Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Rapid Range Expansion of a Marine Ectotherm Reveals the Demographic and Ecological Consequences of Short-Term Variability in Seawater Temperature and Dissolved Oxygen

The distributions of marine ectotherms are governed by physiological sensitivities to long-term trends in seawater temperature and dissolved oxygen. Short-term variability in these parameters has the potential to facilitate rapid range expansions, and the resulting ecological and socioeconomic consequences may portend those of future marine communities. Here, we combine physiological experiments with ecological and demographic surveys to assess the causes and consequences of sudden but temporary poleward range expansions of a marine ectotherm with considerable life history plasticity (California market squid, Doryteuthis opalescens). We show that sequential factors related to resource accessibility in the core range—the buildup of large populations as a result of competitive release and climate-associated temperature increase and oxygen loss that constrain aerobic activity—may drive these expansions. We also reveal that poleward range expansion alters the body size—and therefore trophic role—of invading populations, with potential negative implications for socioeconomically valuable resident species. To help forecast rapid range expansions of marine ectotherms, we advocate that research efforts focus on factors impacting resource accessibility in core ranges. Determining how environmental conditions in receiving ecosystems affect body size and how body size is related to trophic role will help refine estimates of the impacts of future marine communities.
How Robust Is the p Factor? Using Multitrait-Multimethod Modeling to Inform the Meaning of General Factors of Youth Psychopathology

We used multitrait-multimethod (MTMM) modeling to examine general factors of psychopathology in three samples of youths (Ns = 2,119, 303, and 592) for whom three informants reported on the youth’s psychopathology (e.g., child, parent, teacher). Empirical support for the p-factor diminished in multi-informant models compared with mono-informant models: The correlation between externalizing and internalizing factors decreased, and the general factor in bifactor models essentially reflected externalizing. Widely used MTMM-informed approaches for modeling multi-informant data cannot distinguish between competing interpretations of the patterns of effects we observed, including that the p factor reflects, in part, evaluative consistency bias or that psychopathology manifests differently across contexts (e.g., home vs. school). Ultimately, support for the p factor may be stronger in mono-informant designs, although it does not entirely vanish in multi-informant models. Instead, the general factor of psychopathology in any given mono-informant model likely reflects a complex mix of variances, some substantive and some methodological.
Application of the time varying transfer function for exact small-signal analysis

An analysis method for determining the control-to-output linearized describing function of time-interval-modulated switched networks using time-varying system theory was previously proposed by the author. A simplification which eases the analysis considerably is presented. Use of the simplified approach is demonstrated in the derivation of the control-to-output frequency response of pulsewidth-modulated (PWM) DC-to-DC switching power converters operating in discontinuous conduction mode (DCM) and current programmed converters operating in continuous conduction mode (CCM) as well as in DCM. Experimental results which verify the modeling approach are presented. <<ETX>>
Detection of earnings management in insurance companies in Slovakia

Research background: Manipulation and the use of creative accounting or earnings management have become an increasingly popular topic in the history of researchers. Since 2002, this issue has attracted the attention of scientists and economists around the world. On the Slovak market, more than 30 insurance companies are actually operating, and some analyses have revealed that some of these insurance companies are engaging in activities that do not comply with the law. Purpose of the article: The article aims to use selected models for the detection of fraudulent financial reporting to determine whether there are unfair activities in insurance companies in Slovakia. At the same time, we evaluate the reliability of selected models and recommend the best models for this sector. Methods: Based on the set criteria, the Beneish model with five parameters and the Beneish model with eight parameters are applied to selected 20 companies in the Financial and Insurance activities sector to determine which companies have manipulated the financial statements. The analysis is performed using real data on Slovak companies from the Amadeus database. Findings & Value added: For the Financial and Insurance activities industry, we recommend using the Beneish model with eight parameters. Comparing the two models, we can conclude that this model is more accurate and thorough. The reason is also that this model works with more data from the financial statements.
A suggestion on the roadmapping process to make an integration roadmap between service-device-technology - With a focus on the case of u-City

The Technology Roadmap(TRM) is a technical strategic decision support framework in order for the anticipation and projection of the changes of technologies in the future, which has higher uncertainty in general. While the importance of technology management is receiving more attention these days, the research works on the TRMs have been limited to project future technology trends yet diversely studied in different sector such as the service industry The aim of research is therefore to explored and proposed a integrated roadmapping process based on the service oriented business model which based on technology. Proposed methodology has been applied into smart city development project to validate its usefulness and benefits
On-chip interconnect lines with patterned ground shields

Measurements of on-chip interconnect lines with a patterned ground shield (PGS) are analyzed and compared to lines with no ground shield (NGS). At frequencies at and below 7 GHz, the PGS lines have about one fifth the dissipative loss of that of the NGS lines. By using a doped layer in the silicon for the shield, as opposed to other metal layers which are closer to the line, a reasonably high characteristic impedance is maintained. The transmission line characteristics are also analyzed.
Testing the MaexPro model on compliance of experimental data

The results of testing of the aerosol model MaexPro for compliance with observed data of the particle size distribution (dN/dr) and aerosol extinction ε(λ) in near-surface layer of coastal atmosphere are given in the paper. It is shown that dN/dr and ε(λ) calculated from the model for the input parameters that most similar to the experiment conditions conform well to the observed data and to the calculations by code MODTRAN.
The Potential Utility of the System Usability Scale in U.S. Military Acquisition

There are statutory requirements for human systems integration (HSI) in military acquisition. Despite these requirements, usability is often neglected in the test and evaluation of military systems. The System Usability Scale (SUS) has been proven to be a reliable and valid, yet pragmatic measure of usability for commercial systems. However, there are certain differences between military systems and commercial systems. These differences include users, system complexity, and testing environments. This paper describes the impact of these differences on the use of the SUS in military test and evaluation. Research suggestions and guidance for integrating the SUS into the military acquisition process are also discussed.
Eco-Factors for International Company Environmental Management Systems

Environmental management systems (EMS) require the assessment of environmental aspects to ensure that organizations recognize their most relevant impacts on the environment. The ecological scarcity method (ESM) provides weighting factors for environmental flows (pollutants and resources), called eco-factors (EF), applicable in the assessment of environmental aspects. EF are based on a distance-to-target approach, displaying the ratio of the current state to the respective policy targets for environmental flows. The ESM has been developed for Switzerland; however, for site-specific application beyond Switzerland, national EF are desirable. This publication presents a systematic procedure for the derivation of EF in an international framework, based on the investigation of eight countries worldwide and comprehensive data research. As a novel feature, the grouping of EF into sets is introduced, according to the character of the underlying policy target: legally based, intended policy, or expert recommendation. Overall, 134 EF for six environmental issues were calculated and applied in a case study from Volkswagen AG. An in-depth analysis identifies the differences between national EF and between sets of EF and discusses the implications for EMS. From the findings, general conclusions for future development and the application of EF in an international context of company management are derived.
Associations between Depression, Nutritional Status and Mediterranean Diet in Dalmatian Kidney Transplant Recipients

Depression has been addressed as a predictor of worse outcomes in kidney transplant recipients (KTRs). Nutritional status plays a great role in treatment of this population. The Mediterranean diet (MeDi) has been associated with lower levels of depressive symptoms. The aim of this cross-sectional study was to determine the rate of depression and its correlations to nutritional status and dietary habits according to the MeDi in Dalmatian KTRs. We included 115 KTRs, and data about body composition and anthropometric, laboratory and clinical parameters were obtained for each study participant. The Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II) questionnaire was used to assess depressive symptoms and the Mediterranean Diet Serving Score (MDSS) was used to assess adherence to the MeDi. We found the presence of depressive symptoms in 21.73% of the Dalmatian KTRs. BDI-II score was reciprocally associated with fat mass, trunk visceral fat, anthropometric parameters of obesity, triglyceride levels and olive oil consumption. Inverse associations were found between BDI-II score and skeletal muscle mass, handgrip strength, MCV, hemoglobin levels and consumption of fish and white meat, as suggested by the MeDi. Our results showed the interconnections between nutritional status, dietary habits and depression in Dalmatian KTRs.
The performance of vertically reinforced 1–3 piezoelectric composites in active damping of smart structures

This paper deals with the analysis of vertically reinforced 1–3 piezoelectric composite materials as the material used for the distributed actuator of smart structures. A micromechanics model has been derived to predict the effective elastic and piezoelectric coefficients of these piezoelectric composites which are useful for the analysis of smart beams. In order to investigate the performance of a layer of this 1–3 piezoelectric composite material as the distributed actuator of smart structures, active constrained layer damping (ACLD) of smart laminated composite beams has been studied. The constraining layer in the ACLD treatment has been considered to be made of this piezoelectric composite. A finite element model has been developed to study the dynamics of the overall beam/ACLD system. Both in-plane and out-of-plane actuations of the constraining layer of the ACLD treatment have been utilized for deriving the finite element model. It has been found that these vertically reinforced 1–3 piezoelectric composite materials which are in general being used as distributed sensors can be potentially used as distributed actuators of smart structures.
Linking Mentoring and Job Search Behavior: A Moderated Mediation Model

The present research aims to explore the impact of mentoring relationship on college graduates’ job search behavior among Chinese undergraduate students by examining the mediator of job search intention and the moderator of job search self-efficacy. A two-wave survey study was conducted in China (N = 594). Our findings show a positive indirect relation between mentoring and college graduates’ job search behaviors through job search intention. The graduates’ job search self-efficacy positively moderated the indirect relationship such that when job search self-efficacy was higher, the influence of mentoring on behavior via job search intention was stronger. These findings extend the literature by clarifying how and when mentoring facilitates graduates’ job search behaviors and provide practical implications for facilitating a smooth school-to-work transition in China. As the first study that empirically clarifies why (through job search intention) and when (job search self-efficacy) mentoring function is positively related to job search behavior among Chinese undergraduate students, the present study contributes to the existing mentoring and job search literature. Future research is encouraged to extend the findings by integrating theory of planned behavior (TPB) with self-regulation theory toward deepening current understanding of how and when mentoring can contribute to a student’s success in job search behavior.
Control of Uncertainty in High Precision Cutting Processes: Reaming of Valve Guides in a Cylinder Head of a Combustion Engine

In production processes uncertainty has a great impact on the product quality as well as production costs. In automotive industry the reaming of valve guides in a cylinder head of a combustion engine is a quality determining process. Due to the force fitting of the valve guides into the cylinder head the final reaming process has to deal with increased uncertainty. On the other hand, the finished hole is closely tolerated. To ensure the process reliability the admissible tolerance must be strictly met even in case of uncertainty. This paper presents a possibility to achieve process reliability by a modified process chain with an additional pilot reaming tool. Thereby, the effect of different cutting edge preparation is also analyzed. Further, the influence of the pilot reamer geometry on the final hole quality is investigated.
Reflecting on Crucibles: Clarifying Values in Authentic Leaders

This qualitative study explores the role of crucibles, life-triggering moments, parents’ life mottos and definitions of success, and holding values in the lives of authentic leaders. This research used the life-story approach to explore the experience of such concepts on authentic leaders. Self-identified leaders with more than five years of experience in a leadership position or in a role of managing and developing others were invited to this research. Qualified authentic leaders (between 65 to 80 in ALQ) were invited to a qualitative interview utilizing the life story approach to explore significant forming factors of their leadership qualities. An inductive coding method was used in analyzing the transcription of interviews. Significant themes and codes show that life-triggers, crucibles, parents’ life mottos, their definition of success, and holding values play a significant role in authentic leadership development. Leadership scholars should emphasize the forming experiences of authentic leadership in their leadership development studies. In other words, the experienced dynamics of parents (life mottos and definitions of success), the experience of crucibles are suggested as antecedents of authentic leadership. The research shows that parents’ dynamics, crucibles, and life-triggering moments resonate with Erikson’s stages of development on authentic leadership development.
Effective elasticity and persistence of strain in active filament-motor assemblies

Cross-linked, elastic, filamentous networks that are deformed by active molecular motors feature in several natural and synthetic settings. The effective active elasticity of these composite systems determines the length scale over which active deformations persist in fluctuating environments. This fundamental quantity has been studied in passive systems; however mechanisms determining and modulating this length-scale in active systems has not been clarified. Here, focusing on active arrayed filament-motor assemblies, we propose and analyze a minimal model in order to estimate the length scale over which imposed or emergent elastic deformations or stresses persist. We combine a mean-field continuum theory valid for weakly elastic assemblies with high dimensional Multi-Particle Collision (MPC) based Brownian simulations valid for moderate to strongly elastic and noisy systems. Integrating analytical and numerical results, we show that localized strains - steady or oscillatory - persist over well-defined length scales that dependent on motor activity, effective shear elasticity and filament extensibility. Extensibility is key even in very stiff filaments, and cannot be ignored when global deformations are considered. We clarify mechanisms by which motor derived active elasticity and passive shear elasticity of the filamentous backbone combine to effectively soften filaments. Surprisingly, the predictions of the mean-field theory agree qualitatively with results from stochastic discrete filament-motor model, even for moderately strong noise. We also find that athermal motor noise impacts the overall duty ratio of the motors and thereby the persistence length in these driven assemblies. Our study demonstrates how correlated activity in natural ordered active matter possesses a finite range of influence with clear testable experimental implications.
Construction of minimal circular nearly strongly balanced repeated measurements designs and their conversion

Abstract Repeated measurements designs (RMDs) are very useful and economical but unfortunately, with the use of RMDs, a major source of bias is arisen, that is the carry over effect. Minimal designs which are strongly and nearly strongly balanced, are preferred to estimate the direct and carry over effects independently. In this article, some new classes of minimal circular nearly strongly balanced RMDs are constructed in periods of two and three different sizes which can be converted directly into minimal circular balanced and minimal strongly balanced which are highly efficient.
Design, Simulation and Hardware Implementation of a Multi Device Interleaved Boost Converter for Fuel Cell Applications

This paper presents the analysis and implementation of a two-phase Multi Device Interleaved Boost Converter (MDIBC). Among the various DC-DC topologies, Multi device Interleaved converter is considered as a better solution for fuel cell hybrid vehicles as it reduces the input current ripple, output voltage ripple and the size of passive components. Detailed analysis has been done to investigate the benefits of Multi device Interleaved boost converter by comparing it with the conventional Interleaved boost converter topology. Moreover, in this paper, power loss analysis (switching loss, conduction loss, inductor loss) of the proposed converter has been performed. Simulation study of Multi device interleaved converter has been studied using MATLAB/SIMULINK. Hardware prototype is built to validate the results. DOI: http://dx.doi. org/10.11591/ijpeds.v4i3. 5883
Distribution of the Coefficient of Variation of the Continuous Sample in the Electronic Testing of the Raw Silk Size

As we know, the coefficient of variation (CV) is one of the main quality indexes in the electronic testing for raw silk. Therefore, to study the classification of this index, it's nessary to get the distribution and other statistical information of this variable. In our previous study, we have gotten its distribution when the population is normal and the sampling is random. However, in the real testing, the CV value is obtained by computing a series of continuous silk size tested by the electronic machine. Due to the continuity of the silk filament, the series of raw silk size can be regarded as a continuous sample. The characteristics of the size from the continuous sample will be different from that of the random sample. This paper analyzes the results of the continuous sampling tests of the CV of the raw silk size, and deduces the distribution of CV of the raw silk size and its characteristics in the case of continuous sampling test, which provides a theoretical basis for the development of electronic testing standard.
Influence of Catechol-O-Methyltransferase Gene Polymorphism on the Correlation between Alexithymia and Hypervigilance to Pain

The psychological characteristic of having difficulty expressing emotions, known as alexithymia, is associated with hypervigilance to pain and is considered one of the risk factors for chronic pain. The correlation between alexithymia and hypervigilance to pain can be observed even in healthy individuals. However, the factors influencing this correlation remain unknown. We explored the dopamine system, which is known to be involved in emotion and pain. The dopamine-degrading enzyme catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) has a genetic polymorphism known to influence dopamine metabolism in the prefrontal cortex. COMT polymorphism reportedly affects various aspects of pain and increases pain sensitivity in Met allele carriers. Therefore, we investigated whether the correlation between alexithymia and hypervigilance to pain is influenced by COMT polymorphism in healthy individuals. The results revealed a significant positive correlation between the “difficulty describing feelings” of the 20-item Toronto Alexithymia Scale and the “attention to changes in pain” of the pain vigilance and awareness questionnaire in COMT Met carriers but not in Val/Val individuals. This finding suggests that the correlation between alexithymia and hypervigilance to pain is influenced by COMT polymorphism.
Agro-Morphological, Yield Components
and Nutritional Quality Attributes of Vicia faba L.
var. Minor Cropped in Tunisian Arid Regions

Faba bean (Vicia Faba var. Minor) is of great importance as it is commonly used as an excellent protein source in food and feed. In Tunisia, the wide variability among local genetic resources might be valorized by preservation and breeding programs. For that, the knowledge of the diversity within this crop and its distribution across the oasis could be of great help in managing and improving its germplasm. The objectives of the present study were to assess the phenotypic diversity within a germplasm of 23 populations of local faba bean cropped in Tunisian arid regions. Characterization was undertaken based on 29 parameters related to seeds, plant growth, flowers, and pods characteristic. This agro-morphological characterization was carried out based on UPOV and Bioversity International descriptors. Crude protein (CP), neutral and acid detergent fibers (NDF, ADF), and in vitro dry/organic matter digestibility (IVDMD/IVOMD) parameters were also analyzed. Results revealed a considerable genetic variability for most of the agro-morphological parameters. In fact, significant differences (p<0.05) were revealed by ANOVA for the majority of the analyzed quantitative traits. The coefficient of variation, used as a homogeneity index, was above 1.44 % for all characters, which ensures the predominance of genetic components in the differences among populations. The overall variability was analyzed via multivariate and dimension reduction approaches relatively using hierarchical clustering and PCA methods, in order to classify populations into relatively homogenous groups after the identification of the major traits contributing to the overall diversity. The superior populations with the best precocity (95 DAS), with high total yielding per plant (500 g), and having the highest digestibility (96.5%), the highest CP content (29.6%), and the least NDF content (44.5%) were identified. *e-mail: samirtlahig@gmail.com DOI: 10.15244/pjoes/139302 ONLINE PUBLICATION DATE: