Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Development and validation of a reduced mechanism for methane using a new integral algorithm in a premixed flame

A new algorithm based on Computational Singular Perturbation (CSP) is proposed to construct global reduced mechanism. The algorithm introduces species concentrations, species net production rates and heat release rates as integral weighting factors to integrate CSP-pointers, including radical pointers and fast reaction pointers, throughout the computational domain. A software package based on the algorithm was developed to make the reduction process more efficient. Input to the algorithm includes (i) the detailed mechanism, (ii) the numerical solution of the problem for a specific set of operating conditions, (iii) the number of quasi steady state (QSS) species. The proposed algorithm was applied to the reduction of GRI3.0 involving 53 species and 325 reactions leading to the development of a 15-species reduced mechanism with 10 lumped steps. Then the reduced mechanism was validated in a one-dimensional, unstretched, premixed, laminar steady flame over a wide range of equivalence ratio, and excellent agreements between results calculated with the detailed and the reduced mechanisms can be observed.
Feeding ecology of the marine cladoceran Penilia avirostris: natural diet, prey selectivity and daily ration

Penilia avirostris is an important component of the mesozooplankton of shelf waters dur- ing the stratification period. This study investigates the feeding ecology of P. avirostris under natural dietary conditions in the NW Mediterranean during their summer appearance. The results indicate that P. avirostris feeds on particles in a wide size range, mostly on nanoplankton (2 to 20 µm), includ- ing larger prey such as dinoflagellates and ciliates. Autotrophic and heterotrophic bacteria were not grazed on, but picoflagellates (<2 µm) were significant contributors to diet, indicating a narrow threshold of lower prey size. Ciliates were cleared at low rates which, at times, were not significant, probably because of their ability to escape feeding currents. Although this marine cladoceran is con- sidered to behave like a filter feeder, our results indicate that it can display variable selectivity pat- terns that do not only depend on prey size. During the strict oligotrophic conditions that were present in summer NW Mediterranean waters, daily rations of P. avirostris averaged 82% body C d -1 (range: 26 to 157%). Such feeding rates seem to be an adaptation to allow them to succeed under low food conditions and outcompete other components of the marine zooplankton, such as copepods.
Physical Fields During Construction and Operation of Wind Farms by Example of Polish Maritime Areas

Abstract The article discusses an important issue of technical pressure exerted on the marine environment during construction and operation of maritime wind farms (MFW) on waters of the Polish Exclusive Economic Zone. A motivation for analysing this issue is the need for attracting attention to the aspect of physical field modification as the factor which links large scale technical activity at sea with the existence and functioning of the marine ecosystem, including further consequences to its economic benefits. Based on current knowledge and authors' analyses, the scale of modifications (disturbances) of physical fields expected to take place during MFW construction and operation was assessed.
The Toxicity, Persistence and Mode of Actions of Selected Botanical Pesticides in Africa against Insect Pests in Common Beans, <i>P. vulgaris</i>: A Review

Common beans are affected by many insect pests such as bean leaf beetle, aphids, legume pod borer and bean beetles. Traditional and cultural practices such as site selection, crop rotation, intercropping and seed selection, sowing date are used to reduce the infestation of insect pests of common beans in the field and in storage rooms. Natural enemies such as predators, parasitoids and pathogens can control the insect pests. Synthetic pesticides such as cypermethion, carbaryl, and lambda-cyhalothrin have reported to be effective, but are toxic to people, destroy natural enemies and contaminate the environment. Botanical pesticides are the promising alternatives. This review paper explains toxicity, persistence and mode of actions of active ingredients of botanical pesticides. Rotenone from T. vogelii has the oral lethal dose (LD50) of 132 - 1500 mg/kg to mammals. It delays the electron transport chain in mitochondria of the insects and limits the cellular energy production. Azadirachtin is antifeedant and growth disruptor of insects. It has low toxicity to mammals. The oral LD50 in mammals is greater than 3540 mg/kg. Azadirachtin displays strong effects on chemoreceptors of the insects. Pyrethrins are axonic poisons and have repellent effects to insects. It is less toxic to mammals with the LD50 of about 1500 mg/Kg. It attacks the nervous systems of insects. Sesquiterpene lactones from T. diversifolia, Pentacyclic triterpenoids from Lantana camara, Vernodalin, Vernodalol and Epivernodalol from V. amygdalina have repellent and feeding deterrents chemicals which discourage the insects from feeding the crop. Most active ingredients of botanical pesticides have short life span in the environment.
APPLICATION OF EVOLUTIONARY POLYNOMIAL REGRESSION IN ULTRAFILTRATION SYSTEMS CONSIDERING THE EFFECT OF DIFFERENT PARAMETERS ON OILY WASTEWATER TREATMENT

In the present work, the effects of operating conditions including pH, transmembrane pressure, oil concentration, and temperature on fouling resistance and the rejection of turbidity for a polymeric membrane in an ultrafiltration system of wastewater treatment were studied. A new modeling technique called evolutionary polynomial regression (EPR) was investigated. EPR is a method based on regression algorithm, which combines the best properties of the conventional numerical regression technique. This paper employs the capability of EPR as a powerful tool to develop a formula with a variable number of polynomial coefficients. Herein, the evolutionary polynomial regression approach is adopted on two parametric studies, i.e. total fouling resistance and rejection rate. These parameters are all evaluated as a function of some mentioned independent variables. Maximum average error and minimum average error are obtained to be equal to 4.25% and 0.05%, respectively. Therefore, EPR is a practical and useful method to describe a membrane performance.
Consumer Preferences for Locally Made Specialty Food Products Across Northern New England

Does willingness to pay a premium for local specialty food products differ between consumers in Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont? Two food categories are investigated: low-end ($5) and high-end ($20) products. Premia estimates are compared across states and across base prices within states using dichotomous choice contingent valuation methods. Results suggest that the three states of northern New England have many similarities, including comparable price premia for the lower-priced good. However, there is some evidence that the premium for the higher-priced good is greater for the pooled Vermont and Maine treatment than for the New Hampshire treatment. Vermont and New Hampshire residents are willing to pay a higher premium for a $20 than for a $5 food item, while the evidence suggests that Maine residents are not.
Atmospheric Response Patterns Associated with Tropical Forcing

Abstract Atmospheric response patterns associated with tropical forcing are examined with general circulation models driven by global sea surface temperature (SST) variations during 1950–99. Specifically the sensitivity of midlatitude responses to the magnitude and position of tropical SST anomalies is explored. This controversial problem, spanning more than a quarter century now, centers on whether response patterns over the Pacific–North American region are affected or changed by inter–El Nino variability in tropical forcing. Ensemble methods are used in this study to reliably identify the signals related to various tropical SST forcings, and the sensitivity is determined from analysis of four different climate models. First, the fraction of Pacific–North American (PNA) wintertime 500-hPa height variability that is potentially predictable and is linked to interannual variations in the global SSTs is identified. This SST-forced component accounts for as much as 20%–30% of the total seasonal mean height v.
The diplacanthid fishes (Acanthodii, Diplacanthiformes, Diplacanthidae) from the Middle Devonian of Scotlan

The Diplacanthiformes are a clade of acanthodian fishes which were widespread during the Middle and early Late Devonian. They are best represented in the Middle Devonian, by articulated fossils, fin spines, and abundant scales, the latter particularly from northern Europe. Three species of diplacanthid diplacanthiforms, Diplacanthus crassisimus, Diplacanthus tenuistriatus, and Rhadinacanthus longispinus, are found in Middle Devonian (Eifelian–Givetian) assemblages of articulated fish in northern Scotland. Our detailed study of the dermal structures and endoskeletal shoulder girdles in these fish supports the validity of Rhadinacanthus as a separate genus from Diplacanthus, with the two being differentiated by spine morphology, scale morphology, and histology, and shape and form of the pectoral girdle. In Orkney and Caithness, D. crassisimus first occurs in the Thursius macrolepidotus vertebrate biozone and disappears by the Millerosteus minor + Thursius pholidotus vertebrate biozone. Diplacanthus tenuistriatus and R. longispinus range from the Coccosteus cuspidatus biozone to the end of the Millerosteus minor + Thursius pholidotus biozone. Through comparing the results of our detailed work on the morphology and histology of fin spines and scales from the articulated fish with diplacanthid taxa based on isolated scales and fin spines from the Baltic region, Belarus, and Severnaya Zemlya, we recognize many of the latter taxa from contemporary deposits as junior synonyms of the Scottish species. Phylogenetic analysis of selected gnathostome genera shows the diplacanthiforms Diplacanthus, Rhadinacanthus, Uraniacanthus, and Culmacanthus form a well-supported clade within a larger clade comprising all acanthodian taxa plus a monophyletic Chondrichthyes. Carole Burrow. Geosciences, Queensland Museum, 122 Gerler Rd, Hendra, Brisbane, Queensland 4011, Australia. carole.burrow@gmail.com Jan den Blaauwen. University of Amsterdam, Science Park 904, 1098 XH, Amsterdam, Netherlands. J.L. denBlaauwen@uva.nl Michael Newman. Vine Lodge, Vine Road, Johnston, Haverfordwest, Pembrokeshire, SA62 3NZ, United Kingdom. ichthyman@btinternet.com Robert Davidson. 35 Millside Road, Peterculter, Aberdeen, AB14 0WG, United Kingdom. Bob.Davidson@nexencnoocltd.com
Exploring Country Types: An Institutional Theory Perspective

Segmentation studies in marketing largely pertain to a particular product or company within a particular region or country. Furthermore, international segmentation studies have predominantly focused on high income economies, also referred to as the developed world. However, the world is undergoing significant change with the gross domestic product growth in high-income economies lagging behind middle to lower income countries, otherwise known as emerging markets. These changes suggest it is important that we start to make sense of these diverse emerging markets, soon to be the focus of marketing strategies. In order to understand these differences, the study combined the constituents of institutional theory into a model approach of latent class cluster analysis. The results concluded institutional theory is a prevailing explanation for differences between high-income, middleincome and low-income countries. It further emphasized that using only one measure of classification (such as GDP per capita) does not highlight the significant heterogeneity that exists within these classifications of economies.
ACTIN GENE IDENTIFICATION FROM SELECTED MEDICINAL PLANTS FOR THEIR USE AS INTERNAL CONTROLS FOR GENE EXPRESSION STUDIES

Internal control genes are the constitutive genes which maintain the basic cellular functions and regularly express in both normal and stressed conditions in living organisms. They are used in normalization of gene expression studies in comparative analysis of target genes, as their expression remains comparatively unchanged in all varied conditions. Among internal control genes, actin is considered as a candidate gene for expression studies due to its vital role in shaping cytoskeleton and plant physiology. Unfortunately most of such knowledge is limited to only model plants or crops, not much is known about important medicinal plants. Therefore, we selected seven important medicinal wild plants for molecular identification of actin gene. We used gene specific primers designed from the conserved regions of several known orthologues or homologues of actin genes from other plants. The amplified products of ~370-380 bp were sequenced and submitted to GeneBank after their confirmation using different bioinformatics tools. All the novel partial sequences of putative actin genes were submitted to GeneBank [Parthenium hysterophorus (KJ774023), Fagonia indica (KJ774024), Rhazya stricta (KJ774025), Whithania coagulans (KJ774026), Capparis decidua (KJ774027), Verbena officinalis (KJ774028) and Aerva javanica (KJ774029)]. The comparisons of these partial sequences by Basic Local Alignment Search Tool (BLAST) and phylogenetic trees demonstrated high similarity with known actin genes of other plants. Our findings illustrated highly conserved nature of actin gene among these selected plants. These novel partial fragments of actin genes from these wild medicinal plants can be used as internal controls for future gene expression studies of these important plants after precise validations of their stable expression in such plants.
The role of environmental attitude in a nature-based festival: The case of Boryeong Mud Festival

Drawing on consumer behavioral constructs, scholars have varying worked with festival organizers to maximize the success of promoted events and although their scholarship has augmented literature on festival management it has nonetheless tended to ignore other complementary constructs such as environmental attitudes, particularly as relates to nature-based festivals. Thus, this study examines the role of environmental attitudes on visitors' perception of and satisfaction with a nature-based festival. It augments extant research on festivals vis-a-vis the incorporation of environmental attributes to the established work on consumer behavioral constructs. Boryeong Mud Festival, a popular nature-based festival in South Korea, is the site at which the current study was undertaken. A questionnaire designed to measure visitors' evaluation of the festival and to examine their environmental attitude was administered and the findings indicate that visitors' perception of the nature-based festival is related to their environmental attitudes.
Synthetic shoes attenuate hoof impact in the trotting warmblood horse

Impact is considered the most critical part of the stance phase for the development of chronic articular disorders such as osteoarthritis in the equine distal limb. Modern, synthetic shoeing materials are believed to modify impact and therefore are often used to treat and/or prevent lameness due to chronic joint disorders. Scientific evidence is scarce, however, to prove this. Hoof impact of forelimb was compared quantitatively in a group of horses under three conditions: unshod, classical steel shoes and shod with a synthetic shoe. Twelve sound warmblood horses were trotted by hand on an asphalt track at a mean speed of 3.5ms 21 and measured in a Latin square design (unshod condition, with steel shoes and with polyurethane (PU) shoes) using a triaxial accelerometer that had been fixed to the lateral hoof wall of the left forelimb. The sampling frequency was set at 10kHz per channel. The maximum amplitude of vertical and horizontal, forward/backward accelerations at hoof impact was lowest when shod using the PU shoeing condition (P , 0.05), but the duration of the impact vibrations was lowest when unshod. PU shoes cause more damping, less friction and slower shock absorption at hoof level compared with the other two conditions and thus modify impact. Synthetic, polyurethane shoes may help in reducing peak vibrations. These short-term effects appear to be promising enough to evaluate PU shoes under field conditions in reducing impact on the longer term after substantial wear and tear. Furthermore, the possible role of synthetic materials in repairing critical tissues or even in preventing osteoarthritis in horses warrants further investigation.
Correlation Power Analysis of Large Word Sizes

Side channel analysis can be used to derive se- cret/private keys used in na¨ove implementations of cryptographic algorithms. Such attacks typically involve demonstrating the rela- tionship between the data being manipulated by a microprocessor or FPGA, and the instantaneous power consumption of the device. When statistical power attacks are applied to software implementa- tions of block ciphers, the secret key can be derived in stages dictated by the size of the substitution tables (S-boxes) used. When statis- tical power attacks are applied to other algorithms that make use of 32-bit, or larger, variables, the complexity of a statistical power attack is dictated by the size of the machine word used by a micro- processor. This paper provides a method of reducing the complexity of statistical power analysis when attacking algorithms implemented on 32-bit microprocessors. It is also demonstrated that this method can be applied to hardware implementations, as found in coproces- sors used in smart cards. Keywords — Side Channel Analysis, Hardware DES Implementa- tions, Smart Cards.
An Adaptive Neuro Fuzzy Hybrid Control Strategy for a Semiactive Suspension with Magneto Rheological Damper

The main function of a vehicle suspension system is to isolate the vehicle body from external excitation in order to improve passenger comfort and road holding and to stabilise its movement. This paper considers the implementation of an adaptive neuro fuzzy inference system (ANFIS) with a fuzzy hybrid control technique to control a quarter vehicle suspension system with a semiactive magneto rheological (MR) damper. A quarter car suspension model is set up with an MR damper and a semiactive controller consisting of a fuzzy hybrid skyhook-groundhook controller and an ANFIS model is also designed. The fuzzy hybrid controller is used to generate the desired control force, and the ANFIS is designed to model the inverse dynamics of MR damper in order to obtain a desired current. Finally, numerical simulations of the semiactive suspensions with the ANFIS-hybrid controller, the traditional hybrid controller, and passive suspension are compared. The results of simulations show that the proposed ANFIS-hybrid controller provides better isolation performance than the other controllers.
E-waste management practises in the Kumasi Metropolitan Area of Ghana : status and challenges

ix 1.0 INTRODUCTION 1 1.1 Background 1 1.2 Objective of the study 4 1.3 Research Questions 4 2.0 LITERATURE REVIEW 5 2.1 What is E-waste 5 2.2 E-waste in the Global context 6 2.3 The E-waste flow chart 9 2.3.1Flow chart; informal sector 10 2.3.2 Flow chart; formal sector 11 3.0 MATERIALS AND METHODS 13 3.1 Study setting 13 3.2 Research design 14 3.3 Validity and reliability 15 3.4 Data collection procedure 16
Engineering a Venture Capital Market: Lessons from the American Experience

This paper seeks to identify the core of the U.S. venture capital contracting model, and then assess the extent to which the model provides guidance in engineering venture capital markets in other countries and, in particular, in identifying a viable role for government in assisting that project. All financial contracts respond to three central contracting problems: uncertainty, information asymmetry and opportunism in the form of agency costs. The special character of venture capital contracting is shaped by the fact that investing in early stage, high technology companies presents these problems in extreme form. The genius of U.S. venture capital contracting lies in the use of powerful incentives coupled with powerful monitoring for all participants in the process, the braiding of the investor/venture capital fund and venture capital fund/portfolio company contracts, especially with respect to the role of exit and reputation, and the critical role of implicit contracts, especially through the reputation market, to support the dense set of explicit contracts comprising the structure of venture capital contracting. The paper then illustrates the implications of this analysis through consideration of three different government programs - a remarkably unsuccessful early effort in Germany; a more recent, more successful program in Israel; and a newly launched program in Chile.
Rainfall analysis in the northern region of Peninsular Malaysia

Modeling of rainfall is important for assessing the possible impacts of climate change. To achieve accurate projections of rainfall events, availability of sufficient hydrological station data is critical. Precipitation is one of the most important meteorological variables for hydrological modeling. In cases where long series of observed precipitation are not available, they can be stochastically generated by weather generators. Advanced Weather Generator (AWE-GEN) has been proven to generate precipitation data at the temperate climate regions with Gamma distribution being incorporated in the model to represent rainfall intensity. However, in a tropical climate such as Malaysia, some studies disputed the incorporation of Gamma distribution. As such, in this study, Weibull a heavy tail distribution is proposed to be used. The AWE-GEN has well performed in the wetter region such as the eastern of the peninsular. However, rainfall distribution within Peninsular Malaysia is highly variable temporally and spatially. The northern region is drier especially during the southwest monsoon season. This region receives minimal rain during the northeast monsoon due to the presence of the Titiwangsa Range which obstructs the region from getting rain by the north easterly winds. Therefore, the objectives of the study are two-fold. First, this study compares the performance of Gamma and Weibull that are incorporated in the AWE-GEN in simulating rainfall series for the northern region of the peninsular. Second, the monthly rainfall and the extreme rainfall series are simulated using the better distribution. The performances of Gamma and Weibull distributions are compared using the goodness of fit test, Root Mean Square Error (RMSE). Results showed that Gamma is the better distribution in simulating rainfall at rainfall stations located at the outer parts of the northern coast whereas Weibull is the better distribution for stations located in the interior parts of the northern coast. Hourly and daily extreme rainfalls seem to be well captured at all stations. Similarly, wet spell length is well simulated while in contrast, dry spell length is slightly underestimated at all stations. Overall, Gamma and Weibull produce commendable results in simulating extreme rainfall as well as wet spell length throughout the northern region of the peninsular. (c) 2017 The Authors. Published by IASE.