Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Foreign Affiliates in OECD Economies: Presence, Performance and Contribution to Host Countries' Growth

In recent decades, foreign direct investment (FDI) has steadily increased so that foreign owned multinational enterprises (MNEs) now play an important role in the economy of many developed and developing economies. Countries compete with each other to attract FDI because they expect affiliates of foreign MNEs to contribute to the welfare of the host economy through multiple channels. But what precisely is the impact of foreign affiliates on the host country economy?
Radiation Reaction in the Plasma-Based High-Energy Accelerators

Plasma-based accelerators have achieved tremendous progress in the past few decades, thanks to the advances of high power lasers and the availability of high-energy and relativistic particle beams. However, the electrons (or positrons) accelerated in the plasma wakefields are subject to radiation losses, which generally suppress the final energy gains of the beams. In this paper, radiation reaction in plasma-based high-energy accelerators is investigated using test particle approach. Energy-frontier TeV colliders based on a multiple stage laser-driven plasma wakefield accelerator and a single-staged proton-driven plasma wakefield accelerator are studied in detail. The results show that the higher axial and transverse field gradients seen by an off-axis injected witness beam result in a stronger damping force on the accelerated particles. Proton-driven plasma wakefield accelerated electrons are shown to lose less energy compared to those accelerated in a multi-staged laser-driven plasma wakefield accelerator.
Two-dimensional prognostic experiments for fast-flowing ice streams from the Academy of Sciences Ice Cap

The prognostic experiments for fast-flowing ice streams on the southern side of the Academy of Sciences Ice Cap in the Komsomolets Island, Severnaya Zemlya archipelago, are implemented in this study. These experiments are based on inversions of basal friction coefficients using a two-dimensional flow-line thermo-coupled model and the Tikhonov’s regularization method. The modeled ice temperature distributions in the cross-sections were obtained using the ice surface temperature histories that were inverted previously from the borehole temperature profile derived at the summit of the Academy of Sciences Ice Cap and employing elevational gradient of ice surface temperature changes, which is equal to about 6.5 °C km-1. Input data included InSAR ice surface velocities, ice surface elevations, and ice thicknesses obtained from airborne measurements and the surface mass balance, were adopted from previous investigations for the implementation of both the forward and inverse problems. The prognostic experiments reveal that both ice mass and ice stream extents decline for the reference time-independent surface mass balance. Specifically, the grounding line retreats (a) along the B–B′ flow line from ∼40 km to ∼30 km (the distance from the summit), (b) along the C–C′ flow line from ∼43 km to ∼37 km, and (c) along the D–D′ flow line from ∼41 km to ∼32 km considering a time period of 500 years and assuming time-independent surface mass balance. Ice flow velocities in the ice streams decrease with time and this trend results in the overall decline of the outgoing ice flux. Generally, the modeled evolution is in agreement with observations of deglaciation of Severnaya Zemlya archipelago.
Intracavity trace molecular detection with a broadband mid-IR frequency comb source

Haakestad, Magnus Willum; Lamour, Tobias P.; Leindecker, Nick; Marandi, Alireza; Vodopyanov, Konstantin L. Intracavity trace molecular detection with a broadband mid-IR frequency comb source. Journal of the Optical Society of America. B, Optical physics 2013 ;Volum 30. (3) s. 631-640
Computation of the irrigation water demand in the Miandarband plain, Iran, using FAO-56- and satellite-estimated crop coefficients

Irrigation water requirement (IWR) is defined by the difference of the evapo-transpired water of an agricultural plant/crop and the effectively available precipitation. IWR is thus an important parameter in arid and semi-arid areas for the set-up of optimal irrigation planning and scheduling strategies. Obviously, the major step to estimate IWR, is the evaluation of the crop evapotranspiration ( ETc ) of the totality of the cultivated crops in an area. The FAO-56 or FAO-Penman-Monteith (FAO-PM) model is usually used to that avail, wherefore the standard reference (PM- computed) evapotranspiration ( ETo ) is calculated by its crop coefficient Kc, an empirical parameter, which depends also on the crop’s seasonal growth stage. In recent years, ETc - calculations on the regional scale that are based on the use of remotely sensed vegetation indices ( VI), called Kc (VI), have increasingly been used. In this study, two kinds of VIs , namely, the normalized vegetation index (NDVI) and the soil adjusted vegetation index (SAVI) have been estimated from reflectance images for six passes of the Landsat 8 satellite over the Miandarband flood plain, Iran, in the three summer months of 2015 and 2016 and then been used to compute linear relationships of Kc (NDVI) and Kc (SAVI). The ETc and IRW obtained with these satellite- based crop-coefficients are compared with those obtained with the empirical Kc’s of the classical FAO-56 method. Although there is a general good agreement for the long-term FAO- and satellite-estimated ETc and IWR for the months analysed, the remote sensing approach hints of some extension of the total crop cultivated area in the Miandraband plain beyond the originally recommended area in the wet year 2015-2016.
INVASIVE NORTH AMERICAN BEAVER (Castor canadensis): THE DISTRIBUTION OF MITOCHONDRIAL VARIATION ACROSS THE ARCHIPELAGO OF TIERRA DEL FUEGO

In 1946 twenty-five pairs of Castor canadensis were introduced into the Isla Grande of Tierra del Fuego (Argentina). Thanks both to environmental conditions favorable for colonization and an absence of effective control measures, today the estimated abun- dance is about 100 000 individuals. We have conducted molecular analysis of beavers from three areas of the Archipelago of Tierra del Fuego, in order to characterize the genetic structure of the invasive population. Our results from AMOVA (F st = 0.104, p < 0.001) suggest that geographical barriers and large distances could limit gene flow among the populations. In the Tierra del Fuego National Park subpopulation, we found a positive and significant autocorrelation out to 800 m (r = 0.193, p = 0.003) and the greatest haplotype diversity (= 0.83), which can probably be explained by the control plan used in this area or by natural selection combined with greater habitat diversity. We propose using the information about the demographic spatial dynamics and the spatial genetic structure in this invasive population to design an effective control strategy.
Can Opinion Mining Techniques Help to Select Open Source Software

People and organizations that are considering the adoption of Open-Source Software (OSS), or that need to choose among different OSS products are interested in knowing the user community’s opinion, since this can provide useful indications about the strengths and limits of the software being evaluated. While several methods for the evaluation of the community size are available, there is no automated support to the extraction of the opinions of the community. In this paper we explore whether it is possible to support the OSS selection process by means of automated sentiment analysis techniques. Our goal is to understand if the actual opinion mining techniques, can be applied to get valuable opinions on OSS software. Our goal will be achieved first developing a web crawler to extract user generated content on OSS, building a data-set of relevant user generated then we apply the opinion mining process the OSS blogs data-set. We collected more than 88K user generated content and we compared the performance of our opinion mining technique with a set of existing opinion mining tools. Results of the application of our technique show that opinion mining can help to evaluate the opinions of OSS products. However, the existing opinion mining tools, even if applicable in different domains, are still not reliable in the domain of OSS, mainly because they are trained on different data-sets, opening new research directions for future work in the opinion mining domain.
Seasonal cycle of desert aerosols in western Africa: analysis of the coastal transition with passive and active sensors

Abstract. The impact of desert aerosols on climate, atmospheric processes, and the environment is still debated in the scientific community. The extent of their influence remains to be determined and particularly requires a better understanding of the variability of their distribution. In this work, we studied the variability of these aerosols in western Africa using different types of satellite observations. SeaWiFS (Sea-Viewing Wide Field-of-View Sensor) and OMI (Ozone Monitoring Instrument) data have been used to characterize the spatial distribution of mineral aerosols from their optical and physical properties over the period 2005–2010. In particular, we focused on the variability of the transition between continental western African and the eastern Atlantic Ocean. Data provided by the lidar scrolling CALIOP (Cloud-Aerosol Lidar with Orthogonal Polarization) onboard the satellite CALIPSO (Cloud Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observations) for the period 2007–2013 were then used to assess the seasonal variability of the vertical distribution of desert aerosols. We first obtained a good representation of aerosol optical depth (AOD) and single-scattering albedo (SSA) from the satellites SeaWiFS and OMI, respectively, in comparison with AERONET estimates, both above the continent and the ocean. Dust occurrence frequency is higher in spring and boreal summer. In spring, the highest occurrences are located between the surface and 3 km above sea level, while in summer the highest occurrences are between 2 and 5 km altitude. The vertical distribution given by CALIOP also highlights an abrupt change at the coast from spring to fall with a layer of desert aerosols confined in an atmospheric layer uplifted from the surface of the ocean. This uplift of the aerosol layer above the ocean contrasts with the winter season during which mineral aerosols are confined in the atmospheric boundary layer. Radiosondes at Dakar Weather Station (17.5° W, 14.74° N) provide basic thermodynamic variables which partially give a causal relationship between the layering of the atmospheric circulation over western Africa and their aerosol contents throughout the year. A SSA increase is observed in winter and spring at the transition between the continent and the ocean. The analysis of mean NCEP (National Centers for Environmental Prediction) winds at 925 hPa between 2000 and 2012 suggest a significant contribution of coastal sand sources from Mauritania in winter which would increase SSA over the ocean.
Current Understanding of Structure–Processing–Property Relationships in BaTiO3–Bi(M)O3 Dielectrics

As part of a continued push for high permittivity dielectrics suitable for use at elevated operating temperatures and/or large electric fields, modifications of BaTiO3 with Bi(M)O3, where M represents a net-trivalent B-site occupied by one or more species, have received a great deal of recent attention. Materials in this composition family exhibit weakly coupled relaxor behavior that is not only remarkably stable at high temperatures and under large electric fields, but is also quite similar across various identities of M. Moderate levels of Bi content (as much as 50 mol%) appear to be crucial to the stability of the dielectric response. In addition, the presence of significant Bi reduces the processing temperatures required for densification and increases the required oxygen content in processing atmospheres relative to traditional X7R-type BaTiO3-based dielectrics. Although detailed understanding of the structure–processing–property relationships in this class of materials is still in its infancy, this article reviews the current state of understanding of the mechanisms underlying the high and stable values of both relative permittivity and resistivity that are characteristic of BaTiO3-Bi(M)O3 dielectrics as well as the processing challenges and opportunities associated with these materials.
Spiral Coil Heat Exchanger-Experimental Study

Spiral coil offers a substantial amount of heat transfer area at a considerably low cost as it does not only have a lower wall resistance but it also achieves a better heat transfer rate in comparison to conventional U-tube arrangement. The general aim of the study is to assess different configurations of spiral coil heat exchangers that can eventually operate at a highly efficient condition. The paper documents the transient behavior of spiral-shaped tubes when the coil is embedded in a rectangular conducting slab. Different arrangements and number of turns per unit length, with fixed volumes, are considered in order to figure out the optimal configuration that maximizes the performance of the heat transfer. The implementation presented in the study is conducted to demonstrate the viability of the use of a large conducting body as supplemental heat storage. The system uses flowing water in the coil and stagnant water in the container. The copper-made coils situated in the center of the slab carries the cold fluid while the container fluid acts as a storage-medium. The water temperature at several depths of the container was measured to ensure uniformity in the temperature distribution of the container medium. Results have shown that the coil orientation, the number of loops, and the coil geometry, substantially influence the rate of the heat transfer. The outcome has concluded that the vertically-embedded spiral coil has a better performance than the horizontally-embedded spiral coil. Doubling the number of loops is shown to enhance the performance of the coil.
How can personal development lead to increased engagement? The roles of meaningfulness and perceived line manager relations

Abstract There is an increasing need to understand the psychological processes that link personal development with employee engagement, particularly the boundary conditions at which these occur. The current study sought to meet this need by testing whether perceived opportunities for development are positively associated with job engagement indirectly through the experience of meaningfulness, and whether this indirect relationship is conditional on the level of perceived line manager relations. Questionnaire data was collected from 152 UK workers from a range of occupations and organizations. The results found support for all the hypotheses. In particular, the positive effects of perceived opportunities for development on job engagement (measured one month later) via meaningfulness were only significant for those who perceived that they had a good relationship with their line manager. Thus, there is a need for line managers to develop high quality relationships with their direct reports in order for development practices to translate into positive psychological outcomes. Engagement theory could be advanced by further understanding broaden-and-build and social exchange processes.
Export Experience Counts: Exploring its Effect on Product Design Change

In this paper, we explore how managers’ export experience can affect the change in product design following changes in perceived past performance. Using data from 519 Portuguese exporters, we find that performance improvement will encourage safe decision making in which firms either will not change the product design or will change it in a way that makes it more similar across the product range. However, when managers’ export experience is greater, they encourage change in ways that could support product differentiation. The abilities of experienced managers to read the market, i.e. to interpret changes in performance and translate them into product specifications, help explain these findings. We contribute to the literature in two ways. First, we explore the relationship among past export performance change, product design, and managers’ export experience. Second, we identify specific kinds of design changes that firms adopt in response to changes in different dimensions of organizational performance. Based on our findings, we would recommend to new product development managers to consider both managers’ export experience and the dimension used to measure performance when evaluating calls for standardizing the design by export managers. Our findings suggest that such calls could be driven by short-term gains in export performance. Furthermore, we would also emphasize the need to routinely capture information from experienced export managers to ensure that it is considered in future decisions about design changes.
PRELIMINARY EVIDENCE OF AN OXIDATIVE STRESS SYSTEM IN FRESHWATER CRAYFISH AUSTROPOTAMOBIUS PALLIPES ITALICUS

Oxidative damage reflects an imbalance between the production of oxidants and removal or scavenging of those oxidants. The antioxidants neutralize via enzymatic and non-enzymatic mechanisms the toxic effects of the free radicals, acting at different levels both within the cell and in the extra cellular fluids. A study on the oxidative defenses under conditions of stress temperature was carried out in the freshwater crayfish Austropotamobius pallipes italicus, an endangered species now distributed in scattered areas in Italy and a few Europeans countries. Glutatione peroxidase (GPX) and Glutatione reductase (GR) activity have been measured in the hemolymph, hepatopancreas and muscle tissue by an enzymatic assay in male individuals exposed, for seven days, to three different temperature: 4 uC, 15 uC and 25 uC. Antioxidative enzyme activity was found in the hemolymph, but not in the hepatopancreas and in the muscle tissue. The enzyme activity varied in the hemolymph according to the temperature the animals were exposed to. As far as the GPX is concerned we found the activity only in the hemolymph of animals exposed to the temperature of 15 uC. On the contrary, GR activity was detected in the hemolymph at the three considered temperatures. Although the highest level of GR activity was found at 25 uC, followed by 4 uC and 15 uC, it was nonetheless very low and much lower than the level of GPX activity. Very little is known on oxidative stress in crustaceans and virtually nothing in the freshwater crayfish A. pallipes italicus. Our data, although preliminary, indicate that the antioxidant defenses provide a useful criterion for the thermal tolerance in studies on natural distribution and suitability of aquacultural environments.
Pedestrian-Footbridge Dynamic Interaction: A Probabilistic Assessment of Vibration Serviceability

Recent footbridges are characterized by long span, light materials and increasing slenderness, which make them more sensitive to dyna mic forces induced by pedestrians. The vibration serviceability under human-induced dynami c forces is the governing criterion for the design of these slender structures. To assess s erviceability, the bridge response must be computed accounting for human-structure interaction , adopting reliable estimates of expected loading scenarios, accurate models representing ped estrians and suitable integration techniques. The present contribution investigates the dyn amic response of a lively footbridge due to a group of pedestrians described as bipedal mechani al systems able to reproduce the human gait. Based on a numerical procedure previously dev eloped, extensive simulation activity is performed in order to characterize the structural r esponse in a probabilistic way. The step frequencies of the pedestrians are considered as co rrelated random variables, where correlation is based on mutual distance among pedes trian . Sommario.Le passerelle pedonali sono sempre più caratterizza te d luci elevate e materiali leggeri. La combinazione di questi fattori ne aumen ta la flessibilità, rendendole più sensibili ai carichi dinamici indotti dai pedoni. La stima de lle condizioni in esercizio durante il transito pedonale diventa così il criterio principale p r la progettazione di tali opere. Lavalutazione delcomportamento dinamicorichiede che siconsi deril'interazione dinamica tra ponte e pedoni assumendo scenari realistici del traffico pe donale, modelli accurati dell’azione del singolo pedone e procedure di integrazione robuste e affidabili.L'articolo analizza la risposta dinamica di una passerella pedonale al passaggio di un gruppo di pedoni, descritti come sistemi meccanici bipedi capaci di riprodurre la lo comozione umana. Le simulazioni numeriche, svolte con una procedura precedentemente impl mentata, mirano a descrivere la risposta del ponte con un approccio probabilistico. Le frequenze del passo di ciascun pedone sono considerate variabili aleatorie correlate tra loro sulla base delle distanze mutue. Eleonora Lai, Maria G. Mulas. Meccanica dei Materiali e delle Strutture | VI (2016), 1, PP. 211-218 212
University of Birmingham Observation of fluorescence from excited states of NF and NF following photodissociation of NF in the range 11-30 eV

A study of the vacuum-ultraviolet (VUV) fluorescence spectroscopy of NF 3 in the 11-30 eV range is presented. Synchrotron radiation from BESSY1, Berlin provides the VUV excitation source. Emission due to NF b 1 Σ + − X 3 Σ - at 528.8 nm is observed between 11.5 and 21.0 eV. Other emissions, which are believed to be due to transitions between highly excited states of NF 2 , are observed at higher energies, 14.8-24.5 eV. Lifetimes associated with two of these bands at 325 nm and 410 nm are determined to be 12.9 and 13.0 ns, respectively. The similarity of the measured values implies that the two transitions originate from a common upper state.
Spins, charge radii and magnetic moments of neutron-rich Mn isotopes measured with bunched beam Collinear Laser Spectroscopy

In this work, the odd-even 51–63 25Mn isotopes have been analyzed using collinear laser spectroscopy, from which the magnetic dipole moment and the change in change in mean square charge radius can be determined. The magnetic moment is very sensitive to the composition of the total nuclear wave function, while the charge radius gives information about the relative size and degree of deformation of the nucleus. An additional advantage of collinear laser spectroscopy is the possibility of direct measurement of the nuclear spin. The main motivation behind the study of these isotopes is to investigate the change in nuclear structure when approaching neutron number N = 40. This region is of interest due to the apparent doubly magic nature of 68 28Ni40, which is not seen in the N = 40 isotopes of 26Fe and 24Cr. Mn, situated between these elements, offers another perspective due to its uncoupled proton. Based on the observed spectra and extracted moments, spins were assigned to 59,61,63Mn. The extracted magnetic moments indicate that there is a contribution to the total nuclear wave function of neutrons that are excited above N = 40. This means that N = 40 is not a shell closure anymore for Mn.