Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Basin amplification of seismic waves in the city of Pahrump, Nevada.

Sedimentary basins can increase the magnitude and extend the duration of seismic shaking. This potential for seismic amplification is investigated for Pahrump Valley, Nevada-California. The Pahrump Valley is located approximately 50 km northwest of Las Vegas and 75 km south of the Nevada Test Site. Gravity data suggest that the city of Pahrump sits atop a narrow, approximately 5 km deep sub-basin within the valley. The seismic amplification, or ''site effect'', was investigated using a combination of in situ velocity modeling and comparison of the waveforms and spectra of weak ground motion recorded in the city of Pahrump, Nevada, and those recorded in the nearby mountains. Resulting spectral ratios indicate seismic amplification factors of 3-6 over the deepest portion of Pahrump Valley. This amplification predominantly occurs at 2-2.5 Hz. Amplification over the deep sub-basin is lower than amplification at the sub-basin edge, location of the John Blume and Associates PAHA seismic station, which recorded many underground nuclear tests at the Nevada Test Site. A comprehensive analysis of basin amplification for the city of Pahrump should include 3-D basin modeling, due to the extreme basement topography of the Pahrump Valley.
Fabrication and superconducting properties of MgB2/Nb/Cu wires with chemical doping by using Powder-In-Tube (PIT) method

Mono- and multi-filamentary MgB2 wires sheathed with Nb/Cu composite tube have been elaborated by in-situ powder-in-tube (PIT) technique, pure or with carbon and TiC doping, and heat treated between 600 and 950 °C. The structural and physical properties of the wires were investigated by XRD, SEM, magneto-optical imaging, magnetization, etc. Substitution of B for C depresses Tc slightly but enhances the flux pinning, with the result of optimized performances of Jc(H) in high field, with a partial amorphous C substitution and a control of the processing parameters. For the samples reacted at high temperature, there is a diffusion layer at the interfacial region between the Nb sheath and MgB2, which is non-superconducting and obstructs the current transmission : the best heat treatment for the MgB2 wires with Nb as the barrier layer should be lower than 750 °C. The Cu-clad 6-, 12-, and 36-filamentary MgB2 wires with Nb buffer layer also have been fabricated by the in-situ PIT method. To improve the strength of wires, the Nb-core was used as the central filament. The results show that the in-situ PIT technique can be used to produce long length multifilamentary MgB2/Nb/Cu wires, as a result of the well workability of the composite.
ORDOVICIAN GASTROPODS FROM WESTERN NEWFOUNDLAND

Lower and Middle Ordovician gastropods from the Peabody Museum, Yale University, are described and illustrated to supplement the material previously known from western Newfoundland. Lower Ordovician Lecanospira compacta (Salter, 1859) and Euconia etna (Billings, 1865) are described and placed in their current stratigraphic context. The common but poorly known Lytospira (=Ecculiomphalus) distans (Billings, 1865), from the Cow Head Breccia is redescribed. The genus Subulties Emmons, 1842, is described for the first time from the Upper Ordovician of Newfoundland.
The Role of Aggregates in the CIF-Test

RDM: Variation of aggregates Aggregate Durability Testing with the CIF-Test by means of RDM • Relevance: • Pure aggregate frost test: • No consideration of important properties of aggregates and aggr. -matrix interaction a insecurity in application • New Materials: Recycled aggregates or other non-durables a insecurity in testing • Special applications: HPC (Microstructure may react sensitive to small deviation or incompatibilities of aggregates) a comprehensive and reliable information necessary
Insectes pollinisateurs du palmier à huile et taux de nouaison en Afrique de l'Ouest

Une vingtaine d'especes d'insectes sont infeodees aux fleurs de palmier a huile. Seulement quatre d'entr'elles jouent un role important dans la pollinisation. Elles appartiennent au genre Elaeidobius. Les caracteristiques biologiques de ces differentes especes sont etudiees. Elles n'ont pas toutes le meme pouvoir pollinisateur. Leurs populations varient de maniere tres importante dans l'espace et dans le temps sous l'influence des facteurs climatiques. Ces variations qualificatives ont pour consequence des fluctuations du taux de nouaison et, par consequent, du poids moyen des regimes et donc de la production. Les observations ont ete conduites sur les stations de Recherche de la Me en Cote-d'Ivoire, Pobe au Benin et la Dibamba au Cameroun
Optimisation of Base Station Placement for Indoor Wireless Communications

The development of wireless communication systems has enabled ‘anywhere, anytime’ communication and significantly influenced the working habits of the people in modern society. Engineers responsible for deploying base stations in wireless systems face opposing constraints of maximising the quality and capacity of the system while minimising the interference and cost. In addition, indoor wireless systems must cope with three-dimensional variations in signal strength and limitations in site selection. Consequently, the indoor Base Station Placement (BSP) problem becomes a multi-objective, multi-dimensional optimisation problem. This thesis investigates the BSP problem for indoor wireless communication systems by using mathematical models and optimisation algorithms and considering the effect of several factors on BSP. Researchers have proposed a number of algorithms to find the optimal solution for the BSP problem. In this thesis, some proposed algorithms are compared to identify the most appropriate algorithm to solve the indoor BSP problem. Based on the advantages and disadvantages of the existing algorithms, a novel hybrid algorithm is developed and its performance is compared to the existing algorithms. It is seen that the proposed hybrid algorithm provides optimal deployments, without significantly compromising accuracy and efficiency. Although there are several factors that can affect BSP in indoor wireless systems, the effects of three factors, namely call traffic variability, user mobility and call switching technologies on BSP are investigated. Two options are considered for each factor — call traffic can be static or dynamic, users can be fixed or moving and call switching technology can be circuit or packet switched. It is seen that dynamic call traffic, user mobility and circuit switched traffic must be considered in order to identify the optimal BSP. In addition, the BSP problem is extended to multi-floored buildings by considering internal and external potential base station sites. It is seen that the vertically aligned internal base station sites achieve the least call failure rate. The results obtained from this thesis are intended to provide a practical and useful framework for solving the BSP problem of indoor wireless communication systems.
Peer-to-Peer Energy Trading among Microgrids with Multidimensional Willingness

Networked microgrids are emerging for coordinating distributed energy resources in distribution networks in the future Energy Internet, for which developing an efficient energy market model is crucial for facilitating multi-directional trading among microgrids. In this paper, a peer-to-peer energy trading mechanism is presented using non-cooperative bidding among microgrids. Multidimensional willingness, including time pressure and counter behavior for mimicking the personalized behaviors of microgrids, was taken into account in the design of the bidding strategy. Under a parallel trading framework based on a blockchain, the proposed multidimensional willingness bidding strategy turns out to be able to make rational decisions with sufficient flexibility in the bidding process. The simulation results of a realistic case of microgrids from Guizhou Province, China, validate that the proposed peer-to-peer energy trading mechanism is capable of raising the microgrids’ profits and renewable energy source utilization.
Endogenous Variety and the Gains from Trade

There is a common perception that the gains from trade are larger than what quantitative general equilibrium models of trade can explain. A recurring goal in the trade literature has been to find new channels through which such models can generate larger gains. A prominent example is Paul Romer (1994), where trade allows for the consumption of a wider variety of goods, and this generates additional benefits not included in standard calculations. We start in Section I by showing that the connection postulated by Romer between trade liberalization and increasing variety is present in the data by focusing on the experience of Costa Rica from 1986 to 1992. Romer performed a numerical exercise to show, in response to higher tariffs, that welfare losses operating through reduced variety may be an order of magnitude larger than losses in standard trade analysis (the Harberger Triangles). In Section II we use our Costa Rican data to evaluate this result by applying a method introduced by Robert C. Feenstra (1994) to compute the gains from increased imported variety for the 1986–1992 period. We find very small gains, and show that this is due to strong heterogene-ity across imported goods. Upon trade liberalization , the new varieties are imported in small Firm Heterogeneity and international trade † quantities, and hence contribute little to welfare. We refer to this effect as the effect of " curvature " in weakening the variety gains from trade. In Section III we relate this result to recent models of firm-level heterogeneity and derive a simple formula that shows the effect of curvature. These results do not take into account the effect of trade liberalization on domestic variety. But it seems reasonable to think that an increase in import competition would cause a decline in domestic variety as domestic firms exit. In fact, the evidence does suggest that trade liberalization leads to exit by domestic firms (James Tybout 2003). Consistent with this, domestic variety is endogenous in most recent models and falls with a decline in trade costs. 1 In Section IV we present a model with firm-level increasing returns, differentiated goods, monopolistic competition, endogenous variety, and free entry to show that, as in Richard E. Baldwin and Rikard Forslid (2004), total variety (domestic plus imported) can either increase, decrease, or remain constant with trade liberalization. More importantly, the gains from trade do not depend on what happens to total variety. …
Textural and chemical zonation of pyrite at Pajingo: a potential vector to epithermal gold veins

The Carboniferous Pajingo Epithermal System (PES) comprises several low sulphidation Au–Ag ore zones that have a total resource of c. 3 Moz (million ounces). The main Vera–Nancy vein is hosted by andesite that contains alteration which zones from inner silica–pyrite to argillic to distal propylitic alteration. Pyrite is ubiquitous in both alteration and vein. In the latter, pyrite is a minor component (<1%), but the dominant sulphide, and occurs as fine-grained (<50 μm) bands or disseminations. Coarse (up to 0.5 mm) euhedral pyrite is most abundant (up to 10%) in the silica–pyrite alteration whereas in argillic alteration pyrite (<50 to 250 μm) occurs as round to subhedral forms either as infill in narrow veinlets or as replacement. Fine-grained (<50 μm) pyrite occurs in propylitic alteration along rims of earlier mafic phenocrysts and has a low abundance (<1%). In-situ laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry was carried out on the pyrite in order to test the chemical variations between pyrite in different alteration zones. Results indicate that Mo and Ag concentrations vary over two orders of magnitude from the outer alteration zones (Mo c. 0.1 ppm; Ag c. 0.5 ppm) to the proximal vein alteration (Mo c. 30 ppm; Ag c. 20 ppm) whereas Pb displays an overall decrease from the hanging wall (a few hundred ppm) to the footwall (<100 ppm). Pyrite in the hanging- wall argillic alteration zone has Pb/Mo and Pb/Ag ratios of >100 whereas pyrite in silica–pyrite alteration zones has ratios of <100, and pyrite in silica–pyrite alteration zones immediately adjacent to the vein has Pb/Mo ratios of <30 and Pb/Ag ratios of <10. Thus, Pb/Mo and Pb/Ag ratios may provide a potentially powerful vector to epithermal gold veins in the PES and elsewhere.
Quantifying the effects of topographic aspect on water content and temperature in fine surface fuel

This study quantifies the effects of topographic aspect on surface fine fuel moisture content (FFMC) in order to better represent landscape-scale variability in fire risk. Surface FFMC in a eucalypt forest was measured from December to May (180 days) on different aspects using a novel method for in situ monitoring of moisture content (GWClit) and temperature (Tlit) in litter. Daily mean GWClit varied systematically with aspect. North (0.07 ≤ GWClit ≤ 1.30 kg kg–1) and south (0.11 ≤ GWClit ≤ 1.83 kg kg–1) aspects were driest and wettest respectively, whereas east and west were somewhere in between. On the warmest day (38.9°C), the maximum Tlit on north (43.7°C) and south (29.8°C) aspects differed by 13.9°C. Aspect-driven variation in Tlit and GWClit is exacerbated by vegetation, which increases markedly in density with decreasing solar exposure. GWClit was below fibre saturation point (<0.35 kg kg–1) on 49 and 128 days on south and north aspects, respectively, demonstrating that fuels beds are often in different stages of drying and therefore subject to different hydrological processes depending on landscape position. This terrain-related variability in moisture dynamics strongly affects the spatial connectivity of fuels, and may be more important for predicting landscape-scale burn outcomes than sub-daily fluctuations at a point.
Actuation and control of wing warping via tendon-sheath mechanism for flexible membrane wing mini-UAV

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles, also known as drones are very suitable and efficient for border patrol and surveillance missions. No human pilot is being put at risk, but they are usually not fully utilized due to the costs and operational difficulties. The introduction of the mini-UAV, which is much less expensive and also easier to operate, can minimize losses even if the aircraft perishes during the mission. However, given the frequent gusty conditions in lower altitudes, the mini-UAV can be difficult to maneuver. The flexible membrane wing (FMW) developed in this thesis helps to mitigate the effects of the gusts with the adaptive washout effect. Additionally, the FMW provides the convenience of quick deployment and storage by being foldable along the fuselage. This thesis details the research to achieve more roll control authority while preserving the adaptive washout and also foldable feature. A novel method of wing warping was discovered, which relies on the tendon-sheath mechanism. The nonlinearities of the tendon-sheath mechanism (TSM) actuated wing warping were identified and then modeled using a modified General Bouc-Wen (GBW) model for hysteresis. The parameters for the modified GBW model was found by utilizing optimization methods. A TSM wing warping controller, which is the main contribution of this thesis, was designed with a feed-forward and feedback control. The comparison between open loop and closed loop wing warping is shown. A significant improvement in warping accuracy was achieved in the closed loop system and is documented in the thesis. Further verifications such as computational fluid dynamic simulations, wind tunnel tests and flight tests were conducted to show the robustness and real world usability of the TSM wing warping controller on the FMW mini-UAV. This thesis has demonstrated the feasibility of the TSM wing warping roll control on the FMW mini-UAV while keeping the adaptive washout mechanism and the foldability of the FMW for storage purposes.
Eddy covariance measurements of CO2 and sensible and latent heat fluxes during a full year in a boreal pine forest trunk-space

The eddy covariance method was used to determine turbulent heat fluxes and CO 2 flux below a boreal Scots pine canopy 3 m above the forest floor. Data were filtered using standard deviation of the vertical velocity as a measure of the turbulent mixing in the trunk space along with the non-stationary criterion. The turbulent transfer in the trunk space was dominated by large (15-100 m) intermittent eddies, which were detectable by the eddy covariance technique. Heat fluxes exhibited clear annual and diurnal course and amounted to 20%-30% of the fluxes above the canopy. The forest floor was a source of carbon all-year-round and the CO 2 efflux was mainly controlled by soil temperature. Photosynthesis of the forest floor vegetation decreased daytime fluxes of CO 2 by 1.0-1.5 μmol m -2 s -1 compared with nocturnal values (∼3.0 μmol m -2 s -1 ). The eddy covariance method provided a similar daily cycle to the chamber method but there was a discrepancy between their mean levels.
Growth of Listeria monocytogenes in modified atmosphere packed cooked meat products: a predictive model

Abstract Predictive models for the influence of intrinsic and extrinsic parameters relevant for gas-packed, cooked meat products on the growth parameters (maximum specific growth rate and the lag phase ) of Listeria monocytogenes were developed. Two types of models were compared, i.e. extended Ratkowsky models and response surface models. Temperature, water activity, concentration of sodium lactate (SL) and dissolved CO 2 in the aqueous phase were considered as the relevant parameters influencing the growth of L. monocytogenes in gas-packed, cooked meat products and were included in the models. The concentration of CO 2 in the aqueous phase of the food was chosen as the determinative inhibitory factor of modified atmospheres. All four investigated independent variables did influence significantly the growth parameters of L. monocytogenes . Interactions between temperature and CO 2 and especially between CO 2 and Na–lactate were observed. The model was validated in real gas-packed, cooked meat products and was then combined with previously developed models for spoilage of gas-packed, cooked meat products to determine the ‘Risk Areas’ for these type of food products. Low water activity cooked meat products supported outgrowth of L. monocytogenes before spoilage had occurred, unless Na–lactate and CO 2 were applied as extra hurdles.
The lithosphere–asthenosphere boundary beneath the western United States

SUMMARY S receiver functions from 67 broad-band seismic stations in the western United States clearly reveal the existence of a mantle discontinuity with velocity reduction downward, which we interpret as the lithosphere‐asthenosphere boundary (LAB). The average depth of the LAB is ∼70 km. The boundary is relatively sharp with an overall sharpness of less than 20 km. The boundary is more prominent south of the Mendocino Triple Junction, where the Farallon Plate has completely subducted. This may indicate partial melts at the base of the lithosphere caused by the upwelling of the asthenospheric flow through the slab window. A double low velocity zone is observed at base of the lithosphere beneath southern Sierra Nevada, implying a second melting zone at a depth of ∼100 km, well correlated with previous studies of lithospheric delamination in the area.
Caregiver distress in the early phases of cancer.

BACKGROUND Principal caregivers (PCs) of cancer patients experience high levels of stress that may significantly impact their quality of life (QoL). PCs' QoL during early phases of the disease (when patients were still on chemotherapy) were assessed. PATIENTS AND METHODS The PCs of all patients meeting the inclusion criteria (chemotherapy, performance status 0/1) treated at our institution between June 2007 and March 2008 were asked to answer a dedicated questionnaire. RESULTS One hundred and four PC-patient pairs participated in the study. Most of the caregivers (52%) spent more than 8 h daily caring for the patient, they also frequently reported the occurrence of new psychosomatic disorders, with the most reported symptoms being sleep disruption (24%), headaches (20%) and asthenia (16%). High levels of anxiety and depression were demonstrated in nearly a quarter of the study subjects. In nearly half of the cases, a substantial increase in monthly family expenses and restriction of recreation activities were reported. The overall gravity of the medical situation was perceived as severe by 86% of the PCs. CONCLUSION Demonstrable PC QoL impairment occurs even at early phases of disease, therefore intervention strategies for caregivers should be considered early during cancer treatment.
Rattlesnakes : their habits, life histories, and influence on mankind

This virtual encyclopedia of the rattlesnake became a natural history sensation when it was first published in 1956. The republication of the Second Edition, with a new foreword by Harry W. Greene, will give amateur and professional herpetologists alike reason to rejoice. Volume 1 covers taxonomy, physiology, and behavior; Volume 2 concentrates on the rattlesnake's interactions with other organisms, including humans. Klauber's detailed and thorough study is still one of the most complete rattlesnake references ever published. Greene's Foreword discusses the initial impact and continuing value of Klauber's work and recounts some of the advances in knowledge of rattlesnake biology during the past 25 years. Also included is an update of rattlesnake taxonomy.
Improving the Efficacy of Cisplatin in Colon Cancer HT-29 Cells via Combination Therapy with Selenium

Cis-platinum is generally not effective against slow growing colon cancer. Glutathione peroxidase is a seleno-enzyme that inactivates reactive oxygen species (ROS). Research suggests that high levels of ROS may alter cisplatinum efficacy. The effect of selenite supplementation during cis-platinum treatment in HT-29 colon cancer cells was explored. Agarose culture allowed cells to grow in 3D, form colonies, as well as allow independent analysis of mitosis, cell viability, and ROS breakdown. Single cells were suspended in agarose and grown 7 days. Cultures were unor pretreated with selenite at day 0. On day 4, cultures were treated with cis-platinum alone or in conjunction with selenite. At 7 days, cell viability and mitotic activity were evaluated. ROS breakdown was quantified using an assay of glutathione peroxidase activity. Selenite at low doses did not affect cell viability or mitosis. Cultures treated with the selenite / cis-platinum combination exhibited higher ROS breakdown and increased cis-platinum efficacy. Where colonies are already formed, cisplatinum alone was not as effective as the cis-platinum / selenite combination. Additionally, ROS breakdown was increased in cells treated with the cisplatinum / selenite combination suggesting a link between ROS levels and cisplatinum efficacy. Stockert A1*, Kinder D1, Christ M2, Amend K3,