Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Modelling Retirement Determinants in Sweden on Qualitative Microdata

The aim of this thesis is to investigate the determinants of the retirement decisions in Sweden by using qualitative micro data from The Survey on Health and Retirement in probit models. The models investigate the change in job status between the first survey wave in year 2004 and the second survey wave in year 2006/2007 by adding background variables measured in years 2004. The study show that despite there being a very distinct age pattern in retirement decisions in Sweden, factors like health, expected pension and gender do affect the retirement decisions as well. The main findings of the study are that women are found to retire earlier than men and expected pension has a negative effect on the probability of having retire in the time-span and health has a large marginal effect of the probability retirement. The empirical results also show that a large sample is not needed to clearly see the effects of these qualitative variables.
An Image Encryption and Decryption using Chaos Algorithm

In a well-developed digital world, security plays a key role in transmission of images. To overcome these challenges Encryption and Decryption techniques need to be applied. In this paper we have applied the chaotic encryption and chaotic decryption on an image by doing pixel shuffling and using chaotic maps. Chaotic nature i.e., randomness property is present in both Henon map and Arnold cat map. Pseudorandom values generation plays an important key role in Henon maps and iteratively pixel shuffling is done in Arnold cat map. A sorting Technique is followed on key values produced by Henon map. By using those sorted positions, shuffle the pixel values generated by Arnold cat map iteratively. In this way the images are provided with high security for confidential transmission.
WHY ABSTRACT ALGEBRA FOR PRE-SERVICE PRIMARY SCHOOL TEACHERS

There has been a rapid increase in the volume of research papers focusing on mathematics teacher education and in particular on the characteristics that should describe the desired mathematical knowledge for teachers. In this paper, it is suggested through theoretical discussion on the character of Abstract Algebra and via Peirce’s semiotics, that a one-semester course in Abstract Algebra, specially designed for pre-service primary school teachers, can enhance the development of the basic, multifaceted characteristic of connectedness. Some concrete examples are given in the end of the paper, taken from in-class observations and reflections on a similar course taught by the author, for two consecutive semesters.
Aalborg Universitet Hearing aid-controlled beamformer for binaural speech enhancement using a model-based approach

The understanding of speech from a particular speaker in the presence of other interfering speakers can be severely degraded for a hearing impaired person. Beamforming techniques have been proven to be effective to improve the speech understanding in such scenarios. However, the number of microphones in a hearing aid (HA) is limited due to the space and power constraints present in the HA. In this paper, we propose to use an external device e.g., a microphone array, that can communicate with the HA to overcome this limitation. We propose a method to control this external device based on the look direction of the HA user. We show, by means of simulations, the robustness of the proposed method at very low SNRs in a reverberant scenario. Moreover, we have also conducted experiments that show the benefit of using this framework for binaural and monaural enhancement.
Behavioral Analysis of a Lithium Ion Battery (Li-Ion), a Nickel Metal Hydride Battery (Ni-MH) and a Supercapacitor in an Isolated Photovoltaic Solar System

This paper presents experimental research about the behavior of different storage devices such as Li-ion, Ni-MH batteries and supercapacitors when charged by a solar photovoltaic system. Photovoltaic systems work as a variable current source, depending on the solar irradiance. These devices present a different profile charge compared to a constant and controlled charge generated by a traditional charger. For this work, several charging and discharging cycles of batteries and supercapacitors under the same environmental conditions were carried out in order to observe the different characteristics of each technology, and some harmful effects on the storage devices operation such as the memory effect and partial discharges involved in the proper functioning of the solar photovoltaic system.
An internally consistent thermodynamic data set for phases of petrological interest

The thermodynamic properties of 154 mineral end‐members, 13 silicate liquid end‐members and 22 aqueous fluid species are presented in a revised and updated data set. The use of a temperature‐dependent thermal expansion and bulk modulus, and the use of high‐pressure equations of state for solids and fluids, allows calculation of mineral–fluid equilibria to 100 kbar pressure or higher. A pressure‐dependent Landau model for order–disorder permits extension of disordering transitions to high pressures, and, in particular, allows the alpha–beta quartz transition to be handled more satisfactorily. Several melt end‐members have been included to enable calculation of simple phase equilibria and as a first stage in developing melt mixing models in NCKFMASH. The simple aqueous species density model has been extended to enable speciation calculations and mineral solubility determination involving minerals and aqueous species at high temperatures and pressures. The data set has also been improved by incorporation of many new phase equilibrium constraints, calorimetric studies and new measurements of molar volume, thermal expansion and compressibility. This has led to a significant improvement in the level of agreement with the available experimental phase equilibria, and to greater flexibility in calculation of complex mineral equilibria. It is also shown that there is very good agreement between the data set and the most recent available calorimetric data.
Morphology and thermal properties of poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate)/attapulgite nanocomposites

Poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate) - PHBV is a biodegradable polyester which has been studied as an option for the production of disposable goods. Attapulgite is a fibrous clay mineral. The aim of this work was to produce and characterize renewable resource derived-nanocomposites based on PHBV and organophilic attapulgite (MAT). The nanocomposites were characterized by XRD, SEM and thermal analysis. It was observed reduction in degree of crystallinity, in melting and glass transition temperatures and in thermal stability of polymer due to the addition of clay to PHBV matrix. The best results were obtained for PHBV films containing 3 and 5% MAT. These films presented a slight increase in processing window and decrease in crystalline temperature and in degree of crystallinity as compared to pure PHBV.
Constraints on dark matter powered stars from the extragalactic background light

Hamburger SternwarteGojenbergsweg 112, D-21029 Hamburg, GermanyE-mail: andreas.maurer@physik.uni-hamburg.de,martin.raue@physik.uni-hamburg.de,tanja.kneiske@physik.uni-hamburg.de,elsaesser@astro.uni-wuerzburg.de, yeti@hs.uni-hamburg.de,dieter.horns@physik.uni-hamburg.deRecently, it has been proposed that self-annihilating dark matter could have a signiﬁcant effecton the formation and development of the ﬁrst stars in the universe. In such a model, the energyreleased by the self-annihilating dark matter may be the main power source for this class ofyoung stellar objects called Dark Stars. Their features (e.g. luminosity, temperature, lifetime)could differ from normal Population III stars and therefore makes them distinguishable. Thecontribution from Dark Stars to the extragalactic background light considering multiple initialparameters is calculated. By comparing our results with existing data and limits of the diffuseinfrared background we can derive observational constraints on Dark Stars in the early universe.Future observations (e.g. with the forthcoming James Webb Space Telescope) will improve theseresults.Cosmic Radiation Fields: Sources in the early UniverseNovember 9-12, 2010Desy, Germany
Large Scale Process for Low Crystalline MoO3-Carbon Composite Microspheres Prepared by One-Step Spray Pyrolysis for Anodes in Lithium-Ion Batteries

This paper introduces a large-scale and facile method for synthesizing low crystalline MoO3/carbon composite microspheres, in which MoO3 nanocrystals are distributed homogeneously in the amorphous carbon matrix, directly by a one-step spray pyrolysis. The MoO3/carbon composite microspheres with mean diameters of 0.7 µm were directly formed from one droplet by a series of drying, decomposition, and crystalizing inside the hot-wall reactor within six seconds. The MoO3/carbon composite microspheres had high specific discharge capacities of 811 mA h g−1 after 100 cycles, even at a high current density of 1.0 A g−1 when applied as anode materials for lithium-ion batteries. The MoO3/carbon composite microspheres had final discharge capacities of 999, 875, 716, and 467 mA h g−1 at current densities of 0.5, 1.5, 3.0, and 5.0 A g−1, respectively. MoO3/carbon composite microspheres provide better Li-ion storage than do bare MoO3 powders because of their high structural stability and electrical conductivity.
INVESTIGATION OF THE MICROWAVE CURING OF AN EPOXY RESIN SYSTEM

A commercial resin system, PR500 from 3M, has been cured using microwave heating. For comparison, the same resin has been cured using a conventional oven. The cured resins has been compared using modulated differential scanning calorimetry, dynamic thermal analysis, infrared spectroscopy and solid state NMR spectroscopy. The results show that the reaction path appears slightly different in the two cases. The epoxy-amine reaction occurs to a greater extent in the microwave cured resin than the epoxy-hydroxyl reaction compared to the thermally cured resin. The dielectric properties are not sensitive to this change. Broadening of the glass transition for microwave cured resins has been previously observed and attributed to a difference in network structure.
Numerical Delineation of 3D Unsteady Flow Fields in Side Channel Pumps for Engineering Processes

Side channel pumps are important machines for handling toxic, explosive or other dangerous liquids in various engineering processes. However, the operational reliability of these pumps is directly affected by the intensity of the pressure and velocity fluctuations, thus the flow fluctuations existing within the pump cannot be neglected because of their direct influence on the noise, vibration and harshness performance. Therefore, describing precisely the zones of highly unsteady and turbulent flow fields is a key research topic. Moreover, the size of the wrapping angle strongly affects the levels of pressure and velocity fluctuations, thus numerical calculations of the pressure and velocity fluctuation intensities in side channel pump models with different wrapping angles were conducted in this work. The results indicated that the pressure fluctuation coefficient increased gradually from the inflow to the outflow. At the interrupter, the flow experienced the most irregular flow patterns in the pump. The flow at the inflow region in both the impeller and side channel passage rendered weak pressure fluctuation intensities. All three pump cases operated with 24 blades but after one complete circulatory cycle, cases 1, 2 and 3 revealed 21, 20 and 19 regular pressure fluctuations respectively in the impeller flow passage. On the other hand, the side channel flow passage rather produced 24 regular pressure fluctuations. Furthermore, the main frequency harmonic excitations for all studied monitoring points in the impeller and side channel flow passages of the three pump cases occurred at 600 Hz (24 × fn), 1200 Hz (48 × fn), and 1800 Hz (72 × fn). For this reason, exchanged flow times between the impeller and side channel is mainly responsible for the pressure fluctuation which subsequently affects the noise and vibration generation in the side channel pump. Hence, the results could be used as a reference for Noise-Vibration-Harshness (NVH) study in turbomachinery especially modifying the side channel pump in order to improve the operational reliabilities for many engineering processes.
Putting the precision in precision cosmology: How accurate should your data covariance matrix be?

Cosmological parameter estimation requires that the likelihood function of the data is accurately known. Assuming that cosmological large-scale structure power spectra data are multivariate Gaussian-distributed, we show the accuracy of parameter estimation is limited by the accuracy of the inverse data covariance matrix - the precision matrix. If the data covariance and precision matrices are estimated by sampling independent realisations of the data, their statistical properties are described by the Wishart and Inverse-Wishart distributions, respectively. Independent of any details of the survey, we show that the fractional error on a parameter variance, or a Figure-of-Merit, is equal to the fractional variance of the precision matrix. In addition, for the only unbiased estimator of the precision matrix, we find that the fractional accuracy of the parameter error depends only on the difference between the number of independent realisations and the number of data points, and so can easily diverge. For a 5% error on a parameter error and N_D >100 we need N_S > N_D realisations and a fractional accuracy of 10^4 -10^6 this approach will be problematic. We discuss possible ways to relax these conditions: improved theoretical modelling; shrinkage methods; data-compression; simulation and data resampling methods.
Cognitive-Affective-Relational-Behavior Therapy.

Although my primary orientation is that of a behavior therapist, I find that I can readily incorporate contributions from other orientations by using common principles of change as an organizing format. After translating the theoretical jargon associated with different therapeutic schools of thought into ordinary English, one may discern principles at a level of abstraction somewhere between the observable methods of clinical intervention and the higher order, theoretical speculation about why these methods might be effective elsewhere (Goldfried & Padawer, 1982). Such common principles of change include (a) the presence of clients' expectations that change is possible, (b) the existence of an optimal therapeutic relationship, (c) providing feedback to help clients become more aware of aspects of themselves and others, (d) the encouragement of corrective experiences, and (e) facilitation of ongoing reality testing. An initial positive expectation that therapy can help, along with a certain amount of motivation to engage in the therapy process, is essential to change. It is a promissory note and represents a necessary but probably not sufficient step in the change process. Another common change principle involves the existence of an optimal therapy relationship, providing a safe con-
Non-Isothermal Crystallization Kinetic of Polyethylene/Carbon Nanotubes Nanocomposites Using an Isoconversional Method

Behavior studies of thermoplastic polymers during non-isothermal crystallization are extremely important since most of their properties are influenced by degree of crystallinity and the crystallization process. In general, an approach based on a model-fitting method is used to perform crystallization kinetic studies. Due to their inability to uniquely determine the reaction mode, many studies have used the isoconversional method, where it is not necessary to assume a crystallization model to obtain the kinetic parameters. Therefore, in this work, the influence of acid and octadecylamine functionalized carbon nanotubes (CNTs) in the crystallization kinetic of polyethylene (PE) was studied using an isoconversional method with differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and polarized optical microscopy (POM). The kinetic parameters and the crystallization model were determined. The incorporation of functionalized and non-functionalized CNTs into PE did not change the Johnson-Mehl-Avrami crystallization model. However, the CNTs increased the crystallization temperature and reduced the activation energy for crystallization. In addition, the Avrami coefficient values were lower for the nanocomposites when compared to pure PE. The incorporation of CNTs accelerated the crystallization of PE, reducing the crystallite sizes and modifying their morphology.
Secured data storage in the cloud using logical Pk-Anonymization with Map Reduce methods and key generation in cloud computing

ABSTRACT The significant security assessment is rising because the vast amount of data can be renewed continuously in the cloud. Cloud information is clustered and refreshed productively using a progressive clustering procedure over the data. To verify the security of a user's connection to the cloud, the development of information to the servers could be used. Thus, the trustworthiness of the information plays a vital role in determining the authority of the information. Map Reduce is used to deal with enormous volumes of information, and informational indexes are circulated on the cloud. A parallel information preparation structure is then received, allowing for the collection of current information that joins over time. Information anonymization methods are then used to achieve security and high information utility when an update occurs, resulting in less data loss and refresh time over time.
A Novel Malware

The continued evolution and diversity of malware constitutes a major threat in modern systems. It is well proven that security defenses currently available are ineffective to mitigate the skills and imagination of cyber-criminals necessitating the development of novel solutions. Deep learning algorithms and artificial intelligence (AI) are rapidly evolving with remarkable results in many application areas. Following the advances of AI and recognizing the need for efficient malware detection methods, this paper presents a new approach for malware detection based on binary visualization and self-organizing incremental neural networks. The proposed method’s performance in detecting malicious payloads in various file types was investigated and the experimental results showed that a detection accuracy of 91.7% and 94.1% was achieved for ransomware in . pdf and . doc files respectively. With respect to other formats of malicious code and other file types, including binaries, the proposed method behaved well with an incremental detection rate that allows efficiently detecting unknown malware at real-time.
UvA-DARE (Digital Academic Repository) Physical activity, mindfulness meditation, or heart rate variability biofeedback for stress reduction: a randomized controlled trial

In contemporary western societies stress is highly prevalent, therefore the need for stress-reducing methods is great. This randomized controlled trial compared the efficacy of self-help physical activity (PA), mindfulness meditation (MM), and heart rate variability biofeedback (HRV-BF) in reducing stress and its related symptoms. We randomly allocated 126 participants to PA, MM, or HRV-BF upon enrollment, of whom 76 agreed to participate. The interventions consisted of psycho-education and an introduction to the specific intervention techniques and 5 weeks of daily exercises at home. The PA exercises consisted of a vigorous-intensity activity of free choice. The MM exercises consisted of guided mindfulness meditation. The HRV-BF exercises consisted of slow breathing with a heart rate variability biofeedback device. Participants received daily reminders for their exercises and were contacted weekly to monitor their progress. They completed questionnaires prior to, directly after, and 6 weeks after the intervention. Results indicated an overall beneficial effect consisting of reduced stress, anxiety and depressive symptoms, and improved psychological wellbeing and sleep quality. No significant between-intervention effect was found, suggesting that PA, MM, and HRVBF are equally effective in reducing stress and its related symptoms. These self-help interventions provide easily accessible help for people with stress complaints.
TRANSMUTATION PERFORMANCE OF MOLTEN SALT VERSUS SOLID FUEL REACTORS ( DRAFT )

This study investigates the transmutation properties of a critical Molten Salt Reactor (MSR) and compares them against those of three types of solid fuel reactors – Lead cooled Fast Reactor (LFR), Sodium cooled Fast Reactor (SFR) and a PWR. A consistent comparison was made of the effect of the different reactor spectra. It was found that the fast reactors spectrum gives the best transmutation performance followed by the MSR and PWR spectra. A comparison of the fractional transmutations (FT) for an infinitive recycling of actinides (Ac) in the different reactors with a 0.1% loss fraction during reprocessing shows that the MSR has the highest FT due to its high specific power, followed by the SFR and the LFR. Taking into account FT and spectra differences the MSR has preferred transmutation capability.
Is Baltıc Dry Index Efficient?

The efficient market hypothesis (EMH) suggests that prices fully reflect all available information and thus no investor has any advantage in forecasting future prices. According to EMH, the technical commercial rules –in which sale and purchase decisions are based on historical datashould not result in excess profits. As shipping is a capital intensive industry, it is vital for the maritime industry to have efficient market characteristics, especially for small-sized participants. In this context, the purpose of this study is to determine whether the freight rates are efficient in the dry bulk market. When the freight market is efficient, the decisions that are taken will have no effect on profitability. Whereas, when the market is inefficient, profit opportunities arise. Baltic Dry Index (BDI) is selected as an indicator of transportation service prices in freight market. The data covers the period between 4th January 1985 and 1st December 2017. The data consists of 8264 daily observations. The methodology consists of 3 main applications that are used to measure the efficiency of the dry bulk market. These applications are unit root test, variance ratio test and Brock, Dechert and Scheinkman (BDS) independence test. It is hoped that this study will contribute to literature by testing the efficiency with a different method, using the BDS test, in addition to the commonly used methods. The results indicate that the efficient market hypothesis is not valid for the dry bulk market and profit opportunities still arise in the market.
Optimal Taxation in Applied General Equilibrium Models Adopting the Armington Assumption

The paper derives formulas for optimal taxation in a stylized Applied General Equilibrium (AGE) model, and shows their potential empirical significance. Because of the Armington-assumption for exports and imports, the formulas are quite different from those of the 'textbook' model of optimal taxation. As a result, tax reforms that increase welfare in the 'textbook' model, may not do so in the AGE model. An empirical example for Norway is given.