Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
PHYSICO-CHEMICAL AND MECHANICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF FLY ASH-LIMESTONE-FILLED POZZOLANIC CEMENT

Fly ash utilization is a research of considerable interest at the present time, where fly ash is employed as an active addition to Portland cement clinker and as partial substitution of cement respectively [1]. The suitability of fly ash use in the production of fly ash Portland cement is determined by its pozzolanic activity, which in turn is greatly influenced by its content of glassy phase, the higher content of glassy phase, the higher pozzolanic activity. The incorporation of fly ashes to the Portland cement and concrete as active addition was investigated [2]. Due to their capacity for reacting with lime, principally originated during the hydration of the Portland cement, forms hydraulic compounds. The replacement of a Portland cement by three different high-CaO fly ashes slightly decrease the nonevaporable water content in comparison with their low CaO-fly ashes [3]. Portland-pulverized fuel ash cements containing 20-40 wt. % PFA by intergrinding or blending the ashes with cement were studied [4,5]. The intergrinding leads to an improvement in the water-reducing properties of coarse PFAS and also their pozzolanic activity as indicated by compressive strength development at later ages. Setting time was the same for blended and interground cements, both being considerably longer than for ordinary Portland cements. The effect of limestone on the properties of cement in relation to the source of limestone and type of cement was studied [6-9]. It was found that the advantage of limestone filler over silica depends on the quality of the clinker and its C3A content. With a low C3A content (9 %), the strength gain is negligible, and there is no monocarboaluminate formation. While, with a high C3A content (14.5 %), the limestone addition increases the strength at both early and later ages. There is evidence that the influence of limestone depends on C3A content because CaCO3 produces stable calcium carboaluminate hydrate during the reaction with C3A. The effect of limestone addition depends more on clinker type than on its fineness [10,11]. The addition of limestone to clinker with higher lime saturation factor (LSF) influenced predominantly early compressive strength, while the addition of limestone to clinker having low LSF influenced mostly the compressive strength after 28 days and recently. It was found that carbosilicate hydrates might form in the reaction between CaCO3 and silicate phases. The present work aimed to study the effect of substitute of limestone by fly ash on the electrical properties, physico-chemical and mechanical characteristics of SRC and OPC filled pozzolanic cement pastes. Original papers
Predicting the drawing conditions for Microstructured Optical Fiber fabrication

The efficient and accurate fabrication of Microstructured optical fibers (MOFs) requires a practical understanding of the ‘draw process’ beyond what is achievable by trial and error, which requires the ability to predict the experimental drawing parameters needed to produce the desired final geometry. Our results show that the Fitt et al. fluid-mechanics model for describing the draw process of a single axisymmetric capillary fiber provides practical insights when applied to more complex multi-hole symmetric and asymmetric MOF geometries. By establishing a method to relate the multi-hole MOF geometry to a capillary and understanding how material temperature varies with the draw tower temperature profile, it was found that analytical equations given by the Fitt model could be used to predict the parameters necessary for the chosen structure. We show how this model provides a practical framework that contributes to the efficient and accurate fabrication of the desired MOF geometries by predicting suitable fiber draw conditions.
Laboratory evidence of organic peroxide and peroxyhemiacetal formation in the aqueous phase and implications for aqueous OH

Abstract. Aqueous chemistry in atmospheric waters (e.g., cloud droplets or wet aerosols) is considered a potentially important atmospheric pathway to produce secondary organic aerosol (SOAaq). Water-soluble organic compounds with small carbon numbers (C2–C3) are precursors for SOAaq; products include organic acids, organic sulfates, and high-molecular-weight compounds/oligomers. Fenton reactions and the uptake of gas-phase OH radicals are considered to be the major oxidant sources for aqueous organic chemistry. However, the sources and availability of oxidants in atmospheric waters are not well understood. The degree to which OH is produced in the aqueous phase affects the balance of radical and non-radical aqueous chemistry, the properties of the resulting aerosol, and likely its atmospheric behavior. This paper demonstrates organic peroxide formation during aqueous photooxidation of methylglyoxal using ultra-high-resolution Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (FTICR-MS). Organic peroxides are known to form through gas-phase oxidation of volatile organic compounds. They contribute secondary organic aerosol (SOA) formation directly by forming peroxyhemiacetals and epoxides (i.e., IEPOX), and indirectly by enhancing gas-phase oxidation through OH recycling. We provide simulation results of organic peroxide/peroxyhemiacetal formation in clouds and wet aerosols and discuss organic peroxides as a source of condensed-phase OH radicals and as a contributor to aqueous SOA.
WORKING PAPER SERIES No . 4 / 2014 Hydropower Policy and Energy Saving Incentives

Many Norwegian local governments are affected by hydropower production. A law passed in 1917 mandates that hydropower plants sell up to 10 percent of their power basis to local governments affected by the production. Historically, this concession power was meant to ensure the small rural local governments supply of electricity, in competition of the larger cities. Today, many local governments resell their concession power when prices are high and generate large revenues. However, the actual transferred concession power is restricted to general electricity consumption in the community. As a result, local governments with a positive gap between potential concession power and general electricity consumption have reduced incentives to save electricity. In other words, the concession power system has adverse effects on incentives for energy efficiency. In this study, a simple two-period model to study energy efficiency is developed, and the model’s predictions are supported by empirical findings. The results underline how misspecified and outdated laws can reduce incentives for energy economizing projects.
Life Table Analysis and Consumption Capacity for Harmonia axyridis (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae), Feeding on Cinara atlantica (Hemiptera: Aphididae)

Abstract The objective of this study was to analyze the development, reproductive parameters and consumption capacity of Harmonia axyridis, using Cinara atlantica as food. The average time of egg incubation was 3 d, duration of larval instars was 3.5, 2, 2.2 and 4.1 d, respectively, and duration of the pupal stage was 5.8 d. Longevity was 85.6 d and the life cycle lasted 107.2 d. Egg viability was 92.7% and all stages had 100% survival. Adults consumed, on average, 1.892 aphids. Pre-oviposition, oviposition and post-oviposition periods lasted 6.8, 44.3, and 32.9 d, respectively. Fertility was 633.2 eggs per female. Each instar consumed, on average, 19.4, 24.8, 49.7 and 188.9 aphids, respectively. The life table results, together with biological data, indicated that Harmonia axyridis is an efficient predator of C. atlantica, having high fertility, egg viability, rapid development and high levels of predation.
An Investigation of Internet-Based Information for Mothers in Stepfamilies

When mothers repartner or remarry, their relationships with their own children may be placed under stress. Research suggests that mothers are increasingly turning to the internet for information about parenting. This study investigated the information and guidance available on the internet for mothers in stepfamilies, and compared this information to the conclusions that researchers have reached about parenting and stepparenting. Information provided for mothers was extracted from 69 websites that purported to provide information for stepfamilies. The extracted data were analyzed using a process of thematic analysis. The content that was provided was relatively consistent with research findings in regard to parenting in a stepfamily. It emphasized the importance of mothers’ care and support, a supportive stepfather role, problems around stepfather discipline, and the importance of the couple’s relationship. However, the information provided was often brief, did not cover all important areas and was presented inconsistently across the websites, leading to a lack of consistent research-based information and guidance.
Clinical Manifestations of Sarcoidosis

Sarcoidosis is a systemic granulomatous disease of unknown etiology that is characterized from the point of view of pathology of the presence of noncaseating granulomas in affected organs. Typically affects young adults and is often present initially with one or more of the following conditions: 1) bilateral hilar lymphadenopathy, 2) pulmonary reticular pattern, 3) Involvement of the skin, joints and / or eyes.
Decomposing Wage Gaps between Ethnic Groups: The Case of Israel

Past investigations of the income gaps between Jews and non-Jews in Israel treat non-Jews as one group. In this paper we separate the non-Jewish group into three main religious minorities: Muslims, Christians, and Druze and focus on the northern part of Israel, where most minorities live. Using the latest Israeli census, we find significant explained and unexplained income gaps in favor of Jews. The unexplained gaps tend to be larger the more educated the individual. Jews have much higher representation in the more lucrative occupations, and earn significantly more in them. Muslims generally suffer from the largest income gaps, while Druze have the lowest income gaps, reflecting direct and indirect benefits reaped from serving in the army. Among minorities, Christians are the most educated and most concentrated in the top occupations, which explains why they have the lowest gaps in the highest percentiles of the income distribution.
The Relationshp Between Physical Activity and Sexual Satisfaction Among Wheelchair Users

Sexuality is an important part of life. Many people with disabilities report lower levels of sexual satisfaction (SS) than people without disabilities. SS has been correlated with many psychosocial, psychological, and physiological variables. Because physical activity (PA) improves many of the variables correlated with SS, promoting PA may be one strategy for promoting SS. Several studies have demonstrated a relationship between PA and SS in the general population; however this relationship has not been explored among people with physical disabilities. This study explored the relationship between satisfaction with sex life and PA in a sample of participants with physical disabilities who used wheelchairs as their primary mode of mobility. In addition, psychosocial, psychological, and physiological correlates of both PA and SS were explored. Further, variables that were related to both PA and SS were examined to assess whether they mediated the relationship between PA and SS. Results indicated that PA and SS were related. Several psychosocial and psychological variables were related to PA and to SS. Two variables—satisfaction with personal appearance and satisfaction with emotional support from people other than family —mediated the relationship between PA and SS. There is a need for future research to explore these relationships using qualitative methods, and objective measures of PA.
Testosterone Levels Do Not Decline with Age in Healthy Men

Aim: To establish norms for reproductive hormones in healthy males with normal urologic and sexual function, and to assess the change in reproductive hormone levels with respect to age among healthy males. Methods: Healthy volunteers aged 18 - 29 (group 1) and 45 - 65 (group 2) were recruited for enrollment in a prospective study. Inclusion criteria comprised normal urinary, ejaculatory, orgasmic, and erectile function, as determined by IPSS, MSHQ, and IEFF-15. Men with history of chronic medical illnesses or chronic medication use were excluded. Fifty men met the study criteria. Each participant underwent physical examination and standardized serum hormone evaluation using ELISA and EIA methods. Statistical analysis was performed using JMP 8.0 software (SAS Institute Inc., Cary, NC), to compare hormone levels between the two groups of men. Results: There were 25 men each in groups 1 (mean age 26) and 2 (mean age 51). Overall, 46% were Caucasian, 31% African American, 15% Hispanic, and 8% Asian. There was no statistically significant difference in serum total T, SHBG, E2, or LH between groups 1 and 2. Notably, the 95% CI for serum T levels for both groups of men were considerably higher than commonly accepted lower-end cut-off limits. Conclusion: Serum T levels do not vary significantly with age, in otherwise healthy men with normal sexual and urologic function. Furthermore, healthy men have much higher serum total and free T levels than the lower-end reference limits provided by commercial laboratories.
Improving Transcription of Manuscripts with Multimodality and Interaction

State-of-the-art Natural Language Recognition systems allow transcribers to speed-up the transcription of audio, video or image documents. These systems provide transcribers an initial draft transcription that can be corrected with less effort than transcribing the documents from scratch. However, even the drafts offered by the most advanced systems based on Deep Learning contain errors. Therefore, the supervision of those drafts by a human transcriber is still necessary to obtain the correct transcription. This supervision can be eased by using interactive and assistive transcription systems, where the transcriber and the automatic system cooperate in the amending process. Moreover, the interactive system can combine different sources of information in order to improve their performance, such as text line images and the dictation of their textual contents. In this paper, the performance of a multimodal interactive and assistive transcription system is evaluated on one Spanish historical manuscript. Although the quality of the draft transcriptions provided by a Handwriting Text Recognition system based on Deep Learning is pretty good, the proposed interactive and assistive approach reveals an additional reduction of transcription effort. Besides, this effort reduction is increased when using speech dictations over an Automatic Speech Recognition system, allowing for a faster transcription process.
phytochemical investigations of Iraqi Abrus precatorius Linn. plant

The plant Abrus precatorius, which belong to Leguminosae (Fabaceae) family and known as Crab’s eyes, Rosary pea with characteristic red and black seeds. It was used in folk medicine in India, China and East Asian countries for treatment of various diseases. The plant was extracted by '' general method of extraction'' (Harborne, 1973) using 80% aqueous ethanol as a solvent of extraction by soxhlet apparatus. Preliminary qualitative phytochemical screening were performed on the crude ethanolic extract and revealed the presence of alkaloids, flavonoids ,terpenoids and phytosterols in Iraqi Abrus precatorius plant. Three different fractions were obtained from crude extract which are fraction one (chloroform fraction), fraction two (ethyl acetate fraction), and fraction three (petroleum ether fraction) which are represent alkaloids, flavonoids and steroids respectively. The alkaloid abrine was isolated from the chloroform fraction in pure form by using preparative thin layer chromatography (PTLC) and then subjected to different physico-chemical and specteral analytical techniques to identify its chemical structure: melting point (M.P.), thin layer chromatography (TLC), high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) , fourier transforms infrared spectra (FT-IR) and elemental microanalysis (CHNO).
Spatial-temporal Variation of Turbulence Characteristics in Sewer Flow

Presented study deals with theoretical and experimental investigation of the steady uniform and transient flows with a free surface in channels with a circular cross section with smooth walls as well as with rough sediment deposits. The aim of the study is to define the relationship between the flow unsteadiness and selected flow/turbulence characteristics in circular tube running partially full. Furthermore, the influence of the sediment bed on spatial distribution on given characteristics is studied. The results show strong influence of the cross section geometry on the local values of friction velocity above the sediment bed and, interestingly, decreasing its relative value with increasing relative flow depth. The temporal/spatial turbulence intensities and Reynolds stress distribution in the midvertical of the pipe were identified. Generally, the values of turbulent characteristics are larger in the rising branch of the hydrograph. Finally, the individual terms of the bottom shear stress were identified. The omittance of any flow property leads to clear misinterpretation of the calculated bottom shear stress.
Antecedents of Employee Intention to Leave the SMEs

The purpose of this study was to find out how the effect of the antecedents of intention to leave involve job dissatisfaction and work-related stress in the Small Medium Entreprises (SMEs). The variables were moderated by the perceived alternative job opportunities (PAJO) as Indonesian Migrant Workers. A total of 89 questionnaires were distributed to the employees of SMEs located in Ngunut District, Tulungagung Regency, East Java, Indonesia. The Data were analyzed using the associative descriptive method, using PLS version 3.0 software. The results of the analysis obtained in this study indicate that work dissatisfaction and work-related stress have a positive influence on the intention to leave the SMEs. The perceived of alternative job opportunities as Indonesian migrant workers successfully moderating the effect of employee work-related stress on the intention to leave SMEs in Ngunut District, Tulungagung Regency.
Stochastic travelling salesperson and shortest route models with safety time

We address the stochastic traveling salesperson problem (TSP) with distances measured by travel time. As a by-product, we obtain comparable results for the shortest route problem. We study how to select the best path and due date to minimise fundamental safe scheduling objectives. Model 1 requires minimising the due date subject to a service level constraint. Model 2 addresses a weighted trade-off between the due date and the expected tardiness. In alternate formulations, the due date is given and we maximise the service level for Model 1, or minimise the expected tardiness for Model 2. We show that Alternate 1 is equivalent to Model 1, but Alternate 2 is different to Model 2. For normal and lognormal travel times, we proceed by solving few deterministic TSP derived instances. This approach provides optimal solutions for some models. For all other models, it becomes an effective heuristic with tight performance guarantee certificates.
Collective behaviour in cascade model depends on turn of the choice

There are growing interests for studying collective behaviour including the dynamics of markets, the emergence of social norms and conventions, and collective phenomena in daily life such as traffic congestion. In cascade model, collective behaviour is affected in the structure of the social network and threshold to make decision, and the collective behaviour was stochastic, similar to threshold model in local interaction. In both model, although decisions of agents are deterministic, collective behaviour of population become stochastic. In previous work, we analysed origin of stochastic collective behaviour and we found that collective behaviour depends on the initial behaviour of high degree in threshold model in local interaction. In this paper, we analysed origin of stochastic collective behaviour in cascade model. We analysed why collective behaviour is stochastic in scale free network. Then, we show that turn of the choice effects on collective behaviour not the first choices.
Multiaxial fatigue life estimation in low-cycle fatigue regime including the mean stress effect

The goal of the present paper is to discuss the reliability of a strain-based multiaxial Low-Cycle Fatigue (LCF) criterion in estimating the fatigue lifetime of metallic structural components subjected to multiaxial sinusoidal loading with zero and non-zero mean value. Since it is well-known that a tensile mean normal stress reduces the fatigue life of structural components, three different models available in the literature are implemented in the present criterion in order to take into account the above mean stress effect. In particular, such a criterion is formulated in terms of strains by employing the displacement components acting on the critical plane and, then, by defining an equivalent strain related to such a plane. The Morrow model, the Smith-Watson-Topper model and the Manson-Halford model are applied to define such an equivalent strain. The effectiveness of the new formulations is evaluated through comparison with some experimental data reported in the literature, related to biaxial fatigue tests performed on metallic specimens under in-and out-of-phase loadings characterised by non-zero mean stress values.
The impact of forest infrastructure reconstruction on expansion of potentially invasive plant species: First results from a study in Latvia

Matisone I. , Zumberga A. , Lībiete Z. , Gerra-Inohosa L. , Jansons J. (2018): The impact of forest infrastructure reconstruction on expansion of potentially invasive plant species: First results from a study in Latvia. J. For. Sci., 64: 353–357. Today, when anthropogenic pressure on natural ecosystems promotes degradation of natural habitats and facilitates distribution of alien species, local disturbances such as forest management become more significant in relation to alien plant species expansion. The aim of this study was to investigate the impact of forest road and drainage network reconstruction on the vegetation composition focusing on the expansion of invasive alien plant species. The occurrence and coverage of vascular plant and bryophyte species were recorded within 160 sample plots along four forest roads and four drainage ditches. This paper summarises the first results of this study. The main results indicate that small-scale linear corridors like forest roads and drainage networks can promote the expansion of invasive alien plant species.