Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Digitization, social capital, and subjective well-being across the globe

Previous research showed the positive impact of social capital measured as trust, social and political activism, and the frequency of communication via information channels on life satisfaction. The usage of new technologies brings changes in human communications and connections. At the same time, the recent massive digitalization of social life questions happiness sustainability. This research highlights the moderation effect of digital development at the national level on the association of social capital and subjective well-being at individual level. With the help of multilevel modeling based on the latest wave of World Value Survey data for 2017–2020, we test how the Internet, mobile phone and social media penetration in a given country moderate the link between subjective well-being of individuals and their social capital measured as trust, confidence in institutions, social and political activism, and frequency of usage of information channels. The results demonstrated a significantly important role of the new technologies for individual happiness and life satisfaction. Thus, for example, the higher number of social media users in a given country improves membership opportunities, which positively contributes to individual happiness.
Development of partial discharge model, simulation and measurement

In cases, when there are electrically weak areas in solid dielectric materials (most often gaseous or liquid inclusions), partial discharges (PD) can be measured when voltage is applied. Partial discharges cause degradation in insulated materials. The investigation of insulated material behavior under electrical stress and the data obtained from PD measurements provide the possibility to predict dielectric breakdown. PD measurements are affected by electrode arrangements and by measuring circuits (MC). It is very important to investigate the relation between experimental PD data, electrode arrangement and the elements of measuring circuits by applying computer models. The present paper considers PD behavior of polyethylene voids. Various models have been built using special software tools for analogue design and simulation. The results obtained have been analyzed and discussed in order to assess the influence of various types of measurement circuits. The data obtained from the model have been compared with the experimental results from polyethylene samples with artificially introduced cylindrical voids subjected to PD. The electrode configuration used is plane-plane, and electrodes are parallel to the cylinder ends of the void. The parameters of the models correspond to the parameters of the experimental set-up.
The World Input-Output Database: Content, Concepts and Applications

This article describes the contents and construction of the World Input-Output Database (WIOD). This database contains annual time-series of world inputoutput tables, covering the period from 1995 onwards. Underlying concepts, construction methods and data sources are considered. In addition, the WIOD provides data on labour and capital inputs for forty countries, making it useful for a wide range of applications. We illustrate this by analysing recent trends in international production fragmentation, competitiveness and patterns of specialisation. We give guidance to prudent use and discuss possible improvements and extensions.
Improvement of electrical properties of grounding loops by using bentonite and waste drilling mud

The paper presents results from experimental research related to the improvement of the electrical properties of grounding loops using bentonite (suspension or powder) and waste drilling mud as backfill materials. It is shown that the use of these materials results in a significant reduction in the grounding resistance and the maximum touch voltage, especially during drought periods. The results also show that the corrosive activities of bentonite suspension and waste drilling mud can be considered as quite acceptable.
The Effect of Pension Subsidies on the Retirement Timing of Older Women

I estimate the effect of additional pension benefits on women’s retirement decisions by examining a German pension subsidy program. The subsidies have a kinked relationship with the recipients’ past pension contributions, creating a sharply different slope of benefits for similar women on either side of the kink point. I find that a 100 euro increase in the monthly benefit induces female recipients to claim their pensions six months earlier. Recipients also adjust their labor supply by using unemployment insurance as a stepping stone to retirement and by reducing time spent in marginal employment. A back-of-the-envelope calculation suggests that the ratio of behavioral to mechanical costs for this subsidy program is 0.25, which is smaller than that of many other income support programs.
Influence of agro-industrial wastes over the abiotic and composting degradation of polylactic acid biocomposites

Combining polylactic acid (PLA) with waste fibers to produce reinforced biocomposites is of top interest to replace conventional polymers for environmentally friendlier materials. Natural fibers have a remarkable effect on the mechanical and thermal properties of the biocomposites. This reinforcing effect strongly depends on the chemical compositions of fibers, which will also influence the susceptibility of the biocomposites to abiotic and biotic degradation processes. This study evaluated the effect of agave and coir waste fibers over the abiotic and composting degradation of PLA-based biocomposites. Compression-molded PLA/agave and PLA/coir biocomposites using GMA-g-PLA as compatibilizer were subjected to accelerated weathering. Weathered and unweathered samples were further submitted to water absorption to analyze their hydrolytic degradation and composting for biotic degradation. Both fibers showed significant influence on biocomposites degradation. The role of the fibers in UV and hydrolytic degradation was positive for impact properties since the biocomposites were less affected than PLA. Water uptake was increased with fiber addition, while hydrolytic degradation was decreased. The weathering (abiotic degradation) accelerated the PLA biodegradation rate. In general, the results showed that adding both fibers to PLA could help its outdoor performance, maintaining the biodegradable characteristics of these materials.
Lightning safety awareness level in Malaysia

Introduction: Malaysia is one of the countries with the highest lightning flash density globally. While sufficiency of lightning protection system is crucial to ensure human safety against lightning strikes, the public awareness towards lightning safety is also equally important in Malaysia. Hence, this study was conducted to understand the current lightning safety awareness level of the Malaysian population. Methods: An online questionnaire survey which consists of 22 scientific statements of lightning was first developed in Malay and English. The questionnaire allows the respondent to also check their own score upon completion of the questionnaire. It was then distributed to the public for data collection. The sample size comprised of both genders, all layers of society from various educational level and social background. Results: Overall, the awareness on lightning safety amongst Malaysian is at moderate level with an average score of slightly above 50%. Urbanites scored marginally better than their rural counterparts. One’s education level does not dictate their awareness level of lightning safety. Discussion: In conclusion, the public in Malaysia needs to be better educated on lightning safety. Similar studies should be replicated in other countries experiencing similar levels of lightning activity to better understand the public’s perception on lightning.
Dynamic Simulation and Optimization of Two-Stage Extractive Alcoholic Fermentation Process: Design Impact on Controllability

In this paper, we address dynamic controllability of the two different designs of extractive fermentation process, namely one-stage and two-stage designs. The operating conditions that maximize yields and productivity for both designs are determined by optimization using the method of factorial design and response surface analysis. The results show that in terms of the achievable yield and productivity, the performance of the two-stage design is comparable to that of the single-stage, but the former design leads to a significant reduction in the fermentor size required. Furthermore, we analyze the dynamic controllability of the two designs of extractive fermentation process using a so-called control relevant metrics to examine their closed-loop dynamic performance in the face of uncertainty. This analysis reveals that the single-stage design has more favorable dynamic controllability than the two-stage design.
Interoperability of Digital Tools for the Monitoring and Control of Construction Projects

Monitoring the progress on a construction site during the construction phase is crucial. An inadequate understanding of the project status can lead to mistakes and inappropriate actions, causing delays and increased costs. Monitoring and controlling projects via digital tools would reduce the risk of error and enable timely corrective actions. Although there is currently a wide range of technologies for these purposes, these technologies and interoperability between them are still limited. Because of this, it is important to know the possibilities of integration and interoperability regarding their implementation. This article presents a bibliographic synthesis and interpretation of 30 nonconventional digital tools for monitoring progress in terms of field data capture technologies (FDCT) and communication and collaborative technologies (CT) that are responsible for information processing and management. This research aims to perform an integration and interoperability analysis of technologies to demonstrate their potential for monitoring and controlling construction projects during the execution phase. A network analysis was conducted, and the results suggest that the triad formed by building information modeling (BIM), unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and photogrammetry is an effective tool; the use of this set extends not only to monitoring and control, but also to all phases of a project.
A Framework for the Classification of Management Control Tools - Experiences with Activity-Based Costing in the German Public Sector

Purpose: To find a suitable framework for the categorisation of management control tools as guidance for a purpose-oriented choice of management control tools. This is done by applying the iron triangle in the case of Activity-based costing (ABC) in the German public sector. Thereby the ABC adoption in the German public sector is analysed, including the discussion of purpose-oriented versus trend-driven management. Methodology: A quantitative empirical study among German municipalities is performed. Thereby the data is collected through a web-based questionnaire. The data analysis is done on basis of univariate methods as well as with a logistic regression analysis. Theoretical perspectives: The idea to develop a framework for the purpose-oriented choice of management control tools is based on the idea of contingency theory. Evidence concerning the use of ABC in Germany supplemented with findings from other contexts serves as a starting point for the empirical work in this thesis. Empirical foundation: Empirical data is gathered through a web-based self-completion questionnaire from high-ranked civil servants in German municipalities. The questionnaire is developed based on relevant literature as well as insights from practice which are gained through two pre-interviews. Conclusions: The iron triangle is not found suitable for the categorisation of ABC in the context of the German public sector as its three dimensions ‘time’, ‘cost’ and ‘quality’ do not cover the emerging area of transparency. Concerning the use of ABC in the German public sector the most important influential factor seems to be the size of the municipality while hype tendencies imply a rather trend-driven adoption.
Numerical modelling of the fluid-structure interaction in complex vascular geometries

A complex network of vessels is responsible for the transportation of blood throughout the body and back to the heart. Fluid mechanics and solid mechanics play a fundamental role in this transport phenomenon and are particularly suited for computer simulations. The latter may contribute to a better comprehension of the physiological processes and mechanisms leading to cardiovascular diseases, which are currently the leading cause of death in the western world. In case these computational models include patient-specific geometries and/or the interaction between the blood flow and the arterial wall, they become challenging to develop and to solve, increasing both the operator time and the computational time. This is especially true when the domain of interest involves vascular pathologies such as a local narrowing (stenosis) or a local dilatation (aneurysm) of the arterial wall. To overcome these issues of high operator times and high computational times when addressing the bio(fluid)mechanics of complex geometries, this PhD thesis focuses on the development of computational strategies which improve the generation and the accuracy of image-based, fluid-structure interaction (FSI) models. First, a robust procedure is introduced for the generation of hexahedral grids, which allows for local grid refinements and automation. Secondly, a straightforward algorithm is developed to obtain the prestress which is implicitly present in the arterial wall of a – by the blood pressure – loaded geometry at the moment of medical image acquisition. Both techniques are validated, applied to relevant cases, and finally integrated into a fluid-structure interaction model of an abdominal mouse aorta, based on in vivo measurements.
Modeling interactions between tides, storm surges, and river discharges in the Kapuas River delta

Abstract. The Kapuas River delta is a unique estuary system on the west coast of Borneo Island, Indonesia. Its hydrodynamics is driven by an interplay between storm surges, tides, and rivers discharge. These interactions are likely to be exacerbated by global warming, leading to more frequent compound flooding in the area. The mechanisms driving compound flooding events in the Kapuas River Delta remain, however, poorly known. Here we attempt to fill this gap by assessing the interactions between river discharges, tides, and storm surges and how they can drive a compound inundation over the riverbanks, particularly within Pontianak, the main city along the Kapuas River. We simulated these interactions using the multi-scale hydrodynamic model SLIM. Our model correctly reproduces the Kapuas River’s hydrodynamics and its interactions with tides and storm surge from the Karimata Strait. We considered several extreme scenario test cases to evaluate the impact of tide-storm-discharge interactions on the maximum water level profile from the river mouth to the upstream part of the river. Based on the maximum water level profiles, we could divide the main branch of the Kapuas River’s stream into three zones, i.e., the tidally-dominated region (from the river mouth to about 4 km upstream), the mixed-energy region (from about 4 km to about 30 km upstream) and the river-dominated region (beyond 30 km upstream). Thus, the local water management can define proper mitigation for handling compound flooding hazards along the riverbanks by using this zoning category. The model also successfully reproduced a compound inundation event in Pontianak, which occurred on 29 December 2018. For this event, the wind-generated surge appeared to be the dominant trigger.
MPG Illusion and Vehicle Choice: An Empirical Study of the Japanese Household Survey

Previous studies have shown that people understand the future ancillary cost of durable goods such as an automotive vehicle. However, consumers tend to misunderstand the future benefits and costs of these goods. One of the most interesting discussions about consumer cognitive ability for future energy cost is the miles per gallon (MPG) illusion. In this study, we analyze people’s misunderstanding of the relationship between kilometers per liter (KPL) and the actual amount of fuel saved using vehicle owner survey data. We developed some questions to measure how much each person is involved with the MPG (or KPL) illusion. Additionally, our survey includes questions capturing some preferences affecting future fuel costs, such as time. Controlling for the most important respondent characteristics, such as income or gender, our empirical model analyzes the extent of the misunderstanding of how much actual KPL selections of personal auto vehicles are affected. We found that many Japanese consumers tend to misunderstand the relationship between KPL and actual fuel costs. Our results demonstrate that people who misunderstand the relationship tend to choose a higher 4.324 km per liter car than those who understand. This finding implies that the KPL illusion affects the KPL selection of consumers’ cars.
Study of Fluorine-Doped TiO2 Sol-Gel Thin Coatings

TiO 2 is an excellent material for degradation of many environmental contaminants. Its photocatalytic activity is restricted by UV spectral region that can be extended to visible region using different doping techniques. Effect of fluorine-doping on the optical properties of sol-gel prepared TiO 2 thin films is reported. Trifluoroacetic acid (CF 3 COOH) was used as fluorine source with starting concentrations of 5 at. %, 10 at. %, and 20 at. % F to Ti. Gel films were deposited on Si0 2 /soda lime glass substrates by dip-coating technique. After thermal treatment at 450°C fluorine containing TiO 2 thin films were obtained. The crystallinity of the films was determined by X-ray diffraction (XRD). The X-ray photoemission spectrometry (XPS) was applied to determine valence state of the dopant and bonding element. The optical constants, namely, refractive index and the extinction coefficient, were obtained by fitting UV-visible theoretical transmittance curves to experimental ones. The simulated transmittance was calculated in the frames of the Forouhi-Bloomer (FB) dispersion model. The values of the FB energy band gap determined as onset of the absorption were compared with Tauc band gap values received by extrapolation of the linear part of the absorption edge. The XRD patterns reflect beginning of the anatase crystallization process. The XPS analysis reveals the presence of fluorine in the films in the form of titanium fluoride, titanium oxyfluorides, and nonstoichiometric TiO 2 - x F x The linear part of the absorption edge of TiO 2 films for mentioned fluorine concentrations gives slightly increased values of Tauc band gap ( ∼ 3.7 eV) than that for bulk TiO 2 (∼3.2 eV). Also, its broadening at lower frequencies with a FB band gap ∼27. eV is observed. The results show that, although the fluorine is incorporated in the TiO 2 lattice, it does not affect the crystallinity and band gap of the formed TiO 2 film for the F/Ti ratios used in the starting sols.
Hunting Android Malware Using Multimodal Deep Learning and Hybrid Analysis Data

In this work, we propose a new multimodal Deep Learning (DL) Android malware detection method, Chimera, that combines both manual and automatic feature engineering by using the DL architectures, Convolutional Neural Networks (CNN), Deep Neural Networks (DNN), and Transformer Networks (TN) to perform feature learning from raw data (Dalvik Executables (DEX)), static analysis data (Android Intents & Permissions), and dynamic analysis data (system call sequences) respectively. To train and evaluate our model, we implemented the Knowledge Discovery in Databases (KDD) process and used the publicly available Android benchmark dataset Omnidroid. By leveraging a hybrid source of information to learn high-level feature representations for both the static and dynamic properties of Android applications, Chimera’s detection Accuracy, Precision, and Recall outperform classical Machine Learning (ML) algorithms, state-of-the-art Ensemble, and Voting Ensembles ML methods, as well as unimodal DL methods using CNNs, DNNs, TNs, and Long-Short Term Memory Networks (LSTM). To the best of our knowledge, this is the first work that successfully applies multimodal DL to combine those three different modalities of data using DNNs, CNNs, and TNs to learn a shared representation that can be used in Android malware detection tasks.
Damage Detection and Condition Assessment of Seymour Bridge

The initial results of the damage detection project were presented at IMAC 15. The improved testing and parameter estimation methods were established such that the civil infrastructure can be reliably tested and the modal data can be post-processed. A comparative study on the results of the different damage states of the bridge is presented. The bridge was tested before and after the different damage scenarios. Frequency Response Functions, measured at different spatial locations, are used to post-process the data using the spatial domain algorithm, Complex Mode Indicator Function (CMIF). Dynamic properties of the bridge are investigated for the pre- and post-damage cases. Modal flexibility of the bridge is calculated for the measured degrees of freedom. This paper briefly describes the damage identification research carried out by means of experimental modal analysis. The error sources for the damage identification of a constructed facility are investigated. Some of the most common damage indices are utilized and the results are presented.
Sprayed glass fibre reinforced polymer masonry columns under concentric and eccentric loadingThis article is one of a selection of papers published in this Special Issue on Masonry.

Strengthening masonry columns by spraying them with glass fibre reinforced polymer (GFRP) was investigated experimentally. The study was aimed at assessing the strength and strain increases imparted by the technique under both concentric and eccentric axial loading. Plain and steel-reinforced columns were tested. Twenty-four columns were constructed from Type S mortar and straight and bullnose clay masonry units. The columns were 1 m high and either 290 mm × 290 mm or 390 mm × 390 mm in cross section. Two thicknesses of sprayed GFRP (SGFRP) were attempted, but it was found to be difficult to maintain uniform thickness. Nevertheless, with only minor increases in strength, large increases in strain capacity were achieved with both the plain and reinforced columns under concentric axial compression. Eccentric loading reduced the effect of the SGFRP laminate on the strength of masonry columns. Failure of SGFRP included both mode I and mode III fractures.