Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Seismic Data Compression and GPU Memory Latency

The gap between processing performance and the memory bandwidth is still increasing. To compensate for this gap various techniques have been used, such as using a memory hierarchy with faster memory closer to the processing unit. Other techniques that have been tested include the compression of data prior to a memory transfer. Bandwidth limitations exists not only at low levels within the memory hierarchy, but also between the central processing unit (CPU) and the graphics processing unit (GPU), suggesting the use of compression to mask the gap. Seismic datasets are often very large, e.g. several terabytes. This thesis explores compression of seismic data to hide the bandwidth limitation between the CPU and the GPU for seismic applications. The compression method considered is subband coding, with both run-length encoding (RLE) and Huﬀman encoding as compressors of the quantized data. These methods has shown on CPU implementations to give very good compression ratios for seismic data. A proof of concept implementation for decompression of seismic data on GPUs is developed. It consists of three main components: First the subband synthesis ﬁlter reconstructing the input data processed by the subband analysis ﬁlter. Second, the inverse quantizer generating an output close to the input given to the quantizer. Finally, the decoders decompressing the compressed data using Huﬀman and RLE. The results of our implementation show that the seismic data compression algorithm investigated is probably not suited to hide the bandwidth limitation between CPU and GPU. This is because of the steps taken to do the decompression are likely slower than a simple memory copy of the uncompressed seismic data. It is primarily the decompressors that are the limiting factor, but in our implementation the subband synthesis is also limiting. The sequential nature of the decompres- sion algorithms used makes them diﬃcult to parallelize to make use of the processing units on the GPUs in an eﬃcient way. Several suggestions for future work is then suggested as well as results showing how our GPU implementation can be very useful for data compres- sion for data to be sent over a network. Our compression results give a compression factor between 27 and 32, and a SNR of 24.67dB for a cube of dimension 643. A speedup of 2.5 for the synthesis ﬁlter compared to the CPU implementation is achieved (2029.00/813.76 2.5). Although not currently suited for the GPU-CPU compression, our implementations indicate
Stability of corn (Zea mays)-foxtail (Setaria spp.) interference relationships

Variation in interference relationships have been shown for a number of crop-weed associations and may have an important effect on the implementation of decision support systems for weed management. Multiyear field experiments were conducted at eight locations to determine the stability of corn-foxtail interference relationships across years and locations. Two coefficients (I and A) of a rectangular hyperbola equation were estimated for each data set using nonlinear regression procedures. The I and A coefficients represent percent corn yield loss as foxtail density approaches zero and maximum percent corn yield loss, respectively. The coefficient I was stable across years at two locations and varied across years at four locations. Maximum yield loss (A) varied between years at one location. Both coefficients varied among locations. Although 3 to 4 foxtail plants m−-1 row was a conservative estimate of the single-year economic threshold (Tc ) of foxtail density, variation in I and A resulted in a large variation in Tc . Therefore, the utility of using common coefficient estimates to predict future crop yield loss from foxtail interference between years or among locations within a region is limited.
Employment of Undocumented Immigrants and the Prospect of Legal Status: Evidence from an Amnesty Program 

This article estimates the causal effect of the prospect of legal status on the employment outcomes of undocumented immigrants. The identification strategy exploits a natural experiment provided by an Italian amnesty program that introduced an exogenous discontinuity in eligibility based on date of arrival. The authors find that immigrants who are potentially eligible for legal status under the amnesty program have a significantly higher probability of being employed relative to undocumented immigrants who are not eligible. The size of the estimated effect is equivalent to about half the increase in employment that undocumented immigrants in our sample normally experience during their first year in Italy. These findings are robust to several checks and falsification exercises.
Rate/state Coulomb stress transfer model for the CSEP Japan seismicity forecast

Numerous studies retrospectively found that seismicity rate jumps (drops) by coseismic Coulomb stress increase (decrease). The Collaboratory for the Study of Earthquake Prediction (CSEP) instead provides us an opportunity for prospective testing of the Coulomb hypothesis. Here we adapt our stress transfer model incorporating rate and state dependent friction law to the CSEP Japan seismicity forecast. We demonstrate how to compute the forecast rates of large shocks in 2009 using the large earthquakes during the past 120 years. The time dependent impact of the coseismic stress perturbations explains qualitatively well the occurrence of the recent moderate size shocks. Such ability is partly similar to that of statistical earthquake clustering models. However, our model differs from them as follows: the off-fault aftershock zones can be simulated using finite fault sources; the regional areal patterns of triggered seismicity are modified by the dominant mechanisms of the potential sources; the imparted stresses due to large earthquakes produce stress shadows that lead to a reduction of the forecasted number of earthquakes. Although the model relies on several unknown parameters, it is the first physics based model submitted to the CSEP Japan test center and has the potential to be tuned for short-term earthquake forecasts.
Effect of Employee Communication on Organisation Performance in Kenya’s Horticultural Sector

The horticulture sector is estimated to employ over 50,000-60,000 people directly and 500,000 people indirectly through affiliated services to the industry for example farm inputs, transport, packaging and banking (Kenya Flower Council, 2010). It is therefore imperative that the welfare of the workers working in this sector is given paramount importance by both government and the stakeholders as a whole. This study therefore sought to explore the effect of employee communication on organization performance in Kenya’s horticultural sector. This study was carried out in flower farms in Kenya. The population of this study was all flower farms in Kenya which were the 14 flower farms registered in the KFC directory (2013) and based in Naivasha. The study targeted the employees in the identified farms. Cross sectional survey research design was used for the study. Stratified sampling technique was used to sample the study respondents. A total of 2460 respondents were targeted by the study out of which 1888 responded giving a response rate of 76.7%. Questionnaires were used as instrument for data collection. Both quantitative and qualitative data analysis techniques were used. Quantitative data was analyzed using descriptive statistics while qualitative data was analyzed thematically. Inferential statistics such as correlation and regression analysis were used to test on the relationship between the variables of the study. The study found that 65% of the respondents strongly agreed that communication facilitates exchange of information and opinion with the organization. It was also found that that 63% of the respondents were found by the study to agree that communication helps in improving operational efficiency thus improving organization performance. The results of correlation analysis show that employee communication is statistically significant with a Pearson correlation coefficient of 0.466 at a level of significance of 0.000. The study concluded that employee communication is a major determinant of organization performance in the horticultural sector in Kenya. The study recommended that organizations should develop effective communication strategies. This will facilitate passing of information both within and outside the organization thus improving performance.
Pemanfaatan Ekstrak Gulma Air untuk Meningkatkan Pertumbuhan dan Produksi Mikroalga Spirulina platensis pada Kultur Skala Laboratorium

Microalgae Spirulina platensis is good as natural food for fish. It consists of the highest protein, that is 70% of the dry weight. On the other hand, it can be used as alternative of healthy food and herbal medicine. To grow well, microalgae need enough nutrition. Another alternative use of the algae is for organic fertilizer. The fertilizer product can increase the income of the fishers, since it can change the useless into usefull things. In the first year, we produced fertilizer in the laboratory and natural food such as microalgae powder. In this research we used an experimental method with Splitplot Design and 3 replications for each treatment of combination of aquatic weeds by giving different concentration. The research result indicates that population growth of microalgae cells is sigmoid with a peak population at the sixth day after inoculation and Salvinia natans with extract concentration of 900 ppm showed the best production for biomass cell of Spirulina platensis .
Examining the Methods for Investigating Behavioral Clues of Special-schooled Children

This article discusses the authors’ use of a combination of methods to understand the engagement of special needs children with design features in sensory gardens at two schools in Britain. In addition to observation and behavior mapping, we interviewed landscape architects, teachers, and therapists to anticipate the children’s behavior when experiencing sensory gardens. We report how these groups’ anticipations differed from what we observed. While the groups anticipated that aesthetic value relates significantly to users’ behavior in the garden, we observed that sensory value has a stronger bearing on the behavior. The potential of this finding is important for design studies.
Impact of Barney and Friends Programme on social skills among early childhood

Television is a world full of images. Various programmes are designed specifically for children whether it is educational pogramme or not, and these programmes are keeping pace with the development around the world. Children at early childhood phase are normally interested in television programme that give them entertainment and joyful. Educational pogrammes like Barney and Friends, is an example of the fovourite tv programme amongst the children of this age group. The purpose of the study was to examine the impact of Barney and Friends programme on social skill among children at early childhood. A total of 40 children aged between 24 months and 42 months were selected from several kindergartens around Indah Permai residential area, Kota Kinabalu, Sabah. This research employed experimental design within and between subjects with pre and posttest group design. In this study, the children were allowed to watch two series of Barney and friends programme. Data were measured using Social Skills Checklist. Results showed that the Barney and Friends programme had no significant impact on social skills of children at early childhood.
Earth-based repair mortars: Experimental analysis with different binders and natural fibers

This work intends to contribute for a better knowledge of earth-based repair mortars. The studied mortars are made of a commercial earth (consisting mainly of clay), and other components namely: sand; powder hydrated air-lime; natural hydraulic lime; Portland cement; Roman cement and natural fibers. The experimental analysis of the mortars in the fresh state consisted in the determination of the consistence by flow table and bulk density. In the hardened state the tests conducted were: linear and volumetric shrinkage; water absorption capillary coefficient; drying test; dynamic modulus of elasticity by measuring the fundamental resonance frequency; flexural and compressive strengths. Figure 1. Particle size distribution nomograms for the reference-earth and sand. Table 1. Composition of the ten groups of mortar. Group of mortar reference-earth (MRE) Designation Binder (%)* F (%)* AL NHL PC RC Reference-earth MRE Reference-earth with fibers MRE_F 5 Reference-earth with hydrated air-lime MRE_AL5 5 -
The Effect of Brands' Unethical Actions on Consumers' Attitudes in the Fast Moving Consumer Goods Domain

Two experiments were conducted to determine how consumers respond to information about a brand’s unethical actions in the fast moving consumer goods domain. Participants were randomly assigned to unethical action conditions and then instructed to complete a series of consumer measures. There was no evidence that different types of unethical actions by brands in a specific product category had an effect on consumer attitudes and behaviors. These findings suggest that consumers are not always focused on the ethical behavior of brands when making consumer decisions. This research adds to a growing literature on consumer response to brands after the brand has violated consumer trust. The implications of these results in an applied marketing context are discussed.
Financial globalization and financial development in transition countries

This paper examines the impact of fi nancial globalization on fi nancial development in transition countries. An empirical test is elaborated with new indicators of fi nancial globalization and fi nancial development, closer to theoretical and conceptual framework. On the basis of Blundell and Bond (1998) a dynamic panel data model is employed. The principal results suggest, in general, that fi nancial globalization has a positive and signifi cant relationship with the process of growth of the fi nancial system, but not with the process of development, that is to say, without a better performance of basic fi nancial functions.
Herbicide effects of essential oils

Abstract Laboratory and greenhouse experiments were conducted to determine the herbicidal effect of plant-derived oils and to identify the active ingredient in an oil with herbicide activity. Twenty-five different oils were applied to detached leaves of dandelion in the laboratory. Essential oils (1%, v/v) from red thyme, summer savory, cinnamon, and clove were the most phytotoxic and caused electrolyte leakage resulting in cell death. Each of these essential oils in aqueous concentrations from 5 to 10% (v/v) plus two adjuvants (nonionic surfactant and paraffinic oil blend at 0.2% [v/v]) were applied to shoots of common lambsquarters, common ragweed, and johnsongrass in the greenhouse; shoot death occurred within 1 h to 1 d after application. Essential oil of cinnamon had high herbicidal activity, and eugenol (2-methoxy-4-[2-propenyl]phenol) was determined to be this oil's major component (84%, v/v). Dandelion leaf disk and whole-plant assays verified that eugenol was the active ingredient in the essential oil of cinnamon. Essential oils are extracted from plants and thus may be useful as “natural product herbicides” for organic farming systems. Nomenclature: Cinnamon, Cinnamomum zeylanicum; clove, Syzgium aromaticum; red thyme, Thymus vulgaris; summer savory, Satureja hortensis; common lambsquarters, Chenopodium album L. CHEAL; common ragweed, Ambrosia artemisiifolia L. AMBEL; dandelion, Taraxacum officinale Weber in Wiggers TAROF; johnsongrass, Sorghum halepense (L.) Pers. SORHA.
Vertical mixing and coherent anticyclones in the ocean: the role of stratification

Abstract. The role played by wind-forced anticyclones in the vertical transport and mixing at the ocean mesoscale is investigated with a primitive-equation numerical model in an idealized configuration. The focus of this work is to determine how the stratification impacts such transport. The flows, forced only at the surface by an idealized wind forcing, are predominantly horizontal and, on average, quasigeostrophic. Inside vortex cores and intense filaments, however, the dynamics is strongly ageostrophic. Mesoscale anticyclones appear as "islands" of increased penetration of wind energy into the ocean interior and they represent the maxima of available potential energy. The amount of available potential energy is directly correlated with the degree of stratification. The wind energy injected at the surface is transferred at depth through the generation and subsequent straining effect of Vortex Rossby Waves (VRWs), and through near-inertial internal oscillations trapped inside anticyclonic vortices. Both these mechanisms are affected by stratification. Stronger transfer but larger confinement close to the surface is found when the stratification is stronger. For weaker stratification, vertical mixing close to the surface is less intense but below about 150 m attains substantially higher values due to an increased contribution of both VRWs, whose time scale is on the order of few days, and of near-inertial motions, with a time scale of few hours.
Adaptation Measures to Climate Change. Integration of Green Roofs with Rainwater Harvesting Systems

Nowadays it is imperative to assess the effects of climate change and develop mitigation and adaptation measures, particularly in urban environments, as cities will comprise 2/3 of the world's population by 2050, according to the UN. The use of rainwater in buildings can be a good solution to reduce flood peaks of stormwater in public areas, which may increase as a result of climate change, but also to increase water efficiency in buildings. Indeed, hydric stress is increasing on a global scale (especially in the Mediterranean basin) and it is imperative to search for measures to face these consequences. On the other hand, the use of green roofs (GR) in buildings can also bring many advantages, since it also cushions peak flows of stormwater in cities and increases the number of green infrastructures as well as all its associated benefits. Thus, it is possible to state that the GR technology combined with rainwater harvesting systems is particularly promising, pointing to the importance of developing studies that help the combined design of these systems, specifically runoff coefficients. The contributions of roofs to environmental sustainability can be further enhanced by the inclusion, for example, of photovoltaic panels, which conduces mitigation of climate change by increasing the production of renewable energy. In Portugal, a project is under development for modular roofs involving these three technologies, seeking to contribute to greater future sustainability in urban environments. The project involves research related to these different technologies and their integration, and in this paper we present the first results obtained in relation to runoff coefficients, in view of the combination of the green roof with a rainwater harvesting system in regions with a Mediterranean climate. The theoretical results show low values and wide variations in the runoff coefficients, with a minimum of 0.04 and maximum of 0.14, in terms of annual averages, which are significantly lower than the values that are usually suggested in the bibliography. Experimental tests to validate these results are in progress.
Homogeneity of the coefficient of linear thermal expansion of ZEDRODUR

The low thermal expansion glass ceramic ZERODUR is the material of choice for many big astronomical telescope projects like VLT, Keck I + II, HET, LAMOST and GRANTECAN (GTC). For future giant telescope projects like OWL or TMT with at least several hundreds of mirror blanks the CTE homogeneity within a single blank and from blank to blank is an crucial issue. The ZERODUR production process is based on established and proven methods used in the production of high homogeneity optical glasses. Therefore ZERODUR itself is a material of highest homogeneity even in large dimensions and huge quantities. This paper presents an evaluation of the homogeneity of the thermal expansion coefficient within more than 250 mirror blanks. The observed homogeneity range is only slightly larger than the repeatability of the standard dilatometer measurement of ±0.005*10-6 K-1. To improve the accuracy of measurement and to get a deeper understanding of the thermal expansion behaviour of ZERODUR a new dilatometer was built exhibiting a repeatability of ±0.001*10-6 K-1. Detailed evaluations of the thermal expansion coefficient homogeneity of a 100 mm x 100 mm ZERODUR test block showed no variation within the repeatability of measurement of the improved dilatometer.
Perceived Service Quality and Customer Loyalty: The Mediating Effect of Passenger Satisfaction in the Nigerian Airline Industry

Abstract The long-term survival and competiveness of the airline business is strongly connected to the quality of service offered by airline operators and their ability to satisfy and build long-term relationships with customers. This study investigates the relationship among service quality, customer satisfaction and loyalty in the Nigerian airline industry. The cross-sectional survey research design was chosen in order to collect the primary data, using a structured questionnaire. Convenience sampling was adopted to draw a sample of 800 respondents. The data collected were analysed using correlation and multiple regression analysis. The findings of this study largely support the hypothesized relationships proposed in the conceptual framework. The results specifically reveal that perceived service quality is positively related to both passengers’ satisfaction and loyalty. The relationship between passenger satisfaction and loyalty towards the airlines was also found to be positive. The mediating effect of customer satisfaction between perceived service quality and customer loyalty is also found to be positive and partially supported. On the basis of the findings of this study, we conclude that perceived service quality does influence passenger satisfaction, and by extension, loyalty to the airlines. Thus, improvement of service quality is an adjuvant factor to sustainable differentiation and competitiveness in the airline industry. We therefore, recommend that airline operators develop and implement market-oriented service strategies to identify customers’ needs and expectations in order to serve them better. Additionally, airline operators should measure service quality regularly to assure that they are keep meeting passengers’ expectations, and consider customizing their products and services (as needed) to enhance customer satisfaction and loyalty.
HEPATOTOXICITY ASSOCIATED WITH HYPOGLYCEMIC EFFECTS OF TEUCRIUM POLIUM IN DIABETIC RATS

Background-Aqueous extract of Teucrium polium has been used traditionally as an antidiabetic agent in many Iranian provinces. The goal of this study was to investigate the hypoglycemic effect and histopathological changes in the liver following the ingestion of an extract of T. polium in streptozocin-induced diabetic rats. Methods-An aqueous extract of Teucrium polium was fed intra-esophageally to healthy and streptozocin-induced diabetic rats for several days. Serum glucose levels of the case group were measured daily and compared to those of the healthy control. At the end of the extract ingestion period, parts of the animal liver were excised, fixed in formalin and studied histologically. Results-Treatment of diabetic animals with the aqueous extract resulted in a significant decrease (p<0.001) in the serum glucose level after 24h, which reached those of the normoglycemic animals in 8 days. Liver sections from T. polium-treated rats showed marked cytoplasmic hydropic changes in 1/3 to 2/3 of the liver lobule in perivenular and midzonal areas. Apoptopic bodies were also noted in the perivenular zone and Kupffer cells increased in number. Nuclear enlargement with anisonucleosis and prominence of 1 or 2 nucleoli suggestive of regenerative changes were also observed.