Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Computational modelling of head-related transfer function

Measuring the Head-Related Transfer Function (HRTF) is an efficient method that takes into consideration the influence of the human body on the sound spectrum. The data base used in reproduction of the sound source position is built using the measurement results. The base is individual for each person, which makes it impossible to make a versatile base for all listeners. In this paper a numerical model of artificial head is presented. The model allows to determine the value of HRTF without making measurements. The model includes both geometrical and acoustical parameters. A method which is often used to determine the acoustical field parameters is the boundary element method, which was used to calculate the values of HRTF in this work. In the conclusion results of the calculations are presented and the correctness of the previous assumption made while constructing the geometric part of the numerical human head model is discussed.
Prices, Legalisation and Marijuana Consumption

The debate concerning the legalisation of marijuana is intensifying. As the price of marijuana would most likely decrease following legalisation, the law of demand implies that consumption would rise. But by how much? This paper analyses the effect of legalisation on consumption by using data from a specificallyconducted survey of first-year students at The University of Western Australia. The results indicate that 53 percent of all students have consumed marijuana, with males exhibiting a higher intensity than females. The results also show that legalisation would cause consumption to increase by approximately 4 percent. Both legalisation and a 50-percent fall in the price would cause an 11-percent increase in marijuana consumption. For all consumers, the gross price elasticity, which includes the effects of both legalisation and a price change, is estimated to be - . 2. The net price elasticity, which takes out the legalisation effect, is found to be - . 1. Accordingly, marijuana consumption is estimated to be price inelastic. While these estimates are low, they are both highly significant, implying that “price matters”, as does legalisation, even for marijuana smokers.
Diurnal and seasonal variations in sporadic E-layer (Es layer) occurrences over equatorial, low and mid latitude stations - A comparative study

The simultaneous hourly ionograms, from an equatorial station Trivandrum (8.47°N, 76.91°E), a low latitude station Waltair (17.70N, 83.3°E) in the Indian sector and a mid latitude station Kokubunji (35.7°N, 139.5°E) in the Japanese sector during the high sunspot year 2001, are scaled for the study of E-region parameters, namely the virtual height of sporadic Elayer (h’Es) and the critical frequency of sporadic E-layer (foEs). The diurnal, seasonal and day-to-day variations in h’Es and foEs are studied for all the three stations. It is observed that the sporadic E-layer is absent in the early morning and post sunset hours over Trivandrum during three different seasons. The values of h’Es are more at Kokubunji as compared to those at equatorial (Trivandrum) and low latitude (Waltair) stations during the three different seasons. The critical frequency of sporadic E-layer (foEs) over Trivandrum shows higher values, compared to those over Waltair and Kokubunji during daytime hours, in three different seasons indicating that foEs decrease as the latitude increases. The seasonal variation in foEs shows higher values during daytime hours of equinox and winter months over equator (Trivandrum) compared to those over low (Waltair) and mid (Kokubunji) latitude stations. The variations in h’Es and foEs for quiet and disturbed conditions indicate that the h’Es variation during quiet days of equinoctial months at Kokubunji shows a primary peak around morning hours while it is absent at Waltair and Trivandrum. Further, the behaviour of blanketing frequency of Es layer fbEs, and foEs-fbEs are also studied.
Effect of Nutrient Levels and Biofertilizer on Growth and Yield of Paddy under System of Rice Intensification (SRI) and Conventional Methods of Cultivation

A field experiment was conducted at Agricultural Research Station, Gangavati of University of Agricultural Sciences, Dharwad, Karnataka, India during the summer 2007 to study the effect of nutrient levels and biofertilizers on growth and yield of rice (Oryza sativa L.) under System of Rice Intensificaton (SRI) and conventional methods of cultivation. The experiment was laid out on medium deep black clay (Calciustert) soil by adopting split-split-plot design with twenty treatments with three replicates. The treatments consisted of two methods of cultivation (SRI and conventional) as main plots and five nutrient levels with and without biofertilizers (Azospirillum and Pseudomonas striata) (100% Recommended Dose of Fertilizer (RDF), 75% RDF, 75% RDF + biofertilizers, 50% RDF and 50% RDF + biofertilizers) as sub plots and two Zn levels (10 kg ZnSO 4 and 25 kg ZnSO 4 ha -1 ) as sub sub plots. Significantly taller plants with higher number of tillers and dry matter production were recorded in SRI method of cultivation at all the growth stages as compared to conventional method. The SRI method resulted significantly higher productive tillers m -2 , 1000 grain weight, grain and straw yield as compared to conventional method. The treatment receiving 75 percent RDF + biofertilizers with 25 kg ZnSO 4 ha -1 resulted significantly tall plants with highest number of tillers, dry mater, yield attributes, grain and straw yield irrespective of method of cultivation. Application of biofertilizers recorded higher growth and yield due to nitrogen fixation, phosphorus solubilization and supply of growth substances in both the methods of cultivation.
Comparative Egg Production and Mortality of Two Commercial Egg Strains, Indigenous Chicken and Their Inbred Progenies

The aim of this study was to compare the monthly hen day egg production (HDEP %), egg weights, total egg mass and mortality of two commercial egg strains and the indigenous chicken with their inbred progenies. The results indicate significant (P<0.05, 0.01) inbreeding depression in the HDEP %, egg weight and total egg mass of the two commercial strains but not in the indigenous chicken. Brooding mortality was higher in the parents compared to their inbred progenies. The inbred progenies recorded higher mortality than the parents during the rearing and laying periods especially in the two commercial strains. It was concluded that the exotic commercial hybrid should not be used as breeders for the production of day old chicks for commercial egg production.
Improvement of Selected Parts of Basrah Governorate Soil Using Resorcinol Resin

Weak soils in some parts of Basrah Governorate were mixed with 0.25, 0.50, 0.75, 1.00, 1.25, 1.50, 2 percent by weight of resorcinol resin, and the same clayey silt soils also mixed with 3, 6, 9,12,15,and 18 percent by weight of Portland cement to achieve the primary objectives of this research, respectively. These involve: (a) the profitable amount of resorcinol resin, (b) improving some of the engineering properties of the studied soils that include: the plasticity, compacting these soils to increase the maximum dry density and lowering their optimum moisture content, and also reducing the ability of these soils to absorb water. A noticeable improvement in the plasticity of resorcinol -treated soils were noticed as reflected in the rise in their Plastic Limits, A reasonable increase in their dry densities, and lowering in their optimum water contents, finally an appreciable reduction in the ability of these soils to absorb water for cured soils. Cement –treated clayey silt soils failed to achieve any improvement in the soil engineering properties except the modest decrease in percent of the rapid water absorption values. The cost of using this polymer resin as soil binder was reduced by 50% as compared to the usual practices, which involve removing the clayey silt soils and replace them by sand or other materials a chemhcal plant is provided. It is also suitable for our climatic condition. Therefore, resorcinol resin acts as good soil binder.
Evaluation of copper adsorption from industrial wastewater using sewage sludge ash

A The objective of this research work is to highlight the importance of using waste material such as sewage sludge, as a starting material for adsorption of heavy metals. Sludge incineration can help to stabilize and reduce the volume of sewage sludge; and the resultant ash (SSA) has been considered as an adsorbent for the removal of heavy metals from industrial waste water. In batch process, the effect of environmental condition such as adsorbate concentration (12.5, 25, 50 and 100 mg/L) was studied to evaluate the removal efficiency of SSA. Also, the effects of weight ratio of SSA (0.1, 0.5, 1 and 3 mg/100 mL), agitation speed (60, 150, 200 and 250 rpm), mesh size of adsorbent (60, 65 and 90 μm), temperature (40, 50 and 60 °C) and contact time (10, 20, 30, 60, 110 and 180 min), on the removal of copper ions were investigated. The optimized experimental conditions were used for the removal of copper ions from wastewater obtained from El-Sewedy cables industry. Experimental investigations indicated that at low solute concentration of 25 mg/L and high agitation speed of 250 rpm, the removal efficiency of copper ions by SSA reached 98% with the SSA dosage equal or higher than 3 g/100 mL. Adsorption isotherm studies indicated that Langmuir model described the experimental data with R2 values greater than 0.994. The study highlighted the ability of SSA for the removal of copper ions from industrial wastewater.
Aero-optic effects in turbulent wall-bounded and free shear flows

Large-scale eddies and related aero-optic effects in a turbulent boundary layer, free mixing layer and free round jet are considered. The results obtained are used to analyze the distortions produced in the phase function of a coherent light beam by the turbulent fluctuations of the parameters of the medium. The results of numerical calculations are compared with the experimental data and computational data obtained from the solution of Reynoldsaveraged Navier–Stokes equations. The results obtained can be beneficial for design and optimisation of systems based on coherent optical adaptive techniques.
Prevalence of Gastrointestinal Parasites in Yellow Cattle between Taiwan and its Offshore Islands

บทคดยอ ตวอยางอจจาระของโคเหลองจำนวน 310 ตวอยาง จากประเทศไตหวนและชายฝงหมเกาะ Penghu และ Kinmen เพอตรวจหาปรสตในทางเดนอาหาร โดยใชเทคนคการตรวจในอจจาระ พบความชกโดยรวมเปนรอยละ 73.2 โดยมอตราการตดเชอโปรโตซว พยาธตวกลม พยาธใบไม และพยาธตวตด คดเปนรอยละ 57.7 37.7 17.1 และ 0.6 ตามลำดบ พบ Cryptosporidium spp (รอยละ 41.6) มากทสด ตามดวยพยาธ Strongyles (รอยละ 36.1) และ Eimeria spp. (รอยละ 11.9) มความแตกตางอยางมนยสำคญในความชกของโปรโตซวและพยาธตวกลมระหวางกลมพนท แสดงใหเหนวาการตดเชอปรสตในทางเดนอาหาร โดยเฉพาะโปรโตซวพบไดมากในโคเหลองใน ไตหวนและนอกชายฝงเกาะ ดงนนควรใชระบบการจดการทด และถายพยาธเปนประจำเพอควบคมการตดเชอปรสตในฟารมโคเหลอง คำสำคญ : ปรสตในทางเดนอาหาร, ความชก, ไตหวน, โคเหลอง Abstract A total of 310 fecal samples of yellow cattle were collected in Taiwan and its offshore islands Penghu andKinmen for gastrointestinal parasite examination using coprological techniques. The overall prevalence was 73.2%. The infection rates of protozoa, nematodes, trematodes, and cestodes were 57.7%, 37.7%, 17.1%, and 0.6%,respectively. Among all parasites, Cryptosporidium spp. (41.6%) were the most predominant, followed by strongyles(36.1%) and Eimeria spp. (11.9%). There were significant differences in the prevalence of protozoa and nematodesbetween different distributional area groups. The present study demonstrates that gastrointestinal parasiticinfections, particularly protozoan infections, occur frequently in yellow cattle in Taiwan and its offshore islands. Theresults indicate that superior management systems and regular anthelmintic treatments should be performed for thecontrol of parasitic infections on yellow-cattle farms. Keywords : gastrointestinal parasites, prevalence, Taiwan, yellow cattle
A Linguistic Comparison of Three Generations of Finnish-Americans and Finnish-Australians with Special Reference to Linguistic Dominance and Sociolinguistic Variables

The aim of this paper is to present the initial findings of a study conducted on the oral-reading miscues of three generations of Finnish-American informants and three generations of FinnishAustralian informants. An oral-reading miscue is present when, as defined by Goodman (1969: 19), “…a reader’s observed response (OR) differs from the expected response (ER)”. The hypothesis of the research is, firstly, that the type and number of oral-reading miscues can indicate the linguistic dominance of each individual immigrant and, secondly, that the linguistic dominance of each generation of immigrants can be inferred from the patterns of miscues found in a reading-aloud exercise. Another goal of this study is to investigate the informants’ sociolinguistic backgrounds and the relationship between this background and linguistic dominance. It will be argued that, to some degree, these sociolinguistic factors influence the patterns of linguistic dominance, but that they play a minor role in the overall picture of determining dominance. In relation to linguistic dominance configurations and domains, this study draws support from the writings of Weinreich (1953/1974), Hamers and Blanc (1989), and van Coetsem (1995). With respect to background material for sociolinguistic factors, I have drawn upon theories presented by Haugen (1972), Thomason and Kaufman (1988), and Romaine (2000). To begin with, I present a brief outline of the emigration patterns of Finns during the 19 th and 20 th centuries, along with an overview of the socio-political factors that spurred this emigration. Next, the pertinent theories of linguistic dominance are presented, along with the approach used for this study. A brief overview of sociolinguistic factors relevant to immigrant languages is then presented. This section is followed by a description of the informants, the corpus material, the method of analysis and the procedure used in the study. The results are then presented. In the final sections, I present a discussion of the results, followed by conclusions about the linguistic dominance of the Finnish-American and Finnish-Australian informants in this study.
Net food production of different livestock: A national analysis for Austria including relative occupation of different land categories / Netto-Lebensmittelproduktion der Nutztierhaltung: Eine nationale Analyse für Österreich inklusive relativer Flächenbeanspruchung

Summary The discussion on the role of livestock in human food security is often controversial. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to assess the net contribution of different livestock to human food protein and energy supply. Furthermore, the proportions of feed protein and feed energy derived from different land categories were estimated. National data from 2011–2013 for the main Austrian livestock categories (cattle, dairy cows, growing-fattening bulls, swine, broiler chickens, laying hens, turkeys, sheep, and goats) were used in this case study. Cattle were the only species that were net contributors to both the human protein and energy supply. When accounting for the differences in protein quality between human-edible plant inputs and animal products, not only cattle, but also laying hens, sheep, and goats increased the value of protein available for human consumption. Except for growing-fattening bulls, about 50% of the feed protein and energy for ruminants was derived from permanent grassland, which could otherwise not be used for human food production. The results of this study showed that depending on the production system, the transformation process of feed into food of animal origin results in either an increase or decrease of the available food for human consumption, but it always increases protein quality. Zusammenfassung Der Beitrag der Tierhaltung zur menschlichen Ernährungssicherung wird aufgrund der ineffizienten Umwandlung von pflanzlichen Futtermitteln in tierische Produkte sehr kontrovers diskutiert. Das Ziel der vorliegenden Arbeit war es daher, anhand von nationalen Daten für die Jahre 2011–2013 den Beitrag von verschiedenen Tierkategorien (Rinder, Milchkühe, Maststiere, Schweine, Mast-hühner, Legehennen, Puten, Schafe und Ziegen) zur Netto-Lebensmittelproduktion in Österreich zu ermitteln. Zusätzlich wurde die relative Beanspruchung von unterschiedlichen Flächenkategorien geschätzt. Rinder erzielten als einzige Nutztierart sowohl für Energie als auch für Protein eine positive Netto-Lebensmittelproduktion. Werden allerdings auch die Unterschiede in der Protein-qualität zwischen pflanzlichen und tierischen Proteinen berücksichtigt, so lieferten zusätzlich auch Legehennen, Schafe und Ziegen einen positiven Beitrag zur Bereitstellung von Protein für die menschliche Ernährung. Abgesehen vom Futter für das intensive Stiermastsystem kamen rund 50 % des Futterproteins und der Futterenergie für Wiederkäuer vom Grünland, welches ansonsten nicht für die Lebensmittelproduktion zur Verfügung stehen würde. Die Ergebnisse dieser Untersuchung zeigten, dass eine generelle Kritik an der schlechten Effizienz von Nutztieren bezüglich der Netto-Lebensmittelproduktion nicht zulässig ist und dass die Rolle der Tierhaltung hinsichtlich der Verfügbarkeit von Nahrungsmitteln sehr diversifiziert betrachtet werden muss.
Commercial Arbitration in India

Commercial arbitration in modern times is an efficacious alternative dispute resolution technique in business community vis-a-vis conventional mechanism of court litigation. Knowledge and exposure to effective arbitral practices could be a very effective tool in redressal of disputes that generally arise between different stakeholders in business firms. We examine the current status of litigations pending at courts and explore the use of commercial arbitration to develop a low cost and effective dispute resolution settlement mechanism. We argue that arbitration mechanism at present is not used effectively in Indian companies for disputes resolution. It is an imperative on part of policy makers to work a practical and effective incentive mechanism for use and application of arbitration in place of present routine court litigation. Professionals associated with the business firm can play a creative and strategic role in promoting use of commercial arbitration in dispute resolution.
Estimating the gravity model without gravity using panel data

This article examines the effects of zero trade on the estimation of the gravity model using both simulated and real data with a panel structure, which is different from the more conventional cross-sectional structure. We begin by showing that the usual log-linear estimation method can result in highly deceptive inference when some observations are zero. As an alternative approach, we suggest using the poisson fixed effects estimator. This approach eliminates the problems of zero trade, controls for heterogeneity across countries, and is shown to perform well in small samples.
Observations of Dissipation of Slow Magneto-acoustic Waves in a Polar Coronal Hole

We focus on a polar coronal hole region to find any evidence of dissipation of propagating slow magneto-acoustic waves. We obtained time-distance and frequency-distance maps along the plume structure in a polar coronal hole. We also obtained Fourier power maps of the polar coronal hole in different frequency ranges in 171~\AA\ and 193~\AA\ passbands. We performed intensity distribution statistics in time domain at several locations in the polar coronal hole. We find the presence of propagating slow magneto-acoustic waves having temperature dependent propagation speeds. The wavelet analysis and Fourier power maps of the polar coronal hole show that low-frequency waves are travelling longer distances (longer detection length) as compared to high-frequency waves. We found two distinct dissipation length scales of wave amplitude decay at two different height ranges (between 0--10 Mm and 10--70 Mm) along the observed plume structure. The dissipation lengths obtained at higher height range show some frequency dependence. Individual Fourier power spectrum at several locations show a power-law distribution with frequency whereas probability density function (PDF) of intensity fluctuations in time show nearly Gaussian distributions. Propagating slow magneto-acoustic waves are getting heavily damped (small dissipation lengths) within the first 10~Mm distance. Beyond that waves are getting damped slowly with height. Frequency dependent dissipation lengths of wave propagation at higher heights may indicate the possibility of wave dissipation due to thermal conduction, however, the contribution from other dissipative parameters cannot be ruled out. Power-law distributed power spectra were also found at lower heights in the solar corona, which may provide viable information on the generation of longer period waves in the solar atmosphere.
A B cell-derived gene expression signature associates with an immunologically active tumor microenvironment and response to immune checkpoint blockade therapy

ABSTRACT Immune checkpoint inhibitors have shown great potential in treating solid tumors, inducing durable remission and prolonged survival time in responders. Despite their promise, a large fraction of patients remains unresponsive to these treatments highlighting the need for biomarkers that can predict patient sensitivity. Pre-treatment gene expression profiles for patients receiving immune checkpoint inhibitors have recently become available, establishing a new medium by which to discover biomarkers that predict therapy response. In this study, we mined for transcriptomic correlates of response by applying immune cell-derived gene expression signatures to publicly available datasets containing matched gene expression and response efficacy information. These datasets were comprised of urothelial carcinoma patients receiving anti-PD-L1 (n = 25), melanoma patients receiving anti-PD-1 (n = 28), and melanoma patients receiving anti-CTLA-4 (n = 42). We identified one signature, derived from a subpopulation of B cells, with scores that were significantly and reproducibly elevated in patients experiencing clinical benefit following therapy targeting the PD-1/PD-L1 axis and were additionally elevated in patients responsive to anti-CTLA-4 therapy. Multivariate models revealed that this signature was associated with response independent of other response-predictive biomarkers, including tumor mutation burden. Functional annotation of the signature revealed it to be associated with features indicative of an immunologically active microenvironment, including B and T cell activation as well as antigen presentation activity. The preliminary findings presented detail a transcriptomic signature associated with response to multiple checkpoint inhibitors and suggest novel biological associations that warrant further investigation.
On the Conditional Distribution of the Multivariate t Distribution

ABSTRACT As alternatives to the normal distributions, t distributions are widely applied in robust analysis for data with outliers or heavy tails. The properties of the multivariate t distribution are well documented in Kotz and Nadarajah's book, which, however, states a wrong conclusion about the conditional distribution of the multivariate t distribution. Previous literature has recognized that the conditional distribution of the multivariate t distribution also follows the multivariate t distribution. We provide an intuitive proof without directly manipulating the complicated density function of the multivariate t distribution.