Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
THE COMPARISON OF TWO STRATEGIC ALLIANCES IN TERMS OF ORGANIZATIONAL LEARNING AND KNOWLEDGE TRANSFER

In the current situation of the global economy, collaboration may provide an opportunity for companies by engaging in strategic alliances. One of the main reasons that companies participate in strategic alliances is to share knowledge and expertise and to increase the utilization of knowledge by organizational learning and knowledge transfer. The aim of the present study is to make a comparison between two specific international strategic alliances to investigate the role of organizational learning and knowledge transfer in building strategic alliances within companies. In the present study, we start with a brief literature review of strategic alliances, organizational learning and knowledge transfer. Next, we conduct our research using qualitative data from two specific companies operating in Turkey. We explain the data collection method, the research model and analytical procedures in details. Then we make a comparison between two companies in terms of organizational learning and knowledge transfer in building strategic alliances. Finally, we provide the research findings and discuss their managerial and theoretical implications by comparing these two companies and two strategic alliances.
A Straight-Line Method for Analyzing Residual Drawdowns at an Observation Well

Determination of the hydraulic parameters (transmissivity and storage coefficients) of a confined aquifer is important for effective groundwater resources. For this purpose, the residual drawdowns have been in use to estimate the aquifer parameters by the classical Theis recovery method. The proposed method of this paper depends on a straight-line through the field data and it helps to calculate the parameters quickly without any need for long-term pumping data. It is based on the expansion series of the Theis well function by consideration of three terms, and this approach is valid for the dimensionless time factor . The method can be applied reliably to extensive and homogeneous confined aquifers resulting in different storage coefficients during the pumping and recovery periods . It presents a strength methodology for the parameters decision making from the residual data in the groundwater field of civil engineering.
Constraints on intrinsic alignment contamination of weak lensing surveys using the MegaZ-LRG sample

Correlations between the intrinsic shapes of galaxies and the large-scale galaxy density field provide an important tool to investigate galaxy intrinsic alignments, which constitute the major potential astrophysical systematic in cosmological weak lensing (cosmic shear) surveys, but also yield insight into the formation and evolution of galaxies. We measure galaxy position-shape correlations in the MegaZ-LRG sample for more than 800 000 luminous red galaxies for comoving transverse separations of 0.3 6 h(-1) Mpc, the fits to galaxy position-shape correlation functions are consistent with the scaling with rp and redshift of a revised, nonlinear version of the linear alignment model (Hirata & Seljak 2004) for all samples. An extra redshift dependence. (1 + z)(eta other) is constrained to.other = -0.3 +/- 0.8 (1 sigma). To obtain consistent amplitudes for all data, an additional dependence on galaxy luminosity alpha L-beta with beta = 1.1(-0.2)(+0.3) is required. The normalisation of the intrinsic alignment power spectrum is found to be (0.077 +/- 0.008)rho(-1)(cr) for galaxies at redshift 0.3 and r band magnitude of -22 (k- and evolution-corrected to z = 0). Assuming zero intrinsic alignments for blue galaxies, we assess the bias on cosmological parameters for a tomographic CFHTLSlike lensing survey given our new constraints on the intrinsic alignment model parameter space. Both the resulting mean bias and its uncertainty are smaller than the 1 sigma statistical errors when using the constraints from all samples combined. The addition of MegaZ- LRG data is critical to achieving constraints this strong, reducing the uncertainty in intrinsic alignment bias on cosmological parameters by factors of three to seven.
The Toxicity Assessment of ethyl p-hydroxybenzoate in Nematode C. elegans

Ethyl paraben (EP) is an antiseptic commonly used in food, medicine, cosmetics, and children's products. Parabens are popular due to their broad antibacterial spectrum, low cost, and stable pH characteristics, and though once considered safe as well as effective, recent studies have shown that EP has considerable oestrogenic activity which has adverse effect on the human reproduction system. In our study, we used a Caenorhabditis elegans assay system to investigate EP toxicity and its underlying mechanism. We found that prolonged exposure to EP decreased body length and locomotion behavior in the nematodes. Furthermore, most of the toxicities were transferable. Locomotion behavior defects were only partially recovered in progeny, and higher concentrations caused more significant defects; locomotion behavior improved after subsequent exposure to mutants PMK-1 and PMK-3. Taken together, the results showed that EP exerts adverse effect on C. elegans and may induce toxicity through various underlying mechanisms.
Synthesis and physicochemical characterization of mesoporous SiO 2 nanoparticles

There exists a knowledge gap in understanding potential toxicity of mesoporous silica nanoparticles. A critical step in assessing toxicity of these particles is to have a wide size range with different chemistries and physicochemical properties. There are several challenges when synthesizing mesoporous silica nanoparticles over a wide range of sizes including (1) nonuniform synthesis protocols using the same starting materials, (2) the low material yield in a single batch synthesis (especially for particles below 60- 70 nm), and (3)morphological instability during surfactant removal process and surface modifications. In this study, we synthesized a library of mesoporous silica nanoparticles with approximate particle sizes of 25, 70, 100, 170, and 600 nm. Surfaces of the silica nanoparticles were modified with hydrophilic-CH2-(CH2)2-COOH and relatively hydrophobic-CH2-(CH2)10-COOH functional groups. All silica nanoparticles were analysed for morphology, surface functionality, surface area/pore volume, surface organic content, and dispersion characteristics in liquid media. Our analysis revealed the synthesis of a spectrum of monodisperse bare and surface modified mesoporous silica nanoparticles with a narrow particle size distribution and devoid of cocontaminants critical for toxicity studies. Complete physicochemical characterization of these synthetic mesoporous silica nanoparticles will permit systematic toxicology studies for investigation of structure-activity relationships.
VARIABLE GAMMA-RAY EMISSION FROM THE CRAB NEBULA: SHORT FLARES AND LONG “WAVES”

Gamma-ray emission from the Crab Nebula has been recently shown to be unsteady. In this paper, we study the flux and spectral variability of the Crab above 100 MeV on different timescales ranging from days to weeks. In addition to the four main intense and day-long flares detected by AGILE and Fermi-LAT between 2007 September and 2012 September, we find evidence for week-long and less intense episodes of enhanced gamma-ray emission that we call “waves. ” Statistically significant “waves” show timescales of 1–2 weeks, and can occur by themselves or in association with shorter flares. We present a refined flux and spectral analysis of the 2007 September–October gamma-ray enhancement episode detected by AGILE that shows both “wave” and flaring behavior. We extend our analysis to the publicly available Fermi-LAT data set and show that several additional “wave” episodes can be identified. We discuss the spectral properties of the 2007 September “wave”/flare event and show that the physical properties of the “waves” are intermediate between steady and flaring states. Plasma instabilities inducing “waves” appear to involve spatial distances l ∼ 1016 cm and enhanced magnetic fields B ∼ (0.5–1) mG. Day-long flares are characterized by smaller distances and larger local magnetic fields. Typically, the deduced total energy associated with the “wave” phenomenon (Ew ∼ 1042 erg, where Ew is the kinetic energy of the emitting particles) is comparable with that associated to the flares, and can reach a few percent of the total available pulsar spin-down energy. Most likely, flares and waves are the product of the same class of plasma instabilities that we show acting on different timescales and radiation intensities.
NRW 2016 Melt-and Wet-Spinning of Graphene-Polymer NanoComposite Fibres for Multifunctional Textile Applications

In this work, we report about meltand wet-spinning of graphene nano-composite fibres with different polymer matrix materials. In case of melt-spinning, the development of a textile supercapacitor with melt-spun polyamide-6 yarns including 1 wt% of graphene is reported. Melt spinning of graphene/polyamide-6 is performed at pilot scale leading with winding velocities of 1,400 m/min. Subsequently, the graphene/polyamide-6 yarns are processed to woven fabrics and transferred into a supercapacitor. Electrical capacities of 1.14 and 1.82 mF/g are achieved for atlasand plane-weave woven fabrics. In case of wet-spinning, trials with graphene and polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) and the investigation of the obtained fibres’ properties are reported. By incorporation of 10 wt% of graphene into the polymer material, an increase of the tensile strength about a factor of 10 can be observed. Furthermore, after-treatment steps of drying and drawing are investigated. © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/ licenses/bync-nd/3.0/). Selection and Peer-review under responsibility of 7th North Rhine-Westphalian Nano-Conference.
Effect of Volcanic Eruptions on the Vertical Temperature Profile in Radiosonde Data and Climate Models

Abstract Both observed and modeled upper-air temperature profiles show the tropospheric cooling and tropical stratospheric warming effects from the three major volcanic eruptions since 1960. Detailed comparisons of vertical profiles of Radiosonde Atmospheric Temperature Products for Assessing Climate (RATPAC) and Hadley Centre Atmospheric Temperatures, version 2 (HadAT2), radiosonde temperatures with output from six coupled GCMs show good overall agreement on the responses to the 1991 Mount Pinatubo and 1982 El Chichon eruptions in the troposphere and stratosphere, with a tendency of the models to underestimate the upper-tropospheric cooling and overestimate the stratospheric warming relative to observations. The cooling effect at the surface in the tropics is amplified with altitude in the troposphere in both observations and models, but this amplification is greater for the observations than for the models. Models and observations show a large disagreement around 100 mb for Mount Pinatubo in the tropics.
Local conditions vs regional context: variation in composition of bird communities along the Middle Paraná River, an extensive river-floodplain system of South America

We studied spatial changes in species composition (i.e., beta diversity) of local assemblages of birds along ∼450 km of the Middle Parana River, an extensive fluvial system of South America. Point counts were used to survey birds at 60 plots located in shrub swamps and marshes of the floodplain within four sites (15 plots per site). Two sites were surrounded by each of the two upland ecoregions. Beta diversity of bird assemblages was high and was more important than alpha diversity in shaping regional diversity (i.e., gamma diversity) of the fluvial system. Compositional changes were related to species turnover among plots, while nestedness dissimilarity was not important for shaping diversity patterns. Variation-partitioning analysis showed that local conditions (i.e., landscape composition within a radius of 200 m from the center of each plot) accounted for more spatial variation in assemblage composition than did location along the fluvial system. Adjacent upland ecoregions did not account for spatial changes in bird composition within the fluvial system. In conclusion, environmental heterogeneity created by flood pulses is an important factor for sustaining regional diversity of birds within the fluvial system through effects on beta diversity.
A Diesel Generator Model with Fluctuating Engine Torque Including Magnetic Saturation for Transient Analysis using XTAP

Diesel engine generators are widely used in the world, especially in remote site power systems as distributed generators. A weak distribution feeder with a small diesel engine may suffer from voltage and power fluctuations due to misfiring of the engine cylinder. In this study, new generator model with example engine torque was developed for the electromagnetic transient analysis program for power systems named XTAP. The configuration and verification results of the developed model are presented in the paper. The model is considered to be useful for analyses of small power systems with those diesel engines.
Local variability but landscape stability in coral reef communities following repeated hurricane impacts

Coral reef community structure has remained remarkably stable over a 10 yr period within a small protected marine area despite repeated hurricane impacts. Local community dynamics have been highly variable, however. Sites that were destroyed by disease in the 1970s are showing little or no recovery, while sites less than a kilometre away that were devastated by Hurricane Hugo in 1989 are recovering well. Strong coral recruitment has occurred in shallow, exposed areas that showed the greatest hurricane impacts, and these areas are now more species rich than in 1988, although coral cover has not reached pre-hurricane levels. Coral colony survivorship has been high throughout most of the study area. Partial mortality rates were elevated for several years following Hurricane Hugo, but significant whole coral-head mortality only occurred during periods with hurricane impacts and only at the most exposed sites. Overall, the coral community has proved resilient to closely repeated major hurricane impacts. From a single case study we cannot attribute this resilience to the relatively low level of human impacts, but grazing fish populations have apparently remained high enough to keep macroalgae in check despite the mass mortality of the herbivore Diadema antillarum in the 1980s.
Perceptions of stakeholders on causes of poor performance in Grade 12 in a province in South Africa

Although a great deal of debate surrounds poor performance in Grade 12 National Examinations, very little research has addressed the factors influencing student performance. This paper gives an overview of causes of poor student performance in Grade 12. Stakeholders' perceptions on causes of poor student performance were gathered through interviews. The study revealed that major causes of poor student performance included lack of resources, lack of discipline and poor morale, problems concerning the implementation of policies, and inadequate parental involvement.
Synergistic effect of Glomus fasciculatum and Trichoderma pseudokoningii on Heliathus annuus to decontaminate tannery sludge from toxic metals

The effect of two soil amendments of tannery sludge (10% and 20%) on growth and metal uptake of Helianthus annuus L. was studied under three treatments of rhizosphere and mycorrhizal fungi. Trichoderma pseudokoningii Rifai was used as rhizosphere fungal inoculum (F) and Glomus fasciculatum (Thax.) Gerd. & Trappe as the mycorrhizal inoculum (M). The third treatment comprised of combined inoculation (F+M). The control (C) treatment was without any inoculum of the fungi. The plants given both the fungus and mycorrhizal (F+M) treatment showed the maximum growth among all treatments. Plants given only fungus (F) and only mycorrhizal (M) treatment also showed significantly better growth as compared with control (C) treatment. Among the two sludge amendments, the statistical analyses of the results showed increase in all growth parameters in lower (10%) sludge amendment ratio. The accumulation of potentially toxic metals (Cd, Cr, Na and Zn) in different parts of H. annuus grown on tannery sludge amended soil increased with increasing concentration of sludge in the soil. The plants treated with both fungus and mycorrhizal (F+M) treatment showed the maximum uptake of metals and thus the synergistic effect of these fungi can be exploited in decontamination of metals from tannery sludge.
Compositions of dilations and isometries in calculator-based dynamic geometry

In an exploratory study pre-service elementary school teachers constructed dilations and isometries for figures drawn and transformed using dynamic geometry on calculators. Observational and self assessments of the constructed images showed that the future teachers developed high levels of confidence in their abilities to construct compositions of the geometric transformations. Scores on follow-up assessment items indicated that the prospective teachers’ levels of expertise corresponded to their levels of confidence. Conclusions indicated that dynamic geometry on the calculator was an appropriate technology, but one that required careful planning, to develop these future teachers’ expertise with the compositions.
Influence of Fruit Juice From Aronia Melanocarpa on the Process of Lipid Peroxidation in a Model of Carbon Tetrachloride-Induced Hepatotoxicity in Rats

The fruit juice from Aronia melanocarpa (FJAM) is rich in anthocyanins. We studied the effect of FJAM on the process of lipid peroxidation in a model of carbon tetrachloride (CCI 4 )-induced hepatotoxicity in rats. Malondialdehyde (MDA) levels were measured in plasma and liver homogenate. CCU induced a significant elevation of MDA levels in the plasma (p<0,05) and in the homogenate (p<0,01) in comparison with distilled water-treated controls. FJAM applied alone did not significantly influence on the MDA levels. The pretreatment of the rats with FJAM before their treatment with CCI 4 lead dose-dependently to MDA levels in the plasma and homogenate which did not differ in most animal groups from the controls and were significantly lower from those of the CCI 4 -treated rats.
AMERICAN KESTREL (FALCO SPARVERIUS) BREEDING PRODUCTIVITY AND DIET IN A VERNAL POOLS AND GRASSLAND HABITAT

vi LIST OF FIGURES . viii LIST OF TABLES . x CHAPTER 1: BACKGROUND AND INTRODUCTION . 1 CHAPTER 2: AMERICAN KESTREL BREEDING PRODUCTIVY FROM A VERNAL POOLS AND GRASSLAND HABITAT NEST BOX PROGRAM . 12 Introduction . 12 Methods.13 Results . 14 Discussion . 15 CHAPTER 3: DETERMINING AMERICAN KESTREL DIET BREADTH AND VARIATION USING PREY REMAINS AND STABLE ISOTOPE ANALYSIS OF δN, δC, AND δH . 25 Introduction . 25 Methods.27 Results . 32 Discussion . 37 CHAPTER 4: CONCLUSIONS . 61 REFERENCES . 68 APPENDIX A: RAW DATA . 76
Bone Accumulations of Spotted Hyaenas (Crocuta crocuta, Erxleben, 1777) as Indicators of Diet and Human Conflict; Mashatu, Botswana

In a region where free ranging domestic species mix with wildlife, it is imperative to determine what, if any, predation may have occurred on domestic stock. As human settlements continuously encroach upon wild habitats, determining the types of predator-human conflicts that exist can be crucial to conserve numerous predator species. The partial diet of spotted hyaenas (Crocuta crocuta) of the Mashatu Game Reserve, Botswana, was established via analyses of faunal remains associated with four dens to determine predation/scavenging on wild or domestic species. Domestic species composed less than 3% of identified faunal remains. We acknowledge that this methodology is biased against small mammals, but, when combined with sociological studies, this methodology will aid in determining alleged predation on domestic stock by spotted hyaenas. Results indicated that the spotted hyaenas in question feed primarily on wild species.
Cognitive Ability and Vocational Interest Predictors of Case Closure for Individuals with Psychiatric Disabilities

This study sought to explore the utility of cognitive ability and vocational interest predictors of case closure for individuals with psychiatric disabilities. The predictive utility of an index of aptitude-interest congruence was also examined. Vocational interests were the only variables that emerged as significant predictors of case closure, clarifying the role of interest assessment as a core element in vocational rehabilitation (VR) protocols. Interests that correspond generally, with occupational domains that are associated with higher placement rates predicted case closure status. Although cognitive ability is a well-established predictor of the acquisition of job-related knowledge and job performance, it did not predict case closure in the present study. Further, aptitude-interest congruence did not predict case closure, suggesting that there are multiple and distinct influences between the characteristics of the person and the characteristics of the occupation that ultimately affect vocational success in this population. The present study highlights the relative importance of non-cognitive predictors to employment outcome in a psychiatrically disabled population. Further research is needed to clarify the relationship between vocational interests and case closure and the potential pathways, time course and direction of effects. Case Closure Predictors for Individuals with Psychiatric Disabilities 3 Page Intentionally Left Blank Case Closure Predictors for Individuals with Psychiatric Disabilities 4 Table of
Technology Analysis and Application of Software Reuse to Electronic Information System

Based upon the synopsis of software reuse technology, this paper describes the software reuse process and puts forward software reuse framework. Meanwhile, practical analysis is carries out, and platform application mode is deduced that comprises development environment, management environment, operation environment and component library. This will benefit the agile development of electronic information system.
Exploring the impact of Lean manufacturing on flexibility in SMEs

Purpose: This paper describes the use of simulation and case-study research to assess flexibility gains induced by the adoption of three Lean Manufacturing practices. Design/methodology/approach: We gather useful material and information about the manufacturing process of a selected Small-Medium Enterprise by adopting a case-research approach. The Value Stream Mapping is the method used for visualizing flows of products and information along the production system. Starting from the current arrangement of the company, computer simulation is used to assess the benefits arising from Cellular Manufacturing, Just-in-Time Delivery by Suppliers, and Single Minute Exchange of Dies. Findings: To investigate the flexibility improvements coming from the introduction of Lean Manufacturing, we present a simulation model of the described company on which we performed our analysis. We quantify the flexibility of different configurations according to the new 5-step approach in order to segregate the contribution of different lean techniques. Originality/value: We extend the combined use of Case Research and Computer Simulation to the research on Manufacturing Flexibility within Small-Medium Enterprises. We enhance the knowledge on this under investigated context collecting quantitative field data. Moreover, building on the factorial Design of Experiment, we introduce a new 5-step method to appraise the cost benefit ratio of lean techniques for flexibility. The managerial implication of this research is mostly related to the provision of a supporting method for the decision making process propaedeutic to Lean Manufacturing introduction.
Role of the playground environment on levels of physical activity in elementary school children

ii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS.iv TABLE OF CONTENTS.v CHAPTER I.1 CHAPTER II.5 CHAPTER III.20 CHAPTER IV.26 CHAPTER V.34 References.46 APPENDIX A.55 Human Subjects Approval.56 Informed Consent.59 Informed Assent.63