Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Study of satellite retrieved aerosol optical depth spatial resolution effect on particulate matter concentration prediction

Abstract. The Aerosol Optical Depth (AOD) spatial resolution effect is investigated for the linear correlation between satellite retrieved AOD and ground level particulate matter concentrations (PM2.5). The Multi-Angle Implementation of Atmospheric Correction (MAIAC) algorithm was developed for the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) for obtaining AOD with a high spatial resolution of 1 km and provides a good dataset for the study of the AOD spatial resolution effect on the particulate matter concentration prediction. 946 Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ground monitoring stations across the contiguous US have been used to investigate the linear correlation between AOD and PM2.5 using AOD at different spatial resolutions (1, 3 and 10 km) and for different spatial scales (urban scale, meso-scale and continental scale). The main conclusions are: (1) for both urban, meso- and continental scale the correlation between PM2.5 and AOD increased significantly with increasing spatial resolution of the AOD, (2) the correlation between AOD and PM2.5 decreased significantly as the scale of study region increased for the eastern part of the US while vice versa for the western part of the US, (3) the correlation between PM2.5 and AOD is much more stable and better over the eastern part of the US compared to western part due to the surface characteristics and atmospheric conditions like the fine mode fraction.
Estimation of Source Rupture Process and Strong Ground Motion Simulation of the 2002 Denali, Alaska, Earthquake

A M W 7.9 inland crustal earthquake occurred in the Denali fault system, Alaska, on 3 November 2002 at 22:12 (UTC). In this study, we estimated the source process of the 2002 Denali earthquake by a multiple time-window linear kinematic waveform inversion using strong motion and Global Positioning System (gps)-measured static displacement data. The obtained source model could explain both the observed strong motion waveforms and gps-measured static displacements. Large slips on the fault plane are observed at approximately 80–90 km and 150–200 km east from the hypocenter. These features are consistent with the observed surface rupture distribution and the other inversion results obtained using teleseismic body waves. We also observed some portions of the whole fault with a local rupture propagation velocity of more than 4.0 km/sec that exceeded the shear-wave velocity of the source region. The relation between the rupture area and seismic moment of this earthquake seems to follow the bilinear L -model scaling rather than the self-similar source scaling model. The combined area of asperities is somewhat smaller than that expected from the empirical scaling relationship with seismic moments developed by compiling inverted source models. Finally, we conducted a forward ground motion simulation using the finite difference method to estimate the influence of the heterogeneous source process obtained here on the spatial distribution of strong ground motions. The calculated ground motions are relatively large above and around the large slip areas and also in the region east of the fault area because of the forward directivity effect of unilateral rupture propagation.
USE OF COMPUTATIONAL FLUID DYNAMICS TO SIMULATE TEMPERATURE DISTRIBUTION IN BROILER HOUSES WITH NEGATIVE AND POSITIVE TUNNEL TYPE VENTILATION SYSTEMS

In tropical and subtropical countries such as Brazil, temperatures inside agricultural facilities reach values greater than those considered suitable for thermal comfort for both animals and people. To predict the behavior and distribution of temperature in all directions of the structure and make correct decisions about the inside environment, the classic research method would require a significant experimental arrangement. Consequently, classic methodologies do not offer immediate information that might predict the internal behavior of the poultry houses against variations of external and internal conditions. The aim of this work was to use and validate the Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) as simulation tool to analyze the distribution of temperature in poultry houses with positive or negative pressure tunnel ventilation and with internal misting. The results from numerical simulation correlated well with the experimental data, and it is therefore recommended to predict the thermal behavior inside of poultry house for an animal production tunnel type.
Integration of a visual tracking system into a four probe measuring system to evaluate the electrical sheet resistance of thin films To achieve the Degree of : Master of Science ( M . Sc . )

In recent years, thin films have been extensively studied due to the wide range of technical applications, some of which are determined by the electrical properties such as the resistivity. Generally, some properties in macroscale are not necessarily longer valid when the material is reduced to the nanoscale. A number of studies demonstrate that resistivity in thin films depends on the sample thickness. Therefore, in the research and production of thin films for new applications, it is necessary an effective and accurate system to measure and characterize its electrical properties. In order to overcome the constraints of measuring the resistivity in thin films, the aim of this thesis was to implement a measuring system, which consists of a LabVIEW software, Keithley electrical test instruments, and a digital microscope camera. This system presents two main characteristics: 1. A visual tracking system to determine the position of the four probes during the measurements. This system reduces the errors caused by the probes misalignment, provides a more user-friendly graphical interface and is the first step for the automation of the measuring system. 2. The system is able to measure the resistivity using four different methods (Van der Pauw, Linear Van der Pauw, Linear and Square Four-Point Probe). This feature provides the possibility to measure a wider range of both, material types and samples sizes. The performance of the implemented system was proved by measuring standard samples of aluminum and tungsten having different thicknesses (100, 300 and 600 nm). The films were deposited on silicon substrate using magnetron sputtering. The films resistivity were measured using the four different methods obtaining a standard error less than 1%. In order to validate the effectiveness of the visual tracking system, the influence of probes misalignment and probes spacing on resistivity measurement was analyzed. The results were validated by comparison with experimental data from literature and thin films theoretical models (Fuchs-Sondheimer, Mayadas-Shatzke and combination of both models). The results are in good agreement with both, experimental data and theoretical models. Besides, the resistivity dependence on the thickness was confirmed. Furthermore, it was shown that the increment of electrical resistivity could be explained by the contributions of both, grain-boundary and surface scattering mechanisms.
Asaccharolytic Black-Pigmented Bacteroides Strains from Soft- Tissue Infections in Cats

Using phenotypic characterization, we found that 17 strains of asaccharolytic pigmented Bacteroides species isolated from soft-tissue infections in cats could be divided into five distinct groups. All of these strains were catalase positive, required vitamin K-hemin for growth, did not grow in bile, and did not exhibit α-glucosidase activity. The organisms in groups A and E (five strains) did not fluoresce under ultraviolet light at 365 nm and were indole positive. Group A organisms hemagglutinated sheep erythrocytes, but group E strains did not. The members of both of these groups produced large amounts of phenylacetic acid (group A average, 497 μg/ml; group E average, 404 μ/ml), and both groups showed trypsin-like activity (detected by using N-benzoyl-dl-arginine-2-napthylamide). The guanine-plus-cytosine contents of the deoxyribonucleic acids of group A strains ranged from 48 to 51 mol%; group E strain guanine-plus-cytosine contents ranged from 44 to 47 mol%. The members of groups B, C, and D (12 strains) all fluoresced and were indole positive. Group D strains hemagglutinated sheep erythrocytes, whereas groups B and C strains did not. Trypsin-like activity occurred in groups C and D but not in group B, and all strains produced phenylacetic acid (group B average, 11 μg/ml; group C average, 313 μg/ml; group D average, 999 μg/ml). The group B, C, and D, deoxyribonucleic acids had the following guanine-plus-cytosine contents: group B, 45 to 47 mol%; group C, 45 to 48 mol%; group D, 49 to 50 mol%. All groups of strains differed phenotypically and by isoelectric focusing of bacterial proteins from the asaccharolytic pigmented type strains Bacteroides gingivalis ATCC 33277 and Bacteroides asaccharolyticus ATCC 25260; they were different also from the saccharolytic pigmented type strains Bacteroides levii ATCC 29147, Bacteroides intermedius ATCC 25611, and Bacteroides macacae ATCC 33141.
Falls and associated complications in adults with haemophilia

Abstract Risk factors for falls in the general population are frequently identified in patients with haemophilia. Screening for fall risk can help prevent significant injury in populations with high rates of falls and associated complications. We aimed to describe the rates of falls, injurious falls, near falls, and activity restriction due to fear of falling in a population of adults with haemophilia, an inherited bleeding disorder. Subjects completed a questionnaire inquiring about fall history over the previous 12 months at study onset (time 1) and again approximately 12 months later (time 2). In all, 75 patients with haemophilia between the ages of 18 and 85 participated. The annual fall rate was 33% at time 1, and 23% at time 2. 13% of subjects reported recurrent falls. The annual fall injury rate was 15% at time 1, and 16% at time 2. 63 % of subjects reported near falls at time 1, and 49% at time 2. 16% of subjects reported activity restriction due to fear of falling at time 1, and 21% at time 2. Rates of falls, recurrent falls, and fall-related injury in haemophilia patients in this study are similar to or higher than those found in community-dwelling adults aged 65 years and older, although our subjects were younger on average. These high rates were reported across all disease severities. Near falls were common among all subjects and rates of activity restriction were generally lower than those reported in older adults living in the community. Results should be replicated. Haemophilia patients should be questioned about fall history and further research into optimal fall risk prevention in this population is warranted.
Socioemotional wealth and firms’ control: Evidence from Malaysian Chinese owned companies

This paper explores how the preservation of socioemotional wealth can be manifested in the control and corporate governance of Malaysian Chinese firms. Using panel data from the Industrial Products index of the Bursa Malaysia (the Malaysian stock exchange) during 2003-2006, we show that the ingrained ‘life-raft values’ among overseas Chinese entrepreneurs can be associated with the preservation of their socioemotional wealth, and thus they prioritize control over their firms. Additionally, we confirm the monitoring role of non-dominant large shareholders in reducing the families’ influence in managing and enhancing their firms’ performance. Specifically, control contestability exercised by the non-dominant large shareholders mediates the relationship between a family’s involvement in management and their firm’s performance.
Agronomy & Soils Genetic Variation for Waterlogging Tolerance in Cotton

W. C. Conaty, B. G. Sutton, D. J. Field, Faculty of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources, University of Sydney, NSW, 2006, Australia: D. K.Y. Tan*, Faculty of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources, University of Sydney, NSW, 2006, Australia; G. A. Constable, CSIRO Plant Industry, Australian Cotton Research Institute, Narrabri, NSW, 2390, Australia; E. A. Mamun, Department of Biology, Macquarie University, NSW, 2109, Australia *Corresponding author: d.tan@usyd.edu. au AbSTrACT.
CHARACTERIZATION AND ANTIBIOGRAM STUDY OF CLOSTRIDIUM CHAUVOEI ISOLATED FROM FIELD CASES OF BLACK LEG IN CATTLE

Clostridium chauvoei is the etiological agent of black quarter (BQ), an infectious disease affecting mainly young cattle and sheep. The present study was designed with a view to isolate and identifies Cl. chauvoei from field cases. A total of 4 clinically suspected samples were collected during the period from January 2013 to November 2013 from Monohardi, Narshindi (n=1); Sujanagar, Pabna (n=1) and Veterinary Clinic of Bangladesh Agricultural University, Mymensingh (n=2). The samples were processed and were cultured anaerobically on blood agar. Gram stain and hanging drop techniques were performed with the cultured bacteria. Biochemical properties of the isolates were studied, and antibiotic sensitivity test was done by disk diffusion method. In Gram stain, all isolates showed numerous short, thick, straight, round-ended, gram positive rod occurs singly or in short chains. The spores of the organism were elongated, oval, sub terminal or terminal and wider than the cell, giving a typical pear-shaped appearance. All the Cl. chauvoei isolates fermented dextrose, maltose, lactose and sucrose and produced acid and gas. In case of mannitol fermentation, only acid was produced. Catalase, oxidase, methyl red, Voges-Proskauer and indole tests were found to be negative. All isolates were resistant to oxytetracycline, amoxicillin and ciprofloxacin, whereas the isolates were sensitive to penicillin and gentamicin. In conclusion, penicillin and gentamicin can be the drugs of choice for effective treatment of BQ in cattle of Bangladesh.
Intellectual Property Rights, Foreign Direct Investment and the Shadow Economy

The relationship between intellectual property rights (IPR) protection and foreign direct investment (FDI) continues to pose a challenging puzzle. While several studies have found that these two variables are positively correlated, others have not been able to find conclusive results or have found that the relationship is actually negative. We contend that a partial explanation of these contradictory results resides on institutional differences among host countries. We find that increases in IPR protection encourage FDI in countries in which the shadow (informal) economy represents a relatively small percentage of the country’s economy but it does not produce the same result in countries in which that percentage is relatively large. The size of the shadow economy is determined, in turn, by the quality of institutional variables such as the degree of bureaucracy, the level of corruption, and the extent of confiscatory taxation and political instability. We present empirical evidence supporting the results of our theoretical framework using threshold regression techniques on a sample of 94 countries and data for the 2000 - 2005 period.
The effects of size on local banks' funding costs

Motivated by the recent discussion of the declining importance of deposits as banks' major source of funding we investigate which factors determine funding costs at local banks. Using a panel data set of more than 800 German local savings and cooperative banks for the period from 1998 to 2004 we show that funding costs are not only driven by the relative share of comparatively cheap deposits of bank's liabilities but among other factors especially by the size of the bank. In our empirical analysis we nd strong and robust evidence that, ceteris paribus, smaller banks exhibit lower funding costs than larger banks suggesting that small banks are able to attract deposits more cheaply than their larger counterparts. We argue that this is the case because smaller banks interact more personally with customers, operate in customers' geographic proximity and have longer and stronger relationships than larger banks and, hence, are able to charge higher prices for their services. Our nding of a strong in uence of bank size on funding costs is also in an international context of great interest as mergers among small local banks the key driver of bank growth are a recent phenomenon not only in European banking that is expected to continue in the future. At the same time, net interest income remains by far the most important source of revenue for most local banks, accounting for approximately 70% of total operating revenues in the case of German local banks. The in uence of size on funding costs is of strong economic relevance: our results suggest that an increase in size by 50%, for example, from EUR 500 million in total assets to EUR 750 million (exemplary for M&A transactions among local banks) increases funding costs, ceteris paribus, by approximately 18 basis points which relates to approx. 7% of banks' average net interest margin.
Scene Flow Estimation Based on Adaptive Anisotropic Total Variation Flow-Driven Method

Scene flow estimation based on disparity and optical flow is a challenging task. We present a novel method based on adaptive anisotropic total variation flow-driven method for scene flow estimation from a calibrated stereo image sequence. The basic idea is that diffusion of flow field in different directions has different rates, which can be used to calculate total variation and anisotropic diffusion automatically. Brightness consistency and gradient consistency constraint are employed to establish the data term, and adaptive anisotropic flow-driven penalty constraint is employed to establish the smoothness term. Similar to the optical flow estimation, there are also large displacement problems in the estimation of the scene flow, which is solved by introducing a hierarchical computing optimization. The proposed method is verified by using the synthetic dataset and the real scene image sequences. The experimental results show the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm.
Direct costs of five foot-and-mouth disease epidemics in the Republic of Korea, from 2000 to 2011

Foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) has great potential for causing huge economic loss and was the first disease identified by the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) in its official list of free countries and zones. This study examined the governmental expenditures for five FMD epidemics that occurred in the Republic of Korea between 2000 and 2011. The costs of an epidemic ranged from 26 billion Korean won (KRW, approximately 23.6 million US dollars, $) to a maximum of 2,044 billion KRW (US$ 1.9 billion). For two epidemics in which vaccinations were implemented, the costs were higher than those epidemics without vaccination. The mean cost for an outbreak ranged from 0.5 billion KRW (US$ 4.5 million) for the 2010/2011 epidemic to 18.2 billion KRW (US$ 16.5 million) for the 2000 epidemic. Mean costs per infected premises were 7.0 billion KRW for cattle farms (95% CI: 4.72 9.28), 1.38 billion KRW for pig farms (0.88 1.87), 0.11 billion KRW for deer farms (0.08 0.14), and 0.10 billion KRW for goat farms (0.07 0.13). The highest cost for an outbreak in cattle seemed associated with the number of outbreak cattle farms in two epidemics in which vaccination was implemented.
Internal migration in less developed countries : a survey of the literature

This paper surveys the present state of knowledge on internal migration in LDCs, and suggests directions for future research in this field. After a brief indication of the importance of migration flows and urban growth, Chapter II reviews the determinants of migration as discussed in the available econometric and other types of case studies. Chapter IV addresses the question of whether migrants actually receive the potential economic benefits which have encouraged them to move. The paper does not cover the group of issues related to the social rate of return to migration.
Life Cycle Assessment of a Smartphone

It is of interest to understand the life cycle contribution from the use of smartphones including their network usage, as well as to gain knowledge regarding the impact of the smartphone as a device to provide input for network studies. This cradle-tograve study is based on life cycle assessment (LCA) methodology as outlined by the ISO14040 series and the supplementing ICT specific LCA standard from ETSI/ITU. The paper provides details regarding data collection, assumptions, methods and results. Furthermore, sensitivity analysis results for selected parameters are presented, including variations due to different secondary data sets. This study calculates the Global Warming Potential (GWP) for the assessed smartphone (a Sony Mobile Z5) including accessories) to 57 kg CO2e for an assumed operating life time of 3 years, excluding the network usage. Results are also presented for other impact categories and as yearly figures. In addition, the distribution of impacts between life cycle stages is provided for the assessed impact categories. Integrated circuit (IC) production is identified as a major contributor to the overall impacts followed by the production of the display. For GWP specifically, overall results are also provided including the network usage
Laboratory study of the heterogeneous ice nucleation on black carbon containing aerosol

Abstract. Black carbon (BC) particles are generated in the incomplete combustion of fossil fuels, biomass, and biofuels. These airborne particles affect air quality, human health, and climate. At present, the climate effects of BC particles are not well understood. Their role in cloud formation is obscured by their chemical and physical variability, and by the internal mixing states of these particles with other compounds. The current study focuses on laboratory measurements of the effectiveness of BC-containing aerosol in the formation of ice crystals in cirrus clouds. Ice nucleation in field studies is often difficult to interpret. Nonetheless, most field studies seem to suggest that BC particles are not efficient ice nuclei (IN). On the other hand, laboratory measurements show that in some cases, BC particles can be highly active IN. By working with well-characterized BC-containing particles, our aim is to systematically establish the factors that govern the IN activity of BC. We examine ice nucleation on BC-containing particles under cirrus cloud conditions, commonly understood to be deposition mode ice nucleation. We study a series of well-characterized commercial carbon black particles with varying morphologies and surface chemistries, as well as ethylene flame-generated combustion soot. The carbon black particles used in this study are proxies for atmospherically relevant BC aerosols. These samples were characterized by electron microscopy, mass spectrometry, and optical scattering measurements. Ice nucleation activity was systematically examined in the temperature range from 217–235 K, using a SPectrometer for Ice Nuclei (SPIN) instrument, which is a continuous flow diffusion chamber coupled with instrumentation to measure light scattering and polarization. To study the effect of coatings on IN, the BC-containing particles were coated with organic acids found in the atmosphere, namely, stearic acid, cis-pinonic acid, and oxalic acid. The results show significant variations in ice nucleation activity as a function of size, morphology and surface chemistry of the BC-containing particles. The measured IN activity dependence on temperature and the physicochemical properties of the BC-containing particles are consistent with an ice nucleation mechanism of pore condensation followed by freezing. Coatings and surface oxidation modify the initial ice nucleation ability of BC-containing aerosol. Depending on the BC material and the coating, both inhibition and enhancement in IN activity were observed. Our measurements at low temperatures complement published data, and highlight the capability of some BC particles to nucleate ice under low supersaturation conditions. These results are expected to help refine theories relating to soot IN activation in the atmosphere.