place in coastal areas or in ports. As a result of these incidents (collision between vessels, groundings, flooding, etc.) many wrecks remained. Due to the inability of authorities to manage these situations, or the lack of interest for the repercussions that may occur in such an incident, many problems may arise in medium and long term. The impact on the environment and local economy may prove to be important if no pollution measures are taken in order to prevent ecological disasters. In this paper the case of a sunken vessel in the Romanian Black Sea coastal area, in terms of management of a possible leakage of hydrocarbons, is analysed. The method used in the paper allows the modelling and simulation of oil products spreading, through specialized software solutions, thus providing the authorities with a starting point in managing the response to the emergency situation.
Overcoming Resource Constraints Through Internationalization? An Empirical Analysis of European SMEs

Previous research has indicated that firms can use internationalization as a strategy to access or build up resources. Such a strategy may be of particular interest or even necessary (for example to survive or grow) for firms that lack specific resources. Based on resource dependency theory and the model for entrepreneurial internationalization this paper investigates whether resource scarcities in terms of labor, finance and technology increase the likelihood for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to aim to access or accumulate these specific resources through internationalization. A number of hypotheses are tested using firm-level data from the ENSR Enterprise Survey 2003 for 7,673 SMEs located in 18 European countries. The results indicate that perceived resource constraints in terms of labor and finance spur SMEs to undertake international activities with the aim to access or accumulate labor, respectively finance. It is also found that among internationally active SMEs perceived constraints in terms of labor, finance and new technology increase the probability of SMEs using their international activities as a means for accessing or acquiring these scarce resources.
Model of Decision Making in Motivating Employees and Managers

The article deals with issues of decision making with regard to motivation of employees and managers. In an introductive and theoretical part, attention is devoted to analysing opinions on motivation, motivating, and decision making. The motivation is understood as a dynamic phenomenon, full of many facts, positive and negative, subjective and objective, constant (static, invariable) and variable (changing dynamically). The decision making is understood as process of postulating decision-making premises, conditions, restrictions and defining criteria, non-compromising consideration of positives, negatives, possibilities and impossibilities, chances and obstacles of every accepted solution, and determining the ‘best’ methods of achieving the ‘best’ solution. In the methodology part of paper, the most interesting result of testing assumption about the multi-criteria content and multiplicative effect in decision making, applied in motivating employees, are presented. This searching is done on the basis of our questionnaire survey performed on the sample of 1,946 respondents in the turn of 2012/2013. The assumption about the multi-criteria content and multiplicative effect in decision making applied in motivating employees was confirmed also by paper mentions the most significant findings established with regard to chosen hypotheses (assumptions). In an application part, acquired results and used inspirational opinions of several other authors formed the basis for creation of verbal and graphical model of motivational decision making, or the model of motivating perceived with regard to the decision making process. The model characterises motivational decision-making as multi-content and multi-criteria process able to bring qualitative multiplications and synergies. DOI: http://dx.doi. org/10.5755/j01.ee. 26.5. 8727
OB-stars as extreme condition test beds

Abstract Massive stars are inherently extreme objects, in terms of radiation, mass loss, rotation, and sometimes also magnetic fields. Concentrating on a (personally biased) subset of processes related to pulsations, rapid rotation and its interplay with mass-loss, and the bi-stability mechanism, we will discuss how active (and normal) OB stars can serve as appropriate laboratories to provide further clues.
Profiles of adolescent perpetrators of CSA 102 CHAPTER 6 Profiles of adolescent perpetrators of CSA

Title Profiles of adolescent perpetrators of CSA Authors(s) O'Halloran, Maria; Carr, Alan; O'Reilly, Gary; et al. Publication date 2004 Publication information Carr, A. , O'Reilly, G. and Browne, K. (eds.). Clinical Psychology in Ireland Volume 5: Empirical Studies of Child Sexual Abuse Publisher Edwin Mellen Press Link to online version http://mellenpress.com/mellenpress.cfm? bookid=6165&pc=9 Item record/more information http://hdl.handle. net/10197/6243
Identifying important topics for model refinement in a widely used process-based model informed by correlative model analyses in a boreal forest

Models attempting to predict treeline shifts in changing climates must include the relevant ecological processes in sufficient detail. A previous correlative model study has pointed to nutrients, competition, and temperature as the most important factors shaping the treelines of Pinus sylvestris L. , Picea abies (L.) H. Karst. and Betula pubescens Ehrh. in Finnish Lapland. Here, we applied a widely used process-based dynamic vegetation model (LPJ-GUESS) to (i) test its capability to simulate observed spatial and temporal patterns of the main tree species in Finnish Lapland, and (ii) to explore the model representation of important processes in order to guide further model development. A European parameterization of LPJ-GUESS overestimated especially P. abies biomass and the species’ northern range limit. We identified implemented processes to adjust (competition, disturbance) and crucial processes in boreal forests to include (nutrient limitation, forest management) which account for the model’s failure to (edaphically) restrict P. abies in Finnish Lapland and the resulting species imbalance. Key competitive mechanisms are shade and drought tolerance, nutrient limitation, fire resistance, and susceptibility to disturbances (storm, herbivory) which we discussed with respect to boreal ecology and promising model developments to provide a starting point for future model development.
Heat Map with Hierarchical Clustering: Multivariate Visualization Method for Corpus-based Language Studies

An advantage of corpus-based language studies is that global descriptions of linguistic texts can be obtained by examining a broad range of linguistic features. However, multivariate statistical techniques are required to analyze the multiple linguistic features found in a number of texts. This study compared the strengths and weaknesses of several multivariate statistical techniques, thereby demonstrating the effectiveness of using heat map with hierarchical clustering as a powerful method for visualizing multivariate data. Explanations are also provided for how these techniques can be used in the R programming language as well as indicating how the results obtained can be interpreted. *
Silencing mutant Huntingtin by RNA interference for the treatment of Huntington Disease

Huntington Disease (HD) is a dominantly inherited neurological disease attributed to a CAG expansion within the HD gene. The HD mutation gives rise to a polyglutamine expansion in exon 1 of the protein huntingtin (Htt). Since the discovery of the HD mutation in 1993, various HD gene mouse models have been developed to contain either fragments or full-length copies of the mutant HD gene. The existence of these HD mouse models enables focused therapeutic testing to develop potential treatments for HD. RNA interference (RNAi) therapy is a targeted gene silencing approach whereby synthetic RNA constructs are shuttled into the cell by viral vectors and used by the cell’s endogenous RNAi machinery to silence a gene of interest. RNAi therapy holds promise for mutant huntingtin (muHtt) allele-specific silencing as a treatment for HD. The purpose of this thesis was to develop the tools for pre-clinical testing of RNAi-mediated gene silencing of human muHtt in the YAC128 mouse model of HD. First, AAV serotypes were compared for delivery to striatal neurons, the neurons most affected in HD. From this work AAV serotype 1 was selected as the most effective serotype for construct delivery. Second, synthetic RNAi constructs including short-hairpin RNA (shRNA) and microRNA-based constructs (miR-shRNAs) were compared for silencing of human muHtt expression in vivo. Here, miR-shRNAs were found to have increased gene silencing and improved tolerance in avoiding immune activation compared to shRNAs. Alternatively, the shRNAs induced dramatic immune activation and morbidity in some cases. Ultimately these findings will contribute to a pre-clinical trial in YAC128 mice investigating Htt RNAi-mediated gene silencing in the treatment of HD, which is also discussed in this thesis. This future work provides proof-of-principle for muHtt allele-specific silencing as a treatment of HD.
Determinants of further survival in centenarians from the province of Mantova

The MALVA project, one of the first Italian studies on population-based samples of centenarians, was addressed to the subjects aged 98+ residing in the province of Mantova (Northern Italy) at the 1st April 1998. The present study aims at analyzing the impact of selected clinical and socio-demographic variables on further survival of the 77 participants in the MALVA study. Adopting methods for multiple imputation of missing value, four distinct Cox regression models were estimated using groups of predefined variables describing socio-demographic characteristics, functional status, nutritional status, cardiovascular risk factors. Each model was adjusted for the effects of gender and age. Finally two complete models have been considered : the first one including the statistically significant variables in the previous analysis, and the second one obtained with a backward selection procedure. The variables included in the final models can be seen as markers of "frailty" or correlated conditions. Most of these variables maintained a significant influence on survival, however belonging to the "underweight" BMI category and being institutionalized emerged as the best "frailty" indicators in the centenarians from the province of Mantova. The results of this study are in agreement with several previous studies in recognizing that factors predicting mortality in centenarians are not the same well-known predictors of mortality in the middle-aged and younger elderly.
Simple Configuration Effects on Eye Movements in Horizontal Scanning Tasks

When reading text, observers alternate periods of stable gaze (fixations) and shifts of gaze (saccades). An important debate in the literature concerns the processes that drive the control of these eye movements. Past studies using strings of letters rather than meaningful text ('z-reading') suggest that eye movement control during reading is, to a large extent, controlled by low-level image properties. These studies, however, have failed to take into account perceptual grouping processes that could drive these low-level effects. We here study the role of various grouping factors in horizontal scanning eye movements, and compare these to reading meaningful text. The results show that sequential horizontal scanning of meaningless and visually distinctive stimuli is slower than for meaningful stimuli (e.g. letters instead of dots). Moreover, we found strong evidence for anticipatory processes in saccadic processing during horizontal scanning tasks. These results suggest a strong role of perceptual grouping in oculomotor control in reading.
Identifying Presentation Styles in Online Educational Videos MSR-TR-2014-141

The rapid growth of online educational videos has resulted in huge redundancy. The same underlying content is often available in multiple videos with varying quality, presenter, and presentation style (slide show, whiteboard presentation, demo, etc). The fact that there are so many videos on the same content makes it important to retrieve videos that are attuned to user preferences. While there are several aspects that drive user engagement, we focus on the presentation style of the video. Based on a large scale manual study, we identify the 11 dominant presentation styles that typically employed. We propose a reference algorithm combining a set of 3-Way Decision Forests with probabilistic fusion and using a large set of image, face and motion features. We analyze our empirical results to provide understanding of the difficulties of the problem and to highlight directions for future research on this new application. We also make the data available.
CAVEAT ON THE ERROR ANALYSIS FOR STEREOLOGICAL ESTIMATES

It is frequently asked that how big a sample size, or how much measurement, is needed to achieve an accurate stereological estimate. The observed total error of a stereological estimate arises from individual difference (i.e. inter-animal / organ difference or biological variation) and intra-individual variation (or the stereological error). Statistical methods for error analysis familiar to most biological researchers are based on independent random sampling, however systematic random sampling, which is usually more efficient, is almost always performed in practice. A number of methods for error analysis were utilized in a number of model and actual studies in this paper to demonstrate from a practical point of view the pros and cons of different error analytical methods. Assumption of independence for a systematic sampling will result in overestimation of the stereological error as shown by the studies. A simple and practical approach for error analysis as recommended in this paper is to divide the systematic sample from an organ into two systematic sub-samples, regard them as two independent sub-samples and then compare the difference between the two sub-sample means.
CENTER FOR WIRELESS COMMUNICATIONS DEGREE PROGRAMME IN WIRELESS COMMUNICATIONS ENGINEERING MASTER’S THESIS STATE OF THE ART SURVEY ON CONGESTION CONTROL PROTOCOL IN CONSTRAINED NETWORKS

Congestion in wireless sensor networks (WSNs) has always been a serious problem for all kinds of communication networks. It causes severe information loss and shortens the life time of the sensor nodes. Congestion also leads to excessive energy consumption due to large number of retransmission and packet loss which lowers throughput. In WSNs congestion need to be controlled in order to have high energy-efficiency, to prolong system life time, improve fairness and improve quality-of-service in terms of packet loss ratio with the packet delay and
A H − / L ∞ fault detection observer design for Lipschitz nonlinear systems

H−/L∞ fault detection observer design for Lipschitz nonlinear systems ZHOU Meng1, WANG Zhen-hua2†, WANG Chang3, SHEN Yi2 (1. College of Information Science & Technology, Beijing University of Chemical Technology, Beijing 100029, China; 2. School of Astronautics, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin Heilongjiang 150001, China; 3. Beijing Aerospace Automation Research Institute, Beijing 100039, China) Abstract: This paper proposes an H−/L∞ fault detection observer design method for Lipschitz nonlinear systems. First, the finite frequency H− index is used to measure the worst-case fault sensitivity and the L∞ norm from unknown disturbance to residual is used to measure disturbance robustness performance. Next, a residual evaluation and a dynamic threshold are synthesized based on the L∞ norm. Besides, sufficient conditions of the observer design are derived and transformed by a set of linear matrix inequalities. Finally, numerical simulations are provided to demonstrate the correctness and effectiveness of the proposed method.
Effect Of International Financial Reporting Standards (Ifrs) On Corporate Financing In Nigerian Banking Industry

National accounting differences has been responsible for increasing information asymmetry, increasing cost of investments, reducing understandability as a results of incomparable information, which are sum up as investor home bias. IFRS is aimed at improving reporting quality, increasing financial statement comparability within and across countries, which is expected to reduce information asymmetry among capital market participants, and facilitate cross-border cash flows, especially in terms of foreign equity investments. However, the opponents of accounting harmonization maintain that the characteristics of accounting problems, history, culture and institutional frameworks in a country determine the form and content of accounting standards, and thus, uniform standards could not lead to any positive benefits. This argument has led to different empirical researches on the economic consequences of uniform accounting standards. This study examined how the adoption of IFRS affects corporate financing in the deposit money banks in Nigeria during the period (2009-2014). The purpose is to investigate whether or not firm? s financing decisions in Nigeria have significantly improved after the adoption of IFRS. The study employed expiremental/correlational research design in a sample of 15 banks. Panel regression technique of data analysis was adopted and the study found that IFRSs have significantly improved financing in terms of equity and debt financing during the period. We conclude that there are possibilities that the adoption of IFRS in Nigeria potentially minimized information asymmetry and that corporate financing could be improved if IFRSs are carefully implemented. We recommend among others that, accounting regulators in Nigeria should increase efforts towards educating firms and investors about IFRSs, so as to enhancing corporate financing in Nigeria.
Recommendation of Move Method Refactoring to Optimize Modularization Using Conceptual Similarity

Placement of methods within classes is one of the most important design activities for any object oriented application to optimize software modularization. To enhance interactions among modularized components, recommendation of move method refactorings plays a significant role through grouping similar behaviors of methods. It is also used as a refactoring technique of feature envy code smell by placing methods into correct classes from incorrect ones. Due to this code smell and inefficient modularization, an application will be tightly coupled and loosely cohesive which reflect poor design. Hence development and maintenance effort, time and cost will be increased. Existing techniques deals with only non-static methods for refactoring the code smell and so are not generalized for all types of methods (static and non-static). This paper proposes an approach which recommends „move method‟ refactoring to remove the code smell as well as enrich modularization. The approach is based on conceptual similarity (which can be referred as similar behavior of methods) between a source method and methods of target classes of an application. The conceptual similarity relies on both static and nonstatic entities (method calls and used attributes) which differ the paper from others. In addition, it compares the similarity of used entities by the source method with used entities by methods in probable target classes. The results of a preliminary empirical evaluation indicate that the proposed approach provides better results with average precision of 65% and recall of 63% after running it on five well-known open projects than JDeodorant tool (a popular eclipse plugin for refactorings).
Fifteen Years of Vegetation and Soil Development after Brackish‐Water Marsh Creation

Aboveground biomass, macro‐organic matter (MOM), and wetland soil characteristics were measured periodically between 1983 and 1998 in a created brackish‐water marsh and a nearby natural marsh along the Pamlico River estuary, North Carolina to evaluate the development of wetland vegetation and soil dependent functions after marsh creation. Development of aboveground biomass and MOM was dependent on elevation and frequency of tidal inundation. Aboveground biomass of Spartina alterniflora, which occupied low elevations along tidal creeks and was inundated frequently, developed to levels similar to the natural marsh (750 to 1,300 g/m2) within three years after creation. Spartina cynosuroides, which dominated interior areas of the marsh and was flooded less frequently, required 9 years to consistently achieve aboveground biomass equivalent to the natural marsh (600 to 1,560 g/m2). Aboveground biomass of Spartina patens, which was planted at the highest elevations along the terrestrial margin and seldom flooded, never consistently developed aboveground biomass comparable with the natural marsh during the 15 years after marsh creation. MOM (0 to 10 cm) generally developed at the same rate as aboveground biomass. Between 1988 and 1998, soil bulk density decreased and porosity and organic C and N pools increased in the created marsh. Like vegetation, wetland soil development proceeded faster in response to increased inundation, especially in the streamside zone dominated by S. alterniflora. We estimated that in the streamside and interior zones, an additional 30 years (nitrogen) to 90 years (organic C, porosity) are needed for the upper 30 cm of created marsh soil to become equivalent to the natural marsh. Wetland soil characteristics of the S. patens community along upland fringe will take longer to develop, more than 200 years. Development of the benthic invertebrate‐based food web, which depends on organic matter enrichment of the upper 5 to 10 cm of soil, is expected to take less time. Wetland soil characteristics and functions of created irregularly flooded brackish marshes require longer to develop compared with regularly flooded salt marshes because reduced tidal inundation slows wetland vegetation and soil development. The hydrologic regime (regularly vs. irregularly flooded) of the “target” wetland should be considered when setting realistic expectations for success criteria of created and restored wetlands.