Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Application of Machine Transliteration Techniques to Spelling Correction

This paper extends existing work on spelling correction using statistical machine translation by incorporating techniques that have proved valuable in the related field of machine transliteration. We investigate training the models using a non-parametric Bayesian aligner, alternative translation model features, a language model trained to bias the decoding process towards producing words from a dictionary, and the integration of a joint source-channel model into the set of log-linear models. Our experiments show that all of the enhancements we propose can match or improve the accuracy over a respectable baseline phrase-based statistical machine translation system. Furthermore, the Bayesian aligner gave rise to considerably more compact models and the proposed language model results in a more efficient decoding process by eliminating partial hypotheses that cannot lead to useful results from the search graph.
Sun-induced Chlorophyll fluorescence and PRI improve remote sensing GPP 1 estimates under varying nutrient availability in a typical Mediterranean savanna 2 ecosystem 3 4

Oscar Perez-Priego*, Jinhong Guan, Micol Rossini, Francesco Fava, Thomas Wutzler, Gerardo 5 Moreno, Nuno Carvalhais, Arnaud Carrara, Olaf Kolle, Tommaso Julitta, Marion Schrumpf, 6 Markus Reichstein and Mirco Migliavacca 7 1 Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry, Jena, Germany 8 2 Chinese Academy of Sciences and Ministry of Water Resources, State Key Laboratory of 9 Soil Erosion and Dryland Farming on Loess Plateau, Institute of Soil and Water 10 Conservation, Yangling, Shaanxi, China 11 3 Università degli Studi Milano-Bicocca, Remote Sensing of Environmental Dynamics 12 Laboratory, DISAT, Milan, Italy 13 4 Universidad de Extremadura, Forest Research Group, Plasencia, 10600, Spain 14 Departamento de Ciencias e Engenharia do Ambiente, DCEA, Faculdade de Ciencias e 15 Tecnologia, FCT, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, 2829-516 Caparica, Portugal 16 6 Fundación Centro de Estudios Ambientales del Mediterráneo (CEAM), Valencia, Spain 17 18
Framework of Joint Communications and Sensing Using Two Phased Antenna Arrays

Joint communications and sensing (JCAS) receives strong interest and is promising for many emerging platforms such as unmanned aerial vehicles and smart cars. Setting up transceivers and antennas to meet the requirements for both communications and sensing is very challenging. In this paper, we propose a system architecture which allows seamless operation of JCAS and flexible configurations of transceivers and antennas, based on the use of two phased antenna arrays. The signal processing required by JCAS for the proposed system is also briefly discussed.
Effect of nanotube size on the mechanical properties of elastomeric composites

Using a mesoscale coarse-grained model and dissipative particle dynamics, the mechanical properties of a cross-linked elastomer filled with surface-functionalized carbon nanotubes are investigated under uniaxial stretching, depending on nanotube length, nanotube bulk density, and crosslink density. Importantly, the system is deformed at equilibrium, allowing the cross-linked chains to be fully relaxed. Our results suggest that for a composite with chemical couplings between polymer and fillers, there actually exist different regimes of elastomer reinforcement, manifesting themselves in the stress–strain response, which is found to be dramatically dependent on the nanotube length L and the characteristic network mesh size : while the effect of the filler particles is relatively small at L −1 ∼ 1, there is a sharp increase in the mechanical modulus when L −1 ≫ 1.
Winnebagos, Cherokees, Apaches, and Dakotas: The Persistence of Stereotyping of American Indians in American Advertising Brands

Jeep Cherokee, Sue Bee Honey, and Crazy Horse Malt Liquor are all established brand names and trademarks that use representations of Native Americans to help sell their products. How stereotypes are created, and how pictorial metaphors used in advertising perpetuate these beliefs, is the focus of this study. McCracken's Meaning Transfer Model and Barthes's semiotic analysis serve as the framework of this study. The findings, which are important to scholars and practitioners, posit that these images build upon longstanding assumptions about Native Americans by Whites and reinforce an ideology that has resulted in a consumer "blind spot" when it comes to recognizing this form of racism. This study contributes to the scarce literature on representations of American Indians in modern media, providing a framework for understanding why these images persist and why they are problematic.
Evaluation of High Performance Key-Value Stores

Key-value stores have a long history of providing users with a simple to use, yet powerful, interface to durable data storage. Useful for various purposes in their own right, they are also often used as storage layers in more complicated systems---such as fully featured database management systems. For these reasons, it is educational to investigate how such systems are actually architectured and implemented. This thesis looks in detail at two recently developed embedded key-value stores, Google LevelDB and Symas Lightning Memory-Mapped Database (LMDB). Both systems' overarching architecture and lower-level implementation details are considered to provide a thorough description of how they work. While exposing largely the same set of features, the systems are shown to take vastly different approaches to data storage. These techniques are described, and put in context with regards to existing ideas from the database management systems field. It is also shown how the designs impact performance in the face of different types of workloads.
Quantity and quality: Increasing safety norms through after action reviews

Workplace safety is a concern for both scholars and practitioners alike because accidents and injuries can result in time away from work and lost organizational resources. This study focuses on how one type of post-incident discussion can be effectively used to promote positive safety norms. It adds to the growing body of research on after action review meetings, one type of post-incident discussion intervention commonly used in high reliability organizations to increase future workplace safety behaviors. This study also extends the sensemaking and high reliability literatures by examining a three-way interaction between perceived frequency of after action review meetings, ambiguity reduction and psychological safety. Survey data were obtained from 330 firefighters. Results from the three-way interaction showed that safety norms were highest when perceived after action review frequency, ambiguity reduction and psychological safety were simultaneously high, and safety norms were lowest when perceived after action review frequency, ambiguity reduction and psychological safety were simultaneously low. By examining both the perceived quantity and quality of after action review meetings, this study provides insight into which after action review facilitation objectives are most likely to increase positive safety norms and ultimately create a shared understanding of how to behave safely in future workplace events in high reliability organizational contexts.
The rear-view mirror and the periscope: the meaning of computer-mediated information for refugees

This research-in-progress analyses the meaning of computer-mediated information and how it can contribute to the different aspects of human development. By explicitly recognising that the notion of human development goes beyond indicators of material progress, it adopts the view of human freedom as development. The unit of analysis are individuals who entered New Zealand as refugees, who received a refurbished computer with Internet access upon the successful completion of a government- sponsored, basic computer-training course. Following an inductive approach according to the tenets of grounded theory, the data collected through 10 in-depth interviews is analysed. Although the point of theoretical saturation has not been reached yet, the analysis so far reveals a twofold pattern of the meaning of computer-mediated information. This twofold pattern is expressed in the form of a metaphor by referring to two objects used to produce image representations: the rear-view mirror and the periscope. As a rear-view mirror, computer-mediated information makes possible for the refugees to connect back to their roots. As a periscope, computer-mediated information allows refugees to observe - and to some extent being part of - the activities happening in the host country without necessarily being exposed to other members of the community.
Cytogenetic analysis and chromosomal characteristics of the polymorphic 18S rDNA in the fish Prochilodus lineatus (Characiformes, Prochilodontidae)

We used differential staining techniques (BSG, GTG, AgNO3, DAPI and CMA3 banding) and fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH) with 5S and 18S probes to investigated the karyotypic and cytogenetic chracteristics of Prochilodus lineatus specimens from a population in Vila Velha state park (Parque Estadual de Vila Velha, Ponta Grossa, Parana state, southern Brazil). The specimens studied showed the same karyotype as that found in other P. lineatus populations, i.e. 2n = 54 biarmed chromosomes (40m + 14 sm) and c-positive heterochromatin preferentially located pericentromerically in all chromosomes. The presence of partial or totally heterochromatic supernumerary chromosomes with numeric intra-individual variation was confirmed in the analyzed population. The nucleolar organizing regions (NORs) were interstitially situated on the long arm of chromosome pair 4 directly beneath the centromere. The differential banding techniques and FISH revealed NOR size polymorphism due to structural events such as breaks and duplication of the larger rDNA site cluster. We also observed syntenic localization of the 5S ribosomal genes in the distal segment of the 45S cluster.
Present nitrogen and carbon dynamics in the Scheldt estuary using a novel 1-D model

A 1-D, pelagic, reactive-transport model of a completely mixed, turbid, heterotrophic estuary - the Scheldt estuary - is presented. The model resolves major carbon and nitrogen species and oxygen, as well as pH. The model features two organic matter degradation pathways, oxic mineralisation and denitrification, and includes primary production as well as nitrification. Apart from advective- dispersive transport along the length axis, the model also de- scribes O2, CO2, and N2 air-water exchange. The aim of this study is to present a model which is as simple as pos- sible but still fits the data well enough to determine the fate and turnover of nutrients entering the estuary and their spa- tial patterns in the years 2000 to 2004. Nitrification is iden- tified as one of the most important processes in the estuary, consuming a comparable amount of oxygen as oxic mineral- isation (1.7 Gmol O2 y 1 vs. 2.7 Gmol O2 y 1 ). About 10% of the 2.5 Gmol of nitrogen entering the estuary per year is lost within the estuary due to denitrification. Nitrogen and carbon budgets are compared to budgets from the seventies and eighties, showing that nitrification activity has peaked in the eighties, while denitrification steadily declined. Our model estimates an average CO2 emission of 3.3 Gmol y 1 in the years 2001 to 2004, which is a comparatively low esti- mate in the context of previous estimates of CO2 export from the Scheldt estuary.
Does export dependency hurt economic development? Empirical evidence from Singapore

A rapid export growth in East Asia was once identified as a source of the sustainable economic development that the region enjoyed. However, the current global recession has turned exports from an economic virtue to a vice. There is a growing awareness that a heavy reliance on exports has caused a serious economic downturn in the region. The present paper chooses Singapore as a case study to examine the relationship between the origin of the East Asian Miracle (i.e. export dependency) and the economic growth. For this purpose, the study employs a causality test developed by Toda and Yamamoto. The empirical findings indicate that despite a negative long-run relationship between export dependency and economic growth, Singapore's heavy reliance on exports does not seem to have produced negative effects on the nation's economic growth. This is because the increase in export dependency was an effect, and not a cause, of the country's output expansion.
Effects of Mistletoe and Other Defects on Lumber Quality in White Fir

The presence or absence of defects, including dwarf and true mistletoes, was determined for logs from twenty white fir trees. Grade and volume were determined for all boards sawed from these logs. Differences between defect categories and logs without defect, with regard to degrade and overrun, were not statistically significant. With the exception of shop grades derived from logs containing dwarf mistletoe, differences between logs without defect and those with defect were not statistically significant after the effect of diameter was accounted for; even in this single exception, the volume derived from dwarf mistletoe logs was greater than that derived from no-defect logs. This suggests that the presence in logs of dwarf mistletoe, true mistletoe, and the other defects considered in this study either does not adversely affect lumber grade or that present quality control procedures are ineffective in detecting the changes. The latter possibility appears most likely.
Development and characterization of microsatellite markers for Tibouchina hatschbachii (Melastomataceae), an endemic and habitat-restricted shrub from Brazil

Tibouchina hatschbachii Wurdack (Melastomataceae) is an autogamous shrub restricted to granite (GO) and sandstone (SO) rock outcrops from subtropical Brazil. We designed primers for the amplification of microsatellite regions for T. hatschbachii, and characterized these primers to estimate genetic diversity parameters and contemporary genetic structure patterns. Eight loci were successfully amplified and were characterized using 70 individuals from three natural populations. Polymorphic information content ranged from 0.200 to 0.772 per locus. All loci were polymorphic, with allele numbers ranging from two to eight. The low degree of polymorphism may be explained by the fact that T. hatschbachii has disjunct populations and a recent genetic bottleneck, and also that it is self-pollinated. The observed and expected heterozygosities ranged from 0.115 to 1.000 and from 0.112 to 0.800, respectively. We observed private alleles in all loci. These are important features that enable us to identify population differentiation and help to us understand gene flow patterns for T. hatschbachii in subtropical Brazil. Eight microsatellite loci from other species of Tibouchina amplified positively in T. hatschbachii.
Development of an ECR Ion Source Using Liquid-Helium-Free Superconducting Solenoid Coils

Over the last several years, we have been constructing a facility for experiments to study the dynamic behavior of metal clusters in various processes, such as fission and multi-fragmentation. One of the main capabilities of this facility is the production of multiply ionized metal clusters through soft peripheral collisions with highly charged ions. The collisions occurs when the beam of metal clusters crosses a beam of highly charged ions. To produce the intense beam of highly charged ions for this experiment, we constructed an Electron Cyclotron Resonance Ion Source (ECRIS) using a liquid-He-free superconducting magnet. The new source uses Gifford-McMahon refrigerators for cooling the solenoid coils instead of liquid He. This feature allows us to avoid the higher costs in consuming liquid He, the complicated operation and bulkiness of ordinary superconducting magnets using liquid He. To implement this magnetic system efficiently, we determined the optimum configuration for the solenoid coils, the axial position of the yoke, in addition to the optimum operational parameters, such as the current in the coils. Also we determined the optimum shape of the hexapole magnet. A maximum axial magnetic field of 3 T and a radial magnetic field of 1 T on the plasma chamber wall are provided with this magnetic system. Microwaves of 14.5 GHz (maximum power of 2 KW) are used for heating the plasma. The new type ECRIS was named SHIVA (Superconducting without liquid He ECR Ion source for Various Atomic cluster experiments). In addition, experiments to determine the optimum conditions of the source have been preformed. SHIVA excelled in producing intense highly charged ion beams. We obtained a current of 5.7 μA of Xe32+, 3.8 μA of Xe33+ and 0.9 μA of Xe36+. These set world records for beam intensities of highly charged Xe ions extracted from an ECRIS using 14.5 GHz microwaves. In comparison with other high performance ECRISs using 14.5 GHz microwaves, we found that the long plasma chamber, the high magnetic field and the aluminium cylinder of SHIVA achieves longer ion confinement time and more intense beams of highly charged ions. The long plasma chamber, the high magnetic field and the aluminum cylinder on the wall of the plasma chamber are essentials in producing intense beams of highly charged ions.
easuring changes in taxonomic dissimilarity following species introductions nd extirpations

Species extirpation and non-native species introduction induce changes in compositional dissimilarity among communities. This major component of the current biodiversity crisis has been measured using different metrics since a methodological consensus is still lacking. Here, we provide a consensual framework to assess and discuss the changes in taxonomic dissimilarity. Using a complete mathematical formalism of how extirpation and introduction processes affect changes in taxonomic dissimilarity, we compare the ability of the two most commonly used indices (Jaccard’s and beta-sim) to detect the effects of these changes in species composition and richness. Simulations showed that the two indices indicate opposite direction of changes in more than 14% of the cases studied and that in most of the remaining cases the two indices show a discrepancy of more than 10%. xtinction eta-diversity By returning to the definition of the dissimilarity concept we demonstrate that the Jaccard index is the most appropriate to measure changes in taxonomic dissimilarity whereas the beta-sim index only measures species turnover. Finally, the changes observed in Jaccard’s dissimilarity can be decomposed into changes in taxonomic turnover and changes in taxonomic nestedness. Under the context of global change, the framework we propose will be useful as a toolbox to measure and predict human impact on biodiversity.
Heritability and correlation coefficient analysis for yield and its components in rice (Oryza sativa L.)

The objectives of this study were to estimate the phenotypic and genotypic coefficients of variation, broad sense heritability, genetic gain and correlations in rice (Oryza sativa L.). The experiment was laid out in a randomized complete block design (RCBD) with three replications in the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture, Ibadan, Nigeria during 2008/2009 cropping season. Genotypes differed significantly at (p>0.001) for all the traits studied, which implies that the genotypes constitute a pool of germplasm with adequate genetic variability. Genotypic coefficients of variation were lower than the corresponding phenotypic coefficients in all the traits studied, indicating considerable influence of the environment on the expression of the traits. High to medium broad sense heritability estimates observed on days to heading, days to maturity, plant height, grain yield and number of grains per panicle, panicle weight, number of panicles per m2 and panicle length suggests high component of heritable portion of variation, which is the portion exploited by breeder and that selection for these traits can be achieved directly based on their phenotypic performance. The low broad sense heritability observed for the number of tillers per plant and 1000 grain weight is indicative of the influence of the environment on these traits. Low heritability of these traits indicates the ineffectiveness of direct selection for these traits. High to medium heritability and genetic advance were recorded for the number of grains per panicle, grain yield, panicle weight and the number of panicles per plant. This suggests that these traits are primarily under genetic control and selection for them can be achieved through their phenotypic performance. Grain yield exhibited significantly positive correlation with the number of tillers per plant (r = 0.58**), panicle weight (r =0.60*) and number of grains per panicle (r= 0.52*). Therefore, the results suggest that these traits can be used for grain yield selection. Key words: Broad sense heritability, rice, genotypic coefficient of variation, phenotypic coefficient of variation, genetic gain, rice yield, yield components.
Stakeholder Perceptions of the Environmental Effectiveness of Multi-stakeholder Initiatives: Evidence from the Palm Oil, Soy, Cotton, and Timber Programs

Abstract The roundtable on sustainable palm oil (RSPO), the round table on responsible soy (RTRS), the better cotton initiative (BCI), and the forest stewardship council (FSC) are examples of multi-stakeholder initiatives (MSIs), established to foster sustainable commodity production. While these programs are promoted as collaborative schemes for natural resource management, the significant gap in understanding of MSIs’ effectiveness presents a major concern over the credibility and legitimacy of such programs. We explore stakeholders’ perceptions of the environmental effectiveness of four MSIs in relation to their impacts in reducing agrochemical use and conserving habitats. We found that stakeholders feel positive about the role of the schemes in advocating environmental sustainability in the commodity sectors, and establishing norms of good practice. However, numerous issues, including the inadequate monitoring and evaluation contribute to perceptions of ineffectiveness and a lack of confidence in the schemes’ ability to drive fundamental transformation in environmental performance.
Scanned Conductance Microscopy of Carbon Nanotubes and λ-DNA

We have devised a scanned probe technique based on electrostatic force microscopy capable of probing the conductance of samples without requiring attached leads. We demonstrate that, using our technique, conductance can be probed on length scales as small as 0.4 Im. To demonstrate the utility of our technique, we use it to probe the conductance of DNA, a subject that has been the focus of intense debate with reported results ranging from metallic to insulating. In contrast to conducting single-wall carbon nanotubes, used as a control, individual strands of I-DNA, a widely studied sequence, are found to be insulating on the length scale probed.