Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A Risk Evaluation Approach for Pit Slope Design

The determination of the acceptable slope angle for open pits is a key aspect of the mineral business, as it implies seeking the optimum balance between the additional economic benefits gained from having steeper slopes, and the additional risks resulting from the consequent reduced stability of the pit slopes. The difficulty in determining the acceptable slope angle is related to geological uncertainties within the rock mass. These uncertainties are accounted for in the process of slope design and different methodologies have been used for this purpose. The traditional approach is that based on the calculation of the factor of safety (FOS), where the uncertainties are accounted for through the selection of a FOS for design larger than 1.0. A methodology more frequently used in recent years is that based on the calculation of the probability of failure (POF) of the slope, where input parameters to the deterministic model of the previous approach are represented by probability distributions to assess the probability of having a FOS less than a critical value representing the failure of the slope. Although in the POF approach uncertainties are partially accounted for, a major drawback that still persists in both the FOS and POF methodologies is the difficulty to define an adequate acceptability criterion. A methodology that aims to solve this problem is the risk analysis approach. In slope design, risk can be defined as the POF of the slope combined with the consequence or potential loss associated with the failure of the slope. The consequences can be two fold: personnel impact and economic impact. The proposed methodology of risk evaluation considers the use of non formal sources of information (engineering judgment, expert knowledge) together with hard data for the assessment of both components of the risk equation. Methods such as fault and event tree analysis are used for this purpose. The approach includes four main tasks: (1) Evaluation of the total probability of failure (POF) representative of the stability conditions of slopes. (2) Evaluation of the consequences of slope failure on safety of personnel. (3) Evaluation of the consequences of slope failure in terms of economic losses associated with impact on equipment and production. (4) Evaluation of options for risk mitigation for those cases where acceptable risk levels are exceeded. This paper describes the risk analysis methodology for slope design and presents some examples of actual projects where the methodology has been successfully applied.
SOME FACTORS INFLUENCING THE STABILITY OF CAR/CARAVAN COMBINATIONS

In this study stability was predicted by means of a simple mathematical model of a car/caravan combination. These predictions were compared with the oscillatory stabilities of several combinations measured in track tests. This work justified the theoretical model, which was then used to determine the relative importance of the various dimensions, weights and tyre characteristics which could be varied. It was found that, to be more stable, a car/caravan combination should include a light caravan with low yaw inertia, adequate drawbar length, short hitch overhang, large car wheelbase, an optimum caravan centre of gravity, and adequate caravan tyre stiffness. A hitch damper was found to stabilise a combination approaching oscillatory instability.
Design of indoor positioning systems based on location fingerprinting technique

Positioning systems enable location-awareness for mobile computers in ubiquitous and pervasive wireless computing. By utilizing location information, location-aware computers can render location-based services possible for mobile users. Indoor positioning systems based on location fingerprints of wireless local area networks have been suggested as a viable solution where the global positioning system does not work well. Instead of depending on accurate estimations of angle or distance in order to derive the location with geometry, the fingerprinting technique associates location-dependent characteristics such as received signal strength to a location and uses these characteristics to infer the location. The advantage of this technique is that it is simple to deploy with no specialized hardware required at the mobile station except the wireless network interface card. Any existing wireless local area network infrastructure can be reused for this kind of positioning system. While empirical results and performance studies of such positioning systems are presented in the literature, analytical models that can be used as a framework for efficiently designing the positioning systems are not available. This dissertation develops an analytical model as a design tool and recommends a design guideline for such positioning systems in order to expedite the deployment process. A system designer can use this framework to strike a balance between the accuracy, the precision, the location granularity, the number of access points, and the location spacing. A systematic study is used to analyze the location fingerprint and discover its unique properties. The location fingerprint based on the received signal strength is investigated. Both deterministic and probabilistic approaches of location fingerprint representations are considered. The main objectives of this work are to predict the performance of such systems using a suitable model and perform sensitivity analyses that are useful for selecting proper system parameters such as number of access points and minimum spacing between any two different locations.
Housing laboratory dogs and rats

The major part of the life of laboratory animals is spent in their home cages/pens. Both dogs and rats are social, active, exploratory animals. Keeping them on a restricted area leads to limitations in activity. The aim of this thesis was to evaluate if increased physical and social activity in the home environment improves animal welfare. In study I, it was shown that male Beagle dogs increased their activity (steps/hour) and frequency of active behaviours when they had access to an outdoor kennel compared to when they were kept only indoors. Male Sprague Dawley rats were kept in several alternative housing systems for 4-10 weeks; a furnished pen (study II), two or four connected Makrolon type IV cages (study III), Enriched Rat Cage System and Scantainer NOVO cages (study IV), in groups of four (study III) or eight (studies II-IV) with control rats either housed individually (study II) or in pairs (studies III, IV) in standard cages. In study III half of the number of rats from each cage was given moderate treadmill exercise. The cage types in study IV were also tested in Spontaneously Hypertensive rats. Compared to controls, pen-housed rats had lower body weight, increased muscle oxidative capacity and strength and a more diverse behavioural pattern. The treadmill-trained rats had lower exercise blood lactate levels and greater endurance, lower body weight and plasma insulin levels and a greater relative heart weight compared to controls. Rats living in groups of four or eight performed better in an exercise test, had more social interactions and showed more activity in the Elevated Plus Maze compared to controls (study III). In study IV, rats of both strains showed a higher home cage activity with a greater variety of active behaviours in the alternative cages. This resulted in a lower lactate response and a greater endurance in an exercise test in both strains. The hypertensive rat model was not affected by the increased activity. In conclusion, the outdoor housing in dogs and all alternative housing systems tested in rats has lead to higher physical and social activity with positive implications for animal welfare.
Patch testing : test concentrations and vehicles for 3700 chemicals

Future aims. A checklist for the publication of new allergens. How to use this book. Explanation of Table 1. Table 1 Chemicals. Table 2 Abbreviations. Table 3 Groups of chemicals and substances. Table 4 Products. Table 5 Photosensitivity. Table 6 Contact urticaria (immediate contact reactions). Table 7 Patch test sensitization. References.
High resolution esophageal manometry and life exposure factors in non-cardiac chest pain patients with refractory gastroesophageal reflux disease

Background: Refractory gastroesophageal reflux disease (RGERD) is defined by the presence of troublesome GERD symptoms despite proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) treatments for 8-12 weeks. Non-cardiac chest pain (NCCP) is the most common atypical presentations. This study was aimed at clarifying the features of High Resolution Esophageal Manometry (HREM) and life exposure factors of NCCP in RGERD patients for guiding further therapeutic strategies. Methods: 83 RGERD patients were enrolled, in which 44 patients afflicted with NCCP as P group and 39 patients without NCCP as NP group. According to the endoscopy results, P group was further divided into reflux esophagitis group (RE group), non-erosive reflux disease group (NERD group) and Barrett’s esophagus group (BE group). HREM was performed to assess esophageal motility. Diverse questionnaires were conducted to evaluate severity of symptoms, quality of life, risk factors, degrees of anxiety and depression and so on. Results: a)Average resting pressures of the lower esophageal sphincter (LES), residual pressures of the LES and the esophageal distal contractile integral (DCI) score in P group were significantly lower than those in NP group (p<0.05). b)Average resting pressures of the upper esophageal sphincter (UES), residual pressures of the UES, lengths of the LES and the UES showed no difference between the two groups (p>0.05). c)Compared with NP group, the patients in P group had higher exposure to alcohol, coffee, sweets, overeating and stress (p<0.05). d)Anxiety and depression status of patients in P group were remarkably severer than those in NP group (p<0.05). e)The pain intensity in RE group and BE group was higher than NERD group (P<0.05), while there was no difference between RE group and BE group (P>0.05). Conclusions: Esophageal motility related anti-reflux barriers are much weaker in the RGERD patients with NCCP than those without NCCP, which mainly presents as the much lower average resting and residual pressures of the LES and DCI. Alcohol, coffee, sweets, overeating, stress, anxiety and depression are risk factors of RGERD-related NCCP. It’s suggested that the recovery of anti-reflux barriers and the avoidance of risk factors may be essential therapeutic strategies for improving the curative effect.
Impact of information on secondary school students’ knowledge, perception and attitude towards agricultural career in Ogun State, Nigeria

Youths’ interest in Agriculture is daily declining due to lack of awareness and information about the prospects in agriculture, leaving the nation’s agricultural sector in the hands of the ageing population. This study examined the impact of agricultural career information on the knowledge, perception and attitudes of secondary school students towards taking agriculture, as a career choice. A purposive sampling technique was used to select 136 school science students in senior secondary schools and structured questionnaire was used to elicit information on their knowledge, perception and attitudes with respect to career in agriculture. Data was collected for pre-test (baseline) and post-test (end-line) after the respondents had participated in an intervention tagged “Agricultural Career Information Program” and analyzed using descriptive and inferential (using t-test at p ≤ 0.05) statistics. Result showed that the students had a significant change in attitude towards choosing agriculture as a career choice after being exposed to the intervention program, but no significant change in the students’ knowledge and perception after being exposed to the program. Agricultural career counselling should be intentional in the education of the youths, in order to influence their attitude and eventual choice of a career in agriculture. The study recommends that career guidance be included in the curriculum of primary and secondary school students, with a focus on agricultural sector. Information sessions on the agricultural sector can also be organized to improve students’ knowledge, attitude and perception in order to direct their choice towards agriculture.
Gene expression and alternative splicing contribute to adaptive divergence of ecotypes

Regulation of gene expression is a critical link between genotype and phenotype explaining substantial heritable variation within species. However, we are only beginning to understand the ways that specific gene regulatory mechanisms contribute to adaptive divergence of populations. In plants, the post-transcriptional regulatory mechanism of alternative splicing (AS) plays an important role in both development and abiotic stress response, making it a compelling potential target of natural selection. AS allows organisms to generate multiple different transcripts/proteins from a single gene and thus may provide a source of evolutionary novelty. Here we examine whether variation in alternative splicing and gene expression levels might contribute to adaptation and incipient speciation of dune-adapted prairie sunflowers in Great Sand Dunes National Park, Colorado, USA. We conducted a common garden experiment to assess transcriptomic variation among ecotypes and analyzed differential expression, differential splicing, and gene coexpression. We show that individual genes are strongly differentiated for both transcript level and alternative isoform proportions, even when grown in a common environment, and that gene coexpression networks are disrupted between ecotypes. Furthermore, we examined how genome-wide patterns of sequence divergence correspond to divergence in transcript levels and isoform proportions and find evidence for both cis and trans-regulation. Together our results emphasize that alternative splicing has been an underappreciated mechanism providing source material for natural selection at micro-evolutionary time scales.
STEM educated women entrepreneurs in Denmark, Latvia and Turkey: a context-based explorative study

The number of women entrepreneurs has increased significantly over the past years. However, literature suggests that women from STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) fields are inadequately represented in this growing trend. Meanwhile, the circumstances which cause this underrepresentation have not yet been sufficiently analyzed. To help fill this gap, this paper focuses on women’s entrepreneurship in specific educational and country contexts, acknowledging that relations between these factors play a crucial role in entrepreneurship. By means of an explorative approach, 21 interviews with seven STEM educated women entrepreneurs from Denmark, Latvia and Turkey have been conducted and analyzed with a qualitative content analysis. The results show the main motivations, challenges, and support sources for the women entrepreneurs, and provide important advice for future women entrepreneurs as well as for policy makers to increase the number of STEM educated women on the national level.
Exploring creativity in temporary virtual teams: the case of engineering design

The prevalence of Virtual Team (VT) configurations in organizations has come to challenge the relevance of traditional management practices based on traditional, physically collocated teams. Creativity—a topical and multidisciplinary issue—has been under-researched within the context of virtuality. Predicated on the premise that creativity may be expressed differently in the context of VTs, I draw the conceptual foundations for this research from the fields of virtuality (i.e. VTs) and creativity, and use engineering design as the empirical context, with the aim of pursuing a better understanding of creativity in relationship with virtuality in the context of Virtual Design Teams (VDTs). Design constitutes a pertinent empirical context because (a) designers have to deliver outputs requiring creativity; and (b) their work is increasingly accomplished in VDT environments. I report on the findings from three case studies involving temporary VDTs. Studies 1 and 2 comprised student engineers. Study 3 was a comparative case study focusing on a team of professional engineers, who completed one design task while physically collocated (face-to-face, F2F) and another one while geographically dispersed (virtually), with the aim of isolating factors that are unique to virtuality. With an interpretive stance guiding this research, the same analytical approach for each case study, and with the team serving as the unit of analysis, I analysed the collected data (interview data, observations, video recordings, photographic material, documents, communication extracts, design and other outputs) qualitatively with the use of visual and thematic analysis. The thesis makes the following theoretical contributions: (a) it advances understanding of creativity within the VDT lifecycle; (b) it elicits factors influencing creativity in the temporary VDT context; and (c) it explains how the unique characteristics of virtuality influence creativity within this context. The thesis’ limitations as well as implications for research and practice are also discussed.
Modern Grid Initiative Distribution Taxonomy Final Report

This is the final report for the development of a toxonomy of prototypical electrical distribution feeders. Two of the primary goals of the Department of Energy's (DOE) Modern Grid Initiative (MGI) are 'to accelerate the modernization of our nation's electricity grid' and to 'support demonstrations of systems of key technologies that can serve as the foundation for an integrated, modern power grid'. A key component to the realization of these goals is the effective implementation of new, as well as existing, 'smart grid technologies'. Possibly the largest barrier that has been identified in the deployment of smart grid technologies is the inability to evaluate how their deployment will affect the electricity infrastructure, both locally and on a regional scale. The inability to evaluate the impacts of these technologies is primarily due to the lack of detailed electrical distribution feeder information. While detailed distribution feeder information does reside with the various distribution utilities, there is no central repository of information that can be openly accessed. The role of Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) in the MGI for FY08 was to collect distribution feeder models, in the SynerGEE{reg_sign} format, from electric utilities around the nation so that they could be analyzed to identify regional differences in feeder design and operation. Based on this analysis PNNL developed a taxonomy of 24 prototypical feeder models in the GridLAB-D simulations environment that contain the fundamental characteristics of non-urban core, radial distribution feeders from the various regions of the U.S. Weighting factors for these feeders are also presented so that they can be used to generate a representative sample for various regions within the United States. The final product presented in this report is a toolset that enables the evaluation of new smart grid technologies, with the ability to aggregate their effects to regional and national levels. The distribution feeder models presented in this report are based on actual utility models but do not contain any proprietary or system specific information. As a result, the models discussed in this report can be openly distributed to industry, academia, or any interested entity, in order to facilitate the ability to evaluate smart grid technologies.
Optimizing Laccase Production in Auricularia Cornea by Submerged Fermentation With Wheat Bran Extract: Applications in Decolorization of Malachite Green Dye

Wheat bran extract may enhance laccase activity of Auricularia cornea in submerged fermentation. The laccase activity of A. cornea was maximal (768.78 U/mL) at 26.9 ℃, pH 5, a time point of 6 d, 22 h, and an inducer concentration of 10%. Laccase from A. cornea AC5 decolorized 83.27% of 75 mg/L malachite green within 12 h. High performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) analysis of the extracted metabolites suggested that the decolorization occurred through biodegradation. Malachite green induced cytotoxic damage including formation of a micronucleus and chromosome bridge at anaphase. Degradation products of malachite green proved to be less toxic and had negligible effects on chromosomal aberrations.
Floor-supply displacement air-conditioning: Laboratory experiments

The results of laboratory measurements on the performance of a floor-supply displacement air-conditioning system in comparison to a displacement ventilation system with a side-wall-mounted diffuser and a ceiling-based distribution system are described. Thermal stratification was observed, as there were greater vertical air temperature differences in both of the displacement systems than in the ceiling-based system. The floor-supply displacement air-conditioning system produced a uniformly low air velocity at each measurement height, while a rather high air velocity near the floor was observed for the displacement ventilation system with a sidewall-mounted diffuser. Local mean age of air of the floor-supply displacement air-conditioning system was lower than that of the other systems, especially in the lower part of the room. According to the simulation results, the floor-supply displacement air-conditioning system with outdoor air cooling requires 34% less energy than the conventional air-conditioning system with outdoor air cooling.
Ground Water Hydrology

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