Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The triad perspective on business models for wood harvesting

Swedish forest companies have outsourced their harvesting operations extensively to contractors. The role of these professionals is increasingly important for wood supply, especially for companies purchasing most of their wood from non-industrial private forest owners, for which harvesting is normally arranged by the company. Contractors are key actors in maintaining owners’ willingness to sell wood, which has become more challenging and requires attractive service offers. As forest owners associations (FOAs) are owned by their members, they have a large responsibility to offer services satisfying owners’ goals, but at the same time they need to satisfy industrial demands. This thesis applies a triad perspective on harvesting services to assess varying needs and value perceptions for FOAs, contractors, and forest owners. The objective is to investigate the possibilities and needs for FOAs to tailor their business models to increase the total success of service triads. Two FOAs with fully outsourced harvesting services were investigated, and research was conducted as two parts. The first part (Paper I) used process mapping to analyze the impact of industrial context on business activities for harvesting. The results revealed both differences in demand uncertainties and different needs for production adjustments due to varying supply responsibilities (own mills vs. no own mills). This caused different needs for capacity flexibility, preferably met by corresponding proportions of short–term contracts. Many managers, however, perceived a shortage of contractors and instead used large proportions (>90%) of long-term contracts and satisfied flexibility needs by requesting the use of less specialized machinery. The second part (Paper II, III) used interviews, surveys and follow-up data to identify and analyze success factors satisfying each group of the triad. Especially large variations were found among forest owners in assigned service values and performance perceptions. Furthermore, results revealed strong discrepancies between currently applied follow-up parameters vs. parameters that respondents actually valued most. Specifically, parameters most important for contractors’ satisfaction were different from parameters important for their profitability. The thesis concludes with a characterization of the tailoring needs for different industrial and local contexts, and also describes general needs and responsibilities for each of the three perspectives concerning service development.
Good looks and good practice: the attitudes of career practitioners to attractiveness and appearance

ABSTRACT Empirical evidence attests the impact that career image has on objective career success, yet little is known of how career practitioners conceptualise and operationalise this information. This article presents the quantitative findings of an online survey of career practitioners (n = 399, 74% female, 89% white and 75% from the U.K.) exploring their attitudes and practices towards issues of appearance and attractiveness. Career practitioners who participated in this survey acknowledged that beauty, self-presentation and interpersonal skills influence career success, and 96% of them considered conversations about career image as part of their professional remit. The career practitioners felt relatively comfortable and well informed in their discussions in this arena, but would welcome further guidance and training to inform their practice. Ethical and practical implications for the profession are considered.
Modeling Students’ Academic Performance Based on Their Interactions in an Online Learning Environment

The aim of this study is to model students' academic performance based on their interaction with the online learning environment designed by researchers. The dataset includes 10 input attributes extracted from students' learning activity logs. And as an output variable (class) final grades obtained by students in Computer Hardware course was used. The predictive performance of three different classification algorithms were tested (Naive Bayes, Classification Tree, and CN2 rules) on dataset. Predictive performance of algorithms were compared in terms of Classification Accuracy (CA), and Area under the ROC Curve (AUC) metrics. All analysis were performed by using Orange data mining tool and models were evaluated by using ten-fold cross-validation. Results of analysis were presented as Confusion Matrix, Decision Tree, and IF-THEN rules. The experimental results indicate that the Naive Bayes algorithm outperforms other classification algorithms in terms of CA and AUC metrics. On the other hand models which are generated by Classification Tree and CN2 algorithm are easy to understand for non-expert data mining users.
New Kolmogorov bounds for functionals of binomial point processes

We obtain explicit Berry-Esseen bounds in the Kolmogorov distance for the normal approximation of non-linear functionals of vectors of independent random variables. Our results are based on the use of Stein's method and of random difference operators, and generalise the bounds recently obtained by Chatterjee (2008), concerning normal approximations in the Wasserstein distance. In order to obtain lower bounds for variances, we also revisit the classical Hoeffding decompositions, for which we provide a new proof and a new representation. Several applications are discussed in detail: in particular, new Berry-Esseen bounds are obtained for set approximations with random tessellations, as well as for functionals of covering processes.
Estimating water discharge from large radar altimetry datasets

The objective of this study is to evaluate the poten- tial of large altimetry datasets as a complementary gauging network capable of providing water discharge in ungauged regions. A rating curve-based methodology is adopted to de- rive water discharge from altimetric data provided by the En- visat satellite at 475 virtual stations (VS) within the Amazon basin. From a global-scale perspective, the stage-discharge relations at VS are built based on radar altimetry and outputs from a modeling system composed of a land surface model and a global river routing scheme. In order to quantify the im- pact of model uncertainties on rating-curve based discharges, a second experiment is performed using outputs from a sim- ulation where daily observed discharges at 135 gauging sta- tions are introduced in the modeling system. Discharge esti- mates at 90 VS are evaluated against observations during the curve fitting calibration (2002-2005) and evaluation (2006- 2008) periods, resulting in mean normalized RMS errors as high as 39 and 15 % for experiments without and with direct insertion of data, respectively. Without direct insertion, un- certainty of discharge estimates can be mostly attributed to forcing errors at smaller scales, generating a positive correla- tion between performance and drainage area. Mean relative streamflow volume errors (RE) of altimetry-based discharges varied from 15 to 84 % for large and small drainage areas, re- spectively. Rating curves produced a mean RE of 51 % versus 68 % from model outputs. Inserting discharge data into the modeling system decreases the mean RE from 51 to 18 %, and mean NRMSE from 24 to 9 %. These results demon- strate the feasibility of applying the proposed methodology to the continental or global scales.
Configuring Au and Ag nanorods for sensing applications

We have studied optimum configurations of Au and Ag nanorods for optical sensing applications. From the analysis of the resonance condition by means of the quasistatic approximation, it was found that sensitivity is controlled by two main factors: the aspect ratio of the nanorods and their composition (the metal’s bulk plasma wavelength), and it depends linearly on both. The finding was confirmed quantitatively using T-matrix calculations, even for particles with a radius of 40 nm, where the quasistatic approximation is no longer valid. For ease of detection, the intensity of the surface plasmon resonance band of the nanostructures was included along with its full-width at half-maximum in the correction factor C, which on multiplying with the sensitivity (ΔλSPR/Δnm) gives a figure of merit. It has been demonstrated that the metal nanorods, especially the larger ones, have better optical sensitivity than the nanostructures of nanobox- or nanoshell-like geometries, which have been reported to be the best optical sensors for these metals.
Who Cheats? Who Loots? Political Competition and Corruption in Japan, 1947–1993

When do politicians resort to corrupt practices? This article distinguishes between two types of corruption by politicians: illegal acts for material gain (looting) and illegal acts for electoral gain (cheating). Looting generally involves a politician "selling" influence while cheating involves a politician "buying" votes. Individual‐level analyses of new data on financial scandals and election law violations in Japan show that the determinants of cheating differ from the determinants of looting. Most notably, political experience and electoral security increase the probability of looting, but electoral insecurity combined with intraparty competition increases the probability of cheating.
Genomes of three facultatively symbiotic Frankia sp. strains reflect host plant biogeography

Filamentous actinobacteria from the genus Frankia and diverse woody trees and shrubs together form N2-fixing actinorhizal root nodule symbioses that are a major source of new soil nitrogen in widely diverse biomes 1. Three major clades of Frankia sp. strains are defined; each clade is associated with a defined subset of plants from among the eight actinorhizal plant families 2,3. The evolution arytrajectories followed by the ancestors of both symbionts leading to current patterns of symbiont compatibility are unknown. Here we show that the competing processes of genome expansion and contraction have operated in different groups of Frankia strains in a manner that can be related to the speciation of the plant hosts and their geographic distribution. We sequenced and compared the genomes from three Frankia sp. strains having different host plant specificities. The sizes of their genomes varied from 5.38 Mbp for a narrow host range strain (HFPCcI3) to 7.50Mbp for a medium host range strain (ACN14a) to 9.08 Mbp for a broad host range strain (EAN1pec.) This size divergence is the largest yet reported for such closely related bacteria. Since the order of divergence of the strains is known, the extent of gene deletion, duplication and acquisition could be estimated and was found to be inconcert with the biogeographic history of the symbioses. Host plant isolation favored genome contraction, whereas host plant diversification favored genome expansion. The results support the idea that major genome reductions as well as expansions can occur in facultatively symbiotic soil bacteria as they respond to new environments in the context of their symbioses.
Latin America's Growth and Equity Frustrations during Structural Reforms

This paper argues that Latin America's market-oriented reforms, together with increased monetary and fiscal discipline, were successful in bringing down inflation, inducing export growth and diversification, and attracting foreign direct investment. Nonetheless, economic growth was frustratingly slow. Pro-cyclical macroeconomic policies generated, in turn, strong business cycles in the face of unstable access to international capital markets. Higher productivity in leading firms and sectors failed to spread throughout the economy and led to increasing productive sector dualism. Furthermore, despite the democratic dividend reflected in increased social spending and coverage of social services, weak economic performance and additional distributive tensions led to disappointing results in terms of employment generation and poverty reduction. Overcoming these frustrating outcomes would require counter-cyclical macroeconomic policies, open-economy productive development strategies and mainstreaming social objectives into economic policies.
Gas Flow Rate Effect on the Nonlinear Optical Properties of Ag/Pmma Nanocomposite Thin Films Prepared by Aerosol Assisted Dielectric Barrier Discharge Plasma Jet Polymerization

Silver PMMA Nanocomposite Thin Films Deposited on Glass Substrates by in-situ aerosol assisted plasma jet polymerization at atmospheric pressure and room temperature, from MMA monomer in the presence of 7wt% concentrations of Ag nanoparticles. The effects of argon gas flow rate on the linear and nonlinear optical properties of Ag/PMMA nanocomposite films are studied. It is shown that the changed in gas flow rate does not affect the linear properties while the nonlinear properties have an arbitrary changes with gas flow rate increase. The prepared thin films are characterized by UV-Visible, XRD, FT-IR, AFM, the nonlinear optical properties are measured by Z-scan technique using second harmonic of pulsed Nd:YAG laser 532nm and pulse duration of 30ns, the third order nonlinearity are determined the nonlinear refractive index n2, nonlinear absorption coefficient , as well as the real and imaginary parts of third order susceptibility X3 all are changed due to effect of plasma and gas flow rate.
A Novel Metamaterial MIMO Antenna with High Isolation for WLAN Applications

A compact metamaterial-MIMO antenna for WLAN applications is presented in this paper. The MIMO antenna is designed by placing side by side two single metamaterial antennas which are constructed based on the modified composite right/left-handed (CRLH) model. By adding another left-handed inductor, the total left-handed inductor of the modified CRLH model is increased remarkably in comparison with that of conventional CRLH model. As a result, the proposed metamaterial antenna achieves 60% size reduction in comparison with the unloaded antenna. The MIMO antenna is electrically small (30 mm × 44 mm) with an edge-to-edge separation between two antennas of at 2.4 GHz. In order to reduce the mutual coupling of the antenna, a defected ground structure (DGS) is inserted to suppress the effect of surface current between elements of the proposed antenna. The final design of the MIMO antenna satisfies the return loss requirement of less than −10 dB in a bandwidth ranging from 2.38 GHz to 2.5 GHz, which entirely covers WLAN frequency band allocated from 2.4 GHz to 2.48 GHz. The antenna also shows a high isolation coefficient which is less than −35 dB over the operating frequency band. A good agreement between simulation and measurement is shown in this context.
Patterns and performance benefits of sustainability practices: a cross-country comparison

This paper aims to explore the relationship between sustainability practices and organizational performance. In particular, this paper draws upon institutional theory whit the aim to enhance the understanding of sustainability-related phenomena, mainly from the perspective which has not yet been widely investigated in prior empirical studies. Therefore, the paper addresses the research question whether sustainability practices as conceptualized within the framework of exploitation and exploration notions are characterized by organization’s country of origin. The target respondents of a large scale web-based survey were manufacturing and service industries distributed across five countries: Germany, Poland, Serbia, Slovenia and Spain. Multiple regression with categorical predictors (dummy variables) was utilized to examine country effects on each of the performance measures. The outcome of the regression analysis provides some evidence indicating that organizations based in different countries hold substantially different perspectives: (1) Regarding the patterns and correlations among organizational performance dimensions; (2) Regarding the achieved levels of organizational performance as a consequence of deploying sustainability practices. In general, results suggest that organizations in different countries show many more differences in relation to the sustainability practices and organizational performance compared to the organizations within the same country. With this respect results suggest that institutional mechanisms might be a plausible explanation for differences in the deployment of sustainability practices and the effects of sustainability practices on the organizational performance. The paper contributes to the literature by providing a more clarity and better understanding of how organizations may effectively pursue sustainability practices to gain performance benefits.
Patterns of tree diversity in response to logging in Algonquin Provincial Park

The acceleration of human disturbance on natural systems necessitates the understanding of the effects of disturbance on species diversity, in order to mitigate its impacts. The Intermediate Disturbance Hypothesis (IDH) provides a general framework for predicting how these effects will unfold, centered on the premise that diversity will be maximized at intermediate levels of disturbance, or after an intermediate amount of time has passed since the last disturbance. We investigated the impact of disturbance by logging in Algonquin Provincial Park, ON, Canada, on tree species diversity. We sampled 7 sites, with known times since the last logging event, ranging between 4 and 149 years. We found that species richness and diversity indeed peaked at an intermediate disturbance regime of approximately 80 years since logging. We also found that this maximum diversity was caused by a combination of early, pioneer, post-pioneer, sub-climax, and climax species. Our experiment shows that IDH is applicable to the mixed forests of Algonquin, and therefore, provided that sites are logged after a suitable amount of time has passed, it is possible to harvest trees and maintain diversity.
Winter mass balance of Drangajökull ice cap (NW Iceland) derived from satellite sub-meter stereo images

Abstract. Sub-meter resolution, stereoscopic satellite images allow for the generation of accurate and high-resolution digital elevation models (DEMs) over glaciers and ice caps. Here, repeated stereo images of Drangajokull ice cap (NW Iceland) from Pleiades and WorldView2 (WV2) are combined with in situ estimates of snow density and densification of firn and fresh snow to provide the first estimates of the glacier-wide geodetic winter mass balance obtained from satellite imagery. Statistics in snow- and ice-free areas reveal similar vertical relative accuracy (
Sleep Disturbances and Glucose Homeostasis

Sleep disturbances, induced by either lifestyle, shift work or sleeping disorders, have become more prevalent in our 24/7 Western society. Sleep disturbances are associated with impaired health including metabolic diseases such as obesity and type 2 diabetes. The question remains whether there is a direct effect of disturbed sleep on glucose homeostasis. Experimental studies under controlled laboratory conditions in both humans and experimental animals revealed that there are differences between the effects of acute or chronic sleep disturbance. Acute sleep restriction clearly leads to glucose intolerance, often combined with insulin resistance. Although glucose intolerance does also occur after chronic sleep disturbance, the changes in insulin can vary, dependent on the body weight changes in the various studies. The underlying mechanism that might cause the changes in glucose homeostasis after sleep disturbance remains unclear, but both the biological clock located in the nucleus suprachiasmaticus as well as orexinergic mechanisms in brain and periphery seem to be involved.
Studies on Properties of HVS for Ring Detection

In this paper, I observed the properties of HVS for Ring Detection. The automatic detection of regions visually impaired by ringing artifacts in compressed images, it is a no-reference approach, taking into account the specific physical structure of ringing artifacts combined with properties of the human visual system (HVS). The approach is validated with the results of a psycho visual experiment, and its performance is compared to existing alternatives in literature for ringing region detection. Experimental results show that our method is appropriate in terms of both reliability and computational efficiency. I. Introduction The occurrence of the compression induced artifacts depends on the data source, target bit rate, and underlying compression scheme and their visibility can range from imperceptible to very annoying, thus affecting perceived quality. Research on the design of blockiness metric has shown that an efficient no-reference approach intrinsically exists of two steps: 1) the detection of regions in an image where blockiness might occur, and 2) the determination of the blocking annoyance in these regions. We use a similar two-step approach for the design of a no-reference ringing metric. This paper only discusses the first step: the detection of regions in the image, in which visible ringing occurs. This, however, does not always reflect human visual perception of ringing, because of the absence of spatial masking as typically present in the HVS. This issue is taken into account by incorporating properties of the HVS into the detection method. Obviously, the optimal performance in terms of reducing the number of required computations, while maintaining the reliable detection of perceived ringing, can be achieved by optimizing two aspects: 1) the detection accuracy of relevant edges; and 2) the reduction in complexity of the HVS model itself. Hence, what is needed is an edge detector that only extracts edges most closely related to the occurrence of ringing, and a HVS model that is simpler (and thus more applicable for real time implementation) than the approaches existing in literature.
Dielectric Studies on Polar Binary Mixturesof p-Hydroxy Dodecyl Benzoate andIsoproponal

The molecular interactions between the polar systems of p-hydroxy dodecyl benzoate(12HB) and Isoproponal for various volume fractions were studied at room temperature to determine the frequency dependent complex dielectric permittivity using Abbe’s refractometer for optical (1015Hz) frequency, the cavity perturbation technique for the microwave frequency at 10GHz (X-Band),and LCR meter at 1KHz. The Relaxation times and dipole moments for the binary mixtures were calculated using Higasi’s method and compared them with theoretical values. The formation of Hydrogen bond between the polar system as caused for the variations in the dipole moments and relaxation times in binary mixtures for different concentrations. The conformational analysis of the formation of hydrogen bond between dodecyl hydroxyl benzoate and isopropyl alcohol is supported by the experimental FTIR spectral studies and theoretical computational methods.
GRANT NUMBER DAMD17-96-1-6267 TITLE: In Vivo Footprinting of the Progesterone Receptor Gene in Human Breast Cancer Cells

AD GRANT NUMBER DAMD17-96-1-6267 TITLE: In Vivo Footprinting of the Progesterone Receptor Gene in Human Breast Cancer Cells PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR: Ann M. Nardulli, Ph.D. CONTRACTING ORGANIZATION: University of Illinois Champaign, Illionois 61820 REPORT DATE: March 1998 TYPE OF REPORT: Annual PREPARED FOR: U.S. Army Medical Research and Materiel Command Fort Detrick, Maryland 21702-5012 DISTRIBUTION STATEMENT: Approved for public release; distribution unlimited