Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Intermediate and Low Level Nuclear Waste Stabilisation Carbonation of Cement-based Wasteforms

ii I hereby declare that I am the sole author of this thesis. This is a true copy of the thesis, including any required final revisions, as accepted by my examiners. I understand that my thesis may be made electronically available to the public. Abstract Carbonation is a naturally-occurring process whereby Ca-containing cement phases lose their hydration water and are converted to carbonate minerals by reaction with atmospheric CO 2. As these secondary minerals develop in the microstructure of hydrated cement, porosity, pore-size distribution and permeability are decreased. These are all considered desirable properties in a wasteform. The objective of this study was to examine the effect of carbonation and different pozzolans on the leach performance and mechanical strength of ordinary Portland cement (OPC) wasteforms. Two methods of accelerated cement carbonation were used: 1. A " vacuum " carbonation method, where wasteforms are placed in an evacuated, sealed cell and subjected to small additions of CO 2 over several days at near vacuum conditions; and 2. A " one-step " carbonation method, where CO 2 gas is added to the wasteform paste as it is being mixed. Thirteen elemental constituents of interest to the safety assessments of long-term management of Cs) were stabilised/solidified via cement mix water. Wasteforms were produced with only OPC, OPC and fly ash, or OPC and silica fume. Most wasteforms were carbonated using one of the carbonation methods. Some wasteforms were not carbonated and served as controls. Wasteforms were subjected to either standard leach tests or compressive strength tests. The extent of carbonation was found to be about 20% for vacuum carbonation method, substantially higher than that for one-step treatment (up to about 10%). For vacuum carbonated wasteforms, carbonation occurred at the outer selvages of the wasteforms, whereas one-step treatment resulted in homogenous carbonation. leaching of large metal cations (Sr, Ba, Cs, Pb) and had negligible effect on the leaching of the iv elements that form hydroxyl complexes (Co, Ni, Cu). 13 C was the only anionic element whose leachability was reduced by vacuum carbonation, as it may be precipitated in the form CO 3 2-in the large quantity of secondary carbonate minerals produced during the vacuum carbonation process. One-step carbonation did not result in substantial reductions in leachability, compared to uncarbonated OPC wasteforms. However, it had an interesting inverse effect on large metal cation leachability from fly ash-and silica fume-containing wasteforms. A model is presented …
A communication library between multiple sets of MPI processes for a MPMD model

Because current high-end parallel systems have more than several thousands of nodes, a new programming model is required to exploit different levels of parallelism. For example, a conventional master-worker program assumes that a worker is running as a single MPI process. In some cases, a worker may run as a set of MPI processes to exploit a different level of parallelism or solve large problems within each worker. As the number of nodes increases, communication may be needed between the multiple sets of MPI processes. On the other hand, in order to make use of a large-scale system more effectively, it has been recently common for researchers to couple parallel components to conduct simulations of multiple physics models. This method may also requires a way to integrate multiple MPI programs.
Seasonal changes in the tropospheric carbon monoxide profile over the remote Southern Hemisphere evaluated using multi-model simulations and aircraft observations

Abstract. The combination of low anthropogenic emissions and large biogenic sources that characterizes the Southern Hemisphere (SH) leads to significant differences in atmospheric composition relative to the better studied Northern Hemisphere. This unique balance of sources poses significant challenges for global models. Carbon monoxide (CO) in particular is difficult to simulate in the SH due to the increased importance of secondary chemical production associated with the much more limited primary emissions. Here, we use aircraft observations from the 1991–2000 Cape Grim Overflight Program (CGOP) and the 2009–2011 HIAPER (High-performance Instrumented Airborne Platform for Environmental Research) Pole-to-Pole Observations (HIPPO), together with model output from the SH Model Intercomparison Project, to elucidate the drivers of CO vertical structure in the remote SH. Observed CO vertical profiles from Cape Grim are remarkably consistent with those observed over the southern mid-latitudes Pacific 10–20 years later, despite major differences in time periods, flight locations, and sampling strategies between the two data sets. These similarities suggest the processes driving observed vertical gradients are coherent across much of the remote SH and have not changed significantly over the past 2 decades. Model ability to simulate CO profiles reflects the interplay between biogenic emission sources, the chemical mechanisms that drive CO production from these sources, and the transport that redistributes this CO throughout the SH. The four chemistry-climate and chemical transport models included in the intercomparison show large variability in their abilities to reproduce the observed CO profiles. In particular, two of the four models significantly underestimate vertical gradients in austral summer and autumn, which we find are driven by long-range transport of CO produced from oxidation of biogenic compounds. Comparisons between the models show that more complex chemical mechanisms do not necessarily provide more accurate simulation of CO vertical gradients due to the convolved impacts of emissions, chemistry, and transport. Our results imply a large sensitivity of the remote SH troposphere to biogenic emissions and chemistry, both of which remain key uncertainties in global modeling. We suggest that the CO vertical gradient can be used as a metric for future model evaluation as it provides a sensitive test of the processes that define the chemical state of the background atmosphere.
Alignment of vorticity and rods with Lagrangian fluid stretching in turbulence

Abstract Stretching in continuum mechanics is naturally described using the Cauchy–Green strain tensors. These tensors quantify the Lagrangian stretching experienced by a material element, and provide a powerful way to study processes in turbulent fluid flows that involve stretching such as vortex stretching and alignment of anisotropic particles. Analysing data from a simulation of isotropic turbulence, we observe preferential alignment between rods and vorticity. We show that this alignment arises because both of these quantities independently tend to align with the strongest Lagrangian stretching direction, as defined by the maximum eigenvector of the left Cauchy–Green strain tensor. In particular, rods approach almost perfect alignment with the strongest stretching direction. The alignment of vorticity with stretching is weaker, but still much stronger than previously observed alignment of vorticity with the eigenvectors of the Eulerian strain rate tensor. The alignment of strong vorticity is almost the same as that of rods that have experienced the same stretching.
Filling the assessment gap: using a learning portfolio in international development courses.

PURPOSE The purpose of this research is to describe an action research project that proposed, monitored and evaluated the introduction of a learning portfolio used to replace examinations that were formerly used to assess the core courses. DESIGN/METHODOLOGY/APPROACH An action research project was undertaken to find out whether the introduction of a portfolio was successful and what could be improved in the process of its implementation. FINDINGS The findings indicate that portfolios are effective to support and assess the academic development of international students. ORIGINALITY/VALUE The introduction of a portfolio to replace written examinations in the NCIHD was welcomed by all concerned.
Dynamic Parameter Adaptation for M-LWDF/M-LWWF Scheduling

M-LWWF/M-LWDF scheduling schemes have attracted much interest due to their ability to both stabilize queues whenever possible and control delay through parameter selection. However, a good implementation of these schedulers would require a mechanism to minimize the required fraction of the bandwidth while satisfying its stability and delay requirements. To the best of our knowledge, previous works on these scheduling policies did not address the problem of minimizing the bandwidth utilization while satisfying delay constraints. In this paper, we explore the solution of this problem using a joint bandwidth and weight adaptation approach. We characterize the problem solution space for M-LWWF and M-LWDF scheduling, assuming time-varying traffic. We also show that, starting from any point in the solution space, simple dynamic bandwidth and weight updates can surely lead to the convergence to the optimal operation point in this space. Based on these characteristics, we propose a dynamic parameter adaptation algorithm that is able to track the time-varying optimal operation points for dynamic traffic and channel conditions. Simulation results show the efficiency of our proposed algorithm in tracking the optimal operation points in dynamic traffic and channel settings.
Long-Term Test-Retest Reliability of Baseline Cognitive Assessments Using ImPACT

Background Computer-based assessment programs are commonly used to document baseline cognitive performance for comparison with postconcussion testing. There are currently no guidelines for how often baseline assessments should be updated, and no data documenting the test-retest stability of baseline measures over relevant time periods. Purpose To establish long-term test-retest reliability of baseline assessments using ImPACT, and to compare various statistical methods for establishing test-retest reliability. Study Design Case series; Level of evidence, 4. Methods Participants were 95 collegiate varsity athletes completing baseline cognitive testing at 2 time periods, approximately 2 years apart. No participant sustained a concussion between assessments. All athletes completed the ImPACT test battery; dependent measures were the composite scores and total symptom scale score. Results Intraclass correlation coefficient estimates for visual memory (.65), processing speed (.74), and reaction time (.68) composite scores reflected stability over the 2-year period, with greater variability in verbal memory (.46) and symptom scale (.43) scores. Using reliable change indices and regression-based methods, only a small percentage of participants’ scores showed “reliable” or “significant” change on the composite scores (0%-6%), or symptom scale scores (5%-10%). Conclusion The current results suggest that college athletes’ cognitive performance at baseline remains considerably stable over a 2-year period. These data help establish the effects of longer, clinically pragmatic testing intervals on test-retest reliability. Clinical Implications The current results suggest that stretching the time between baseline assessments from 1 to 2 years may have little effect on the clinical management of concussions in collegiate athletes. These results should not be generalized to collegiate football players, who were not included in this sample. Youth athletes (high school and younger) should continue to receive annually updated baseline assessments until prospective study of the stability of baseline assessments for this younger age group can be completed.
Text Retrieval by Term Co-occurrences in a Query-based Vector Space

Term co-occurrence in a sentence or paragraph is a powerful and often overlooked feature for text matching in document retrieval. In our experiments with matching email-style query messages to webpages, such term co-occurrence helped greatly to filter and rank documents, compared to matching document-size bags-of-words. The paper presents the results of the experiments as well as a text-matching model where the query shapes the vector space, a document is modelled by two or three vectors in this vector space, and the query-document similarity score depends on the length of the vectors and the relationships between them.
Signaling in the Labor Market: New Evidence on Layoffs and Plant Closings

In my asymmetric-information model of layoffs, high-productivity workers are more likely to be recalled to their former employer and may choose to remain unemployed rather than to accept a low-wage job. In this case, unemployment can serve as a signal of productivity, and duration of unemployment may be positively related to post-laid-off wages even among workers who are not recalled. In contrast, because workers whose plant closed cannot be recalled, longer unemployment for them should not have a positive signaling benefit. Analysis of the data from the January 1988-2000 Displaced Workers Supplements to the Current Population Survey reveals that the wage/unemployment duration relation differs between laid-off workers and workers displaced through plant closings in the predicted way, and finds evidence consistent with asymmetric information in the U.S. labor market.
A Localization Method for Underwater Wireless Sensor Networks Based on Mobility Prediction and Particle Swarm Optimization Algorithms

Due to their special environment, Underwater Wireless Sensor Networks (UWSNs) are usually deployed over a large sea area and the nodes are usually floating. This results in a lower beacon node distribution density, a longer time for localization, and more energy consumption. Currently most of the localization algorithms in this field do not pay enough consideration on the mobility of the nodes. In this paper, by analyzing the mobility patterns of water near the seashore, a localization method for UWSNs based on a Mobility Prediction and a Particle Swarm Optimization algorithm (MP-PSO) is proposed. In this method, the range-based PSO algorithm is used to locate the beacon nodes, and their velocities can be calculated. The velocity of an unknown node is calculated by using the spatial correlation of underwater object’s mobility, and then their locations can be predicted. The range-based PSO algorithm may cause considerable energy consumption and its computation complexity is a little bit high, nevertheless the number of beacon nodes is relatively smaller, so the calculation for the large number of unknown nodes is succinct, and this method can obviously decrease the energy consumption and time cost of localizing these mobile nodes. The simulation results indicate that this method has higher localization accuracy and better localization coverage rate compared with some other widely used localization methods in this field.
Effect of bone marrow stromal cell transplantation on neurologic function and expression of VEGF in rats with focal cerebral ischemia

There is evidence that the transplantation of mesenchymal stem cells into rat models of cerebral ischemia reduces ischemic damage; however, the mechanism remains to be elucidated. The present study aimed to assess the effect of transplantation of human bone marrow stromal cells (hBMSCs) on neurologic function and the expression of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in a rat model of focal cerebral ischemia. The left middle cerebral artery of adult Wistar rats was occluded for 90 min using a nylon thread, followed by reperfusion for 1 h. hBMSCs labeled with 5-bromo-2-deoxyuridine (BrdU) were stereotaxically injected into the ischemic boundary zone. Behavioral analysis using the Neurological Severity Score (NSS) was conducted on days 1, 3, 7 and 28, and a histologic evaluation was performed simultaneously. VEGF was detected by immunofluorescence staining and western blot analysis. Fifty rats were divided equally into five groups: Normal control, sham-operated, operated (no transplantation), Dulbecco’s medium Eagle’s medium (DMEM)-injected (received only serum-free DMEM), and hBMSC-transplanted. The hBMSC-transplanted group showed significantly improved behavioral recovery compared with the operated and DMEM-transplanted groups on days 3, 7 and 28. Histological examination showed that transplanted cells migrated from the injection site into nearby areas including the cortex. Expression of VEGF was significantly greater in the hBMSC group compared with the other four groups on each assessment day. The expression of VEGF was found to be beneficial for functional recovery following cerebral ischemic injury and hBMSC transplantation stimulated the expression of VEGF. Transplantation of BMSCs may be a promising therapeutic strategy for treating cerebral infarction.
Pharmacokinetic/Pharmacodynamic Modeling of Schedule-Dependent Interaction between Docetaxel and Cabozantinib in Human Prostate Cancer Xenograft Models

In this work, a semimechanistic pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic (PK/PD) model to quantitatively describe the antitumor activity of docetaxel (Doc) and cabozantinib (Cab) under monotherapy, concurrent therapy, interval therapy, and different sequential therapy in mouse xenograft models of castration-resistant prostate cancer was developed and evaluated. The pharmacokinetics (PK) of Doc and Cab when administered separately and simultaneously were investigated in nude mice, and PD study was conducted in tumor-bearing mice treated with different dosing schedules. The PK interaction between Doc and Cab was expressed by adding the effect of Cab on the clearance of Doc in the PK model. And the PD interaction between the two drugs was demonstrated by the developed PK/PD model through the combination index “φ. ” Our results showed that the concurrent therapy and Doc followed by Cab (Doc ∼ Cab) sequential therapy exhibited better tumor inhibitory efficacy than monotherapy. The Cab followed by Doc (Cab ∼ Doc) sequential schedule was less effective than monotherapy, and the interval therapy did not enhance the antitumor efficacy compared with the concurrent therapy. The parameter φ estimated from the PK/PD model quantitatively characterized the action between Doc and Cab. There was no significant PD interaction between Doc and Cab in both the concurrent schedule and the interval schedule, whereas the effect of the two drugs in the “Doc ∼ Cab” and “Cab ∼ Doc” sequential schedule was synergistic and antagonistic, respectively. The proposed model properly described the antitumor effects of Doc and Cab under different treatment schedules and could be used for dose optimization through model-based simulation.
P.1203 evaluation of real OTT video services

Quality prediction performance of recently standardized parametric P.1203 models for real-streaming services: YouTube, Vimeo, Amazon Instant Video and a proprietary DASH-based streaming framework, is analyzed. In particular, a validation database comprising of bitstream traces from aforementioned services is used to evaluate the performance of P.1203 (mode 0 and mode 1) models. It is understood from the analysis that P.1203 models do capture the diverse encoding optimization strategies used in today's streaming applications to yield accurate prediction of long-term audio-visual quality, and the overall performance of P.1203 can be further enhanced using short-term Full Reference (FR) video-only models.
An Enhanced K-Anonymity Model against Homogeneity Attack

k-anonymity is an important model in the field of privacy protection and it is an effective method to prevent privacy disclosure in micro-data release. However, it is ineffective for the attribute disclosure by the homogeneity attack. The existing models based on k-anonymity have solved this problem to a certain extent, but they did not distinguish the different values of the sensitive attribute, processed a series of unnecessary generalization and expanded the information loss when they protect the sensitive attribute. Based on k-anonymity, this paper proposed a model based on average leakage probability and probability difference of sensitive attribute value. It is not only an effective method to deal with the problem of attributes disclosure that k-anonymity cannot deal, but also to realize different levels of protection to the various sensitive attribute values. It has reduced the generalization to the data in the most possibility during the procedure and ensures the most effectiveness of quasi-identifier attributes. Greedy generalization algorithm based on the generalization information loss is also proposed in this paper. To choose the generalization attributes, the information loss is considered and the importance of generalization attribute to sensitive attribute is accounted as well. Comparison experiment and performance experiment are made to the proposed model. The experiment results show that the model is feasible.
Biconditionals and “ biconditional probability ” in reasoning

Conditionals play crucial roles in human reasoning. They represent rules, causal relationship, and explicit inference. Psychology of reasoning, from its inception, has been studying how humans use and understand conditionals. One prominent feature of humans’ conditionals is that it does not follow the pattern of the standard model of conditionals. In classical logic, the corresponding connective to conditional “if p then q” is material implication, p ⊃ q = ¬p ∨ q. p ⊃ q is true as far as the antecedent p is false, or the consequent q is true. This property directly leads to the paradoxes of material implication that are counterintuitive. Wason (1966) found that people’s truth table for “if p then q” differs from material implication in the ¬p cases (p is false and q is true, or p is false and q is false). People very often construct a truth table lacking truth values for the ¬p cases. They consider the ¬p cases as irrelevant to the truth of the conditional “if p then q” The truth table with the truth value gaps was later called “defective conditional” pattern (e.g., Evans & Over, 2004). Recently, a new paradigm psychology of reasoning (Over, 2009; Oaksford & Chater, 2007) was proposed. It propounds a Bayesian, probabilistic framework that well describes human reasoning behavior and proves its rationality. The paradigm is based on “the Equation” (Edgington, 1995),
Prioritized Defaults: Implementation by TMS and Application to Diagnosis

We demonstrate the technological value of non-monotonic logics by an example: We use prioritized defaults for candidate generation in diagnosis from first principles. We implement this non-monotonic logic by TMS similar to default logic. Prioritized defaults allow an easy formu­ lation of a diagnosis problem including state­ ments such as 'eletrical parts are more reliable than mechanical ones' or 'prefer correct mod­ els to fault models' since defaults are put into different levels of reliability. These preferences prune some counterarguments in TMS and thus lead to a reduced network. Moreover, the label-ings of this network are exactly the preferred subtheories of its prioritized default theory.