Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A critical review on the vulnerability assessment of natural gas pipelines subjected to seismic wave propagation. Part Fragility relations and implemented seismic intensity measures. Tunnelling

: Natural gas (NG) pipeline networks constitute a critical means of energy 15 transportation, playing a vital role in the economic development of modern societies. The 16 associated socio-economic and environmental impact, in case of seismically-induced severe 17 damages, highlights the importance of a rational assessment of the structural integrity of this 18 infrastructure against seismic hazards. Up to date, this assessment is mainly performed by 19 implementing empirical fragility relations, which associate the repair rate, i.e. the number of 20 repairs/damages per unit length of the pipeline, with a seismic intensity measure. A limited 21 number of analytical fragility curves that compute probabilities of failure for various levels of 22 predefined damage states have also been proposed, recently. In the first part of this paper, a 23 thorough critical review of available fragility relations for the vulnerability assessment of 24 buried NG pipelines is presented. The paper focuses on the assessment against seismically- 25 induced transient ground deformations, which, under certain circumstances, may induce non- 26 negligible deformations and strains on buried NG pipelines, especially in cases of pipelines 27 crossing heterogeneous soil sites. Particular emphasis is placed on the efficiency of 28 implemented seismic intensity measures to be evaluated or measured in the field and, more 29 importantly, to correlate with observed structural damages on buried NG pipelines. In the 30 second part of this paper, alternative methods for the analytical evaluation of the fragility of 31 steel NG pipelines under seismically-induced transient ground deformations are presented. 32 Through the discussion, recent advancements in the field are highlighted, whilst acknowledged 33 gaps are identified, providing recommendations for future research.
Performance evaluation of an improved model predictive control with field oriented control as a benchmark

Compared to the widespread modulation-based control strategies such as field oriented control (FOC), MPC eliminates the use of internal current control loops and modulation block, hence featuring very quick dynamic response. Furthermore, MPC well respects the discrete nature of power converters by evaluating the influence of each voltage vector on the concerned control variables, which are usually combined into a cost function, hence featuring simple concept. In spite of the merits of quick response and conceptual simplicity, it seems that MPC may be inferior to FOC in terms of steady-state performance, especially in the low speed range, which is usually a drawback of MPC-branched methods. This study proposes an improved two-vectors-based MPC (MPC2) and compares it to the well-established FOC. A detailed experimental study of both methods is presented, including steady-state performance, dynamic response, low speed operation and control complexity. Very promising results are obtained in MPC2 by providing better steady-state performance and much quicker response than FOC under the condition of similar average switching frequency. The results prove that MPC2 is a powerful alternative to FOC and may find wide applications in the near future.
Functional Characterization of Three Isoforms of the Na+/H+ Exchanger Stably Expressed in Chinese Hamster Ovary Cells

Four distinct isoforms of the mammalian Na+/H+ exchanger (NHE) have been identified by molecular cloning. Three of these (NHE-1, NHE-2, and NHE-3) have been shown to be functionally active by heterologous expression. Their kinetic and pharmacological properties are well documented, yet comparatively little is known about their regulation. In this report, rat NHE-1, NHE-2, and NHE-3 were stably transfected into antiporter-deficient Chinese hamster ovary cells to study their role in cellular proliferation and their regulation by nucleotides and cell volume. Their ability to influence cell proliferation was assessed by measuring the growth of antiporter-deficient cells and of the different transfectants in media of varying pH. While antiporterdeficient cells were unable to grow at acidic pH levels, all three isoforms supported proliferation under these conditions. Therefore, while the epithelia-specific isoforms (NHE-2 and NHE-3) are thought to play primarily a role in transcellular ion transport, they can also contribute to intracellular pH (pHi) homeostasis and have a permissive role in cell growth. The activity of the three isoforms was markedly inhibited by depletion of cellular ATP. In the pHi 6.0-7.2 range, decreases in the affinity for internal H’ and/or the maximal rate of transport accounted for the inhibitory effect, depending on the isoform. The osmotic responsiveness of the three isoforms was also compared. As reported earlier, NHE-1 was stimulated by hypertonicity. Under similar conditions, NHE-2 was also stimulated to a comparable extent. Conversely, both isoforms were inhibited in hypotonic media. In contrast, NHE-3 was markedly inhibited by hypertonic cell shrinking but was unaffected by hypotonicity. Osmotic inhibition of NHE-3 was rapid, reversible, and apparent throughout the pH range studied. Osmotic inhibition of NHE-3 may play a role in the physiology and pathophysiology of epithelia.
Cardiac Excitation and Contraction Evidence for heterogeneous subsarcolemmal Na (cid:2) levels in rat ventricular myocytes

Evidence for heterogeneous subsarcolemmal Na (cid:2) levels in rat ventricular myocytes. Am J Physiol Heart Physiol intracellular Na (cid:2) concentration ([Na (cid:2) ]) regulates cardiac contractility. Previous studies have suggested that subsarcolemmal [Na (cid:2) ] is higher than cytosolic [Na (cid:2) ] in cardiac myocytes, but this concept remains controversial. Here, we used electrophysiological experiments and mathematical modeling to test whether there are subsarcolemmal pools with different [Na (cid:2) ] and dynamics compared with the bulk cytosol in rat ventricular myocytes. A Na (cid:2) dependency curve for Na (cid:2) -K (cid:2) -ATPase (NKA) current was recorded with symmetrical Na (cid:2) solutions, i.e., the same [Na (cid:2) ] in the superfusate and internal solution. This curve was used to estimate [Na (cid:2) ] sensed by NKA in other experiments. Three experimental observations suggested that [Na (cid:2) ] is higher near NKA than in the bulk cytosol: 1 ) when extracellular [Na (cid:2) ] was high, [Na (cid:2) ] sensed by NKA was ~6 mM higher than the internal solution in quiescent cells; 2 ) long trains of Na (cid:2) channel activation almost doubled this gradient; compared with an even intracellular distribution of Na (cid:2) , the increase of [Na (cid:2) ] sensed by NKA was 10 times higher than expected, suggesting a local Na (cid:2) domain; and 3 ) accumulation of Na (cid:2) near NKA after trains of Na (cid:2) channel activation dissipated very slowly. Finally, mathematical models assuming heterogeneity of [Na (cid:2) ] between NKA and the Na (cid:2) channel better reproduced experimental data than the homogeneous model. In conclusion, our data suggest that NKA- sensed [Na (cid:2) ] is higher than [Na (cid:2) ] in the bulk cytosol and that there are differential Na (cid:2) pools in the subsarcolemmal space, which could be important for cardiac contractility and arrhythmogenesis. tility
Impact of Hydrated Lime on Cracking Performance of Asphalt Mixtures with Oxidation and Cyclic Pore Pressure

This research was conducted to evaluate the impact of hydrated lime (HL) on the cracking performance of asphalt mixtures for a broad range of aggregate types, including granites and limestones. A recently developed conditioning procedure, long-term oven aging (LTOA) plus cyclic pore pressure conditioning (CPPC), was employed to simulate the effects of long-term field aging on asphalt mixtures. The energy ratio (ER) approach, which took into account mixture properties that were known to be closely related to cracking and was calibrated with cores taken from field-aged pavements throughout Florida, was used to evaluate the cracking performance of untreated and lime-treated mixtures. The results show that the introduction of HL appeared to mitigate the detrimental effects of oxidative aging and moisture (LTOA plus CPPC) on the damage and fracture-related properties of granite and limestone mixtures. This effect resulted in better cracking performance of these mixtures. Further analysis based on comparison of initial construction costs of conventional pavement structures revealed that the use of HL could result in lower costs to achieve pavements with the same level of good performance. Furthermore, this research showed that the equivalent ER criterion proposed and implemented in the cost analysis could effectively assess the impact of HL modification.
Information and underlying evaluation systems effectiveness organisational culture: an model for ITEM

How to determine the effectiveness of an organisation's information systems is the subject of continued debate in the IS community. Difficulties surround such issues as agreement on evaluation criteria, agreement on quantitative and qualitative methods, and the politicising of the evaluation process. In this paper, the author relates the nature of school information systems to mainstream information systems research. The literature surrounding Information Technology in Educational Management (ITEM) is reviewed, and an underlying model for school IS evaluation is presented. Using previous results as a basis, the author proposes a strategy for investigating the link between a school's culture and its IS emphases.
Improving Recycled Asphalt Mix Performance Through Rejuvenation

Developing technologies that provide sustainable solutions for future pavement construction is vital given the ever-increasing demand on the supply of bitumen and good-quality pavement construction materials. Recycled asphalt pavement (RAP) is a technology that presents many advantages in cost and environmental savings. This study investigated the performance of RAP mixes containing rejuvenation additives to determine the effects of those additives on the deformation (rutting) resistance, cracking resistance, and fatigue performance of RAP mixes. Laboratory testing was conducted on 11 RAP mixes that were manufactured with RAP proportions of 15% and 30%, as well as with the addition of different types of rejuvenating agents. Results produced useful performance indicators for the use of rejuvenation additives in RAP. The mixes that had rejuvenation additives preserved the high deformation resistance of RAP mixes, particularly at the higher RAP proportion of 30% when compared with a mix with no RAP, and concurrently the addition of rejuvenators counteracted against overstiffening effects of RAP. The addition of RAP, especially 30% RAP proportion, had poorer fatigue performance than when only 15% RAP was used, but with the use of rejuvenation agents, the fatigue performance of the high RAP mixes improved significantly. Use of a maltene fraction for RAP rejuvenation had marginally better fatigue performance than a chemical rejuvenation agent. The research results provide a valuable understanding of the behavior of RAP mixes and, in particular, the positive performance results that can be gained by using rejuvenation additives.
THE INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF HUMANITIES & SOCIAL STUDIES Synthesis and Characterization of Barium Sulphate from Acid Mine Drainage

[12]. It can be used as enhancer in other industries such as cosmetics, pigment, offshore oil, and ceramics [13]. However, co-precipitation method is a low-cost technique which is suitable for mass production than the other methods mentioned. Although, it is difficult to synthesize a uniform size BaSO 4 crystal by precipitation method due to the fact that it is difficult to mix reactants in the reactor. Abstract: Elevated concentration of sulphate in acid mine drainage (AMD) generated by some mining industry in South Africa is a worrisome issue to the water treatment industry and the South African government. The aim of conducting this research is to reduce if not completely remove the high concentration of sulphate present in acid mine water by using reagent grade chemical. Chemical precipitation technique was employed to synthesize barium sulphate from sulphate-rich acid mine water by adding barium chloride solution to form a white precipitate. The precipitate formed was characterized using analytical techniques such as X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HTREM), Fourier transform infra-red (FTIR) spectroscopy and Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET). The synthesized barium sulphate was compared with reagent grade salt characterization for XRD identified barite (BaSO 4 ) mineral phase, while the SEM and HRTEM revealed similar morphology and the BET surface area for both synthesized and reagent grade barium sulphate precipitate were determined to be 7.7 m 2 /g and 68 m 2 /g. The results from this study shows that sulphate in the acid mine water can be used to synthesize barium sulphate. and the crystallinity of the crystals was conducted at an accelerating voltage of 200 kV. Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) analysis was conducted on the barium sulphate crystal to identify the functional groups present in the sample. The barium sulphate crystal was scanned within the range of 400 to 4000 cm-1. The Perkin Elmer FTIR spectrometer was used for recording the IR spectra crystal sample. The instrument was calibrated the spectra of a standard polystyrene film at room temperature. The barium sulphate crystal was prepared in pellet form before subjecting it to FTIR analysis and the spectra was recorded. Surface areas (BET area) of the BaSO 4 precipitates obtained from AMD was measured at a temperature of 77.35K using nitrogen adsorption method with a Quantachrome NOVA 2000 surface analyzer. Before the surface area analysis, the samples were prepared by washing the particles with acetone and drying them at 120 o C for 5-8 hours under the flow of nitrogen.
Productivity and profitability analysis of blackgram (Cv. PU-31) at farmers ’field in humid south eastern plain of Rajasthan

The study was conducted in Bundi district of Rajasthan to evaluate the production performance of variety Pant Urd 31(PU-31) of blackgram through frontline demonstrations at the farmers ’field. In all, 219 frontline demonstrations were carried out during four consecutive years from 2011 to 2014. The results indicated that the yield performance of blackgram variety Pant Urd 31(PU-31) was found to be substantially higher (32.80 to 80.62%) than that of local check during the study period (2011 to 2014). Further, majority of the respondent farmers ’expressed their high (51.60%) tothe medium (30.59%) level of satisfaction about performance of the improved variety under real farm situations.
HAPPINESS AND WORKING HOURS IN INDONESIA

Humans strive to achieve happiness throughout their lives; thus, every activity has the goal of attaining happiness in mind. Happiness is an essential indicator of good livelihood for humans; if people are not happy, then the quality of life will be reduced. This paper aims to analyze the effect of working hours on happiness in Indonesia by using cross-section data sourced from the Indonesia Family Life Survey (IFLS) wave 5 of 2014. The model is divided into quadratic models and grouped working hours; the methods used in this paper were the ordered logit for the primary model and the ordinary least square for comparison. The results showed that a quadratic pattern of working hours, where initially working hours would increase happiness, but after reaching a certain peak point, the addition of working hours would cause a decrease in happiness. This shows the existence of the Inversed U-Shaped pattern between working hours and happiness. maka kualitas hidupnya pun akan berkurang. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk menganalisa pengaruh jam kerja terhadap kebahagiaan di Indonesia dengan menggunakan data cross-section yang bersumber dari Indonesia Family Life Survey gelombang 5 tahun 2014. Adapun model yang digunakan dibagi menjadi model kuadratik serta model kelompok jam kerja, dimana metode yang digunakan dalam penelitian ini ialah ordered logit untuk model utama dan ordinary least square untuk pembanding. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan adanya pola kuadratik dari jam kerja, dimana pada awalnya jam kerja akan menambah kebahagiaan, tetapi setelah mencapai titik puncak tertentu penambahan jam kerja akan menyebabkan penurunan kebahagiaan.
OF CRUDE AND NANO-CONJUGATED S OF Sterculia setigera IN MICE

*Corresponding Author: 08035895490; ABSTRACT This study was carried out to screen for anti crude and nano-conjugated ethanol extract Fresh stem bark of S. setigera (AS) followed by green synthesis/reduction of ethanol extract with AuNPs, and its formulation into nano-conjugate with the addition of standard drug Diminazine aceturate (berenil). The synthesized AuNP were separately administered to 200mg/kg bodyweight for 12 consecutive days. Two separate groups were infected untreated and infected treated with Di and negative controls respectively. Similarly nanoconjugates of were also orally administered to different groups of rats for 12 days consecutively. The results showed that the ethan parasitaemia than the aqueous treated group when compared with the untreated control groups (p<0.05). Furthermore, treatment with both the nanoconjugates effectively cleared the parasites from the b Bodyweight and PCV of treated groups improved significantly in all the treated animals (p<0.05). The ethanol extract of nano-conjugated was trypanocida
Verbeteren ondersteuning service medewerkers

Service engineers are the face of an organization. For a lot of companies service engineers are not working in an office, which makes communicating with them very hard. Therefore, in this research the influence between the communication aspects (feedback, media, and perceived organizational support) and a field service engineer’s organizational identification, intrinsic motivation, extrinsic motivation, and organizational citizenship behavior will be researched. To check the influence of the communication aspects on the variables, the research is divided into three analyses: (1) hypotheses testing, (2) communication linkages, and (3) demographic variables. For the data a questionnaire was developed, which was sent to all field service engineers. In the end, the sample consisted of 58 questionnaires. The research concludes that aspects of communication (feedback, media, and perceived organizational support) make a positive difference for a service engineers’ identification and motivation, whereas the aspects of communication do not make a positive nor negative difference for the service engineers’ organizational citizenship behavior. Finally, five implications are given to the management which can lead to improvement of the service engineers’ organizational identification, intrinsic motivation, extrinsic motivation and perceived organizational support.
Qualitative Profiling of the Humoral Immune Response Elicited by Qualitative Profiling of the Humoral Immune Response Elicited by rVSV- Δ G-EBOV-GP Using a Systems Serology Assay, Domain rVSV-G-EBOV-GP Using a Systems Serology Assay, Domain Programmable Arrays Programmable Arrays

on 50 m L added to three different Ig isotype speciﬁc coated wells (triplicates), and further incubated at 4 (cid:3) C for 16 hours. Before used in panning experiments, the ﬁlovirus phage library was absorbed in wells coated with the Ig isotype speciﬁc capture monoclonal antibody and 10% BSA, to reduce phages unspeciﬁcally binding to the capture and blocking reagents. After four washes with 1X TBST buffer (For 1L: 100 mL of 10X TBS buffer, 0.5 mL of tween 20 (0.05%), and 1L of dH2O pH = 7.4), 10 6 PFU/50ul of the pre-absorbed phage library was added to the wells. Panning was carried out at 4 (cid:3) C for 16 hours. Wells were washed 8 times with 1X TBST buffer and 100 m l/well of 2M urea was added after washing to recover the bound phages. After incubation at 22 (cid:3) C for 20 minutes, phages (bound fraction) were collected and properly stored at (cid:1) 20 (cid:3) C until further usage. All samples were processed in triplicates. The run was developed using an anti-Goat HRP Antibody and the provided peroxidase and Luminol-S reagent. Western-blot results were analyzed using the Protein Simple software Compass. Western-blot was not performed quantitatively, and scored only as ‘‘positive’’ or ‘‘negative. ’’
THE INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF HUMANITIES & SOCIAL STUDIES Percieved Influence of Provision of Facilities as Management Strategy on the Control of Indisciplinary Behaviors among University Students in North Central Nigeria

: This paper investigated the Influence of Provision of facilities as management strategy on the Control of Indisciplinary Behaviors among University Students in North Central Nigeria. The study adopted survey research design. The sample size was 368 out of a target population of 4630 administrators including lecturers and student union executives from 13 public Universities in North Central Zone of Nigeria. A 30-item questionnaire titled Management Strategies on the Control of Indisciplinary Behaviors among University Students Questionnaire (MSCIBAUSQ) was used as instrument for data collection. The questionnaire was validated by experts from Federal University of Agriculture Makurdi and Federal University Lafia, respectively. The reliability coefficient that was obtained for the study was 0.90. Descriptive statistics of mean and standard deviation were used to answer the two research questions. Chi-square was used to test the two hypotheses at 0.05 level of significance. The findings of the study revealed that the provision of facilities such as water, electricity, good class rooms, library and laboratory facilities and recreational facilities would significantly influence the control of indiciplinary behaviors among university students in North Central Nigeria. Based on the findings of this study, the researcher recommended that University Administrators should always ensure that basic facilities needed for teaching and learning are available so as to encourage students’ concentration and reduce indisciplinary behaviors in the universities.
Assessment of correlations between peripheral interferon γ and interleukin 6, PTSD and resilience

Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is a debilitating psychiatric disorder with decreased general health prognosis and increased mortality. Inflammation has been hypothesized to be a link between PTSD and the most common co-morbid medical disorders. However, the relationship between inflammation and PTSD is not clear. Individual inflammatory markers have shown variable associations with PTSD. This study investigates the correlations between serum cytokines, PTSD and resilience in a cohort of Caucasian Vietnam combat veterans ( n = 299). After correction for multiple testing, PTSD severity was correlated with small but significant decreases in interleukin 6 and interferon γ ( p = 0.004, p = 0.013, respectively) whereas resilience was correlated with increased levels of interleukin 6 and interferon γ ( p = 0.023; p = 0.007, respectively). Analyses of sub-symptoms of PTSD revealed that mood and arousal symptoms showed the most significant effect on interleukin 6 and interferon γ. These findings are not in agreement with previously reported findings and may point at resilience mechanisms that affect the immune-system. More research is needed to further elucidate the mechanisms underlying the relationship between cytokine levels, PTSD sub-symptoms and trauma outcomes to improve the knowledge base of differences in trauma response and the biological system. resilience was tested through Spearman’s rho test. We observed significant but small positive correlations for IL 6 ( r = 0.138; p = 0.023) and IFNγ ( r = 0.162; p = 0.007). These findings withstood correction