Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
CHAPTER 6 Friction Stir Welding of Ferrous and Nickel Alloys

FRICTION STIR WELDING (FSW) is a solid-state joining process invented by The Welding Institute of Cambridge, England (Ref 1). In the FSW process, a rotating tool containing a pin and a shoulder is plunged into the joint between two workpieces, generating heat by friction. Once the heat has built up to the desired level, the tool is translated along the joint. Plasticized base material passes around the tool, where it is consolidated due to force applied by the shoulder of the tool. Friction stir welding has been applied to metals with moderate melting points. Initially, FSW was applied primarily to aluminum alloys, which could be easily welded due to the relatively low softening temperatures of these alloys. Other relatively soft metals, such as copper, lead, zinc, and magnesium, have also been welded. In contrast, for a number of years it was difficult to weld ferrous alloys and other highsoftening-temperature metals due to the lack of suitable tool materials. Until recently, there were no tool materials that would stand up to the high stresses and temperatures necessary for FSW of materials with higher melting points, such as steels, stainless steels, and nickel-base alloys. In 1998, tungsten alloys and polycrystalline cubic boron nitride (PCBN) were developed to create FSW tools for use in steel, stainless steel, titanium alloys, and nickel-base alloys. Properties of the resultant welds have been shown to be outstanding. Although some issues remain (primarily limited tool life with tungsten-base tools), FSW has been demonstrated as a technically and economically feasible process in high-temperature materials. This chapter summarizes research work performed at a number of different laboratories to make FSW of high-temperature materials a reality. It covers the development of suitable tools, welding equipment, and welding procedures, describes the characteristics of the resulting weldments, and describes the variety of materials that have been tested with the FSW process.
UNIX and Linux based Rootkits Techniques and Countermeasures

A rootkit enables an attacker to stay unnoticed on a compromised system and to use it for his purposes. This paper reviews techniques currently used by attackers on UNIX and Linux systems with a focus on kernel rootkits. Example rootkits are classied according to code injection and how the o w of execution is diverted within the kernel. The efcienc y of different countermeasures is discussed for these examples.
Greedy Algorithms to Determine Stable Paths and Trees in Mobile Ad hoc Networks

A mobile ad hoc network (MANET) is a dynamic, resource-constrained, distributed system of independent and arbitrarily moving wireless nodes and bandwidth-constrained links. MANET nodes operate with limited battery charge and use a limited transmission range to sustain an extended lifetime. As a result, MANET routes are often multi-hop in nature and nodes forward the data for others. Based on their primary route selection principle, MANET routing protocols are classified into two categories (Meghanathan & Farago, 2004): minimum-weight based routing and stability-based routing protocols. The minimumweight path among the set of available paths in a weighted network graph is the path with the minimum total weight summed over all its edges. The routing metrics generally targeted include: hop count, delay, energy consumption, node lifetime and etc. The stability-based routing protocols are aimed to minimize the number of route transitions and incur the least possible route discovery and maintenance overhead to the network. A majority of the ad hoc routing protocols are minimum-weight based and are proposed to optimize one or more performance metrics in a greedy fashion without looking at the future. For example, the Dynamic Source Routing (DSR) protocol (Johnson et. al., 2001) instantaneously selects any shortest path that appears to exist and similarly the Ad hoc Ondemand Distance Vector (AODV) protocol (Perkins & Royer, 1999) chooses the route that propagated the Route Request (RREQ) route discovery messages, with the lowest delay. To maintain optimality in their performance metrics, minimum-weight based routing protocols change their paths frequently and incur a huge network overhead. The stability-based routing protocols attempt to discover stable routes based on the knowledge of the past topology changes, future topology changes or a combination of both. Prominent within the relatively smaller class of stability-based routing protocols proposed in the literature include: Associativity-based Routing (ABR) (Toh, 1997), Flow-Oriented Routing Protocol (FORP) (Su et. al., 2001) and the Route-lifetime Assessment Based Routing (RABR) (Agarwal et. al., 2000) protocols. ABR selects paths based on the degree of association stability, which is basically a measure of the number of beacons exchanged between two neighbor nodes. FORP selects the route that will have the largest expiration time since the time of its discovery. The expiration time of a route is measured as the minimum of the predicted expiration time of its constituent links. RABR uses the average change in the received signal strength to predict the time when the received signal strength would fall below a critical O pe n A cc es s D at ab as e w w w . in te ch w eb . o rg
Contest and scramble competition: patterns of female aggression and ranging behavior among primates

The fact that most female primates (and many other mammals) live in groups is paradoxical, given that the presence of others presumably increases competition for foods and may, for some, reduce reproductive success. Competition for food resources is generally inferred from any of the following observations: (1) female dominance hierarchies within groups; (2) female aggression between groups; (3) increasing home-range size with increasing group size; (4) longer day-range length with increasing group size; and (5) lower reproductive rates in larger groups. Both female aggression (interference competition) and adjustments of ranging behavior to group size (exploitative competition) have been linked in the past to patterns of food distribution and abundance. Using data largely from the literature, this paper examines the covariance of female aggression and ranging behavior among 20 species of primates in an attempt to better explain the variation in female relationships within and between groups of primates. Results show that groups of females are aggressive toward other groups and that home-range size increases with increasing group size in most species. In addition, in those species with strong dominance hierarchies within groups, day-range length increases as a function of group size. However, in those species that do not have strong dominance hierarchies within groups, dayrange length does not increase as a function of group size. The implications of these results are presented in a model that suggests that intergroup competition is determined by food abundance, whereas intragroup competition is determined by food distribution. This model differs from earlier models in its explanation of the ecological conditions that influence female relationships within and between groups of primates. [Behav Ecol 1991;2:143-155] Lynne A. Isbell Animal Behavior Group, Department of Anthropology, University of California, Davis, CA 95616, USA
Quantifying Uncertainty in an Industrial Approach: an Emerging Consensus in an Old Epistemological Debate

Uncertainty is ubiquitous in modern decision-making supported by quantitative modeling. While uncertainty treatment has been initially largely developed in risk or environmental assessment, it is gaining large-spread interest in many industrial fields generating knowledge and practices going beyond the classical risk versus uncertainty or epistemic versus aleatory debates. On the basis of years of applied research in different sectors at the European scale, this paper discusses the emergence of a methodological consensus throughout a number of fields of engineering and applied science such as metrology, safety and reliability, protection against natural risk, manufacturing statistics, numerical design and scientific computing etc. In relation with the applicable regula-tion and standards and a relevant quantity of interest for decision-making, this approach involves in particular the proper identification of key steps such as : the quantification (or modeling) of the sources of uncertainty, possibly involving an inverse approach ; their propagation through a pre-existing physical-industrial model; the ranking of importance or sensitivity analysis and sometimes a subsequent optimisation step. It aims at giving a consistent and industrially-realistic framework for practical mathematical modeling, assumingly restricted to quantitative and quantifiable uncertainty, and illustrated on three typical examples. Axes of further research proving critical for the environmental or industrial issues are outlined: the information challenges posed by uncertainty modeling in the context of data scarcity, and the corresponding calibration and inverse probabilistic techniques, bound to be developed to best value industrial or environmental monitoring and data acquisition systems under uncertainty; the numerical challenges entailing considerable development of high-performance computing in the field; the acceptability challenges in the context of the precautionary principle.
Linking transcription to DNA replication in mammalian mitochondria

Most of the adenosine phosphate (ATP) used to drive cellular processes is produced through oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS). At the heart of this process is the electron transport chain, which contains a number of protein complexes located in the inner membrane of mitochondria. In addition to about 90 nuclear encoded gene products, the electron transport chain also contains 13 subunits encoded by mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA). This double-stranded, circular DNA genome is therefore essential for proper OXPHOS function; mutations, deletion, or depletion of mtDNA can cause mitochondrial dysfunction and human disease. The mtDNA molecule is replicated and transcribed by molecular machineries that are distinct from those present in the nucleus. Many of the components are related to proteins identified in bacteria and bacteriophages, in keeping with the prokaryotic origin of the mitochondrion. The transcription machinery in mammalian mitochondria contains three essential factors: mitochondrial RNA polymerase (POLRMT), mitochondrial transcription factor A (TFAM), and mitochondrial transcription factor B (TFB2M). Recently, the role of TFAM as a core initiation factor has been questioned. In this thesis, we demonstrate that both TFAM and TFB2M are required for mitochondrial transcription. We also demonstrate that TFB1M, a TFB2M paralog, does not function as a bona fide transcription factor. Even if TFAM is an essential factor for transcription initiation in vitro, the absolute requirement of TFAM can be circumvented by experimental conditions that stimulate DNA breathing at the promoter. We suggest a possible explanation for this effect, by demonstrating that TFAM can introduce negative supercoils and cause conformational changes in mtDNA that facilitates promoter recognition and transcription initiation by POLRMT and TFB2M. Our studies also demonstrate that a substantial fraction of the transcription events initiated from the light strand promoter (LSP) are prematurely terminated at a conserved sequence element, CSBII. T -ends of these transcripts correspond to prominent RNA-DNA transition sites mapped in vivo, strongly suggesting that they are used to prime mitochondrial DNA synthesis. The mitochondrial transcription termination factor (MTERF1) was originally identified as a regulator of rRNA transcription. MTERF1 binds to a 28-bp mtDNA sequence downstream of the 16S rRNA gene. MTERF1 supposedly terminates transcription at this location to produce more rRNAs than the mRNAs species encoded by down stream sequences on the same strand. In this thesis, we explore an alternative role for MTERF1 as a regulator of mtDNA replication. We demonstrate that binding of MTERF1 causes a pause in the progression of the mitochondrial replication fork in one direction, but not in the other. The effect is explained by MTERF1’s ability to counteract the DNA unwinding activity of the mitochondrial DNA helicase, TWINKLE. Based on our findings, we speculate that MTERF1 can coordinate synthesis of the two mtDNA strands. ISBN 978-91-7549-063-2
Polygyny and HIV transmission in SSA: explanations for the benign concurrency effect

In a previous study, we identified a negative ecological correlation between the prevalence of polygyny and HIV at both the national and sub-national level (Reniers & Watkins, 2010 in AIDS), and therefore dubbed polygyny a case of benign partnership concurrency. In this contribution we restate the relationship between polygyny and HIV using a multilevel analysis. At the individual level, we find that polygyny positively correlates with HIV status, particularly for junior wives of polygynous men. At the aggregate level, however, the correlation is negative, suggesting that polygyny inhibits the propagation of the virus. We those results in mind, we investigate four mechanisms that contribute to the contrasting individual and aggregate-level correlations. These relate to (1) the sexual network structure characteristic of polygyny, (2) the disproportionate selection of HIV positive women into polygynous unions, (3) a reduction in the frequency of intercourse in conjugal dyads of polygynous unions (coital dilution), (4) and the restricted access to sexual partners for younger men in populations where polygynous men presumably monopolize the women. We find evidence for several of these mechanisms, and together they support the proposition that polygynous marriage systems contain or slow down the spread of HIV. We relate these results to recent discussions of partnership concurrency as one of the major factors explaining the differential spread of HIV.
Analyzing altimeter artifacts: statistical properties of ocean waveforms

In this paper waveforms, that is, returns from the ocean surface, from a number of spaceborne radar altimeter instruments [European Remote-sensing Satellites (ERS-1 and -2), TOPEX, and Poseidon] are examined. This is the first paper to analyze waveform data from a number of altimeters in a consistent manner. Mean shapes and various statistical properties (bin-to-bin correlations, number of independent samples) were determined and the authors comment on their anomalies. The analyses were performed for data over the deep ocean, as that is the best understood surface. However, the determined functional characteristics of the individual altimeters are applicable to their operation over all surfaces. The implications of the existence of these anomalies for the retrieval of geophysical parameters from radar altimeter data are discussed. It is argued that the need for physically based theories, in order to understand radar altimeter returns from the ocean (or indeed any other) surface, implies a need for the engineering and software design of the instrument to be such as to avoid spurious anomalies in the waveforms.
A Holistic Analysis of Cloud Based Big Data Mining

This paper presents a holistic analysis of the main challenges of exploring big data that has recently emerged especially due to the application of new digital technology such as social networking systems, electronic business applications among others. These applications are generated huge amounts of data that require the adaptation of the existing data mining approaches and systems. The paper describes the background of big data and cloud computing based on the latest approaches in these areas. The opportunities provided by cloud computing paradigm to enable the development of big data mining applications, business intelligence and analytics are dealt with. The main contribution of this paper is a theoretical definition of the possibilities of using cloud computing for the deployment of business intelligence applications using big data mining and analytics.
Blockade of IGFBPrP 1 attenuates canine hepatic fibrosis induced by thioacetamide via inhibition of hepatic stellate cell activation

Here we aimed to investigate the anti-fibrotic effect of the antibody against insulin-like growth factor binding protein-related protein 1 in a hepatic fibrosis canine model and explored the underlying mechanism. Advanced liver fibrosis was induced in beagles by thioacetamide administration for 12 weeks. From the 5th week, the animals received the antibody injections via the portal vein once a week. Liver biopsies were performed at weeks 0, 3, 6, 9, and 12. The pathological changes and fibrosis scores were examined. The dynamic changes in the expression of insulin-like growth factor binding protein-related protein 1, α-SMA, phosphorylation of the NF-κB subunit RelA at serine 536, and transforming growth factor β 1 during this process were studied using immunohistochemical methods. Hepatic insulin-like growth factor binding protein-related protein 1 expression significantly increased in the process of liver fibrosis from the 6th week and then sharply decreased from the 9th week due to blockade of insulin-like growth factor binding protein-related protein 1. In addition, the thioacetamide-induced liver fibrosis in the antibody-treated group was markedly attenuated as compared to that in the control group. Furthermore, the elevations in α-SMA, phosphorylation of the NF-κB subunit RelA at serine 536, and transforming growth factor β 1 levels in liver tissues were inhibited. Blockade of insulin-like growth factor binding protein-related protein 1 could ameliorate hepatic fibrosis in the canine model by inhibiting hepatic stellate cell activation and downregulating transforming growth factor β 1 via a mechanism involving the NF-κB pathway.
RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN CULTURAL PRACTICES AND HIV/AIDS TRANSMISSION IN RIVERS STATE, NIGERIA

The focus of the study is to investigate the relationship between cultural practices and HIV/AIDS transmission in Rivers State, Nigeria. Three hypotheses are generated to guide the study. Survey design is adopted for the study. The population covers all indigenes of Rivers State. A sample of 600 respondents is randomly selected for the study. The selection is done through the use of simple random sampling and purposive sampling techniques. Questionnaire is the instrument used for data collection. The instrument is face-validated by professionals in the Department of Sociology, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Port Harcourt, Port Harcourt. Furthermore, the reliability value of 0.72 Correlation Co-efficient is established for the study. Biographic data of the respondents are analysed using percentage and frequency tables while the hypotheses for the study are tested at . 05 level of significance using Pearson Product Moment Correlation. The results of the analysis reveal that female genital mutilation and tattoo practices did not relate to HIV/AIDS transmission significantly while extramarital sexual practice relates to it. Based on the findings, the study recommends, among others that the State and Local Governments should make laws that will help discourage harmful cultural practices that lead to HIV/AIDS contraction and transmission; and as well they should use the media to provide adequate information about the dangers of cultural practices (female genital mutilation, tattooing and extramarital sex) on HIV/AIDS contraction and transmission among cultural specific people in Rivers State.
Optimizing Energy Conservation Using Embedded

Energy conservation in homes has become imperative due to rising energy costs, increasing energy consumption, and a world-wide shift in environmental protection concerns. Thus, there is a growing demand for new technologies that will help to provide energy conservation techniques. Automating the control of energy consumption in common household devices provides a starting point for establishing efficient usage. Through use of existing technologies, consumption statistics and the appropriate algorithms can be combined with the ability to remotely and independently control individual devices for the purpose of energy conservation. The home automation system proposed in this paper aims to provide a method for monitoring and controlling energy consuming devices common to households.
PERFORMANCE AND PHYSIOLOGY OF YEARLING STEERS GRA ZING TOXIC TALL FESCUE AS INFLUENCED BY CONCENTRA TE FEEDING AND STEROIDAL IMPLANTS

OF THESIS PERFORMANCE AND PHYSIOLOGY OF YEARLING STEERS GRAZING TOXIC TALL FESCUE AS INFLUENCED BY CONCENTRATE FEEDING AND STEROIDAL IMPLANTS Fescue toxicosis can produce negative effects on animal weight gain and physiology. Sixty-four steers were grazed on endophyte-infected (E+) KY-31 tall fescue for 77 days in 2007 and sixty steers grazed for 86 days in 2008 to evaluate interactions with implantation of steroidal implants and concentrate feeding on performance and physiology of yearling steers. Steers were stratified by body weight for assignment to six, 3.0-ha toxic tall fescue pastures. The main plot treatment of with or without pelleted soybean hulls (SBH) were randomly assigned to pastures. Pelleted SBH were group-fed to provide daily consumptions of 2.3 kg/steer/d (as fed). Sub-plot treatments of with or without ear implantation with steroid hormone (200 mg progesterone – 20 mg estradiol) were assigned to groups of five or six steers within each pasture. Average daily gain in the experiment showed an additive effect of feeding SBH and implanting (P<0.05). Rectal temperatures were highest in cattle being fed SBH (P<0.05) with no implantation. There is a trend for a higher frequency of sleek hair coats with feeding SBH (P<0.10). The results of this experiment indicate that feeding SBH and implementing steroidal implantation can increase steer weight gain. In addition, providing SBH can increase the shedding of rough hair coats of fescue cattle.
Biogeography of Indo-Pacific Pontoniinae (Crustacea, Decapoda): a PAE analysis

Aim Pontoniid shrimps are one of the most abundant coral reef associated taxa in the Indo-Pacific. Although taxonomically well known, their ecology, life history and biogeography appears virtually unstudied. The object of the present contribution is to derive a basin wide biogeographical hypothesis, using a limited number of operational geographic units (OGU). Location Twelve OGU’s were selected, spanning the entire Indo-Pacific, from the East coast of Africa and the Red Sea to the Tropical Eastern Pacific (TEP). Methods Analysis was based on a species by OGU matrix, in which presences (1) and putative occurrences (? ) were coded. Parsimony analysis of endemicity (PAE) was applied to the data set, using Dollo and Wagner Parsimony. Results A hierarchical pattern of area relationships was derived, with the TEP occupying a basal position, Hawaii and French Polynesia occupy positions higher up in the cladogram, whilst the Melanesian OGU maintains a sister-area relationship to the crown clade. The latter consists of the Indo-Philippine area, the Australian and all Indian Ocean OGUs. Main conclusions Pontoniinae exhibit a clear hierarchical pattern of area relationships, which is congruent with previous biogeographical studies on coral reef and other taxa. The observed pattern can be explained by a combination of dispersal and vicariant events, whilst the importance of sea level changes is recognized.