pinecone/core-2020-05-10-deduplication huggingface dataset:
Strain analysis of InGaN/GaN multi quantum well LED structures

Cataloged from PDF version of article.Five period InGaN/GaN multi quantum well (MQW) light emitting diode (LED) structures were grown by a metalorganic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) system on c-plane sapphire. The structural characteristics as a strain-stress analysis of hexagonal epilayers MQWs were determined by using nondestructive high resolution x-ray diffraction (HRXRD) in detail. The strain/stress analysis in AlN, GaN, and InGaN thin films with a variation of the In molar fraction in the InGaN well layers was conducted based on the precise measurement of the lattice parameters. The a- and c-lattice parameters of the structures were calculated from the peak positions obtained by rocking the theta axis at the vicinity of the symmetric and asymmetric plane reflection angles, followed by the in-plane and out-of-plane strains. The biaxial and hydrostatic components of the strain were extracted from the obtained a- and c-direction strains values
Hydrothermal conversion of ZnO2 to ZnO flowers: A mechanistic investigation and characterization

n this article, we report a novel but simple method for the phase transformation of ZnO2 to flower-​like ZnO microstructures hydrothermally at 90°C with and without the assistance of hexadecylamine as surfactant.  The generation of zincate ion ZnO22-​ as a growth unit from the reaction between ZnO2 and peroxide ion O22-​ in situ plays a key role in the phase transformation of ZnO2 to ZnO.  The morphol., structure, and compn. of the products have been investigated by SEM (SEM)​, transmission electron microscopy (TEM)​, Powder X-​ray diffraction (PXRD) and energy dispersive X-​ray anal. (EDX)​.  It has been demonstrated that the as-​fabricated ZnO flowers are composed of self-​assembled brooms and rods in the presence and absence of hexadecylamine resp.  On the basis of exptl. results, a possible reaction mechanism and the growth processes involved in the formation of flower-​like ZnO microstructures are discusse
T(x) phase diagram of the CuSbS2–CuInS2 system and solubility  limit of Sb in CuInS2.

The starting ternary compounds CuInS2 and CuSbS2 and alloys of the CuSbS2–CuInS2 system with the molar fractions of CuInS2 (x) equal to 0.05, 0.15, 0.25, 0.375, 0.50, 0.625, 0.75, 0.85, and 0.95 were prepared and the phase relations in this system were investigated by X-ray powder diffraction, optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and differential thermal analysis. It was shown that the T–x phase diagram of the CuInS2–CuSbS2 system has a eutectic character with the eutectic temperature of 807 K. The alloys of the\ud
CuSbS2–CuInS2 system with the molar fraction of CuInS2 in the range from 0.038 to 0.941 at room temperatureare two-phased, and the limits of solu-bility are 0.059 molar fractions for CuSbS2 in CuInS2 and 0.038 molar fractions for CuInS2 in CuSbS2
Growth of carbon nanotubes from waste blast furnace gases at atmospheric pressure

This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium,\ud
provided the original work is properly cited.Carbon emissions from industrial sources are of major global concern, especially contributions from the steel manufacturing process which accounts for the majority of emissions. Typical blast furnace gases consist of CO2 (20-25%), CO (20-25%), H2 (3-5%) and N2 (40-50%) and trace amounts of other gases. It is demonstrated that gas mixtures with these compositions can be used at atmospheric pressure to grow carbon nanotubes (CNTs) by chemical vapor deposition (CVD) on to steel substrates, which act as catalysts for CNT growth. Computational modelling was used to investigate the CNT growth conditions inside the CVD chamber. The results show that industrial waste pollutant gases can be used to manufacture materials with significant commercial value, in this case CNTs
Investigations of the process of crystal growth from a liquid zone by Seebeck measurements

An arrangement for measuring the thermoelectric voltage (Seebeck signal) during the crystal growth from a liquid zone is described. Using the example of growing PbTe single crystals by THM it is shown that different equilibrium temperatures at both phase boundaries provide a differential Seekeck voltage depending on the crystal growth rate. Relaxation times which are needed to reach steady-state conditions with respect to the concentration difference between the growing and solving interface in the case of a start or sudden stop of the heater motion can be obtained.
On Segregation during Crystal Growth from a Solution Zone

The distribution in a mixed crystal A1-xBxC grown from an either (A, B)-rich or C-rich solution zone (e.g. travelling heater method or related techniques) is to be described by Pfann's zone melting function which depends on the segregation coefficient and a characteristic length. Using pseudobinary mole fractions x the characteristic length of the distribution function is not the actual length of the liquid solution zone but an effective zone length is to be regarded which may be considerably smaller or much bigger for C-rich or (A, B)-rich solutions zones, respectively.
Temperature Measurement in a THM Solution Zone for the Growth of Hg1-xCdxTe

A combined process for temperature measurements in THM growth systems is described including the preparation of the source material as well as the liquid solution zone in one and the same ampoule. Using starting compositions with an excess of that component to act as the solvent the solution zone is formed during the travelling heater procedure. With thermocouples attached to the slightly modified ampoule axial temperature distributions were recorded under the usual THM growth conditions. The measurements were done in Hg0.8Cd0.2Te growing from Te-rich solution zones. The procedure described can be applied to all materials for which THM crystal growth can be achieved.
Antibacterial activity and mode of action of AM404

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Porphyromonas gingivalis is a major pathogen involved in oral diseases such as periodontitis and peri-implantitis. Management of these diseases typically includes mechanical debridement of the colonized surfaces followed by application of antiseptics or antibiotics. Disadvantages associated with the use of antiseptics and the growing worldwide problem of antibiotic resistance have necessitated the search for alternative agents. In the current study, the antibacterial and antibiofilm properties of AM404, an active metabolite of paracetamol, were tested against P. gingivalis and other bacterial pathogens.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: The activity of AM404 was tested against ten different bacteria, including both oral and non-oral human pathogens. The minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) of AM404 was determined by measuring OD values. The minimum biofilm inhibitory concentration was detected by crystal violet staining. The activity of structural analogs of AM404 was tested by MIC determinations. The effect of AM404 on P. gingivalis biofilms formed on titanium disks as a model for dental implants was evaluated by colony forming unit (CFU) counting. Potential cytotoxicity of AM404 towards HEK-293 (human embryonic kidney cells), HepG2 (human hepatoma cells), IEC-6 (rat intestinal cells) and Panc-1 cells (pancreatic cancer cells) was assessed by MTT assays. To get more insight in the mode of action of AM404, the fluorescent dyes N-phenyl-1-napthylamine (NPN) and SYTOX green were used to investigate outer and inner membrane damage of P. gingivalis induced by AM404, respectively. 
RESULTS: Of all tested pathogens, AM404 only inhibited growth and biofilm formation of P. gingivalis. Moreover, it showed potent activity against P. gingivalis biofilms formed on titanium surfaces. A structure-activity analysis demonstrated that the unsaturated carbon chain is essential for its antibacterial activity. Importantly, AM404 was not toxic towards the tested mammalian cells up to concentrations approaching 4x the MIC. Membrane damage assays using fluorescent probes NPN and SYTOX green revealed that membrane permeabilization presumably is the primary antibacterial mode of action of AM404.
CONCLUSION: Collectively, our results suggest that AM404 has the potential to be used for the development of new drugs specifically targeting P. gingivalis-related infections.status: publishe
Judging the Acceptability of Amnesties: A Togolese Perspective

The relationships between the circumstances in which amnesties are granted and Togolese lay people’s judgments of their acceptability were examined. The 351 participants were instructed to read stories- created by the authors -in which a former police officer testified in front of a commission to receive amnesty. The stories were based on a five factor design: Quality of the information revealed, presence-absence of apologies, opportunity given to the victims for telling their story, compensation, and punishment of the applicant. Several interactions involving the truth and the apology factors were observed: Acceptability required the simultaneous presence of several positive aspects.\ud
Key words: amnesty, acceptability, Tog
The other voice in the room: restorative justice facilitators’ constructions of justice

Restorative justice represents an approach to managing conflict initiated by a wrongdoing that focuses on restoring the participants materially, psychologically, and relationally. Restorative interventions usually involve facilitators who act as “experts” in helping the parties to manage their conflict restoratively. They also help participants to understand how restorative justice differs from traditional justice and what restorative justice looks like. However, we lack an understanding of how facilitators conceptualize justice in the first place. Drawing on interviews with facilitators, this study identifies facilitators’ justice constructions during victim-offender conferences. Together, these constructions constitute a multi-dimensional, multi-layered model of justice in victim-offender conferences
Mediation's Potential to Reduce Occupational Stress: A New Perspective

This article is a response to several factors: the emergence of occupational stress as a main theme in a qualitative study involving parties to workplace mediation; the recognition that mediation, being underpinned by psychological stress models, can reduce occupational stress; and a lack of studies investigating mediation's potential to alleviate occupational stress. Linking mediation's main qualities to interactional and transactional models of stress, the article provides a new angle on mediation's dynamics. Findings are illustrated by extracts from interviews. Suggestions are made as to ways in which workplace mediation might be used more proactively in relation to stress
Mediation, power, and cultural difference

In Western mediation practice, conflict and violence are typically seen as destructive and unhelpful ways of being, and this does not allow for the constitutive and productive role of conflict in many non-Western traditions. The playing out of these assumptions in mediation practice effects an operation of power that is particularly significant in intercultural mediations. Explicit and implicit mediator techniques lead disputants in intercultural mediations to behave in ways consistent with the goals of mediation and Western norms around conflict and selfhood. The specificity of this analysis means that the findings are indicative and explorative rather than comprehensive. Nevertheless, the results highlight the need to consider ways in which researchers and mediators can begin to mitigate this operation of power and respond to cultural difference in ethical ways
Are firms that contribute to sustainable development better financially?

The aim of this study is to analyze the effect exerted by corporate social strategies on (short‐term and long‐term) corporate financial performance (CFP). To this end, we use data on firms listed in the Stoxx Europe 600 index and Stoxx Europe Sustainability index from 2007 to 2010. On the sample data, we implement random and fixed effects panel data methodology corrected by heteroskedasticity, serial correlation, and/or cross‐sectional dependence. The results obtained show that the implementation of corporate social responsibility (CSR) strategy, the level of economic development of the country and firm size determine CFP. In addition, the investment in research and development influences the return on assets while the company's financial slack affects the Tobin's Q. So, companies that contribute to sustainable development incur higher CFP Environmen
Are corporate carbon management practices reducing corporate carbon emissions?

This paper is the first large scale, quantitative study of the impact of corporate carbon management practices on corporate greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Using data for 2009 and 2010 from the Carbon Disclosure Project survey, we find little compelling evidence that commonly adopted management practices are reducing emissions. This finding is unexpected and we propose three possible explanations for it. First, it may be because corporate carbon data and management practice information have not been reported in a standardized way. Second, there may be a delay between the application of corporate carbon management practices and their impact on emissions performance. Third, carbon management practices are not sufficiently impact-oriented, meaning there is no relationship to observe. Our findings are important for policymakers designing corporate GHG reporting standards, for the multiple stakeholders trying to understand the drivers of corporate carbon performance, and for the corporate managers responsible for measuring, reporting and mitigating emissions
Corporate Sustainability Performance and Assurance on Sustainability Reports: Diffusion of Accounting Practices in the Realm of Sustainable Development

Contains fulltext :
                  191708pub.pdf (publisher's version ) (Open Access)In response to investors and other stakeholders questioning the credibility of the performance information displayed in sustainability reports, companies increasingly have their sustainability reports voluntarily assured by an independent third party. However, voluntary third-party assurance on sustainability reports (SA) may vary considerably in terms of the choice of the assurance provider as well as the scope and level of assurance. In this study, the relation between corporate sustainability performance (CSP) and choices related to SA is explored. Using a panel data set of 4686 listed companies (from 21 European and North American countries) during the period 2009–2014, the results indicate that companies with a superior CSP are more likely to employ third parties to provide assurance on their sustainability reports than companies with an inferior sustainability performance. For the companies that employ third parties to provide assurance, we also find that, among the companies headquartered in the more shareholder-oriented countries, CSP plays a significant role in explaining variation in the choice of the assurance provider, while predominantly in the more stakeholder-oriented countries, companies with a good CSP are more likely to choose a broader assurance scope than companies with a poor CSP. The results support the notion that companies with a superior CSP make different choices related to SA than companies with an inferior CSP. The results also indicate that country-specific characteristics are important for understanding the variation in choices related to SA. We discuss the findings and their implications.25 augustus 201716 p
Are firms that contribute to sustainable development valued by investors?

Artigo em revista científica internacional com arbitragem científicaSustainability reporting contributes to making sustainable development a higher priority for companies, increases the social responsibility of their managers, and reinforces the credibility and trust of their stakeholders. However, prior research about the value relevance of sustainability disclosure for financial stakeholders provides inconclusive results. In this context, the aim of our research is to analyse whether sustainability disclosure provides relevant information and incremental value for investors in the European setting where this practice has been steadily increasing in the period 2001–2013. Our overall results support the belief that conducting business in accordance with ethical norms is value relevant for European investors.
However, our results also reveal that there is no homogeneity among markets, even for the periods before and after the global financial crisis. These findings could have several implications for internal and external stakeholders such as managers, shareholders, and policymakers. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio
An Innovative Model to Promote CSR among SMEsOperating in Industrial Clusters: Evidence froman EU Project

This paper presents the fi ndings of our EU co-funded project, an idea developed to better understand the opportunities to formalize corporate social responsibility (CSR) practices for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in a clustered system. Small companies often\ud
have to compete in a global market; for this reason, cooperation among SMEs, and with local stakeholders and intermediary institutions, might be facilitated by a collective answer to new market requests. Cooperation and social capital are key elements to facilitate trust amongst involved local actors. Moreover, they can also play a key role in the formalization of CSR policies and practices for small companies. In our project, we aimed at identifying\ud
and understanding the role of the ‘intermediary institutions’ (such as trade unions, local authorities, business consortia) in the cluster. Throughout the paper, we focus on the analysis of three industrial clusters in Tuscany (Italy). Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons,\ud
Ltd and ERP Environment
What motivates managers to pursue corporate social responsibility (CSR)? A survey among key stakeholders

This is the authors' accepted and refereed manuscript to the articleFollowing several decades of scholarship with several disciplinary points of departure, there is today a great heterogeneity of theories and approaches to Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). Taking a pragmatist position this article takes some of the most central theoretic perspectives on CSR and exposes them to an evaluation by three panels: Corporate leaders, NGO employees and master students at business school. The purpose of the paper is to clarify and compare what these panels think motivate mangers to pursue CSR from a positivist and normative perspective.
We find that the three panels are surprisingly agreed on what they assume motivate managers to pursue CSR and what should motivate the same mangers. We also see a large discrepancy between what they think motivate and what should motivate managers. Branding, stakeholders and value maximization are assumed to be key motivators, whereas sustainability and branding should be the key motivators.1, Forfatterversjo
The Journey of a 'Green' Micro-Enterprise - The Green Planet

This teaching case explores the longitudinal evolution of a small environmental micro-enterprise: The Green Planet retail store. Exploring two decades of business history, it analyses the development of this business as sustainability issues and greener consumer goods mainstreamed in society. The case presents one of the first explorations of the individual trade-offs that owners make between economic, environmental, and social criteria, alongside an exploration of the role that the personal values of the owner plays in the evolution of this business. Also presented is a sample of other environmental enterprises profiled alongside The Green Planet in the early 1990s. This additional dataset provides a rich resource for readers, and a number of indicative discussion themes are identified. Readers interested in topics such as marketing, business strategy, innovation, entrepreneurship, corporate social responsibility, and environmental management will find this case a valuable addition to their teaching resources. © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment
Catalytic Hydrogenolysis of Aromatic Ketones in Mixed Choline–Betainium Ionic Liquids

The palladium-catalyzed hydrogenolysis of aromatic ketones to alkylbenzenes was studied in mixtures of ionic liquids to explore the promotional effect of these reaction media. Choline-based ionic liquids displayed complete miscibility with the aromatic ketone substrate at reaction temperature and a clear phase separation of the derived alkylbenzene product at room temperature. Selected ionic liquids were then assessed as reaction media in the hydrogenolysis of aromatic ketones over palladium catalysts. A binary mixture of choline and betainium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide ionic liquids resulted in the highest conversion and selectivity values in the hydrogenolysis of acetophenone. At the end of the reaction, the immiscible alkylbenzene separates from the ionic liquid mixture and the pure product phase can be isolated by simple decantation. After optimization of the reaction conditions, high yields (>90%) of alkylbenzene were obtained in all cases. The catalyst and the ionic liquid could be used at least three times without any loss of activity or selectivity.status: publishe
A Simple One-Pot Dehydration Process to Convert N-acetyl-D-glucosamine into a Nitrogen-Containing Compound, 3-acetamido-5-acetylfuran

An efficient process for converting N-acetyglucosamine (NAG) into 3-acetamido-5-acetylfuran (3A5AF) is reported. 3A5AF is proposed as a N-containing platform chemical, which contains renewable nitrogen. In the reported method, NAG in the presence of boric acid (B(OH)3) and sodium chloride (NaCl) produces 58% yield 3A5AF in dimethylacetamide (DMA) under microwave irradiation (220 °C, 15 min). A maximum yield of 62% was obtained in the presence of 4 equiv NaCl. Performing ICP-MS analysis on NAG from different chemical suppliers highlighted the importance of Cl and B levels in this process. Trace impurities are therefore important considerations in biomass transformations. This solution-phase process produces approximately 30 times more 3A5AF than via a previously reported pyrolysis route