Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Hybridisation of institutional logics and civil society organisations' advocacy in Kenya

Managerialist logic has become dominant in development policy and practice. However, in recent years, the Dutch government is seeking to adopt social transformation approaches to development interventions. The implementation of social transformation ideas takes place in an environment dominated by managerialism. However, our understanding of how the logic of social transformation and managerialism collide or come into conflict and the pathways through which the managerialist principles dominate the social transformation principles is limited. Drawing on qualitative data from the Strategic Partnerships (SP) and Accountability Fund (AF) policy instruments for civil society organisations in Kenya, we find that in practice, the social transformation principles underpinning the SP and AF ‘vaporise’ or get lost during implementation due to the wider aid system within which they are embedded. We highlight the implications of the broader aid system on attempts by donor agencies to shift from managerialism towards a social transformation perspective on development.
cyanobacterial mats from a thermal

The effect of some important nutritional and growth conditions on the released polysaccharides (RPS) by Anabaena variabilis and Nostoc muscorum which were grown on the standard BG11 medium was studied. The decrease, and/or increase in the concentrations of nitrate and carbonate caused reduction in the RPS production as compared with the standard one. The RPS production was increased with increasing phosphate concentration and with decreasing the concentrations of magnesium and calcium. The RPS production exhibited a reduction at the lowest and the highest pH values. The modified nutrient medium did not cause any increase in the RPS production. The results demonstrated that the standard BG11 medium at 30 o C with continuous aeration and illumination was the best for the maximum production of RPS in both organisms. The intrinsic viscosity of the RPS showed its maxima in 1% MgSO 4 and 1% CaCl 2 at the RPS viscosity concentration The viscosity of the RPS also showed a considerable stability under elevated values of temperature, pH and ionic strength. The RPS of tested organisms can produce gelling properties with the solutions of FeCl 3 or CaCl 2 providing another proof for their anionic characters.
Representational Similarity Between Brain Activity Elicited by Concrete Nouns and Image Based Semantic Models

How concepts are represented and organised is a key question in cognitive science and is relevant to the design of artificial semantic systems. Neuroimaging techniques allow questions concerning neural representations to be directly addressed. A number of advances have recently been made that ingeniously use models from computational linguistics to predict fMRI activation (Mitchell et al., 2008, Murphy et al., 2009, 2011). In last years VL Object ρ=0.278261, p=0.028; Surround ρ=0.60, p=0.0002. Consistent with the previous comparison to behavioural measures Surround best explains the brain data. An implication of these results is that visual context has importance for neural encoding of objects and therefore that the (visual) distributional hypothesis is relevant also for fMRI activation. This is in line with the findings of Mitchell et al. [2008] which highlighted the significance of linguistic context. In future work we shall extend the coverage of artificial concept models and examine how text and image models can be used to segregate neural anatomic regions associated with linguistic and visual experience.
Design of an Highly Efficient AC-DC-AC Three-Phase Converter Using SiC for UPS Applications

With the constant increase of energy consumption in the world, the efficiency of systems and equipment is becoming more important. Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) is an equipment that provides safe and reliable supply for critical load systems, that is, systems where a supply interruption can lead to economical or even human losses. The Double Conversion UPS is the most complete UPS class in terms of load protection, regulation, performance, and reliability, however, it has lower efficiency and higher cost because of its high number of power converters. Silicon Carbide devices are emerging as an opportunity to construct power converters with higher efficiency and higher power density. The main purpose of this work is to design a three-phase AC-DC-AC converter using Silicon Carbide for Double Conversion UPS applications. The aim is to maximize efficiency and minimize volume and mass. The methodologies to size and choose the main hardware components are described in detail. Experimental results obtained with the prototype prove the high efficiency and high power density achievable with Silicon Carbide Metal Oxide Semiconductor Field Effect Transistor (MOSFETs).
Clusters partition and zonal voltage regulation for distribution networks with high penetration of PVs

Integration of distributed generation (DG) at large scale with high penetration challenges the radial structure of the traditional distribution networks and the effectiveness of the conventional voltage regulation methods. In this study, the clusters partitioning and voltage regulation are researched. The modified electrical distance is introduced. An effective method, based on spectral clustering algorithm, is proposed for the partitioning of the DG network via the judgement of critical load buses. Two-stage voltage regulation optimisation is realised in each sub-community. The optimal objects are the minimal voltage fluctuation and the network loss of the distributed network. The independent variables are reactive-power absorption and active-power curtailment for each controllable photovoltaic node. An advanced particle swarm optimisation algorithm is applied to the voltage regulation for the sub-communities. After a case study of the IEEE 33-bus system, a regional distribution network in Anhui province of China is analysed. Simulation results indicate that the node voltages are stabilised with the improvement of power quality employing the proposed clusters partitioning method and zonal power control scheme.
Characterization of Senecavirus A Isolates Collected From the Environment of U.S. Sow Slaughter Plants

Vesicular disease caused by Senecavirus A (SVA) is clinically indistinguishable from foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) and other vesicular diseases of swine. When a vesicle is observed in FMD-free countries, a costly and time-consuming foreign animal disease investigation (FADI) is performed to rule out FMD. Recently, there has been an increase in the number of FADIs and SVA positive samples at slaughter plants in the U.S. The objectives of this investigation were to: (1) describe the environmental burden of SVA in sow slaughter plants; (2) determine whether there was a correlation between PCR diagnostics, virus isolation (VI), and swine bioassay results; and (3) phylogenetically characterize the genetic diversity of contemporary SVA isolates. Environmental swabs were collected from three sow slaughter plants (Plants 1-3) and one market-weight slaughter plant (Plant 4) between June to December 2020. Of the 426 samples taken from Plants 1-3, 304 samples were PCR positive and 107 were VI positive. There was no detection of SVA by PCR or VI at Plant 4. SVA positive samples were most frequently found in the summer (78.3% June-September, vs. 59.4% October-December), with a peak at 85% in August. Eighteen PCR positive environmental samples with a range of Ct values were selected for a swine bioassay: a single sample infected piglets (n = 2). A random subset of the PCR positive samples was sequenced; and phylogenetic analysis demonstrated co-circulation and divergence of two genetically distinct groups of SVA. These data demonstrate that SVA was frequently found in the environment of sow slaughter plants, but environmental persistence and diagnostic detection was not indicative of whether a sampled was infectious to swine. Consequently, a more detailed understanding of the epidemiology of SVA and its environmental persistence in the marketing chain is necessary to reduce the number of FADIs and aide in the development of control measures to reduce the spread of SVA.
Construction of PPSU-MoS2/PA-MIL-101(Cr) Membrane with Highly Enhanced Permeance and Stability for Organic Solvent Nanofiltration

Membranes with excellent separation performance and stability are needed for organic solvent nanofiltration in industrial separation and purification processes. Here we reported a newly PPSU-MoS2/PA-MIL-101(Cr) composite membrane with high permeance, good selectivity and stability. The MIL-101(Cr) was introduced in the polyamide (PA) layer via the PIP/TMC interfacial polymerization process on a microporous PPSU-MoS2 substrate. At a small doping amount of 0.005 wt% MIL-101(Cr), the PPSU-MoS2/PA-MIL-101(Cr) composite membrane exhibited a high methanol permeance of 12.03 L m−2 h−1 bar−1, twice higher than that of the pristine membrane without sacrificing selectivity. Furthermore, embedding MIL-101(Cr) notably enhanced the stability of the composite membrane, with permeance only decreasing by 8% after a long time operation of 80 h (pristine membrane decreased by 25%). This work demonstrated a composite membrane modified by MIL-101(Cr) with superior separation performance, which provides potential application of MOF materials for high-performance membranes in organic solvent nanofiltration and a theoretical foundation for future research in studying MOF’s influence on membrane properties.
The enhancon mechanism in string theory

The enhancon mechanism is a specific phenomenon in string theory which resolves a certain naked spacetime singularity arising in the supergravity description related to N = 2 supersymmetric pure gauge theory. After reviewing the problem of singularities in general relativity as well as in string theory, and discussing the prototypical enhancon example constructed by wrapping D6-branes on a K3 surface, the thesis presents three generalisations to this static spherically symmetric case pertaining to large N SU{N) gauge theory. First we will use orientifolds to show how the enhancon mechanism also works in similar situations related to SO(2N + 1), USp(2N) and SO{2N) gauge theories. Second we will wrap D-brane distributions on K3 to obtain the enhancon in oblate, toroidal and prolate shapes. Third we will study a rotating enhancon configuration and consider its implications for the black hole entropy and the second law of thermodynamics.
THE EVALUATION OF MESH CHARACTERISTICS OF THE CAR MODELING AND SIMULATION USING CFD ANALYSIS

In a car CFD simulation, different types of mesh could change the output of the simulation and may differ with the results gathered using wind tunnel experiment. Therefore, adjusting and getting the best mesh for the simulated car model is an important step in a CFD simulation. This study investigated the effect of the different number of elements on a saloon car CFD simulation. The elements themselves have a similar mesh quality, but the number of elements ranged from just over a couple hundred thousand to over 3 million elements. The results show that with this number of mesh, the accuracy did not increase significantly even though the elements multiplied in amount. It is suggested that simulation with higher number of elements might be the best choice if the facilities are supportive. It is also shown that the lower number of elements could be an alternative because the accuracy is sufficient.
Determination of the Phenolic Profile by Liquid Chromatography, Evaluation of Antioxidant Activity and Toxicity of Moroccan Erica multiflora, Erica scoparia, and Calluna vulgaris (Ericaceae)

This study aimed to investigate the phenolic profile and selected biological activities of the leaf and aerial extracts of three Ericaceae species, namely Erica multiflora, Erica scoparia, and Calluna vulgaris, collected from three different places in the north of Morocco. The phenolic composition of all extracts was determined by LC coupled with photodiode array and mass spectrometry detection. Among the investigated extracts, that of E. scoparia aerial parts was the richest one, with a total amount of polyphenols of 9528.93 mg/kg. Up to 59 phenolic compounds were detected: 52 were positively identified and 49 quantified—11 in C. vulgaris, 14 in E. multiflora, and 24 in E. scoparia. In terms of chemical classes, nine were phenolic acids and 43 were flavonoids, and among them, the majority belonged to the class of flavonols. The antioxidant activity of all extracts was investigated by three different in vitro methods, namely DPPH, reducing power, and Fe2+ chelating assays; E. scoparia aerial part extract was the most active, with an IC50 of 0.142 ± 0.014 mg/mL (DPPH test) and 1.898 ± 0.056 ASE/mL (reducing power assay). Further, all extracts were non-toxic against Artemia salina, thus indicating their potential safety. The findings attained in this work for such Moroccan Ericaceae species, never investigated so far, bring novelty to the field and show them to be valuable sources of phenolic compounds with interesting primary antioxidant properties.
Nexus between Savings, Investment and Economic Growth in Nepal (1975-2020): Evidence from ARDL Bounds Testing Approach

Background: There are different sources of economic growth, including domestic savings for capital formation. Domestic savings mobilized into the expansion of productive capacity of an economy adds economic growth and thereby reinforces investment and savings. Gross savings and capital formation matter for the economic growth of Nepal. Objective: The study's main objective is to inspect the nexus between gross domestic saving, gross capital formation, and economic growth in Nepal. Methodology: This study uses the Auto-Regressive Distributive Lag (ARDL) approach to cointegration. Zivot-Andrews (ZA) unit root test has been used to check for a structural break in data, and the Bounds test has been carried out to explore the existence of a long-run association between variables. Results: The empirical outcomes pointed out a positive and significant long-run relationship between gross domestic savings, gross capital formation, and economic growth in Nepal. Zivot-Andrews unit root tests reveal a structural break in the data set. Causality result indicates a unidirectional linkage from gross investment to growth, economic growth to gross domestic saving, and a bidirectional linkage between gross domestic savings and gross investment. Conclusion: The study concludes that an increase in the productive capability through increased saving and investment in the productive sector helps increase the economic growth in Nepal. So, gross domestic savings, gross investment, and economic growth are associated in the long run with one structural break. Implications: The study implies that real economic growth in Nepal can be enlarged if the government of Nepal focuses on an increase in saving and make strong provisions for mobilizing and investing such savings into productive sectors of the economy. Originality: This paper is original and has not been published in other publications. Similarly, no financial support has been received while working on this paper. Paper Type: Research paper
Constant off-Time Digital Current-Mode Controlled Boost Converters With Enhanced Stability Boundary

The right-half-plane (RHP) zero in a continuous conduction mode boost converter results in a significantly restricted closed-loop bandwidth (BW) for higher voltage gain and/or load current conditions. A compensating ramp is used for current-mode control (CMC), and a higher ramp slope degrades the BW. Variable-frequency digital CMC offers inherent current-loop stability and real-time tuning scope for higher closed-loop BW. However, the challenges are to select the sampling frequency and sampling instant of the output voltage with discontinuous ripple due to the effective series resistance of the output capacitor, and its impact on stability. This paper shows that an event-based current-mode constant off-time digital modulator achieves superior stability and performance in a boost converter along with the reduced RHP zero effect over other digital CMC techniques. Using a discrete-time framework, the fast-scale stability conditions and small-signal models are analytically derived for various digital CMC techniques, which are validated using SIMPLIS simulation. A boost converter prototype is tested, and the analytical predictions are verified experimentally. Further, the analysis is extended to a non-inverting buck–boost converter.
The island/non-island distinction in long-distance extraction: Evidence from L2 acceptability

Experimental studies regularly find that extraction out of an embedded clause (“long-distance extraction”) results in a substantial degradation in acceptability but that the degradation is much greater when the embedded clause is an island structure. We explore these two facts by means of a series of acceptability experiments with L1 and L2 speakers of English. We find that the L2 speakers show greater degradation than L1 speakers for extraction out of non-islands, even though the two groups behave very similarly for extraction out of islands. Moreover, the L2 degradation with non-islands becomes smaller and more L1-like as exposure to the language increases. These initially surprising findings make sense if we assume that speakers must actively construct environments in which extraction out of embedded clauses is possible and that learning how to do this takes time. Evidence for this view comes from cross-linguistic variation in long-distance extraction, long-distance extraction in child English, and lexical restrictions on long-distance extraction. At a broader level, our results suggest that long-distance extraction does not come “for free” once speakers have acquired embedded clauses and extraction.
Analytical solutions of 3D heat conduction in flux channels with nonuniform properties complex structure

In the microelectronics industry, thermal issues due to self-heating are major problems that affect the performance, efficiency, and reliability of devices. The recent trend of producing advanced devices with smaller sizes, high power densities, and extreme performance makes thermal management an increasingly important factor in the development of microelectronic systems. In most applications, the microelectronic systems are modeled as rectangular flux channels, where heat is generated in one or more small heat-source areas and flows by conduction through the system to spread the heat into a larger convective heat-sink area, where the generated heat is then transferred by convection into an ambient fluid. In this work, analytical solutions for the temperature distribution and thermal resistance in three-dimensional (3D) flux channels with nonuniform properties and complex structures are obtained. First, general analytical solutions in 3D isotropic flux channels with nonuniform heat transfer coefficients along the sink plane are presented using the method of separation of variables combined with the method of least squares. Different parametric studies have been conducted to study the effect of different variable heat transfer coefficient functions with the same average conductance on the temperature field. Second, general analytical solutions of 3D isotropic flux channels with temperature-dependent thermal conductivities and a uniform heat transfer coefficient along the sink plane are presented by means of the Kirchhoff transform method. The solutions are used to study the effect of the temperature-dependent thermal conductivity on the temperature rise and thermal resistance for different conductivity functions. Third, general analytical solutions in 3D flux channels of multilayered structures consisting of a finite number of orthotropic layers with constant and temperature-dependent thermal conductivities are obtained. All the analytical solutions have been verified by conducting numerical simulations based on the finite element method (FEM) using the Analysis of Systems (ANSYS) software package.
Synthesising KV‐DRRs from MV‐DRs with fractal hourglass convolutional network

During a radiation treatment, the images of kilovoltage digital reconstructed radiograph (KV-DRR) and megavoltage digital radiograph (MV-DR) are registered to guide the therapy. Such registration is difficult since the images belong to different modalities. To reduce the difficulty, a fractal convolutional network is developed to map MV-DR images into the modality of KV-DRRs. The key idea is to split a hourglass-shape network into multiple similar networks at reduced scale, yielding a fractal topology that is self-similar at multiple scales. This division allows to predict images of unprecedented high resolution at low graphics processing unit memory usage. Experiments demonstrate that perceptual plausible and numerical accurate results are achieved out-competing recent alternative architectures.
Evaluating the Readiness Level of Additively Manufactured Digital Spare Parts: An Industrial Perspective

Additive manufacturing of digital spare parts offers promising new possibilities for companies to drastically shorten lead times and to omit storage costs. However, the concept of digital spare parts has not yet gained much footing in the manufacturing industry. This study aims to identify grounds for its selective rejection. Conducted from a corporate perspective, outlining a holistic supply chain network structure to visualize different digital spare part distribution scenarios, this survey study evaluates technical and economic additive manufacturing capabilities. Results are analyzed and discussed further by applying the Mann-Whitney test to examine the influence of the company size and the presence of 3D-printed end-use components within supply networks on gathered data. Machines’ limited build chamber volumes and the necessity of post-processing are considered as the main technical challenges of current additive manufacturing processes. Furthermore, it can be concluded that company sizes have a significant effect on perceived technological limitations. Overall, the results lead to the conclusion that the readiness level of the digital spare parts concept demands for further development.
The Collision Between the Classroom Voice(s) and the Voice of the Mainstream Culture on End-of-Life to Cultivate Students' Attitudes Toward Death in China

Using Bakhtin's notion of polyphony, this study explored the discussion of the end-of-life issues in the Course on Life and Death Education in one Chinese university. Ethnographic methods were adopted to investigate the collision between the classroom voices and the voices of the mainstream culture on end-of-life in the process of developing students' attitudes toward death. The findings revealed that “to understand death” involved challenging the voice of “strangeness and fear of death”; “honestly facing up to and accepting the feelings of the fear, pain, and helplessness” was the response to “be brave”; and the goal “to die peacefully” resisted the notion of “extending life at any cost. ” Through the collision between these voices, students developed their attitudes toward death in facing, understanding, accepting, and choosing how to die. The analysis further revealed that providing only one “answer” to death by the teacher is not sufficient or effective to foster students' attitudes toward death because the students are a diverse group holding different views on the end-of-life issues, which demonstrated the importance of creating dialogues in the life and death education.