Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Long-term climate-associated dynamics of a tropical seagrass meadow: implications for the future

The long-term changes of tropical intertidal seagrass, mainly Halodule uninervis and Halophila ovalis meadows and their relationship to climate are poorly documented. Developing a greater understanding of the effects of climate on seagrass meadows is critical for estimating the effects of future climate change scenarios. Here we document the temporal dynamics of coastal inter- tidal seagrass in tropical northeast Australia over 16 yr of detailed monitoring. This study is the first to directly relate such change to long-term climate variability in the Indo-Pacific region and southern hemisphere. Regression modelling was used to relate seagrass biomass and meadow area measure- ments to climate data. The aboveground biomass and area of the meadow were correlated with the interacting factors of air temperature, precipitation, daytime tidal exposure and freshwater runoff from nearby rivers. Elevated temperature and reduced flow from rivers were significantly correlated (R 2 = 0.6, p < 0.001) with periods of lower seagrass biomass. Results of this study have important implications for the long-term viability of seagrasses with regard to climate change scenarios. Mod- elling of our findings indicates that future higher temperatures could be detrimental to Indo-Pacific intertidal, coastal and estuarine seagrass meadows.
METAL WORKERS: EXPOSURE TO CHEMICALS AND NOISE CAUSED BY USING INCORRECT SAFETY MEASURES

Background: This paper describes the common hazards in the metal industry – chemicals and noise. The aim of the study was to get an overview of risk levels of mentioned occupational hazards and examine the implementation of adequate safety measures. Methods: Measurements of noise and chemicals were performed, self-reported exposure and usage of personal protective equipment from workers were used to assess the behavior of workers, semi-structured interviews were conducted to clarify employers‟ practices to provide workers with adequate personal protective equipment. Results: The measurements of working environment in welders‟ workplaces showed that the main chemicals that reach workers‟ breathing zone are carbon monoxide, ozone, nitrous oxides, carbon dioxide, and metals (manganese, iron, chromium). The results of questionnaires and interviews revealed that 57% of employees provide and only 41% of welders use respiratory protectors against hazardous welding fumes. The results of noise measurements showed that many of the machines used in the metal industry produce high levels of noise. Those values were often above occupational exposure limits, but 35% of workers do not use any personal protective equipment. Workers reported several health problems connected with chemicals and noise. Conclusion: Working conditions of the metal industry may impair workers‟ health considerably. Several safety measures can be implemented to protect metal workers‟ health against noise and hazardous welding fumes including noise screens, local ventilation, organizational measures (such as educational intervention, providing chemical material safety data sheets) and adequate personal protective equipment.
A Parallel-SQLIA Detector for Web Security

An SQL injection attack compromises the interactive web based applications, running database in the backend. The applications provide a form to accept user input and convert it into the SQL statement and fire the same to the database. The attackers change the structure of SQL statement by manipulating user inputs. The existing static and dynamic SQLIA detectors are being used for accurate detection of SQL injection, but it ignores the efficiency of the system. These detectors repeatedly verify the same queries inside the system, which causes unnecessary wastages of system resources. This paper contains the design approach of a parallel algorithm for the detection of SQL injection. The Algorithm uses the concept of Hot Query Bank (HQB) to cooperate with the existing SQLIA detectors (e.g. AMNESIA, SQLGuard, etc) and enhances the system performance. It simply keeps the information of previously verified queries in order to skip the verification process on the next appearance. The system performance has been observed by conducting a series of experiments on multi core processors. The experimental results have shown that parallel-SQLIA detector is 65% more efficient in term of time complexity. Further this design can be implemented in real web application environment; and the design interface can be standardized to cooperate with web application and the SQLIA detectors.
STUDENTS’ DIFFERENCES AND THEIR OUTCOMESIN ENGLISH LEARNING

This paper aims to investigate the students‘ differences and students‘ outcomes in English learning at State Vocational High School 3 (SMKN 3) Purwokerto, Central Java. The samples were second graders at that school. They were 177 fifteen to nineteen year old students. The results indicated that the students‘ both English learning motivation and English language anxiety were at moderate level. There was significant negative relationship between motivation and outcome, but positive correlation between students‘ anxiety and outcome was indicated. It showed that although the students‘ anxiety was high, their learning outcome was till good.
Combining Network Topological Characteristics With Sequence and Structure Based Features for Predicting Protein Stability Changes Upon Single Amino Acid Mutation

It has been shown that the stability of protein structure could be significantly changed by single amino acid substitution. Accurate prediction of protein stability changes caused by single amino acid substitutions is valuable for understanding the relationship between protein structures and functions as well as designing new proteins. Currently, various computational methods have been developed to study the effect of single amino acid mutation on protein stability. In this study, by combining network topological characteristics extracted from Protein Structure Network (PSN) with other physicochemical features obtained from protein sequence or structure, a Support Vector Machine (SVM) model was developed to distinguish the stabilizing mutants from the destabilizing mutants. 20-fold cross-validation was implemented for performance evaluation. An accuracy of 0.88 and a Matthews Correlation Coefficient (MCC) of 0.71 were obtained for the dataset with 1925 variants. Our method is superior to the existing machine learning approaches evaluated under the same datasets. It suggests that such a combining strategy should be valuable in predicting protein stability changes upon amino acid mutation. In our study, the topological parameters are informative for prediction upon substitutions. Moreover, it is indicated that the Protein Structure Network (PSN) could be effectively used for representing the three-dimensional structure of protein and such network parameters are associated with the changes of protein function and structure.
Dephasing enhanced transport in non-equilibrium strongly-correlated quantum systems

Centre for Quantum Technologies, National University of Singapore, 3 Science Drive 2, Singapore 117543(Dated: February 25, 2013)A key insight from recent studies is that noise, such as dephasing, can improve the efﬁciency of quantumtransport by suppressing coherent single-particle interference effects. However, it is not yet clear whether de-phasing can enhance transport in an interacting many-body system. Here we address this question by analysingthe transport properties of a boundary driven spinless fermion chain with nearest-neighbour interactions sub-ject to bulk dephasing. The many-body non-equilibrium stationary state is determined using large scale matrixproduct simulations of the corresponding quantum master equation. We ﬁnd dephasing enhanced transport onlyin the strongly interacting regime, where it is shown to induce incoherent transitions bridging the gap betweenbound dark-states and bands of mobile eigenstates. The generic nature of the effect is illustrated and shown notto depend on the integrability of the model considered. As a result dephasing enhanced transport is expected topersist in more realistic driven systems of strongly-correlated particles.
Potential of Deshi Cattle of lndia for Dairy Production

Abstract There were 1,405 lactation records of 336 cows at the Central Livestock Research-cum-Breeding Station, Haringhata, India from 1958 to 1968 used to estimate the potential dairy merit of Deshi cattle. This breed is native to northeast India and one of the smallest breeds in India (mature females 200kg and males 250kg). Averages and standard deviations for milk yield (exclusive of that suckled), age of first calving, calving interval, lactation length, days open, and days dry were 412±178kg, 44.5±6.8 months, 419±90 days, 264±81 days, 135±86 days, and 139 ± 80 days. Mortality, culling, and retention rates for females from birth to first calving were 24, 27, and 49%. Lactation number, season of calving, and death of calf early in lactation had significant effects on milk yield. Repeatabilities of milk yield, lactation length, calving interval, dry period, and days open were . 42, . 19, . 21, . 03, and . 23 with corresponding heritabilities . 64, . 19, . 09, . 19, and . 27. Heritability for age of first calving was . 84. Confounding by some environmental effects probably biased heritability estimates upward. Potential genetic improvement of milk yield by mass selection was estimated at 8% per year. Contemporary Jersey×Deshi crosses exceeded Deshi for milk yield, age of first calving, lactation length, calving interval, and days open by ×923kg, −15 months, +41, −84, and −96 days. Atleast one generation of crossing with European breeds is recommended over mass selection of Deshi.
Thermal Performance of Traditional House in the Upland Central Celebes of Indonesia

House presents special problems for design in relation to climate as it accommodates variety of uses over 24-hour period. It is widely known in the tropical countries that traditional houses are more sensitive to the prevailing climate and able to provide comfortable internal environment for the occupants. Tambi as one of traditional houses in upland Central Celebes Indonesia is believed to be thermally comfortable, yet there still no empirical evidence to approve it. Present study conducted empirical studies on typical traditional Tambi houses to evaluate their thermal performance. External and internal climatic conditions were measured in each house and were analysed. Results of the study showed that typical traditional Tambi house are not able to maintain the internal temperature within the comfort range for a preiod of 24- hours. Thermal quality of the house, however, were improving as indicated by internal temperatures which were more satisfactory than the external temperatures.
Criminal Case Complexity: An Empirical Perspective

Criminal case complexity persists as a central tenet in many academic and public critiques of our legal system even though little is known about two critical questions. One question is whether key actors (juries, attorneys, and judges) view case complexity similarly. In other words, do juries, attorneys, and judges agree on whether a case is complex? A second question involves the determinants of case complexity for each group. That is, what factors make a case more (or less) complex for juries, attorneys, and judges. This Article explores both questions from an empirical perspective with the benefit of recent data from four jurisdictions. The data are important because, within the context of criminal cases, they permit analyses of agreement levels among the three key actors. Results suggest that the three different actors possess slightly different views on whether cases are complex. Judges reported the lowest levels of case complexity; jurors the highest. Moreover, important variation exists in terms of what made cases complex for each group. The results implicate legal reform efforts. No clear consensus exists among the critical actors on complexity perceptions. Many of the variables that influence case complexity fall outside of reformers' reach. Variables within the reach of policy do not appear to systematically reduce case complexity.
Chiral symmetry breaking by instantons

This is a review of the QCD instanton vacuum. After introducing instantons and their physical meaning, I show that the number of instantons in the vacuum fluctuates in accordance with the QCD trace anomaly. The main properties of the instanton ensemble are given. Chiral symmetry breaking by instantons is explained in three different though mathematically equivalent ways. In particular, a derivation of the Nambu--Jona-Lasinio-type model from instantons is presented, and the effective chiral lagrangian to which QCD is reduced at low momenta, is given. I end up by discussing possible confinement mechanisms.
Examination phase of the Master’s thesis: a plausible cause of delayed completion of graduate studies at Makerere University, Uganda

This paper investigates the influence of the examination stage of student theses on the completion time of graduate studies at Makerere University, Uganda. The assessment is based on the administrative data of 504 Masters degree students in the 2000 to 2008 enrollment cohorts at the School of Education, Makerere University. The total elapsed time from submission of a thesis for evaluation to a viva voce was adopted as a measure of the examination period. Additionally, the period from viva voce to submission of the final thesis was investigated. The analysis included frequency distribution, summary statistics, and a Pearson Chi-square test. A median examination period of 11 months (range, 155), in the results, is a lengthy one when compared to the two-year stipulated duration of Masters studies at the University. Subsequently, the fact that about six in every ten students (59.9%) submits a final thesis beyond a months period after a viva points to further delays in the review process of students reports. No significant variations in the submission period were observed by student characteristics. In sum, the findings underscore the need to strengthen administrative support systems, particularly aspects related to the review process of students reports, to ensure students timely completion of graduate programs.
Naming as a strategy for identity construction in selected 21st century Nigerian novels

Although studies within linguistics are quick to demonstrate how language constructs identity, little attention has been given to the symbolic uses of names in the construction of identity in Nigerian novels, and this tends to undermine the fundamental role of lexis such as names in the construction of identity. The present study therefore employs Castells’ identity framework to investigate how names are a linguistic resource for identity construction in selected 21st-century Nigerian novels. Four novels by Nigerian authors representing the four geographical zones of Nigeria were purposefully sampled. The analysis is both quantitative and qualitative. The study illustrates that identity is an incoherent concept, revealing that the study of identity requires the application of systematic and methodological approaches.
Transport of nitrate in the Mississippi river in July-August 1999

Lagrangian sampling was conducted on the Mississippi River in late July through early August 1999 to test the hypothesis that nitrate (NO 3 - ) is transported conservatively in the Mississippi River. Three different approaches were pursued to test the hypothesis: (1) a mass balance for NO 3 - was evaluated for evidence of net gains and losses, (2) stable isotopes of NO 3 - were measured (δ 15 N and δ 18 O) to determine if fractionation occurred, and (3) the concentrations of dissolved gases (N 2 O, N 2 and Ar) in river water were measured and compared to theoretical equilibrium concentrations. Integrated water samples and flow measurements were obtained at 10 sites on the Mississippi River and 7 sites near the mouths of major tributaries from northern Iowa to southern Louisiana, a distance of about 2,250 river kilometers. Mass balance calculations indicate that more than 80 percent of the NO 3 - mass discharged from the Mississippi River (1,930 metric tons/day) during the study period originated in the first 500 river kilometers of the study reach. The mass balance calculations also indicate that NO 3 - was not lost from the water column upstream of Vicksburg, MS, but that there might have been some loss of NO 3 - in the lower 700 kilometers of the study reach. The stable isotope ratios of N and O (δ 15 N and δ 18 O) of NO 3 - were consistent with mixing and transport in the absence of fractionating gains or losses. The concentrations of nitrogen (N 2 ) and argon (Ar) dissolved in river water decreased in the downstream direction, approximately in equilibrium with air at increasing temperatures, giving no evidence of gains or losses of N 2 by nitrogen fixation or denitrification. Nitrous oxide (N 2 O) concentrations in the Mississippi River were approximately 26 to 200 percent of air saturation, indicating relatively low net production by combination of nitrification and denitrification. Results from this study indicate that most (>90%) of the NO 3 - that entered the Mississippi River during July-August 1999 was transported to the Gulf of Mexico. Permanent URL: http://hdl.handle. net/2047/d20003062
On Generalization of Supervised Speech Separation

Speech is essential for human communication as it not only delivers messages but also expresses emotions. In reality, speech is often corrupted by background noise and room reverberation. Perceiving speech in low signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) conditions is challenging, especially for hearing-impaired listeners. Therefore, we are motivated to develop speech separation algorithms to improve intelligibility of noisy speech. Given its many applications, such as hearing aids and robust automatic speech recognition (ASR), speech separation has been an important problem in speech processing for decades. Speech separation can be achieved by estimating the ideal binary mask (IBM) or ideal ratio mask (IRM). In a time-frequency (T-F) representation of noisy speech, the IBM preserves speech-dominant T-F units and discards noise-dominant ones. Similarly, the IRM adjusts the gain of each T-F unit to suppress noise. As such, speech separation can be treated as a supervised learning problem where one estimates the ideal mask from noisy speech. Three key components of supervised speech separation are learning machines, acoustic features and training targets. This supervised framework has enabled the treatment of speech separation with powerful learning machines such as deep neural networks (DNNs). For any supervised learning problem, generalization to unseen conditions is critical. This dissertation addresses generalization of supervised speech separation.
Stockmarket comovements revisited

We revisit the issue of comovements of emerging and developed stockmarkets, and provide a simultaneous treatment of data for the eighties and nineties. We show that while emerging markets experience greater instability in the long term than their developed counterparts, there is room for short-term strategies to take advantage of profit opportunities in the emerging markets, especially in India.
Benthic Biomonitoring in Arctic Tundra Streams: A Community-Based Approach in Iqaluit, Nunavut, Canada

Recent residential, commercial, and industrial development in the catchments of several Arctic streams has heightened the need to assess these freshwater systems accurately. It was imperative to develop methods that would be both effective at judging ecological condition of tundra streams and suitable for use by local groups. An investigation of two streams influenced by urbanization in Iqaluit, Nunavut, was carried out between July and August each year in 2007 – 09. Simple summary metrics (e.g., Shannon Index) and multivariate analysis (DCA, RD A) both demonstrated biological impairment in the benthic community at site locations downstream of urbanized portions of a local stream. This impairment was characterized by a loss of diversity and a dramatic shift of the benthic community to one dominated by chironomids from the subfamily Orthocladiinae. Elevated levels of total nitrogen (TN) and total phosphorus (TP) and several metals (Zn, Sr, Rb, Al, Co, Fe) were also found to be significantly related to benthic assemblages within these disturbed areas. This investigation also addressed taxonomic sufficiency, indicating that while family-level taxonomic identifications were sensitive enough to differentiate between pristine and impacted stream sites, a more precise taxonomic identification of the dominant benthos taxa (Insecta: Diptera: Chironomidae) to sub-family/tribe level identified a significant shift towards pollution-tolerant taxa. This higher taxonomic resolution will allow for the adaptation of protocols and the use of simple summary metrics to be effective for a community-based biomonitoring program in Arctic tundra streams.
Patient Susceptibility & Technical Factors Associated with PersistentDiaphragmatic Paralysis after Interscalene Nerve Block

Background and objectives: Interscalene nerve blocks (ISB) have been associated with the rare complication of persistent diaphragmatic paralysis. Little is known regarding patient susceptibility or technical factors that may contribute to the development of this debilitating adverse reaction. Methods: An observational study was performed between 2009 and 2014 to compare two groups of patients who received ISB for upper extremity surgery. Patient demographic factors, co-morbidities, and technical aspects of the nerve block were reviewed and compared in two groups: 50 consecutive patients receiving ISB without consequence at a university-based hospital and affiliated outpatient surgery center (Group I); 29 patients with persistent diaphragmatic paralysis after ISB evaluated and treated at a tertiary referral center (Group II). We analyzed the following patient factors between groups: age, sex, BMI, laterality, history of peripheral or diabetic neuropathy, prior nerve blocks, and underlying cervical spondylosis. An assessment of technical aspects of the nerve block was also performed. Results: In Group I there was 26 females and 24 males with an average age of 55, whereas in Group II there were 4 females and 25 males with an average age of 58. There was no significant difference between groups for BMI (mean=36 vs. 30) or laterality (Left=38% vs. 31%), however there were a significantly higher proportion of males in Group II (p<0.01). No difference was demonstrated between groups for peripheral or diabetic neuropathy, whereas prior ipsilateral blocks and cervical spondylosis were significantly more prevalent in Group II (p<0.01 & p<0.01, respectively). In Group I, 86% of patients received blocks performed with either nerve stimulator (64%) or ultrasound (22%) guidance, and 10% using both modalities. This contrasts to 79% of patients in Group II whose blocks were performed using either nerve stimulator (24%) or ultrasound (55%) guidance, and 6% in combination. Conclusion: Both patient factors and technical aspects of ISB may impact occurrence of persistent diaphragmatic paralysis. Use of ultrasound and nerve stimulator guidance can improve accuracy and reduce associated tissue inflammation, and there should be a redoubling of efforts to ensure technical expertise with these modalities in clinical practice.