Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Identification of spatial and temporal parameters to support monitoring of Lepidoptera in urban areas

iii CHAPTER 1 GENERAL INTRODUCTION . 1 Research Questions . 4 Thesis Organization . 5 Author Contributions . 6 Literature Cited . 6 CHAPTER 2 CHARACTERIZING URBAN BUTTERFLY POPULATIONS: THE CASE FOR PURPOSIVE POINT-COUNT SURVEYS . 10 Abstract . 10 Introduction . 11 Methods . 15 Results . 21 Discussion . 24 Summary and Conclusions . 29 Acknowledgments . 31 Literature Cited . 31 Tables and Figures . 37 Appendix Supplementary Table . 46 CHAPTER 3: CAN CLIMATIC VARIABLES IMPROVE PHENOLOGICAL PREDICTIONS FOR BUTTERFLY SPECIES? 48 Abstract . 48 Introduction . 49 Methods . 53 Results . 56 Discussion . 58 Summary and Conclusions . 60 Acknowledgments. 61 References . 61 Tables and Figures . 64 CHAPTER 4: GENERAL CONCLUSIONS. 67 Literature Cited . 69
Capacity Levels of Academic Staff in a Malaysian Public University: Students' Perspective.

This research aims to develop a competency model for staff of higher educationinstitutions in Malaysia. The model involves the listing of the main features andimplementation strategy for the development of academic competence.Specifically, this research aims to achieve the following research objectives: a) toidentify if there is any significant difference between locally and internationallyeducated staff in terms of capacities, b) to identify if there is any significantcorrelation between the following demographics and levels of capacity, i.teaching experience, and ii. academic position; and c) to identify the level ofcapacity effectiveness among staff? This research applies a quantitativemethodology through survey research. The sample includes 120 students in apublic university evaluating 10 staff; 5 locally educated & 5 international. Theinstruments involves a modified questionnaire from an original instrument byTengku Noorainun Tengku Shahdan (2011) The data analysis will use bothstatistical descriptive analysis – mean and standard deviation – and statisticalinference analysis – Spearman’s r correlation and Mann-Whitney U. This researchfound that there is no significant difference between locally and internationallyeducated faculties in terms of capacities when p = 0.267 (p > 0.05). For the secondresearch question, this research found that there is no significant correlationbetween teaching experience with capacity level when p=0.314. On the otherhand, there is a significant correlation between academic position with capacitylevel when p=0.032. For the third research question, this research found that bothlocally and internationally educated staff have a high level of effectiveness andsatisfactory when the overall mean score is more than 3.80. The implication ofthis research is staff must pay more attention to developing themselves throughscholarly works.
Graphene-based Flexible Electrode Array with Nanowires and PEDOT Improving Neural Recordings

Neural electrode array have been used to exchange electrical signals to neurons in the brain for decades. In this respect, the electrode-tissue interface plays an important role in neural recordings and stimulating. For small tissue damage and high selective of signals, smaller electrode size is required. However, there is a trade-off between electrode size and impedance of electrode-brain interface. As electrodes size is smaller, the impedance is sharply increased. Therefore, there is a major challenge to reducing electrode size while retaining electrode functionality. Furthermore, the mechanical mismatch between stiff electrodes and soft tissues causes reactive tissue responses. It is considered that reactive tissue response to electrode array should be minimized for longterm reliability to record neural signals. Flexible electrode design can be one of the solution without degradation under dynamic motion constantly. In this thesis, new probe designs are suggested and its electrical characteristics are studied. A Graphene-based flexible electrode array with nanowires and poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) PEDOT on the flexible substrate was fabricated. ZnO nanowires were used in a pillar structure, which expanded effective surface area to decrease dramatically electrode impedance. Furthermore, metallic nanowires were coated with PEDOT to enhance charge storage capacity and to record both electronic and ionic current. Graphene, which has high electrical conductivity and flexibility, is a good candidate as interconnects. The neural electrode array on flexible polyimide film enables to reduce mechanical mismatch for its long-term performance in comparison with electrodes fabricated on silicon. Due to a low impedance, a flexibility, and a low noise of the neural probe system, high signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) was achieved at in vitro and in vivo brain signal recordings. Therefore, the neural probe can be employed to various brain-electrical interface systems with high performances.
Comparing Legal and Alternative Institutions in Commerce

The extraordinary economic performance of China and India in recent decades raises questions about the conventional wisdom of using the legal system as the basis of commerce. Despite many well-known advantages, the legal system can be captured by interest groups and become a barrier to change. We argue that one way to solve this problem is not to use the law as the basis for commerce but instead to use alternative mechanisms outside the legal system. Our prior work on China and India suggests that these alternative mechanisms can be quite effective. In the context of a fast-growing economy such as China or India, there is an additional advantage that this type of system can adapt and change much more quickly than when the law is used. In particular, competition can ensure the most efficient mechanism prevails and this process does not require persuading the legislature and the electorate to revise the law when circumstances change.
THE EFFECT OF DIVORCE RISK ON THE LABOR FORCE PARTICIPATION OF WOMEN WITH AND WITHOUT CHILDREN

This paper examines the effects of divorce risk on the labor force participation responses of married women. The empirical analysis uses a difference-in-difference-indifference estimator to compare changes in labor force participation associated with the passage of state-level divorce laws, focusing on the responses of married women with children relative to married women without children. The most important new finding is that married mothers have greater labor force participation responses to no-fault divorce laws than do married non-mothers in states with such laws, even after controlling for differences in labor force participation among married women with and without children in states without no-fault divorce laws. The results suggest that the probability of being in the labor force associated with no-fault divorce law is about 5 percent higher for women with children relative to women without children. Previous research has underestimated the effect of divorce laws on female labor force participation because it failed to account for differences between women with and without children.
The Influence of Brand Personality Dimensions on Brand Identification and Word-of-Mouth: The Case Study of a University Brand in Thailand

Brand personality refers to personality traits associated with a brand. The results of the study conducted in Thailand, where academic research in this area is scant, reveal that, for a university brand, brand personality dimensions of sincerity and competence have more influence on brand identification and word-of-mouth than the dimensions of excitement and sophistication. In addition, brand identification appears to mediate the influence of these two dimensions of brand personality on word-of-mouth. Implications and future study directions conclude the study report.
Cycling of DDT in the global environment 1950–2002: World ocean returns the pollutant

The global distribution and fate of the insecticide DDT was modeled for the first time using a spatially resolved global multicompartment chemistry‐transport model comprising a 3D coupled atmosphere and ocean GCM, coupled to 2D vegetation surfaces and top soils. DDT enters the model environment as a pesticide in agriculture only. Final sinks of DDT in the total environment are degradation in air (hydroxyl radical reaction), on vegetation surfaces, in ocean sediments and soils. The process resolution of the ocean compartment, i.e., either a fixed or variable size and sinking velocity of suspended particles, has almost no effect on the large‐scale cycling and fate of DDT. The residence times in various ocean basins were declining but varied regionally. The global ocean absorbed until 1977 and since then has been losing DDT, while large sea areas are still accumulating the pollutant. The main sink is volatilization to the atmosphere. In 1990, the year when emissions ceased, 292 kt of DDT were deposited to the global ocean, 301 kt were volatilized, and 41 kt were exported from the surface layer to the deeper levels. The sea region that has been representing the most significant (secondary) DDT source is the western N Atlantic (Gulf stream and N Atlantic Drift regions). It has been a source since approximately 1970. Also large parts of the tropical ocean and the southern mid‐latitude ocean have turned net volatilizational (i.e., volatilization flux > deposition flux) during the 1980s. Despite the emissions migrating southward as a consequence of substance ban in mid latitudes, the geographic distribution of the contaminant (and, hence, environmental exposure) has been migrating steadily northward since the 1960s.
Détection de visages en domaines compressés

In traditional compression standard quality assessment, com­ pressor parameters and performance measures are the main experimental variables. In this paper, we show that the image content is an equally cru­ cial variable which still remains unused. We compare JPEG, JPEG2000 and a proprietary JPEG2000 on four visually different datasets. We base our comparison on PSNR, SSIM, time and compression rate measures. This approach reveals that the JPEG2000 vs. JPEG comparison strongly depends on compressed images visual content.
Statistical Analysis of Some Factors Affecting Crude Protein Balance in Lactating Dairy Cows

Some factors affecting crude protein balance (CPB), as a measure of efficiency, were studied using 2824 records of 501 lactating Holstein cows. The CPB (kg d -1 ) was calculated as crude protein (CP) intake (kg) minus CP yield (kg). Two different statistical methods including principal components (PCs) and general linear model analyses were used to study the effects of different factors. Crude protein balance had a moderate correlation with PCs 1 (-0.206), 2 (0.318) and 3 (-0.281), which accounted for 65.6% of total variations. Age, parity, lactation stage, pregnancy stage, dry matter intake (DMI), milk yield (MY), fat corrected milk yield (FCM), milk fat percentage (F%), milk lactose percentage (L%), milk fat yield (FY), milk protein yield (PY), milk lactose yield (LY), dietary levels of net energy for lactation (NE L), CP, ruminally undegradable protein (RUP), neutral detergent fiber (NDF) and ether extract (EE) and income over feed cost (IOFC) were correlated to CPB, at least, in one of PCs 1, 2 or 3. In general, linear model analysis CPB was significantly affected by parity and lactation stage and had significant partial linear regression coefficients on DMI (kg d -1 ), F%, FY (kg d -1 ), PY (kg d -1 ), NE L (Mcal kg -1 ) and dietary levels of CP (%), RUP (%), NDF (%) and EE (%). The quadratic partial regression coefficients of CPB on NE L, CP, RUP and NDF were also significant. The estimates for optimum dietary levels of NE L, CP and RUP for minimizing CPB in the studied population were 1.49 Mcal/kg, 11.29% and 7.58%, respectively. In comparison to NRC’s estimates, it seems that, more NE L, RUP and NDF and less CP are needed to minimize protein balance in lactating dairy cows.
Genetic diversity in Brazilian tall coconut populations by microsatellite markers

A diversidade genetica em dez populacoes de coqueiro gigante do Brasil foi determinada utilizando 13 marcadores microssatelites. Foi detectado um total de 68 alelos, com media de 5,23 alelos por loco. A media da heterozigosidade esperada e observada foi 0,459 e 0,443 respectivamente. O numero de locos por populacao variou de 36 a 48, com media de 40,9 locos. Foram encontrados 12 alelos exclusivos e destes, um foi considerado como alelo raro esporadico e oito como alelos raros localizados. As metodologias de associacao dos individuos de acordo com a populacao de referencia e com base na analise fatorial de correspondencia forneceram resultados semelhantes e permitiram a formacao de dois grupos, o primeiro formado pelas populacoes de Baia Formosa, Georgino Avelino e Sao Jose do Mipibu e o segundo pelas populacoes de Japoata, Pacatuba e Praia do Forte. Esses resultados revelam um alto nivel de diversidade genetica nas populacoes brasileiras.
Determination of the impedance of vegetated roofs with a double-layer Miki model

Vegetated roof systems on the top of buildings can act as absorbers for traffic noise mitigation. Recent research explains the properties of vegetated roofs that are important for their sound absorptive and scattering properties. Although it has been identified that the substratum is the major contributor to the acoustic absorption of a vegetated roof, coverage of this substratum by plants may have a significant effect on the acoustic absorption. Short-range acoustic propagation experiments have previously been used for in-situ measurements to determine the acoustic impedance of surfaces as forest floors, grasslands, and gravel. However, it is still less practical to estimate the impedance of a non-locally reacting layer of leaves on substratum using the proposed method. The Miki model provides a satisfactory prediction of the fundamental acoustic properties of soils, plants, and their combinations with the advantage of computational simplicity. Here, the double-layer Miki model is examined based on the short-range acoustic propagation method over substratum (with and without layer of leaves) in the laboratory, and considered through in-situ outdoor measurements over green roofs. In addition, the application of the double-layer Miki model on the prediction of the non-locally reacting surface impedance is evaluated by a comparison with other impedance models.
Modelling Comovements of Economic Time Series: A Selective Survey

Modelling comovements amongst multiple economic variables takes up a relevant part of the literature in time series econometrics. Comovement can be defined as “move together”, that is as movement that several series have in common. The pattern of the series could be of different nature, such as trend, cycles, seasonality, being the results of different driving forces. As a results, series that comove share some common features. Common trends, common cycles, common seasonality are terms that are often found in the literature, different in scope but all aimed at modeling common behavior of the series. However, modeling comovements is not only a statistical matter, since in many cases common features are predicted by economic theory, resulting from the optimizing behavior of economic agents.
Planar Seismic Source Characterization Models Developed for Probabilistic Seismic Hazard Assessment of Istanbul

Abstract. This contribution provides an updated planar seismic source characterization (SSC) model to be used in the probabilistic seismic hazard assessment (PSHA) for Istanbul. It defines planar rupture systems for the four main segments of the North Anatolian fault zone (NAFZ) that are critical for the PSHA of Istanbul: segments covering the rupture zones of the 1999 Kocaeli and Duzce earthquakes, central Marmara, and Ganos/Saros segments. In each rupture system, the source geometry is defined in terms of fault length, fault width, fault plane attitude, and segmentation points. Activity rates and the magnitude recurrence models for each rupture system are established by considering geological and geodetic constraints and are tested based on the observed seismicity that is associated with the rupture system. Uncertainty in the SSC model parameters (e.g., b value, maximum magnitude, slip rate, weights of the rupture scenarios) is considered, whereas the uncertainty in the fault geometry is not included in the logic tree. To acknowledge the effect of earthquakes that are not associated with the defined rupture systems on the hazard, a background zone is introduced and the seismicity rates in the background zone are calculated using smoothed-seismicity approach. The state-of-the-art SSC model presented here is the first fully documented and ready-to-use fault-based SSC model developed for the PSHA of Istanbul.
BEAM DYNAMIC STRESSES INCREMENTS AFTER PARTIAL DECONSTRUCTION OF FOUNDATION

One of the major problems of modern structural mechanics is sensitivity analysis of actual and projected designs to various effects not provided for under normal operating conditions, arising in particular in emergency situations, as a result of wear and damage accumulation, etc. The paper presents a physical and mathematical model of the transient dynamical processes initiated in a beam on an elastic foundation with a sudden partial or fully destruction of the foundation. Mathematical models are the differential equations of the static bending of initial and damaged beam, equations of the free and forced vibrations of sections beams formed after damage foundation, with the initial and boundary conditions, conjugations conditions of the beam’s parts, assumptions and limitations. Exact solution of the problem of forced vibrations loaded beam on an elastic foundation (partially or fully destroyed) was obtained, using the Fourier method of separation of variables, the expansion of dynamic movements on the modes of free vibrations of the damaged beams and Duhamel integral.
Discovery of a 26.2 day period in the long-term X-ray light curve of SXP 1323: a very short orbital period for a long spin period pulsar

Context. About 120 Be/X-ray binaries (BeXBs) are known in the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC); about half of them are pulsating with periods from a few to hundreds of seconds. SXP 1323 is one of the longest-period pulsars known in this galaxy. Aims. SXP 1323 is in the field of view of a large set of calibration observations that we analyse systematically, focusing on the time analysis, in search of periodic signals. Methods. We analyse all available X-ray observations of SXP 1323 from Suzaku, XMM-Newton, and Chandra, in the time range from 1999 to the end of 2016. We perform a Lomb-Scargle periodogram search in the band 2.5-10 keV on all observations to detect the neutron star spin period and constrain its long-term evolution. We also perform an orbital period search on the long-term light curve, merging all datasets. Results. We report the discovery of a 26.188+-0.045 d period analysing data from Suzaku, XMM-Newton, and Chandra, which confirms the optical period derived from the Optical Gravitational Lensing Experiment (OGLE) data. If this corresponds to the orbital period, this would be very short with respect to what is expected from the spin/orbital period relationship. We furthermore report on the spin period evolution in the last years. The source is spinning-up with an average rate of Pdot/P of 0.018 yr-1, decreasing from 1340 to 1100 s, in the period from 2006 to the end of 2016, which is also extreme with respect to the other Be/X-ray pulsars. From 2010 to the end of 2014, the pulse period is not clearly detectable, although the source was still bright. Conclusions. SXP 1323 is a peculiar BeXB due to its long pulse period, rapid spin-up for several years, and short orbital period. A continuous monitoring of the source in the next years is necessary to establish the long-term behaviour of the spin period.
An Experimental Investigation of Passive Variable-Pitch Vertical-Axis Ocean Current Turbine

Vertical-axis hydrokinetic turbines with fixed pitch blades typically suffer from poor starting torque, low efficiency and shaking due to large fluctuations in both radial and tangential force with azimuth angle. Maximizing the turbine power output can be achieved only if the mechanism of generation of the hydrodynamic force on the blades is clearly identified and tools to design high-performance rotors are developed. This paper describes an initial experimental investigation to understand more of the performance on vertical-axis turbine related to the effect of fixed-pitch and passive variable-pitch application using airfoil NACA 0018. Comparative analysis according to aspects of rotation and tip speed ratios was discussed. Information regarding the changes of foil position in passive variable-pitch during rotation at a limited range of flow velocity variations test was obtained and analyzed.
How does vegetation affect sedimentation on tidal marshes? Investigating particle capture and hydrodynamic controls on biologically mediated sedimentation

[1] Plants are known to enhance sedimentation on intertidal marshes. It is unclear, however, if the dominant mechanism of enhanced sedimentation is direct organic sedimentation, particle capture by plant stems, or enhanced settling due to a reduction in turbulent kinetic energy within flows through the plant canopy. Here we combine several previously reported laboratory studies with an 18 year record of salt marsh macrophyte characteristics to quantify these mechanisms. In dense stands of Spartina alterniflora (with projected plant areas per unit volume of >10 m −1 ) and rapid flows (>0.4 m s −1 ), we find that the fraction of sedimentation from particle capture can instantaneously exceed 70%. In most marshes dominated by Spartina alterniflora, however, we find particle settling, rather than capture, will account for the majority of inorganic sedimentation. We examine a previously reported 2 mm yr −1 increase in accretion rate following a fertilization experiment in South Carolina. Prior studies at the site have ruled out organic sedimentation as the cause of this increased accretion. We apply our newly developed models of particle capture and effective settling velocity to the fertilized and control sites and find that virtually all (>99%) of the increase in accretion rates can be attributed to enhanced settling brought about by reduced turbulent kinetic energy in the fertilized canopy. Our newly developed models of biologically mediated sedimentation are broadly applicable and can be applied to marshes where data relating biomass to stem diameter and projected plant area are available.
Discovery of Five Narrow-Line Seyfert 1 Galaxies and Implications on the NLS1 Model

We report the discovery of five Narrow-Line Seyfert 1 galaxies (NLS1s) identified from the ROSAT All-Sky Survey bright sources. One of them has a quasar- like luminosity and two, including the quasar-like one, have close companions and/or show interacting features. We calculate the central black hole masses and Eddington ratios for the five NLS1s. In combination with the objects of Kaspi et al., we find that NLS1s have smaller central black hole masses and higher accretion rate than normal Seyfert 1s.