Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Quenda: Pet, Pest or Plague? Residents’ perceptions of, observations of, and interactions with quenda in urban gardens and in relation to garden practices and pet management strategies

Despite the displacement of native wildlife due to urbanisation, quenda (Isoodon fusciventer), are maintaining populations within the Perth Metropolitan Region, frequently interacting with human residents. Urban gardens potentially provide critical resources for quenda, even though these areas are often modified to suit human interests. However, the possible associations between residents’ observations of, perceptions of, and interactions with quenda (and garden practices and pet management strategies) and quenda presence and behaviour in urban gardens are unknown. We interviewed 61 residents in the City of Mandurah about their observations of, perceptions of, and interactions with quenda, and their garden practices and pet management strategies. We found that residents are willing to share their gardens with quenda, however 38% of residents initially mistook quenda for rats. Residents who fed quenda were more likely to observe specific quenda behaviours. Compost, damp soil, water sources and dense, established or native vegetation may attract quenda to urban gardens. No association was found between pet presence and quenda presence and behaviour, however residents who practiced night-time confinement of dogs were more likely to see dead quenda and less likely to observe quenda seeking food and water. Residents who practiced total confinement of cats were more likely to observe direct interactions between residents and quenda. Further, residents take quenda into account with their pet management strategies and communicate about quenda, including correcting each others’ misidentification. Actions by local councils, such as installing bandicoot-crossing signs, alert residents to quenda presence. It is suggested that programs to increase community awareness of quenda are urgently required and that existing initiatives should be extended. Additional research should focus on the likelihood of increased quenda presence in urban areas leading to human-wildlife conflict; the capacity of gardens to provide resources for quenda and act as habitat corridors and the influence of pet and quenda temperament in the dynamics of pet-quenda relationships. This study raises the possibility of quenda being utilised as a flagship species to increase community engagement in and awareness of urban conservation in Perth.
Hauterivian-Barremian Bivalves from the Boulouha Formation of the Dahar Escarpment, Southern Tunisia: Stratigraphy and Regional Correlation

The Lower Cretaceous mixed siliciclastic-carbonate successions of the Boulouha Formation at the type locality in the Dahar escarpment of southern Tunisia have yielded a new discovered assemblage of bivalves which contains Anomia laevigata (Sowerby); Modiolus sp. cf. M. dahuashuensis (Yu et Li); Astarte sp. ; and ? Mytilus sp. The temporal distribution of the Anomia laevigata (Sowerby) and Modiolus sp. cf. M. dahuashuensis (Yu et Li) is limited to the Aptian formations of northeastern China, Japan and Korea, thus we suggest a Hauterivian-Barremian age for the Boulouha Formation. Henceforth, the new biostratigraphic data are used to improve a regional chronostratigraphic correlation between the lower Cretaceous strata of the Saharan Platform domain and those coeval from the Chotts domain.
Lagrangian Material Tracers (LMT) for Simulating Material Damage in ALEGRA.

A method for providing non-diffuse transport of material quantities in arbitrary LagrangianEulerian (ALE) dynamic solid mechanics computations is presented. ALE computations are highly desirable for simulating dynamic problems that incorporate multiple materials and large deformations. Despite the advantages of using ALE for such problems, the method is associated with diffusion of material quantities due to the advection transport step of the computational cycle. This drawback poses great difficulty for applications of material failure for which discrete features are important, but are smeared out as a result of the diffusive advection operation. The focus of this work is an ALE method that incorporates transport of variables on discrete, massless points that move with the velocity field, referred to as Lagrangian material tracers (LMT), and consequently prevents diffusion of certain material quantities of interest. A detailed description of the algorithm is provided along with discussion of its computational aspects. Simulation results include a simple proof of concept, verification using a manufactured solution, and fragmentation of a uniformly loaded thin ring that clearly demonstrates the improvement offered by the ALE LMT method.
Southern Hemisphere Pressure Relationships during the 20th Century—Implications for Climate Reconstructions and Model Evaluation

The relationship between Southern Hemisphere middle and high-latitude regions has made it possible to generate observationally-based Antarctic pressure reconstructions throughout the 20th century, even though routinely collected observations for this continent only began around 1957. While nearly all reconstructions inherently assume stability in these relationships through time and in the absence of direct observations, this stationarity constraint can be fully tested in a model setting. Seasonal pressure reconstructions based on the principal component regression (PCR) method spanning 1905–2013 are done entirely within the framework of the Community Atmospheric version 5 (CAM5) model in this study in order to evaluate this assumption, test the robustness of the PCR procedure for Antarctic pressure reconstructions and to evaluate the CAM5 model. Notably, the CAM5 reconstructions outperformed the observationally-based reconstruction in every season except the austral summer. Other tests indicate that relationships between Antarctic pressure and pressure across the Southern Hemisphere remain stable throughout the 20th century in CAM5. In contrast, 20th century reanalyses all display marked changes in mid-to-high latitude pressure relationships in the early 20th century. Overall, comparisons indicate both the CAM5 model and the pressure reconstructions evaluated here are reliable estimates of Antarctic pressure throughout the 20th century, with the largest differences between the two resulting from differences in the underlying reconstruction predictor networks and not from changes in the model experiments.
Endocranial anatomy and life habits of the Early Triassic archosauriform Proterosuchus fergusi

Proterosuchids are an important group of carnivorous basal archosauriforms characterized by a bizarre and enigmatic downturned premaxilla that overhangs the lower jaw. They are particularly significant because they radiated in the immediate aftermath of the Permian–Triassic mass extinction and represent one of the best known ‘disaster taxa’ following that event. While traditionally considered to be semi‐aquatic, recent histological studies and geological data have suggested that it is more likely that they inhabited terrestrial environments. By using computed tomographic (CT) data, we virtually reconstruct the brain endocast and endosseous labyrinths of two adult specimens of Proterosuchus fergusi from the earliest Triassic of South Africa, in an attempt to understand its life habits within the context of basal archosauriform evolution. Endocasts reveal that the brain cavity is tubular in shape and the endosseous labyrinths are highly pyramidal. The angle of the lateral semicircular canal suggests that P. fergusi naturally held its head upwards ~17°, while the length of the cochlear duct suggests its auditory abilities were specialized towards low‐frequency sounds. Furthermore, beam theory analysis suggests that the rostrum of P. fergusi is highly resistant to both bending and torsion when compared to modern crocodilians, although this resistance is neither enhanced nor reduced by the overhanging premaxilla. Comparative anatomical analyses suggest P. fergusi was probably a semi‐aquatic, generalist apex predator capable of surviving the harsh environmental perturbations of the Early Triassic.
Miocene basement exhumation in the Central Alps recorded by detrital garnet geochemistry in foreland basin deposits

Abstract. The Neogene evolution of the European Alps was characterized by the exhumation of crystalline basement, the so-called external crystalline massifs. Their exhumation presumably controlled the evolution of relief, distribution of drainage networks, and generation of sediment in the Central Alps. However, due to the absence of suitable proxies, the timing of their surficial exposure and thus the initiation of sediment supply from these areas are poorly constrained. The northern Alpine foreland basin preserves the Oligocene to Miocene sedimentary record of tectonic and climatic adjustments in the hinterland. This contribution analyses the provenance of 25 to 14 Myr old alluvial fan deposits by means of detrital garnet chemistry. Unusually grossular- and spessartine-rich garnet is found (1) to be a unique proxy for identifying detritus from the external crystalline massifs and (2) to occur abundantly in ca. 14 Myr old deposits of the foreland basin. In contrast to previous assumptions, we therefore propose that the external massifs were already exposed to the surface ca. 14 Myr ago.
Adapting light trap to catch household insects in central Cameroon: a pilot study

Summary Various trapping methods and techniques developed for entomological studies are inefficient in attracting all arthropod groups. A new simple light trap, the basin light trap (BLT), to collect arthropod fauna around household in central Cameroon was thus designed. Its performance is evaluated by comparing collected data with those obtained by the Centre for Disease Control light trap (CDC) commonly used in mosquito studies. BLT were activated between 6 and 10 pm and CDC between 5 pm and 8 am. A total of 36,804 arthropods specimens were collected and sorted into 115 families within 20 orders and three phyla (Myriapoda, Arachnida and Hexapoda). BLT attracted more individuals (22,250 vs 14,554), families (106 vs 65) and significantly more families per night (33.0 ± 15.9 vs 21.0 ± 8.5) than CDC. Some families were collected by only one specific trap type while others overlapped between the two traps. Prosopistomatidae (Ephemeroptera) was the most abundant family collected by BLT. In contrast, Cecidomyiidae (Diptera) was the most abundant taxon trapped by CDC. These results indicate that collecting methods such as BLT complement available trapping methods in evaluating arthropod fauna in and around households.
130 nm Low Power CMOS Analog Multiplier

Processing analog signal often involves analog multiplier and the multiplier is part of system on chip (SoC). Designing such system with a low power consumption is crucial nowadays. It is very important to increase the system battery lifetime. The design also must be smaller in size. In order to reduce the power consumption of the multiplier, an architecture that require smaller current must be designed and the approach is to use a design that is able to function at a low voltage supply. This project has designed the analog multiplier with a low power consumption using Silterra 130 nm Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor (CMOS) technology. A four quadrant technique is applied in the design. The scaling of transistor will help in reducing the size of the analog multiplier, and the proposed circuit architecture has produced a compact multiplier. Cadence electronic design automation (EDA) Tools is used to design the circuit. The schematic, layout, physical verification and parasitic extraction with post layout simulation are done to verify the multiplier circuit is functioning. The analog multiplier is operated with 1.2 V voltage supply and the power consumption is 98 µW. At 1 V, the power consumption is 32 µW. The total area for the design is 99 µm².
Corrective Feedback and Iranian EFL Learners' Spoken Complexity and Accuracy

One of the possible negative consequences of the corrective feedback (CF), as a way of focus on form, can be a trade-off between the learners' spoken complexity and accuracy, due to their attentional limitations. Consequently, the purpose of the current study was to investigate the effects of the different CF types on Iranian EFL learners' spoken complexity and accuracy and the trade-off between them. To this end, four preintermediate intact classes were randomly selected as the delayed explicit metalinguistic CF, intensive recast, extensive recast, and control groups. All groups' participants participated in spoken reproduction tasks for six sessions and their errors were treated differently. Then, the data were transcribed, coded for the complexity and accuracy, and statistically analyzed. The results indicated that different CF types had insignificant effects on the complexity of the spoken production. However, the delayed explicit metalinguistic CF group significantly increased the spoken specific accuracy. Considering the trade-off between the spoken complexity and accuracy, it was revealed that the correlations between them was statistically insignificant and different CF conditions had no significant effect on it. These findings suggest that CF, of the delayed explicit metalinguistic type, can be an effective way for the development of the spoken specific accuracy of the Iranian EFL learners. In addition, its development has no negative effects on their spoken complexity.
Experimental Study of Shear Connector under Static and Fatigue Loading

This paper briefly summarizes the results of tests conducted on 9 stud-connector push-out specimens and 6 perforated-plate-connector push-out specimens under static and fatigue loading.The test specimens were designed to study the effect of a number of parameters on the behavior of fatigue and the shear capacity of the connection.These were the type and the compressive strength of concrete,the number and the position of transverse reinforcements.The expressions of calculating the fatigue strength and shear capacity of stud and perforated plate connector are proposed.
Serendipity in Recommender Systems

Kotkov, Denis Serendipity in Recommender Systems Jyväskylä: University of Jyväskylä, 2018, 72 p. (+included articles) (Jyväskylä Studies in Computing ISSN 1456-5390; 281) ISBN 978-951-39-7437-4 (nid.) ISBN 978-951-39-7438-1 (PDF) Finnish summary Diss. The number of goods and services (such as accommodation or music streaming) offered by e-commerce websites does not allow users to examine all the available options in a reasonable amount of time. Recommender systems are auxiliary systems designed to help users find interesting goods or services (items) on a website when the number of available items is overwhelming. Traditionally, recommender systems have been optimized for accuracy, which indicates how often a user consumed the items recommended by system. To increase accuracy, recommender systems often suggest items that are popular and suitably similar to items these users have consumed in the past. As a result, users often lose interest in using these systems, as they either know about the recommended items already or can easily find these items themselves. One way to increase user satisfaction and user retention is to suggest serendipitous items. These items are items that users would not find themselves or even look for, but would enjoy consuming. Serendipity in recommender systems has not been thoroughly investigated. There is not even a consensus on the concept’s definition. In this dissertation, serendipitous items are defined as relevant, novel and unexpected to a user. In this dissertation, we (a) review different definitions of the concept and evaluate them in a user study, (b) assess the proportion of serendipitous items in a typical recommender system, (c) review ways to measure and improve serendipity, (d) investigate serendipity in cross-domain recommender systems (systems that take advantage of multiple domains, such as movies, songs and books) and (e) discuss challenges and future directions concerning this topic. We applied a Design Science methodology as the framework for this study and developed four artifacts: (1) a collection of eight variations of serendipity definition, (2) a measure of the serendipity of suggested items, (3) an algorithm that generates serendipitous suggestions, (4) a dataset of user feedback regarding serendipitous movies in the recommender system MovieLens. These artifacts are evaluated using suitable methods and communicated through publications.
Supporting collaborative learning in science with an online tool

This paper discusses a new approach trialled in a first year core science unit that aims to develop generic skills such as scientific writing, numeracy skills, computer literacy and communication skills. The trial involved integrating online assessable activities to the existing teaching and learning activities. The aim of the online activities was to help students to keep their pace throughout the semester and to facilitate students learning from each other. The online tool used was InterLearn. This is new web-based tool developed at Monash University to support collaborative learning. The tool was designed to simulate classroom interaction where students build knowledge together through discussion. It provides the facility to structure online activities, which students complete within their own workspace. Students can view each other’s responses to the activities and can modify them as they learn from each other.
Transmission Power Adjustment Scheme for Mobile Beacon-Assisted Sensor Localization

Localization, as a crucial service for sensor networks, is an energy-demanding process for both indoor and outdoor scenarios. GPS-based localization schemes are infeasible in remote, indoor areas, and it is not a cost-effective solution for large-scale networks. Single mobile-beacon architecture is recently considered to localize sensor networks with the aim of removing numerous GPS-equipped nodes. The critical issue for the mobile beacon-assisted localization is to preserve the consumed power to increase the lifetime. This paper presents a novel power control scheme, namely “Z-power,” for mobile beacon traveling along a predefined path. The proposed scheme takes the advantage of deterministic path traveled by the single beacon to efficiently adjust the transmission power. Based on the extensive results, the proposed power control scheme could successfully improve the beacon and sensors energy consumption about 25.37% and 34.09%, respectively. A significant energy-accuracy tradeoff was achieved using Z-power, which could successfully keep the same level of accuracy while providing lower energy consumption. Another group of results collected when obstacle-handling algorithm was applied at the presence of obstacles. In this scenario, Z-power improves energy consumption and localization accuracy with the same level of success.
Separation of chlorophyll‐protein complexes by deriphat polyacrylamide gradient gel electrophoresis

An improved Deriphat polyacrylamide gradient gel electrophoresis system was developed for the separation of chlorophyll‐protein complexes. The relatively good resolution of the starting discontinuous gel system was further improved by using glycerol in gels and an acrylamide gradient with high acrylamide‐to‐N,N′,‐methylenebisacrylamide ratio in the separating gel. By applying mild but efficient glycosidic detergents for solubilization, and Deriphat to gels and buffers, the stability of complexes was increased, and only a low amount of pigment was removed. The advantage of our system is the better resolution of larger‐size complexes, especially those of photosystem I. In addition, it makes possible an easier interpretation of results due to less overlapping of photosystem I and photosystem II bands when different plant species or the effects of different treatments are compared using whole thylakoid membranes.
A Multi-Step Nonlinear Dimension-Reduction Approach with Applications to Big Data

In this paper, a novel dimension-reduction approach is presented to overcome challenges such as nonlinear relationships, heterogeneity, and noisy dimensions. Initially, the <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$p$</tex-math><alternatives><mml:math><mml:mi>p</mml:mi></mml:math><inline-graphic xlink:href="raghavan-ieq1-2876848.gif"/></alternatives></inline-formula> attributes in the data are first organized into random groups. Next, to systematically remove redundant and noisy dimensions from the data, each group is independently mapped into a low dimensional space via a parametric mapping. The group-wise transformation parameters are estimated using a low-rank approximation of distance covariance. The transformed attributes are reorganized into groups based on the magnitude of their respective eigenvalues. The group-wise organization and reduction process is performed until a user-defined criterion on eigenvalues is satisfied. In addition, novel procedures are introduced to aggregate the transformation parameters when the data is available in batches. Overall performance is demonstrated with extensive simulation analysis on classification by employing 10 data-sets.
A Magnetically Anisotropy Method for Measuring Residual Stress in the Steels

Discussed the basic principle of measuring residual stress with the magnetically physics approach detailedly and put forward the magnetically anisotropy method for measuring the residual stress in the steels.In order to testify the veracity of the method,the author compared the data of residual stress in the steels detected by the magnetism physics with the ones detected by the strainflakes,and we got a satisfied result.This method is a brand-new magnetism stress detecting approach.Both the experiment and the theory testify that this method has more unique advantages than any others.It has extensive applications in the engineering fields.
Analysis of dynamic response time of MR damper and its influential factors

Dynamic response time is an extremely important character of MR damper,and it directly determines the control frequency,application range and the effect of MR damper.The dynamic response time was defined as the time interval from the time when damping force initialed to the time when damping force reached 63.2 percent of the difference between initial and stable damping force.The acquired arising and descending curves of damping force were processed and statistically analyzed,and response time under different testing condition was acquired.The influences under each condition such as different linking mode of electromagnetic coils,different amplitude of step current,different piston speed and working temperature were analyzed.At last,the reasonable explanation was given out.
Effect of Continuous Vegetable Cultivation on Phosphorus Levels of Fluvo-Aquic Soils

Soil P status, inorganic P fractions, and P sorption properties were studied using sandy fluvo-aquic horticultural soils, which are high in organic matter content for vegetable production in comparison with a soil used for grain crop production in Zhengzhou, Henan Province, China. P fractions, Olsen-P, and OM were determined at different depths in the soil profile and sorption isotherm experiments were performed. Most P in excess of plant requirements accumulated in the topsoil and decreased with soil depth. Total P, inorganic P, and OM concentrations increased with continued horticultural use. Olsen-P concentrations in the 0-20 cm depth of horticultural soils were 9 to 25 times higher than those of the grain crop soil. A linear transformation of the Langmuir equation showed that the P adsorption maximum (491.3 mg P kg-1) and the maximum phosphate buffering capacity (162.1 L kg-1) for 80-100 cm were greater in the grain crop soil than the horticultural soils. Thus, the most immediate concern with excess P were in areas where heavy P fertilizer was used for vegetable crops and where soil P sorption capacities were low due to sandy soils and high organic matter content.