Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The impact of financial aspect on procurement procedures in achieving sustainable public procurement: A case of Zanzibar urban services project

The current study examined the impact of financial aspects in achieving sustainable public procurement at the Zanzibar Urban Services Project. To achieve this objective, the study used a questionnaire and documentary review checklist to collect data on identifying the impact of financial aspects on sustainable public procurement. The study used a case study design using Zanzibar Urban Services Project. Both primary and secondary data were collected through questionnaires and documentary reviews. The researcher employed the probability sampling technique specifically stratified sampling technique to sample 107 out of 153 individuals from the field and content analysis for documentary review. Descriptive analysis was used to analyse preliminary data and lastly multiple regression analysis modals was used to measure the relationship among variables. Study results indicated that in spite of the contribution of financial aspects in procurement, there is a challenge of undermining the emphasis of other non-financial aspects in procurement procedures. It was also confirmed that there is a need of balancing between financial, social and environmental aspects which are argued to achieve sustainable public procurement.
Employing lidar data to identify butterfly habitat characteristics of four contrasting butterfly species across a diverse landscape

Lidar and orthophotograph-derived land cover are combined with in situ vegetation measurements to assess habitat characteristics typifying four species of butterflies with differing habitat preferences across a large spatial extent (∼30,000 ha) in northern Idaho, USA. Lidar data are employed to characterize both vegetation structure and topography, whereas digital orthophotographs and in situ vegetation measurements are employed to quantify surrounding land use and larval host plant cover, respectively. Non-metric multidimensional scaling (NMDS) ordination identified nine environmental variables that were strongly related to butterfly species composition and community structure. Logistic and standard regression models were developed based on these variables to predict the presence and density of each butterfly species, respectively. We found that lidar-derived variables described more butterfly habitat characteristics than orthophotograph-derived variables or ground measurements, demonstrating the value of lidar in describing diverse habitat characteristics. However, the strongest models observed in our study use both the local- and landscape-scale variables derived from both remote-sensing data and in situ ground measurements. We conclude that combining lidar and other remotely sensed data with in situ vegetation measurements allows for an effective in-depth, large-area evaluation of local- and landscape-scale butterfly habitat structure across a diverse ecosystem.
Quantifying the Microeconomic and Macroeconomic Impact of the Recent Crude Oil Price Fluctuations

This study analyzed the potential impact of the increased oil volatility on the industries and the global economy. Specifically, it separated the oil price fluctuations into positive and negative components, and modeled the return of industry portfolios with them. Next, the sensitivity of the airline industry to oil price was investigated to gauge the effectiveness of their hedging strategies, with the hope that the methodology can be extended to other industries. In addition, this paper explored the macroeconomic impact of oil price movements by examining the benchmarks such as GDP and CPI.
Ballistic electrons in an open square geometry: Selective probing of resonant-energy states

We report on the interplay between classical trajectories and quantum-mechanical effects in a square geometry. At low magnetic fields the four-terminal resistance is dominated by phenomena that depend on ballistic trajectories in a classical billiard. Superimposed on these classical effects are quantum interference effects manifested by highly periodic conductance oscillations. Numerical analysis shows that these oscillations are directly related to excitations of particular eigenstates in the square. In spite of open leads, transport through an open cavity is effectively mediated by just a few (or even a single) resonant-energy states. The leads injecting electrons into the cavity play a decisive role in a selection of the particular set of states excited in the dot. The above selection rule sets a specific frequency of the oscillations seen in the experiment. {copyright} {ital 1997} {ital The American Physical Society}
Physical function in children/adolescents with chronic kidney disease and the impact of exercise intervention: a protocol for systematic review and meta-analysis

Introduction Impaired physical function is relatively common in children/adolescents with chronic kidney disease (CKD), affecting not only patients’ daily lives but also the efficiency of later treatment and rehabilitation. Exercise is a recognised intervention to improve physical function and quality of life in adult patients with CKD. However, implementing this strategy in paediatric/adolescent populations remains relatively limited. For exercise training to be widely delivered as part of paediatric public health policy, a better understanding of the physical function and the impact of exercise interventions in children/adolescents with CKD is needed. Methods and analysis A systematic review and meta-analysis will be conducted following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines to compare physical function in children/adolescents with CKD with healthy controls and the impact of exercise interventions on their outcomes. The systematic review will search the following databases: PubMed, Embase, Scopus and Web of Science. We will use the Risk Of Bias In Non-Randomised Studies-of Interventions and the second edition of the Cochrane Risk of Bias to assess the quality of the literature. Where feasible, we will conduct random effects meta-analyses where appropriate. If possible, we will conduct subgroup analyses to explore potential sources of heterogeneity. Ethics and dissemination Due to the nature of the protocol, ethical approval is not required. We will follow the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines to disseminate the study results through publication and conference presentations. PROSPERO registrationnumber CRD42023416208.
Scattering of electromagnetic plane waves by a spheroid uniformly moving in free space

We investigate the scattering process, generated by a plane electromagnetic field that is incident upon a moving perfectly conducting spheroid. An accurate treatment of the electromagnetic waves interaction with scatterers in uniform motion is based on the special relativity principle. In the object's frame the incident wave is assumed to have a wavelength which is much larger than the characteristic dimension of the scatterer and thus the low‐frequency approximation method is applicable to the scattering problem. For the near electromagnetic field we obtain the zeroth‐order low‐frequency coefficients, while in the far field we calculate the leading terms for the scattering amplitude and scattering cross‐section. Finally, using the inverse Lorentz transform, we obtain the same approximations in the observer's frame. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Intelligibility of bandpass‐filtered speech

Warren et al. [Percept. Psychophys. 57, 175–182 (1995)] reported high intelligibility for sentences processed by one‐third octave bandpass filters. The present study examined the contribution of acoustic and linguistic redundancy to the intelligibility of filtered speech. Separate groups of listeners identified sentences or isolated final words from the SPIN (‘‘speech perception in noise’’) test. One group heard unfiltered speech, while others heard filtered speech with center frequencies of 750, 1100, 1500, 2100, or 3000 Hz. Gammatone filters with bandwidths of 1 ERB were used to match auditory filter widths. Consistent with Warren et al., the 1500‐, 2100‐, and 3000‐Hz bands were more intelligible than the lower bands. Filtered words in high‐predictability (HP) sentences were identified more accurately than those in low‐predictability (LP) sentences (mean difference 20%). Isolated filtered words were less intelligible than LP sentences (23% difference). Unfiltered HP and LP sentences and final words were.
Prediction of Fetal Lung Maturity Using Ultrasound Evaluation of Thalamus Echogenicity

Background : Hyaline membrane disease, often known as respiratory distress syndrome, affects premature infants nearly exclusively. The newborn's gestational age is inversely associated to the prevalence and severity of respiratory distress syndrome. Objective: The aim of this study was to predict fetal lung maturity using a non-invasive method, which is transabdominal ultrasound evaluation of thalamus echogenicity. Patients and method : This Cross-sectional prospective study included a total of 50 pregnant women, attending for antenatal care at Department of Ultrasound and Feto Maternal Unit, Zagazig University Hospitals. Scanning with transabdominal 2D ultrasound (Voluson 730 pro V 2D GE), was done to measure the biparietal diameter and the state of echogenicity of the thalamus was recorded as echogenic or echolucent, in addition to amniotic fluid particles (vernix) and the placental changes. Results : The four ultrasound parameters of lung maturity were increased with gestational age, and the presence of vernix in the amniotic fluid showed the highest and more predictive percent compared to the others, while the feature of echogenic thalamus demonstrated relatively lowest value. Conclusion: It could be concluded that evaluation of echogenic thalamus by ultrasound at the level of the biparietal diameter (BPD) is of value and can be considered as a new marker of fetal lung maturity.
Acoustic propagation over an impedance plane

A new solution is obtained for the acoustic pressure field generated by a point source and scattered by a locally reacting impedance covered plane. The new solution is obtained in the form of an asymptotic series which has been shown to agree well with other studies. One of the most important features of this solution is that higher‐order terms can be calculated from preceding terms in the series by the use of recursion formulas. Comparing data predicted from this solution with that from a numerical integration of the exact expression shows the asymptotic series to be extremely accurate, even for relatively low values of the parameter kR. Not surprisingly, the plane‐wave solution often shows major deviations from the exact integral solution.
Early experience of delamanid in extensively drug-resistant pulmonary tuberculosis

Tuberculosis is a leading cause of death in our country. Multidrug-resistant tuberculosis increases the morbidity and mortality due to severe manifestations and difficult and prolonged medications. Newer antitubercular drugs like delamanid have been approved by WHO in management of these cases, but the real-world experience of this drug is lacking in our country. We present our early experience of use of delamanid in extensively drug-resistant pulmonary tuberculosis.
Multivalued backward stochastic differential equations with continuous coefficients

We consider a one dimensional multivalued backward stochastic differential equation associated to the subdifferential dh of a proper lower semicontinuous convex function A. We prove that if the drift of the equation is continuous with linear growth then there exists a solution. This result is obtained by using a suitable approximation of the drift with a sequence of Lipschitz functions. We also proved an unicity result under the additional condition that the drift is local Lipschitz and the final value is bounded. Our results generalize those in Ouknine [5].
Localization of waves without bistability: Worms in nematic electroconvection

A general localization mechanism for waves in dissipative systems is identified that does not require the bistability of the basic state and the nonlinear plane-wave state. We conjecture that the mechanism explains the two-dimensional localized wave structures ({open_quotes}worms{close_quotes}) that recently have been observed in experiments on electroconvection in nematic liquid crystals where the transition to extended waves is supercritical. The mechanism accounts for the shape of the worms, their propagation direction, and certain aspects of their interaction. The dynamics of the localized waves can be steady or irregular. {copyright} {ital 1998} {ital The American Physical Society}
A bibliometric analysis and visualization of research trends on surgical hip dislocation

ABSTRACT Surgical hip dislocation (SHD) is a powerful and safe approach used to address pathologic lesions around the hip joint, and therefore, many studies have been conducted in this field. However, no bibliometric studies regarding the global research trend concerning SHD have been studied yet. This study aims to determine the research status in the field of SHD research between 2001 and 2021. The publications related to SHD from 2001 to 2021 were retrieved from the Web of Science Core Collection. Three bibliometric tools were used for this study. The main analyses include publication counts, contributions of countries, institutions, authors, journals and funding agencies, as well as analyses on clustering of references and keywords. In total, 498 articles were identified. The annual publication counts of SHD showed an ascending tendency as a whole. The United States has the most prominent contributions, with the most number of publications and the highest value of H-index. The University of Bern was the organization that produced the most literature. Professors Ganz R, Siebenrock KA, Tannast M, Steppacher SD and Leunig M were the core authors in this field. The most productive journal was Clinical Orthopaedics and Related Research. Burst keyword detection suggested that the following research directions, including ‘surgical hip dislocation’, ‘outcome’, ‘fixation’ and ‘pain’, are considered the research hotspots and deserve more attention. In conclusion, this is the first bibliometric analysis that provides a comprehensive overview of SHD research, which may assist investigators in exploring new directions for this technique.
PIACERE Integrated Development Environment

This article presents a model-driven engineering (MDE) integrated development environment (IDE) to assist the DevSecOps (Development Security and Operations) process. This tool has been developed within the PIACERE H2020 project, which proposes a framework composed of a set of tools developed to support all phases of the DevSecOps life cycle including modeling, test/validation, build/generate, deployment, operate and modeling. PIACERE IDE is an Eclipse based tool, that acts as the front-end for this framework, and plays a key role in integrating other PIACERE tools. The IDE allows developers to access the different tools in a simple and unified way.
Design of Robust Fuzzy Sliding-Mode Controller for a Class of Uncertain Takagi-Sugeno Nonlinear Systems

This paper presents the fuzzy design of sliding mode control (SMC) for nonlinear systems with uncertainties, which can be represented by a Takagi-Sugeno (T-S) model. There exist the parameter uncertainties in both state and input matrices, as well as the matched external disturbance. The key feature of this work is the great ability of the controller to deal with systems without assuming that the control matrices of each local T-S model to be same and knowing the priori information of the upper norm-bounds of uncertainties. A sufficient condition for the existence of the desired fuzzy SMC is obtained by solving a set of linear matrix inequalities (LMIs). The reachability of the specified sliding surface is proven. A numerical example is illustrated in order to show the validity of the proposed scheme.
Interpretation of discrete and continuum modes in a two-layer Eady model

ABSTRACT The upper rigid lid of the conventional Eady model for baroclinic instability is replaced by a more realistic stratosphere with an increased buoyancy frequency and a different shear of the zonal wind. Previously reported results of a normalmode stability analysis are re-interpreted using the concept of interacting surface and tropopausePVanomalies, calledPV building blocks (PVBs). In this perspective, which directly relates to the counter-propagating Rossby wave formalism, the appearance of both the short-wave and the long-wave cut-off becomes physically transparent. New results include a discussion of the continuum modes in terms of interacting PVBs. Continuum modes are modal solutions to the inviscid linearised equations, specified by non-zero PV at one interior level (as well as non-zero PV at the surface and the tropopause). If the stratospheric zonal wind decreases with height, the continuum modes cause resonances at multiple (even stratospheric) levels. These resonant continuum modes may play an important role in the explanation of disturbance growth from initial conditions in which the discrete normal modes are neutral.
Sonographic Assessment of The Impact of Heart Lung Interactions on Success of Weaning from Mechanical Ventilation

: Objective: To evaluate the value of lung ultrasound and echocardiography in the evaluation of weaning induced lung congestion and its impact on the weaning outcome. Background: Lung ultrasound has been recently introduced in different aspects in medicine; given that it is easily used in the bedside and can give real-time assessment without the risk of patients` transfer or exposure to radiation. Ultrasound can be used in the assessment of the interstitial lung edema that presumably happens during the process of weaning due to the increased cardiac filling pressures while transferring the patient from positive pressure ventilation to spontaneous ventilation.Being a bedside, non-invasive and easy to perform measures with no proposed harm to the patient, make them of value in prediction of weaning results, if their impact is proved by adequate evidence. Patients and Methods: We performed a prospective study that included critically ill ventilated patients who were deemed ready for weaning as per the readiness criteria. Eligible patients underwent echocardiography, lung ultrasonography, and serum NT-proBNP measurement.
A carbon nanotube-embedded fiber-optic tunable coupler for flexible repetition rate control of a passively Q -switched fiber laser

We propose a carbon nanotube (CNT)-embedded fiber-optic tunable coupler as a passive Q-switch that can provide flexible control of the output pulse repetition rate in passively Q-switched fiber lasers, and experimentally demonstrate its feasibility. The device is implemented by sandwiching a thin CNT layer between two side-polished fibers. Using the coupler, it was experimentally shown that repetition-rate-tunable Q-switched pulses can readily be produced from an erbium-doped fiber ring cavity by adjusting the cross-coupling ratio through control of the core alignment mismatch angle between the two side-polished fibers. Flexible tuning of the pulse repetition rate is shown to be achievable from 20.96 to 12.98 kHz at a fixed pump power by adjusting the core alignment mismatch angle while the pulse width is varied from 4.98 to 5.44 μs.
On the simultaneous presence of unilateral and kinetic constraints in time-dependent impulsive mechanics

The simultaneous presence of unilateral and kinetic constraints acting on a mechanical system with a finite number of degrees of freedom is framed in the geometric context of left and right jet-bundles of the classical space–time bundle of the system. The survey gives three main cases and several subcases, some of which are mathematically correct but physically meaningless. The existence of at least one frame of reference for which the whole set of constraints can be at rest is the criterion selecting the physically relevant systems. For these systems, the conservation of kinetic energy, possibly together with a standard Gauss’s requirement on the impulsive reaction, is shown to give a well posed criterion of ideality of the constraints. The application of the criterion to several examples is presented and the corresponding results are critically analyzed.
A protein‐lipid complex that detoxifies free fatty acids

Fatty acids (FAs) are well known to serve as substrates for reactions that provide cells with membranes and energy. In contrast to these metabolic reactions, the physiological importance of FAs themselves known as free FAs (FFAs) in cells remains obscure. Since accumulation of FFAs in cells is toxic, cells must develop mechanisms to detoxify FFAs. One such mechanism is to sequester free polyunsaturated FAs (PUFAs) into a droplet‐like structure assembled by Fas‐Associated Factor 1 (FAF1), a cytosolic protein. This sequestration limits access of PUFAs to Fe2+, thereby preventing Fe2+‐catalyzed PUFA peroxidation. Consequently, assembly of the FAF1‐FFA complex is critical to protect cells from ferroptosis, a cell death pathway triggered by PUFA peroxidation. The observations that free PUFAs in cytosol are not randomly diffused but rather sequestered into a membraneless complex should open new directions to explore signaling pathways by which FFAs regulate cellular physiology.
Modulation of Glucose Homeostasis in Rats Treated with Bacterial Lipopolysaccharide: Role of L-Arginine Counter-Strategy

Lipopolysaccharide (LPS), an endotoxin derived from the outer membrane of Gram-negative bacteria, mediates a local or systemic inflammatory response. Its action is carried out through stimulation of Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) activity and subsequently, production of interleukin-1β (IL-1β), interleukin-6 (IL-6), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α)
Lattice dynamics of single-walled carbon nanotubes

Universite´Pierre et Marie Curie, 4 Place Jussieu, F-75252 Paris Cedex 05, France~Received 14 May 1998! In this paper, the theory of lattice dynamics of single-walled carbon nanotubes is presented. The screwsymmetry of the system is used to reduce the rank of the dynamical matrix to six, independent of the numberof atoms in the unit cell. Calculations of the lattice dynamics are carried out within a valence force ﬁeld modeland of the Raman intensity—within a bond-polarizability model. It is found that the breathing mode frequencyis inversely proportional to the radius of the tube that can be used for the characterization of the samples on thebasis of Raman-scattering data. The results for the Raman intensity are compared to available Raman spectra. @S0163-1829~98! 06434-0#
Modelling background error correlations with spatial deformations: a case study

A long-term goal in variational data assimilation is to improve the anisotropy of background error correlations. One way to achieve anisotropic correlations is to introduce spatial deformations. This deformation can be specified a priori for instance by using the geostrophic transform (GT) as introduced by Desroziers (1997). The deformation can also be estimated from a purely statistical point of view (Michel, 2013a). The aim of this study is to evaluate the performance of such spatial deformation techniques for the use of background error modelling. A large ensemble of variational assimilations with perturbed observations is set up on a case study with the global ARPEGE model. An anisotropy index and a length scale diagnostic are defined to compare objectively the effectiveness of the deformations. This effectiveness is measured as the ability of the inverse spatial deformations to make the correlations more isotropic or more homogeneous. The results are shown to depend on the vertical level and on the variable. Generally, the statistical deformation is able to reduce the anisotropy while the GT is giving much smaller improvements that are, in this case study, confined to the frontal area of an extratropical cyclone.