Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Mixing state and sources of submicron regional background aerosols in the northern Qinghai–Tibet Plateau and the influence of biomass burning

Abstract. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) was employed to obtain morphology, size, composition, and mixing state of background aerosols with diameter less than 1 μm in the northern Qinghai–Tibet Plateau (QTP) during 15 September to 15 October 2013. Individual aerosol particles mainly contained secondary inorganic aerosols (SIA – sulfate and nitrate) and organics during clean periods (PM2.5 mass concentration less than 2.5 μg m−3). The presence of K–Na–Cl associated with organics and an increase in soot particles suggest that an intense biomass burning event caused the highest PM2.5 concentrations (> 30 μg m−3) during the study. A large number fraction of the fly-ash-containing particles (21.73 %) suggests that coal combustion emissions in the QTP significantly contributed to air pollutants at the medium pollution level (PM2.5: 10–30 μg m−3). We concluded that emissions from biomass burning and from coal combustion both constantly contribute to anthropogenic particles in the QTP atmosphere. Based on size distributions of individual particles at different pollution levels, we found that gas condensation on existing particles is an important chemical process for the formation of SIA with organic coating. TEM observations show that refractory aerosols (e.g., soot, fly ash, and visible organic particles) likely adhere to the surface of SIA particles larger than 200 nm due to coagulation. Organic coating and soot on surface of the aged particles likely influence their hygroscopic and optical properties, respectively, in the QTP. To our knowledge, this study reports the first microscopic analysis of fine particles in the background QTP air.
Long-term effects of amino acids on chlamydia infections

This thesis deals with the effects that elevated amino acid concentrations have on chlamydial infections in vitro and in vivo. In the first part, cell cultures were infected with Chlamydia trachomatis or Chlamydophila pneumoniae and then grown in medium containing elevated concentrations of the proteinogenic amino acids. Of all substances tested, it was shown that leucine, isoleucine, methionine and phenylalanine completely inhibited chlamydial growth. A significant difference in degree of inhibition was observed by methionine, which inhibits replication of reticulate bodies in C. trachomatis, but not in C. pneumoniae. The second part of this thesis tries to determine the fate of the inhibited bacteria. The most inhibitory amino acids which were determined in part one were used. First, negative side effects that elevated concentrations of these amino acids might have on the host cells were excluded. Regarding the bacteria, it was shown that the organisms are not completely eradicated from the cultures, but that a small population of viable, metabolically active but non-infectious bacteria remains. The abolished infectivity can be reactivated upon removal of the excess amino acids. It was therefore concluded that the amino acid treatments induce persistence in chlamydiae. However, this seems to be a novel form of persistence, as the transcriptional pattern of these bacteria was different from the persistence models known. The third part of this thesis deals with the administration of amino acids to mice in the drinking water and the effect on an in vivo infection with C. pneumoniae. First, it was verified that long term administration of the inhibitory amino acids leucine and isoleucine has no negative influence on uninfected mice. Then it was shown that leucine given to infected mice significantly reduces the chlamydial load in the lungs of the animals after two weeks. Together with other data from our group, we conclude that elevated concentrations of branched chain amino acids eradicate chlamydiae by an antagonistic mechanism. Even though a small persistent population is induced, a potential for treating chlamydial infections could be shown.
TRANSITION ENERGY CROSSING IN THE FUTURE FAIR SIS-100 FOR

The FAIR project foresees to deliver an intense single bunch beam with 2e13 protons of 50ns duration to the experiments. Besides the original γt -shift scenario, an alternative RF proton cycle has been recently studied: the transition energy is crossed with possibly a gamma transition jump. The flexibility of the lattice allowing to change the value of γt , a transition crossing has been considered for two possible energies. This challenging scenario is limited by several constraints such as space charge, a small momentum acceptance and by the required RF manipulations aiming to produce the final single bunch beam in the proposed SIS-100. This paper focuses on how the high intensity beam would suffer of the mismatch in bunch length at transition and new sets of beam parameter are defined for the proton beam. The jump quadrupole system is also presented. The applicability of the foreseen longitudinal feedback system to cure quadrupolar oscillations is also discussed in this paper.
Analytical Solution for Bending Analysis of Axially Functionally Graded Angle-Ply Flat Panels

In this paper, the analytical solution is presented for axially functionally graded (AFG) angle-ply flat panels subjected to arbitrary boundary condition. Material properties of AFG panels are assumed to vary linearly along x-direction. Reissner-type variation principle is used to derive the governing equations in mixed form. By employing extended Kantorovich method (EKM), a set of nonhomogeneous ordinary differential equations (ODEs) are obtained along the in-plane (x) and thickness (z) direction. The system of ODEs along the z-direction has constant coefficients, solved analytically. However, the system of ODEs along x-direction has variable coefficients, solved using modified power series method. The influence of property variation on the deflection and stresses is studied and discussed comprehensively for different sets of boundary conditions. Numerical results are validated through comparison with 3D FE. The presented analytical solution can serve as a benchmark for assessing the accuracy of the two-dimensional solution or 3D numerical solutions.
Image Registration Methods and Validation Techniques

Image registration shows up in a rich range of application domains, such as medical image analysis (e.g. diagnosis), neuroscience (e.g. brain mapping), computer vision (e.g. stereo image matching for shape recovery), astrophysics (e.g. the alignment of images from different frequencies), military applications (e.g. target recognition), etc Image registration is an important step for a great variety of applications such as remote sensing, medical imaging and multi-sensor fusion based target recognition. It is a prerequisite step prior to image fusion or image mosaic. Its purpose is to overlay two or more images of the same scene taken at different times, from different viewpoints and/or by different sensors. It is also necessary to estimate the accuracy of the image registration process . In this paper we review the different image registration methods as well as the validation techniques.
The role played by aquatic macrophytes regarding CO2 balance in a tropical coastal lagoon (Cabiúnas Lagoon, Macaé, RJ)

AIM: Carbon dioxide (CO2) is an important atmospheric trace gas that is involved in both the biological carbon cycle and global warming. Inland waters - mainly lakes - contribute to C cycling and have been considered a large source of atmospheric CO2. However, scientific studies usually neglect lake morphometry and the presence of aquatic macrophytes in littoral zones, which have a great potential for CO2 absorption and for C storage. This study aimed to evaluate the importance of the littoral region on the CO2 balance in the Cabiunas Lagoon, while also considering the contribution of the limnetic region and of Typha domingensis and Eichhornia azurea, prominent species in the area. METHODS: CO2 flux was estimated by a linear integration of CO2 concentrations measured in the internal atmospheric of a single-component static closed chambers at the studied sites. The distribution of macrophyte stands throughout lagoon surface was taken into account to evaluate the effects of macrophytes on CO2 supersaturation. Other factors were also measured throughout the sampling process to evaluate their relationship with CO2 flux data by means of Akaike model selection criterion. The area covered by aquatic macrophytes at the Cabiunas lagoon was estimated by profiles and transects. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION: CO2 flux through the water surface ranged from - 7.39 to 17.56 mgCO2m - 2h - 1. An emission pattern predominated, suggesting that water columns are CO2 supersaturated at all sampling sites. Rates were similar among all the sampling sites, suggesting that aquatic macrophytes do not influence CO2 saturation in the water column at Cabiunas lagoon. On the other hand, CO2 fluxes from macrophyte tissues showed a clear assimilation pattern. Influxes were higher in T. domingensis ( - 229.1 ± 320.9 mg CO2.m - 2.h - 1) than in E. azurea stands ( - 43.8 ± 39.5 mg CO2.m - 2.h - 1). Once these macrophytes covered a considerable area of the lagoon and CO2 absorption strongly overwhelmed the emission processes, then we were able to extrapolate data from the total estimated area of the evaluated sites (75% of the Cabiunas lagoon), which resulted in a net influx of 46.6 mg CO2.m - 2.h - 1. The strong Typha domingensis contribution to CO2 absorption and other C cycling processes indicate that it is one of the most important species to Carbon cycling in the studied ecosystem. Thus, it is worth considering C cycling in lake littoral zones as a key process when estimating C balance in shallow aquatic ecosystems.
Tourism in the new economy

Globalisation and the development of the information and telecommunications technologies are creating new rules governing competition: we are witnessing the beginning of a Net Economy. Newly configured customer/performance systems are leading to the transformation of industries and companies. The borderlines between the industries within tourism are dissolving, and the scope of companies' activities is changing. New forms of cooperation are required. Often, the value added by the core business is no longer sufficient, and there is a demand for new commercialisation models. The coercion to achieve growth, which is driven by the capital market and the constantly increasing critical corporate sizes, requires new entrepreneurial dynamism. As a consequence, conventional corporate models of destinations, hotels and funiculars in traditional tourism countries often generate negative results. This paper seeks to demonstrate how the transformation driver, IT, may also make a contribution towards shaping the transformation process in an entrepreneurial manner and, in doing so, arrive at a comparatively higher level of competitiveness. New performance systems are outlined, and value drivers dentified, on the basis of a process model which, in turn, is based on the evolving net economy. A special focus is aimed at the examples of marketing and the establishment of customer contacts.
LH-Cipher: A Linear Hierarchical Cipher approach for Data

Dividing the data into blocks and there by arranging the blocks in hierarchal order is termed as a linear hierarchical cipher approach for data . The encryption code, a access id code for each level based on the propagation code is generated in this technique. However the level propagation code and the access-id code of previous hierarchy level are matching with upper hierarchical level . The access-id code is set based on the time sensing key and a time seed, and the time seed updates with respect to the encryption pulse. By simply modifying and inversing the data security it is possible to decrease the number of key volume. GJCST Classification: E.4 LH-Cipher A Linear Hierarchical Cipher approach for Data Strictly as per the compliance and regulations of: LH-Cipher: A Linear Hierarchical Cipher approach for Data
Early Communicative Development in Two Cultures: A Comparison of the Communicative Environments of Children from Two Cultures

The nature of young children's communicative environment has been central to theoretical debates about the importance of innate and environmental factors in the development of communication and language. In this paper, we explore aspects of the communicative development and environment of young children growing up in two very different cultures, one in a village of eastern Nepal and the other in a rural area of Western Germany. We analysed longitudinal video recordings of 6 children from each culture in naturalistic settings, at age-matched time points over a period of 8 months. Four children were 8 months old at the outset of the study, 4 were 2 years and 2 months old, and 4 were 3 years old. There were major differences between cultures in the number of adults and children present during the recordings, with other children playing an increasingly important role for the older children in the Nepal recordings. We found no difference between cultures in the onset of pointing and imitation or of reaching, requesting and offering, indicating that these behaviours may be part of a human-specific timetable for socio-cognitive development. We also found that imitation by both the target children and those around them was strictly limited to the youngest group in both cultures. This suggests that imitation may be very important for early development in the prelinguistic phase, while around the age of 2, with the child's developing competence, other ways of interacting take over. The theoretical implications of our results are discussed with reference to the roles of child-intrinsic and environmental factors in the developmental process.
The thermal-flow behavior of the working chamber in an oil-free scroll compressor

The paper presents the full transient, two-dimensional finite volume method numerical calculations of the classical involute scroll com- pressor geometry. The purpose of the study was to develop and evaluate an adaptable implementation of numerical fluid mechanics and thermodynam- ics modeling procedure with a mesh deformation. The methodology consist- ing in the compression chamber geometry preparation, mesh generation and governing equations solving was described. The evaluation was carried by simulating an adiabatic compression process and the results were compared with the theoretical zero-dimensional model and the existing research con- cerning the scroll chamber computational fluid dynamics modeling. It has been shown that the proposed modeling routine results in good accuracy for the scroll compressors study applications.
A nested-grid Boussinesq-type approach to modelling dispersive propagation and runup of landslide-generated tsunamis

A tsunami generated by large-volume land- slide can propagate across the ocean and flood communi- ties around the basin. The evolution of landslide-generated tsunamis is affected by the effects of frequency disper- sion and involves processes of different temporal and spa- cial scales. In this paper, we develop a numerical ap- proach employing the weakly nonlinear and fully nonlin- ear Boussinesq-type theories and nested computational grids. The propagation in a large domain is simulated with the weakly nonlinear model in a geographical reference frame. The nearshore wave evolution and runup are computed with the fully nonlinear model. Nested grids are employed to zoom simulations from larger to smaller domains at succes- sively increasing resolutions. The models and the nesting scheme are validated for theoretical analysis, laboratory ex- periments and a historical tsunami event. By applying this approach, we also investigate the potential tsunami impact on the US east coast due to the possible landslide on La Palma Island. The scenario employed in this study represents an event of extremely low probability.
Noise Removal in Image Using LPG-PCA (Local Pixel Grouping- Principle Component Analysis) Algorithm

In this paper an effective algorithm for noise removal in an image is obtained by using PCA (principal component analysis) with LPG (Local Pixel Grouping). This technique ensures the preservation of image local structure. Here the pixels and its neighbors are treated as vector variables whose training samples are selected from local windows using block matching based LPG. This ensures only the similar samples are selected for the PCA transformation so that the desired local characteristics are only preserved with considerable noise reduction. The LPG -PCA algorithm is performed twice to enhance the quality of an image. The first iteration would remove the noise considerably and the second iteration would preserve the image features like edges etc. The LPG-PCA algorithm will adaptively adjust the noise level of an image unlike WT (Wavelet Transformation). Several experimental results show the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm.
Climate Change Adaptation through Rice Production in Regions with High Poverty Levels

Climate change will severely set back agricultural development in tropical countries, where an increasing share of the poorest and most vulnerable population resides. Widespread and persistent poverty is a longstanding problem in both South Asia and Africa, particularly in areas without irrigation, areas referred to as “rainfed ecosystems”. With the inherent problems in the agricultural sector -- such as lack of finances, poor irrigation infrastructure, etc. — production levels in South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa will be more affected by climate variability and change than in most other parts of the world. This review describes the expected impacts of climate change on rice (Oryza sativa L.) production with emphasis on these two subcontinents and also outlines possible response strategies in rice production. Given recent progress in developing more resilient rice production systems, climate adaptation in this important income and food source could prove to be a key factor to forestall – or at least mitigate the adverse effects of climate change in South Asia as well as Sub-Saharan Africa.
Efficient spectrum sensing technique based on energy detector, compressive sensing, and de-noising techniques

Highdata rate cognitive radio (CR) systems require high speed Analog-to-Digital Converters (ADC). This requirement imposes many restrictions on the realization of the CR systems. The necessity of high sampling rate can be significantly alleviated by utilizing analog to information converter (AIC). AIC is inspired by the recent theory of Compressive Sensing (CS), which states that a discrete signal has a sparse representation in some dictionary, which can be recovered from a small number of linear projections of that signal. This paper proposes an efficient spectrum sensing technique based on energy detection, compression sensing, and de-noising techniques. De-noising filters are utilized to enhance the traditional Energy Detector performance through Signal-to-Noise (SNR) boosting. On the other hand, the ordinary sampling provides an ideal performance at a given conditions. A near optimal performance can be achieved by applying compression sensing. Compression sensing allows signal to be sampled at sampling rates much lower than the Nyquist rate. The system performance and ADC speed can be easily controlled by adjusting the compression ratio. In addition, a proposed energy detector technique is introduced by using an optimum compression ratio. The optimum compression ratio is determined using a Genetic Algorithm (GA) optimization tool. Simulation results revealed that the proposed techniques enhanced system performance.
Strategic planning in turbulent environment: A Conceptual View

The literature view forms a starting point for further research on the strategic planning in turbulent context. Strategic planning, for organisations to match the pace of changes in the business environment, remains a challenge and an area of discussion by researchers and practitioners. This paper defines strategic planning and explores its importance over the years. There are differences on the content and the number of steps found in strategic planning, leaving readers with questions like: What are the primary steps in the strategic planning and how does the process flow? What literature is available on this field? Is strategic planning still relevant to organisations in a turbulent environment? In an attempt to address these questions, the authors analyse and discuss theories and empirical findings advanced by various researchers and the conceptual framework of strategic planning; outlining gaps likely to elicit further research interest. Keywords: strategic planning process, turbulent environment, organisations, strategy formulation and implementation, organisational performance.
Criticalities on highway maintenance yards: some suggestions to improve the effectiveness of OS&H supervision/inspection activities

Research work results on Occupational Safety and Health -OS&H- aspects of highway maintenance yards in normal operative conditions and special situations - typically potential interferences from heavy traffic - stressed the diversification of yards typologies and criticalities. The European Directive 92/57/EEC on the implementation of minimum Safety and Health requirements at temporary or mobile construction sites concentrates on the improvement of Risk Assessment and Management from the very first steps of the design, and introduces coordinators charged of a safe project preparation and of the execution phase supervising. In particular, in the case of highway maintenance yards, the Coordinator for safety and health matters at the project execution stage should manage both routine situations, and situations requiring high expertise and capacity of judgment. In such complex scenarios, Safety inspection activities become a demanding task also in terms of time and resources for both the Company and the National Inspectorate supervisors. The paper discusses an original approach for the optimization of supervision / inspection activities, based on the appropriate use of Fellow Supervisors to support the Coordinator in the routine activities, with the added benefit of an increased presence of "safety people" at the yard. The setup of an appropriate data gathering, recording and mining system, organized in interlinked cards in logical sequence, contributes to the efficiency and thoroughness of the work of the both the Coordinator and the Fellow Supervisors. The results of ex post tests on a real case -input data provided by the Prosecutor Office which proposed the study- can be considered significant.