Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
1145 PERFORMANCE OF FIBER REINFORCED CONCRETE AGAINST CHLORIDE PENETRATION UNDER LOADING

This paper presents an experimental study on chloride penetration in fiber reinforced concrete (FRC) under compressive and tensile loading. The addition of short fiber into concrete is known to improve its mechanical properties, however the durability aspect of FRC should also be considered when designing its service life. The variations in fiber type, fiber length, fiber content and air content were investigated to determine its relationship to chloride penetration. Furthermore, three different types of polypropylene FRC (PFRC) were tested under compressive and tensile loading. The results showed that PFRC could provide good resistance against chloride penetration under loading.
UNIVERSITÉ DE MONTRÉAL CONTENT-BASED IMAGE ENHANCEMENT FOR EYE FUNDUS IMAGES VISUALIZATION MAXIME SCHMITT DÉPARTEMENT DE GÉNIE INFORMATIQUE ET GÉNIE LOGICIEL ÉCOLE POLYTECHNIQUE DE MONTRÉAL MÉMOIRE PRÉSENTÉ EN VUE DE L’OBTENTION DU DIPLÔME DE MAÎTRISE ÈS SCIENCES APPLIQUÉES (GÉNIE INF

Analyzing a patient’s retina allows to check for an increasing number of diseases and conditions, especially at their early stages when the patient may not notice any symptoms. Usually, the sooner a disease is treated the better it is, both for the patient’s health as well as their finances, as treatments tend to become more intrusive and costly the more advanced the condition is. For these reasons, regular screening of the population is a common recommendation to reduce the number of extreme cases. Considering the objective to test the maximum number of people each year, improving the screening process is important. The improvements proposed usually either automate the diagnosis or help the graders in making their diagnosis. This thesis focuses on improving the screening process by proposing an image enhancement method for eye fundus photography images visualization to make it easier for the graders to make their diagnosis. Eye fundus images present many problems whose correction could help in making their diagnosis easier such as blurred content, reflection artifacts, non-uniform luminosity and contrast as well as variability in size, shape and colors. With our method, we want to make the elements in the images more visible to facilitate their localization and recognition while maintaining a plausible appearance for the whole image, especially in terms of colors, so as to not confuse the grader. We also want to have all the images using the same color palette to reduce the variability among images. Previous works for the enhancement of eye fundus images have focused on correcting artifacts such as blur or luminosity and contrast issues. While these methods do bring improvement to the visibility of the elements in the images, they are usually better suited as preprocessing steps to other automated methods that leverage these enhancements to improve their own results. Indeed, they fail at maintaining the natural appearance of the color images and produce results that are difficult to analyze for a human expert as they do not share enough visual resemblance with regular images. In particular, they tend to make some parts of the image disappear such as the fovea which may not be necessary for some automated algorithms but that is used as a landmark by the graders. Also the colors of the resulting images are unnatural which bother the graders when they make their diagnosis. We then consider another field of image enhancement in the by-example color manipulation methods that allow to change a source image to use the colors of a given target image. This approach is usually used to change the tone or the style of regular photographs and has not yet been adapted to the context of eye fundus images. Recent works propose methods that transfer
Paving the way to modernity: Prussian roads and grain market integration in Westphalia, 1821–1855

This study investigates the relation of pre-railroad transport infrastructure on Westphalian grain market integration in the early nineteenth century. It is motivated by recently found indications of macroeconomic change in Prussia such as increased demand for labour, disappearance of positive Malthusian shocks and grain market integration. These coincide and correspond well with a number of institutional breaks such as border changes and state creation after the end of the Napoleonic Wars, liberal political reforms such as the abandoning of corporatist regulations in Prussia and substantial public investment in paved roads in a number of Prussian provinces. In this study, we show that (1) paved road connections mattered economically and statistically for bilateral rye and wheat price differences, (2) the usual dummy-variable approach to measure the effect of transport infrastructures proves to be unreliable and we propose a new indicator that takes into account the effects of the transport network, (3) the role of the early railroad connections is not robust. In this pilot study, we for the first time establish the correlation between economic development and pre-railroad transport infrastructure for a Prussian province, and thus call for more research on the causes of macroeconomic change in early nineteenth century Prussia.
Does Remittances Finance Welfare Development?: Evidence from the South Pacific Island Nation of Fiji

Remittances to developing nations have become an important source of income to finance the recipient households? livelihoods, where changes in expenditure patterns, consumption and savings-investment nexus for long term development lead to improve in wellbeing. The Pacific Islands have also seen to a significant rise in remittances and it has become a steady source of foreign exchange earnings. The island nations have a sizeable migration flow to Australia, New Zealand, the United States and United Kingdom as well as to other Pacific islands. A large number of emigrants from Fiji also migrate to Canada. More recently, remittances form a substantial flow through temporary labour schemes. Fiji? s rising migrant stock has seen remittances as the second largest foreign exchange earner after tourism surpassing other foreign capital flows of foreign aid, foreign direct investment as well as earnings from major commodity exports. It has large off-shore labour markets through specific employment abroad for teachers, nurses, care takers, sports personnel, military personnel and security officers in Australia, New Zealand, Dubai, United Kingdom, Middle East and the United Nations peace keeping force in the conflict-laden countries. The link between remittances and expenditure patterns has become an important nexus in the global welfare development framework. By increasing income of the recipient households? , remittances have gained impetus in the development agenda for its contribution to individual welfare through a range of consumption goods, entrepreneurial small and medium scale business and poverty reduction. Remittances impact on households? welfare shows that this financial inflow has been used for consumer durable and non-durable goods, food, housing, savings, investment and developing human capital, i.e., schooling and health outcomes. Its eventual developmental impact depends on the sustainability and what categories of consumption and innovative investment expenditures the households spend remittances on. This study examines the impact of remittances on welfare development in Fiji using the household income and expenditure survey 2002-03 dataset for 5,245 households. Expenditure patterns of the households are estimated for various categories and further disaggregated by ethnicity, i.e. Fijian and Indo-Fijian households. The results provide some implications for social financing for wellbeing and note the empowering and visionary opportunities of remittances to be part of development.
SPT0346-52: NEGLIGIBLE AGN ACTIVITY IN A COMPACT, HYPER-STARBURST GALAXY AT z = 5.7

We present Chandra ACIS-S and Australia Telescope Compact Array (ATCA) radio continuum observations of the strongly lensed dusty, star-forming galaxy SPT-S J034640-5204.9 (hereafter SPT0346-52) at z = 5.656. This galaxy has also been observed with ALMA, HST, Spitzer, Herschel, Atacama Pathfinder EXperiment, and the Very Large Telescope. Previous observations indicate that if the infrared (IR) emission is driven by star formation, then the inferred lensing-corrected star formation rate (SFR) (∼4500 M☉ yr−1) and SFR surface density ΣSFR (∼2000 M☉ yr−1 kpc−2) are both exceptionally high. It remained unclear from the previous data, however, whether a central active galactic nucleus (AGN) contributes appreciably to the IR luminosity. The Chandra upper limit shows that SPT0346-52 is consistent with being star formation dominated in the X-ray, and any AGN contribution to the IR emission is negligible. The ATCA radio continuum upper limits are also consistent with the FIR-to-radio correlation for star-forming galaxies with no indication of an additional AGN contribution. The observed prodigious intrinsic IR luminosity of (3.6 ± 0.3) × 1013 L☉ originates almost solely from vigorous star formation activity. With an intrinsic source size of 0.61 ± 0.03 kpc, SPT0346-52 is confirmed to have one of the highest ΣSFR of any known galaxy. This high ΣSFR, which approaches the Eddington limit for a radiation pressure supported starburst, may be explained by a combination of very high star formation efficiency and gas fraction.
EXAMINING THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN AGENCY COSTS AND STOCK MISPRICING: EVIDENCE FROM THE BAHRAIN STOCK EXCHANGE

Past studies revealed that there is a strong positive relation between information asymmetry and stock mispricing. However, there is no direct and clear evidence on the relationship between agency conflicts andstock mispricing. Therefore, this study examines the relationship between agency costs and stock mispricing in the Bahrain Stock Exchange (BSE). We adopt the methodology of Pantzalis and Park (2014), and employ their models and multi-dimensional measures to examine this relationship. The study hypothesizes that: (1) The Bahraini companies with higher agency costs are more likely to show high levels of stock mispricing; and (2)Stock mispricing in the BSE which resulted from agency conflicts should be softened (or overstated) by the use of stock option grants (or restricted stock grants) in CEO compensation bundle. Consequently, return data for the 50 listed companies in the BSE were analyzed and examined for 8 years period (i.e. from 2007 till 2014) using univariate and multivariate regression analysis. The empirical findings reveal that stock mispricing is significantly and positively related to agency costs in the BSE. Further, stock options, which mainly designed to resolve the conflicts of interest between agents (managers), and principals (shareholders), amplify the problem and this incident is obvious particularly, when companies are overvalued. Mainly, the findings of this study signify that compensation bundles that are not constructed well could result in higher stock mispricing.
Simulating the atmospheric response to the 11-year solar cycle forcing with the UM-UKCA model: the role of detection method and natural variability

Abstract. The 11-year solar cycle forcing is recognised as an important atmospheric forcing; however, there remain uncertainties in characterising the effects of solar variability on the atmosphere from observations and models. Here we present the first detailed assessment of the atmospheric response to the 11-year solar cycle in the UM-UKCA (Unified Model coupled to the United Kingdom Chemistry and Aerosol model) chemistry–climate model (CCM) using a three-member ensemble over the recent past (1966–2010). Comparison of the model simulations is made with satellite observations and reanalysis datasets. The UM-UKCA model produces a statistically significant response to the 11-year solar cycle in stratospheric temperatures, ozone and zonal winds. However, there are also differences in magnitude, spatial structure and timing of the signals compared to observational and reanalysis estimates. This could be due to deficiencies in the model performance, and so we include a critical discussion of the model limitations, and/or uncertainties in the current observational estimates of the solar cycle signals. Importantly, in contrast to many previous studies of the solar cycle impacts, we pay particular attention to the role of the chosen analysis method in UM-UKCA by comparing the model composite and a multiple linear regression (MLR) results. We show that the stratospheric solar responses diagnosed using both techniques largely agree with each other within the associated uncertainties; however, the results show that apparently different signals can be identified by the methods in the troposphere and in the tropical lower stratosphere. Lastly, we examine how internal atmospheric variability affects the detection of the 11-year solar responses in the model by comparing the results diagnosed from the three individual ensemble members (as opposed to those diagnosed from the full ensemble). We show overall agreement between the responses diagnosed for the ensemble members in the tropical and mid-latitude mid-stratosphere to lower mesosphere but larger apparent differences at Northern Hemisphere (NH) high latitudes during the dynamically active season. Our UM-UKCA results suggest the need for long data sets for confident detection of solar cycle impacts in the atmosphere, as well as for more research on possible interdependence of the solar cycle forcing with other atmospheric forcings and processes (e.g. Quasi-Biennial Oscillation, QBO; El Niño–Southern Oscillation, ENSO).
Regionalism and ECOWAS Trade Performance: A Gravity Model Approach

This paper investigates bilateral trade flows and the level of openness across ECOWAS-15 nations for the period of 1981-2013 using Poisson pseudo maximum likelihood (PPML), fully modified ordinary least squares (FMOLS) and canonical cointegrating regression (CCR). Comparing the results, the ECOWAS dummy variable was negative and significant in all of the estimation techniques. Financial openness under FMOLS and CCR was negatively significant. Trade openness was found to be negatively significant only under PPML. The empirical results indicate that a common border and distance have had a strong effect on ECOWAS trade; also there is a negative effect of trade flow among ECOWAS members. Moreover, the level of financial and trade openness among members impedes the level of trade flows on integration. The estimated results highlight the underlying significance of accurately accounting for endogeneity when estimating trade policy impacts.
Moisture-Dependent Physical and Mechanical Properties of White Sesame Seed

The effect of moisture content on the physical and mechanical properties of white sesame seed was determined to explore the possibility of developing its bulk handling and processing equipment. The average length, width and thickness, geometric mean diameter, volume of the seed and 100 seed mass ranged from 3.019 to 3.074 mm, 1.844 to 1.935 mm and 0.724 to 0.771 mm, 1.589 to 1.659 mm, 1.315 to 1.508 mm and 1.165 to 1.20g 3 as the moisture content increased from 4.5 to 15% wet basis, respectively. As the moisture content increased, the bulk density, true density and porosity were found to decrease from 607.3 to 542.1 kg/m , 1140 to 943.5 kg/m 33 and 46.73 to 42.54%, respectively, whereas the angle of repose increased 20.16 to 28.67°. When moisture content increased, the aspect ratio and surface area increased from 52.75 to 54.04%, from 24.06 to 25.12% and from 6.785 to 7.367 mm , respectively. The static coefficient of friction on various surfaces, namely, steel sheet, aluminium, 2 galvanized metal also increased linearly with increase in moisture content. The highest static coefficient of friction was found on the steel sheet surface. The rupture force decreased with increasing moisture from 9.90 to 10.625 N.
Population dynamics of Mytilus edulis along environmental gradients: density-dependent changes in adult mussel numbers

The densities of each age class of adult (>l yr old) mussels Mytilus edulis were measured in autumn and spring over 8 yr on each of 12 intertidal mussel beds in the Exe estuary, southwest England. The possibility that density-dependent changes in adult numbers in each of 9 yearly age classes occurred over the summer and winter periods was explored directly on individual beds and indirectly by combining data from all beds. There was direct evidence of density-dependent changes in both seasons in some age classes on some beds. The indirect tests suggested, however, that density-dependence was much more widespread over beds, age classes and seasons than had been suggested by the direct tests. The critical density above which density-dependent losses occurred, and to which the density-dependence tended to return numbers irrespective of the abundance of the mussels at the start of summer or winter, varied considerably among beds in several age classes. These critical densities were correlated most closely with the time for which a bed was exposed over low tide but were also influenced by the distance of a bed from the estuary mouth and the softness of its substrate. Between them, these 3 variables defined the environmental gradient of intertidal mussels in the Exe estuary. The residual, density-independent variations in the changes in numbers of several age classes of adult mussels about the density-dependent relationships were correlated with weather variables (temperature, gales and rainfall) in several cases and in both seasons. Surprisingly, there was evidence of widespread density-dependent immigration of adult mussels, especially in summer and in the younger age classes. While the passive movement by adult mussels in storms is well established, it is not known whether active movements occur in these older mussels. Although much of the density-dependence was due to mortality, immigration was therefore often an important component of the densitydependent relationships detected on individual beds. However, immigration on some beds countered losses on others. Perhaps because of this, density-dependence was often masked, and thus not detected, at the estuary scale in all but the youngest mussels whose estuary-wide abundance was dominated by 2 large mussel beds, where their numbers tended to CO-vary. Thus, strong densitydependence at one scale may not be detected at a higher scale.
Exciton states in monolayer MoSe2: impact on interband transitions

We combine linear and nonlinear optical spectroscopy at 4 K with ab initio calculations to study the electronic bandstructure of MoSe2 monolayers. In one-photon photoluminescence excitation (PLE) and reflectivity we measure a separation between the A- and B-exciton emission of 220 meV, in good agreement with our calculations. In two-photon PLE we detect for the A- and B-exciton the 2p state 180 meV above the respective 1s state. In second harmonic generation (SHG) spectroscopy we record an enhancement by more than two orders of magnitude of the SHG signal at resonances of the charged exciton and the 1s and 2p neutral A- and B-exciton. Our post-density functional theory calculations show in the conduction band along the K–Γ direction a local minimum at the Λ-point that is energetically and in k-space close to the global minimum at the K-point. The influence of this local minimum on exciton transitions is discussed.
The Integration of Bathymetry, Topography and Shoreline and the Vertical Datum Transformations behind It

The integration of bathymetry, topography, and shoreline is beneficial for a number of coastal applications. This geospatial integration begins with the blending of bathymétrie and topographic data into a digital elevation model (DEM) after all data sets have been transformed to a common vertical datum. A vertical datum transformation tool, VDatum, has been developed which allows transformation among 27 different orthometric, 3-D/ellipsoid, and tidal datums. The geographic distribution of the tidal datums in VDatum are produced with a calibrated hydrodynamic tidal model. An initial demonstration project was carried out in the Tampa Bay region where the bathymétrie data from NOAA (US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) was blended with the topographic data from USGS (US Geological Survey). One objective was to solve the problem of inconsistencies between NOAA's nautical charts and USGS's mapping products, especially with respect to shoreline. A method was demonstrated for determining a consistently defined mean high water (MHW) shoreline from high-resolution Lidar elevation data covering the intertidal zone after transformation of these data to the MHW datum (with the zero contour being the MHW shoreline). VDatum will also play a key role in: (1) the implementation of a seamless high-resolution National Bathymétrie Database, which will support both the production of ENCs (Electronic Navigational Charts) and the GIS-based activities of coastal zone managers; (2) the ability to use quality 3rd-party bathymétrie data, which in the past was a problem due to the many different datums in use; (3) marine boundary determination; and (4) the on-the-fly measurement of bathymétrie data relative to chart datum (Mean Lower Low Water) in future hydrographic surveys, using VDatum to transform the RTK-GPS-referenced data to MLLW.
Regional determinants of firm entry in Argentina: an analysis for the period 2003-2008

El objetivo de este articulo es explorar los factores regionales que determinan el ingreso de nuevas empresas en las provincias argentinas. A tal fin, se utilizan datos de panel (para el periodo 2003 a 2008) referidos a las firmas industriales que declaran empleo a la Seguridad Social. Este articulo contribuye a la literatura de localizacion industrial existente dado que la mayor parte de los trabajos previos se centran en casos tales como Europa, Norteamerica o Japon, siendo las aplicaciones para los paises en desarrollo aun escasas.
Enhanced Arctic stratospheric gravity wave activity above a tropospheric jet

Meteorological balloon measurements were applied to investigate gravity waves in the stratosphere above three weather stations in the Canadian Arctic. It was found that a distinct enhancement in the amount of wave activity occurred at each of the three stations simultaneously while a tropospheric jet stream crossed the Arctic during mid‐November of 1996. An interpretation is proposed in which the enhanced wave activity occurs as the tropospheric jet provides conditions that are favourable for the upward propagation of mountain waves. Further propagation into the stratosphere is then facilitated during winter when the tropospheric and stratospheric jets coincide.