Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Assessing the impact of hydrodynamics on large-scale flood wave propagation – a case study for the Amazon Basin

Abstract. Large-scale flood events often show spatial correlation in neighbouring basins, and thus can affect adjacent basins simultaneously, as well as result in superposition of different flood peaks. Such flood events therefore need to be addressed with large-scale modelling approaches to capture these processes. Many approaches currently in place are based on either a hydrologic or a hydrodynamic model. However, the resulting lack of interaction between hydrology and hydrodynamics, for instance, by implementing groundwater infiltration on inundated floodplains, can hamper modelled inundation and discharge results where such interactions are important. In this study, the global hydrologic model PCR-GLOBWB at 30 arcmin spatial resolution was one-directionally and spatially coupled with the hydrodynamic model Delft 3D Flexible Mesh (FM) for the Amazon River basin at a grid-by-grid basis and at a daily time step. The use of a flexible unstructured mesh allows for fine-scale representation of channels and floodplains, while preserving a coarser spatial resolution for less flood-prone areas, thus not unnecessarily increasing computational costs. In addition, we assessed the difference between a 1-D channel/2-D floodplain and a 2-D schematization in Delft 3D FM. Validating modelled discharge results shows that coupling PCR-GLOBWB to a hydrodynamic routing scheme generally increases model performance compared to using a hydrodynamic or hydrologic model only for all validation parameters applied. Closer examination shows that the 1-D/2-D schematization outperforms 2-D for r2 and root mean square error (RMSE) whilst having a lower Kling–Gupta efficiency (KGE). We also found that spatial coupling has the significant advantage of a better representation of inundation at smaller streams throughout the model domain. A validation of simulated inundation extent revealed that only those set-ups incorporating 1-D channels are capable of representing inundations for reaches below the spatial resolution of the 2-D mesh. Implementing 1-D channels is therefore particularly of advantage for large-scale inundation models, as they are often built upon remotely sensed surface elevation data which often enclose a strong vertical bias, hampering downstream connectivity. Since only a one-directional coupling approach was tested, and therefore important feedback processes are not incorporated, simulated discharge and inundation extent for both coupled set-ups is generally overpredicted. Hence, it will be the subsequent step to extend it to a two-directional coupling scheme to obtain a closed feedback loop between hydrologic and hydrodynamic processes. The current findings demonstrating the potential of one-directionally and spatially coupled models to obtain improved discharge estimates form an important step towards a large-scale inundation model with a full dynamic coupling between hydrology and hydrodynamics.
A High Accuracy and Bandwidth Digital Background Calibration Technique for Timing Skew in TI-ADCs

This paper presents a digital background timing-skew calibration technique with high accuracy and bandwidth in time-interleaved (TI) analog-to-digital converters (ADCs). Compared with other calibration works, it features three highlights. Firstly, the proposed DCSD-based step-by-step and grouping calibration scheme can effectively improve the correction accuracy by minimizing the root mean square (RMS) value of the detected timing skews. Secondly, the linear compensation for a 13-taps FIR filter and the decimation-calibration-interpolation working pattern are used to expand the calibration effective bandwidth to the whole first Nyquist zone from different perspectives. Thirdly, the binary search is employed, instead of LMS algorithm, in order to meet the compensation requirement for FIR filter and improve the convergence speed and accuracy significantly in timing-skew detection. As a result, the proposed technique achieves the widest calibration bandwidth and higher accuracy compared to other fully digital calibration techniques while having the great convergence speed. Simulation model in MATLAB and FPGA-based hardware verification are employed to demonstrate its significant improvement on the performance and hardware overhead of the TI-ADCs. Finally, the proposed technique is employed in a 10-bit 2.5 GS/s 4-way TI-SAR ADC fabricated by standard CMOS 28nm process. The measurement results show that with the proposed technique, the SFDR and SNDR are improved by 18.9 and 17.9 dB at Nyquist frequency, respectively.
Progress and prospect of protein detection methods based on CRISPR-Cas system

This is a review article on protein detection methods based on CRISPR-Cas system. This article introduces the application of CRISPR-Cas system in the field of gene editing, and then focuses on the protein detection technology based on CRISPR-Cas system. These technologies take advantage of the targeting and high efficiency of the CRISPR-Cas system, combined with detection methods such as fluorescence or mass spectrometry, to detect a variety of proteins with high sensitivity. This article also compares the advantages and disadvantages of these techniques and traditional protein detection methods, and discusses the application prospects of these techniques in clinical diagnosis and biological research.
Synthesis and photo-bactericidal properties of a cationic porphyrin grafted onto kraft pulp fibers

With the increased risk of infectious disease transmissions, photodynamic inactivation of some microorganisms for antimicrobial applications has been extensively studied in recent years. In this article, we describe the synthesis of novel photo-bactericidal materials by grafting propargylated 5,10,15,20-tetra(4-pyridyl)porphyrin on kraft pulp fibers. The grafting was carried out by a Huisgen’s 1,3-dipolar azide-alkyne cycloaddition reaction. This material has been investigated for its antibacterial properties against Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Staphylococcus aureus. An interesting photo-bactericidal activity was shown: this material can be used to limit the growth of bacteria on surfaces and the formation of biofilms.
Isotopic composition of Pb in tree rings of Norway spruce (Picea abies) from the Fensfjorden area, western Norway

IV II. Abstract The annual growth of tree rings makes the trees as possible archive of the past atmospheric pollution. However, several aspects addressed in literature such as post-depositional mobility of Pb, intra-ring heterogeneity and possible detoxification mechanisms can make the interpretation on past atmospheric pollution, difficult. Annual rings of two Norway spruce (Picea Abies) trees 43 and 42 years old located 10.1 km north-northwest and 17.8 km eastsoutheast of Mongstad refinery, respectively, were analysed by laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometer (LA-ICP-MS) for lead isotopic composition, and 63 Cu/ 12 C, 66 Zn/ 12 C and 44 Ca/ 24 Mg elemental ratios. These two trees, recorded 206 Pb/ 207 Pb ratios between 1.13 and 1.32, and 1.12 and 1.29, respectively, but showed no systematic trend towards higher or lower ratios from the innermost to the outermost tree ring. For all ratios, only the 208 Pb/ 12 C (for tree #1) and 44 Ca/ 24 Mg (for tree #1 and #2) ratios showed pronounced trends. The 208 Pb/ 12 C ratio of tree #1 increased from 1968 and peaked in the year 1979, followed by a steady decrease toward the present (2010), and showed significant correlation with the lead content and the pH of precipitation in the area. The 44 Ca/ 24 Mg of tree #1 and #2 demonstrated showed a systematically decrease from 1968-2010 and showed significant correlation with the pH of the precipitation. Comparison of the lead isotopic composition of the tree rings with that recorded by mosses in the same area during the time period 1975-2000 showed significant differences. Most of the tree rings plotted have higher 206 Pb/ 207 Pb and 208 Pb /207 Pb ratios relative to the Norwegian peat bogs (<1691-1991), and also show some overlap with the relatively higher recorded ratios of a Greenlandic ice core (7313 BC to 1523 AD). The tree rings have also higher Pb isotopic ratios compared to the European aerosols. Comparisons with the 206 Pb/ 207 Pb ratios recorded by the Scottish peat bogs and mosses covering the same time period as the trees did not reveal any similarity. The onset of production at Mongstad refinery in 1975 and the subsequent expansion in the refinery production and occasional accidents in the factory did not have any significant impact on lead isotopic composition of the tree rings, nor on the 208 Pb/ 12 C, 63 Cu/ 12 C, 66 Zn/ 12 C or the 44 Ca/ 24 Mg ratios. Pollution associated with the Mongstad refinery may be minor compared to the long range pollution by atmospheric aerosols. In order to differentiate between pollution sources and natural sources, local soil and bedrock measurements and a chemical and isotopic analysis of Pb in oil that is being refined at Mongstad, should be carried out.
Perceived Corporate Social Responsibility and Its Effects on Consumer Social Responsibility: A Value-Belief-Norm Perspective

The main purpose of this study is to explore consumer perceived corporate social responsibility (or perceived CSR) and its effects on consumer social responsibility (CnSR) in the food and beverage (F&B) industry in Vietnam. We built on the Value-Belief-Norm Theory to propose a model that explains how perceived CSR induces consumers to perform consumer social responsibility. Using a survey of 460 Vietnamese consumers, we examine the relationships between personal values (altruistic, biospheric, egoistic, conservative and openness to change), perceived CSR, and CnSR. The research results show that perceived CSR does affect CnSR through awareness of negative societal consequences, ascribed responsibility, personal norms, and social norms. Moreover, personal norms tend to significantly shape CnSR. The study provides important theoretical and practical implications by shedding light on how enterprises can improve their CSR efforts to appeal to consumers and promote CnSR.
Extreme UV Light Generation Through Dispersive Wave Trapping in a Tapered Gas-Filled Hollow Fiber

In this letter, we demonstrate how the soliton–plasma interaction initiates trapping of the generated dispersive waves (DWs) in an experimentally feasible tapered He-filled hollow-core anti-resonant fiber (HC-ARF). We show that the taper gradient strongly influences the pulse trapping dynamics and thus determines the intensity and blueshift of the trapped DW. This process leads to an efficient DW generation down to 100 nm with a 3.4-octave supercontinuum spanning 100–1150 nm (2.73 PHz) by tapering a 36-<inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\mu \text{m}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> core HC-ARF to 18 <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\mu \text{m}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> under 19-bar He, pumped at 800 nm with 6-<inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\mu \text{J}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> pulse energy. The proposed fiber taper structure could be an alternative route to generate light in the extreme ultra-violet (EUV) spectral range using moderate gas pressure and relatively low pulse energy.
Forecasting Thermal Stratification of the Victoria Reservoir using a Hydrodynamic Model

Strong thermal stratification in a reservoir may result in oxygen depletion along the vertical profile downwards leading to its eutrophication. The paper is an investigation of thermal stratification behaviour of the Victoria reservoir in Sri Lanka, which experienced several water quality linked problems in the past. A one-dimensional reservoir hydrodynamics model is calibrated and validated for the Victoria reservoir. The calibration and validation are strengthened by calculating several goodness-of-fit statistics. The study further shows the possibility to change the strong thermal stratification of the Victoria reservoir by manipulating the releases from it. The model that ensures a reasonable prediction of thermal stratification enables taking precautionary measures to avoid adverse reservoir water quality conditions.
Evaluation of spatial patterns accuracy in identifying built-up areas within risk zones using deep learning, RGB aerial imagery, and multi-source GIS data

In the presence of natural disasters that increasingly affect urban centers, innovative methodologies that can support all the subjects and bodies involved in the disaster management system are increasingly important. This task can be enhanced in urban settings by automatically assessing at-risk buildings through satellite and aerial imagery. However, creating and implementing models with robust generalization capabilities is crucial to achieving this goal. Based on these premises, the authors proposed a deep learning approach utilizing the U-Net model to map buildings within known landslide-prone areas. They trained and validated the U-Net model using the Dubai Satellite Imagery Dataset. The model's prediction accuracy in adapting its results to urban environments in Italy, different from those involved in the training and validation stages, was tested using natural color orthoimages and diverse geographic information system (GIS) data sources. The outcomes indicate that the model's predictions are better in contexts with denser urban fabric. The level of accuracy in dispersed urban shapes worsens as building footprints cover a small portion of the total image area. Overall, the results demonstrate that the suggested methodology can effectively identify buildings in landslide risk zones, demonstrating noteworthy adaptability, making the proposed platform a tool that can be instrumental for decision-makers and urban planners in pre-disaster and post-disaster stages.
Kinetic Study and Hammett Correlations in the Chemistry of M-Nitro and M-Amino Benzoic Acid Hydrazides by Using Thallium (Iii) in 1,4-Dioxane Medium

Iodometric analysis is used to determine the kinetics and mechanism of oxidation of benzoic, m-amino, and m-nitro benzoic acid hydrazides by Thallium(III) in acidic medium at constant ionic strength. The complex decomposes to produce the product. The rate of the reaction is decreased by the rise in [H+] and [Cl-]. Additionally, Activation parameters were established, and a mechanism is proposed. The analysis of reaction constants (ρ) and substituent constants (σ) for m-nitro BAH and m-amino BAH indicates good agreement with the values from the literature.
Attention mechanism guided sparse filtering for mechanical intelligent fault diagnosis under variable speed condition

Variable speed is one of the common working conditions of mechanical equipment, which poses an important challenge to equipment fault diagnosis. The current solutions have the shortcomings of low computational efficiency and large diagnostic errors. The ability of attention mechanism to automatically extract useful features has begun to attract widespread attention in the field of mechanical intelligent fault diagnosis. Combining the advantages of attention mechanism and unsupervised learning, this paper proposes a squeeze-excitation attention guided sparse filtering (SESF) method for mechanical intelligent fault diagnosis method under variable speed. Firstly, the squeeze-excitation attention mechanism is embedded in sparse filtering algorithm to guide model training. Then, unsupervised feature extraction is carried out on multi-scale inputs from the variable speed signal samples. The training results are adaptively screened and weighted to make the model pay more attention to the region with the most classify discrimination, so as to improve the feature extraction ability of the model to obtain useful information. Finally, two sets of gear and bearing tests under variable speed condition are adopted to testify the performance of the proposed method. The experimental results show that the SESF method can overcome the influence of variable speed to achieve accurate recognition of different mechanical faults and is superior to the other methods.
Sediment delivery processes and chemical transport in a small forested basin/Processus de production sédimentaire et transport chimique dans un petit bassin versant forestier

Abstract Because the properties of eroded soil affect the deposition phenomena and transport capacity of chemical materials by eroded particles, recent research is trying to link the grain-size distribution of the eroded sediment to that of the original soil in order to explain the enrichment of chemical content of the sediment with the respect to the parent soil. In this study, the spatial distribution of nitrogen, phosphorus and total organic carbon was firstly deduced using the measurements carried out in 47 soil samples distributed over a forested basin together with a kriging interpolation method. Then the load of each chemical was calculated at morphological unit and basin scales using the above-mentioned spatial distributions and sediment yield values calculated by the SEDD (SEdiment Delivery Distributed) model, which couples the universal soil loss equation with a spatial disaggregation criterion of sediment delivery processes. Finally, at basin scale, a new expression of the enrichment ratio of a given chemical was applied.
Comparative Study Between Systemically and Perineurally Administered Tramadol as an Adjunct in Ultrasound Guided Supraclavicular Brachial Plexus Block

Background:brachial plexus block remains the only practical alternative to general anesthesia for significant surgery on the upper limb. It can be extremely useful in patients with significant co-morbidities such as severe respiratory and cardiovascular disease, morbid obesity and in those with potential airway difficulties. Aim of the Work:comparing the efficacy of systemically administered tramadol and perineurally administered tramadol as an adjunct to bupivacaine in supraclavicular brachial plexus blocks on onset of sensory, motor blockade and postoperative analgesia along with demand for rescue analgesic in the postoperative period. Patients and Methods: Group A: bupivacaine 0.5%-20 ml + lidocaine 2% -5 ml for block. Group B: bupivacaine 0.5%-20 ml + lidocaine 2% -5 ml mixture for block and tramadol (100 mg) diluted to 10 ml intravenously. Group C: bupivacaine 0.5%-20 ml+ lidocaine 2% -5 ml+ tramadol (100 mg). Results: In motor onset block there was a highly significant difference between the three study groups. Also, it was highly significant faster in group C where tramadol given perineurally compared with those of placebo and systemic tramadol administrations. Duration of sensory block there was a highly significant difference between the three study groups. It was highly significant longer in group C where tramadol given perineurally compared with those of placebo and systemic tramadol administrations. Regarding First request of rescue analgesia there was a highly significant difference between the three study groups. Conclusion:the mixture of tramadol, bupivacaine and lidocaine injected perineurally for supraclavicular brachial plexus block hastens the onset of sensory block, motor block and provides a longer duration of motor blockade and postoperative analgesia as compared to other two groups in which tramadol was either injected intravenously (systemic group) or was not given at all (control group).
Hydrogel Microparticles for Bone Regeneration

Hydrogel microparticles (HMPs) stand out as promising entities in the realm of bone tissue regeneration, primarily due to their versatile capabilities in delivering cells and bioactive molecules/drugs. Their significance is underscored by distinct attributes such as injectability, biodegradability, high porosity, and mechanical tunability. These characteristics play a pivotal role in fostering vasculature formation, facilitating mineral deposition, and contributing to the overall regeneration of bone tissue. Fabricated through diverse techniques (batch emulsion, microfluidics, lithography, and electrohydrodynamic spraying), HMPs exhibit multifunctionality, serving as vehicles for drug and cell delivery, providing structural scaffolding, and functioning as bioinks for advanced 3D-printing applications. Distinguishing themselves from other scaffolds like bulk hydrogels, cryogels, foams, meshes, and fibers, HMPs provide a higher surface-area-to-volume ratio, promoting improved interactions with the surrounding tissues and facilitating the efficient delivery of cells and bioactive molecules. Notably, their minimally invasive injectability and modular properties, offering various designs and configurations, contribute to their attractiveness for biomedical applications. This comprehensive review aims to delve into the progressive advancements in HMPs, specifically for bone regeneration. The exploration encompasses synthesis and functionalization techniques, providing an understanding of their diverse applications, as documented in the existing literature. The overarching goal is to shed light on the advantages and potential of HMPs within the field of engineering bone tissue.
Precision Advertising Based on the Scene of Trajectory Mining

The value of offline data is continuously realized due to the rapid development of GPS, GSM and Wireless Sensor Technology. The Mobile Internet has become more common and with the advancement of technology, people have become more dependent on the mobile intelligent terminal. The Advertising model is influenced subtly by changes to the audiences’ lives and online patterns. Location Based Social Networking Services promote the precision advertising model into being, which is based on mobile internet. This paper used the methods of trajectory mining and POI clustering to create activity mapping table based on the users , location track data, then established user behavior feature model and built an advertising platform to implement precision advertising.
A Triangulation Study to Assess the Perceived City Image in the Arab Middle East Context: The Case of Al-Ain in the UAE

ABSTRACT The study of city image has become a subject of increasing interest to researchers and practitioners. However, although many studies have found that success of an area’s tourist development depends crucially on its image, most of studies concentrate on only a few destinations in the United States and the European Union, neglecting most emerging tourist destinations such as these in fuel-exporting countries. In order to fill this gap, this study adopted a two-stage design seeking to develop and test a scale of Perceived City Image (PCI) in a non-western context. In Stage 1, the authors; through a qualitative study, generated and refined the scale elements, recognizing unique characteristics of Al Ain. In Stage 2, the scale, through a quantitative study, has been assessed in terms of dimensionality, validity, and reliability. The overall results reflect appropriateness of the proposed constructs and provide an integrated perspective of PCI constructs in the Arab Middle East, where very little research can be found. Results, contributions, limitations, directions for future research, and managerial implications are all discussed.