Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
IMPACT OF RESPIRATORY MECHANICS MODEL PARAMETERS ON GAS EXCHANGE EFFICIENCY

In this article, we are interested in the impact of the mechanical characteristics of the bronchial tree and lung parenchyma on the gas exchange capacity of the human lungs. Objectives. The precise role of the airway smooth muscle (ASM) remains a matter of debate. ASM could have a structural function, to confer transport optimized mechanical properties to the bronchial tree. To test this hypothesis, the present model analysis investigates how ASM-dependent changes in respiratory mechanics can influence the efficiency of the lungas gas exchangers. Method. To this aim, two models have been elaborated. The first one is a single compartment model of the respiratory system that is accurate enough to predict the behaviour of the system during a complex dynamical situation (the forced inspiratory-expiratory maneuver that is performed during spirometric evaluations). The second one is an oxygen absorption model. The two models are coupled in series. The effects of changes in the parameters of the mechanical model on the performance of the gas exchange model are described. Results. The model shows that the mechanical response of the bronchial tree to the dilating forces related to inspiration is among the determinants of this efficiency. At one extreme, a fully rigid bronchial tree would be counterproductive by preventing sufficient amounts of gas to flow through it and reach the alveoli. At the other extreme, a fully distensible bronchial tree would allow greater inspiratory volumes to enter the thorax, but would compromise gas exchange efficiency by decreasing the alveolar volume, hence the membrane surface available for oxygen transfer (deadspace effect). This supports the hypothesis that ASM has a transport optimizing structural function. Conclusions. This is supported by physiological observations compatible with deadspace increases following the administration of ASM-relaxing agents, i. e. bronchodilators.
$h^1$, bmo, blo and Littlewood-Paley $g$-functions with non-doubling measures

Let $\mu$ be a nonnegative Radon measure on ${\mathbb R}^d$ which satisfies the growth condition that there exist constants $C_0 > 0$ and $n\in(0,d]$ such that for all $x\in{\mathbb R}^d$ and $r > 0$, $\mu(B(x,\,r)) \le C_0 r^n$, where $B(x,r)$ is the open ball centered at $x$ and having radius $r$. In this paper, we introduce a local atomic Hardy space ${h_{\rm atb}^{1,\infty}(\mu)}$, a local BMO-type space ${\mathop\mathrm{rbmo}(\mu)}$ and a local BLO-type space ${\mathop\mathrm{rblo}(\mu)}$ in the spirit of Goldberg and establish some useful characterizations for these spaces. Especially, we prove that the space ${\mathop\mathrm{rbmo}(\mu)}$ satisfies a John-Nirenberg inequality and its predual is ${h_{\rm atb}^{1,\infty}(\mu)}$. We also establish some useful properties of ${\mathop\mathrm{RBLO}\,(\mu)}$ and improve the known characterization theorems of ${\mathop\mathrm{RBLO}(\mu)}$ in terms of the natural maximal function by removing the assumption on the regularity condition. Moreover, the relations of these local spaces with known corresponding function spaces are also presented. As applications, we prove that the inhomogeneous Littlewood-Paley $g$-function $g(f)$ of Tolsa is bounded from ${h_{\rm atb}^{1,\infty}(\mu)}$ to ${L^1(\mu)}$, and that $[g(f)]^2$ is bounded from ${\mathop\mathrm{rbmo}(\mu)}$ to ${\mathop\mathrm{rblo}(\mu)}$.
Nutrients content, characterization and oil extraction from Acrocomia aculeata (Jacq.) Lodd. fruits.

Proximate composition, physical and chemical analysis of the pulp, kernel and oils of Acrocomia aculeata (Jacq.) Lodd. were investigated. The macauba pulp and the kernel represented 49 and 6.25% of the mass of the whole fruit, respectively. The main components present in the pulp and kernel are lipids (23.62 and 46.96%) and fibers (13.89 and 15.81%). Furthermore, the mineral analysis showed that the kernel had more micronutrients than pulp, principally Cu, Mn and Zn. The influence of extraction by pressing and Soxhlet extractor in different solvents regarding the quality and yield of the oils was evaluated. The highest yield in oil extraction was obtained by Soxhlet method, influenced by the type of solvent and part of macauba’s fruit. For pulp, the better solvent is ethanol and ethanol 95%, and for kernel is ethanol, ethanol 95%, hexane and ethyl either. The analysis of the composition of fatty acids in the oil from the pulp and kernel showed that the monounsaturated fatty acids were predominant in the pulp oil, specially the oleic acid (C 18:1), and saturated fatty acids in the kernel oil, principally the lauric acid (C 12:0). Key words: Acrocomia aculeata (Jacq.) Lodd. , macauba oil, pulp, kernel, proximate composition, nutritional components, fatty acids.
New feature of the solution of a Timoshenko beam carrying the moving mass particle

The paper deals with the problem of vibrations of a Timoshenko beam loaded by a travelling mass particle. Such problems occur in a vehicle/track interaction or a power collector in railways. Increasing speed involves wave phenomena with significant increase of amplitudes. The travelling speed approaches critical values. The moving point mass attached to a structure in some cases can exceed the mass of the structure, i.e. a string or a beam, locally engaged in vibrations. In the literature, the travelling inertial load is often replaced by massless forces or oscillators. Classical solution of the motion equation may involve discussion concerning the contribution of the Dirac delta term, multiplied by the acceleration of the beam in a moving point in the differential equation. Although the solution scheme is classical and successfully applied to numerous problems, in the paper the Lagrange equation of the second kind applied to the problem allows us to obtain the final solution with new features, not reported in the literature. In the case of a string or the Timoshenko beam, the inertial particle trajectory exhibits discontinuity and this phenomenon can be demonstrated or proved mathematically in a particular case. In practice, large jumps of the travelling inertial load is observed.
Observations on anaerobic glucose utilization tests in Staphylococcus Micrococcus identification

In comparative tests on 212 freshly isolated and reference cultures of gram-positive cocci, 85 showed anaerobic acid production from glucose in the currently recommended Hugh and Leifson test, but 138 showed anaerobic growth at the expense of glucose in a thioglycolate deep-tube test. Almost all of the discrepant results occurred in strains classified as micrococci of Baird-Parker's subgroups M1 through M4, but of the 106 strains of this type studied by us, only 55 showed anaerobic growth in the thioglycolate test. For practical purposes, the thioglycolate results therefore did not clarify the identification of strains in the M1 through M4 subgroups. Further experiments with modified forms of the pH change and growth detection tests showed that the results of the latter were susceptible to grossly different interpretations by different observers and that equally sensitive but more reliably interpretable results could be obtained with the pH change system.
Inner structure of La Fossa di Vulcano (Vulcano Island, southern Tyrrhenian Sea, Italy) revealed by high-resolution electric resistivity tomography coupled with self-potential, temperature, and CO2 diffuse degassing measurements

La Fossa cone is an active stratovolcano located on Vulcano Island in the Aeolian Archipelago (southern Italy). Its activity is characterized by explosive phreatic and phreatomagmatic eruptions producing wet and dry pyroclastic surges, pumice fall deposits, and highly viscous lava flows. Nine 2-D electrical resistivity tomograms (ERTs; electrode spacing 20 m, with a depth of investigation >200 m) were obtained to image the edifice. In addition, we also measured the self-potential, the CO2 flux from the soil, and the temperature along these profiles at the same locations. These data provide complementary information to interpret the ERT profiles. The ERT profiles allow us to identify the main structural boundaries (and their associated fluid circulations) defining the shallow architecture of the Fossa cone. The hydrothermal system is identified by very low values of the electrical resistivity ( 400 Ω m). Inside the crater it is possible to follow the plumbing system of the main fumarolic areas. On the flank of the edifice a thick layer of tuff is also marked by very low resistivity values (in the range 1–20 Ω m) because of its composition in clays and zeolites. The ashes and pyroclastic materials ejected during the nineteenth-century eruptions and partially covering the flank of the volcano correspond to relatively resistive materials (several hundreds to several thousands Ω m). We carried out laboratory measurements of the electrical resistivity and the streaming potential coupling coefficient of the main materials forming the volcanic edifice. A 2-D simulation of the groundwater flow is performed over the edifice using a commercial finite element code. Input parameters are the topography, the ERT cross section, and the value of the measured streaming current coupling coefficient. From this simulation we computed the self-potential field, and we found good agreement with the measured self-potential data by adjusting the boundary conditions for the flux of water. Inverse modeling shows that self-potential data can be used to determine the pattern of groundwater flow and potentially to assess water budget at the scale of the volcanic edifice.
Using a spatiotemporal plane to recover a moving object’s shape using Spatiotemporal Boundary Formation

When ever an object moves, it successively covers and uncovers surfaces that are farther away. This occlusion and dis-occlusion always occurs precisely at the boundaries of the moving object and as such provide information not only about the shape of the object but also about its velocity, transparency, and relative depth. Humans can and do use this information, and the process has come to be called Spatiotemporal Boundary Formation (SBF). Previous authors have used the wealth of experimental investigations into SBF to create a mathematical model of the process. In this article we proposed a novel method to recover the orientation and velocity the local edge segments of the moving objects which is more ﬂexible, more robust, more compact, and allows the recovery of edges that do not have a constant velocity. The method can be used in object segmentation algorithms or as a pre-ﬁlter for machine-learning-based recognition algorithms in order to improve the overall result.
Single phase (Cyclohexane-Assisted) Transesterification of Jatropha Curcas Seed Oil Using Full Factorial Design of Experiment

This work was aimed at reduction of time, energy and material consumption of transesterification reaction by introduction of cosolvent to overcome this mass transfer resistance. The oil was characterized and its properties were found to conform to those of the literature. The GC-MS analysis of the raw oil indicates that the major fatty acids were; palmitic acid (15.86%), Oleic acid (37.13%), linoleic acid (37.24%) and stearic acid (9.76%), this indicates that the major fatty acids are unsaturated acids. The work uses full factorial design of experiment to investigate the main and interaction effects of five factors (varied at two levels of high and low) affecting transesterification. Methanol/oil molar ratio (41.49%) was found to be the most significant effect followed by catalyst concentration (30.54%), temperature (8.05%), and time (1.45%). For the interaction effects, the interaction of methanol/oil molar ratio with catalyst concentration (1.52%) was found to be most significant interaction this was then followed by the interaction of temperature and methanol/oil molar ratio (1.30%). However, the effect of methanol/cosolvent volume ratio was found to be insignificant. The model equations developed were subjected to some constrains and an optimum yield of 69.40% was obtained at 3.85 minutes, 600C, 0.5% catalyst concentration, 6:1 methanol/oil molar ratio and 1:1 methanol/cosolvent volume ratio. The GC-MS analysis of samples produced at various conditions with least time confirms the formation of fatty acid methyl ester and the properties of the biodiesel produced at the optimum conditions were found to conform to ASTM D6751-02 B100.
The Aurora radiation-hydrodynamical simulations of reionization: calibration and first results.

Swiss National Supercomputing Centre (CSCS) [s613]; Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (NWO); European Research Council under the European Union's Seventh Framework Programme (FP7)/ERC [278594-GasAroundGalaxies, 301096-proFeSsoR]; Germany at LRZ Garching [2013091919]
The Benefits of the Electronic Customer Relationship Management to the Banks and their Customers

The current competitive market in banking sector emphasizes on the interaction, relationship management and networks to identify and satisfy the customer’s needs in order to achieve higher revenue and profits. The electronic customer relationship management (E-CRM) in the banking sector is implemented to serve customers and to achieve these objectives. Since the E-CRM is relatively new technology and evolves rapidly there is scarce evidence of the benefits of its implementation. The goal of this paper is to identify and describe the benefits of using these advance technologies in the banking sector and help the banks make informed decisions regarding the implementation and/or further improvement of an existing E-CRM. The research found that E-CRM have decreased the work load on the branches, decrease administrative cost, increase cross selling, bank revenues and enable the bankers to analyze the customers’ needs by having access to all past transactions. The e-channels have improved the dissemination of information and enabled the management to introduce new products and schemes at faster rate. The benefits experienced by customers with these advanced technologies in the banks are convenience, time and cost savings, security, and growth of trust and hence maintaining stronger attachment to the bank. The customers experienced early response to their queries and enjoyed a faster processing speed. They were found to be more secure and have greater trust in the bank than previous as a result of more interaction points, increasing communication and closer relationship with the banking staff. Keywords: Banking, Bank Management, Electronic Business, E-CRM,
Preventing War and Providing the Peace ? International Organizations and the Management of Territorial Disputes

I explore whether international organizations (IOs) promote peaceful conflict management. Using territorial claims data, I find that organizations with interventionist capabilities encourage disputing members to attempt peaceful conflict resolution. Then, to more fully uncover the causal relationship between IOs and conflict management, I investigate the influence of IOs on bilateral dispute settlement separately from third party settlement. The analyses reveal that institutions do not promote bilateral negotiations between members, indicating that the socialization and trust-building capabilities of IOs are limited. However, institutions foster multilateral talks, demonstrating that IOs broker bargaining with third party diplomatic intervention.
Correlation study of optical, mechanical and thermal properties of BAs material and its experimental energy gap

The object of this work is to study the correction between the optical, mechanical and thermal properties of boron arsenide (BAs) material and its experimental optical energy gap. The index of refraction, the high-frequency dielectric constant, the optical electronegativity, the bulk modulus, the micro-hardness, the plasmon energy, the Debye temperature, the melting temperature and the electronic polarizability of BAs were estimated from its energy gap. The results obtained are analyzed in comparison with available experimental and other theoretical data. My obtained results of the reflective index and the dielectric constant agree well with other theoretical data; whereas the bulk modulus, the microhardness, the Debye temperature, and the melting temperature are slightly lower than the experimental and other theoretical data. The electronic polarizability is slightly different than other theoretical ones from the literature.
A Rumsfeldian analysis of uncertainty in air-sea gas exchange

The title of this paper alludes to the oft-repeated statement by ex-US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, considering 'known knowns' (KKs), 'known unknowns' (KUs) and 'unknown unknowns' (UUs); a qualitative analysis which we apply to classify the degree of knowledge about uncertainties in air-sea gas exchange. We have tried to be comprehensive in our analysis, so this paper is broad in scope rather than deep in detail. We present a table summarizing the uncertainties we can identify and their 'Rumsfeldian classification' and go on to explain each source of uncertainty listed. We interpret the classifications as follows: a 'known known' uncertainty is one which is relatively well constrained, with some process-based understanding of causes and likely magnitude; a 'known unknown' is a source of uncertainty whose magnitude can be estimated at least for typical conditions/gases, but where only limited empirical evidence is available to validate magnitude and underlying processes; an 'unknown unknown' is an uncertainty for which we have little or no means to quantify the importance or likely magnitude of a process or phenomenon, with limited theoretical and/or little or no empirical evidence. We hope that this paper will provide a useful 'checklist' for researchers quantifying gas exchange and that it will aid in prioritizing future research on air-sea gas fluxes.
Detectability of the First Cosmic Explosions

We present a fully self-consistent simulation of a syntheti c survey of the furthermost cosmic explosions. The appearance of the first generation of sta rs (Population III) in the Universe represents a critical point during cosmic evolution, signa ling the end of the dark ages, a period of absence of light sources. Despite their importance, ther e is no confirmed detection of Population III stars so far. A fraction of these primordial stars are expected to die as pair-instability supernovae (PISNe), and should be bright enough to be observed up to a few hundred million years after the big bang. While the quest for Population III stars continues, detailed theoretical models and computer simulations serve as a testbed for their observability. With the upcoming near-infrared missions, estimates of the feasibility of de tecting PISNe are not only timely but imperative. To address this problem, we combine state-of-the-art cosmological and radiative simulations into a complete and self-consistent framework, which includes detailed features of the observational process. We show that a dedicated observational strategy using . 8 per cent of total allocation time of the James Webb Space Telescopemission can provide us up to � 9 15 detectable PISNe per year.
Spatial Signature Modulation: A Novel Secure Modulation Approach for MIMO Wiretap Channel

Security in physical and application layers have been always thought of as a complementary paradigm. In this paper, we argue that potential cooperation between physical and application layers provides several advantages and unique features that are not available in each paradigm by itself. The problem of exchanging confidential messages between nodes, A and B, in the presenceof an active adversary, E, over an insecure MIMO channel is considered. We introduce a double layer spatial signature modulation (SSM) in which the transmitted information is conveyed into the spatial signature of the transmitting antenna array observed by the intended receiver. Meanwhile, any other eavesdropper does not share the same bearing angle of the legitimate receiver obtains infinitesimally small amount of information. Further, to establish a secure link, A and B are required to share a secret common information prior to communication while keeping E ignorant about it. To that end, we introduce a novel physical layer assisted secret key agreement (SKA) protocol that leverages the cooperation between physical and application layer security. Angle of Arrival (AoA) and Angle of Departure (AoD) are physical layer parameters that can be exploited not only for their well performance at low SNR, but also for their contextual meaning that provides security advantages. In the proposed SKA protocol, AoA is explored as a physical mean for message source authentication, meanwhile, AoD is used as a common source of randomness in a smart signal processing approach to generate secret key bits without any extra communication overhead. We show that E can be kept ignorant about the generated key bit stream conditioned on its physical location. This work introduces the notion of physical hardness to an adversary pursuing either active or passive strategy. After establishing a secret common information, we show that the continuous use of AoA as a mean for message source authenticity provides a considerable advantage against active adversary during the message exchange phase. Extending the proposed scheme to a mobile communication environment is also provided. Finally, quantitative analysis for the security gain due to the potential cooperation between physical and application layer security is developed.
Characteristics of Landfalling Tropical Cyclones in the United States and Mexico: Climatology and Interannual Variability

Abstract The climatology and interannual variability of landfalling tropical cyclones and their impacts on precipitation in the continental United States and Mexico are examined. The analysis is based on National Hurricane Center 6-hourly tropical cyclone track data for the Atlantic and eastern Pacific basins and gridded daily U.S. precipitation data for the period August–October 1950–98. Geographic maps of total tropical cyclone strike days, and the mean and maximum percentage of precipitation due to tropical cyclones, are examined by month. To make the procedures objective, it is assumed that precipitation is symmetric about the storm’s center. While this introduces some uncertainty in the analysis, sensitivity tests show that this assumption is reasonable for precipitation within 5° of the circulation center. The relationship between landfalling tropical cyclones and two leading patterns of interannual climate variability—El Nino–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and the Arctic Oscillation (AO)—are then exam.
Two methods for optimal investment with trading strategies of finite variation

Two methods for designing optimal portfolios are proposed. In order to reduce the variation in the asset holdings and hence the eventual proportional transaction costs, the trading strategies of these portfolios are constrained to be of a finite variation. The first method minimizes an upper bound on the discretetime logarithmic error between a reference portfolio and the one with a constrained trading strategy, and thus penalizes the shortfall only. A quadratic penalty on the logarithmic variation of the trading strategy is also included in the objective functional. The second method minimizes a sum of the discrete-time log-quadratic errors between the asset holding values of the constrained portfolio and a certain reference portfolio, which results in tracking the reference portfolio. The optimal trading strategy is obtained in an explicit closed form for both methods. Simulation examples with the log-optimal and the BlackScholes replicating portfolios as references, show smoother trading strategies for the new portfolios and a significant reduction in the eventual proportional transaction cost. The performance of the new portfolios are very close to their references in both cases.