Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Monitoring the Coastal Environment; Part I: Waves and Currents

Measurement waves and currents in the high-energy, hazardous nearshore zone is one of the more challenging endeavors of coastal engineering and research. A measurement program must be thoroughly planned before any gauges are deployed to insure that useful data are collected: (1) Determine what data units and analyzed products are needed to answer the critical engineering or scientific questions at the site. (2) Determine how long the gauges must be at the site i.e., several years or just during the winter season? (3) Consider placing gauges in locations that are compatible with previous measurement programs. (4) Evaluate environmental constraints such as ice or trawler activity. (5) Be sure that enough funding is allocated for the analysis of the data. Two general types of wave gauges are commonly used: non-directional and directional. Despite the greater cost and complexity, the latter is preferred for most projects because of the need to evaluate wave refraction at the coast. Meticulous quality control is critical for all wave measurement programs. Three general classes of current measuring technology are used in coastal projects: (1) Radar and Lagrangian methods (dye and drogues); (2) Point source (Eulerian) technology such as ducted impeller instruments; (3) Acoustic Doppler Current Profilers. As gauges are improved, massive amounts of data are being collected at field projects. Clear, simple, and concise display of wave and current data are important aspects of the analysis procedure.
Building Internal Maps of a Mobile Robot

Classical approaches to environment modelling of mobile robots consist of geometrical space reconstruction using measurements from robot sensors. This approach could be errorprone due to noise and inaccuracy of the sensors. However, in order to perform pathplanning, a mobile robot still requires some kind of representation or world-model, as pointed out in (Tani, 1996) and (Mataric, 1992). The alternative approach consists of topological modelling of the environment. It leads to a simpler description of the environment, but still preserving essential information. Provided that a type of low-level behaviour is provided, a topological map of the space suffices to the robot to distinguish among qualitative distinct behaviours. A model of the world may be built therefore on top of the reactive behavior. This corresponds to topological navigation. A topological map of the space is usually in the form of a graph or a finite state machine (FSM). The states are typically distinctive places in the space, also called landmarks. At each node, there is a decision to be made as to where to proceed. It was argued (Brooks, 1991) that for truly intelligent agents the type of representation must not be a designer's choice, because the abstraction is the key part of the intelligence. Human designers tend to decompose the problem to the blocks-world, i.e., they do all the abstraction and leave a supposedly intelligent agent merely to search in this simplified world. Behavior-based robotics (Brooks, 1991) consequently emerged as a paradigm, emphasizing direct embodiment of a robot in a surrounding environment, taking as the basic level a direct state-action mapping or reactive behavior that enables the robot to perform basic tasks in the real world. Further levels are to be built incrementally upon the basic level, but always having in mind strong coupling between the robot and the environment. In (Mahadevan & Connell, 1992), one of the first successful applications of reinforcement learning to a behavior-based robot is described. Basic skills of a robot include obstacle avoidance and approaching a goal. While the obstacle avoidance skill is a reactive-type behaviour, i.e., it requires no memory, approaching a goal usually requires some knowledge about the environment. Unless the goal is observed at a given moment, the robot must have a model of the space. The symbolic approach is simple, but also has a major drawback, namely, input symbols to the finite state machine may occasionally be overlooked or even illegal. Whenever an error occurs (due to sensor noise, for example), this symbolical representation can consequently break down.
ASSESSMENT OF TOPOGRAPHIC AND DRAINAGE NETWORK CONTROLS ON DEBRIS-FLOW TRAVEL DISTANCE ALONG THE WEST COAST OF THE UNITED STATES

To better understand controls on debris-flow entrainment and travel distance, we examined topo- graphic and drainage network characteristics of ini- tiation locations in two separate debris-flow prone areas located 700 km apart along the west coast of the U.S. One area was located in northern Califor- nia, the other in southern Oregon. In both areas, debris flows mobilized from slides during large storms, but, when stratified by number of contrib - uting initiation locations, median debris-flow travel distances in Oregon were 5 to 8 times longer than median distances in California. Debris flows in Ore - gon readily entrained channel material; entrainment in California was minimal. To elucidate this differ- ence, we registered initiation locations to high-res- olution airborne LiDAR, and then examined travel distances with respect to values of slope, upslope contributing area, planform curvature, distance from initiation locations to the drainage network, and number of initiation areas that contributed to flows. Results show distinct differences in the topo- graphic and drainage network characteristics of de- bris-flow initiation locations between the two study areas. Slope and planform curvature of initiation locations (landslide headscarps), commonly used to predict landslide-prone areas, were not useful for predicting debris-flow travel distances. However, a positive, power-law relation exists between median debris-flow travel distance and the number of contrib -
Gamma Radiation Measurements in Tunisian Marbles

The radioactivity of 15 kinds of different granites collected in Tunisia was determined by gamma-ray spectrometry using hyper-pure germanium (HPGe) detector. The average activity concentrations for primordial radionuclides 238U, 232Th and 40K were respectively 33.24, 8.01 and 116.98 Bq/kg. The activity concentrations ranged from 3.59 to 87.37 Bq/kg for 238U, from 0.45 to 25.34 Bq/kg for 232Th and from 24.06 to 380.23 Bq/kg for 40K. The measured activity concentrations were used to assess of the radium equivalent activity ranged from 22.2 to 995.8 Bq/kg, the absorbed dose rate in air from 7 to 1209 nGy/h and the internal (0.1 to 2.8) and external (0.1 to 2.7) hazard indices. The data obtained in this study may be useful for natural radioactivity mapping.
STUDIES ON PSYCHROTROPHIC Kocuria SPECIES FROM MILK AND FERMENTED MILK PRODUCTS

Psychrotrophs are the organisms capable of appreciable growth at 7 0 C irrespective of the optimum growth temperature. These organisms can grow at wide range of temperature. They produce heat resistant, exoenzymes such as protease, lipase etc. during cold storage and attack proteins and fats in milk and milk products and cause spoilage problems. For studying these psychrotrophs milk and fermented milk samples from different dairies of Kolhapur region in Maharashtra were collected. Two psychrotrophic bacterial isolates obtained were belonged to genus Kocuria . They were characterized by studying their morphological, cultural, physiological and biochemical characters as well as 16S rRNA sequencing and further identified as Kocuria rosea and Kocuria sp.Mali 344. Lipolytic activities of these were studied. Both the isolates showed production of lipase and may hydrolyzed milk fat. Survival at pasteurization was also studied.
The Influence of “Soft” and “Hard” Total Quality Management (TQM) Practices on Total Productive Maintenance (TPM) in Jordanian Manufacturing Companies

Numerous studies have been separately carried out on total quality management (TQM) and total productivemaintenance (TPM). This paper examines the influence of soft and hard TQM practices on TPM implementationlevel at manufacturing companies in Jordan using survey data and empirical research methodology. The resultsindicate that four soft TQM practices, top management leadership, training, workforce management, andcustomer focus, significantly and positively affect TPM implementation level. The results also show that threehard TQM practices, continuous improvement, information feedback, and process management, significantlyand positively affect TPM implementation level.
Antibacterial activity of plants used in Indian herbal medicine

Delonix elata, Enicostemma axillare, Merremia tridentata, Mollugo cerviana and Solanum incanum are medicinal plants used in traditional Indian medicine for the treatment of various ailments. These plants were selected to evaluate their potential antibacterial activity. To determine antibacterial activity and phytochemicals in the crude extracts of five medicinal plants used in traditional Indian medicine for the treatment of various ailments like rheumatism, piles fever, skin diseases and snake bite. The antibacterial activity of organic solvent extracts of these plants were determined by disc diffusion and broth dilution techniques against grampositive bacterial strains (Bacillus subtilis, Staphylococcus aureus) and gram-negative bacterial strains (Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Pseudomonas aeruginosa). Results revealed that the chloroform and methanol extracts of D. elata and methanol extracts of M. cerviana exhibited significant antibacterial activity against gram-positive and gram-negative strains with minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) ranging from 1.5 to 100 mg/ml. Methanol extracts of M. tridentata exhibited activity only against gram-positive bacterial strains with MBC ranging from 12.5 to 100 mg/ml. Extracts of E. axillare and S. incanum showed activity only against B. subtilis and were not bactericidal at 100 mg/ml. The most susceptible organism to the organic extracts from all the studied plants was B. subtilis and the most resistant organism was P. aeruginosa. The presence of phytochemicals such as alkaloids, tannins, triterpenoids, steroids and glycosides in the extracts of these plants supports their traditional uses as medicinal plants for the treatment of various ailments. The present study reveals potential use of these plants for developing new antibacterial compounds against pathogenic microorganisms. Key words: Antibacterial, Enicostemma axillare, Merremia tridentata, Mollugo cerviana, Solanum incanum
Psychological, Social Environmental, and Physical Environmental Variables in Explaining Physical Activity in Korean Older Adults

The current study investigated the direct and indirect paths of psychological, social environmental, and physical environmental variables in explaining physical activity among Korean older adults. A total of 401 adults aged 65 years old or older (Mage = 75.17 years, SD = ±7.24) were recruited from the Nowon district of northern Seoul. Standardized scales were used to measure physical activity and its related social ecological variables. The results indicated that physical activity was significantly correlated with self efficacy, perceived benefits, perceived barriers, family support, friend support, availability of facilities, and quality of facilities. All of psychological, social environmental, and physical environmental variables had a significant direct path to explain physical activity. In addition, self-efficacy and perceived benefits significantly mediated the relationship between family support and physical activity, and while the relationship between availability of facilities and physical activity was substantially mediated by perceived barriers. The current study implies that application of the social ecological model is warranted to provide a more concrete association of the contextual factors to explain physical activity and to design a more effective intervention for promoting physical activity among older adults.
Determination of Seismic Wave Attenuation for the Garhwal Himalayas, India

Present work determines the seismic wave attenuation characteristics in the Garhwal Himalayan, India. These are obtained based on the attenuations of P, S and coda wave spectra from the recorded seismograms of nearby earthquakes (EQs) with focal depth up to 10 km. Since P and S waves come directly to the site, attenuation of P and S waves in the present study represents the crustal attenuation characteristics of the region whereas coda wave appears from deeper lithospheric regions thus coda wave attenuation represents the attenuation characteristics of deeper lithospheric regions. Above attenuation characteristics are frequency dependent and are shown in terms of the Quality factors ( ) Q . The average − Q f correlation ( ) η = o Q Q f for P, S and coda waves obtained in the present study are ( ) ( ) ± ± 1.065 0.048 76 9 f , ( ) ( ) ± ± 0.927 0.099 155 36 f and ( ) ( ) ± ± 1.059 0.036 101 9 f respectively. Value of s p Q Q ratio greater than 1 for the study area suggests that the crust beneath this region is composed of dry rocks. In addition, − Q f correlations for coda wave are also determined with the increasing lapse time suggesting that the upper lithosphere of Garhwal Himalayas is more heterogeneous than the lower lithosphere. The obtained − Q f correlations are essential for creating a Ground motion model in this region.
Diversity among the coat proteins of luteoviruses associated with chickpea stunt disease in India

Chickpea stunt is an important virus disease of chickpea in the Indian subcontinent which is thought to be caused by infection with a luteovirus. Samples of diseased chickpea plants were collected from different chickpea growing regions of India and analysed with a panel of monoclonal antibodies to potato leafroll, beet western yellows and barley yellow dwarf (RPV strain) luteoviruses. The results suggested that more than one luteovirus was present in chickpea crops near ICRISAT Asia Center, Hyderabad. Aphid transmission tests resulted in the separation of two distinct isolates from these samples. One of them (isolate L) was more efficiently transmitted by Myzus persicae than the other (isolate IC). Nucleotide sequence analysis of DNA obtained by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT/PCR) amplification revealed that the amino acid sequence of the coat protein of isolate L was 94% identical to that of beet western yellows virus, whereas the coat protein sequence of isolate IC was 82% identical to that of isolate L and 80% identical or less to those of the coat protein of other luteoviruses. Using newly designed “universal luteovirus primers”, a minor sequence variant of isolate IC, which was 96% identical to it in part of the coat protein gene, was detected in the same location during the next season. Only isolate IC could be detected in samples from other locations by either serological or nucleotide sequence analysis
HOUSING AND FINANCIAL FRICTIONS IN A SMALL OPEN ECONOMY

The role of the housing sector in the recent US crisis has served to emphasise the importance of understanding how shocks originating in that sector can influence broader economic activity. The crisis has also highlighted the importance of credit market linkages in amplifying real shocks. The comparatively high exposure of Australian households to housing-secured debt suggests that housing sector and credit market developments are potentially important drivers of fluctuations in the Australian economy. In this spirit we adapt a medium scale Dynamic Stochastic General Equilibrium (DSGE) model with a housing sector and an embedded financial accelerator mechanism following Iacoviello and Neri (2010), to an open economy setting and estimate using Australian data. We find that for some parameterisations shocks to the housing sector have a substantial impact on the broader economy and that the inclusion of the financial accelerator mechanism leads to consumption dynamics that are broadly consistent with wealth effects from housing. JEL Classification Numbers: E23, E32, E44, O33, R31
Trends in stratospheric ozone derived from merged SAGE II and Odin-OSIRIS satellite observations

Abstract. Stratospheric ozone profile measurements from the Stratospheric Aerosol and Gas Experiment~(SAGE) II satellite instrument (1984–2005) are combined with those from the Optical Spectrograph and InfraRed Imager System (OSIRIS) instrument on the Odin satellite (2001–Present) to quantify interannual variability and decadal trends in stratospheric ozone between 60° S and 60° N. These data are merged into a multi-instrument, long-term stratospheric ozone record (1984–present) by analyzing the measurements during the overlap period of 2002–2005 when both satellite instruments were operational. The variability in the deseasonalized time series is fit using multiple linear regression with predictor basis functions including the quasi-biennial oscillation, El Nino–Southern Oscillation index, solar activity proxy, and the pressure at the tropical tropopause, in addition to two linear trends (one before and one after 1997), from which the decadal trends in ozone are derived. From 1984 to 1997, there are statistically significant negative trends of 5–10% per decade throughout the stratosphere between approximately 30 and 50 km. From 1997 to present, a statistically significant recovery of 3–8% per decade has taken place throughout most of the stratosphere with the notable exception between 40° S and 40° N below approximately 22 km where the negative trend continues. The recovery is not significant between 25 and 35 km altitudes when accounting for a conservative estimate of instrument drift.
Physicochemical Properties of Premium, Standard and Economic Commercial Cat Foods in Malaysia

The importation of cat food into Malaysia has been very phenomenal of late. At the moment, there is no clear legislation with regards to the quality and established standards for cat food imported into Malaysia. In this study, 2 cohort of cat food flavoured chicken (dry) and tuna (wet) were sampled. For each cohort, the cat food were categorised into premium, standard and economy. Composite samples were made from each of these categories and analysed. The macro-nutrients Ca, P, Mg, K, Na and Clin the premium, standard and economy dry cat food products are above the recommended values given by The Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO), with some marginal concession recorded for elemental K. For wet cat food, all the studied macro-nutrients were below the recommended values given by AAFCO, with exception of elemental Cl- (in premium wet cat food). It is interesting to note that premium wet cat food, had significantly lower macro-nutrient concentrations compared to standard and economy wet cat food (p<0.05). Therefore, the quality of dry cat food in premium, standard and economy is good. However, the quality of wet cat food in premium, standard and economy is below par from the recommendation of AAFCO.
Debt Hangover in the Aftermath of the Great Recession

Following the Great Recession, U.S. government debt levels exceeded 100% of output. We develop a macroeconomic model to evaluate the role of various shocks during and after the Great Recession; labor market shocks have the greatest impact on macroeconomic activity. We then evaluate the consequences of using alternative fiscal policy instruments to implement a fiscal austerity program to return the debt-output ratio to its pre-Great Recession level. Our welfare analysis reveals that there is not much difference between applying fiscal austerity through government spending, the labor income tax, or the consumption tax; using the capital income tax is welfare-reducing.
Conditions under which CNOP sensitivity is valid for tropical cyclone adaptive observations

To determine whether profound improvements in tropical cyclone (TC) forecasting are achievable by deploying dropwindsondes according to conditional nonlinear optimal perturbation (CNOP) sensitivity, observing system simulated experiments (OSSEs) were conducted on 20 TCs that developed over the western North Pacific during 2010 using Mesoscale Model 5 and its 3DVar assimilation system. Of the 20 cases, 13 showed neutral or improved track forecasts of between 0% and 51.2%. Eliminating initial errors within the CNOP pattern, which are related to either the storm directly or the surrounding regimes indirectly, reduced the subsequent track forecast errors. The remaining 7 TCs showed deterioration in the accuracy of the track forecasts over the 48 h forecast period. Accurate forecasts made without adaptive observations, a low sensitivity of forecast errors to initial errors, or major forecast errors associated with regimes other than the TC, can lead to a decline in the accuracy of TC track forecasts.
The small firm and other confounding effects in asset pricing data: Some evidence from Australian markets

In Australian markets, authors seek to clarify the relationship of stock return performances with their beta, firm market capitalization and trading activity. This study leads us to consider the possibility that asset pricing studies can be dominated by the stocks of the very small companies to the extent of having little relevance to institutional share management. For example, the paper observes how the pattern of returns for stocks of the very small firms leads to generalizations that are reversed in respect to the stocks of larger firms. Additionally, the study reveals how outcomes may be compromised by "reversals of causality" in the data, so that, for example, beta estimates may be the outcome, rather than the explanation of stock price performances. Overall, the paper finds that when the stocks of the very small firms are removed, stock returns have a positive relationship with firm capitalization, while bearing no pronounced relation to either of stock beta or trading activity.
Citation: Nicholson, James, Coventry, Lynne and Briggs, Pamela (2017) Can We Fight Social Engineering Attacks By Social Means? Assessing Social Salience as a Means to Improve Phish Detection. In: Symposium on Usable Privacy and Security (SOUPS) 2017,

Phishing continues to be a problem for both individuals and organisations, with billions of dollars lost every year. We propose the use of nudges – more specifically social saliency nudges – that aim to highlight important information to the user when evaluating emails. We used Signal Detection Theory to assess the effects of both sender saliency (highlighting important fields from the sender) and receiver saliency (showing numbers of other users in receipt of the same email). Sender saliency improved phish detection but did not introduce any unwanted response bias. Users were asked to rate their confidence in their own judgements and these confidence scores were poorly calibrated with actual performance, particularly for phishing (as opposed to genuine) emails. We also examined the role of impulsive behaviour on phish detection, concluding that those who score highly on dysfunctional impulsivity are less likely to detect the presence of phishing emails.
Macroeconomic modelling in central banks in Latin America

Abstract This paper presents an overview of current developments in macroeconomic modelling for forecasting and policy analysis in Latin America, based on material presented at a REDIMA project meeting at the UN Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean, Santiago de Chile, in September 2007. Some particular issues that arise in modeling emerging economies are described, in the context of recent developments in modeling developed economies.