Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Analysis of Policy Measures to Reduce Ship Emissions in the Context of the Revision of the National Emissions Ceilings Directive

This paper reports on work of the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis and has received only limited review. Views or opinions expressed in this report do not necessarily represent those of the Institute, its National Member Organizations, or other organizations sponsoring the work. Abstract Maritime activities constitute a significant fraction of anthropogenic emissions of air pollutants in Europe. In 2000, SO 2 and NO x emissions from international maritime shipping in Europe amounted to approximately 30 percent of the land-based emissions in the EU-25. While legislation is in force to control emission from international shipping, the expected increase in the volume of ship movements will compensate the positive environmental impacts of these measures and will lead to a further growth in ship emissions. Under business-as-usual assumptions, by 2020 emissions from maritime activities would come close to the projected baseline emission levels from land-based sources, and surpass the target levels established by the European Commission in its Thematic Strategy on Air Pollution for land-based sources. This anticipated increase in ship emissions will counteract the envisaged benefits of the costly efforts to control the remaining emissions from land-based sources in Europe. While at present emissions from ships are responsible for 10 to 20 percent of sulphur deposition in coastal areas, their contribution is expected for 2020 to increase to more than 30 percent in large areas in Europe, and up to 50 percent in coastal areas. Technologies exist to reduce emissions from shipping beyond what is currently legally required. The study has identified a set of emission control measures that are technically available and that could – if fully applied – reduce by 2020 80 percent of the SO 2 emissions from international shipping, and almost 90 percent of the NO x emissions. Total costs of these measures are estimated at 5.5 billion €/yr. For comparison, the costs of the measures proposed by the Thematic Strategy amount to 7.1 billion €/yr. The study has explored several packages of measures that could reduce emissions at lower costs. These include combinations of seawater sulphur scrubbing, lower sulphur content in residual oil, humid air engines for new built ships, slide valves retrofitting in existing ship engines, as well as the use of selective catalytic reduction (SCR). Marginal costs of these measures are well below the costs of the measures for land-based sources that have been proposed by the Thematic Strategy. To judge the cost-effectiveness …
Free Flight Testing and Performance Evaluation of a Passively Morphing Ornithopter

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) are proliferating in both the civil and military markets. Flapping wing UAVs, or ornithopters, have the potential to combine the agility and maneuverability of rotary wing aircraft with excellent performance in the low Reynolds number flight regimes. The purpose of this paper is to present new free flight experimental results for an ornithopter equipped with single degree of freedom compliant spines. The compliant spines are designed and optimized in terms of mass, maximum von-Mises stress, and desired wing bending deflections. The spines are inserted in an experimental ornithopter wing leading edge spar, in order to achieve a set of desired kinematics during the up and down strokes of a flapping cycle. The ornithopter is flown at Wright Patterson Air Force Base in the Air Force Research Laboratory Small Unmanned Air Systems (SUAS) indoor flight facility. Vicon® motion tracking cameras are used to track the motion of the vehicle for four different wing configurations. The effect of the presence of the compliant spine on the wings and body kinematics, as well as the leading edge spar deflection during free flight is presented in this paper. Several metrics were used to evaluate the vehicle performance with various compliant spine designs inserted in the leading edge spar of the wings. Results show that passively morphing the wings, via adding compliance in the leading edge spar, does not require additional power expenditure and is beneficial to the overall vertical and horizontal propulsive force production.
Food Access and Experience of Food Insecurity in Nigerian Households during the COVID-19 Lockdown

The food insecurity experiences and related behaviors of Nigerian households during the COVID-19 lockdown have not been fully discussed. This study was conducted to elicit information on the impact of COVID-19 lockdown on economic and behavioral patterns related to food access. An online-based semi-structured questionnaire distributed through messaging platforms was used to collect information on characteristics, food purchasing behaviour before and during COVID-19 lockdown among respondents. Experience of food insecurity was assessed using Food Insecurity Experience Scale (FIES). A total of 883 responses were received and analyzed using SPSS Version 20.0. Most of the respondents (90.5%) were at home or had stopped going to work due to COVID-19 restrictions. Even though smaller households had higher food expenditure claims than larger households (p = 0.012), the larger the household, the more acute the challenge of economic access to food (p = 0.050). Location (p = 0.000), age (p = 0.003), occupation (p = 0.014) and income level (p = 0.000) were associated with experience of food insecurity. In conclusion, lockdown restrictions increased food expenditure and experience of food insecurity among the respondents and thus we recommend the probe of long-term consequences of deviations from usual food access on undernutrition or overnutrition in Nigerian households.
Physico-Chemical, Nutritional, and Sensory Evaluation of Two New Commercial Tomato Hybrids and Their Parental Lines

Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) is the globally most consumed vegetable. The objective of this research was to analyze physico-chemical, nutritional and sensorial components (taste and flavor) in two new commercial hybrids (AS 300 F1 and AS 400 F1) and their four F7 parental lines. Two widely grown F1 hybrids (Precos F1 and Addalyn F1) were used as controls. The results obtained for carbohydrates (HPLC-RID) indicated that the highest values (27.82 mg/g) were recorded in the paternal line AS 10 of the new hybrid AS 400 F1. The highest values of total organic acids (HPLC-VWD) were recorded in Addalyn F1 (5.06 m/g), while the highest value of phenolic compounds (HPLC-DAD-ESI⁺) were identified in the maternal line AS 09 of the hybrid AS 400 F1 (96.3 µg/g). Intrinsic sensory values were analyzed by male and female tasters of different ages using a hedonic scale. The tasters’ perception revealed obvious taste differences between tomato genotypes. The study allowed determining genetic parameters of interest (heterosis and heterobeltosis) for the new hybrids, as well as a detailed characterization of the chemical composition and organoleptic quality of the parental breeding lines and their hybrids, which is useful in tomato breeding.
A Synoptic analogue model to issue QPF over Gangetic West Bengal and adjoining Jharkhand

In this study the Areal Average Precipitation (AAP) data for each day over each of the six catchments of Gangetic West Bengal (GWB) and adjoining Jharkhand namely river catchments of Mayurakhshi, Ajoy, Kansabati, Damodar, Barakar and Lower Valley of Damodar Valley Corporation during monsoon season for 25 years from 1990 to 2014 have been analyzed by grouping the AAP in three different ranges (11-25 mm, 26-50 mm, 51-100 mm and more), excluding Mainly Dry and 01-10 mm. The associated main synoptic features viz., trough at mean sea level, low pressure area, well marked low pressure area, cyclonic storm and cyclonic circulation for each day and their location with respect to the river catchments, viz., over the catchment, neighbourhood of the catchment (within 200 km South or North) and outside the catchment (more than 200 km South or North) have also been studied. The association of AAP ranges over six catchments with different categories of synoptic features has been examined. The distribution of percentage frequency of AAPs associated with the category of synoptic feature for the period 1990 to 2014 has led to development of a Synoptic Analogue Model (SAM) for issue of Quantitative Precipitation Forecast (QPF). The results obtained from SAM have been verified for rainfall data and calculated AAPs of monsoon season of 2015 over all the catchments and different skills scores also presented in this study.
Data Mining to Atmospheric Corrosion Process Based on Evidence Fusion

An electrical resistance sensor-based atmospheric corrosion monitor was employed to study the carbon steel corrosion in outdoor atmospheric environments by recording dynamic corrosion data in real-time. Data mining of collected data contributes to uncovering the underlying mechanism of atmospheric corrosion. In this study, it was found that most statistical correlation coefficients do not adapt to outdoor coupled corrosion data. In order to deal with online coupled data, a new machine learning model is proposed from the viewpoint of information fusion. It aims to quantify the contribution of different environmental factors to atmospheric corrosion in different exposure periods. Compared to the commonly used machine learning models of artificial neural networks and support vector machines in the corrosion research field, the experimental results demonstrated the efficiency and superiority of the proposed model on online corrosion data in terms of measuring the importance of atmospheric factors and corrosion prediction accuracy.
Rationale for Shallow Foundation Rocking Provisions in ASCE 41-13

ASCE 41-13 supports three methods of modeling the soil-structure interaction for rocking footings as components of a foundation-building system: Method 1 uses uncoupled moment, shear, and axial springs; Method 2 uses a nonlinear gapping bed of springs; and Method 3 is used for structural footings that are flexible relative to the underlying soil. New component action tables in ASCE 41-13 provide modeling parameters and acceptance criteria for nonlinear and linear analysis of shallow foundation components. The values in the component action tables for nonlinear procedures were largely based upon analysis of foundation performance in model tests on rocking foundations. The primary measure to assess foundation performance is residual settlement or uplift. The acceptance criteria for linear analysis procedures (m-factors) were derived from the allowable rotations for nonlinear procedures. A design example is presented in an online Appendix to illustrate differences between the current and previous versions of ASCE 41 and ASCE 31.
Design of Bilateral Switched Reluctance Linear Generator to Convert Wave Energy: Case Study in Sicily

The aim of this work is a case study of the adaptation bilateral switched reluctance linear generator to the exploitation of energy of the sea. This type of generator can be used to convert wave energy in electrical energy. In this paper we present an analytical sizing and FEM simulation. As for the results, analysis of the data extracted through the simulations it was possible to calculate the emf. The emf was calculated in two cases of motion of the slider: first hypothesis has set the constant speed while the second is a variable speed according to the law of an oscillatory motion of the sea.
Speech Representation in the History of English

This volume explores the speech representation of the past, comprising in-depth analyses of how speakers and writers mark, structure, and discuss a previous speech event or fictional speech in the history of English. Focusing on the Early Modern English and the Late Modern English periods, the chapters are concerned with topics such as parentheses as markers of represented speech, the development of BE like as a reporting expression, the gradual formation of free indirect speech reporting, and the interpersonal functions of represented speech. Various social contexts and genres are covered, including witness depositions, literary texts, letters, histories, and the spoken language of the recent past. The chapters draw on historical sociolinguistics, historical pragmatics, and corpus linguistics in showing a wide array of approaches to the study of speech representation in the history of English.
More Guns Without Less Butter: Improving Australian Defence Efficiency

Defence outlays amount to 1.8 per cent of Australia’s GDP. Nonetheless, the processes by which those amounts are allocated, and the efficiency with which they are used, have received very little attention outside of the defence sector itself. This paper identifies the major issues involved in securing efficiency in defence expenditure and surveys efforts to ensure that the Australian defence establishment makes good use of public resources. Recommendations are made regarding the operation of the Department of Defence and the scrutiny of crucial defence decisions.
Validating a Tailored Disaster Risk Assessment Methodology: Drought Risk Assessment in Local PNG Regions

Abstract. Climate change is increasing the frequency and intensity of natural hazards, causing adverse impacts on vulnerable communities. Pacific Small Island Developing States (SIDS) are of particular concern, requiring resilient disaster risk management consisting of two key elements: proactivity and suitability. User-centred Integrated Early Warning Systems (I-EWSs) can inform resilient risk management. However, an EWS is only effectively integrated when all components are functioning adequately. In Pacific SIDS, the risk knowledge component of an I-EWS is underexplored. Risk knowledge is improved through efficient risk assessment. A case study assessing drought risk in PNG provinces was conducted to demonstrate the development and validate the application of a tailored risk assessment methodology. Hazard, vulnerability, and exposure indicators appropriate for monitoring drought in PNG provinces were selected. Risk indices for past years (2014–2020) were calculated and mapped in Geographic Information Systems (GIS). Risk assessment results were validated with a literature investigation of sources presenting information on previous droughts in PNG. The risk assessment indicated a strong drought event in 2015–2016, and a moderate event in 2019–2020. The literature corroborated this, confirming the validity of the risk assessment methodology. The methodology and results can be used to inform improved disaster risk management in PNG, by advising decision-makers of their risk and policymakers on which provinces are of priority for resource allocation. The methodology can also be used to enhance the risk knowledge component of a user-centred I-EWS and guide the implementation of such a system for drought in PNG and other Pacific SIDS.
CMOS high-frequency rectifier with unity voltage gain

A new CMOS voltage rectifier circuit based on the current mode technique is presented. The circuit exhibits highly linear characteristics over a wide range of input values. It is extremely simple and compact, and a very effective building block for VLSI analogue IC design. SPICE simulated results are given, in good agreement with theoretical results.
COMPARATIVE STUDY OF RUNNING SAFETY AND RIDE COMFORT OF RAILWAY VEHICLE

Summary: The paper deals with the running safety and the ride comfort of a railway vehicle. It presents methods used for investigation of these essential ingredients in the assessment of the vehicle running behaviour. The present study of the running safety and ride comfort is based on the results of numerical simulations for non-linear model of railway vehicle moving along a tangent track. Importantly, the applied model takes into account lateral and vertical irregularities of the track geometry with random character. The running safety is studied according to the UIC 518 code: through the ratio of the lateral Y to vertical Q forces in the wheel/rail contact point. The lateral and vertical vehicle body accelerations, which a passenger of the railway vehicle is exposed to, are used for the assessment of the ride comfort in accordance with the ISO 2631-1 standard. It is analysed and compared how various parameters of the railway vehicle-track system affect the running safety and the ride comfort.
What Can We Learn From the Water Retention Characteristic of a Soil Regarding Its Hydrological and Agricultural Functions? Review and Analysis of Actual Knowledge

The soil properties of the upper soil layer determine the partitioning between infiltration, runoff, and evaporation, key processes related to soil agricultural and hydrological functioning. It is therefore important to have some information on these soil functions based on available and easy‐to‐measure properties. This study presents what we can learn a‐priori from the soil water retention characteristic (WRC) on some important hydrological and agricultural functions. Based on a mathematical expression of the soil WRC, it is possible to estimate: the characteristic length, LC, related to the disruption of hydraulic continuity of the water liquid phase in the soil; the saturated hydraulic conductivity Ks; the unsaturated hydraulic conductivity function of water and air, K(θw) and K(θa); the saturation degree SeFC at field capacity and how long it will take to reach that state; the available water content in the soil, AWC; the capillary head at the wetting front, ψf; the infiltration capacity curve based on the Green and Ampt model, qcap(t); the time to ponding, tp, for any prescribed wetting rate; the cumulative water loss during stage‐1 evaporation; the duration of stage‐1 evaporation. All these a‐priori estimates are valuable and sometimes necessary for efficient design and planning in agricultural and hydrological applications. The values of these estimates depend upon the specific mathematical expression chosen to represent the WRC.
Fast frequency sweep technique for the efficient analysis of dielectric waveguides

This paper describes a new approach to spectral response computations of an arbitrary two-dimensional (2-D) waveguide. This technique is based on the tangential-vector finite-element method (TVFEM) in conjunction with the asymptotic waveform evaluation (AWE) technique. The former is used to obtain modes characteristics for a central frequency, whereas the latter employs an efficient algorithm to compute frequency moments for each mode. These moments are then matched via Pade approximation to a reduced-order rational polynomial, which can be used to interpolate each mode over a frequency band with a high degree of accuracy. Furthermore, the moments computations and subsequent interpolation for a given set of frequency points can be done much more rapidly than just simple simulations for each frequency point.
Evaluation and treatment of headache associated with moyamoya disease – a narrative review

Background Headache in patients with moyamoya disease is an under-addressed topic in the medical literature. Delay in the diagnosis of moyamoya disease or inappropriate treatment of headache could lead to devastating cerebrovascular outcome. With the evolving understanding of moyamoya disease, migraine pathophysiology, and various migraine-specific medications that have become available, it is crucial to provide an updated overview on this topic. Methods We searched PubMed for keywords including moyamoya disease, moyamoya syndrome, headache in moyamoya, surgical revascularization, surgical bypass, migraine and moyamoya, and calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP). We summarized the literature and provide a comprehensive review of the headache presentation, possible mechanisms, the impact of various surgical revascularizations on headache in patients with moyamoya disease, and the medical management of headache incorporating novel migraine-specific treatments. Results and conclusion: The most common headache phenotype is migraine; tension-type headache, hemiplegic migraine, and cluster headache have also been reported. Most patients experience improvement of headache after surgical revascularization, though some patients report worsening, or new-onset headache after surgery. Given the complexity of moyamoya disease, careful consideration of different types of medical therapy for headache is necessary to improve the quality of life while not increasing the risk of adverse cerebrovascular events. More prospective studies are warranted to better understand and manage headache in patients with moyamoya disease.
The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Women-Led Businesses

The COVID-19 pandemic has struck businesses across the globe with unprecedented impacts. The world economy has been hit hard and firms have experienced a myriad of challenges, but these challenges have been heterogeneous across firms. This paper examines one important dimension of this heterogeneity: the differential effect of the pandemic on women-led and men-led businesses. The paper exploits a unique sample of close to 40,000 mainly formal businesses from 49 countries covering the months between April and September 2020. The findings show that women-led micro-businesses, women-led businesses in the hospitality industry, and women-led businesses in countries more severely affected by the COVID-19 shock were disproportionately hit compared with businesses led by men. At the same time, women-led micro-firms were markedly more likely to report increasing the use of digital platforms, but less likely to invest in software, equipment, or digital solutions. Finally, the findings also show that women-led businesses were less likely to have received some form of public support although they have been hit harder in some domains. In a crisis of the magnitude of the COVID-19 pandemic, evidence tracing the impact of the shock in a timely fashion is desperately needed to help inform the design of policy interventions. This real-time glimpse into women-led businesses fills this need for robust and policy-relevant evidence, and due to the large country coverage of the data, it is possible to identify patterns that extend beyond any one country, region, or sector, but at the cost of some granularity for testing more complex economic theories.
Reflections on a Career in Marine Geoscience

I began my career in the late 1960s at a time when some major oceanographic institutions were running upwards of 30 cruises a year. By the early 1980s, changes in funding patterns, satellite remote sensing, and “law of the sea” had started to impact ocean exploration. Nevertheless, technological advances, especially in sonar and seismic systems, have led to new discoveries on seafloor processes and underlying structures. Today, marine geoscience plays a pivotal role in Earth system science through projects such as Seabed 2030, International Ocean Drilling (IODP), and seismic imaging of mantle lithosphere, each of which pose opportunities and new challenges for the next generation.