Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Incident occurrence and response on urban freeways

Research on road safety has been of great interest to engineers and planners for decades. Regardless of modeling techniques, a serious factor of inaccuracy - in most past studies - has been data aggregation. Nowadays, most freeways are equipped with continuous surveillance systems making disaggregate traffic data readily available ; these have been used in few studies. In this context, the main objective of this dissertation is to capitalize highway traffic data collected on a real-time basis at the moment of accident occurrence in order to expand previous road safety work and to highlight potential further applications. To this end, we first examine the effects of various traffic parameters on type of road crash as well as on the injury level sustained by vehicle occupants involved in accidents, while controlling for environmental and geometric factors. Probit models are specified on 4-years of data from the A4-A86 highway section in the Ile-de -France region, France. Empirical findings indicate that crash type can almost exclusively be defined by the prevailing traffic conditions shortly before its occurrence. Increased traffic volume is found to have a consistently positive effect on severity, while speed has a differential effect on severity depending on flow conditions. We then establish a conceptual framework for incident management applications using real-time traffic data on urban freeways. We use dissertation previous findings to explore potential implications towards incident propensity detection and enhanced management
Phytoplankton Responses To Vertical Tidal Mixing

Vertical mixing of the water column in estuaries and other coastal environments requires an input of mechanical energy that is mainly provided by the tides, the wind stress on the water surface and the fresh water runoff. Variations in these three sources are known to have a marked influence on the phytoplankton. At the seasonal scale, river runoff has been identified as an important driving force of phytoplankton dynamics. For example, Gilmartin (1964) has shown that the increased river runoff during the winter in Indian Arm (a fjord of Western Canada) destabilizes the water column which favors the replenishment of the surface mixed layer in nutrients. These nutrients are subsequently used for the initiation of the phytoplankton spring bloom, when the water column stabilizes following the decrease in runoff. At the time scale of a few days, physical transient phenomena (wind storms, periodic upwelling, etc.) associated with the passage of frontal disturbances (Heath, 1973; Walsh et al., 1977) are also strong destabilizing agents of the water column. Iverson et al. (1974), Takashi et al. (1977), Walsh et al. (1978), Walsh (1981) and Legendre et al. (1982) have reported intermittent phytoplankton blooms following stabilization of a water column previously destabilized by strong winds.
VACE-WPE: Virtual Acoustic Channel Expansion Based on Neural Networks for Weighted Prediction Error-Based Speech Dereverberation

Speech dereverberation is an important issue for many real-world speech processing applications. Among the techniques developed, the weighted prediction error (WPE) algorithm has been widely adopted and advanced over the last decade, which blindly cancels out the late reverberation component from the reverberant mixture of microphone signals. In this study, we extend the neural-network-based virtual acoustic channel expansion (VACE) framework for the WPE-based speech dereverberation, a variant of the WPE that we recently proposed to enable the use of dual-channel WPE algorithm in a single-microphone speech dereverberation scenario. Based on the previous study, some ablation studies are conducted regarding the constituents of the VACE-WPE in an offline processing scenario. These studies reveal the characteristics of the system, thereby simplifying the architecture and leading to the introduction of new strategies for training the neural network for the VACE. Experimental results demonstrate that VACE-WPE (our PyTorch implementation and pre-trained models are available from https://github.com/dreadbird06/vace_wpe) considerably outperforms its single-channel counterpart in simulated noisy reverberant environments in terms of objective speech quality and is superior to the single-channel WPE as well as several fully neural speech dereverberation methods when employed as the front-end for the far-field automatic speech recognizer.
AN ASSESSMENT OF PHYTOPLANKTON DIVERSITY OF TIGHRA RESERVOIR, GWALIOR (MADHYA PRADESH)

Phytoplanktons which are present in a variety of aquatic habitats were studied with respect to their species diversity and seasonal distribution. Studies on phytoplankton of Tighra reservoir, Gwalior (M.P.) were undertaken for one complete year (November 2010 to October 2011). Among the total 26 genera recorded during the study, 9 were from Bacillariophyceae, 9 from Chlorophyceae, 6 from Myxophyceae and 2 from Euglenophyceae. Bacillariophyceae was the most dominant group followed by Myxophyceae, Chlorophyceae, and Euglenophyceae. Seasonal variations were observed in the distribution of phytoplankton. Seasonally, the number was highest during summer. An Assessment of Phytoplankton Diversity of Tighra Reservoir, Gwalior (Madhya Pradesh)
The urban and regional segregation of indigenous Australians: Out of sight, out of mind?

That Indigenous Australians occupy the continent’s more remote spaces appears as something of a self-evident fact. In many ways this social and spatial disconnection has become an increasingly important in explanations for the dramatic gaps in life-chances and disadvantage of Aboriginal Australians. Yet it also underlies commonsense understandings of Indigeneity where it is seen as intransigent and its problems self-inflicted as the result of not joining mainstream white culture and market-oriented ways of being. Such perspectives lags a knowledge of the real spatial distribution of Indigenous Australians across its inner regional and urban areas. Life, for the majority of the Australian Indigenous population is, in fact, urban, and the lived experience of socio-economic disparities is particularly acute between Indigenous and non-Indigenous populations in urban locations. Yet such proximity is not generally matched by daily social contact or the entwining of white and black institutional contexts. Our analysis in this paper highlights how it is that socio-economic exclusion and political marginalisation for Indigenous Australians continues in large part because it is out of the sight of white Australians even while residing side by side.
Analysis of bonds in the Erzgebirge/ Krušnohoří Euroregion

The following paper is a part of the grant project ? Analysis of bonds in the Erzgebirge/ Krusnohoři Euroregion? 1. In the beginning, we focus on the topic of borders and their importance within a particular area, also from the perspective of creating local communities and regional identity. Such topics have been researched e. g. by Zich (Zich et al. 2000), Jeřabek (Jeřabek et al. 2001) or Houžvicka (Houžvicka, Novotný 2007). Furthermore, the paper focuses on cross-border cooperation and the concept of euroregions. The main attention is given to the Erzgebirge/ Krusnohoři Euroregion and its historical development. The theoretical part is supported by a presentation of the research results.
Evolution of Titan's rocky core constrained by Cassini observations

We model the thermal evolution of Titan's core and search for solutions that are consistent with the mean moment of inertia yielded by the Cassini‐Huygens Mission. Like previous studies we assume that Titan's core is enriched in hydrated silicates. However, our modeling accounts for the possible dehydration of these minerals. The resulting models are consistent with Titan's moment of inertia if the inner dry silicate core remains smaller than ∼1300 km in radius. This constraint is met if at least 30% of potassium was leached from the silicate during the hydration event, i.e., the core is depleted in one of its major heat source. In this scenario, the core is currently undergoing dehydration.
Uncertainty in future high flows in Qiantang River Basin, China

Uncertainties in high flows originating from greenhouse gas emissions scenarios, hydrological model structures, and their parameters for the Jinhua River basin, China, were assessed. The baseline (1961–90) and future (2011–40) climates for A1B, A2, and B2 scenarios were downscaled from the general circulation model (GCM) using the Providing Regional Climates for Impacts Studies (PRECIS) regional climate model with a spatial resolution of 50 km × 50 km. Bias-correction methods were applied to the PRECIS-derived temperature and precipitation. The bias-corrected precipitation and temperature were used as inputs for three hydrological models [modele du Genie Rural a 4 parametres Journalier (GR4J), Hydrologiska Byrans Vattenbalansavdelning (HBV), and Xinanjiang] to simulate high flows. The parameter uncertainty was considered and quantified in the hydrological model calibration by means of the generalized likelihood uncertainty estimation (GLUE) method for each hydrological model for the three emissions scenarios. It was found that, compared with the high flows in the baseline period, the high flows in the future tended to decrease under scenarios A1B, A2, and B2. The largest uncertainty was observed in HBV, and GR4J had the smallest uncertainty. It was found that the major source of uncertainty in this study was from parameters, followed by the uncertainties from the hydrological model structure, and the emissions scenarios have the smallest uncertainty contribution to high flows in this study.
Stuctural and functional progression in glaucoma: some aspects

This thesis explored some aspects of the relationship between structural progression of the glaucomatous optic nerve head (ONH) and functional progression of the visual field. Sixty-one individuals with a longitudinal series of ONH images were manually identified from a database of approximately 2800 individuals attending a hospital glaucoma clinic. The ONH images obtained from the various photographic sources were equalized, for each individual, in terms of ONH size. Custom-software was designed to enable the viewing of consecutive and chronologically different ONH image-pairs under monoscopic and stereoscopic conditions, with and without sequential flicker. The efficacy, for the identification of progressive glaucomatous loss, amongst the 61 individuals, of the four viewing techniques was qualitatively evaluated by two ophthalmologists. Stereo-flicker identified the largest number of cases of progression, although little agreement was present between the two ophthalmologists. The digital characteristics of the ONH images from 27 of the 61 individuals enabled quantitative digital stereo-planimetry. A weak positive curvilinear association was present, at baseline, between the reduction in the neuroretinal rim area and the outcomes of perimetry, including residual retinal ganglion cell (RGC) count. However, little agreement was again present between the two ophthalmologists. Little association was present with either ophthalmologist between progressive structural damage and functional damage. A separate manual search of 1000 individuals with glaucoma archived in ‘Open eyes’ identified 112 individuals with a minimum of 5 visual field examinations over a minimum of 5 years. The outcomes at each stimulus location of the differential light sensitivity, expressed in decibels (dB), and of the residual RGC count, against time to follow-up, were compared using univariate linear regression analysis. In general, residual RGC count identified progression, in terms of a greater statistical significance and/ or of more stimulus locations, at an earlier stage of the disease than sensitivity expressed in dB.
Plasma observations on Explorer 34

This paper discusses results of the Explorer 34 plasma detector obtained during three magnetic storms, May 30, June 5, and June 25, 1967. Detailed comparisons with magnetic field observations on the same satellite are used to interpret the observations and to identify shocks and tangential discontinuities. A relation between the magnitude of such sudden changes in the earth's magnetic field and the solar wind parameters has been derived by Siscoe. Our observations are consistent with this relationship. The local shock speeds are derived from data obtained at the time of the sudden commencements. An example of an si+ si− pair is discussed, and in this case the negative impulse is shown to be due to a tangential discontinuity rather than a shock, whereas the positive impulse is associated with a shock. Helium observations are described that show that during the main phase of some geomagnetic storms the abundance ratio na/np shows a marked increase. In the May 30 storm it attained a value of 0.15 ± 0.02, 5½ hours after the sc, an increase of seven times over the value observed earlier.
A detailed pollen record of vegetation and climate changes in Central China during the past 16 000 years

Zhu, C. , Ma, C. , Yu, S. ‐Y. , Tang, L. , Zhang, W. & Lu, X. 2009: A detailed pollen record of vegetation and climate changes in Central China during the past 16 000 years. Boreas, 10.1111/j.1502‐3885.2009. 00098.x. ISSN 0300‐9483.
Effectiveness of Transit Strategies Targeting Elderly People

The problem of the aging population has brought new challenges for transportation researchers. The Department of Health and Human Services predicts by the year 2030, the elderly population (65+) in the US will approximately be doubled. As the percentage of seniors rapidly increases within the population, it becomes more important to provide them with innovative transportation alternatives that help them maintain their independence while also assuring safety and comfort of other transit users. Exploring the strategies that can improve seniors’ perception of the public transit system was the main goal of this study. A comprehensive survey was designed and seniors’ travel attributes in the Chicago Metropolitan Area were collected. The survey covered four common trip purposes (shopping, doctor visit, social, and work) and different travel modes available in the Chicago region including various combinations of non-motorized, auto drive, and three commonly used public transit modes of Metra Commuter Rail, Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) and PACE Suburban Bus. Survey respondents were also asked to provide their opinions about the existing and alternative transit services within the region. A descriptive analysis of the stated preference data was then conducted. The results of the analysis represent seniors’ preferred alternatives and effective strategies for system improvement. Furthermore, policy analysis using the modeled results examines the effective factors that could be considered and applied to improve transit services to encourage senior citizens to use public transportation facilities more often.
Glia- and Neuron-specific Expression of the Renin-Angiotensin System in Brain Alters Blood Pressure, Water Intake, and Salt Preference*

The purpose of this study is to examine the regulation of blood pressure and fluid and electrolyte homeostasis in mice overexpressing angiotensin II (Ang-II) in the brain and to determine whether there are significant physiologic differences in Ang-II production in neurons or glia. Therefore, we generated and characterized transgenic mice overexpressing human renin (hREN) under the control of the glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) promoter (GFAP-hREN) and synapsin-I promoter (SYN-hREN) and bred them with mice expressing human angiotensinogen (hAGT) under the control of the same promoters (GFAP-hAGT and SYN-hAGT). Both GFAP-hREN and SYN-hREN mice exhibited the highest hREN mRNA expression in the brain and had undetectable levels of hREN protein in the systemic circulation. In the brain of GFAP-hREN and SYN-hREN mice, hREN protein was observed almost exclusively in astrocytes and neurons, respectively. Transgenic mice overexpressing both hREN and hAGT transgenes in either glia or neurons were moderately hypertensive. In the glia-targeted mice, blood pressure could be corrected by intracerebroventricular injection of the Ang-II type 1 receptor antagonist losartan, and intravenous injection of a ganglion blocking agent, but not an arginine vasopressin V1 receptor antagonist, lowered blood pressure. These data suggest that stimulation of Ang-II type 1 receptors in the brain by Ang-II derived from local synthesis of renin and angiotensinogen can cause an elevation in blood pressure via a mechanism involving enhanced sympathetic outflow. Glia- and neuron-targeted mice also exhibited an increase in drinking volume and salt preference, suggesting that chronic overexpression of renin and angiotensinogen locally in the brain can result in hypertension and alterations in fluid homeostasis.
Duration and nature of the end-Cryogenian (Marinoan) glaciation

The end-Cryogenian glaciation (Marinoan) is portrayed commonly as the archetype of snowball Earth, yet its duration and character remain uncertain. Here we report U-Pb zircon ages for two ash beds from widely separated localities of the Marinoan-equivalent Ghaub Formation in Namibia: 639.29 ± 0.26 Ma and 635.21 ± 0.59 Ma. These findings verify, for the first time, the key prediction of the snowball Earth hypothesis for the Marinoan glaciation, i.e., longevity, with a duration of ≥4 m.y. They also show that the nonglacial interlude of Cryogenian time spanned 20 m.y. or less and that glacigenic erosion and sedimentation, and at least intermittent open-water conditions, occurred 4 m.y. prior to termination of the Marinoan glaciation.
Influence of shade regimes on the physiological parameters of ginger

A study was carried out at College of Agriculture, Vellayani to determine the relation of various physiological parameters on the yield of ginger under different shade levels. The experimental design was a completely randomized design with five treatments (0, 20, 40, 60 and 80 per cent shade levels) and four replications. Higher dry matter production (DMP), leaf area index (LAI), net assimilation rate (NAR) and crop growth rate (CGR) were observed in low shade level (20 per cent). The higher yield at this shade level may be due to the higher values of these physiological parameters. The results suggest a positive response of shade on the physiological parameters and yield of ginger, provided the intensity of shade is low. Regression equation fitted showed the influence of shade on DMP, NAR, CGR and yield, while no significant relation was observed with regard to LAI.
Environmental Land Use Planning and Management

Environmental Land Use Planning and Management is a unique new textbook that presents a diverse, comprehensive, and coordinated approach to issues of land use planning and management and their impacts on the environment. It builds on recent advances in environmental science, engineering, and geospatial information technologies to provide students with the scientific foundation they need to understand both natural land systems and engineering approaches that can mitigate impacts of land use practices. While offering a base of knowledge in planning theory and natural science, its primary emphasis is on describing and explaining emerging approaches, methods, and techniques for environmental land use planning, design, and policy. The book is divided into two parts. Part I, "Environmental Land Use Management," introduces broad concepts of environmental planning and describes management approaches. Those approaches include collaborative environmental management, land conservation, environmental design, government land use management, natural hazard mitigation, and ecosystem and watershed management. Part II, "Environmental Land Use Principles and Planning Analysis," focuses on land analysis methods, such as geospatial data and geographic information systems (GIS); soils and slope analysis; assessment of stormwater quantity and quality; land use and groundwater protection; ecological assessment for vegetation, wetlands, and habitats; and integrated analytical techniques like land suitability analysis, carrying capacity studies, and environmental impact assessment. Environmental Land Use Planning and Management offers a unique interdisciplinary perspective with an emphasis on application. It is an important new text for advanced undergraduate and graduate courses in environmental planning, landscape architecture, geography, environmental studies, and natural resource management, and a valuable resource for professionals and others concerned with issues of environmental planning and land use.
The tsunami geomorphology of coastal dunes

Abstract. An examination of the coastal geomorphology of bays along the Otago coastline, SE New Zealand, has identified a geomorphology consistent with tsunami inundation. A tsunami geomorphology consisting of a number of elements including dune pedestals, hummocky topography, parabolic dune systems, and post-tsunami features resulting from changes to the nearshore sediment budget is discussed. The most prominent features at Blueskin Bay are eroded pedestals although it is speculated that hummocky topography may be present in the bay. Tsunami geomorphology at Long Beach is more comprehensive with a marked association between pedestals and a hummocky topography. A full suite of potential geomorphological features however, is not present at either site. The type of features formed by a tsunami, and the ability to detect and interpret a tsunami geomorphology, hinges on the interaction between five key variables; sand availability, embayment type, nature of the coast, accumulation space, and landward environmental conditions. An appreciation of the geomorphic setting and history of a coast is therefore of fundamental importance when identifying what to look for and where to look for tsunami evidence. It is also important to realise that these features can also be formed by other processes.