Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Reliability-based equitable transit frequency design

Fairness is an important criterion for achieving sustainable urban development. While most existing studies focus on accessing or evaluating the fairness condition of a given transit network, this study explicitly incorporates fairness as an objective in the planning step. A multi-objective bilevel programming model is developed where the lower level problem is the reliability-based transit assignment problem and the upper level problem is to determine optimal frequency settings to simultaneously minimise the total effective travel cost and maximise the network fairness condition. A multi-objective Artificial Bee Colony algorithm is developed to solve the bilevel model. Numerical studies find that: (1) increasing the frequency may not improve the fairness condition; (2) there is a tradeoff between the two objectives (3) the effect of passengers’ risk aversion attitude on the fairness measurement depends on the frequency setting; it could either amplify the fairness measurements or have no impact.
Olympic Legacy: Status of Research

Abstract There is no doubt that the topic of legacy of sport events is becoming one of the critical issues in professional sports worldwide. Taxpayers’ money is used to support the staging of events and therefore citizens want a benefit in return. Many legacies though are intangible and therefore not easy to measure. As economic profits are difficult to obtain, ecological footprints are given due to needed travelling and social benefits are not easy to measure. Overall, the Olympic Games do not visibly and obviously change the host city towards sustainability and long-lasting positive developments. The articles reveal the breadth of topics that are located within the scope of legacy. The research areas touch on legacies that are under researched and for which there is scant legacy information in the literature, i.e., the legacy of Olympic Winter Games, Youth Olympic Winter Games, unsuccessful Olympic bid cities and non-host Olympic cities.
New Uppermost Mantle Pn Velocity and Anisotropy Model of the Eastern Caribbean

Using the Pn tomography method and new ISC‐EHB data, we obtained a new Pn velocity and anisotropy model of the uppermost mantle in eastern Caribbean. The consistency between the Pn fast directions and SKS splitting fast wave directions indicates that the anisotropic structure of the uppermost mantle in the area of the collisional plate boundary is the main cause of shear‐wave splitting. The results show that the seismic velocity of uppermost mantle beneath the Aves Ridge is not anomalous, implying that this area is no longer affected by the upwelling of mantle material. We observe high Pn velocities in the uppermost mantle beneath eastern Caribbean Sea, which are higher than in the deeper parts (100–200 km in depth) of the upper mantle; comparing these results with similar findings in the Japan Sea at the northwestern Pacific subduction zone, we believe the uppermost mantle beneath the back‐arc region is not or little affected by hot material from the deeper mantle.
Exploring an inverted U-shaped relationship between entrepreneurial experience and Chinese new venture performance: the moderating role of environmental uncertainty

ABSTRACT This study explores the relationship between the founder’s entrepreneurial experience and new venture performance in the China’s emerging economy. Based on a sample of ventures in the southern region of China, we demonstrate that the relationship between entrepreneurial experience and performance in Chinese ventures is nonlinear. The empirical study reveals that a high level of experience has a negative impact on performance and there is an inverted U-shaped relationship between the founder’s entrepreneurial experience and new venture performance under the context of the China’s emerging economy. We also find that environmental uncertainty moderates the inverted U-shaped relationship.
ELECTROKINETIC TRANSPORT PHENOMENA IN MICRO-FLUIDICS Governing Equations, Experiments and Modeling

In this chapter, we review three common electrokinetic transport phenomena: electroosmosis, electrophoresis and dielectrophoresis. These can be utilized for flow, species and particle transport control applications in micro-fluidic systems. Hence, these transport mechanisms can be used for processing of biological and chemical species, new materials and nano-scale particles for nanotechnology applications. For each effect, we introduce the governing equations and present a review of recent experimental results and numerical modeling efforts.
Impact of Public Bike Sharing: Experiences From Ningbo, China

We report the experiences of the bike sharing system in Ningbo, China. To analyze the impact of the system, system log data are collected for the whole month of May 2014 (with more than 1.7 million usage records), supplemented by questionnaire data from 1,856 respondents. Our results show that public bike usage follows the same pattern as road traffic, with morning and evening peaks on week days. In terms of mode substitution, 16% of public bike trips would have been made by private cars. In average, each public bike is used 3.7 times per day, with each trip lasting around 23 minutes and covering around 3.5 kilometre. This translates into a reduction of car travel by more than 11 million kilometre per year, a significant contribution to the sustainability of urban transport in Ningbo.
Motivation and personality traits in adult learners

In contrast to traditional students, post-traditional students follow a broken path through the education system. Therefore, they are older when studying and often have jobs and families. The aim of the present study was to investigate motivation and personality character traits in 67 adult learners (part-time students) and 84 traditional students using the Czech version of the Business-Focused Inventory of Personality. Adult learners reported a higher level in all aspects of their personality in relation to working life, such as occupational orientation and behaviour, social competencies, and psychological constitution. These findings indicate that, from study-related requirements, part-time students pose higher achievement and motivation, and that they are more conscientious in relation to work and study.
The phonology of vowel VISC-osity – acoustic evidence and representational implications

While vowel inherent spectral change (VISC) is becoming increasingly prominent in phonetic descriptions of varieties of English, there is little data on whether and how formant dynamics may shape the vowel systems of other languages. This paper provides cross-language acoustic comparisons of the degree of VISC in Polish and British English. In one study, British English showed a greater concentration of F1 movement earlier in the time course of vowels than Polish. In a second study, proficient Polish speakers of English showed a greater concentration of F1 movement earlier in the time course of vowels while speaking their L2 English than while speaking their L1 Polish. These findings are in line with a proposal formulated in the Onset Prominence (OP) framework, by which the relative degree of formant dynamics in the two languages is attributable to consonantal or vocalic affiliation of the Vocalic Onset (VO) node of structure. Consonantal VO affiliation in English contributes to a greater degree of VISC concentrated earlier in vowel duration. Further empirical patterns associated with the OP representational settings in the two languages are also discussed, along with implications for other languages. corresponding to (1982)
Non-standard work and innovation: evidence from European industries

ABSTRACT Following a market-oriented approach, policies aimed at increasing labour flexibility by weakening employment protection institutions should enable firms to efficiently allocate resources, improve their capability to compete on international markets and adjust to economic cycle. This work documents the rise of non-standard (i.e. temporary and part-time) work in five European countries (Germany, France, Italy, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom) over the period 1994–2016 and investigates the nexus between the use of non-standard work and innovation performance using data for 18 manufacturing and 23 service industries. Contrary to the objectives that market-oriented policy recommendations promised to achieve, we show that there is a significantly negative association between the share of workers employed under non-standard contractual arrangements and the introduction of both product and process innovation. Furthermore, we show that the harmful consequences of the spread of non-standard work on firms’ product innovation propensity are more pronounced in high-tech sectors.
Coarse‐arithmetic coordinate descent for the resolution of semidefinite linear systems

We propose an inexact coordinate descent method to solve a consistent equation of the type Ax = b where A is a real symmetric and positive semidefinite matrix. The admissible range of inexactitude allows to reduce every multiplication present in the computation to a scaling by a signed power of 2 for the sake of hardware simplification. Although the resulting descent is nonideal, the numerical experiments show that its rate of convergence remains close to that of exact coordinate descent, whether the coordinate selection is cyclic or random. Meanwhile, our algorithm outperforms both methods with an additional low complexity “weak greedy” selection of the coordinates, also based on scaling by signed powers of 2. Our method is based on an advanced use of varying relaxation coefficients in the Gauss–Seidel iteration, with special theoretical considerations when A is singular.
Arterial stiffness as a risk factor for hypotension during induction of general anesthesia

Introduction: Hypotension after induction of general anaesthesia is identified as an independent factor in predicting adverse clinical outcomes. Preoperative evaluation of arterial stiffness could identify patients with an impaired vascular function and an altered haemodynamic response to induction of general anaesthesia. The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between arterial stiffness and blood pressure variation during induction of general anaesthesia. Material and methods: This was an observational study that included patients who underwent surgical procedures under general anaesthesia. We used several systolic arterial pressure and mean arterial pressure thresholds for defining hypotension. Both absolute thresholds and thresholds relative to a baseline blood pressure were chosen based on the most frequently used definitions. Patient carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity determination, preoperative preparation, and induction of general anaesthesia were standardized. Results: Our study included 115 patients. Both univariate and multivariate analysis showed that carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity was significantly associated with post-induction hypotension when defined as a systolic arterial pressure decrease of > 30% or > 40% from baseline or as a mean arterial pressure decrease of > 40% from baseline. Also, carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity was positively associated with duration of post-induction hypotension. Conclusions: Preoperative assessment of arterial stiffness identifies patients at risk of a pronounced decrease in blood pressure during induction of general anaesthesia.
Opportunities and barriers for biofuel and bioenergy production from poplar

Due to the growing demand for transportation fuels and concerns about the greenhouse gas emissions derived from the use of fossil fuels, the development of alternative fuels from renewable resources, such as lignocellulosic biomass, is of paramount importance. This is compounded by the fact that there are increasing pressures and limitation on available arable land for renewable biomass production, and therefore, how to obtain more biomass resources and how to make full use of these biomass resources are key issues. Poplar (Populus spp.) is one of the fastest‐growing temperate trees in the world and is a very promising raw material for the production of biofuels and other bio‐based commodities. As the first tree species to have its genome sequenced, and significant continuing efforts towards resequencing of different species/varieties, poplar resources will undoubtedly pave the way for the targeted cultivation of new poplar varieties suitable for biofuel production. In this article, we summarized that the main problems faced by using poplar as a biomass resource for biofuel production are the inherent recalcitrance of lignocellulosic biomass, and highlighted the response status on improving the biomass yield and efforts towards developing efficient poplar varieties for biofuel production.
Energy Consumption of Self-Compacting Concrete during Mixing and Its Impact on the Yield Stress Measured in the Ready-Mix Concrete Plant

To find the energy required during the mixing process of self-compacting concrete in a ready-mixed concrete plant and correlate the results with the yield stress of concrete. Power consumption required during the mixing of concrete is measured with a wattmeter connected to the mixing unit’s power supply. A coaxial cylinder viscometer is used to measure the yield stress of concrete. The clamp meter measures the power when the impeller rotates inside the coaxial cylinder viscometer, which is filled with concrete. When the impeller rotates in a coaxial cylinder filled with concrete, the power is measured by a clamp meter. Torque is obtained through the power relationship, which is an essential factor in determining the yield stress. The cost of a rheometer is so high that all construction industries, research institutions, and researchers cannot measure rheological parameters. Nowadays, all rheometers are automated; hence, the cost is very high. Tattersall’s approach of power requirement in mixing the concrete and calculating the yield stress reduces the complexity in determining the rheological parameter.
An analysis of the role of nonreactive plasticizers in the crosslinking reactions of a rigid resin

A uniform dispersion of reactants is necessary to achieve a complete reaction involving multiple components. Using a combination of infrared spectroscopy, thermal analysis, and low field NMR, we have elucidated the role of a new class of nonreactive plasticizers on the crosslinking reaction between hexamethylenetetramine (HMTA) and phenol formaldehyde resin. These two seemingly dissimilar reactants are responsible for the exceptionally high mechanical strength in a number of organic–inorganic composites. The efficiency of the curing reaction is characterized by the changing functionality of HMTA. Infrared active vibrations are used to characterize the changing molecular structures as a function of temperature. The T1 spin-lattice relaxation time is used for the characterization of segmental dynamics of the chains in the formation of the crosslinked product. The segmental mobility depends on the amount of crosslinking and the stiffness of the chain. This study shows that this new class of nonreactive plasticizer can induce highly crosslinked structures without any of the environmental impact of the current technology. An efficient crosslinking reaction in phenolic resin can be achieved by using methyl benzoate as a nonreacting plasticizer. Low field NMR, in conjunction with infrared spectroscopy (mid and near) and DSC, clarified the crosslinking reaction mechanism and the ensuing structure. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part B: Polym. Phys. 2016
Dynamic Modeling and Tracking Control for Dielectric Elastomer Actuator With a Model Predictive Controller

This article proposes a dynamic model and a tracking control strategy for a dielectric elastomer (DE) actuator based on the model predictive controller (MPC). First, the dynamic model of the DE actuator is established, which can describe its asymmetric hysteresis, creep, and even rate-dependent hysteresis behaviors simultaneously. Then, on the basis of the established dynamic model, an inverse compensation controller (ICC) is designed to compensate the hysteresis and creep nonlinearities of the DE actuator on its tracking control. Moreover, the MPC is designed to cooperate with the ICC, which can overcome the influences of the modeling error and uncertainties on the control precision. Finally, several experiments demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed dynamic model and control strategy.
Porous monoliths of 3D graphene for electric double‐layer supercapacitors

For delivering the nanoscaled extraordinary characteristics in macroscopical bulk, it is essential to integrate two ‐ dimensional nanosheets into three ‐ dimensional (3D) porous monoliths, alternatively called as 3D architectures, 3D networks, or aerogels. The intersupported structure of porous monolithic 3D graphene (3DG) can prevent aggregation or restacking of graphene individuals, and the interconnected sp 2 network of 3DG not only can provide the highway for the transport of electron/phonon but also can present continual cavities/channels for mass transfer. This review summarizes the synthesis methodology of 3DG porous monoliths and highlights the application for electric double ‐ layer capacitors. Present challenges and future prospects about the manufacture and application of 3DG are also
Using a Paired Chironomid δ18O and Aquatic Leaf Wax δ2H Approach to Reconstruct Seasonality on Western Greenland During the Holocene

The Arctic hydrological cycle is predicted to intensify as the Arctic warms, due to increased poleward moisture transport during summer and increased evaporation from seas once ice‐covered during winter. Records of past Arctic precipitation seasonality are important because they provide a context for these ongoing changes. In some Arctic lakes, stable isotopes of oxygen and hydrogen (δ18O and δ2H, respectively) vary seasonally, due to seasonal changes in precipitation δ18O and δ2H. We reconstruct precipitation seasonality from Lake N3, a well‐dated lake sediment archive in Disko Bugt, western Greenland, by generating Holocene records of two proxies that are produced at different times of the year, and therefore record different lake water seasonal isotopic compositions. Aquatic plants synthesize waxes throughout the summer, and their δ2H reflects winter‐biased precipitation δ2H at Lake N3, whereas chironomids synthesize their head capsules between late summer and winter, and their δ18O reflects summer‐biased precipitation δ18O at Lake N3. During the middle Holocene at Lake N3, aquatic plant leaf wax was strongly 2H‐depleted, while chironomid chitin was 18O‐enriched. We guide interpretations of these records using sensitivity tests of a lake water and energy balance model, where we change precipitation amount and isotope seasonality inputs. The sensitivity tests suggest that the contrasting trends between proxies were likely caused by an increase in precipitation amount during all seasons and an increase in precipitation isotope seasonality, in addition to proxy‐specific mechanisms, highlighting the importance of understanding lake‐ and proxy‐specific systematics when interpreting records from sediment archives.
Majid Al Futtaim Retail – Carrefour’s Successful Big Transition to Online Presence

This case study offers an analysis of the main success drivers that allowed Majid Al Futtaim Retail, operator of Carrefour in the UAE, a major chain of hypermarkets and supermarkets, to undertake a digital transformation and achieve its objective of successfully launching their online grocery business in 2018. Within one year of launching their e-commerce business online, Carrefour UAE was able to achieve a 100% growth in the number of orders and a 110% growth in the number of new customers. Therefore, how did this company that is headquartered in the UAE and operates in 16 international markets, do it? And what did it take to digitize a business that has been operating in the traditional retail business for more than 20 years? Our analysis of Carrefour’s business model and Majid Al Futtaim Retail’s approach to launching their online business in the UAE shows that the main reasons behind their success were having a data-driven approach, adopting a customer-obsessed mindset, building an employee-centric culture and ensuring that continuous innovation is taking place across all business functions, all the time.1
Full-Field Comparison of MRV and CFD of Gas Flow through Regular Catalytic Monolithic Structures

Understanding the influence of gas flow maldistribution in honeycombs can be beneficial for the process design in various technical applications. Although recent studies have investigated the effect of maldistribution by comparing the results of numerical simulations with experimental measurements, an exhaustive 3D full-field comparison is still lacking. Such full-field comparisons are required to identify and eliminate possible limitations of numerical and experimental tools. For that purpose, spatially resolved flow patterns were simulated by computational fluid dynamics (CFD) and measured experimentally by non-invasive NMR velocimetry (MRV). While the latter might suffer from a misinterpretation of artefacts, the reliability of CFD is linked to correctly chosen boundary conditions. Here, a full-field numerical and experimental analysis of the gas flow within catalytic honeycombs is presented. The velocity field of thermally polarized methane gas was measured in a regular 3D-printed honeycomb and a commercial monolith using an optimized MRV pulse sequence to enhance the obtained signal-to-noise ratio. A second pulse sequence was used to show local flow propagators along the axial and radial direction of the honeycomb to quantify the contribution of diffusion to mass transport. A quantitative comparison of the axially averaged convective flow as determined by MRV and CFD shows a very good matching with an agreement of ±5% and 10% for printed and commercial samples, respectively. The impact of maldistribution on the gas flow pattern can be observed in both simulation and experiments, confirming the existence of an entrance effect. Gas displacement measurements, however, revealed that diffusive interchannel transport can also contribute to maldistribution, as was shown for the commercial sample. The good agreement between the simulation and experiments underpins the reliability of both methods for studying gas hydrodynamics within opaque monolith structures.