Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
An assessment of tropopause characteristics of the ERA5 and ERA-Interim meteorological reanalyses

Abstract. The tropopause layer plays a key role in manifold processes in atmospheric chemistry and physics. Here we compare the representation and characteristics of the lapse rate tropopause according to the definition of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) as estimated from European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) reanalysis data. Our study is based on ten-year records (2009 to 2018) of ECMWF's state-of-the-art reanalysis ERA5 and its predecessor ERA-Interim. The intercomparison reveals notable differences between ERA5 and ERA-Interim tropopause data, in particular on small spatiotemporal scales. The monthly mean differences of ERA5 minus ERA-Interim tropopause heights vary between −300 m at the transition from the tropics to the extratropics (near 30° S and 30° N) to 150 m around the equator. Mean tropopause temperatures are mostly lower in ERA5 than in ERA-Interim, with a maximum difference of up to −1.5 K in the tropics. Monthly standard deviations of tropopause heights of ERA5 are up to 350 m or 60 % larger than for ERA-Interim. Monthly standard deviations of tropopause temperatures of ERA5 exceed those of ERA-Interim by up to 1.5 K or 30 %. The occurrence frequencies of double tropopause events in ERA5 exceed those of ERA-Interim by up to 25 percentage points at mid latitudes. We attribute the differences between the ERA5 and ERA-Interim tropopause data and the larger, more realistic variability of ERA5 to improved spatiotemporal resolution and better representation of geophysical processes in the forecast model as well as improvements in the data assimilation scheme and the utilization of additional observations in ERA5. The improved spatiotemporal resolution of ERA5 allows for a better representation of mesoscale features, in particular of gravity waves, which affect the temperature profiles in the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere and thus the tropopause height estimates. We evaluated the quality of the ERA5 and ERA-Interim reanalysis tropopause data by comparisons with COSMIC and MetOp Global Positioning System (GPS) satellite observations as well as high-resolution radiosonde profiles. The comparison indicates an uncertainty of the first tropopause for ERA5 (ERA-Interim) of about ±150 m to ±200 m (±250 m) based on radiosonde data and ±120 m to ±150 m (±170 to ±200 m) based on the coarser resolution GPS data at different latitudes. Consequently, ERA5 will provide more accurate information than ERA-Interim for future tropopause-related studies.
The effects of language on the stigmatization and exclusion of returning citizens: Results from a survey experiment

Although the use of person-centered language has increased in recent years, its usage remains limited within the field of criminal justice, wherein terms such as ex-offender are frequently used to describe formerly incarcerated individuals. Research suggests that person-centered language matters for public opinion, but prior work has not examined the effect of language on support for the social reintegration of returning citizens. The present research experimentally manipulates the effects of the language used to describe individuals released from incarceration and the race of a hypothetical returning citizen on the following outcomes: negative stereotype endorsement, attitudinal social distance, and support for reintegrative initiatives. I find that person-centered language significantly reduces stigmatization of returning citizens, which ultimately increases support for reintegrative services. These findings suggest that humanizing changes to criminal justice discourse may have the capacity to shift public opinion and create a social context more conducive to reintegration after incarceration.
Transcriptomic analysis of Streptococcus agalactiae periprosthetic joint infection

Although Streptococcus agalactiae periprosthetic joint infection (PJI) is not as prevalent as staphylococcal PJI, invasive S. agalactiae infection is not uncommon. Here, RNA‐seq was used to perform transcriptomic analysis of S. agalactiae PJI using fluid derived from sonication of explanted arthroplasties of subjects with S. agalactiae PJI, with results compared to those of S. agalactiae strain NEM316 grown in vitro. A total of 227 genes with outlier expression were found (164 upregulated and 63 downregulated) between PJI sonicate fluid and in vitro conditions. Functional enrichment analysis showed genes involved in mobilome and inorganic ion transport and metabolism to be most enriched. Genes involved in nickel, copper, and zinc transport, were upregulated. Among known virulence factors, cyl operon genes, encoding β‐hemolysin/cytolysin, were consistently highly expressed in PJI versus in vitro. The data presented provide insight into S. agalactiae PJI pathogenesis and may be a resource for identification of novel PJI therapeutics or vaccines against invasive S. agalactiae infections.
Chemical reaction concerns of gate metal with gate dielectric in Ta gate MOS devices: an effect of self-sealing barrier configuration interposed between Ta and SiO/sub 2/

Chemical reaction of gate metal with gate dielectric for Ta gate MOS devices has been experimentally investigated both by electrical and physical measurements: capacitance-voltage (C-V), current-voltage (I-V), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), energy dispersive X-ray (EDX), electron diffraction measurements. In spite of the chemical reaction of Ta with SiO/sub 2/ consuming /spl sim/1-nm-thick in gate oxide, the interface trap densities of /spl sim/2/spl times/10/sup 10/ cm/sup -2/ eV/sup -1/ at midgap and ideal channel mobility characteristics have been observed in the Ta gate MOS devices with 5.5-nm-thick thermal oxide gate dielectric. Considering the experimental data with theoretical calculation based on thermodynamics together, a barrier layer model has been developed for the Ta gate MOS systems. The physical mechanism involved is probably self-sealing barrier layer formation resulting from the chemical reaction kinetics in the free-energy change of Ta-Si-O system.
Conventional Determinants of Corporate Payout Policies in the Egyptian Stock Market

Corporate Payout policy is one of the interesting topics in corporate finance literature that attracted the attention of many researchers. Despite the exten-sive research in this area, there is a contradiction between researchers on what are the main determinants of corporate payout policy. Researchers have mainly focused on developed markets and looked at a single dimension of the dividend policy. Therefore, the current study explores the determinants of dividend payout ratio by analyzing the effect of profitability, free cash flow, investment opportunity, liquidity, leverage, firm size and ownership structure on two dimensions of the dividend payout policy: the dividend decision and the payout ratio, taking a sample of all Egyptian listed firms in the period from 2007 till 2020. The results reveal the significance of profitability and investment opportunity on the dividend decision. For the payout ratio model, it is found that free cash flow, profitability and managerial ownership are significant determinants of payout ratio. Finally, by analyzing the divi-dend-paying firms, the results reveal that financial leverage affects the payout ratio of these firms.
A novel treatment protocol in severe acute pancreatitis: the first double blinded comparative trial to assess efficiency of omega 3 fatty acid infusion

Background: For decades, the treatment of acute pancreatitis (AP) has been largely supportive. However, a therapeutic window for intervention using immune modulators exists between the onset of clinical symptoms and peak pro-inflammatory cytokine expression. Soybean oil derived ω-3 PUFA is shown to inhibit the formation of ω-6 PUFA derived pro-inflammatory eicosanoids and suppresses pro-inflammatory activity of nuclear transcription factors (NF-κβ); thus, bringing about a much-needed immune regulation, both locally and systemically. Our aim was to study the efficacy of ω-3 PUFA infusion in severe AP (SAP) and set a new treatment protocol.Methods: This, first of its kind, doubled blinded randomised control trial was undertaken to assess the efficacy of early ω-3 PUFA supplementation in patients with predicted SAP by using serum amylase, serum lipase and C-reactive protein (CRP) with BISAP and Marshal scoring systems as markers for clinical outcome. 60 such patients were randomised into two groups: 30 were given ω-3 PUFA infusion and 30 were given a placebo. Chi square test and unpaired t test were used for comparison.Results: ω-3 PUFA infusion was found to be highly significant (p<0.05) in bringing about clinical improvement, reduced progression of SAP, reduced hospital stay and prompt reversal of organ dysfunction and SIRS.Conclusions: ω-3 PUFA infusion is the future for the treatment of patients with SAP. This drug is cheap and easily available, has no known side effects, reduces the morbidity and mortality, reduces the duration of hospital stay; thus, resulting in overall reduced medical expenditure.
Seasonal time series models to support traffic input data for mechanistic-empirical design guide

To prediet the performance of pavements, traffic volume should be forecast for the design life. Two aspects associated with traffic volume forecasting are incorporated into the NCHRP Project 1-37A mechanistic-empirical (M-E) design guide: long-term annual growth and short-term seasonal variation. Annual traffic growth can be accounted for by either a linear or a compound trend model. Seasonal traffic variation is captured by monthly adjustment factors. Class-specific traffic forecasting improves design accuracy but implies increased efforts in traffic data input and computer running time. Long-term and short-term estimations are performed independently and separately. This study demonstrates that the characterization of traffic volume is better achieved by estimating growth trends and seasonally simultaneously. Because of the data-intensive nature of the M-E design guide, any efforts toward facilitating data processing and input should be pursued. In this paper, seasonal time series techniques are applied.
Vegetation Canopy Height Retrieval Using L1 and L5 Airborne GNSS-R

Vegetation canopy height (CH) is one of the important remote-sensing parameters related to forests’ structure, and it can be related to the biomass and the carbon stock. Global navigation satellite system-reflectometry (GNSS-R) has proved capable to retrieve vegetation information at a moderate resolution from space (20–65 km) using L1 C/A signals. In this study, data retrieved by the airborne microwave interferometric reflectometer (MIR) GNSS-R instrument at L1 and L5 are compared to the Global Forest CH product, with a spatial resolution of 30 m. This work analyzes the waveforms (WFs) measured at both bands, and the correlation of the waveform width and the reflectivity values to the CH product. A neural network algorithm is used for the retrieval, showing that the combination of the reflectivity and the waveform width allows to estimate the CH information at a very high resolution, with a root-mean-square error (RMSE) of 4.25 and 4.07 m at L1 and L5, respectively, which is an error about 14% of the actual CH.
Effect of Information Quality on Compliance Behavior of Commuters Under Real-Time Traffic Information

The compliance behavior of commuters under different advanced traveler information systems (ATIS) information strategies of varying information quality and credibility is investigated. A behavioral experiment involving commuters’ departure time and route decisions in response to traffic information in a simulated traffic system is conducted by using an interactive dynamic multiuser, computer-based simulator. By actually simulating traffic conditions in response to commuter decisions, the simulator provides stimuli to the participants that are always consistent with physically realistic traffic behavior and with their previous decisions. Event-count (frequency) models and dynamic, discrete-choice models are employed to capture the principal effects of the commuters’ experience with the traffic system and with the real-time information on user compliance. The analysis reveals that the information quality of ATIS strongly affects commuters’ compliance behavior. Switching “cost” and recent experience are found to influence their trip-making behavior as well. The analysis further shows that a higher compliance rate can be achieved under prescriptive information than descriptive information. A hierarchy of achievable compliance rates appears to exist in response to the type of information supplied, under which the highest compliance is obtained for reliable, predicted information and the least compliance for random information. Moreover, by providing posttrip feedback with performance information on recommendation or ex–post-best decision, higher compliance is attained.
Mesenchymal Stem/Stromal Cells Derived from Human and Animal Perinatal Tissues—Origins, Characteristics, Signaling Pathways, and Clinical Trials

Mesenchymal stem/stromal cells (MSCs) are currently one of the most extensively researched fields due to their promising opportunity for use in regenerative medicine. There are many sources of MSCs, of which cells of perinatal origin appear to be an invaluable pool. Compared to embryonic stem cells, they are devoid of ethical conflicts because they are derived from tissues surrounding the fetus and can be safely recovered from medical waste after delivery. Additionally, perinatal MSCs exhibit better self-renewal and differentiation properties than those derived from adult tissues. It is important to consider the anatomy of perinatal tissues and the general description of MSCs, including their isolation, differentiation, and characterization of different types of perinatal MSCs from both animals and humans (placenta, umbilical cord, amniotic fluid). Ultimately, signaling pathways are essential to consider regarding the clinical applications of MSCs. It is important to consider the origin of these cells, referring to the anatomical structure of the organs of origin, when describing the general and specific characteristics of the different types of MSCs as well as the pathways involved in differentiation.
WIND INDUCED VIBRATION OF STAY CABLES

Cable-stayed bridges have become the form of choice over the past several decades for bridges in the medium to long span range. In some cases serviceability problems involving large amplitude vibrations of stay cables under certain wind and rain conditions have been observed. This study was conducted in order to develop a set of consistent design guidelines for mitigation of excess cable vibration on cable-stay bridges. In order to accomplish this objective the Project Team started with a thorough review of existing literature to determine the state of knowledge and identify any gaps that must be filled in order to enable the formation of a consistent set of design recommendations. This review indicated that while the rain/wind problem is known in sufficient detail, galloping of dry inclined cables was the most critical wind-induced vibration mechanism in need of further experimental research. A series of wind-tunnel tests was performed to study this mechanism. Analytical and experimental research was performed to study mitigation methods, covering a range of linear and nonlinear dampers and cross-ties. The study also included brief studies on live load induced vibration and establishing driver/pedestrian comfort criteria. Based on the above, design guidelines for mitigation of wind-induced vibrations of stay cables were developed.
Control strategy and space vector modulation for three-leg four-wire voltage source inverters under unbalanced load conditions

One of the desirable characteristics of inverters in three-phase systems is the ability to feed unbalanced/non-linear loads with voltage and frequency nominal values. Therefore three-leg four-wire inverters are expected to play an essential role in future power systems because of their ability to handle the neutral current caused by unbalanced or non-linear loads. This study introduces an original control method in combination with three-dimensional space-vector modulation (3D-SVM) strategy. The steps for the 3D-SVM implementation are identified. The switching vectors, 3D-SVM diagrams and the boundary planes equations, as well as the matrices for the duty cycles and symmetric switching sequences are discussed in detail. Experimental results including different loads are presented to validate the proposed SVM control strategy for three-leg four-wire voltage source inverters. The experimental results of this study show that the developed control scheme in combination with three-leg four-wire inverters can carry out the grid feeding requirements and supply good power quality to loads under extreme unbalanced conditions efficiently.
Assessing hydrologic alterations due to reservoirs and intensified irrigation in a semi‐arid agricultural river basin using SWAT *

Basins with hydrological modifications pose challenges in hydrological modelling, especially when there are limited data about basin characteristics. Models, however, are vital if we are to identify undisturbed hydrological conditions and evaluate the extent of modifications. In this study, we used SWAT to model the hydrological processes in a semi‐arid closed basin, where basin hydrology was heavily modified with reservoirs and irrigation canals and drains. Modelling was also challenging due to limited data about basin characteristics and irrigation management. We modelled the hydrological processes using topographic, land use/cover, soil and climate data. The auto‐irrigation tool in SWAT, which determines the timing and amount of irrigation based on the plant water stress factor, was used to represent irrigation. We successfully calibrated/validated the model for streamflow and reservoir storage and confirmed it further by analysing simulated water volumes in wetlands collecting drainage flows. We used the model to simulate the undisturbed hydrologic state and the effects of intensified irrigation. This study showed that SWAT can provide reasonable predictions of hydrological processes in agricultural basins where the natural flow regime is altered by man‐made structures. Simulations with the model revealed that the construction of reservoirs followed by land use changes and intensified irrigation have affected streamflows and downstream ecosystems significantly.
The Influence of Student Ability and Family Background on Independent Admission Results of Universities in China

As an important part of the higher education enrollment system in China, the independent admission policy has always attracted much attention. Whether the students with stronger ability are selected and whether fairness is taken into account during the independent admission are the focus of this paper. Using freshmen data from a top-40 university in western China, this study analyzed independent admission selection results by factor analysis and logistic regression method. It shows that student ability and family background have a great impact on the independent admission results. Students who have stronger abilities have been selected, and students with higher family economic status in the city are more likely to be accepted during independent admission. It can be seen that the selection efficiency of independent admission is high, but there is still space for promoting the fairness of independent admission.
Formation, Thermodynamic Structure, and Airflow of a Japan Sea Polar-Airmass Convergence Zone

The Sea of Japan (SOJ) coast and adjoining orography of central Honshu, Japan receive substantial snowfall each winter. A frequent contributor during cold-air outbreaks (CAOs) is the Japan Sea Polar-Airmass Convergence Zone (JPCZ), which forms downstream of the Korean Highlands, extends southeastward to Honshu, and generates a mesoscale band of precipitation. Mesoscale polar vortices (MPVs) ranging in horizontal scale from tens (i.e., meso-β-scale cyclones) to several hundred kilometers (i.e., “polar lows”) are also common during CAOs and often interact with the JPCZ. Here we use satellite imagery and Weather Research and Forecast model (WRF) simulations to examine the formation, thermodynamic structure, and airflow of a JPCZ that formed in the wake of an MPV during a CAO from 2–7 February 2018. The MPV and its associated warm seclusion and bent-back front developed in a locally warm, convergent, and convective environment over the SOJ near the base of the Korean Peninsula. The nascent JPCZ was structurally continuous with the bent-back front and lengthened as the MPV migrated southeastward. Trajectories illustrate how flow splitting around the Korean Highlands, channeling through low passes and valleys along the Asian coast, and air-sea interactions affect the formation and thermodynamic structure of the JPCZ. Contrasts in airmass origin and thermodynamic modification over the SOJ affect the cross-JPCZ temperature gradient, which reverses in sign along the JPCZ from the Asian coast to Honshu. These results provide new insights into the thermodynamic structure of the JPCZ, which is an important contributor to hazardous weather over Japan.
Adoption of ISO 9000 Practices in Manufacturing Companies: The Perspective of the Shop‐Floor Workers

This article analyzes the adoption of ISO 9000 practices in manufacturing organizations from the perspective of the shop‐floor workers. For that purpose, extensive exploratory fieldwork based on both in‐depth interviews of employees, as well as on participant observation, was carried out in four Basque manufacturing organizations that have adopted the standard. The results show that the employees have a complex, critical, and heterogeneous perspective on the adoption of ISO 9000. In a set of organizations, most of the employees give an account of interesting evidence of how the ceremonial adoption of ISO 9000 occurs, whereas in other organizations the majority describe how ISO 9000 is adopted substantively. The results and the conclusions of the article have implications for academic theory, managers, and public policy. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
The Implications of Board Independence and Foreign Ownership on Audit Quality of Manufacturing Firms in Nigeria

This study investigated the implications of board independence and foreign ownership on audit quality of manufacturing firms in Nigeria. The specific objectives of the study are to examine the effects of board independence as well as foreign ownership on audit quality of manufacturing firms quoted in Nigeria. Secondary data were carefully collected from a total of fifty eight (58) quoted manufacturing firms in Nigeria for the period (2010 – 2018) and the binary model of regression (logit, probit and gombit) was properly used for hypotheses testing. The outcome reveals that board independence had a positive and insignificant influence on audit quality while foreign ownership had a positive and significant influence on audit quality. The study therefore recommends that composition of the board should be such that its function is not undermined and one of such ways is to have an appropriate mixture with non-executive directors. Also having foreign ownership could enhance audit quality given the different corporate cultures they may possess.