Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Effects of nitrogen flow rates on reactively sputtered nanocrystal-(Ti,Al)_xN_1-x/amorphous-Si_yN_1-y nanolaminate films

Nanocrystal-(Ti,Al)_ x N_1- x /amorphous-Si_ y N_1- y nanolaminate films were deposited periodically under different nitrogen flow rates. The composition, microstructure and mechanical properties of nanolaminate films were investigated by x-ray photoelectron spectroscope, x-ray diffractometer, scanning and transmission electron microscopy, atomic force microscope, and nanoindentation apparatus. Results indicated that the formation of the compound on the target surface was substantially influenced by the deposition rate, composition and crystallite size of the nanolaminate films. Nanolaminate structure with periodic compositional modulation and sharp interfaces were deposited at different nitrogen flow rate. Smaller nanocrystallite size, round-shaped grain features, smoother surface morphology, higher hardness, and reduced elastic modulus were obtained for nanolaminate films with increasing the nitrogen flow rate.
Sustainability Learning in Organizations: The Role of Human Resource Development and Proposed Framework

Learning through training and development programmes has been seen as an important vehicle to embed sustainability in organizations. This paper aims to conceptualize a model of sustainability learning in organizations and to understand the pivotal role that Human Resource Development plays in facilitating the learning process. It also explores relevant contextual factors that may influence the learning process engaged by employees in developing knowledge about sustainability. To fully understand the process of sustainability learning in organizations, this paper analyzes relevant theories on sustainability, Human Resource Development and learning theories. Results of the literature review will act as a basis to propose a framework which future researchers may refer to in studying sustainability learning in organizations. The proposed framework shall act as a point of departure to the development of holistic sustainability learning model through initiatives of Human Resource Development.
Adaptation and change in organizational learning research

To understand the role of organizational learning in the organization’s endeavor to overcome challenges, organizational learning research need to be spread out to the field of adaptation and change. This paper is the first part of a bigger empirical research, a literature review that examines the link between these topics and search for gaps in prior literature. However, these phenomena are closely related in the prior literature, the thinking about organizational learning is rather idealistic than reflective and there are still research gaps regarding the following questions: (1) Is there a need to examine internal organizational challenges from the organizational learning perspective? (2) How can the earlier organizational adaptation be characterized using the constructs of organizational learning? (3) Is the earlier adaptation process or organizational learning process always good and useful for the organization? Based on reviewing prior literature the author formulated an own organizational learning definition and identified future research directions in order to fill these gaps.
TaskVisual Search Task ? ? ? ? ?

Can we infer intentions and goals from a person’s actions? As an example of this family of problems, we consider here whether it is possible to decipher what a person is searching for by decoding their eye movement behavior. We conducted two human psychophysics experiments on object arrays and natural images where we monitored subjects’ eye movements while they were looking for a target object. Using as input the pattern of "error" fixations on non-target objects before the target was found, we developed a model (InferNet) whose goal was to infer what the target was. "Error" fixations share similar features with the sought target. The Infernet model uses a pre-trained 2D convolutional architecture to extract features from the error fixations and computes a 2D similarity map between the error fixation and all locations across the search image by modulating the search image via convolution across layers. InferNet consolidates the modulated response maps across layers via max pooling to keep track of the sub-patterns highly similar to features at error fixations and integrates these maps across all error fixations. InferNet successfully identifies the subject’s goal and outperforms all the competitive null models, even without any object-specific training on the inference task. This material is based upon work supported by the Center for Brains, Minds and Machines (CBMM), funded by NSF STC award CCF-1231216. What am I searching for? Mengmi Zhang Children’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School National University of Singapore, A*STAR, Singapore Jiashi Feng National University of Singapore Joo Hwee Lim A*STAR, Singapore Qi Zhao University of Minnesota Gabriel Kreiman Children’s Hospital Harvard Medical School ∗
Isolation, Characterization, and Expression of the Rice sd-1 (GA20ox) Gene Ortholog in Eragrostis tef

Eragrostis tef (Zucc.) Trotter, a tetraploid cereal of Ethiopia, has a tall and slender stem that is susceptible to lodging, causing yield loss of ˜15%–45% each year. Genes conferring lodging resistance through the control of plant height involves gibberellins (GA) metabolism genes that have not been identified and characterized in E. tef. The aim of this study was to isolate and characterize E. tef GA20ox, a key gene in plant height control. Three putative EtGA20ox orthologs to the rice sd-1 gene were identified in E. tef with characteristic GA20ox domains. Sequence comparison revealed that EtGA20ox sequences shared high homology with sorghum, maize, and rice sequences. Heterologous expression of the EtGA20ox1a protein in Escherichia coli catalyzed conversion of [14C]-labeled GA12 to GA9. EtGA20ox1a and EtGA20ox1b had highest transcription in the uppermost internodes. EtGA20ox1b, very likely a functional equivalent to the rice sd-1 gene, is predominantly expressed in the stem and could be a target for height regulation. Sequence information will allow advanced biotechnology applications, such as plant transformation and mutant selection, to improve lodging resistance in E. tef.
Possible traces of solar activity effect on the surface air temperature of mid-latitudes

Abstract In this study we investigate the effects of solar activity on the surface air temperature of mid-latitudes. This enables us to understand existence of solar activity effects on the temperature. We used surface air temperature and pressure data as climate parameters, and solar flare index data as solar activity indicator, for the 25 - 50 degree longitude and 30 - 70 degree latitude zone, including Turkey and European part of Russia. We considered the parameters temperature, pressure and flare index data for the period ranging from January 1975 to the end of December 2007, which covers almost three solar cycles, namely 21st, 22nd, and 23rd. We found some significant correlations between solar activity and surface air temperature for cycles 22 and 23 for some zones. We applied multitaper method to obtain the cyclic behavior of surface air temperature data sets. The most pronounced power peaks were found by this transform around 1.2 and 2.5 years which were reported earlier for some solar activity indicators. We concluded that signature of solar activity effect exists on surface air temperature of mid-latitudes where we studied.
Analysis and enhancement of the ethanol resistance of Pichia kudriavzevii N77-4, a strain newly isolated from the Korean traditional fermentation starter Nuruk, for improved fermentation performance

Nuruk is a traditional fermentation starter used for making starch-based Korean alcoholic drinks. The yeast strain Pichia kudriavzevii N77-4 was newly isolated from nuruk. Resistance to ethanol stress is a crucial characteristic in alcoholic beverage production, but the ethanol stress-resistance of P. kudriavzevii remains to be clarified. In this study, we attempted to analyze the ethanol resistance of P. kudriavzevii N77-4, and to improve it by ethyl methanesulfonate (EMS) mutagenesis. After 4 h of cultivation in 5% ethanol, N77-4 showed a growth defect accompanied with accumulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS). In addition, exposure of N77-4 to ethanol stress induced a more than 3-fold increase in the expression of PkSOD2, which encodes a superoxide dismutase, indicating that the strain was able to generate PkSOD2 to decrease ROS. EMS mutagenesis was performed to improve the ethanol resistance of N77-4. An isolated mutant, HER8, exhibited higher ethanol resistance, a 50% decrease in ROS accumulation, and enhanced expressions of PkGPX2, which encodes a glutathione peroxidase, and PkSOD1. Moreover, HER8 showed 10% greater ethanol production, indicating that up-regulation of these antioxidant genes is important for improving ethanol resistance in P. kudriavzevii, and use of the HER8 strain will improve the brewing fermentation.
Entrepreneurship Capital, Output and Growth in Iran's Manufacturing Industries

The objective of this article is to examine the impacts of entrepreneurship on the performance of Iran's manufacturing industries using time series data over the period 1974-2006. More specifically, entrepreneurship capital measures are included in the production function of manufacturing industries using a specification of the Cobb-Douglas functional form as a basis for analyzing growth. To evaluate this, two alternative measures of entrepreneurship are considered. Cointegration analysis of time series approach is carried out to examine the factors affecting output and growth in manufacturing industries with an emphasis on entrepreneurship indicators. To understand the current state of entrepreneurship and economic situation of the country, a comprehensive review of pertinent statistics related to entrepreneurship, output and growth is examined to find major stylized facts in the economy. The findings of this paper indicate that entrepreneurship capital is a significant and important factor shaping output and growth. The results confirm that both measures of entrepreneurship have positive and significant impacts on output in the long run.
Categories and gradience in intonation A functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging study

ing away from general auditory processing of speech-like input with the same form properties (primarily F0 manipulation, here). These analyses revealed widespread activations in superior and medial temporal gyrus bilaterally for both conditions (Figure 4 panels B and C), but with more activation in the linguistic condition especially in the left hemisphere, extending further to the anterior and posterior regions of the superior and middle temporal gyri, and including left inferior frontal gyrus, perisylvian cortical areas, and parietal regions as well as the putamen (Figure 4 panel B). In the paralinguistic condition, activations were restricted to superior temporal gyrus bilaterally (Figure 4 panel C). A paired t-test analysis of the 5 The effect of ‘borderline-ness’ is obscured in Figure 1 by the main effect of intonational form, which speeds up responses in the linguistic condition such that rises have shorter reaction times than falls. However, if form alone determined response times, a linear response curve would be predicted; the ‘borderline-ness’ effect is visible in the significantly slower RTs at steps 3 and 4 than a linear response curve would predict. Categories and gradience in intonation 21
Sector performance in the private equity industry : an empirical study on private equity in the Nordics between 2004 and 2013

This thesis examines performance of PE-backed companies on a sector-by-sector basis in the Nordics. In addition, this thesis provides a holistic overview of the performance of PE-backed companies across three dimensions: Financial and Operational Performance, Insolvency Risk and Employment. The analysis is based on a sample of 248 portfolio companies from Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden between 2004 and 2013, measured relative to a control group of non-PE-backed companies identified through propensity score matching. We find that portfolio companies in the industrial sector have higher growth in turnover and significant improvements in operational profitability compared to sector peers. Furthermore, portfolio companies in Cleantech and ICT & Technology exhibit significant higher growth in turnover post-transaction, while no differences in operational profitability are identified. For portfolio companies in the energy-, consumerand health care & life science sector we find no significant differences in growth or operational profitability. However, our results suggest that portfolio companies in Transportation perform significantly worse in terms of operational profitability. The results from the overall assessment of the Nordic PE industry depicts higher growth for portfolio companies, while the change in insolvency risk is neutral compared to peers. Lastly, PE-backing appears to have a positive effect on job creation, while wage levels are unaffected.
The influence of magnetic field on the cold neutral medium mass fraction and its alignment with density structures

Fil: Villagran Azuara, Marco Adrian. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Cientificas y Tecnicas. Oficina de Coordinacion Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Astronomia y Fisica del Espacio. - Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Astronomia y Fisica del Espacio; Argentina
The nature of measurement errors in travel cost variable and its effect on benefits estimates.

One advantage of estimating consumer surplus for sport fishing by using individual observations is that there is no averaging of the data which would reduce the informational content of the basic data set. However, a corresponding disadvantage of using individual observations is that if there is appreciable error in the reported travel costs, then a bias in the estimated travel cost coefficient will be caused, the well-known "measurement error" problem (Kmenta, 1971, pp. 307-322; Johnston, 1972, pp. 281-291). On the other hand, the averaging together of several observations IS one method that can reduce the bias associated with measurement error. The reason is that by using aggregate data, in which the wide variations are averaged out, the variance due to measurement error is reduced and the resulting travel cost coefficient estimate should have much less bias than from using the individual observations (Brown, n.aL, 1983). Therefore, though the zone average method does not have the advantage of disaggregated models in being able to investigate the actual behavioral patterns of individuals, it does help to mitigate the bias from measurement errors. This study will show the empirical effects of measurement errors existing in travel costs by comparing the results based upon different methods of estimation and from the use of the instrumental variable method to solve this problem.
37-THE RELATIONSHIP OF BODY COMPOSITION AND THE INTENSITY OF PHYSICAL ACTIVITY OF PREPUSCENT CHILDREN

INTRODUCTION The physical activity has been recognizing as an important component of a healthy life stile (LARSEN et al, 2000). The practice of this habit during the childhood years might reflect in a reduced risk for health related diseases. Blair et al (1989) suggested a relationship between the practice of physical activity during childhood and its continuity in adulthood. The prepubertal period can be considered a critic moment for the formation of healthy physical activity habits. During this phase, the adoption of a stability of routine generated by the participation in the school and the after-school physical activities may cause changes in the eating habits and movement behavior of children (BALL et al, 2001). Physical inactivity has been demonstrated as being an important factor to the development of children overweight and obesity. In study carried out with 17766 adolescents, Larsen et al, (2000) verified that the practice of moderate physical activity is more associated with stimulation by daily specific environment factors where as the physical inactivity with cultural social demographic factors. Goran (2001) identified the trend of a 0,2 kg/year increase in body mass of children with the same age from 1973 to 1994. The gain in body mass may be related to the reduction of the levels of daily physical activity during growth, thus extending the health risks from the excessive gain in body fat (JOHNSON et al, 2000; ROEMMICH et al, 2000). Due to the tendency of young children to reduce their daily activity level and consequently raise their levels of adiposity tissues, the American College Sports and Medicine in 1988 suggested guidelines for a more healthy life stile: all young children should be more physically active incorporating this habit to their lives, exercising at least three times or more per week with moderate/high intensity, during 30 minutes or more per day. The project “Health People 2010” add to this recommendation that the activities should be a facilitator to promote strength, muscle flexibility, and bony structure. Many studies suggest that moderate physical activity promote convincing profits for the cardiovascular conditioning (GUERRA et al, 2001; TWISK, 2001). Based on the benefits that physical activity may bring to a children health and the considerable changes in lifestyle of children living in large urbane centers, the question of how would be the distribution of the intensity of daily physical activity and its relationship to the body composition of male and female school children of Curitiba/PR, Brazil is still unclear? Therefore, the main objective of this study was to analyze the relationship of the school period with the body composition and the intensity of physical activity of male and female pre-pubescent school children of Curitiba/PR, Brazil.
Future projections of the Greenland ice sheet energy balance driving the surface melt

Abstract. In this study, simulations at 25 km resolution are performed over the Greenland ice sheet (GrIS) throughout the 20th and 21st centuries, using the regional climate model MAR forced by four RCP scenarios from three CMIP5 global circulation models (GCMs), in order to investigate the projected changes of the surface energy balance (SEB) components driving the surface melt. Analysis of 2000–2100 melt anomalies compared to melt results over 1980–1999 reveals an exponential relationship of the GrIS surface melt rate simulated by MAR to the near-surface air temperature (TAS) anomalies, mainly due to the surface albedo positive feedback associated with the extension of bare ice areas in summer. On the GrIS margins, the future melt anomalies are preferentially driven by stronger sensible heat fluxes, induced by enhanced warm air advection over the ice sheet. Over the central dry snow zone, the surface albedo positive feedback induced by the increase in summer melt exceeds the negative feedback of heavier snowfall for TAS anomalies higher than 4 °C. In addition to the incoming longwave flux increase associated with the atmosphere warming, GCM-forced MAR simulations project an increase of the cloud cover decreasing the ratio of the incoming shortwave versus longwave radiation and dampening the albedo feedback. However, it should be noted that this trend in the cloud cover is contrary to that simulated by ERA-Interim–forced MAR for recent climate conditions, where the observed melt increase since the 1990s seems mainly to be a consequence of more anticyclonic atmospheric conditions. Finally, no significant change is projected in the length of the melt season, which highlights the importance of solar radiation absorbed by the ice sheet surface in the melt SEB.
Semilinear functional differential equations with fractional order and finite delay

In this paper, we establish sucient conditions for existence and uniqueness of solutions for semilinear functional dierential equations with finite delay involving the Riemann-Liouville fractional derivative. Our approach is based on resolvent operators, the Banach contraction principle, and the nonlinear alternative of Leray-Schauder type.
DEVELOPING STUDENTS’ KNOWLEDGE FROM THE RESULTS OF SCAFFOLDING IN ENGLISH TEACHING

Abstract: Some issues of the difficulties of teaching English in Indonesia have significantly revealed and analyzed by some researchers (Nurweni, 1997; Moedjito and Harumi, 2008) and the issues have provoked some studies to anchor several solutions for teachers to consider (Supriadi and Hoogenboom, 2004; Thalal, 2010). In Indonesia, the issue has also been thoroughly investigated. This paper attempts to reveal the problems of teaching English experienced by 2 junior high school teachers in Sumedang along with the alternative solution namely scaffolding concept which has been widely investigated and believed as appropriate tool mediation for children to learn English with particular difficulties hampered: culture, teachers’ background, quantity and quality of teaching and similar causes (Vygotsky, 1962; Tudge, 1992; Stone, 1998; Kong, 2002; Donovan and Smolkin, 2002). This concept of scaffolding is considered in this research as a bridge to a better understanding of the requirements of curriculum 2013 that students have to possess knowledge (K3) specifically factual, conceptual and procedural knowledge having experienced the learning. As students are conditioned to achieve these skills: remembering, understanding, implementing, analyzing, synthesizing, evaluating and producing, at that pinpoint the presence of scaffolding concept in English teaching is an inevitable strategy to be applied. Keywords : scaffolding, students’ knowledge (K3), curriculum 2013, tool mediation, metacognitive.
MOOCs at International Islamic University Malaysia

This paper looks at the perspective of developing an open learning website at International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM). As a university that values excellence in teaching and learning practices, IIUM has to embark on initiatives that make use of the e-learning platforms. With this intention, IIUM’s MOOCs is to be a natural extension of its e-learning initiative, iTaleem. MOOCs at IIUM is designed to offer a taste of what learners may experience in a university’s program and they are not recreations of IIUM’s undergraduate courses. Islamic values are inculcated and embedded into all disciplines of knowledge.
Natural sea-salt emissions moderate the climate forcing of anthropogenic nitrate

Abstract. Natural sea-salt aerosols, when interacting with anthropogenic emissions, can enhance the formation of particulate nitrate. This enhancement has been suggested to increase the direct radiative forcing of nitrate, called the “mass-enhancement effect”. Through a size-resolved dynamic mass transfer modeling approach, we show that interactions with sea salt shift the nitrate from sub- to super-micron-sized particles (“redistribution effect”), and hence this lowers its efficiency for light extinction and reduces its lifetime. The redistribution effect overwhelms the mass-enhancement effect and significantly moderates nitrate cooling; e.g., the nitrate-associated aerosol optical depth can be reduced by 10 %–20 % over European polluted regions during a typical sea-salt event, in contrast to an increase by ∼10 % when only accounting for the mass-enhancement effect. Global model simulations indicate significant redistribution over coastal and offshore regions worldwide. Our study suggests a strong buffering by natural sea-salt aerosols that reduces the climate forcing of anthropogenic nitrate, which had been expected to dominate the aerosol cooling by the end of the century. Comprehensive considerations of this redistribution effect foster better understandings of climate change and nitrogen deposition.