Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Relation between Payroll and Income Tax Avoidance

Payroll taxes, such as contributions mandated through the Federal Insurance Contributions Act (FICA), represent a considerable expense for businesses and are a large source of government revenue. Considering that employers pay approximately 50% of FICA, payroll taxes have a material impact on firm profitability. Despite the large cost, little is known about the determinants of payroll tax avoidance. By misclassifying employees as independent contractors, a firm can avoid their portion of FICA contributions and a variety of other employee related costs. This paper utilizes publicly available compliance action data from the Wage and Hour Division (i.e., WHD) of the United States Department of Labor (i.e., DOL) to identify employee misclassification and to empirically identify whether firms that avoid income taxes also avoid payroll taxes. This paper documents two main results. First, income tax avoidance, proxied by CashETR, is positively related to the likelihood of a successful discovery of a Fair Labor Standards Act (i.e., FLSA) violation during a Wage and Hour Division audit. Second, firms reduce their income tax avoidance following the discovery of FLSA violations.
Graphene-like transition-metal nanocarbides and nanonitrides

The review concerns the synthesis of a new family of graphene-like d-metal nanocarbides and nanonitrides based on MAX phases (MXenes), exhibiting unusual properties and offering interesting prospects for application in technology. The available experimental data on the synthesis and properties of 2D d-metal nanocarbides and nanonitrides and on possible fields of their application are generalized. The results of theoretical simulation of the structure, stability conditions, electronic and magnetic properties of a wide range of MXenes and their oxidized, fluorinated, hydroxylated and methylated derivatives, as well as nanoscrolls and nanotubes based on them are summarized. Promising avenues of research on this unique family of 2D nanomaterials in the nearest future are outlined. The bibliography includes 67 references.
Evaluation of n-alkanes as markers for estimation of dry matter intake and digestibility in steers consuming all-forage or forage-concentrate diets

The study examined the reliability of the alkane-based and chromium (Cr)/in-vitro-based procedures relative to the total fecal collection (TC) technique for estimation of dry matter (DM) intake an d DM digestibility of forage or forage-concentrate diets fed to steers. Eight Holstein steers (208 ± 19.2 kg) were assigned to four dietary treatments in a three-period balanced incomplete block design. The four dietary treatments were: (1) 100% meadow brome grass hay (B); (2) 50% B + 50% alfalfa hay (BA); (3) 50% B + 50% barley grain (BB); and (4) 25% B + 25% alfalfa hay + 50% barley grain (BAB). Two types of hay were chosen to achieve a wide range of alkane intake. Appropriate portions of forages and grain were mixed as a total mixed ration and fed in two equal portions twice daily at 2.5% of body weight, DM basis. Two controlled-release capsules, one containing n-alkanes (C32 and C36) and the other chromic oxide, were placed into the steer's reticulo-rumen by oral administration on day 1 of each 30-d period.
Gaseous ammonia fluxes and background concentrations in terrestrial ecosystems of the United States

Ammonia (NH[sub 3]) is the dominant gaseous base in the atmosphere and the principal neutralizing agent for atmospheric acids, yet remains one of the least well characterized atmospheric trace compounds. In particular, the spactial and temporal distribution of the background concentrations in terrestrial ecosystems and the importance of natural emissions from undisturbed soils and vegetation is poorly understood. This situation persists because of experimental difficulties associated with ammonia measurements, the rapid gas-to-particle conversion of ammonia in the atmosphere, and the capacity of native soils and vegetation to act as both source and sink for atmospheric ammonia. In the present paper, we attempt to summarize the current understanding of the natural sources and sinks for gaseous NH[sub 3] and the importance of natural emissions relative to anthropogenic emissions in the United States. We briefly review the physical and chemical processes that transform NH[sub 3] in the atmosphere, the major anthropogenic and the techniques used to measure low concentrations and fluxes of atmospheric NH[sub 3]. The available background concentrations and flux measurements of ammonia in natural ecosystems are then described and used to infer upper limits for the emissions of NH[sub 3] into the atmosphere from these systems. While the magnitude ofmore » both anthropogenic and natural emissions of NH[sub 3] remain uncertain, it appears that unperturbed terrestrial ecosystems are generally more important as sinks rather than sources for atmospheric NH[sub 3]. However, net emissions are likely from many eastern forests and other ecosystems exposed to large inputs of atmospheric sulfate. 159 refs., 13 figs., 6 tabs. « less
Asymmetric supercapacitors based on carbon nanofibre and polypyrrole/nanocellulose composite electrodes

Asymmetric, all-organic supercapacitors (containing an aqueous electrolyte), exhibiting a capacitance of 25 F g−1 (or 2.3 F cm−2) at a current density of 20 mA cm−2 and a maximum cell voltage of 1.6 V, are presented. The devices contain a composite consisting of polypyrrole covered Cladophora cellulose fibres (PPy–cellulose) as the positive electrode while a carbon nanofibre material, obtained by heat treatment of the same PPy–cellulose composite under nitrogen gas flow, serves as the negative electrode. Scanning and transmission electron microscopy combined with X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy data show that the heat treatment gives rise to a porous carbon nanofibre material, topologically almost identical to the original PPy–cellulose composite. The specific gravimetric capacitances of the carbon and the PPy–cellulose electrodes were found to be 59 and 146 F g−1, respectively, while the asymmetric supercapacitors exhibited a gravimetric energy density of 33 J g−1. The latter value is about two times higher than the energy densities obtainable for a symmetric PPy–cellulose device as a result of the larger cell voltage range accessible. The capacitance obtained for the asymmetric devices at a current density of 156 mA cm−2 was 11 F g−1 and cycling stability results further indicate that the capacity loss was about 23% during 1000 cycles employing a current density of 20 mA cm−2. The present results represent a significant step forward towards the realization of all-organic material based supercapacitors with aqueous electrolytes and commercially viable capacitances and energy densities.
Diffusion in Lennard-Jones Fluids Using Dual Control Volume Grand Canonical Molecular Dynamics Simulation (DCV-GCMD)

A new approach to calculating diffusivities, both transport as well as equilibrium, is presented. The dual control volume grand canonical molecular dynamics (or DCV‐GCMD) method employs two local control volumes for chemical potential control via particle creation/destruction as in grand canonical Monte Carlo (GCMC) simulations. The control volumes are inserted in a standard NVT molecular dynamics simulation yielding a simulation with stochastic chemical potential control that may be thought of as a hybrid GCMC‐MD approach. The geometrical control of the chemical potential enables a steady state chemical potential gradient to be established in the system. By measuring the density profile and flux, Fick’s law is used to determine the diffusivity. An example calculation is presented for a simple Lennard‐Jones system.
FT‐Raman and NIR‐SERS characterization of the antimalarial drugs chloroquine and mefloquine and their interaction with hematin

Raman and surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) spectroscopies were employed to probe the interaction of the antimalarial drugs chloroquine (CQ) and mefloquine (MQ) with hematin. NIR-SERS spectra of both quinoline derivatives were obtained from a colloidal gold surface. Strong chemical interactions of each drug with the Au particles are observed and the similarities of the two NIR-SERS spectra allowed to predict a similar orientation geometry for both of the drugs on the colloidal surface, namely through the quinoline skeletal part of each molecular structure. Separately, the adsorption behavior of hematin on the Au colloid was studied under nonresonant conditions. In addition, both hematin–antimalarial drug systems (CQ and MQ) were prepared and investigated by NIR-SERS. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Yield response of forage grasses to N fertilizer as related to spring soil nitrate sorbed on anionic exchange membranes.

Soil N availability is an important factor in forage grass production. Maximising N fertilizer efficiency is essential to improve profitability and to reduce the environmental risk associated with residual excess soil N. The objectives of this study were (i): to determine the effects of N fertilizer on yield, N uptake and NO3–N concentration of forage grasses produced in Western Quebec; and (ii) to compare spring soil NO3−measured by anionic exchange membranes (NO3AEMs) and by water extraction (NO3w) as a criterion to predict fertilizer N requirements of forage grasses. The yield response of grasses, especially timothy (Phleum pratense L.), to different rates of NH4NO3 (0 to 240 kg N ha−1) on heavy clay soils (Humic Gleysols) was studied from 1994 to 1996 at four sites in the Abitibi-Temiscamingue area, Quebec (Canada). Nitrogen significantly (P < 0.001) increased forage yield, N uptake, and NO3–N concentration. The economically optimum N fertilizer rate (Nop) for forage yield varied from 25 to 240 kg N h.
Decoupling the Graphene Buffer Layer from SiC(0001) via Interface Oxidation

Epitaxial graphene (EG) grown on SiC(0001) resides on the so-called buffer layer. This carbon rich (6√3×6√3)R30° reconstruction is covalently bound to the topmost silicon atoms of the SiC. Decoupling the graphene buffer layer from the SiC interface is a well studied topic since successful intercalation has been shown for hydrogen [1-3]. Recently, intercalation was also shown for oxygen [4, 5]. We present ARPES, XPS and Raman spectroscopy studies to determine the quality of oxygen intercalated buffer layer samples in terms of decoupling and integrity of the transformed graphene layer. The decoupling effect is demonstrated by ARPES measurements showing a graphene-like π band. XPS shows whether the oxidation takes place in the buffer layer or at the interface. Raman spectroscopy is well suited to investigate oxygen induced defects in graphene-like material.
Single‐use wave‐mixed versus stirred bioreactors for insect‐cell/BEVS‐based protein expression at benchtop scale

Spodoptera frugiperda‐9 (Sf‐9) cells used in conjunction with the baculovirus expression vector system (BEVS) represent a promising platform for the rapid development and manufacture of protein complexes and virus‐like particle (VLP) products. Several studies have described the superiority of single‐use wave‐mixed bioreactors although reusable stirred and, more recently, single‐use stirred bioreactors have also been successfully applied. Due to their bioengineering characteristics (more homogeneous energy dissipation, reduced foam formation), wave‐mixed systems are often preferred. However, a direct comparison of the influence of single‐use wave‐mixed and single‐use stirred bioreactors on cell growth and protein expression in Sf‐9/BEVS‐based production processes was still lacking. We investigated Sf‐9 cell growth and expression of a recombinant secreted alkaline phosphatase (rSEAP) in the wave‐mixed BIOSTAT® RM as well as the stirred UniVessel® SU and a serum‐free culture medium. Irrespective of the bioreactor system, comparable growth, substrate, and metabolite courses as well as peak cell densities (>1.2 × 107 cells mL−1) were observed in Sf‐9 cell expansions performed in batch mode. Additionally, identical rSEAP quality and maximum rSEAP activities were found in biphasic productions in both bioreactor systems. Concluding, comparability of single‐use wave‐mixed and stirred bioreactors for insect cell culture processes was demonstrated for the first time.
Application of WAXS diffraction in studies of crystallinity changes in heavy-ion-irradiated polyester films

WAXS diffraction was applied in studies of the effect of heavy ion irradiation on the content of crystalline phase in poly(ethyleneterephthalate) (PET) and poly(butyleneterephthalate)(PBT) films. A decrease of the crystalline phase content in PET and PBT films under the effect of heavy ions irradiation was discovered. The phenomenon was observed in the biaxially oriented 19 (mu) m thick PET film as well as in the non-oriented 90-100 (mu) m thick PET and PBT films. The amorphization of the films was confirmed by SAXS, DSC, and FTIR methods as well as by density measurements.
Medium frequency cycles in a stationary world

Existing models of endogenous growth generate implausibly large trend breaks in output when augmented with standard business cycle shocks. This paper presents a model without this deficiency, yet still capable of generating large medium-frequency fluctuations around the trend. Ensuring the robustness of the trend requires that we eliminate the strong scale effects and knife edge assumptions that plague most growth models. In our model, medium-frequency fluctuations arise from changes in the proportion of industries producing patent protected products. However, variations in the number of firms within each industry ensure that process improvement incentives remain roughly constant. An estimated version of the model matches well the observed pattern of medium frequency cycles.
Selective Hydrolysis of Methanesulfonate Esters

The pH dependence of the hydrolysis of 4-{2-[(methylsulfonyl)oxy]ethyl}phenyl methanesulfonate, 1, and two carboxylate esters, ethyl 2(S)-ethoxy-3-(4-hydroxyphenyl)propionate, 2 and (2S)-2-ethoxy-3-[4-(2-{4-[(methylsulfonyl)oxy]phenyl}ethoxy)phenyl]propanoate, 3, has been studied with a view to the selective removal of any remaining 1, following coupling with 2 to generate 3 in water at 95 °C (Scheme 1). It is shown that reduction of pH from that of the reaction conditions (pH ≈ 10) to pH 7–8 has little effect on the hydrolysis of 1, which is dominated by the water rate over this pH range, but reduces the rate of hydrolysis of the carboxylate ester group by 3 orders of magnitude (pH 7). This very strong quantitative difference in the response of the two types of ester group to pH change allows complete removal of 1 at low pH without measurable loss to the product ester, 3. The conclusions should be generally applicable to the removal of potentially genotoxic alkyl esters of methane sulfonic acid in the pr.
Modifying Hebbian Network for Text Cipher

: The objective of this work is to design and implement a cryptography system that enables the sender to send message through any channel (even if this channel is insecure) and the receiver to decrypt the received message without allowing any intruder to break the system and extracting the secret information. This work modernize the feedforward neural network, so the secret message will be encrypted by unsupervised neural network method to get the cipher text that can be decrypted using the same network to get the original text. The security of any cipher system depends on the security of the related keys (that are used by the encryption and the decryption processes) and their corresponding lengths. In this work, the key is the final weights that are obtained from the learning process within the neural network stage, So the work can be represented as an update or development for using the neural network to enhance the security of text. As a result for a powerful design, the resulted cipher system provides a high degree of security which satisfies the data confidentially which is the main goal of the most cryptography systems.
DESORPTION OF ETHYL ACETATE-WATER MIXTURE BY USING CROSS-LINKED POLY(VINYLALCOHOL) MEMBRANE AND COMPARISON OF RESULTS WITH PERVAPORATION

In this study using poly(vinylalcohol) (PVOH) membranes cross-linked with tartaric acid (Tac) desorption experiments were performed for selected concentrations of binary ethyl acetate (EtAc)-water mixture at temperatures of 30°, 40°, and 50°C to determine sorption of components. Sorption values measured were compared with those estimated by the Flory-Huggins approach. Additionally, desorption results were compared with pervaporation results of another study in terms of solution-diffusion theory, and the effect of thermodynamic interactions on selective transport of the binary mixture and membrane system was investigated. The results obtained show that selective transport of EtAc-water mixture was influenced by increasing temperature and water content in the feed. It is shown that preferential sorption is more effective for pervaporation selectivity than diffusion selectivity.
Uptake, Translocation, and Transformation of Arsenic by Four Fern Species in Arsenic‐Spiked Soils

Arsenic (As) toxicity has become a global concern because of the ever‐increasing contamination of water, soil, and crops in many regions of the world. Although most plants are susceptible to As, some ferns are resistant to it and can accumulate As. In this study, four species of ferns, Asplenium nidus (AN), Pteris umbrosia (PU), Polypodium vulgare (PV), and Pteris cretica (PC), were screened for their ability to tolerate and hyperaccumulate As. Ferns were exposed to 120 mg As kg−1 as sodium arsenate (Na2HAsO4) for 50 days under natural sunlight in greenhouse conditions, and the fronds and roots were analyzed for As speciation and selected macronutrients [potassium (K) and phosphorus (P)]. The species of ferns varied widely in their abilities to transport As to the fronds (ranged from 164 to 4820 mg kg−1 DW) with the greatest frond As concentration found in PU (4820 mg kg−1). The distribution of soil As fractions indicated that As was mostly bound carbonate (carb) (32.4%) and in the residual fractions (45.1%). Chemical fractionation of As‐spiked soil indicated that the greatest reduction in soil As after growing was in carb As form. Arsenic speciation analysis shows that >82% of the total As in the aboveground biomass is present as the reduced form of As, arsenite [As(III)], which is considered to be the more toxic form. However, in roots, only 60% of the As is present as As(III). Furthermore, among the four species of ferns, PU is the most promising to be used in the remediation of the affected area. Therefore, it is possible to use PU to remediate As‐contaminated soils by repeatedly harvesting its fronds.
Global optimization and folding pathways of selected α-helical proteins

The results of basin-hopping global optimization simulations are presented for four small, α-helical proteins described by a coarse-grained potential. A step-taking scheme that incorporates the local conformational preferences extracted from a large number of high-resolution protein structures is compared with an unbiased scheme. In addition, the discrete path sampling method is used to investigate the folding of one of the proteins, namely, the villin headpiece subdomain. Folding times from kinetic Monte Carlo simulations and iterative calculations based on a Markovian first-step analysis for the resulting stationary-point database are in good mutual agreement, but differ significantly from the experimental values, probably because the native state is not the global free energy minimum for the potential employed.
In Situ FTIR Study of the Formation of an Organosilane Layer at the Silica/Solution Interface

Abstract An FTIR experiment especially designed to study the growth of an organosilane layer at the interface between a solution and a flat silica surface is presented. High sensitivity is achieved by using the attenuated total reflection (ATR) technique in a liquid flow cell. The ATR crystal, either silicon or germanium, is covered with a very thin silica layer. Chemical reactions of a mono-and a di-hydrolyzable silane with the silica substrate have been investigated. The grafting of a submonolayer of the first reagent has been monitored by following the C-H and SiO-H vibrations. The density of grafted molecules has been estimated and information on the nature of the chemical bonding has been achieved. Evidence for the chain-polymerization of the dihydrolyzable silane at the substrate/solution interface has been inferred from the appearance of a Si-O-Si absorption band.
The reduction by surfactants of leaf burn resulting from foliar sprays and a salt‐induced inhibition of the effect

Foliar sprays of ferrous sulphate containing the organosilicone surfactant L77 formed films on bean leaf surfaces and caused only marginal burn damage. Sprays containing carbohydrate-based surfactant formed drops on the leaf surfaces and caused severe burn damage. It was found that ferric citrate and some other chemicals inhibited the spreading ability of the organosilicone surfactant, possibly through the formation of complexes.
Pack-extraction method combined with inductively coupled plasma mass spectroscopy to monitor metal contaminants on surfaces of silicon wafers

A method to extract micro-contaminants detrimental to silicon (Si) devices is developed and its impact on clean technology is discussed, focusing on upgrading the oxide film performance of densely packed devices. Detrimental metal impurities (Fe, Cu, Al, Ni and Zn) on surfaces of Si wafers from three vendors were successfully extracted with a prototype pack-extraction method (PEM), in which sample wafers were individually enclosed in a cleaned Teflon bag containing an aqueous acid solution. Each solution, which contained extracted contaminants, was then analysed with inductively coupled plasma mass spectroscopy (ICP-MS). The results could help reduce undesirable impurities that degrade device characteristics. To analyse impurities on surfaces and in the Si bulk separately, we developed an improved PEM, in which impurities were extracted by successively heating the wafer with three different acid solutions ((i) HCl/H2O, (ii) HF/H2O and (iii) HF/HNO3/H2O). By using this improved PEM combined with ICP-MS, we analysed the impurities on the oxide surfaces, in the oxide and in Si bulk separately (including the SiO2-Si interface) for oxidized wafers contaminated intentionally with impurities of Fe, Al, and Cu prior to oxidation. The analysis showed that Al and Fe mainly segregated at the uppermost layer of the oxide, whereas Cu was distributed not in the oxide, but mainly in the Si bulk and SiO2-Si interface.