Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Animal Sourced Foods and Child Stunting

&NA; Stunting affects 160 million pre‐school children globally with adverse life‐long consequences. While work within nutritional science suggests that stunting in early childhood is associated with low intakes of animal‐sourced foods (ASFs), this topic has received little attention from economists. We attempt to redress this omission through an analysis of 130,432 children aged 6‐23 months from 49 countries. We document distinctive patterns of ASF consumption among children in different regions. We find evidence of strong associations between stunting and a generic ASF consumption indicator, as well as dairy, meat/fish, and egg consumption indicators, and evidence that consuming multiple ASFs is more advantageous than any single ASF. We explore why ASF consumption is low but also so variable across countries. Non‐tradable ASFs (fresh milk, eggs) are a very expensive source of calories in low‐income countries and caloric prices of these foods are strongly associated with children's consumption patterns. Other demand‐side factors are also important, but the strong influence of prices implies an important role for agricultural policies—in production, marketing and trade—to improve the accessibility and affordability of ASFs in poorer countries.
Do Vibrant Places Promote Active Living? Analyzing Local Vibrancy, Running Activity, and Real Estate Prices in Beijing

Although extensive research has investigated urban vibrancy as a critical indicator for spatial planning, urban design, and economic development, the unclear relationship between local vibrancy and active living needs to be clarified and requires more in-depth analysis. This study localizes urban vibrancy at both hyper-local and neighborhood scales by integrating high-resolution, large-scale, and heterogeneous urban datasets and analyzing interactions among variables representing vibrancy’s environmental, economic, and social aspects. We utilize publicly available urban open data, Points of Interest requested from API, and leisure running trajectories acquired through data mining to investigate the spatial distribution of various vibrancy indicators and how they interact with physical activity at the local scale. Based on these variables, we then construct linear regression models and Geographically Weighted Regression (GWR) models to test and estimate how local vibrancy and physical activity relate to residential real estate characteristics. The results reveal the strong impact of urban form on local vibrancy but not physical activeness. At the neighborhood level, all vibrancy factors are statistically significant to local residential real estate prices but with different interactions based on location. Our study highlights the importance of accounting for locality and different physical, environmental, social, and economic factors when analyzing and interpreting urban vibrancy at a granular scale within a city.
Compact composition operators on

The composition operator induced by a holomorphic self-map of the unit disc is compact on L1 of the unit circle if and only if it is compact on the Hardy space H2 of the disc. This answers a question posed by Donald Sarason: it proves that Sarason's integral condition characterizing compactness on Li is equivalent to the asymptotic condition on the Nevanlinna counting function which characterizes compactness on H2 .
Enhanced Road Network to Reduce the Effect of (External – External) Freight Trips on Traffic Flow

The transportation system is often described as the lifeblood of modern society. Roads constitute a fundamental part of this system for both passenger and freight transports, a well-functioning freight transportation system is an essential element in any successful economy. Hilla is one of the most densely populated cities in Iraq. The road network in Hilla city is under additional load due to (external - external) trips, especially freight trips by trucks passing through the city's main entrances to cross into neighboring districts and provinces. This is due to the city's strategic location, which connects Baghdad with the southern provinces, making it an important transit route. The objective of this research is to study a proposal for modifying and developing the road network in the city of Hilla by adding new roads to the current network in order to reduce the negative impact of freight trucks passing through the city, especially (external - external) trips, by using Trans CAD and ArcGIS software network analysis. The result of network analysis shows that the suggested roads will reduce the total (travel time and distance) for the same origin and destination points by 9%, and 30%, compared with the current distance and time, respectively, while improving the level of service from D to C at peak hours for freight vehicles. Doi: 10.28991/CEJ-2022-08-11-015 Full Text: PDF
Uniqueness of solutions for the generalized Korteweg-de Vries equation

The uniqueness of $L^2 $ and $H^1 $ solutions of the Cauchy problem for the generalized Korteweg–de Vries (KdV) equation \[ \partial _t u + D^3 u + a(u)Du = 0 \] with $a \in \mathcal{C}(\mathbb{R},\mathbb{R})$ and with initial data $u_0 $ in weighted $L^2 $ or $H^1 $ spaces according to \[ \left( {1 + x_ + } \right)^{{\beta / 2}} u_0 \in L^2 ,\qquad \left( {1 + x_ + } \right)^{{\gamma / 2}} Du_0 \in L^2 \] is studied for some $\beta ,\gamma \geqq 0$. Several uniqueness classes are exhibited, and the a priori estimates are derived for the corresponding norms of smooth solutions in terms of the initial data required to implement compactness existence proofs of solutions in those classes. For (weighted) $L^2 $ solutions, the results given here cover the case where $| {a(\rho )} | \leqq C| \rho |^p $ with $0 < p < \frac{7}{2}$ , $\beta = {1 / p} - \frac{1}{4}$ if $p \leqq 2$ and $\beta = \frac{1}{4}$ if $p \geqq 2$. For the ordinary KdV equation with $p = 1$, the result $\beta = \frac{3}{4}$ improves over pre.
Atomic structure evolution in bulk metallic glass under compressive stress

The structural behavior of Cu64.5Zr35. 5 bulk metallic glass under compressive stress was investigated by means of in situ high energy x-ray synchrotron diffraction. The topological and chemical short-range order of the glass changes reversible upon loading within the elastic range. The number density of Cu–(Zr,Cu) and Zr–Zr nearest neighbor atomic pairs becomes oriented along the loading direction. The macroscopic stress state is reflected by the medium-range order. The determination of the components of the strain tensor from the shift of the positions of the nearest neighbor distances is not possible due to the structure changes.
Possible Corotation of the Milliarcsecond Radio Structure of the Close Binary HR 1099

We present the first VLBI images of the RS CVn binary star HR 1099 (=V711 Tauri, HD 22468) obtained from observations at 8.4 GHz in 1996 May and September made in support of the NASA/Stanford Gravity Probe B project. The first set of observations was made during a decay stage of a flare event. The second set of observations was made during a quiescent period. The detected emission region for the active epoch had an estimated major-axis length (FWHM) of 2.7 ± 0.2 mas. This region consisted of a halo and two superimposed compact condensations that were oriented approximately east-west. The centers of the compact condensations were separated by 1.7 ± 0.1 mas. Compared to the ~1.3 mas separation on the sky at this epoch of the centers of the stellar components of the binary, the observed separation of the condensations differs by only 0.4 mas, which is less than the ~0.6 mas angular radius of the larger component. During the observations, the compact western condensation rotated north-northwestward by 24° ± 4°, or by 0.7 ± 0.1 mas, relative to the eastern condensation. We speculate that (1) either both condensations originate from the corona of the larger stellar component or one condensation is close to the surface of each of the two stellar components of the binary and (2) the relative rotation of the two condensations is a consequence of the rotation of the binary system. We speculate further that the halo is a consequence of flare-energized electrons confined by the magnetosphere of the larger stellar component or by the combined magnetospheres of the two stellar components. Our quiescent epoch, in contrast, was characterized by a single emission region with a major axis estimated to be 1.7 ± 0.1 mas (FWHM).
Metabolic-Associated Fatty Liver Disease, Hepatitis B Surface Antigen Seroclearance, and Long-Term Risk of Hepatocellular Carcinoma in Chronic Hepatitis B

Simple Summary Concomitant hepatic steatosis is common in patients with chronic hepatitis B (CHB), but data regarding its impact on the natural history of CHB remain sparse and conflicting. Recently, metabolic-associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD) was defined as hepatic steatosis in the presence of metabolic abnormality. The utility of MAFLD and its ability to assess hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) risk for CHB requires further investigation. In this population-based cohort study of CHB, MAFLD was not associated with an increased risk of HCC. However, it was associated with a higher probability of functional cure for CHB in terms of HBsAg loss, and the MAFLD–HCC association was largely mediated by the development of HBsAg seroclearance driven by hepatic steatosis. On the contrary, the burden of metabolic risk abnormality was robustly associated with an increased risk of HCC in CHB, and this association was observed for participants both with and without hepatic steatosis and for participants both with and without HBsAg seroclearance. Abstract The value of metabolic-associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD) and its ability to assess hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) risk remains uncertain for chronic hepatitis B (CHB). We evaluated the impacts of MAFLD and its coincidental metabolic abnormalities and related genetic predisposition on HCC incidence and mortality outcomes in CHB. We analyzed data from 1453 HBsAg-positive men (median age = 49.2 years at baseline) from a cohort of civil servants recruited from 1989–1992. MAFLD was defined as hepatic steatosis on ultrasound with obesity, diabetes, or metabolic dysfunction at baseline. During follow-up (median = 19.3 years), 105 HCC events occurred. MAFLD was not associated with HCC (adjusted hazard ratio (aHR) = 1.02) but was associated with a higher HBsAg seroclearance rate (aHR = 1.43). In mediation analysis, HBsAg seroclearance driven by hepatic steatosis explained 31.6% of the association between MAFLD and HCC. Antiviral treatment or fatty liver disease-associated genetic variants did not influence the MAFLD–HCC association. In contrast, even after adjustment for MAFLD and the other metabolic abnormalities, diabetes (aHR = 2.28), obesity (aHR = 1.72), and metabolic dysfunction (aHR = 3.30) increased the risk of HCC (all p < 0.030). The risk of HCC increased with the number of metabolic abnormalities (vs 0: aHR = 2.05 and 5.72 for 2 and ≥ 3 metabolic abnormalities, respectively), and the cumulative effect of metabolic abnormalities was found across subgroups categorized by hepatic steatosis as well as in participants both with and without HBsAg seroclearance. In conclusion, MAFLD was not associated with increased HCC incidence in CHB. A more informative assessment of HCC risk can be obtained by taking into account the number of metabolic abnormalities.
The Shifting Finance of Electricity Generation

Over the 2005–2020 period, domestic publicly listed corporations reduced their ownership of U.S. electric power from 71% to 54% of total generation. Private equity, institutional investors, and foreign publicly listed corporations increased their ownership from 6% to 24%, and as of 2020 owned 60% of wind, 45% of solar, and 28% of natural gas generation capacity. New entrants have increased their share largely through the creation of new plants, as opposed to acquisitions of existing plants. We find only limited support for the leakage hypothesis that new entrants acquire older fossil-fuel power plants from incumbent domestic listed corporations and keep operating these plants. Market deregulation is the main economic factor explaining the heterogeneity in ownership structure and differences in the rates of creation and destruction of new assets at different locations. Deregulated wholesale markets and retail markets attract more capital from new entrants to create new plants as well as stimulate incumbent owners to retire existing assets more quickly. The changing ownership structure has implications for electricity markets as private equity operates power plants more efficiently at lower heat rates and sells electricity for a $1.92 higher average price per MWh. Within markets of a given regulatory structure, time, and technology, private equity owners sell electricity under contracts with shorter duration, shorter increment pricing, and more peak-term periods, especially when selling electricity generated from fossil fuels. JEL classification: G23, G24, G32, H54, L51, L71, L94, O13, Q41, Q48.
ENSO teleconnections with climate variability in the European and African sectors

The El Niiio Southern Oscillation (ENSO) is the dominant coupled air-sea phenomenon on the 2-8 year time-scale. The clearest global-scale teleconnection patterns of ENSO are well documented (i.e. Kiladis and Diaz 1989; Ropelewski and Halpert 1987, 1989, 1996; Halpert and Ropelewski 1992). These papers demonstrated that the ENSO influence is strongest in the tropical belt from South America westward across the Pacific to parts of eastern and southern Africa (see also Fig. 4 of Slingo, this issue). In addition, some extratropical areas around the Pacific basin were also strongly affected. ENS0 teleconnections over much of Africa and
Field-heating effect: anomalous thermomagnetization curves observed in hexagonal LuFe2O4

It has been found in hexagonal LuFe 2 O 4 that the magnetization measured after heating to a temperature in a constant magnetic field is much larger than that measured by the application of the same field after heating to the same temperature in zero field. This is called the `field heating effect' in contrast to the so-called field cooling effect. This phenomenon suggests the existence of a phase transition. Although the direct evidence of the phase transition has not been obtained yet, it may probably be related to the ordering of Fe 2+ and Fe 3+ ions.
Investigation of the effect of a diamine-based friction modifier on micropitting and the properties of tribofilms in rolling-sliding contacts

The effect of N-tallow-1,3-diaminopropane (TDP) on friction, rolling wear and micropitting has been investigated with the ultimate objective of developing lubricants with no or minimal environmental impact. A mini traction machine (MTM-SLIM) has been utilised in order to generate tribofilms and observe the effect of TDP on anti-wear tribofilm formation and friction. Micropitting was induced on the surface of specimens using a micropitting rig (MPR). The x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) surface analytical technique has been employed to investigate the effect of TDP on the chemical composition of the tribofilm while atomic force microscopy (AFM) was used to generate high resolution topographical images of the tribofilms formed on the MTM discs. Experimental and analytical results showed that TDP delays the zinc dialkyldithiophosphate (ZDDP) anti-wear tribofilm formation. TDP in combination with ZDDP induces a thinner and smoother anti-wear tribofilm with a modified chemical structure composed of mixed Fe/Zn (poly)phosphates. The sulphide contribution to the tribofilm and oxygen-to-phosphorous atomic concentration ratio are greater in the bulk of the tribofilm derived from a combination of TDP and ZDDP compared to a tribofilm derived from ZDDP alone. Surface analyses showed that utilising TDP effectively mitigates micropitting wear in the test conditions used in this study. Reduction of micropitting, relevant to rolling bearing applications, can be attributed to the improved running-in procedure, reduced friction, formation of a smoother tribofilm and modification of the tribofilm composition induced by TDP.
Doxycycline Attenuated Ethanol-Induced Inflammaging in Endothelial Cells: Implications in Alcohol-Mediated Vascular Diseases

Excess alcohol consumption is a potential risk factor for cardiovascular diseases and is linked to accelerated aging. Drug discovery to reduce toxic cellular events of alcohol is required. Here, we investigated the effects of ethanol on human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) and explored if doxycycline attenuates ethanol-mediated molecular events in endothelial cells. Initially, a drug screening using a panel of 170 drugs was performed, and doxycycline was selected for further experiments. HUVECs were treated with different concentrations (300 mM and 400 mM) of ethanol with or without doxycycline (10 µg/mL). Telomere length was quantified as telomere to single-copy gene (T/S) ratio. Telomere length and the mRNA expression were quantified by qRT-PCR, and protein level was analyzed by Western blot (WB). Ethanol treatment accelerated cellular aging, and doxycycline treatment recovered telomere length. Pathway analysis showed that doxycycline inhibited mTOR and NFκ-B activation. Doxycycline restored the expression of aging-associated proteins, including lamin b1 and DNA repair proteins KU70 and KU80. Doxycycline reduced senescence and senescence-associated secretory phenotype (SASP) in ethanol-treated HUVECs. In conclusion, we report that ethanol-induced inflammation and aging in HUVECs were ameliorated by doxycycline.
KAIRUAIN-algorithm applied on electromagnetic imaging

For time-harmonic Maxwell equations, we consider an inverse scattering problem for the 3D imaging of the constitutive material of an unknown object from the boundary measurements of the electric field. This problem is ill-posed and nonlinear. We introduce the KAIRUAIN-algorithm which is an iterative method of Newton–Kaczmarz type, where we use the approximate inverse for regularizing the solution of the linearized equation at each Newton iteration. We study the convergence of the algorithm and develop a strategy for the choice of the regularizing parameter in a quite general setting. We apply the KAIRUAIN-algorithm to derive an efficient and stable reconstruction method for electromagnetic imaging. We use experimental data provided by the Institut Fresnel, France, to validate the capability of the reconstruction algorithm to retrieve blindly, without any a priori information, the geometry and the dielectric permittivity of the scattering object.
Doubling protected land area may be inefficient at preserving the extent of undeveloped land and could cause substantial regional shifts in land use

Projection of land use and land‐cover change is highly uncertain yet drives critical estimates of carbon emissions, climate change, and food and bioenergy production. We use new, spatially explicit land availability data in conjunction with a model sensitivity analysis to estimate the effects of additional land protection on land use and land cover. The land availability data include protected land and agricultural suitability and is incorporated into the Moirai land data system for initializing the Global Change Analysis Model. Overall, decreasing land availability is relatively inefficient at preserving undeveloped land while having considerable regional land‐use impacts. Current amounts of protected area have little effect on land and crop production estimates, but including the spatial distribution of unsuitable (i.e., unavailable) land dramatically shifts bioenergy production from high northern latitudes to the rest of the world, compared with uniform availability. This highlights the importance of spatial heterogeneity in understanding and managing land change. Approximately doubling the current protected area to emulate a 30% protected area target may avoid land conversion by 2050 of less than half the newly protected extent while reducing bioenergy feedstock land by 10.4% and cropland and grazed pasture by over 3%. Regional bioenergy land may be reduced (increased) by up to 46% (36%), cropland reduced by up to 61%, pasture reduced by up to 100%, and harvested forest reduced by up to 35%. Only a few regions show notable gains in some undeveloped land types of up to 36%. Half of the regions can reach the target using only unsuitable land, which would minimize impacts on agriculture but may not meet conservation goals. Rather than focusing on an area target, a more robust approach may be to carefully select newly protected land to meet well‐defined conservation goals while minimizing impacts to agriculture.
NPP VIIRS emissive band radiance calibration

VIIRS thermal emissive bands (TEB) calibration data (blackbody and space counts) have been analyzed. The analysis results indicate that the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) TEB is stable and exceeds the specification. VIIRS Blackbody temperature is stable, too. The 6 platinum resistance thermometers (PRT) are also stable, except for the 3rd and 6th PRT have a periodic variation of 50 mK. Using the calibration data during the Blackbody temperature cool down and warm up, we found that noise equivalent deviation of temperatures (NEdT) varies with the Blackbody temperature. We developed a model that can predict the scene temperature dependent NEdT for the VIIRS M15 band. Comparisons between the VIIRS and other sensors such as AVHRR, MODIS and CrIS demonstrated that VIIRS TEB agrees generally with those sensors.
Impact of GaN cap thickness on optical, electrical, and device properties in AlGaN/GaN high electron mobility transistor structures

We systematically investigate Al0.22Ga0. 78N/GaN high electron mobility transistors with GaN cap layer thicknesses of 0, 1, and 3 nm. All samples have electron mobilities around 1700 cm2/Vs and sheet carrier concentrations around 8×1012 cm−2 as determined by Hall effect measurements. From photoreflectance measurements we conclude that the electric field strength within the AlGaN barrier increases with GaN cap layer thickness leading to a broadening of the transition peaks as determined by spectroscopic ellipsometry. The surface potential as determined by photoreflectance varies in the range between 0.585 and 0.249 eV dependent on the thickness of the GaN cap. Device results show a significant decrease in Ohmic contact resistance, an increase in ideality factor, a decrease in gate and drain leakage currents, an increase in gain, and an increase in power added efficiency with increasing cap layer thickness. Finally, devices with GaN cap show an improved direct current reliability compared to their counterpar.