Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Toward a Theory of Optimal Financial Structure

Each institutional arrangement in a financial system has both advantages and disadvantages in mobilizing savings, allocating capital, diversifying risks, and processing information when facilitating financial transactions. Meanwhile, the factor endowment in an economy at each stage of its development determines the optimal industrial structure in the real sector, which in turn constitutes the main determinant of the size distribution and risk features of viable enterprises with implications for the appropriate institutional arrangement of financial services at that stage. Therefore, there is an endogenously determined optimal financial structure for the economy at each stage of development.
Finite Element Analysis of the Effect of Superstructure Materials and Loading Angle on Stress Distribution around the Implant

Statement of Problem: A general process in implant design is to determine the reason of possible problems and to find the relevant solutions. The success of the implant depends on the control technique of implant biomechanical conditions. Objectives: The goal of this study was to evaluate the influence of both abutment and framework materials on the stress of the bone around the implant by using three-dimensional finite element analysis. Materials and Methods: A three-dimensional model of a patient’s premaxillary bone was fabricated using Cone Beam Computed Tomography (CBCT). Then, three types of abutment from gold, nickel-chromium and zirconia and also three types of crown frame from silver-palladium, nickel-chromium and zirconia were designed. Finally, a 178 N force at angles of zero, 30 and 45 degrees was exerted on the implant axis and the maximum stress and strain in the trabecular, cortical bones and cement was calculated. Results: With changes of the materials and mechanical properties of abutment and frame, little difference was observed in the level and distribution pattern of stress. The stress level was increased with the rise in the angle of pressure exertion. The highest stress concentration was related to the force at the angle of 45 degrees. The results of the cement analysis proved an inverse relationship between the rate of elastic modulus of the frame material and that of the maximum stress in the cement. Conclusions: The impact of the angle at which the force was applied was more significant in stress distribution than that of abutment and framework core materials.
A Novel Positioning Method Based on Swedish Wheel and Gyroscope for Mobile Robot

In this paper a general positioning subsystem that used for several kinds of mobile robot is presented. The subsystem consist of a Optical Fiber Gyroscope(OFG) with high precision and a Orthogonal Passive Wheel System(OPWS) which is combination of Swedish Wheels and Optical Encoders. The OPWS is an independent planar odometer which is regarded as the local reference of the kinematic model, while the OFG provides the instant angle between global and local reference frame of the robot. A dead recking model is developed regardless of the specific robot base structure. The error sources of the proposed positioning method is analyzed in allusion to an omnidirectional robot configuration. Calibration method based on geometric trajectory tracking is introduced according to the error sources, followed by the experimental results that confirm both feasibility of the positioning method and effectiveness of the calibration method.
The effects of product knowledge, training and tooling on cross-selling performance

Disclaimer This document contains a student thesis (bachelor's or master's), as authored by a student at Eindhoven University of Technology. Student theses are made available in the TU/e repository upon obtaining the required degree. The grade received is not published on the document as presented in the repository. The required complexity or quality of research of student theses may vary by program, and the required minimum study period may vary in duration.
CORPORATE GOVERNANCE AND AUDITOR SELECTION: EVIDENCE FROM TAIWAN

This paper investigates the relation between corporate governance and auditor selection for firms listed in Taiwan. More specifically, we use the divergence between control rights and cash flow rights (i.e., the ratio of control rights to cash flow rights) to measure the extent of the corporate governance mechanism whereas we use three quality levels to define auditor type Big 5 industry specialist (highest quality), nonspecialist Big 5 (middle quality), or non-Big 5 auditor (lowest quality). Using both multinomial logistic regression and binary logistic regression models, we find that the likelihood of selecting specialist auditors and Big 5 auditors increases with the ratio of control rights to cash flow rights after controlling for other variables, which suggests that firms with greater entrenchment effects are more likely to hire high quality auditors. Our study contributes to the literature of accounting and auditing by demonstrating the relation between corporate governance, measured as the deviation of control rights and cash flow rights, and selection of high quality auditors, which has not been explored in Taiwan where the interests of controlling and minority shareholders are not perfectly aligned.
Natural fibre composites with QLD based fibres and vegetable oils

Natural fibre composites were manufactured with epoxidized hemp oil (EHO) and epoxidized linseed oil (ELO) blended with a commercial epoxy resin. Randomly orientated short hemp fibres were used as the reinforcing fibres. The effects of EHO/ELO addition, fibre weight fraction and alkali treatment of the hemp fibre were analysed through flexural tests, dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA) and microscopic analysis. A systematic decrease in flexural stress/modulus with an increase in EHO/ELO content was observed due to the plasticising effect of epoxidized vegetable oil (EVO). Improvements in material performance were realized through the use of alkali treatment of the fibres due to enhanced fibre-matrix adhesion. In terms of cost, biodegradability and specific material properties, natural fibre composites represent an alternative to traditional synthetic fibre composites in specific applications. This study has confirmed that natural fibres and plant-oil based resins are feasible resources from which to manufacture fibre composites.
Non-radial pulsation, rotation and outburst in the Be star omega Orionis from the MuSiCoS 1998 campaign

w Ori (HD 37490, HR 1934) is a Be star known to have presented variations. In order to investigate the nature and origin of its short-term and mid-term variability, a study is performed of several spectral lines (Ha, Hδ, HeI 4471, 4713, 4921, 5876, 6678, CII 4267, 6578, 6583, MgII 4481, SiIII 4553 and Sill 6347), based on 249 high signal-to-noise high-resolution spectra taken with 8 telescopes over 22 consecutive nights during the MuSiCoS (Multi Site Continuous Spectroscopy) campaign in November-December 1998. The stellar parameters are revisited and the projected rotational velocity (v sin i = 179 kms - 1 ) is redetermined using several methods. With the MuSiCoS 98 dataset, a time series analysis of line-profile variations (LPVs) is performed using the Restricted Local Cleanest (RLC) algorithm and a least squares method. The behaviour of the velocity of the centroid of the lines, the equivalent widths and the apparent vsini for several lines, as well as Violet and Red components of photospheric lines affected by emission (red He I lines, Sill 6347, CII 6578, 6583) are analyzed. The non-radial pulsation (NRP) model is examined using phase diagrams and the Fourier-Doppler Imaging (FDI) method. The LPVs are consistent with a NRP mode with l = 2 or 3, ‖m‖ = 2 with frequency 1.03 cd - 1 . It is shown that an emission line outburst occurred in the middle of the campaign. Two scenarios are proposed to explain the behaviour of a dense cloud, temporarily orbiting around the star with a frequency 0.46 cd - 1 , in relation to the outburst.
Antimicrobial activity of Mentha piperitae, Zhumeria majdae, Ziziphora tenuior oils on ESBLs producing isolates of Klebsiella pneumoniae

Multidrug resistant isolates of Klebsiella pneumoniae, especially the strains that produce extended spectrum β-lactamases (ESBLs), are a major cause of therapeutic failure and high mortality rates. Isolates with ESBL phenotypes are resistant to the new generation of cephalosporins. This study aimed to evaluate the antimicrobial activity of the essential oils from Mentha piperita and Zhumeria majdae, Ziziphora tenuior against ESBL K. pneumoniae by disk diffusion method and macro broth dilution assay. The synergistic activity of these oils with chemical antibiotics (such as cefotaxime, ciprofloxacin, gentamicin, ceftazidime and amikacin) was assessed by disk diffusion method. This method showed that the antimicrobial activity of Z. tenuior oil (11.8± 0.28 mm) was close to that of Z. majdae oil (12.6± 0.26mm). The Mentha piperita oil (which had a zone inhibition 10.6± 0.22 mm) was less effective than the Z. majdae and Z. tenuior essential oils. The antimicrobial effects of the oils were increased when they were used in combination. The synergistic effects of essential oils with different antibiotics is varied from gentamicin (P value<0.0001) which had high synergistic effect to amikacin which had the least activity. Z. majdae and Z. tenuior oils had bactericidal and inhibitory effects on 12% and 88% of K. pneumoniae isolates respectively; a combination of these oils had inhibitory effects of 8% and 92%, respectively. The combination of two oils showed more inhibitory effect than that of each individual oil. This study showed that Z. majdae and Z. tenuior essential oils can be used as candidates for treatment of infectious diseases that is caused by K. pneumoniae.
Global and Invariant Aspects of Consensus on the n-Sphere

This dissertation explores aspects of control in rigid-body and robotic systems. The first and second paper analyze the attitude stabilization problem and its generalization to n-dimensional rigid bodies. The third and fourth paper are on cooperative control design for systems that evolve on the n-sphere and related topics such as rigid-body reduced attitude synchronization. The fifth, and final, paper proposes a hybrid systems approach to task-priority based control for mobile manipulation.he first and second paper concern the problem of attitude tracking by kinematic actuation for a class of almost globally asymptotically stabilizing feedback laws on SO(n). The closed-loop systems are solved exactly for the rotation matrices as functions of time. Exact solutions provide insight into both the transient and asymptotical behavior of a system. Applications of these results are found in model predictive control and in sampled systems. The second paper also solves the optimal control problem of geodesic reduced attitude stabilization subject to full attitude stabilization.The third and fourth paper concern three cooperative control problems on the n-sphere with applications to reduced attitude synchronization and formation control. The global behavior of a consensus protocol is studied both forwards and backwards in time. The forward time stability properties of all equilibria are characterized for a non-trivial class of graph topologies. The reverse time behavior in the case of cyclic graph topologies results in two types of formations depending on the parity of the number of agents. A third control protocol renders the centroid of agent states constant.The fifth, and final, paper proposes a hybrid control approach to task priority based planar mobile manipulation, i.e., control on the n-torus. The end-effector path following problem for a nonholonomic mobile manipulator is solved subject to constraints on the input norm, feasible joint configurations, and distance to singularities. The hybrid system is well-posed; there is no Zeno behavior or chattering. A continuous, time-independent feedback law is derived based on the hybrid control design.
Encouraging Treatment Seeking for Depression through Mental Health Literacy: Creating a Canadian Model based on Australian Initiatives

Depression is a significant individual, social and economic burden in Canada as well as across the world. Although evidence based treatment exists to alleviate the negative effects of the disease, between 25-30% Canadians who recognize that they are suffering from depression fail to seek treatment for their disorder. Unfortunately, both the federal and provincial governments have failed to increase treatment seeking, as the federal government has remained largely absent from the conversation and provincial health ministries have focused mainly on making structural and service delivery reforms within their jurisdictions. However, many in the mental health community have suggested that poor treatment seeking rate, are the result of not only structural and access barriers but also individual barriers which include the ability to recognize and accept depression in one’s self as well as others and removing personal and public stigma of the disease.
Lexical Paraphrasing for Improvement of MT Evaluation

In this paper, we discuss the possibility of making the automatic evaluation of machine translation (MT) more accurate by targeted paraphrasing. The most common automatic metric for MT evaluation BLEU disregards synonymous phrases and word order variants. One way how to alleviate this drawback is to transform the reference translation into a one that is closer to the MT output and keeps its original meaning. We start with a basic algorithm for lexical substitution and discuss extending the process with word order changes and grammar checking.
Housing equity, saving and debt dynamics over the Great Recession

This paper uses the large and heterogeneous house price shocks in Denmark from 2006-2009 to provide new evidence on the contested determinants of the correlation between house prices and saving. Crucially, to compare the savings behaviour of home-owners who experienced di fferent house price shocks but similar shocks to income expectations, we exploit the structure of the wage setting process in the Danish public sector. We fi nd strong evidence of a causal link between changes in house prices and saving for young and old home-owners, both through a direct wealth eff ect and through housing equity serving as collateral or precautionary wealth.
AN INNOVATIVE MODEL FOR SUPPORTING FMEA/FMECA ANALYSIS ON COMPLEX COAL FIRED POWER PLANTS

Failure analysis through simulation is a useful practice to predict a system availability, maintenance times and costs over even long time periods. So far, computational tools for failure analysis have been designed mainly for electronic components. This paper presents a software tool aimed at carrying out the failure analysis of complex plants composed by a large number of different mechanical components. The proposed software, named TARAS, is described in detail, highlighting the features which make it particularly suitable for the mechanical components failure analysis. To demonstrate the software potential, a test-case is provided, consisting in the failure analysis of the transport line required to feed a pulverized coal steam plant for electric power production. The transportation plant consists in several belt conveyors, unloading machines, stacker-reclaimer machines etc. The work demonstrates a satisfactory capability of the software TARAS to cope with very complex mechanical systems.
Nanoindentation of Human Tooth Dentin

Biological tissues belong to the group of materials highly dependent on its micro structure. A variety of results may be found in the study of human teeth whose local composition and mechanical characteristics show considerable variations. The article deals with the measurement of elastic micromechanical characteristics in the root part of human tooth dentin. An extracted tooth was analyzed in two typical directions, i.e. longitudinal (from the tooth crown-neck to the root) and transverse (in the middle of the root part). Values of the modulus of elasticity in walls of the tooth root in the longitudinal and transverse directions were identified by means of nanoindentation. The development of the modulus of elasticity was measured in several parallel rows proceeding from the outer edge of the tooth root towards the root canal. The values measured in the dentin part of the tooth root ranged around ~17 GPa (cement-dentin boundary), ~23 GPa (middle part of dentin) and ~14 GPa (dentin-root part interface). In the longitudinal section, the value of the modulus of elasticity was almost constant in the majority of tested volume (~18 GPa) with some deviations in peripheral part (end of the root) due to changes in microstructural orientation from sagittal plane. The differences revealed a low degree of anisotropy of dentin.
GAS SEPARATION MEMBRANES MADE THROUGH THERMAL REARRAGEMENT OF ORTHO-METHOXYPOLYIMIDES . INFLUENCE OF THE ORTHO SUBSTITUTION ON THE FINAL PROPERTIES ( empty line 6 pt )

REARRAGEMENT OF ORTHO-METHOXYPOLYIMIDES. INFLUENCE OF THE ORTHO SUBSTITUTION ON THE FINAL PROPERTIES (empty line 6 pt) Bibiana Comesaña-Gándara, José G. de la Campa, Antonio Hernández, Young Moo Lee, Angel E. Lozano, Javier de Abajo (empty line 6 pt) Institute of Polymer Science and Technology, ICTP-CSIC, Madrid, Spain SMAP UA-UVA_CSIC, University of Valladolid, Valladolid, Spain IU Cinquima, University of Valladolid, Valladolid, Spain Department of Energy Engineering, Hanyang University, Seoul 133-791, Republic of Korea
Initial offspring size mediates trade-off between fecundity and longevity in the field

An understanding of the effects of intraspecific variation in offspring size is important from both an ecological and an evolutionary perspective. While the relationship between offspring size and overall offspring performance is key, most studies are restricted to examination of the effects of offspring size on early life-history stages only, and too few have examined the effects of offspring size throughout the life history. Here, we examine the effects of offspring size on post-metamorphic survival, growth, and fecundity under field conditions for the polychaete Janua sp. Larger offspring became larger adults and had higher levels of fecundity than those from smaller offspring, though the effect on fecundity was weaker and more variable over different experimental runs. Adults derived from larger larvae had shorter lifespans than adults derived from smaller larvae. Our results suggest that the maternal effect of offspring size can influence the frequently observed trade-off between longevity and fecundity. Future studies should seek to measure the effects of offspring size over as much of the life history as possible in order to avoid misestimating the relationship between offspring size and fitness.
Epidemiology of Acute Kidney Injury in Moroccan Medical Intensive Care Patients: A Regional Prospective, Observational Study

Objective: To evaluate the incidence, mortality and influencing factors for the development of Acute Kidney Injury (AKI) at admission or during Intensive Care Unit (ICU) stay. Methods: We conducted a prospective, epidemiological survey, in ICU for two years and the data of 97 patients admitted to ICU for medical illness was analyzed. Patients with AKI were categorized by serum creatinine and urine output into 3 stages. Stage 1 was defined as an absolute increase (within 48 hours) in serum creatinine of more than or equal to 0.3 mg/dl, or oliguria of less than 0.5ml/kg per hour for more than six hours. Stage 2 was defined as doubling of serum creatinine, or a urinary output lower than 0.5ml/kg /h for 12 h. Stage 3 was defined as tripling of serum creatinine or a urinary output lower than 0.3 ml/kg/h for 24 h, or anuria for 12 h. Results: Sixty patients ( 62 %) had AKI. AKI patients tended to be older and usually had antecedent of heart disease, a high Simplified Acute Physiology Score version II at admission, more use of mechanical ventilation and vasopressor treatment, more shock, more severe sepsis, more hyperosmolar hyperglycemic state (HHS) and higher mortality. In multivariate analysis, SAPS II score >30, antecedent of heart disease and shock were independent risk factors for development of AKI at admission or during ICU stay. Conclusion: AKI had a high incidence and a high mortality in medical ICU’s patients. Antecedent of severe underlying diseases, heart disease and hemodynamic failure were independent risk factors of AKI.
Design, Construction and Evaluation of a Power-Dense 12 V to 48 V Bidirectional DC-DC converter for Automotive Applications

Power dense and highly efficient converters are becoming very important in the electric vehicle industry. They have the capability of reducing the power consumption of an electric vehicle by reducing the overall weight of the vehicle. This dissertation report introduces a 1.5kW power dense and highly efficient DC-DC bidirectional converter (12V to 48V). Planar magnetics, thermally conducting substrate, and double-sided cooling semiconductor devices were used to design this converter. Interphase transformer based dual interleaved boost topology was chosen for the converter. A full bridge configuration was selected to ensure bidirectional power flow in the circuit. Semiconductor devices, magnetic cores, capacitors, heat sink, and connectors were selected based on the electrical, mechanical, and thermal optimization of each component. The power circuit layout was done on a thermal clad board in a careful manner to ensure symmetry and low parasitic impedance. After testing the converter, the results were analysed based on the steady state and dynamic operation of an interphase transformer based dual interleaved boost converter. All the waveforms were found to be in close proximity with the theory and specifications. The planar interphase transformer showed a high coupling and good current sharing between its windings. The power loss and temperature of different components were found closely matched with design predictions. An efficiency of around 94% was found in both boost and buck mode of operation at the rated condition. With the heat sink and without the heat sink, the power densities were found 1.8 kW/litre and 5.1 kW/litre, respectively. The designed converter showed that a high efficiency and a high power density can be achieved with off-the-shelf components. This converter can be used in an electric vehicle to interface auxiliary loads with the 12V battery. It can also be used in an aircraft or in an electric ship for the same purpose.
Risk-based Interventions for Safer Operation of a Hydrogen Station

In ensuring safety of plant operation, both the reliability of plant components and human resources are important. Moving towards optimising resources, there is a need to prioritise intervention measures such as maintenance program and review of standard operating procedures. In this paper, a technique known as basic event ranking approach (BERA) is applied to a hydrogen station. BERA examines the relative importance of plant components based on their probability of failure within the realm of fault tree analysis model, and yields values of importance index for each basic event investigated. To incorporate changes in reliability data throughout the plant lifetime, a dynamic extension to BERA is introduced. The vulnerability of plant components and human actions are ranked with respect to the selected top events of fault trees generated from plant functions. The results revealed the potential of BERA to facilitate risk-based intervention initiatives to support process safety.