Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Pilot Study in Sampling-Based Sensitivity Analysis of NCHRP Design Guide for Flexible Pavements

The mechanistic–empirical pavement design guide (MEPDG), developed under the recently completed NCHRP Project 1–37A, is a complex tool. Sensitivity analyses typically vary a single input parameter while holding other parameters constant. A pilot project is outlined to identify the feasibility of a global sensitivity analysis of the design process by using random sampling techniques over the entire input parameter space. This study sampled the following flexible pavement input variables: hot-mix asphalt (HMA) base nominal aggregate size, climate location, HMA thickness, annual average daily truck traffic (AADTT), subgrade strength, truck traffic category, construction season, and binder grade “bump. ” A total of 100 design sections were randomly sampled from these input parameters. The resulting predicted performance of longitudinal and alligator cracking, HMA and total rutting, and international roughness index were analyzed by using the Pearson's and Spearman's correlation coefficients. These coefficients indicate that AADTT, HMA thickness, and subgrade strength have a significant impact on performance, whereas the remaining parameters have lesser impacts. The performance predicted with trial designs with default values of the least significant variables was compared with the original performance predictions using the original input factors. This comparison indicated that the default parameters produced similar performance to designs using all the input parameters. These results demonstrated that this type of sensitivity analysis may be used to identify important input parameters across the entire parameter space. The utilization of a “bumped” binder grade did not appear to have a significant influence on the performance predicted by the MEPDG models. These results indicate that further research to refine the MEPDG performance models may be necessary.
Comparison of Two Median U-Turn Design Alternatives Using Microscopic Simulation

Several research papers and studies have detailed the operational benefits of Median U-Turn intersections relative to conventional intersections with direct left turns, particularly along arterials that have high through volumes with moderate or low left-turning volumes onto the cross streets. These studies have typically analyzed configurations with the median crossover located on the major arterial. There has not, however, been substantial research on configurations with the crossover located on the minor cross street. This type of design may be less expensive and easier to build, as the right-of-way required for the wide median may be more costly or restricted along the arterial rather than the cross street. Also, there may be certain operational advantages of this other option due to the u-turning movements occurring on the lower volume cross street. The purpose of this paper is to compare operations between traditional Median U-Turn configurations that have the median crossover located along the arterial with designs that have the crossover located on the cross street. Microscopic simulation runs were conducted for a variety of different left-turning and through volume combinations on both the minor and major approaches. The results show that the design with the u-turn movement located along the cross street rather than the arterial reduces percent stops, total time, and delay for most of the volume combinations analyzed.
The role of the geographical proximity and the quality of academic research to university-industry linkages

This paper examines how the geographical proximity of university-industry linkages relates to the quality of an institution's research, local efforts in research and development (R&D), and characteristics of a region's production structure. The important role of universities for the firms' innovative efforts has been widely accepted in the literature. In particular, universities serve as a source of new scientific and technological knowledge and geographical proximity can facilitate an interactive learning process between universities and industry. To exam this point, database of the Brazilian Ministry of Science and Technology was used, such it collects and compiles information on the activities of research groups in Brazil and their interactions with firms. Findings from this study show a positive correlation between the quality of research groups and the mean distance of interactions with firms. Top-tier research groups interact with both local firms (due to the convenience of being co-located) and more distant producers in need of cutting edge research and expertise to support advanced innovation. It is evident, then, that the costs of establishing long-distance university-industry relationships are overcome by the benefits offered by interacting with high capabilities research groups to solve complex and highly specific problems. Results also show that the increasing positive correlation between academic quality and interaction distance decreases with an increase in quality. This pattern was demonstrated by the quadratic parameter used in the empirical model and is particularly significant when top-tier research groups are involved. Thus, the mean distance of interactions tends to decrease when the interactions involve centres of academic excellence. However, the importance of second-tier universities cannot be neglected. Results from the empirical model indicate a positive correlation between academic research quality and interaction distance, suggesting that second-tier universities tend to interact more frequently with local firms. Findings from this study indicate that second-tier universities are well-equipped to handle the simpler needs of local producers, which do not require cutting edge expertise or complex academic capabilities. Findings from this study have important policy implications. Results emphasise the importance of creating and supporting top-tier centres of advanced research, since these centres are able to generate and exchange complex knowledge through university-industry linkages. It is also important to support research development in second-tier universities, as these universities attend to the specific needs of local businesses and help enhance their competitiveness. Finally, it is worth noting that industry R&D efforts greatly contribute to the development of university-industry linkages.
Shine: Using Brain Science to Get the Best from Your People

Table of Contents PART I: Getting Your Game Chapter 1: Live Life For All It's Worth Chapter 2: Dr. Shine Chapter 3: Initiating the Cycle of Excellence Chapter 4: Step 1: Select Chapter 5: Step 2: Connect Chapter 6: Step 3: Imagine and Play Chapter 7: Step 4: Work and Practice Chapter 8: Step 5: Mastery Chapter 9: Step 6: Recognition Chapter 10: Sand in the Gears of the Cycle PART II: Maintaining Your Love of Your Game Chapter 11: An Amazing State of Mind Chapter 12: The Myth of Hard Work Chapter 13: When Following Your Dream is Folly Chapter 14: What's Totally New About Modern Life. And How It Can Sabotage Peak Performance Chapter 15: 10 Action Steps to Promote Peak Performance PART III: Four Examples Chapter 16: Clay Mathile: Iams Pet Foods Chapter 17: Joseph Loscalzo: Physician-in-Chief, Brigham & Women's Hospital Chapter 18: Marshall Herskovitz, Writer/Director/Producer Chapter 19: Leon and Grace de Magistris: Leon & Company PART IV: Chapter 20: Mooring
A Review of Glass Ionomer as ‘ART’ Sealant

Pit and fissure sealants are a highly effective method for prevention of dental caries by forming a physical barrier, preventing accumulation of micro-organisms and food debris in the fissures. Currently, resin-based sealants and glass-ionomer sealants are the two main forms of sealants used clinically. Resin-based sealants are highly moisture sensitive and hence, glass-ionomer sealants which are less sensitive to moisture are used. With the advent of the Atraumatic Restorative Treatment (ART), high-viscosity glass-ionomers were introduced as ART sealant, which are retained longer than low and medium viscosity glass-ionomers, but shorter than resin-based sealant materials. Use of ART sealants is an effective caries preventive approach in partially erupted young permanent molars of children and in community based dental programs where electrically powered dental equipment is not available.
Cloud macro-physical properties in Saharan dust laden and dust free North Atlantic trade wind regimes: A lidar study

Abstract. Saharan dust is known to have an important impact on the atmospheric radiation budget, both directly and indirectly by changing cloud properties. However, up to now it is still an open question if elevated and long-range transported Saharan dust layers have an effect on subjacent marine trade wind cloud occurrence. Shallow trade wind clouds have a significant impact on the Earth's radiation budget and still introduce large uncertainties in climate sensitivity estimates, because of their poor representation in climate models. The Next-generation Aircraft Remote-Sensing for Validation studies (NARVAL) aimed at providing a better understanding of shallow marine trade wind clouds and their interplay with long-range transported elevated Saharan dust layers. Two airborne campaigns were conducted – the first one in December 2013 and the second one in August 2016; the latter one during the peak season of transatlantic Saharan dust transport. Airborne lidar measurements in the vicinity of Barbados performed during the second field campaign are used to investigate possible differences between shallow marine cloud macro-physical properties in dust-free regions and regions comprising elevated Saharan dust layers. The cloud top height distribution derived in dust-laden regions differs from the one derived in dust-free regions and indicates that clouds are shallower and convective development is suppressed. Furthermore, regions comprising elevated Saharan dust layers show a larger fraction of small clouds and larger cloud free regions, compared to dust-free regions. The cloud fraction in dusty regions is only 14 % compared to a fraction of 31 % in dust-free regions. Moreover, a decreasing trend of cloud fractions and cloud top heights with increasing dust layer vertical extent as well as aerosol optical depth is found.
Semiconductor Detector Systems

0. Preface 1. Detector systems overview 2. Signal formation and acquisition 3. Electronic noise 4. Signal processing 5. Elements of digital electronics and signal processing 6. Transistors and amplifiers 7. Radiation effects 8. Detector systems 9. Why things don't work A. Semiconductor device technology B. Phasors and complex algebra in electrical circuits C. Equivalent circuits D. Feedback amplifiers E. The diode equation F. Electrical effects of impurities and defects G. Bipolar transistor equations
Paris airport terminal collapse: lessons for the future

The partial collapse of Charles de Gaulle airport's Terminal 2E in Paris, France on 23 May 2004 killed four people. The commission investigating the technical causes of the failure presented their conclusions in February 2005. The investigation excluded the questions of liability. The design of the structure was unusual with a shell consisting of curved concrete sections. The 26.2m span was precast in three parts. The sides were externally strengthened with curved steel tension members. There were regular openings in the roof shell for walkways. A combination of causes of failure was identified. These included the high flexibility of the structures under dead load and external actions increased by cracking; a lack of robustness and redundancy to transfer loads away from local failure; the high local punching stresses where the struts were seated in the concrete shell; and weakness of the longitudinal support beam and its horizontal ties to the columns. The failure was compared with failure of the Piper's Row car park in the UK.
The Effect of Gain Versus Loss Framing of Covid-19 Online News on Preventive Behavior

World Health Organization announced the coronavirus as a pandemic on March 11 th 2020. The outbreak caused a massive destruction globally affecting more than 200 countries. During pandemic, information regarding the control of spreading, infectious cases, prevention, preparedness and risks are the important elements of public health. Media plays an important role here in delivering all this kind of information during the crisis. This is because media is the mediator of health communication between both the public and the government. Media framing influence public’s preventive behaviour differently in terms of positive and negative framing. Their framing is capable enough to influence one’s health behaviour and response to the disease differently. The purpose of this review paper is to examine how gain and loss framing influence COVID-19 preventive behaviours differently. This study chooses two main theories which are Valence Framing theory and Health Belief Model (HBM). This study draws the relationship between gain and loss as news framing effects, with perceived threat, perceived evaluation and self-efficacy as components of HBM. The combination of these two theories would be great tool for future studies to research on preventive behaviors. Besides that, this study will help the media to understand which frame (positive or negative) can educate the society and raise public health behaviours. This may also help the government to plan strategies for better health outcome practices from the public.
Estimation of the Instantaneous In-Cylinder Pressure for Control Purposes using Crankshaft Angular Velocity

Instantaneous in-cylinder pressure, a key variable in the improvement of engine performance and reduction of emissions, is not likely to be measured directly in production type engines in the near future. As a countermeasure, a pressure estimation method based on physical first principles for the estimation of the instantaneous in-cylinder pressure of an Sl engine using measured crankshaft angular velocity is presented here. The approach consists of (a) mapping the model parameters at nominal operating conditions and (b) adapting the model parameters to current operating conditions using the instantaneous crankshaft angular velocity. The model reflects all essential effects on in-cylinder pressure, while the simulation time was reduced to 6 milliseconds per cycle on a standard PC. This makes it possible to estimate a cylinder-averaged pressure for each cycle up to an engine speed of more than 6000 rpm. The estimated in-cylinder pressure is available with a delay of one engine cycle. The model has been compared to a benchmark pressure estimation method. Further, the model has been validated in simulation and against measured data for steady-state and transient operation. The model shows good accuracy, while the computational effort is promising for real-time applications. Furthermore, the model needs little calibration effort due to its physically based nature.
Optimal execution for portfolio transactions

In my thesis I explore the problem of optimizing trading strategies for complex portfolio transitions. Institutional investors run into this issue during periodic portfolio rebalancing or transition between asset managers. The costs of rebalancing can be broadly broken into trading costs (both the transaction cost and the market impact) and the opportunity costs of delaying the execution and bearing the risk of current-to-target portfolio divergence. This thesis proposes a methodology for measuring the opportunity cost as well as a strategy that minimizes the proposed measure through optimal portfolio transition execution. The benefits from the proposed trading strategy are benchmarked against the industry standard portfolio trading practices.
Identifying Net Effect of Highway Project in Before-and-After Evaluation

Identifying net effect of a highway project is crucial to avoid over- or under-stating project impact. Using private-sector probe-based traffic data, this paper tries to differentiate the net effect of a new major highway project from its regional context in a before-and-after evaluation. The project of interest is Maryland Route 200, or commonly known as the Intercounty Connector (ICC) -- a six-lane electronic toll facility in Maryland connecting Interstates 270 and 95 in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area. Congestion and travel time reliability are explored in great detail in the vicinity of the ICC and the entire metropolitan area. The analysis found that although the metropolitan area generally experienced better traffic conditions in 2012 (after) than 2010 (before), the ICC vicinity area experienced a greater magnitude of improvements than did the region overall, by a margin of about 3-4 percentage points, which is an indication of the ICC net effect. Using private sector speed data for entire years of operations enabled the agencies to evaluate congestion and reliability performance metrics from a broader transportation network and regional standpoint. This study appears to be one of the first in its kind as it demonstrates how relatively new data and technologies can be instrumental in comprehensive performance measurement in a MAP-21 era.
Resilient routing in the internet

Although it is widely known that the Internet is not prone to random failures, unplanned failures due to attacks can be very damaging. This prevents many organisations from deploying beneficial operations through the Internet. In general, the data is delivered from a source to a destination via a series of routers (i.e routing path). These routers employ routing protocols to compute best paths based on routing information they possess. However, when a failure occurs, the routers must re-construct their routing tables, which may take several seconds to complete. Evidently, most losses occur during this period. IP Fast Re-Route (IPFRR), Multi-Topology (MT) routing, and overlays are examples of solutions proposed to handle network failures. These techniques alleviate the packet losses to different extents, yet none have provided optimal solutions. This thesis focuses on identifying the fundamental routing problem due to convergence process. It describes the mechanisms of each existing technique as well as its pros and cons. Furthermore, it presents new techniques for fast re-routing as follows. Enhanced Loop-Free Alternates (E-LFAs) increase the repair coverage of the existing techniques, Loop-Free Alternates (LFAs). In addition, two techniques namely, Full Fast Failure Recovery (F3R) and fast re-route using Alternate Next Hop Counters (ANHC), offer full protection against any single link failures. Nevertheless, the former technique requires significantly higher computational overheads and incurs longer backup routes. Both techniques are proved to be complete and correct while ANHC neither requires any major modifications to the traditional routing paradigm nor incurs significant overheads. Furthermore, in the presence of failures, ANHC does not jeopardise other operable parts of the network. As emerging applications require higher reliability, multiple failures scenarios cannot be ignored. Most existing fast re-route techniques are able to handle only single or dual failures cases. This thesis provides an insight on a novel approach known as Packet Re-cycling (PR), which is capable of handling any number of failures in an oriented network. That is, packets can be forwarded successfully as long as a path between a source and a destination is available. Since the Internet-based services and applications continue to advance, improving the network resilience will be a challenging research topic for the decades to come.
Macrolide susceptibility and molecular characteristics of Bordetella pertussis

Objective To analyse macrolide resistance and molecular characteristics of Bordetella pertussis clinical isolates from western China, and to explore the relationship between macrolide-resistance and genotypes. Methods Susceptibilities of B. pertussis clinical isolates to erythromycin, azithromycin and clarithromycin were determined by epsilometer test (E-test). Isolated strains were sequenced to ascertain the presence of the 23S rRNA gene A2047G mutation. Strains were typed using multilocus antigen sequence typing, multilocus variable-number tandem-repeat analysis (MLVA) and pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE). Results Of 58 B. pertussis strains isolated in this study, 46 were macrolide-resistant and 12 were macrolide sensitive. All macrolide-resistant strains carried the A2047G mutation and were the prn1/ptxP1/ptxA1/fim3-1/fim2-1 genotype; the MLVA types were MT195 (19/58), MT55 (13/58) and MT104 (14/58), and the PFGE profiles were classified into BpSR23 (17/58) and BpFINR9 (29/58) types. None of the macrolide-sensitive strains carried the A2047G mutation; genotypes were (prn9 or prn2)/ptxP3/ptxA1/fim3-1/fim2-1, and all were MT27. PFGE profiles differed from the macrolide-resistant strains. Conclusions B. pertussis clinical isolates from western China were severely resistant to macrolides. Genotypes differed between macrolide-resistant and macrolide-sensitive strains, and there may be a correlation between acquisition of macrolide resistance and changes in specific molecular types.
THE KNOWLEDGE REGARDING HBV INFECTION AMONG NURSING STAFF

Background: The knowledge of nursing staff regarding hepatitis B virus (HBV) when their daily activities will be closely related to patients’ body ﬂuids, plays vital role in minimizing the risk of acquiring HBV infection. Objective: We aimed to assess the knowledge regarding HBV infection among nursing staff. Materials and Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted using a structured self-administered questionnaire among the nursing staff in Civil hospital, Shahpur, Kangra (HP). Results: Most (60%) of staff nurses had good knowledge followed by (3%) who had excellent knowledge and few (1%) staff nurses with average knowledge score regarding universal precautions about hepatitis B. No staff nurse had poor knowledge score. All of the (100%) staff nurses had desirable attitude regarding universal precautions about hepatitis B. Conclusion: The staff had good knowledge regarding HBV infection and its preventive aspect.
Tsunamiites - Features and Implications

This book is an overview of the state-of-the art developments in sedimentology of tsunami-induced and tsunami-affected deposits, namely tsunamiites. It also points out any problems that need additional investigation, as well as providing insight into the direction of future tsunamiite researches. Important characteristics of tsunami wave and tsunami currents are explained. There are reports on the sediments generated by recent tsunami including the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami presented. Tsunamiites induced by other seismic activities, a submarine slump and a volcanic eruption are investigated as well. Several contributions in this book present new ideas concerning the characteristic sedimentary records of tsunamis and provide the criteria for recognizing features of various tsunamiites. The importance of studies of bedforms of tsunamiites from various environments is emphasized. New information is provided on tsunami-derived boulder deposits. The significance of studies on tsunamiites in the archeological and geological past is also illustrated in this book. For example, the Mediterranean homogenites, and the K/T boundary meteorite impact-induced tsunamiites have been investigated from new aspects. * Provides a comprehensive overview of developments in tsunamiites* Investigates future trends and development needs* Cutting edge research articles from leading experts aimed at researchers and scientists