Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Recent hydrological evolutions of the Senegal River flood (West Africa)

ABSTRACT The flood of the Senegal River is a resource for the populations of the Senegal valley, who practise agriculture, fishing and livestock farming in the annually flooded areas. The objective of this paper is to investigate the hydrological evolution of the Senegal River flood since the drought of the 1970s and the construction and management of the Manantali Dam. To this purpose, the paper analyses the evolution of several parameters of the flood hydrograph and defines the factors that determine the intensity of the flood. Also, a follow-up of the flooded areas in the valley is carried out using remote sensing. The results show that the flood hydrograph has been similar since the 1970s drought, due to the reduction in contributions from the Bafing after the construction of the Manantali Dam. As a result, the high floods depend now on the rainfall pattern in the Sudano-Sahelian zone of the watershed.
Iron-based intermetallic particles formation in Al-Zn-Si alloy through powder metallurgy route

Corrosion of the steel products is one of the significant challenges which is managed by coating with Al-Zn-based alloys. The Galvalume alloy (Al-55%, 43.5%-Zn, Si-1.5%) is coated on steel strips via a hot-dipping process. The dissolution of iron (Fe) from steel strips and the formation of Fe-based intermetallic particles is an inevitable phenomenon during the hot-dip coating process. These intermetallic particles are a primary source of massive bottom dross build-up in the coating pot and metal spot defects in the coated steel products. Therefore, it is important to investigate the formation of Fe-based intermetallic particles. In this study, Fe-based intermetallic particles are produced via the powder metallurgy route. High energy ball milling was used for mechanical alloying of aluminum (Al), iron (Fe), silicon (Si), and zinc (Zn) powders. Optimized ball milling conditions were identified after a series of trials. After cold pressing, the mechanically alloyed samples (pellets) were sintered at various conditions in a high vacuum sintering furnace. The X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscope (SEM) equipped with energy-dispersive X-ray diffraction (EDS) were used for the analysis of raw material, mechanically alloyed powders, and sintered pellets. It is concluded that the mechanical alloying of 6h and cold pressing at 9 tons for 30 min is sufficient to produce a dense compact material. It was found that Fe-based intermetallic particles were successfully fabricated which were α-AlFeSi. However, intermetallic particles similar to those found in the bottom dross of the coating pot are difficult to fabricate through the powder metallurgy route due to the volatilization of Zn during the sintering process.
Decision-support framework for linking regional-scale management actions to continental-scale conservation of wide-ranging species

Anas acuta (Northern pintail; hereafter pintail) was selected as a model species on which to base a decision-sup-port framework linking regional actions to continental-scale population and harvest objectives. This framework was then used to engage stakeholders, such as Landscape Conservation Cooperatives’ (LCCs’) habitat management partners within areas of importance to pintails, while maximizing cross-taxa effects from the framework. The mathematical framework for the model had been previously developed for pintails. A key assumption incorporated into the model is that density dependence in survival occurs during the post-hunting (winter) period, where resources are hypothesized to be limiting. Because few data are available to directly inform this process, the approach used was to build a hierarchical Bayesian integrated population model (IPM) that simultaneously uses data from bird-band recoveries, breeding population counts, and harvest surveys to estimate values of parameters of an annual population projection model, including population size, survival rate, reproductive rate, and process and observation error variances, that are logically consistent with each other, given the mathematical structure imposed through the IPM. The main accomplishments of this study are (1) development of an IPM for pintail to guide harvest and habitat management, (2) development of a Prairie Parkland Region breeding submodel to predict pintail productivity, (3) development of statistical methodology to estimate pintail productivity (as measured by the ratio of juvenile to adults in hunter-collected wing samples) and winter survival and to relate these estimates to covariates, and (4) illustration of how to use a model and estimated parameter values to predict pintail population size and sustainable harvest as a function of habitat. little variation in survival A productivity model showed strong effects of breeding ground and on productivity. Thus, most temporal variation in pintail demographic rates has been due to effects on reproduction and not survival, including effects of breeding or wintering-ground habitat. These results indicate that habitat conservation efforts may be most effec tive if they focus on maintaining or increasing breeding and wintering-ground habitat to increase pintail productivity rather than pintail survival. Environmental perturbations in excess of historical experience, such as what could occur under climate change, might have meaningful effects on survival but cannot be estimated with current data. Direct effects of climate, land use, or management are likely to be greater on productivity than survival, but substantial uncertainty remains about predictions of equilibrium population size and sustainable yield.
Much-Anticipated Marriage of Cycling and Transit

In response to the environmental, economic, and social costs associated with overreliance on the automobile, planners and transportation professionals are promoting sustainable alternatives such as walking, cycling, and public transit, either as single modes or in combination. It has been argued that the marriage between cycling and transit presents opportunities for synergy by enlarging catchment areas of transit stations while drawing in new users to both of these green modes. However, because of the marginality of combining cycling and transit in North America, there is a shortage of reliable empirical studies in this area. The present study addressed this gap through an analysis of travel behavior and preferences related to cycle–transit (C-T) integration. An online survey was conducted in the region of Montreal, Canada, during the summer of 2010. The questionnaire included a section on Montreal's public bicycle sharing system, Bixi (bicycle taxi), and its potential for integration with transit. Three current or potential C-T user groups were identified through a factor–cluster analysis: current parking bike-and-riders, Bixi users, and car drivers. Bringing a bicycle on transit was the preferred form of integration; however, scenarios involving bicycle parking (or using a public bicycle) were likely to be used more regularly. To accommodate the greatest number of bicycle–transit trips, measures that facilitated parking at transit stops and those that enabled the bringing of bicycles on board transit vehicles were recommended in tandem.
Transcriptome Analysis of Pterygium and Pinguecula Reveals Evidence of Genomic Instability Associated with Chronic Inflammation

Solar damage due to ultraviolet radiation (UVR) is implicated in the development of two proliferative lesions of the ocular surface: pterygium and pinguecula. Pterygium and pinguecula specimens were collected, along with adjacent healthy conjunctiva specimens. RNA was extracted and sequenced. Pairwise comparisons were made of differentially expressed genes (DEGs). Computational methods were used for analysis. Transcripts from 18,630 genes were identified. Comparison of two subgroups of pterygium specimens uncovered evidence of genomic instability associated with inflammation and the immune response; these changes were also observed in pinguecula, but to a lesser extent. Among the top DEGs were four genes encoding tumor suppressors that were downregulated in pterygium: C10orf90, RARRES1, DMBT1 and SCGB3A1; C10orf90 and RARRES1 were also downregulated in pinguecula. Ingenuity Pathway Analysis overwhelmingly linked DEGs to cancer for both lesions; however, both lesions are clearly still benign, as evidenced by the expression of other genes indicating their well-differentiated and non-invasive character. Pathways for epithelial cell proliferation were identified that distinguish the two lesions, as well as genes encoding specific pathway components. Upregulated DEGs common to both lesions, including KRT9 and TRPV3, provide a further insight into pathophysiology. Our findings suggest that pterygium and pinguecula, while benign lesions, are both on the pathological pathway towards neoplastic transformation.
IELTS Preparation in New Zealand: an Investigation into the Nature of the Courses and Evidence of Washback

In recent years, the impact of major tests and examinations on language teaching and learning has become an area of significant interest for testers and teachers alike. One aspect of test impact is washback, which is traditionally described as the negative effects that result from a test. It is said to create a narrowing of the curriculum in the classroom so that teachers and learners focus solely on the areas to be tested. On the other hand, there have been attempts to generate positive washback by means of examination reform to encourage teachers and learners to adopt more modern communicative approaches to language learning. The test that is the subject of the present study is the International English Language Testing System (IELTS), which has become the preferred method of assessing the English language proficiency of international students seeking admission into tertiary institutions in many countries. Since its introduction into New Zealand in 1991, courses which claim to prepare students for the test have become an increasingly common feature of the programmes offered by both private and public sector language schools. This study investigated the washback effect of the test by studying three IELTS preparation courses offered by language schools at public tertiary institutions in Auckland. The aim was to identify the significant activities in an IELTS preparation class in New Zealand and establish whether there was evidence of washback in the way classes were designed and delivered. Various forms of data-gathering were utilised, including two structured observation instruments, questionnaires and interviews for the teachers, two questionnaires for the students, and pre- and post-testing of the students. In addition, an analysis was made of IELTS preparation textbooks, with particular reference to those which were sources of materials for the three courses. Thus, the study provided a detailed account of the range and duration of activities occurring in IELTS preparation courses as well as insight into the teachers' approach to selecting appropriate lesson content and teaching methods. The findings showed markedly different approaches between the courses, with two focusing almost exclusively on familiarising students with the test and providing them with practice on test tasks. On the other hand, the third course, while including some test practice, took a topic-based approach and differed from the others in the amount of time spent on the types of activities one might expect to find in a communicative classroom. Pre- and post-testing revealed no significant gain in overall IELTS scores during the courses. The study concludes that teachers who design and deliver IELTS preparation courses are constrained by a combination of factors of which IEITS itself is but one. It highlights the need for further research into appropriate methodologies for washback research, including the refinement and validation of observation instruments, and provides more evidence of the complex impact of tests on both classroom teaching and learning.
The role of information asymmetry in closely-held firms’ tax and financial reporting choices

This study examines whether and how closely-held ownership is associated with the relationship between tax and financial reporting aggressiveness. More specifically, we find that although both closely-held and widely-held firms pursue tax savings and higher reported earnings, closely-held firms are less aggressive compared to widely-held firms in pursuing both simultaneously. We argue and find evidence that this is associated with non-controlling shareholders and controlling shareholders concerned about agency costs imposed by each on the other. Furthermore, this finding is driven mainly by firms with high information asymmetry (as proxied by firm size, analyst following and board size), suggesting that information asymmetry is a channel through which closely-held ownership is associated with firms’ tax and financial reporting choices.
The Nature of the Aircraft Component Failure Process: A Working Note

Abstract : The physics of component failures is normally assumed to follow a Poisson process. However, many studies have shown that the component demands in the U.S. Air Force supply system have a variance-to-mean ratio (VMR) much higher than 1.0, the VMR of a Poisson process. This apparent contradiction is resolved by modeling component failures as a Poisson process whose demand rate is not fixed, but rather is itself a stochastic process, wandering over time as a result of various causes such as weather, flying intensity, reliability growth, and, presumably, other unknown factors. Component and program data for the F-16 and A-10 aircraft show that demand over short time periods is Poisson. This is even more apparent when demands per flying hours are used instead of demands per day. However, when demands are aggregated over longer periods of time or more flying hours, the VMR increases. A gamma-Poisson model for future demands as a function of past observations fits the measured data. We call this process 'planetary Poisson' to distinguish it from the general class of nonstationary Poisson models.
Hybrid numerical simulation of large-scale gas-fired tubular heat exchangers

This article presents a hybrid computational fluid dynamics (CFD) modeling approach to the large-scale gas-fired heat exchanger. As the full-grid simulation on this heat exchanger requires impractical computational cost, a simplified “1D + 2D + 3D” hybrid CFD model is developed to reduce the computational cost and make the simulation doable on the common workstations. In this model, the air side is simulated by the 3D CFD model with the porous media simplification on tube bundles. The gas side is modeled by a 2D axisymmetric combustion model and a 1D duct model, which is implemented by the user-defined function (UDF) method. Furthermore, the “1D + 2D” gas-side models are coupled with the “3D” air-side model, while the UDF is coded for updating the boundary conditions on both sides during iterations. Reasonable agreement is achieved between the simulations and the measured results of pressure drop, overall heat transfer rate, air temperature rise, and tube wall temperature distributions.
Fatigue behaviour of welded circular hollow section joints in bridges

Keywords: 469/ICOM These Ecole polytechnique federale de Lausanne EPFL, n° 2727 (2003)Section de genie civilFaculte de l'environnement naturel, architectural et construitInstitut de structuresLaboratoire de la construction metalliqueJury: Hans Dauner, Andre-Gilles Dumont, Jacques Giovanola, Stefan Herion, Peter Matt, Arie Romeijn Public defense: 2003-3-5 Reference doi:10.5075/epfl-thesis-2727Print copy in library catalog Record created on 2005-03-16, modified on 2016-08-08
Physicochemical properties and antioxidant activities of ginger
 (Zingiber officinale Roscoe) slices according to
 temperature and duration of hot water treatment

This study was conducted to determine the optimal hydrothermal pretreatment conditions for manufacturing processed ginger products. Ginger slices heated at different temperatures (60-100°C for 1 h) for varying durations (1-5 h at 80°C) were compared in terms of their physiochemical properties, antioxidant activities, and functional compound contents. The pH and soluble solid content decreased with increasing hydrothermal treatment temperature. Browning occurred at temperatures > 80°C. The 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrahydrazyl and 2,2'-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) radical scavenging were highest after heating at 80°C for 1 h, and the total phenolic compound content showed a similar trend. As the hydrothermal treatment temperature and duration increased, the 6-gingerol content decreased and the 6-shogaol content generally increased. Based on sensory testing of ginger jeonggwa (with sugar syrup) prepared using hot water-treated ginger slices, the optimal hot water treatments were conducted at 70 and 80°C for 1 h, with no significant difference between these temperatures in terms of smell, taste, and texture. Therefore, hydrothermal treatment of ginger at 70-80°C for 1 h was a suitable to improve the functionality and antioxidant ability while maintaining the sensory quality. Therefore, this may be used in the production of processed ginger.
The Azospirillum genus and the cultivation of vegetables. A review

Introduction. Plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria have been successfully inserted in agriculture, aiming to find a better balance between agricultural production and environmental protection. However, there is a restriction on its application concerning the exploited species since the focus is on large-scale grain production, practically excluding small and medium-sized farms. Literature. Studies on the application of Azospirillum bacteria in horticultural species are still scarce, compared with those aimed at grain production. However, it appears that these bacteria are beneficial to the development and production of vegetables, whether they produce leaves, stems, bulbs, flowers, fruits, roots, or tubers, and may result in monetary gains, especially for small and medium agricultural producers. Conclusions. The use of Azospirillum bacteria to increase the quality and quantity of products from horticultural species and establish an environmentally friendly practice is a reality. However, the development of research that defines the best strategies for using this technology must be carried out continuously, aiming at the best conditions for producers.
Pattern‐reconfigurable quasi‐yagi microstrip antenna using a photonic band gap structure

A pattern‐reconfigurable quasi‐Yagi microstrip antenna is presented. Its main beam in the E‐plane can scan from −66° to +63° in the upper‐half space by using a switch‐controlled photonic band gap (PBG) structure, while maintaining an operating frequency of approximately 9.65 GHz. The antenna is analyzed using Ansoft HFSS. The measured and simulated results of the three configurations of the antenna are provided. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Microwave Opt Technol Lett 42: 296–297, 2004; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI 10.1002/mop.20283
New Perceptions in the Cardioprotective Effect of Metformin Against Isoproterenol Induced Cardiotoxicity in Male Rats

Background and objective: Recent clinical trials have shown that metformin improves clinical cardiovascular outcome in type-2 diabetic patients independently of its insulin-sensitizing effect. This study was sought to evaluate the potential cardioprotective effects of metformin on isoproterenol-induced cardiac stress in diabetic and non-diabetic rats. Materials and Methods: Diabetes was induced by using streptozocin (60 mg/kg, i.p.) while non-diabetic rats received saline. Rats in both experimental groups were then randomized to receive different doses of metformin (75, 150, 300 mg/kg i.p.) for 6 weeks. Cardiac stress was induced by isoproterenol (150 mg/kg i.p.) for two successive days. Specific biomarkers of tissue injury, namely brain natriuretic peptide (BNP), cardiac troponin-T (cTn-T), matrix metalloproteinase (MMP), tissue necrotic factor-α (TNF), were assessed. Data were analysed using one-way ANOVA followed by Newman Keuls post hoc test Results: The results showed that metformin significantly limited isoproterenol-induced myocardial injury in both diabetic and non-diabetic rats. Metformin significantly decreased the elevated serum levels of brain natriuretic peptide (BNP), matrix metalloproteinase (MMP), cardiac troponin t (cTn-T) which was induced by isoproterenol. It also limited expression of tissue necrotic factor-α (TNF-α) following the cardiac injury in diabetic and non-diabetic rats.
Evaluation Datasets for Cross-lingual Semantic Textual Similarity

Semantic textual similarity (STS) systems estimate the degree of the meaning similarity between two sentences. Cross-lingual STS systems estimate the degree of the meaning similarity between two sentences, each in a different language. State-of-the-art algorithms usually employ a strongly supervised, resource-rich approach difficult to use for poorly-resourced languages. However, any approach needs to have evaluation data to confirm the results. In order to simplify the evaluation process for poorly-resourced languages (in terms of STS evaluation datasets), we present new datasets for cross-lingual and monolingual STS for languages without this evaluation data. We also present the results of several state-of-the-art methods on these data which can be used as a baseline for further research. We believe that this article will not only extend the current STS research to other languages, but will also encourage competition on this new evaluation data.
Beneficial impact of channel correlations on MIMO capacity

The potential beneficial impact of channel correlations on the capacity of MIMO systems is investigated. In contrast to most previous work, the present analysis is based on a comprehensive model of the channel correlation structure. It is therefore illustrated that fading cross-correlations may increase the ergodic capacity, sometimes even beyond the supposedly ideal case of independent channels. Starting from considerations on an analytical upper bound of the capacity, the study is then supported by simulation results of the actual ergodic capacity in arbitrary MIMO channels using a simple geometry-based stochastic model.
Action Research and Wicked Environmental Problems

The authors report on a 3-year action-research project designed to facilitate public involvement in the planned dredging of a canal and subsequent disposal of the dredged sediments. Their study reveals ways that community members struggle to define the problem and work together as they gather, share, and understand data relevant to that problem. The authors argue that the primary goal of action research related to environmental risk should be to identify and support the strategies used by community members rather than to educate the public. The authors maintain that this approach must be supported by a thorough investigation of basic rhetorical issues (audience, genre, stases, invention), and they illustrate how they used this approach in their study.