Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Effect of a balanced concentration of hydrogen on graphene CVD growth

The extraordinary properties of graphene make it one of the most interesting materials for future applications. Chemical vapor deposition (CVD) is the synthetic method that permits obtaining large areas of monolayer graphene. To achieve this, it is important to find the appropriate conditions for each experimental system. In our CVD reactor working at low pressure, important factors appear to be the pretreatment of the copper substrate, considering both its cleaning and its annealing before the growing process. The carbon precursor/hydrogen flow ratio and its modification during the growth are significant in order to obtain large area graphene crystals with few defects. In this work, we have focused on the study of the methane and the hydrogen flows to control the production of single layer graphene (SLG) and its growth time. In particular, we observe that hydrogen concentration increases during a usual growing process (keeping stable the methane/hydrogen flow ratio) resulting in etched domains. In order to balance this increase, a modification of the hydrogen flow results in the growth of smooth hexagonal SLG domains. This is a result of the etching effect that hydrogen performs on the growing graphene. It is essential, therefore, to study the moderated presence of hydrogen.
Orbit determination of trans-Neptunian objects and Centaurs for the prediction of stellar occultations

Context. The prediction of stellar occultations by trans-Neptunian objects (TNOs) and Centaurs is a difficult challenge that requires accuracy both in the occulted star position and in the object ephemeris. Until now, the most used method of prediction, involving dozens of TNOs/Centaurs, has been to consider a constant offset for the right ascension and for the declination with respect to a reference ephemeris, usually the latest public version. This offset is determined as the difference between the most recent observations of the TNO/Centaur and the reference ephemeris. This method can be successfully applied when the offset remains constant with time, i.e. when the orbit is stable enough. In this case, the prediction even holds for occultations that occur several days after the last observations. Aims: This paper presents an alternative method of prediction, based on a new accurate orbit determination procedure, which uses all the available positions of the TNO from the Minor Planet Center database, as well as sets of new astrometric positions from unpublished observations. Methods: Orbits were determined through a numerical integration procedure called NIMA, in which we developed a specific weighting scheme that considers the individual precision of the observation, the number of observations performed during one night by the same observatory, and the presence of systematic errors in the positions. Results: The NIMA method was applied to 51 selected TNOs and Centaurs. For this purpose, we performed about 2900 new observations in several observatories (European South Observatory, Observatorio Pico dos Dias, Pic du Midi, etc.) during the 2007-2014 period. Using NIMA, we succeed in predicting the stellar occultations of 10 TNOs and 3 Centaurs between July 2013 and February 2015. By comparing the NIMA and Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) ephemerides, we highlight the variation in the offset between them with time, by showing that, generally, the constant offset hypothesis is not valid, even for short time scales of a few weeks. Giving examples, we show that the constant offset method cannot accurately predict 6 out of the 13 observed positive occultations that have been successfully predicted by NIMA. The results indicate that NIMA is capable of efficiently refining the orbits of these bodies. Finally, we show that the astrometric positions given by positive occultations can help to refine the orbit of the TNO and, consequently, the future predictions. We also provide unpublished observations of the 51 selected TNOs and their ephemeris in a usable format by the SPICE library. We provide ephemerides of TNO/Centaurs usable with SPICE library and available at http://www.imcce. fr/~desmars/research/tno/The offset observations of the selected TNOs are only available at the CDS via anonymous ftp to http://cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (ftp://130.79.128.5) or via http://cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr/viz-bin/qcat? J/A+A/584/A96
eu CLUSTERING CONSTRAINED BY DEPENDENCIES

Clustering is the unsupervised method of grouping data samples to form a partition of a given dataset. Such grouping is typically done based on homogeneity assumptions of clusters over an attribute space and hence the precise definition of the similarity metric affects the clusters inferred. In recent years, new formulations of clustering have emerged that posit indirect constraints on clustering, typically in terms of preserving dependencies between data samples and auxiliary variables. These formulations find applications in bioinformatics, web mining, social network analysis, and many other domains. The purpose of this survey is to provide a gentle introduction to these formulations, their mathematical assumptions, and the contexts under which they are applicable. AMS Subject Classification: 65K05, 90C30, 94A15
Giving Increased value to Invertebrates through Ecotourism

Invertebrates form an estimated 73.5 % of life on earth and are often considered to be most significant component of biodiversity in terms of their diversity and role in ecosystem functioning. Conservation measures for invertebrates are largely inadequate. Conservation efforts can be improved in the context of ecotourism. This paper seeks to determine and examine the overview of response of tourist to the concept of inclusion of invertebrate’s information in ecotourism activities, to obtain an overview of the current levels of the inclusion of information on invertebrates in certain types of ecotourism activities and to provide recommendations on how to address the lack of invertebrate information in ecotourism.
Culture change or reengineering: A case study of employee perceptions preceding a major imminent change

Two major approaches are found in managing organizational change. The traditional view subscribed to a strong link between organizational culture and changes related to organizational effectiveness. The more recent approach of organizational re-engineering is much more behavior oriented and places less emphasis on changing attitudes, beliefs and values as a prerequisite for organizational change. This article represents a case study investigating employee perceptions of a major imminent change in a large organization in view of these two approaches. The study indicates that employees are prepared to change their work behavior if they understand the reasons for the required changes, that they evaluate proposed changes in terms of their impact on the company as a whole rather than their impact on the individual or functional group contexts, and that they evaluate change in terms of its effects on their work satisfaction and individual fulfillment rather than on the status quo. The implication is that under circumstances of strategic or operational change, following the long route of culture change may be inappropriate. Key words: Organizational change, culture change, reengineering, employee perceptions, acceptance of change, job satisfaction.
BANKRUPTCY PREDICTION IN THE CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY OF FINLAND

The aim of this Bachelor’s thesis is to examine whether bankruptcy prediction models can predict bankruptcies for Finnish construction companies. In the research Beaver’s five financial ratios, Altman’s Z-score and Laitinen’s three variable Z-score are presented and applied for Finnish construction companies. The study also tries to find an answer how early the models signals about the coming bankruptcy. The differences in prediction capability of bankruptcy prediction models for non-bankrupt and bankrupt companies are also compared. The theoretical part of the research is based on earlier literature on bankruptcy prediction and original research of the models. The prediction ability of the models was tested with financial statements of 36 Finnish construction companies. The financial statements were collected from Amadeus-database, and peer group analysis was executed to analyse them. The companies are studied within five years before the bankruptcy between the years 2011 – 2016. The study is completed with a paired-sample method. The results from this research differ slightly from the original ones. The bankruptcy prediction models had a bit lower classification ability in first two years before the bankruptcy in this research, but the accuracy to predict stayed higher for a longer time. The study shows that some of the prediction models worked five years before bankruptcy in some extent but two years before bankruptcy the classification ability of the models is clearly improved. In general, the models made more errors with bankrupt companies than non-bankrupt companies. With individual financial ratios, the error types varied more. Based on the results of this research all the models worked properly and can be used to predict bankruptcies in the Finnish construction industry.
Towards a more harmonized processing of eddy covariance CO 2 fluxes: algorithms and uncertainty estimation

Eddy covariance technique to measure CO 2 , water and energy fluxes between biosphere and atmosphere is widely spread and used in various regional networks. Currently more that 250 eddy covariance sites are active around the world measuring carbon exchange at high temporal resolution for different biomes and climatic conditions. These data are usually acquired using the same method but they need a set of corrections that are often differently applied to each site and in a subjective way. In this paper a new standardized set of corrections are proposed and the uncertainties introduced by these corrections are assessed for 8 different forest sites in Europe with a total of 12 yearly datasets. The uncertainties introduced on the two components GPP (Gross Primary Production) and TER (Terrestrial Ecosystem Respiration) are also discussed and a quantitative analysis presented . The results show that a standardized data processing is needed for an effective comparison across biomes and for underpinning inter-annual variability. The methodology presented in this paper has also been integrated in the European database of the eddy covariance measurements.
Universitet Quantitatively different , yet qualitatively alike

Background: A number of human diseases such as obesity and diabetes are associated with changes or imbalances in the gut microbiota (GM). Laboratory mice are commonly used as experimental models for such disorders. The introduction and dynamic development of next generation sequencing techniques have enabled detailed mapping of the GM of both humans and animal models. Nevertheless there is still a significant knowledge gap regarding the human and mouse common GM core and thus the applicability of the latter as an animal model. The aim of the present study was to identify interand intra-individual differences and similarities between the GM composition of particular mouse strains and humans. Methodology/Principal Findings: A total of 1509428 high quality tag-encoded partial 16S rRNA gene sequences determined using 454/FLX Titanium (Roche) pyro-sequencing reflecting the GM composition of 32 human samples from 16 individuals and 88 mouse samples from three laboratory mouse strains commonly used in diabetes research were analyzed using Principal Coordinate Analysis (PCoA), nonparametric multivariate analysis of similarity (ANOSIM) and alpha diversity measures. A reliable cutoff threshold for low abundant taxa estimated on the basis of the present study is recommended for similar trials. Conclusions/Significance: Distinctive quantitative differences in the relative abundance of most taxonomic groups between the examined categories were found. All investigated mouse strains clustered separately, but with a range of shared features when compared to the human GM. However, both mouse fecal, caecal and human fecal samples shared to a large extent not only representatives of the same phyla, but also a substantial fraction of common genera, where the number of shared genera increased with sequencing depth. In conclusion, the GM of mice and humans is quantitatively different (in terms of abundance of specific phyla and species) but share a large qualitatively similar core. Citation: Krych L, Hansen CHF, Hansen AK, van den Berg FWJ, Nielsen DS (2013) Quantitatively Different, yet Qualitatively Alike: A Meta-Analysis of the Mouse Core Gut Microbiome with a View towards the Human Gut Microbiome. PLoS ONE 8(5): e62578. doi:10.1371/journal.pone. 0062578 Editor: Stefan Bereswill, Charité-University Medicine Berlin, Germany Received February 7, 2013; Accepted March 22, 2013; Published May 1, 2013 Copyright: 2013 Krych et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. Funding: LK is supported by Center for Applied Laboratory Animal Research (www.calar.dk) and the Chemometric Analysis Centre www.chance. life.ku. dk). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript. Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist. * E-mail: krych@life.ku. dk
Light echo of V838 Monocerotis: properties of the echoing medium ⋆

Context. The light echo phenomenon that accompanied the 2002 eruption of V838 Mon allows one to study the properties of the diffuse dusty matter in the vicinity of the object. Aims. We are aiming at obtaining estimates of the optical thickness of the circumstellar matter in front of V838 Mon, as well as optical properties of dust grains in the echoing medium. In particular, we are interested in studying whether the echoing medium can be responsible for the observed faintness of the B-type companion of V838 Mon when compared to three B-type stars that are seen in the vicinty of V838 Mon and are believed to be at the same distance as V838 Mon. Methods. We used the V838 Mon light echo images obtained by the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) in different filters and epochs. From the images we derived the total brightness of the echo and its surface brightness. The results of the measurements were compared to model light echoes. Results. The present study allowed us to estimate the optical thickness of the matter in front of the object and the mean cosine value of the scattering angle of dust grains in three HST filters. Conclusions. The optical thickness of the echoing matter is not sufficient to explain the observed difference in brightness between the B-type companion of V838 Mon and the other three B-type stars observed in the vicinity of V838 Mon. Implications of this result are discussed. Our estimate of the mass of the diffuse matter seen in the light echo shows that the matter cannot have resulted from a past mass loss activity of V838 Mon. We probably observe remnants of an interstellar cloud from which V838 Mon and other members of the observed cluster were formed.
Pyramidal Discounts: Tunneling or Overinvestment?

Swedish families exploit the strong separation between ownership and control in pyramiding to establish control over several firms' internal cash flows via a very small capital investment. We establish that the discounts on the portfolio firms at the bottom of the pyramid as well as pyramid holding company are directly linked to costs from overinvestment that increase with the separation between ownership and control. In a financially developed economy where pyramids are transparent and the tax system regulates the flow of dividends within the pyramid and to shareholders, the primary cause of the discounts is not tunneling but overinvestment costs.
The effect of mobile banking on financial performance of commercial banks in Kenya

xi CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION. 1 1.1 Background of Study.1 1.1.1 Mobile Banking . 2 1.1.2 Financial Performance . 3 1.1.3 Impact of Mobile Banking on Financial Performance . 5 1.1.4 Commercial Banks in Kenya . 6 1.2 Research Problem.7 1.3 Objective of the study.9 1.4 Value of the study.9 CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW.11 2.
Assessing the Effectiveness of Ethnomedicinal Products on Banana Weevils Using REML

This study investigated the effect of applying selected banana pest control treatments on management of banana weevils. The data was collected on 283 banana plants picked at random; from 29 farmers selected using a snowball sampling technique. Treatments used were ethnomedicinal products, synthetic chemicals, cultural practices in plantation planted from suckers and those planted from tissue culture. Since data was spatially collected, it was analyzed using Restricted Maximum likelihood Estimator (REML). REML was used to estimate the PCI after a square root transformation. The statistical analysis indicated a significant difference between plantations where synthetic chemicals, clean planting materials (tissue culture), cultural practices and ethnomedicinal products were used. There was also significant variation resulting from different varieties grown. However, there was no significant variation resulting from the response of different varieties to the different treatments. Results also indicated that garden where the cleaning materials had been used had the least percentage of banana weevil infection. This study found out that there was no significant difference in damage caused by banana weevils in banana plantations where synthetic chemicals and ethnomedicinal extracts were applied. Thus given the results, the study concluded that ethnomedicinal products can be used by farmers to manage banana weevils. The study recommends that further studies should be carried out to assess efficacy of the identified potential plants with pesticidal properties under controlled experiment.
Cosmic Ray Proton Background Could Explain ATIC Electron Excess

We show that the excess in the Galactic electron flux recently published by Chang, et al. (Nature, 20 Nov. 2008) can have a simple methodical origin due to a contribution from misidentified proton induced electron-like events in the ATIC detector. A subtraction of the cosmic ray proton component from the published ATIC electron flux eliminates this excess in the range of 300 to 800 GeV.
Self-supporting ultrathin membranes with tunable pore size by phase separation

Perforated free-standing ultrathin films (ca. 20-40 nm) of poly(lactic acid) will be prepared by spin-coating an immiscible blend, poly(lactic acid)/poly(ethylene glycol) or poly(lactic acid)/polystyrene. The composition of the blend will be adjusted to facilitate the formation of phase-separation induced nanopores, which will be observed after solvent etching. After characterization of the nanopores, the efficacy of the perforated nanomembranes as bioactive platforms for tissue regeneration will be compared with that of non-perforated nanosheets and micrometric films obtai
Development of 3-D Simulation Analysis System for PWR Control Rod Drive Mechanism

3-D virtual analysis system to analyze the motion of Control Rod Drive Mechanism (CRDM) was developed. The analysis system consists of 3-D model established per the actual dimensions and interfaces of CRDM parts and a routine to calculate forces acting on the mechanism, and was verified by mock-up test using equipment same to actual product. The analysis system is useful for functional evaluation in maintenance or to factor out root causes in case of malfunction of CRDM.Copyright © 2006 by ASME
COMPARATIVE STRENGTHS OF A PSEUDO-SPECTRAL TIME DOMAIN METHOD IN NUMERICAL SIMULATION OF SINGLE PARTICLE OPTICAL SCATTERING

ABSTRACT. We present some results on the relative performance of the pseudo-spectral time domain, finite difference time domain, and DDA methods in calculating single-particle optical scattering properties. Our interest is in particles with size parameters in excess of 10. Using as test case a homogeneous spherical particle we have found that the pseudospectral time domain method is generally more efficient (uses less cpu time for a given accuracy) than the finite-difference time domain method. The DDA method appears to be superior to the pseudo-spectral method for indices of refraction less than 1.5, but as the index of refraction increases, the pseudo-spectral method becomes superior. We present here some results for particles with size parameters 10 and 30, and indices of refraction 1.3117 and 1.7.
Multi-layer neural networks for sales forecasting

Predicting business operations on the basis of previous events plays an important role in managing a company. In the paper, we predict monthly sales volume of a textile warehouse by mathematical tools. To this end we use a feedforward artificial neural network trained on past data. The network predicted the volume with high accuracy. For the examined company, such prediction is very important as nearly the entire range of products is imported from different countries and the goods have to be ordered in advance. MSC 2010: 68T05, 60G25
Crystallinity and Hydrophility of Chitin and Chitosan

The structure of initial and ground samples of chitin and chitosan have been studied using a wide-angle X-ray scattering (WAXS) and sorption of water vapor. To determine the crystallinity degree, an improved WAXS method was used based on the calculation of the relationship between integrated intensities of X-ray diffraction from crystalline and amorphous domains. The calculations revealed that the actual degree of crystallinity of initial chitin was 0.72, and of initial chitosan sample was 0.57. After ball-grinding in a short time, the decrease of the crystallinity degree was observed, whereas the prolonged grinding resulted in complete amorphization of the samples. Sorption of water vapor for chitin, containing hydrophobic acetyl groups was lower than for chitosan, containing hydrophilic groups. The sorption ability of the samples was inversely proportional to their degree of crystallinity. Reduction of the crystallinity degree promoted to the increase in sorption ability of the samples. This evidences that sorption mechanism of water vapor is absorption of the water molecules into amorphous domains of the hydrophilic polymers. The crystallinity degree calculated from results of water vapors sorption was close to the crystallinity degree of the samples obtained by the WAXS method.
The Response of Marine Ecosystems to Climate Variability Associated With the North Atlantic Oscillation

A strong association is documented between variability of the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) and changes in various trophic levels of the marine ecosystems of the North Atlantic. Examples are presented for phytoplankton, zooplankton, benthos, fish, marine diseases, whales and seabirds. NAO variability is shown to influence abundance, biomass, distribution, species assemblages, growth rates, and survival rates. Examples are drawn from across the North Atlantic. The impacts of the NAO are generally mediated through local changes in the physical environment, such as winds, ocean temperatures, and circulation patterns. The spatial variability in the physical oceanographic responses to NAO forcing leads to spatial differences in biological responses.