Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Least Action Principles Appropriate to Pressure Driven Models of Pipe Networks

Nowadays, the operation of a drinking water supply network can be assessed by using hydraulic computer models, such as "Porteau", developed by Cemagref. These models are accurate for high volume flows (such as emptying or filling of tanks) but less so for minimum flows. Partially closed valves, small diameter pipes and overestimation of consumption lead to difficult numerical problems. In these cases, optimization is required to prevent nonconvergence of solutions. Besides, for such a model, consumption is an input and has to be estimated without considering the available pressure. Thus, demand overestimation is emphasized at the time of a network dysfunction, such as pipe breaks, pump failures and missing water resources. For about ten years, authors have proposed demand depending on available head. Such a model is known as a "Pressure Driven Model" (PDM), but theory and solving tools have not been fully developed yet. Firstly, two problems of optimization are associated to (PDM): one is written in terms of pressure heads, and the other in terms of flow rates. As with the classical models, they correspond to principles of least action. Next, equivalence of formulations and solution existence and uniqueness are demonstrated. Then, three descent algorithms of Newton type have been proposed. Finally, the efficiency of these algorithms is proved in solving former problematic study cases.
CHEMICAL AND RADIOLOGICAL HEALTH RISKS ASSESSMENT OF RADIONUCLIDES IN WATER SOURCES IN AKWA IBOM STATE, NIGERIA

The activity concentrations of 40 K, 238 U, and 232 Th in drinking water sources in oil and gas producing communities of Akwa Ibom State were measured using gamma ray spectroscopic system. The results obtained were used to calculate human health chemical and radiological risk over lifetime consumption by the population. The overall average activity concentrations of 40 K, 238 U, and 232 Th were found to be 112.2; 8.5; and 9.7 Bq.L -1 , respectively. The results for the following communities Eket, Esit Eket and Eastern Obolo revealed concentrations higher than acceptable safe limits, while those of Ibeno, Ikot Abasi and Uyo were lower or within safe limits. The radiological risks for cancer mortality and morbidity for the three nuclides were in the range of 10 -3 to 10 -4 , respectively. Chemical toxicity ranged from 36 to
A Novel UWB Filter with Notch-band Characteristic Using Radial-UIR/SIR Loaded Stub Resonators

This paper presents a novel approach for designing compact ultra-wideband (UWB) bandpass filter with a good notched band characteristic. A notch band characteristic is obtained by using the radial-uniform impedance resonators (UIR)/stepped impedance resonators (SIR) loaded stub resonator. The main advantage of the proposed filter is that the frequency of the notched band can be tuned easily in a wide frequency range. Current density and equivalent model is also given depending on the odd/even excitation resonance condition. The characteristics of the filter are analyzed. To verify the proposed methods, two filters are designed and fabricated. Measured results show that the proposed UWB properties from 3 to 10.8 GHz and the notch band can be changed optionally from 4 GHz to 10 GHz. These filters can be integrated in UWB radio systems and efficiently enhance the interference immunity from undesired signals such as wireless local area network (WLAN) and WiMAX.
Taboos, superstitions, myths and stigmas against duck production in south-west Nigeria.

Diverse socio-cultural cum religious-related factors such as taboos, superstitions, stigmas and myths are principal factors affecting rearing, marketing and consumption of duck and its products in Nigeria. This study was conducted to identify and scientifically analyse some of the taboos, superstitions, stigmas and myths affecting duck production in southwest Nigeria. Primary information on the prevailing known taboos, superstitions, stigmas and myths surrounding ducks and its products were obtained from 300 duck farmers in southwest states of Oyo, Osun and Lagos. Scientific analyses of the information elicited from respondents revealed that preponderance of these ̳restricting factors‘ were borne out of superstitions, stigmas and myths while few of them were ̳promulgated‘ to protect and conserve ducks due to their perceived ̳weak‘ nature. Mass awareness campaigns in print and electronic media by governmental and Nongovernmental agencies are imperative to enlighten the public and to demystify the prevailing ̳restricting factors‘ against duck production in Nigeria in general.
Enhancing Worksite Safety: Impact of Personnel Characteristics and Incentives on Safety Performance

Abstract The construction industry is responsible for more that 35% of the total number of industrial accidents in Singapore, but adds about 5% to the GDP. There is therefore a need to reduce the number of construction site accidents. This paper investigates the personnel and incentive factors that significantly affect site safety as a previous study has shown that the impact of personnel characteristics and incentives on safety performance is significant; hence, in order to increase worksite safety, the importance of intrinsic behaviour and external incentives cannot be ignored (Teo and Ling, 2006). A questionnaire is designed to collect project-specific safety related data from contractors who undertook construction projects in Singapore. Sixty contractors rated the importance level of specific attributes relating to site safety. The results show that there are many personnel factors that affect site safety. These include: workers and supervisors adopting safe work behaviour and good attitude towards safety; providing them with safety and health training; management adopting safety culture and displaying clear responsibilities towards safety and health promotion; managers and supervisors adopting practices that allow them to have better influence over workers; and a safety committee given clear roles and responsibilities which are understood by all employees. The study finds that punishments and penalties have been used to control site accidents. It is recommended that contractors pay greater attention to personnel factors as these can improve construction safety more significantly than punishments.
A proposed model of factors influencing hydrogen fuel cell vehicle acceptance

Issues such as environmental problem and energy insecurity keep worsening as a result of energy use from household to huge industries including automotive industry. Recently, a new type of zero emission vehicle, hydrogen fuel cell vehicle (HFCV) has received attention. Although there are argues on the feasibility of hydrogen as the future fuel, there is another important issue, which is the acceptance of HFCV. The study of technology acceptance in the early stage is a vital key for a successful introduction and penetration of a technology. This paper proposes a model of factors influencing green vehicle acceptance, specifically HFCV. This model is built base on two technology acceptance theories and other empirical studies of vehicle acceptance. It aims to provide a base for finding the key factors influencing new sustainable energy fuelled vehicle, HFCV acceptance which is achieved by explaining intention to accept HFCV. Intention is influenced by attitude, subjective norm and perceived behavioural control from Theory of Planned Behaviour and personal norm from Norm Activation Theory. In the framework, attitude is influenced by perceptions of benefits and risks, and social trust. Perceived behavioural control is influenced by government interventions. Personal norm is influenced by outcome efficacy and problem awareness.
Potential Immune Indicators for Predicting the Prognosis of COVID-19 and Trauma: Similarities and Disparities

Although cellular and molecular mediators of the immune system have the potential to be prognostic indicators of disease outcomes, temporal interference between diseases might affect the immune mediators, and make them difficult to predict disease complications. Today one of the most important challenges is predicting the prognosis of COVID-19 in the context of other inflammatory diseases such as traumatic injuries. Many diseases with inflammatory properties are usually polyphasic and the kinetics of inflammatory mediators in various inflammatory diseases might be different. To find the most appropriate evaluation time of immune mediators to accurately predict COVID-19 prognosis in the trauma environment, researchers must investigate and compare cellular and molecular alterations based on their kinetics after the start of COVID-19 symptoms and traumatic injuries. The current review aimed to investigate the similarities and differences of common inflammatory mediators (C-reactive protein, procalcitonin, ferritin, and serum amyloid A), cytokine/chemokine levels (IFNs, IL-1, IL-6, TNF-α, IL-10, and IL-4), and immune cell subtypes (neutrophil, monocyte, Th1, Th2, Th17, Treg and CTL) based on the kinetics between patients with COVID-19 and trauma. The mediators may help us to accurately predict the severity of COVID-19 complications and follow up subsequent clinical interventions. These findings could potentially help in a better understanding of COVID-19 and trauma pathogenesis.
Electricity Price Prediction Based on LSTM and LightGBM

In the open electricity market, short-term electricity price forecasting is a significant research direction. At present, a single prediction model will have different prediction deviations when predicting. This article proposes a method to simultaneously input the original data into the LSTM network and the LightGBM model. Simultaneously. Models with higher prediction limits. Experiments have proved that the combined model can effectively increase the lower limit of prediction.
A K-band delay line based on parasitic reduced artificial left-handed transmission line

A K-band microstrip delay line based on parasitic reduced left-handed transmission line (LHTL) with interdigital capacitors and shunt inductors is demonstrated with the aid of printed circuit board technology. The proposed delay line has ground slots under the interdigital capacitors to reduce the parasitic capacitance. The time delay of the proposed LHTLs is approximately 2.6 times larger than that of the conventional LHTLs. The input return loss of the proposed LHTL at 24 GHz is −16.9 dB and less than −10 dB from 20.5 to 26.1 GHz.
Response Spectrum Method for Estimation of Peak Floor Acceleration Demand

A response spectrum method to estimate peak floor acceleration demands of multistory buildings subjected to earthquakes and responding elastically is presented. Available response spectrum methods and modal combination rules such as SRSS or CQC have been used for estimation of relative displacement and inter-story drift demands but cannot be directly used for estimation of peak absolute (total) floor acceleration. The proposed response spectrum method not only considers the correlation between modal accelerations, but also takes into account the correlation between ground acceleration and modal accelerations. The formulation for estimation of peak floor acceleration is presented. Closed form solutions for correlations between the modal accelerations as well as modal accelerations and ground accelerations have been derived for filtered white noise inputs. Empirical equations for correlations are presented. To verify the results, a continuum model of building consisting of a shear beam connected laterally to a flexural beam previously studied by the authors has been used and combined with the presented closed form and empirical formulations for the purpose of parametric analysis. It is shown that results of the proposed response spectrum method match with the time history analysis with great accuracy.
Water Quality Assessment for Wastewater Reclamation Using Principal Component Analysis

The water quality assessment for wastewater reclamation is usually related to many parameters. This would introduce difficulty in objectively and comprehensively evaluating the overall water quality, and affect the water reuse safety. To address this problem, a principal component analysis (PCA) method was employed in this study to identify the components that mainly affect water quality. By examining eleven indices, a large amount of water quality data of four typical wastewater reclamation treatment plants (WRTP) in northern China were collected. The PCA results indicated that four uncorrelated principal components (PC) could represent the majority of water quality information. The first PC was mainly involved with the COD index and the sensory properties of water, including chroma, turbidity, dissolved solids, and total hardness. The second PC included the indices of NH3-N, DBP (di-n-butyl phthalate), and DEHP (Di (2-ethylhexyl) phthalate), reflecting the water reuse safety on both human health and ecological environment. The total phosphorus (TP) and iron (Fe) were included in the third PC, while the fourth PC included dissolved oxygen (DO). Based on PCA analysis, a comprehensive score of water quality was also obtained for each WRTP during each representative month, and it was found that the wastewater reclamation process could greatly affect the quality of reclaimed water. These four identified principle components can help evaluate the overall water quality, and much attention should be given to their effective monitoring and control during the operation of WRTP or the selection of appropriate treatment process.
Computational Fluid Dynamics Calibration of Tattersall Mk-II Type Rheometer for Concrete

Abstract Currently more and more researches have been performing concerning the numerical simulation of the behavior of fresh concrete during pumping or formwork filling. Adequate implementation of the rheology properties of fresh concrete is a determinant key to obtain realistic simulations. However, in many cases, the rheological parameters of the fresh concrete as determined by rheometers are not sufficiently accurate. The common principle of all the rheometers is not to measure directly the rheological parameters of concrete but to measure some basic physical parameters (torque, velocity, pressure, …) that that in some cases allow the calculation of the rheological parameter in terms of fundamental physical quantities. Errors can be caused by undesired flow phenomena which are not taken into the prediction formulas and by the inaccurate prediction formulas themselves. This is directly related to the poor calibration of the rheometer that cannot cover all ranges of materials. This paper investigates the calibration of the Tattersall MK-II rheometer by performing the numerical simulation for a tremendous range of concrete flowing in the rheometer, using computational fluid dynamics (CFD). This allows to quickly and accurately obtain the rheological properties of fresh concrete, which can then be used consistently for further flow simulations. This method can be applied for all types of rheometer.
Competence Differences Between Native and Near-Native Speakers: Is Puberty the Cut-off Age for Access to UG?

Contradictory findings of SLA researchers have motivated a variety of opposite viewpoints concerning the availability of UG in L2 acquisition. Moreover, there is a recent, renewed interest in the claims made by the proponents of the Critical Period Hypothesis (CPH) according to which UG’s active role in L2 acquisition is likely to decline after puberty. The present study sought to scrutinize the role of UG and age of onset in L2 acquisition. In fact, the study was specifically aimed at determining whether there was any significant difference between native speakers of English and Iranian near-native speakers of the language in terms of their access to Binding Conditions A and B. It was also an attempt to probe into the pervasive ‘the younger, the better’ myth concerning the relevance of UG to L2 acquisition. The participants in the study were mainly 30 male and female native speakers of English and 60 male and female Iranian near-native speakers of the language among whom 30 had first been exposed to English before puberty and 30 after puberty. The required data were basically obtained through the administration of two tests, one on general English syntax and the other on Binding Principles A and B. The data were analysed through analyses of covariance (ANCOVA) and two-way analyses of variance (Two-Way ANOVA). In short, the findings of the study provided empirical evidence in favor of UG’s mediation in L2 acquisition and against the position held by the proponents of the CPH according to which UG is likely to lose its active role in L2 acquisition after puberty. Moreover, the flexibilities inherent in the Persian language concerning the Binding
Journal of Homeland Security and Emergency Management Intelligence-Led Mitigation

This paper explores methods for capitalizing on existing law enforcement intelligence capabilities to provide intelligence support to decision makers for a full spectrum of public safety and emergency service operations. Intelligence-led mitigation is a management philosophy and business process to proactively guide strategic, operational, and tactical decisions for mitigating the effects of intentional, accidental, and natural incidents. There is currently a gap in the intelligence products needed by public safety and emergency service organizations to support their resource decisions, and the quantity and quality of intelligence products they are receiving. This breach between producer and consumer exists across the country and at all levels of government. The intelligence-led mitigation model was designed to demonstrate how the existing principles and processes of intelligence-led policing can be applied to a broader set of incidents, incident phases, and stakeholders in order to effectively and efficiently fill this critical intelligence gap.
Hydraulic Behavior of Pipe Network Subject to Random Water Demands

A Poisson Rectangular Pulse (PRP) process is used to simulate instantaneous indoor and outdoor residential water use during a 55-hour period at 135 demand nodes in an all-pipes water distribution system. The corresponding network equations are then solved with an ad hoc program to generate unsteady flow rates in each pipe. This computational approach yields an unprecedented level of detail, affording new insights into the hydraulic behavior of municipal pipe networks. Results of simulation experiments include the frequency of stagnant, laminar, transition and turbulent flow, the number of flow direction reversals, the coefficient of variation of the flow rate, the minimum and maximum rates of flow and other hydraulic statistics for any link in the pipe network. These hydraulic characteristics are compared against similar data generated by a standard network progam using a one-hour extended period time resolution.
Mass-balance modelling of the Greenland ice sheet: a comparison of an energy-balance and a degree-day model

A degree-day model and an energy-balance model for the Greenland ice sheet are compared. The two models are compared at a grid with 20 km spacing. Input for both models is elevation, latitude and accumulation. The models calculate the annual ablation over the entire ice sheet. Although on the whole the two models yield similar results, depending on the tuning of the models, regional discrepancies of up to 45% occur, especially for northern Greenland. The performance of the two types of model is evaluated by comparing the model results with the sparsely available (long-term) mass-balance measurements. Results show that the energy-balance model tends to predict a more accurate mass-balance gradient with elevation than does the degree-day model. Since so little is known about the present-day climate of the ice sheet, it is more useful to consider the sensitivity of the ablation to various climate elements than to consider the actual present-day ablation. Results show that for a 1 K temperature perturbation, sea-level rise is 0.31 mm year−1 for the energy-balance model and 0.34 mm year−1 for the degree-day model. After tuning the degree-day model to a value of the ablation, equivalent to the ablation calculated by the energy-balance model, sensitivity of the degree-day model increases to 0.37 mm sea-level change per year. This means that the sensitivity of the degree-day model for a 1 K temperature perturbation is about 20% higher than the sensitivity of the energy-balance model. Another set of experiments shows that the sensitivity of the ablation is dependent on the magnitude of the temperature perturbation for the two models. Both models show an increasing sensitivity per degree for larger perturbations. The increase in the sensitivity is larger for the degree-day model than for the energy-balance model. The differences in the sensitivity are mainly concentrated in the southern parts of the ice sheet. Experiments for the Bellagio temperature scenario. 0.3°C increase in temperature per decade, leads to sea-level rise of 4.4 cm over a period of 100 years for the energy-balance model. The degree-day model predicts for the same forcing a 5.8 cm rise which is about 32% higher than the result of the energy-balance model.
Building blocks in creative computing: modularity increases the probability of prototyping novel ideas

Abstract Design is a cyclical journey from creative ideas to concrete realizations of those ideas though prototyping. Designers today have increasing access to low-cost technology toolkits within the electronic and computational domain. However, for technical novices, including electronic components in prototypes can hamper the ability to create novel ideas by introducing technical obstacles. Electronic modules can increase the probability of prototyping success, at the cost of reduced design flexibility. This research (1) presents the results of a pilot usability evaluation of (N = 68) participants making physical light emitting diode (LED) light creations with non-modular electronics components, and (2) uses this evaluation to motivate a creative prototyping study (N = 86) exploring the question: ‘How does prototyping tool modularity influence the creative result? ’ Using a browser-based crowd platform (Amazon’s Mechanical Turk), participants created electric ‘creature circuits’ with LEDs in a virtual prototyping environment. We found that increasing the modularity of LED components (i) increased the novelty rating of prototypes as rated by a condition-blind panel, (ii) increased the quantity of prototypes created and the quantity of LEDs used by study participants, (iii) increased participants’ degree of perceived self-efficacy and cognitive flow, and (iv) reduced the number of errors due to LED polarity. The results highlight that novice prototyping with electronics is difficult due to the number of possible ways to fail. The findings show that modularity can reduce the chance of errors and improve the likelihood of creating novel prototypes.
Chaos time-domain reflectometry for distributed diagnosis of complex topology wired networks

A new reflectometry-based wire diagnosis method using chaotic signals is presented. It shows excellent potential for the diagnosis of live wires (i.e. during their operational usage) and complex topology networks. The use of chaotic signals for distributed diagnosis and the detection of defects in wires is investigated. Chaos time-domain Reflectometry (CTDR) using low auto-correlation sidelobes signals, shows high performances in very noisy environment: the detection and location of hard defects are possible, even if several reflectometers inject their signals concurrently with the diagnosis and the normal operation of the cable. This enables using CTDR for distributed diagnosis of complex topology networks.