Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Spatial assessment of flow and benefit of tropical cyclone hazard mitigation service

Ecosystems are employed to effectively protect people and communities in coastal areas from tropical cyclone (TC) hazards. Although a spatially explicit TC hazard mitigation service (TCHMS) is essential for devising adaptation strategy and resilience policy, the process and delivery of this program are unclear. We improved a capacity–exposure–demand conceptual framework using Guangdong Province, China, as a case study area, and spatial analysis was employed to assess the ecosystem service. Under this framework, we assessed “capacity” as the natural potential protection against TC hazards, “exposure” as the need for services, and “demand” as the estimated necessity of protecting coastal populations and economic interests. The analysis results were then used to map the TCHMS flow and benefit gap. The results showed that 21.6% of the whole province had low capacity, 25.3% had high exposure, and 19.3% had high demand. A significantly negative correlation was present between the TCHMS capacity and exposure, and a positive correlation was shown between the exposure and demand. In particular, the TCHMS flow and benefit were sufficient in inland areas but were severely deficient in coastal megacities. In Guangdong Province, the Pearl River Delta, and Chaoshan (CS), 3.3%, 4.0%, and 15.3% of the areas showed high demand–low capacity–high exposure patterns, respectively. Our findings will deepen the scientific understanding of the degree of protection a given ecosystem will provide to communities and infrastructures exposed to TC hazards and will thus provide scientific support for coastal ecosystem planning and management.
Can we assess the value meteorological ensembles add to dispersion modelling using hypothetical releases?

Abstract. Atmospheric dispersion model output is frequently used to provide advice to decision makers, for example, about the likely location of volcanic ash erupted from a volcano or the location of deposits of radioactive material released during a nuclear accident. Increasingly scientists and decision makers are requesting information on the uncertainty of these dispersion model predictions. One source of uncertainty is in the meteorology used to drive the dispersion model and in this study ensemble meteorology from the Met Office ensemble prediction system is used to provide meteorological uncertainty to dispersion model predictions. Two hypothetical scenarios, one volcanological and one radiological, are repeated every 12 hours over a period of 4 months. The scenarios are simulated using ensemble meteorology and deterministic forecast meteorology and compared to output from simulations using analysis meteorology using the Brier skill score. Adopting the practice commonly used in evaluating numerical weather prediction models (NWP) where observations are sparse or non-existent we consider output from simulations using analysis NWP data to be truth. The results show that on average the ensemble simulations perform better than the deterministic simulations although not all individual ensemble simulations outperform their deterministic counterpart. The results also show that greater skill scores are achieved by the ensemble simulation for later time steps rather than earlier time steps and at those later time steps for deposition than for air concentration. For the volcanic ash scenarios it is shown that the performance of the ensemble at one flight level can be different to that at a different flight level, e.g. a negative skill score might be obtained for FL350-550 and a positive skill score for FL200-350. This study does not take into account any source term uncertainty but it does take the first steps towards demonstrating the value of ensemble dispersion model predictions.
Back to Uluzzo – archaeological, palaeoenvironmental and chronological context of the Mid–Upper Palaeolithic sequence at Uluzzo C Rock Shelter (Apulia, southern Italy)

The tempo and mode of Homo sapiens dispersal in Eurasia and the demise of Neanderthals has sparked debate about the dynamics of Neanderthal extinction and its relationship to the arrival of H. sapiens. In Italy, the so‐called ‘Transition’ from Neanderthals to H. sapiens is related to the Uluzzian technocomplex, i.e. the first archaeological evidence for modern human dispersal on the European continent. This paper illustrates the new chronology and stratigraphy of Uluzzo C, a rock shelter and Uluzzian key site located in the Uluzzo Bay in southern Italy, where excavations are ongoing, refining the cultural sequence known from previous excavations. Microstratigraphic investigation suggests that most of the deposit formed after dismantling of the vault of the rock shelter and due to wind input of loess deflated by the continental shelf. The occasional reactivation of the hydrology of the local karst system under more humid conditions further contributed to the formation of specific layers accumulating former Terra Rossa‐type soil fragments. Superposed on sedimentary processes, strong bioturbation and the mobilization and recrystallization of calcite have been detected. Optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) ages from Uluzzo C Rock Shelter are congruent with previously published radiocarbon ages obtained on shell beads and tephrachronology from adjacent sites preserving the Uluzzian technocomplex such as Grotta del Cavallo, confirming the onset for the Uluzzian in the area to ca. 39.2–42.0 ka. The OSL chronology from Uluzzo C also provides a terminus post quem for the end of the Mousterian in the region, constraining the disappearance of the Neanderthals in that part of Italy to ≥46 ± 4 ka.
Modelling organic aerosol over Europe in summer conditions
with the VBS-GECKO parameterization: sensitivity to
secondary organic compound properties and IVOC emissions

Abstract. The VBS-GECKO parameterization for secondary organic aerosol (SOA) formation was integrated in the chemistry-transport model CHIMERE. Concentrations of organic aerosol (OA) and SOA were simulated over Europe for the July–August 2013 period. Simulated concentrations with the VBS-GECKO were compared to results obtained with the former H2O parameterization implemented in CHIMERE and to observations from EMEP, ACTRIS and other observations available in the EBAS database. The model configuration using the VBS-GECKO parameterization slightly improves the performances compared to the model configuration using the former H2O parameterisation. The VBS-GECKO model configuration performs well for stations showing a large SOA concentration from biogenic sources, especially in northern Europe but underestimate OA concentrations over stations close to urban areas. Simulated OA was found to be mainly secondary (~ 85 %) and from terpene oxidation. Simulations show negligible contribution of the oxidation of mono-aromatic compounds to SOA production. Tests performed to examine the sensitivity of simulated OA concentrations to hydro-solubility, volatility, ageing rates and NOx regime have shown that the VBS-GECKO parameterization provides consistent results, with a weak sensitivity to changes in the parameters provided by the gas phase mechanism included in CHIMERE (e.g. HOx or NOx concentrations). Different emission scenarios (from heavy diesel to light gasoline fleet) were tested to examine the contribution of S/IVOC oxidation to SOA production. At the continental scale, these simulations show a weak sensitivity of OA concentrations to the vehicle fleet. At the local scale, accounting for IVOC emission was found to lead to a substantial increase of OA concentrations in the plume from urban areas, especially if diesel fleet case is assumed. This additional OA source remains too small to explain the gap between simulated and measured values at stations where anthropogenic sources are dominant.
Why Is the Alpine Flora Comparatively Robust against Climatic Warming?

The alpine belt hosts the treeless vegetation above the high elevation climatic treeline. The way alpine plants manage to thrive in a climate that prevents tree growth is through small stature, apt seasonal development, and ‘managing’ the microclimate near the ground surface. Nested in a mosaic of micro-environmental conditions, these plants are in a unique position by a close-by neighborhood of strongly diverging microhabitats. The range of adjacent thermal niches that the alpine environment provides is exceeding the worst climate warming scenarios. The provided mountains are high and large enough, these are conditions that cause alpine plant species diversity to be robust against climatic change. However, the areal extent of certain habitat types will shrink as isotherms move upslope, with the potential areal loss by the advance of the treeline by far outranging the gain in new land by glacier retreat globally.
In vitro study of BSA gel/polyelectrolite complexes core shell microcapsules encapsulating doxorubicin for antitumoral targeted treatment

Abstract The aim of this study is to develop core shell microcapsules of bovine serum albumin (BSA) gel with a complex polyelectrolite multilayer shell of natural polysaccharides with opposite charges, pectin (P), chitosan (Chi), and hyaluronic acid (HA) respectively, encapsulating Doxorubicin (Dox) as a carrier for targeted anti-tumoral treatment of hepatic cell carcinoma (HCC). A sacrificial CaCO3 template method was used in order to obtain microcapsules with a BSA gel core and a layer-by-layer (Lbl) deposition technique of polyelectrolite complexes formed between P/Chi in the inner layers and HA/Chi in the outer shell layers. The preformed microcapsules, BSA gel/P/Chi/HA, noted as ms, have been applied for Dox encapsulation (ms-Dox). Dox encapsulation and release in different pH media were studied in order to elucidate the interactions between pH dependently charged species involved in the Dox loading/releasing processes. The structure characterization of ms/ms-Dox was evaluated by FTIR and UV-Vis spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, thermal analy sis, optical microscopy, confocal laser scanning microscopy, and scanning electron microscopy. The in vitro study for citotoxicity assessment on normal and tumoral cells of both ms and ms-Dox was performed using mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) and Hep2G HCC cell lines. Results of physical-chemical analyses confirm the successful encapsulation of Dox in ms, and the in vitro biological study recommends ms-Dox as a candidate for future in vivo research as a targeted anti-tumoral treatment modality applications. Graphical Abstract
Exploring the Economic Potential of Sodium-Ion Batteries

Sodium-ion batteries (SIBs) are a recent development being promoted repeatedly as an economically promising alternative to lithium-ion batteries (LIBs). However, only one detailed study about material costs has yet been published for this battery type. This paper presents the first detailed economic assessment of 18,650-type SIB cells with a layered oxide cathode and a hard carbon anode, based on existing datasheets for pre-commercial battery cells. The results are compared with those of competing LIB cells, that is, with lithium-nickel-manganese-cobalt-oxide cathodes (NMC) and with lithium-iron-phosphate cathodes (LFP). A sensitivity analysis further evaluates the influence of varying raw material prices on the results. For the SIB, a cell price of 223 €/kWh is obtained, compared to 229 €/kWh for the LFP and 168 €/kWh for the NMC batteries. The main contributor to the price of the SIB cells are the material costs, above all the cathode and anode active materials. For this reason, the amount of cathode active material (e.g., coating thickness) in addition to potential fluctuations in the raw material prices have a considerable effect on the price per kWh of storage capacity. Regarding the anode, the precursor material costs have a significant influence on the hard carbon cost, and thus on the final price of the SIB cell. Organic wastes and fossil coke precursor materials have the potential of yielding hard carbon at very competitive costs. In addition, cost reductions in comparison with LIBs are achieved for the current collectors, since SIBs also allow the use of aluminum instead of copper on the anode side. For the electrolyte, the substitution of lithium with sodium leads to only a marginal cost decrease from 16.1 to 15.8 €/L, hardly noticeable in the final cell price. On the other hand, the achievable energy density is fundamental. While it seems difficult to achieve the same price per kWh as high energy density NMC LIBs, the SIB could be a promising substitute for LFP cells in stationary applications, if it also becomes competitive with LFP cells in terms of safety and cycle life.
Influence of rapid thermal annealing on the wafer warpage in 3D NAND flash memory

In this study, the wafer warpage resulting from common source line tungsten (CSL W) is investigated in 3D NAND flash memory. It is found that the warpage is related to the annealing conditions after CSL W deposition, and it reduces exponentially with increasing annealing temperature or linearly with increasing annealing time. This result shows that the effect of annealing temperature on warpage is greater than that of time. Consequently, spike annealing with a low thermal budget is proposed to achieve the desired reduction of warpage as long as the annealing temperature is adequate. This work provides an effective approach to solve the wafer warpage problem in 3D NAND flash memory manufacturing.
Tuning of nanoporous silica by electrospinning and sol-gel methods for efficient beryllium uptake

ABSTRACT Ordered meso-porous silica nanomaterials (MCM-41) were prepared by the sol-gel method. Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) analysis shows a surface area of about 1600 m2/g and a wide meso-pores distribution. Silica nanofibers (SNF) were prepared by electrospinning of a mixture of silica precursor and an easily electrospinnable polymer; polyvinyl alcohol. SNF were found to have an ordered micro-porous surface with surface area of 425 m2/g with average pore radius of 1.99 nm. Beryllium uptake capacities of MCM-41 and SNF were studied under different conditions. The uptake efficiency of SNF was superior to that of MCM-41; the maximum achieved efficiency was 45.8% and 92.7% for MCM-41 and SNF, respectively.
Personal Judgments and Emotional Reactions towards Online based Self-Service Technologies

Currently Self-Service Technologies (SSTs) become prominent in many service transactions. However, customer reactions towards SSTs may vary according to their personal evaluation of its suitability. Although tremendous growth is visible in practice, there has been a little exploration of consumer reactions towards SSTs in academic research. Thus, this study aims at identifying customers’ personal judgements and emotional reactions towards SSTs. Based on the inductive approach, qualitative inquiries with semi-structured interviews were carried out with 25 individuals. Data were analyzed using thematic analysis approach and found five emotional reactions and nine personal judgements which individuals differently bear for SSTs. These findings will provide insights for SST providers on understanding what customers feel about SSTs and how should these be changed to enhance customer acceptance of SSTs.
Flexible and Conductive Carbonized Cotton Fabrics Coupled with a Nanostructured Ni(OH)2 Coating for High Performance Aqueous Symmetric Supercapacitors

Flexible and wearable supercapacitor (SC) fabrics have received considerable research interests recently. However, their high hydrophobicity, poor conductivity, inferior capacitance, and low energy density remain a bottleneck to be solved. Herein, a highly flexible and conductive carbonized cotton fabric (CCF) covered by a unique nanostructured Ni(OH)2 layer is fabricated via a facile high-temperature carbonization process, followed by an electrochemical deposition (ED) treatment. The nanostructured Ni(OH)2 greatly improves the hydrophilicity of CCF to promote electrolyte penetration and offers abundant electroactive sites, leading to dramatically increased specific capacitance and operating potential window (OPW). The resultant Ni(OH)2@CCF is then applied as the electrode for an aqueous symmetric SC device. This device has an OPW of 1.4 V and exhibits a high specific capacitance of 131.43 F g–1 at the current density of 0.25 A g–1 with a high energy density (35.78 Wh kg–1 at a power density of 0.35 kW kg.
Two-stage reactive ion etching of AlGaN/GaN high electron mobility transistor type heterostructures

Three-dimensional geometrical shaping of semiconductor heterostructures could be realized through research of their etch rate and inclination side wall angle control. The formation of complicate shapes requires repeating several times the technological processes such as mask deposition, lithography, and heterostructures etching. In this article, experimental results of the study of double repeated reactive ion etching (RIE) process are presented, which was performed without the second photolithography process. This solution allows reducing the duration and costs of new piezotronic devices fabrication through decreasing the number of technological steps that are necessary for devices fabrication. Additionally, the evolution of depth and side walls inclination was studied during the second stage RIE. The two-stage RIE process allowed obtaining trenches of two different depths in the surface.Three-dimensional geometrical shaping of semiconductor heterostructures could be realized through research of their etch rate and inclination side wall angle control. The formation of complicate shapes requires repeating several times the technological processes such as mask deposition, lithography, and heterostructures etching. In this article, experimental results of the study of double repeated reactive ion etching (RIE) process are presented, which was performed without the second photolithography process. This solution allows reducing the duration and costs of new piezotronic devices fabrication through decreasing the number of technological steps that are necessary for devices fabrication. Additionally, the evolution of depth and side walls inclination was studied during the second stage RIE. The two-stage RIE process allowed obtaining trenches of two different depths in the surface.
LIL: Lightweight Incremental Learning Approach Through Feature Transfer for Remote Sensing Image Scene Classification

Existing deep learning models usually assume that all data obeys independent identically distribution, which is unreasonable in remote sensing. Due to the differences in camera parameters, spectral ranges, resolutions, and so on, the images acquired by remote sensing sensors may be greatly diverse, causing models to face catastrophic forgetting when they are trained on new data only. Thus, incremental learning is introduced. An ideal incremental learning model should be expanded as the number of tasks increases, so as to have enough ability to adapt to the changes in data. However, existing approaches normally expand heavy modules for each task, making the holistic models cumbersome. In this article, a lightweight incremental learning approach (LIL) is proposed for remote sensing image scene classification. We replace the role of the feature extractor with extracting features of a single task instead of task-sharing features of all tasks to lighten the backbone. In addition, we propose a light feature transfer module (FTM) to realize the alignment of data distributions between different tasks in the feature domain. Furthermore, dual-constraint loss with knowledge distillation and adversarial learning is introduced to promote the mapping and alignment of data distributions at both the feature level and the semantic level. In LIL, only a tiny FTM and a classifier are added to the model when the model learns a new task. Experimental results show that our approach with a small number of parameters outperforms state-of-the-art approaches for incremental learning on both a single dataset and a sequence of multiple datasets.
Green synthesis of magnetically recoverable Fe3O4/HZSM-5 and its Ag nanocomposite using Juglans regia L. leaf extract and their evaluation as catalysts for reduction of organic pollutants.

In this work, an Fe3O4/HZSM-5 nanocomposite was synthesised in the presence of Juglans regia L. leaf extract. Then, silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs) were immobilised on the surface of prepared magnetically recoverable HZSM-5 using selected extract for reduction of Ag+ ions to Ag NPs and their stabilisation on the surface of the nanocomposite. The reduction of Ag+ ions occurs at room temperature within a few minutes. Characterisation of the prepared catalysts has been carried out using fourier transform infrared (FT-IR), X-ray diffraction, field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), energy-dispersive spectroscopy, Brunauer-Emmett-Teller method, and a vibrating sample magnetometer. According to the FESEM images of the nanocomposites, the average size of the Ag NPs on the Fe3O4/HZSM-5 surface was >70 nm. The Ag/Fe3O4/HZSM-5 nanocomposite was a highly active catalyst for the reduction of methyl orange and 4-nitrophenol in aqueous medium. The utilisation of recycled catalyst for three times in the reduction process does not decrease its activity.
Hydrophilic self-immolative linkers and conjugates thereof

本開示は、適切な条件下で開裂可能であり、親水基を包含して化合物の溶解度を高める、親水性の自壊性リンカーを提供する。 本開示の化合物は、薬物部位、選択された細胞集団を標的とする能力のある標的化部位、並びに、アシル単位、薬物部位と標的化部位との間に距離を与えるための任意のスペーサー単位、適切な条件下で開裂可能であるペプチドリンカー、親水性の自壊性リンカー、及び任意の第二の自壊性スペーサー又は環化自己脱離リンカーを含むリンカーを含む。 【選択図】なし
Delivery of Fluc-mRNA using functionalised gold nanoparticles in vitro.

ii DECLARATION 1 – PLAGIARISM.iv DECLARATION 2 – PUBLICATIONS . v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS . vi DEDICATION.vii TABLE OF CONTENTS . viii LIST OF TABLES . xiii LIST OF FIGURES . xiv ABBREVIATIONS . xix CHAPTER ONE.
Modern Video Coding: Methods, Challenges and Systems

With the increasing demand for digital video applications in our daily lives, video coding and decoding become critical tasks that must be supported by several types of devices and systems. This paper presents a discussion of the main challenges to design dedicated hardware architectures based on modern hybrid video coding formats, such as the High Efficiency Video Coding (HEVC), the AOMedia Video 1 (AV1) and the Versatile Video Coding (VVC). The paper discusses eachstep of the hybrid video coding process, highlighting the main challenges for each codec and discussing the main hardware solutions published in the literature. The discussions presented in the paper show that there are still many challenges to be overcome and open research opportunities, especially for the AV1 and VVC codecs. Most of these challenges are related to the high throughput required for processing high and ultrahigh resolution videos in real time and to energy constraints of multimedia-capable devices.
Is growth in entrepreneurial activity truly beneficial for a prosperous and equitable economy?

ABSTRACT This study attempts to refine and extend the understanding of how entrepreneurial activity in combination with various institutional and economic factors may increase or decrease the levels of economic inequality of a country. We use fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) methodology to obtain various configurations that arise when dimensions based on the national business systems framework are combined with entrepreneurial activity measures. We analysed configurations for two years, 2010 and 2018. Our findings suggest that there are several configurations of different types of entrepreneurial activities and institutional factors that lead to income inequality. However, there are also several configurations that promote income equality.