Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Hurricane risk assessment in a long temporal scale

In coastal areas, hurricane, also referred to as typhoon, is one of the costliest and deadliest natural disasters. While hurricanes are unavoidable, their risk can be considerably lessened by numerous approaches, such as an appropriate system of sea defense structures. The reliability of those solutions depends on the accuracy of key typhoon parameters, which are used as inputs for the analysis processes. Currently, all hurricane estimation methods are based on historical records of typhoon tracks and intensities. However, the most crucial limitation relates to the small sample size because hurricanes are both relatively infrequent and small in terms of the length of coastlines affected by these typhoons each year. Therefore, it is difficult to derive accurate key parameter of the strongest typhoons, on which risk analysis and design of coastal defense structures must be relied. The paper presents an advanced technique that can compensate for the lack of reliable hurricane observations and can be utilized for any simulation period. Although only South China Sea region is examined, the approach can be applied to all other locations. This is because of the unchanged theoretical methodology for all case studies and all the required parameters can be searched and extracted from global databases. In this study, the empirical track model is chosen as the theoretical framework for its potential advantages over other techniques. A large database of synthetic tracks is modeled, starting with their initial point and ending with their landfall location or point of final dissipation over the sea. This approach is validated through comparisons between the hurricane statistics derived from the historical data and the simulated ones over the entire research area (i.e. the South China Sea). The results show an acceptable accuracy, even if the input data are short.
Preterm birth and risk of sleep-disordered breathing from childhood into mid-adulthood.

BACKGROUND Preterm birth (gestational age <37 weeks) has previously been associated with cardiometabolic and neuropsychiatric disorders into adulthood, but has seldom been examined in relation to sleep disorders. We conducted the first population-based study of preterm birth in relation to sleep-disordered breathing (SDB) from childhood into mid-adulthood. METHODS A national cohort study was conducted of all 4 186 615 singleton live births in Sweden during 1973-2014, who were followed for SDB ascertained from nationwide inpatient and outpatient diagnoses through 2015 (maximum age 43 years). Cox regression was used to examine gestational age at birth in relation to SDB while adjusting for other perinatal and maternal factors, and co-sibling analyses assessed for potential confounding by unmeasured shared familial factors. RESULTS There were 171 100 (4.1%) persons diagnosed with SDB in 86.0 million person-years of follow-up. Preterm birth was associated with increased risk of SDB from childhood into mid-adulthood, relative to full-term birth (39-41 weeks) [adjusted hazard ratio (aHR), ages 0-43 years: 1.43; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.40, 1.46; P <0.001; ages 30-43 years: 1.40; 95% CI, 1.34, 1.47; P <0.001]. Persons born extremely preterm (<28 weeks) had more than 2-fold risks (aHR, ages 0-43 years: 2.63; 95% CI, 2.41, 2.87; P <0.001; ages 30-43 years: 2.22; 95% CI, 1.64, 3.01; P <0.001). These associations affected both males and females, but accounted for more SDB cases among males (additive interaction, P = 0.003). Co-sibling analyses suggested that these findings were only partly due to shared genetic or environmental factors in families. CONCLUSIONS Preterm-born children and adults need long-term follow-up for anticipatory screening and potential treatment of SDB.
Cognition, Concurrency Theory and Reverberations in the Brain: in Search of a Calculus of Communicating (Recurrent) Neural Systems

We consider whether techniques from concurrency theory can be applied in the area of Cognitive Neuroscience. We focus on two potential applications. The first of these explores structural decomposition, which is effectively assumed by the localisation of function metaphor that so dominates current Cognitive Neuroscience. We take concurrency theory methods, especially Process Calculi, as canonical illustrations of system description notations that support structural decomposition and, in particular, encapsulation of behaviour. We argue that carrying these behavioural and notational properties over to the Cognitive Neuroscience setting is difficult, since neural networks (the modelling method of choice) are not naturally encapsulable. Our second application presents work on verifying stability properties of neural network learning algorithms using model checking. We thereby present evidence that a particular learning algorithm, the Generalised Recirculation algorithm, exhibits an especially severe form of instability, whereby it forgets what it has learnt, while continuing to be trained on the same pattern set.
An institutional study: Does Body Mass Index influence surgical approach, surgical morbidities, and outcomes in endometrial cancer patients?

Background Endometrial Cancer (EC), the most common genital tract malignancy in women, is recognised to be associated with a high Body Mass Index (BMI). Objective The aim of the study was to evaluate the impact of obesity on intra and post-operative morbidity for patients treated for EC. Materials and Methods This was a retrospective observational study including patients with EC that were surgically treated at Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau during nine consecutive years. The patients were divided in groups according to BMI: <30 Kg/m2, ≥30-<40 Kg/m2 and ≥40 Kg/m2. Demographic and pathological characteristics, surgical outcomes, perioperative complications and long-term outcomes were recorded. Results The study included 290 patients; 164 patients with BMI <30 Kg/m2 (56.5%), 107 patients with ≥30-<40 Kg/m2 36.9%) and 19 patients with ≥40 Kg/m2(6.65%). Patients with BMI ≥40Kg/m2 were younger, presented a higher percentage of endometrioid histology (84.2%, p<0.01), well-differentiated tumours (73.7%, p<0.01) and were more frequently in the initial stages at diagnosis (94.7%) compared to the other groups. A significant percentage of the patients were operated on laparoscopically (88.7%, 88.8%, 94.7% respectively). No significant differences were found in the evaluation of the surgical outcomes. The results relative to complications showed an overall tendency toward increase in the ≥40 Kg/m2 BMI group but no statistical differences were identified among the groups in terms of complications or long-term outcomes. Conclusions There was a rising trend towards increased complications with increasing BMI in the study population, however, this was found not to be statistically significant. Therefore, the optimisation of co- morbidities and the adaptation of surgical treatment is important for the management of obese patients with endometrial cancer. What is new? The study allows the comparison between groups with different BMI in patients with endometrial cancer. Different surgical outcomes, intra operative, early, and late complications are clearly identified, and survival outcomes are also investigated in our study.
Activation of Platelet Function Through G Protein–Coupled Receptors Platelets as Immune Cells: Bridging Inflammation and Cardiovascular Disease In Vivo Thrombus Formation Platelet Adhesion Platelet Inhibitors and Thrombus Formation

Beyond an eminent role in hemostasis and thrombosis, platelets are characterized by expert functions in assisting and modulating inflammatory reactions and immune responses. This is achieved by the regulated expression of adhesive and immune receptors on the platelet surface and by the release of a multitude of secretory products including inflammatory mediators and cytokines, which can mediate the interaction with leukocytes and enhance their recruitment. In addition, platelets are characterized by an enormous surface area and open canalicular system, which in concert with specialized recognition receptors may contribute to the engulfment of serum components, antigens, and pathogens. Platelet-dependent increases in leukocyte adhesion may not only account for an exacerbation of atherosclerosis, for arterial repair processes, but also for lymphocyte trafficking during adaptive immunity and host defense. This review compiles a selection of platelet-derived tools for bridging inflammation and vascular disease and highlights the molecular key components governing platelet-mediated mechanisms operative in immune surveillance, vascular remodeling, and atherosclerosis. (Circ Res. 2007;100:27-40.)
La Rentabilidad Desde La Organización Industrial: Una Revisión De Trabajos (The Returns from Industrial Organization a Literature Review)

Spanish Abstract: El tema de la rentabilidad ha sido abordado desde diferentes tradiciones del analisis economico, en el presente articulo se presenta el analisis, que sobre la rentabilidad, realiza la teoria de la organizacion industrial. La organizacion industrial es la parte de la economia que estudia como se organizan los productores en los mercados; se ha desarrollado desde las vertientes clasicas, que resaltan la importancia del analisis a nivel de la industria para explicar las diferencias en los niveles de rentabilidad, hasta las propuestas neoclasicas y las estrategico-empresariales, que se fundamentan en el analisis de la firma y sus caracteristicas. La evolucion de este asunto es presentada haciendo referencia a algunos articulos que han utilizado la tecnica de VARCOMP, un procedimiento estadistico que permite establecer la participacion porcentual de ciertos factores, llamados efectos, en la varianza total de una variable. Este procedimiento fue retomado por el grupo de investigacion en Economia y Empresa de la universidad EAFIT, en la linea de investigacion de la politica coyuntural de la empresa, para una muestra de empresas manufactureras en el periodo 1995-2000.English Abstract: The issue of profits has been interpreted from different traditions of the economic analysis, this article presents the analysis made by the industrial organization theory. The industrial organization theory is the discipline of the economics that studies how the producers organize themselves in the structures of the market; its development comes from the classical strand, in which the industry level explains the differences between profits, to the neoclassical and strategic and management proposals, which are based on the firm characteristics. The evolution of this topic is presented making reference to some articles using the VARCOMP, a procedure that allows to establish the share of some factors, called “effects. ” in the total variance of a variable. This procedure was taken by the group of research on economics and business, to apply it to a sample of manufacturing companies in Colombia, during the period 1995-2000.
Contribution à l'étude écologique des groupements à Ulex parviflorus Pourr. En Provence calcaire : régénération, structure, productivité et dynamique des bio-éléments

L'etude auto-ecologique d'ulex parviflorus pourr. , legumineuse arbustive en basse-provence calcaire, s'inscrit dans le cadre de recherches sur le fonctionnement des ecosystemes arbustifs mediterraneens. Elle est abordee dans une perspective dynamique, a travers certains aspects ecophysiologiques, et s'attache a mettre en evidence les reactions de l'espece aux facteurs environnementaux, afin de l'integrer dans l'evolution de la vegetation. L'etude des potentialites de regeneration et de production de biomasse, le suivi saisonnier des bio-elements dans le vegetal en relation avec les parametres climatiques et edaphiques stationnels, l'etude des apports d'elements au sol par la litiere, permettent de degager quelques caracteristiques ecophysiologiques de l'espece expliquant sa position dynamique et son role sur le milieu. La variete des methodes utilisees souligne la diversite des conditions ecologiques des stations d'etude et les differences interstationnelles dans le comportement de l'espece. Ulex parviflorus apparait principalement comme une espece pionniere des successions post-incendies ou post-culturales sur sols meubles ou elle peut constituer rapidement des peuplements limitant le developpement d'autres arbustes. Elle possede en outre des caracteres de xerophyte et d'espece de sol peu fertile lui permettant de s'installer dans des milieux plus degrades ou elle contribue a ameliorer les potentialites edaphiques du fait de la richesse en azote de sa biomasse. Ulex parviflorus se revele ainsi comme une espece possedant de grandes facultes d'adaptation pouvant coloniser des milieux varies. De plus, par son role sur le sol, elle favoriserait l'implantation d'especes forestieres plus exigeantes et accelererait l'evolution progressive de la vegetation. Ulex parviflorus peut ainsi etre considere comme un indicateur dynamique qui constitue un stade pre-forestier
High-Resolution Aerosol Maps Exploiting the Synergy of ATSR-2 and GOME

Currently operational satellite observation of aerosols is limited to either the oceans or over land to high reaching or UV-absorbing aerosols with reduced horizontal resolution. To overcome these restrictions the new aerosol retrieval method SYNAER (SYNergetic AErosol Retrieval) was developed within the ESA-AO2 project PAGODA (Project for ATSR and GOME Data Application). SYNAER delivers boundary layer aerosol optical thickness (BLAOT) and type over both land and ocean, the latter as BLAOT percentage contribution of 10 representative components from the OPAC (Optical Parameters of Aerosols and Clouds) dataset. The high spatial resolution of ATSR-2 permits cloud detection, BLAOT calculation over automatically selected dark pixels and surface albedo correction for a set of different boundary layer aerosol mixtures. After spatial integration to GOME pixels these parameters are used to simulate GOME spectra for the same set of different aerosol mixtures. A least square fit of these spectra to the measured spectrum delivers the BLAOT value and - if a uniqueness test is passed - the aerosol mixture. By a feedback of the most frequent type of aerosol in GOME pixels within an ATSR-2 frame to the ATSR-2 optical thickness values high resolution aerosol maps are produced. Within the ESA-AO3 project PAGODA-2 (Extending the Applicability of New Methods from PAGODA) SYNAER is currently being validated and further extended. First case studies using ground based sun-photometer measurements of the spectral aerosol optical thickness from NASA's Aerosol Robotic Network (AERONET) show a good agreement.
Overview of seasonal sand level changes on southern California beaches

Seasonal airborne and ground-based observations of sand level changes were made along the coast of southern California from 2001 to 2008. Hourly, high alongshore spatial resolution wave estimates from a network of wave buoys and a spectral refraction wave model complement the sand level change data. Water returns from the ocean surface were removed from the airborne lidar elevation observations with a new method using tide and wave data, which was validated with concurrent in situ surveys. The resultant sand levels show high alongshore variability in seasonal shoreline position change along the 120-km survey region. Alongshore variability in wave energy, geologic factors, and sand grain size are hypothesized to control the alongshore variability of the seasonal shoreline change magnitude. Monthly or more frequent ground-based surveys at four selected focus sites show seasonal shoreline and bathymetry change, with winter shoreline erosion and offshore bar development, and summer shoreline accretion and the loss of the offshore bar. Analysis of surveys completed after a small beach nourishment at Torrey Pines Beach showed the presence of the nourishment through more than one full seasonal cycle. Observations from Torrey Pines Beach show the dependence of shoreline change on the initial shoreline position and the wave forcing. The observations motivated the development of an equilibrium shoreline change model, which accurately reproduces the observations with four free parameters. With at least two years of monthly surveys or multiple years of appropriately-timed biannual observations used to determine the free parameters, the model accurately predicts withheld observations and is applied at the additional survey sites. Ongoing work includes applying the model at additional locations and investigating the relationship between the tuned parameters and geologic factors
Crustal-scale Structure of the Eurasian Continental Margin in the Northern South China Sea, Offshore Taiwan from Seismic Reflection and Wide-angle OBS Data

Multi-channel seismic reflection data and wide-angle OBS data collected in 2009 offshore southwest Taiwan as part of the TAIGER program delineate the crustal structure of the Eurasian rifted continental margin in the northern South China Sea. Geophysical studies in central and southwest South China Sea have revealed the Eurasian margin to be a wide, structurally complex margin, with variable associated volcanic activity. The new TAIGER active source seismic data provide some of the first high-resolution crustal-scale constraints on the opening of the South China Sea basin near present-day Taiwan, as well as images of crustal materials that may serve as analogs for the materials involved in the formation of the nearby Taiwan mountain belt. The new reflection imaging and travel-time tomography show 3-4 km of passive margin sediments overlying continental crust over 20 km thick. Listric normal faults along the continental shelf offset shallow sediments and penetrate deep into the crust. At the base of the continental slope, a necking zone where crust thins to ~4 km is observed in both a travel-time tomography velocity model and reflection images. This necking zone is characterized by a rapidly shoaling Moho, a half-graben structure in the thinned crust, thick sediments and local volcanic activity. Crust thickens gradually basin-ward to 10-12 km thick. While this thickness is consistent with observations from previous potential field studies, seismic velocities of this crustal block are consistent with transitional crust elsewhere in the South China Sea, rather than anomalously thick ocean crust as has been previously inferred. Instead, these new data suggest a zone of seamounts at ~ 20° latitude may serve as the boundary between the block of 10-12 km thick transitional crust to the north and normal ocean crust of the South China Sea basin to the south. Future geophysical imaging and modeling efforts may shed light on the tectonic history of the South China Sea and the influence of pre-existing margin structure on mountain-building processes in Taiwan.
Education Policy and Tax Competition with Imperfect Student and Labor Mobility (Revised Version, Feb. 2010)

This paper analyzes the effect of increasing human-capital mobility -- i.e. student and labor mobility -- on net tax revenues when revenue-maximizing governments compete for human capital by means of income tax rates and amenities offered to students (positive expenditure) or rather tuition fees (negative expenditure). An increase in labor mobility implies neither an intensified tax competition nor an erosion of revenues. In fact, the equilibrium tax rate even increases in labor mobility. Amenities offered to students are non-monotonically related to labor mobility; overall, net revenues increase in labor mobility. An increase in student mobility, however, erodes revenues, mainly due to intensified tax competition. A concurrent cutback in expenditures mitigates this erosion but cannot fully prevent it.
Land management : data availability and process understanding for global change studies

This article has been accepted for publication and undergone full peer review but has not been through the copyediting, typesetting, pagination and proofreading process, which may lead to differences between this version and the Version of Record. Please cite this article as doi: 10.1111/gcb.13443 This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved. Received Date : 22-Apr-2016 Revised Date : 11-Jul-2016 Accepted Date : 13-Jul-2016 Article type : Research Review
A study of quality management practices in TQM and non‐TQM firms: Findings from the ASEAN automotive industry

Purpose – The primary objective of this research is to explore whether total quality management (TQM) firms execute various quality management practices significantly differently from non‐TQM firms in the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) automotive supply chain. The study also aims to analyze differences between different tiers of this supply chain and to examine the relationship between the implementation of quality management systems and adoption of TQM.Design/methodology/approach – A total of 165 datasets collected from ASEAN automotive Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) and their tier 1 and 2 suppliers in five ASEAN countries were tested by using cross‐tabulation analysis and ANOVA with post hoc test.Findings – The results show that firms that have successfully implemented the concept of work standardization or process‐approach through quality management systems (QMS) certification have tended to pursue TQM as the subsequent stage in their quality journey. In addition, the study fo.
Tandems patient-aidant face au retentissement familial et social deux ans après la survenue d’un AVC au Grand-duché de Luxembourg

Introduction L’accident vasculaire cerebral (AVC) est un evenement majeur, traumatisant, amenant des bouleversements considerables au point de constituer, selon une these communement acceptee, une rupture biographique (Bury, 1982), aussi bien dans la vie de la personne atteinte de l’AVC que dans celle de ses proches. Bien sur, tous les AVC ne sont pas de meme gravite et les situations rencontrees sont extremement variees, bien que la question de la stigmatisation du handicap est souvent presente. Cette stigmatisation est en grande partie liee a certaines representations sociales du handicap physique et mental et a leur interiorisation par la personne atteinte et par son entourage proche (Baumann & Aiach 2009). Notre problematique s’inscrit dans l’identification et la comprehension des consequences que peut avoir la survenue d’un accident cerebro-vasculaire sur la famille et les proches de la personne qui en a ete victime. En effet, l’AVC produit des effets sur l’organisation des relations entre les patients et les aidants, ce reamenagement dependant en grande partie de la situation anterieure des liens affectifs. La personne atteinte de plein fouet par cet accident n’est pas la seule au centre de cette etude, nous avons fait le choix de privilegier egalement la personne designee par le patient comme son « aidant principal ». Au sein des tandems patient-aidant qui partagent desormais le quotidien entache des consequences produites par un AVC, s’installe ou non une harmonie en fonction de la maniere dont l’evenement est ressenti et interiorise. La facon dont le patient et l’aidant vivent l’adaptation a cette nouvelle situation et la facon dont les personnes rencontrees reagissent devant les comportements de la personne atteinte font appels ou non a une complicite qui merite d’etre etudiee. Face au retentissement psychologique et social, aux activites culturelles et de loisirs abandonnees ou maintenues, aux aides, services et informations obtenus ou non depuis l’AVC, les objectifs de ce travail ont ete de comparer les reponses fournies par les patients et les aidants et d’analyser les domaines dans lesquels elles sont concordantes au sein des binomes.