Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Characterizing Vertical Mass Flux Profiles in Aeolian Saltation Systems

Characterizing Vertical Mass Flux Profiles in Aeolian Saltation Systems. (May 2012) Eugene John Farrell, B.Sc., University College Cork; M.S., University of Southern California Co-Chairs of Advisory Committee, Dr. Douglas J. Sherman Dr. Chris Houser This dissertation investigates characteristics of the vertical distributions of mass flux observed in field and laboratory experiments. Thirty vertical mass flux profiles were measured during a field experiment in Jericoacoara, Brazil from October to November, 2008. These data were supplemented with 621 profiles gathered from an extensive review of the aeolian literature. From the field experiment, the analysis of the grain-size statistics for the flux caught in each trap shows that a reverse in grain-size trends occurs at an inflection zone located 0.05 – 0.15 m above the bed. Below this inflection, mean grain-size decreases steeply with elevation in the near bed region dominated by reptation and saltation modes of transport. Above the inflection there is a coarsening of grain size with elevation; as saltation becomes the dominant transport mode. These results indicate that the coarsest grains are found close to and farthest from the bed. Using a data set comprising 274 vertical flux profiles, the performance of the exponential, power and logarithmic functions were tested to see which provided the best fit to the vertical flux distributions. The exponential function performed best 88% of the time. The average r value for the grouped exponential, logarithmic, and power function fits are 0.98, 0.85 and 0.91, respectively. The populations of the exponent coefficients, representing the relative rate of decrease with height above the surface, or slope of the vertical mass flux profiles, are statistically different in wind tunnels and field experiments. The slopes of the vertical flux profiles observed in wind tunnel experiments
Antimicrobial Activity of Turmeric, Ginger, and Galangal Rhizome Ethanol Extracts in Combination Using the Checkerboard Method

Bacterial infection remains a significant problem around the globe and worsens with the emergence of antibiotic-resistant strains. Indonesia is rich in natural resources, such as its flora diversity, with various benefits, including medicinal use. This study investigated the potency of turmeric, ginger, and galangal rhizome ethanol extracts in single and combination using the checkerboard method against several pathogens. The most potent inhibitory activity in a single form was shown by turmeric extract against Streptococcus mutans and Cutibacterium acne with the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) value of 16 µg/mL. Meanwhile, the bactericidal activity was shown best by turmeric extract against Staphylococcus aureus and Enterococcus faecalis with both MIC and minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) of 32 µg/mL. The synergistic combination was shown by turmeric-ginger (TGi), turmeric-galangal (TGa), and ginger-galangal (GiGa) against Staphylococcus aureus with the FICI (fractional inhibitory concentration index) of 0.15625, 0.1328, and 0.15625, respectively, and TGi against Streptococcus mutans with the fractional inhibitory concentration index (FICI) of 0.1875. This preliminary study showed the potency of those rhizomes for further research to investigate the active compounds with a synergistic activity that may be used as an alternative therapy in the future.
Radiation Synthesis of High-Temperature Wide-Bandgap Ceramics

This paper presents the results of ceramic synthesis in the field of a powerful flux of high-energy electrons on powder mixtures. The synthesis is carried out via the direct exposure of the radiation flux to a mixture with high speed (up to 10 g/s) and efficiency without the use of any methods or means for stimulation. These synthesis qualities provide the opportunity to optimize compositions and conditions in a short time while maintaining the purity of the ceramics. The possibility of synthesizing ceramics from powders of metal oxides and fluorides (MgF2, BaF2, WO3, Ga2O3, Al2O3, Y2O3, ZrO2, MgO) and complex compounds from their stoichiometric mixtures (Y3Al3O12, Y3AlxGa(5−x) O12, MgAl2O4, ZnAl2O4, MgWO4, ZnWO4, BaxMg(2−x) F4), including activators, is demonstrated. The ceramics synthesized in the field of high-energy electron flux have a structure and luminescence properties similar to those obtained by other methods, such as thermal methods. The results of studying the processes of energy transfer of the electron beam mixture, quantitative assessments of the distribution of absorbed energy, and the dissipation of this energy are presented. The optimal conditions for beam treatment of the mixture during synthesis are determined. It is shown that the efficiency of radiation synthesis of ceramics depends on the particle dispersion of the initial powders. Powders with particle sizes of 1–10 µm, uniform for the synthesis of ceramics of complex compositions, are optimal. A hypothesis is put forward that ionization processes, resulting in the radiolysis of particles and the exchange of elements in the ion–electron plasma, dominate in the formation of new structural phases during radiation synthesis.
Stratospheric Warming Events in the Period January–March 2023 and Their Impact on Stratospheric Ozone in the Northern Hemisphere

In this investigation, a comparison is presented between variations in temperature and ozone concentration at different altitude levels in the stratosphere for the Northern Hemisphere in the conditions of Sudden Stratospheric Warming (SSW) for the period January–March 2023. Spatial and altitude distribution of atmospheric characteristics derived from MERRA-2 are represented by their Fourier decomposition. A cross-correlation analysis between temperature and Total Ozone Column (TOC) is used. The longitudinal inhomogeneities in temperature, caused by stationary Planetary Waves with wavenumber 1 (SPW1), are found to be significant at altitudes around the maximum of the maximum of the ozone number density vertical distribution. As a result, it is established that the latitudinal and longitudinal distribution of TOC has a noticeable similarity with that of the temperature at altitudes close to the ozone concentration maximum. The results of correlation between temperature at individual stratospheric levels and ozone concentration show that (i) in the region around the ozone concentration maximum, the correlation is high and positive, (ii) at higher altitudes the sign of the correlation changes to negative (~37 km). The examination shows that the anomalous increases in TOC during SSW are due to an increase in ozone concentration in the altitudes between 10 km and 15 km.
EFECTOS ANTROPOGÉNICOS PROVOCADOS POR LOS USUARIOS DEL AGUA EN LA MICROCUENCA DEL RÍO PIXQUIAC* ANTHROPOGENIC EFFECTS CAUSED BY WATER USERS IN THE PIXQUIAC RIVER MICRO-BASIN

Los seres humanos afectan los ecosistemas, por lo que es importante determinar las alteraciones que provoca en los servicios ambientales de las cuencas hidrologicas y los bosques. El objetivo del estudio es evaluar los efectos antropogenicos de los usuarios del agua e identificar tanto los servicios ambientales proporcionados por los ecosistemas, como las actividades sociales y economicas, para impulsar estrategias que contribuyan al manejo del agua. El eje del trabajo se centra en el manejo integral de cuencas, ya que el agua es el recurso articulador para el funcionamiento de los ecosistemas, central para la vida de los seres humanos y para la produccion de bienes y servicios. Para analizar los efectos antropogenicos, se elaboro una matriz de impacto ambiental, tomando como base la matriz de Leopold (1971), en la cual se establece la relacion causa-efecto; ademas de estimar su intensidad, temporalidad, espacialidad y reversibilidad. Las actividades que desempenan los usuarios del agua en la microcuenca del Rio Pixquiac, tienen en su mayoria impactos de caracter adverso, aunque a diferente escala de intensidad y espacialidad. En cuanto al criterio de temporalidad, una tercera parte de los impactos son permanentes. Se determina que es fundamental desarrollar estrategias de gestion, que permitan tanto el cuidado como la conservacion del agua y los bosques, con el proposito de amortiguar la degradacion de los ecosistemas y asegurar el bienestar de la poblacion a escala intergeneracional. ABSTRACT
Structural Time Series Models and Trend Detection in Global and Regional Temperature Series

A unified statistical approach to identify suitable structural time series models for annual mean temperature is proposed. This includes a generalized model that can represent all the commonly used structural time series models for trend detection, the use of differenced series (successive year-to-year differences), and explicit methods for comparing the validity of no-trend nonstationary residuals models relative to trend models. Its application to Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change global and latitude-belt temperature series reveals that a linear trend model (starting in 1890, with Southern Oscillation index signal removal and a red noise residuals process) is the optimal model for much of the globe, from the Northern Hemisphere Tropics to the Southern Hemisphere midlatitudes, but that a random stationary increment process (with no deterministic trend) is preferred for the northern part of the Northern Hemisphere. The result for the higher northern latitudes appears to be related to the greater climate variability there and does not exclude the possibility of a trend being present. The hemispheric and global series will contain a mixture of the two processes but are dominated by and best represented by the linear trend model. The latitudinal detectability of trends is oppositely matched to where GCMs indicate greatest anthropogenic trend, that is, it is best for the Tropics rather than for the high latitudes. The results reinforce the view that the global temperatures are affected by a long-term trend that is not of natural origin.
Some Observations on the Kinematic Nature of Soil Stiffness

ABSTRACT The Paper attempts to describe soil stress-strain behaviour by defining, in normalised stress-space, an outer Bounding Surface and three characteristic Zones which sub-divide the permissable interior region. The types of behaviour exhibited within each Zone are illustrated using experimental data. It is demonstrated that the Zone boundaries, or Sub-Yield Surfaces, are mobile and may be both re-positioned and modified by moving the current stress point. This scheme is found to offer a powerful way of envisaging many poorly understood aspects of soil stress-strain behaviour.
Effects of Night Temperature Increase on Growth and Yield of Early Season Rice

Under using the different night temperature conditions in two glasshouses,the experiment was conducted to study the effects of night temperature on growth and yield of early-season rice during the whole growth period.The results showed that: high night temperature can accelerate leaf appearance of early-season rice seedlings obviously,and improve the quality of seedlings significantly,accelerate tillering and enhance the effective panicles.However,compared with the natural night temperature treatment,the days from transplanting to heading and the relatively steady phase of chlorophyll of the flag leaves were shortened significantly by high night temperature,the number of spikelets differentiation and filled grain percentage,as well as grain yield were decreased obviously.
Characterization of the Virulency of Vibrio spp. in Giant Tiger Shrimp (Penaeus monodon) from Peninsular Malaysia

Nowadays, bacterial diseases caused by Vibrio spp. pose a significant obstacle to aquaculture growth, affecting socioeconomic development. The presence of pathogenic Vibrio spp. are gaining attention due to widespread mortality in fish and shellfish worldwide. This study investigates the distribution of virulence genes and their pathogenicity by experimentally infecting a healthy group of cultured shrimp, specifically Penaeus monodon. A total of 225 Vibrio spp. isolated from 210 cultured shrimp from various geographical regions in Peninsular Malaysia were examined, resulting in 13 Vibrio spp. being identified and characterized. According to virulence gene assessment, only eight of the 11 virulence genes were detected in the isolates, including chiA (89%), flaC (74%), tlh (72%), toxR (70%), luxR (40%), pirA (11%), pirB (11%), and hlyA (0.4%). Other virulence genes, such as tdh, trh, and ctxA, were not found in any of the isolates (0%). Then, three Vibrio isolates, including V. parahaemolyticus S12-3, V. campbellii S10-4, and V. rotiferianus S24-4, were selected for pathogenicity test based on highest number of virulence genes in each species. These species were subjected to immersion challenge test against postlarvae (PL) P. monodon approximately PL-20 with three different concentrations of 1 × 106, 1 × 107, and 1 × 108 CFU/mL. The V. parahaemolyticus S12-3 was determined to have lethal concentration 50 (LC50) 1 × 105 CFU/mL after 168 hr of exposure. The immersion challenge test resulted in a pale hepatopancreas and empty guts in P. monodon. Histopathological examination showed sloughing of epithelial cells in the hepatopancreatic tubule, hemocytic infiltration, massive vacuolation, and loss of hepatopancreatic tubule structure. Overall, the study demonstrated the virulence and pathogenicity of V. parahaemolyticus S12-3 toward P. monodon, which could be associated with its virulence properties. Furthermore, the current findings will be useful in developing microbiological risk assessments for shrimp farming and aquaculture management.
Defending against label-flipping attacks in federated learning systems using uniform manifold approximation and projection

The user experience can be greatly improved by using learning models that have been trained using data from mobile devices and other internet of things (IoT) devices. Numerous efforts have been made to implement federated learning (FL) algorithms in order to facilitate the success of machine learning models. Researchers have been working on various privacy-preserving methodologies, such as deep neural networks (DNN), support vector machines (SVM), logistic regression, and gradient boosted decision trees, to support a wider range of machine learning models. The capacity for computing and storage has increased over time, emphasizing the growing significance of data mining in engineering. Artificial intelligence and machine learning have recently achieved remarkable progress. We carried out research on data poisoning attacks in the FL system and proposed defence technique using uniform manifold approximation and projection (UMAP). We compare the efficiency by using UMAP, principal component analysis (PCA), Kernel principal component analysis (KPCA) and k-mean clustering algorithm. We make clear in the paper that UMAP performs better than PCA, KPCA and k-mean, and gives excellent performance in detection and mitigating against data-poisoning attacks.
Early Silicate Earth Differentiation

The discovery of small 142Nd anomalies in early Archean rocks has brought about a revolution in our understanding of early planetary differentiation processes. 142Nd is a radiogenic isotope produced by the decay of now-extinct 146Sm in crustal and mantle reservoirs. Given that 142Nd heterogeneities can be produced only prior to 4.2 Gya, this short-lived chronometer provides selective information on the very early evolution of primordial silicate reservoirs. This information is particularly crucial for Earth, where the fingerprints of the earliest crustal formation processes have been almost entirely erased from the geological record. This article reviews the history of the field, from the pioneering applications of the 147Sm-143Nd and 146Sm-142Nd systems to ancient crustal rocks, to the more recent insights gained from application of 146Sm-142Nd to meteorites and lunar samples.
A Case of West Nile Encephalitis: Neuroimaging Findings and Clinico-Radiological Mismatch

West Nile Virus, an arthropod-borne RNA virus, may result in severe neurological disease. West Nile neuroinvasive disease is characterized by meningitis, encephalitis, and possible acute flaccid paralysis. Classically, signal intensity abnormalities on T2-weighted magnetic resonance images are associated with poor outcomes. Herein, we present a case of previous West Nile encephalitis with diffuse leukoencephalopathy on imaging that demonstrates a favorable clinical outcome with limited neurologic sequelae. A 53-year-old male presented to the hospital with one month of headaches, dizziness, generalized weakness, and a seizure. His initial neurologic exam was notable for wide-based gait and imbalance. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the brain demonstrated diffuse bilateral white matter signal hyperintensities without contrast enhancement, suggestive of leukoencephalopathy. His lumbar puncture revealed lymphocytic pleocytosis and infectious studies demonstrated positive West Nile Virus immunoglobulin G (IgG) in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and serum with negative immunoglobulin M (IgM) in both CSF and serum, suggestive of previous infection. A diagnosis of sequelae of West Nile neuroinvasive disease was made. He was started on anti-seizure medications without further seizures. At his subsequent nine-month follow-up visit, he remained asymptomatic without weakness, headaches, or confusion. Repeat MRI demonstrated interval improvement of white matter signal change. This case report highlights that West Nile neuroinvasive disease may present with profound white matter changes on MRI with limited clinical symptoms and long-term neurologic sequelae. Further research is needed to identify imaging correlation with symptom severity in this disease.
Fake news and fact-checking: Combating misinformation and disinformation in Canadian newsrooms and journalism schools

This exploratory study investigates how the global COVID-19 pandemic spotlighted fact-checking to combat misinformation and disinformation in Canadian journalism. Specifically, this work investigates how Canadian journalists and journal-ism educators may be approaching fact-checking (both ante hoc, or editorial, and post hoc) to respond to more forms of misinformation and disinformation. Through expert in-depth interviews ( n = 14) with Canadian journalism educators, reporters, and newsroom leaders, this analysis sketches an initial understanding of the place of fact-checking in Canadian journalism practice and pedagogy. This initial study offers five tentative findings from our expert interviews: (1) while the COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the need for more fact-checking, Canadian journalists and journalism educators believe the worldwide health crisis was not the sole trigger for an increased focus on fact-checking in Canadian journalism and journalism education; (2) over the last decade, Canadian journalism schools may have increased their focus on fact-checking and verification teaching; (3) while Canadian newsroom leaders want their journalists to have solid fact-checking and verification skills to combat concerns about information integrity, they are concerned about the skills new graduates bring to the job; (4) Canadian journal-ists and journalism educators believe ante hoc or editorial and post hoc fact-checking should play a more significant role in Canadian journalism; and (5) while there is concern about the efficacy of post hoc fact-checking (whether it corrects misconceptions), Canadian journalists and journalism educators appear committed to the practice because of normative and democratic ideals surrounding truth and information integrity. Moreover
THE IMPACT OF LABOUR, WAGE, AND HUMAN DEVELOPMENT INDEX ON ECONOMIC GROWTH

Introduction: This study aims to estimate the impact of Labor Level, Wage Level, and Human Development Index on economic growth in DKI Jakarta Province between 2012 and 2021. Methods: This study employed quantitative research methodologies utilizing secondary data as its data source. Central Statistical Agency data on GRDP, Human Development Index, Manpower, and Provincial Minimum Wages were gathered (www.bps.go.id). This study used a multivariate linear regression model to determine the impact of variables using the Least Squares Equation. Results: The results of this study reveal that the macroeconomic variables HDI, Labors, and Wages have no substantial influence on GRDP. Conclusion and suggestion: To influence the increase or reduction in the level of economic growth, however, the rate of economic growth (GRDP) is not only affected by macroeconomic variables but also by religiosity-related factors.
Self-Reported Voice-Related Quality of Life in Cochlear Implant Users

Objective. The aim of this study was to identify if cochlear implant (CI) users are perceiving a decrease in life quality due to voice problems. This study evaluated 43 CI user’s perception of their voice and how it affects their quality of life through a survey. Approach. Forty-three CI users responded to a survey regarding their demographics, details about their CI, the Hearing Health Quick Test (HHQT), the Voice Related Quality of Life (V-RQOL), and the Voice Handicap Index-10 (VHI-10). The survey responses were analyzed using univariate linear regression analysis. Results. Few of the CI users scored below the cut off for normal voice related quality of life. CI users averaged 93.4 out of 100 on the V-RQOL and only four scored abnormally for the VHI-10. Lower scores on the V-RQOL were correlated with the participants having an associate degree and with participants visiting friends, family, and neighbors less often due to hearing loss. The VHI-10 scores were correlated with gender, education levels, difficulty in social situations due to hearing loss, noise exposure, and tinnitus. Limitations of the study. The small n was the primary limitation of this study. Originality. This study was one of the first to examine the voice-related quality of life in CI users. Conclusions. Overall, respondents did not perceive much voice-related difficulty. However, they were more likely to perceive voice-related difficulty if they experienced difficulty hearing in noise and avoided social situations due to hearing loss.
Actual shear rate prediction associated with wall slip phenomenon using radial basis function network

Wall slip can be defined as a phenomenon where the particles in a suspension moving away from the wall boundary, leaving a thin liquid-rich layer adjacent to the boundary. Such a phenomenon may induce a significant impact on rheological measurements, particularly to viscosity, shear stress, and shear rate. Suspension has wide applications such as food processing, personal care products, pharmaceuticals, paints, medicine, and agrochemical. The traditional technique for the actual shear rate prediction is challenging yet difficult and non-favourable from the perspective of time and cost-effectiveness. Therefore, development of a mathematical computational model which has the ability to perform the prediction task with an acceptable level of accuracy is highly in need. Since radial basis function network (RBFN) has the ability to perform input-output mapping in a highly accurate manner, both of the approaches are employed to generate the actual shear rate prediction model. Through the model evaluation using a series of statistical analyses, it was found that RBFN model V is the best model as it shows the highest coefficient of determination (0.9998), lowest mean squared error (0.001058) and root mean squared error (0.001447), most negative Akaike information criterion (-18426.5) and Bayesian information criterion (-18415.5), and the smallest percentage error.