Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Input variable selection for interpolating high-resolution climate surfaces for the Western Cape

Accurate climate surfaces are vital for applications relating to groundwater recharge modelling, evapotranspiration estimation, sediment yield, stream flow prediction and flood risk mapping. Interpolated climate surface accuracy is determined by the interpolation algorithm employed, the resolution of the generated surfaces, and the quality and density of the input data used. Although the primary input data of climate interpolations are usually meteorological data, other related (independent) variables are frequently incorporated in the interpolation process. One such variable is elevation, which is known to have a strong influence on climate. This research investigates the potential of 4 additional variables for inclusion in the interpolation process. Three of the variables, namely, slope gradient, slope aspect and hillshade, are related to topography, while the fourth is related to large water bodies (i.e. distance to oceans). Correlation analyses were used to determine the suitability of each of the 4 variables for interpolating climate surfaces in the Western Cape Province, South Africa. Although moderate correlations were identified between climate records and distance to oceans, no significant correlation was found for slope gradient, slope aspect and most variations of hillshade. However, a moderate correlation was identified between rainfall records and hillshade with a 180° azimuth. This variable was consequently used in various combinations with distance to oceans and elevation to generate 8 sets of high-resolution (i.e. 3 arc second) climate surfaces of the Western Cape. According to an accuracy assessment of the resulting surfaces, distance to oceans reduced the mean error of monthly mean maximum daily temperature interpolations by 27%. Distance to oceans also improved the accuracy of monthly mean minimum daily temperature interpolations for October through April. Although hillshade (180° azimuth) did not improve accuracies for temperature interpolations, it did improve the accuracy of monthly rainfall surfaces for 4 months of the year. The combinations of input variables that produced the lowest monthly mean errors were used to generate a new set of surfaces using all available meteorological data. A pair-wise comparison of the new interpolated surfaces with existing climate surfaces revealed that the surfaces created using our methodology are, in general, more accurate than any existing interpolations.
Use of high resolution space imagery to monitor the abundance, distribution, and migration patterns of marine mammal populations

Aerial surveys are routinely used to study marine mammal populations. The resolution of imagery from commercial satellites has improved to the point where individual marine mammals can be detected. It may therefore be possible to perform remote sensing of marine mammal populations from space. This paper presents an initial assessment of detectability. A simple signal and noise model is developed to predict the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) for a whale-like target. SNR is calculated for three cases: detection limited by sensor quantization noise ("best case"); detection in real noise, using one spectral band image; and detection in real noise, using a two-band noise reduction technique. An Ikonos satellite image was used for a realistic noise spectrum. The calculations show that a canonical target of length =14 in and average spectral reflectivity can be detected up to a depth of 24 m. Thus a case can be made for using satellites to monitor marine mammal abundance and geographical distributions, and to observe migratory patterns in remote areas.
Dynamic lipidomic insights into phosphatidylcholine synthesis from organelle to organism

Recent technical improvement and technological innovation in small molecule mass spectrometry have provided powerful tools for the intensive metabolomic biochemical investigations that will necessarily characterise the "post-genomic" era of biomedical research. For membrane phospholipids, use of tandem electrospray ionisation mass spectrometry (ESI- MS/MS) exploiting precursor scanning of class-specific diagnostic fragments, can provide detailed quantitative profiles at the level of individual molecular species for many hundreds of unique lipids. Such "snapshot" measurements provide little information concerning metabolic flux. However, recent use of metabolic labelling with stable isotope derivatives of phospho- lipid headgroups combined with precursor scans of unlabelled and labelled fragments have yielded considerable insight into phosphatidylcholine metabolism in vivo. Here, we briefly review some of the recent work on pathways of phosphatidylcholine metabolism ranging from studies at subcellular organelle level through to whole organism. The sensitivity, specificity and suit- ability of this powerful methodological approach to numerous questions of phospholipid metabolism place ESI-MS/MS at the very heart of dynamic lipidomics in the foreseeable future.
The Renewable Fuel Standard: Market and Welfare Effects of Alternative Policy Scenarios

We construct a tractable multi-market equilibrium model designed to evaluate alternative biofuel policies. The model integrates the US agricultural sector with the energy sector, and explicitly consider both US ethanol and biodiesel production. The model provides a careful structural representation of the renewable fuel standard (RFS) policies, and it uses the arbitrage conditions defining the core value of renewable identification number (RIN) prices to identify the relevant competitive equilibrium conditions. The model is parameterized, based on elasticities and technical coefficients from the literature, to represent observed 2015 data. The parameterized model is simulated to analyze alternative scenarios, including: repeal of the RFS; projected 2022 RFS mandates; and, optimal (second best) mandates. The results confirm that the current RFS program considerably benefits the agriculture sector, but also leads to overall welfare gains for the United States (mostly via beneficial terms of trade effects). Implementation of projected 2022 mandates, which would require further expansion of biodiesel production, would lead to a considerable welfare loss (relative to the status quo). Constrained optimal mandates would entail more corn-based ethanol and less biodiesel than in both the status quo and the projected 2022 scenario.
Education as an Essential Service: Does South Africa have Sufficient Support Services to Turn Education into an Essential Service?

Abstract The ruling party in South Africa, the African National Congress (ANC)’s sub-committee, after its first meeting in the Mangaung Conference (in 2012) and the ANC Lekgotla resolved that education should become an essential service. There is an outcry from different stakeholders that education cannot become an essential service. Some stakeholders indicate that education is not like any other special service and cannot be given essential service status. The idea of making education an essential service was derived from the Mangaung Conference Resolution, which states that there is general agreement that education has to be protected from disruptions. Disruption of schooling through industrial action and service delivery protests negatively impacts the stability of schools and the quality of education. In this conceptual paper, researchers are arguing that education cannot become an essential service as per the Labor Relations Act, and there are still schools, which are under-resourced throughout the country. The schools are physically, financially and humanly under-resourced. Schools and teachers still need basic support services and competitive salaries.
Power-Couples and the Colocation Hypothesis Revisited

We analyse the migration movements of power couples (couples where both members have at least a college degree), half power and no-power couples within Australia. We explicitly allow for potential correlation of these movements with local labour market features. Our results support the urbanisation hypothesis for ongoing couples over either the colocation or tied-mover models. Partnered college graduates like to live in major cities regardless of their gender or the qualifications of their partner.
Assessing Renal Function Using Cockcroft-Gault and Modification of Diet in Renal Disease Equations in Healthy South Indian Males – A pilot study

Objective: To compare the estimated GFR (eGFR) calculated by CG and MDRD formulae and to study the correlation between body mass index (BMI) and eGFR in healthy South Indian men. Material & Methods: Healthy male volunteers were enrolled. eGFR was estimated by CG and MDRD equation and categorized as normal, mild, moderate, severe renal impairment and renal failure. Estimated clearance by these two methods was compared using paired student’s t test. Correlations were performed with pearson’s correlation test. Results: A total of 491 subjects were enrolled. Mean (±SD) eGFR was 91.05 (± 15.04) and 86.43 (± 13.61) by CG and MDRD equations respectively; this difference though statistically significant (p=0.01), was clinically insignificant. A reduced renal function (<90ml/min) was found in 50.9% and 63.1% of population by CG and MDRD formulae respectively. BMI positively correlated with CG-GFR (r=0.471, p<0.001), and negatively correlated with MDRD-GFR (r=-0.268, p<0.001). Serum creatinine positively correlated with BMI (r=0.19, p<0.001). Conclusion: The normal eGFR seems to be lower in the South Indian population compared to the western standards. CG and MDRD formulae may need to be validated before these can be applied for staging of kidney function in a healthy Indian population. DOI: http://dx.doi. org/10.3126/ajms.v2i3. 5337 Asian Journal of Medical Sciences 2 (2011) 185-189
Entrepreneurship development and entrepreneurial orientation in rural areas in Malawi

Integrated rural development under the Malawi Growth and Development Strategy is a key operational framework for achieving sustainable economic growth where rural industrialisation is earmarked as a strategy for achieving production diversity, creation of employment, reduction of poverty and curbing rural-urban migration. Entrepreneurship development has been central to this process. Existing models offer three key components for entrepreneurship development; the supportive and cooperative environments and entrepreneurial orientation. Efforts to create the supportive and cooperative environments for entrepreneurship development in Malawi have existed since the 1970s. However, lack of significant entrepreneurship development raises questions on the entrepreneurial orientation of the rural communities targeted with supporting efforts. The research investigated entrepreneurial orientation of 162 participants in two rural areas of Malawi. The results first confirm that practice of entrepreneurship is predominantly at income generating activities level. Entrepreneurship is affected by poverty, low levels of education and lack of technical and enterprise management skills. The practice of entrepreneurship is driven by push factors as such as lack of employment and no alternative sources of income to earn a living. These results do support previous empirical studies. The research however found positive mind sets and orientation towards entrepreneurship. There are positive entrepreneurial attitudes and intentions in the rural areas in Malawi. The intentions are influences by the respondents’ perceived desirability of entrepreneurship, their perceived feasibility that informs positive attitude towards entrepreneurship. These results support the theory of planned behaviour that attitude, perceived feasibility and perceived desirability are the antecedents of entrepreneurial intentions. The research further found that education and training significantly affected entrepreneurship practice but availability of finance does not affect entrepreneurial intentions. The results of this research therefore call for a review of entrepreneurship development strategies and models because despite proving the existence of entrepreneurial orientation in particular rural contexts where supportive and cooperative environments do exist, entrepreneurship has not developed to contribute to economic growth. That demonstrates the inadequacy of the existing models to guide entrepreneurship development in practice. Practical models are required that can offer guidance for entrepreneurship development in rural economies to help achieve economic growth and development. Key words: Entrepreneurship, entrepreneurial attitudes and intentions, entrepreneurial orientation.
Presentation of Intercultural Competence in English Language Textbooks : The Case of a Private Language School in Iran

As the objective of learning a foreign language is now defined in terms of intercultural competence, all aspects of an English as a foreign language (EFL) program are expected to be geared towards cultivating interculturality. The issue is specifically significant in the Iranian context, because of the indeterminate status of English language in the country, and also the growing need of intercultural competence for Iranians. The present study investigated to what extent the learning tasks in textbooks for adult courses in a private language institute aimed at increasing learners’ intercultural competence, and what dimensions of intercultural competence they addressed. The methodology centered on qualitative theory-based content analysis of the textbooks (targeted at an international audience), categorized according to the themes in Byram’s (1997) model of Intercultural Communicative Competence (ICC). Indicating the little emphasis on developing intercultural competence, and also the unequal share of the different dimensions of intercultural competence in the textbooks, the findings of the study cast doubt on the appropriateness of these so-called “global” English textbooks, especially for Iranian learners. Hence, the results of the study can have pedagogical implications for stakeholders in EFL education in general, and for curriculum developers and material designers in Iran, in particular.
The Determinants of Trade Flows between D-8 Group Members through Gravity Model

Organization of Islamic Countries (OIC) is one of those organizations that is highly important politically and economically. So, creating a common market between its members can increase the cooperation in this organization. In order that and to achieve this goal, focusing on sub groups such as D-8 countries would be useful. The purpose of this study is to investigate the determinants of trade flows between D-8 group members in the period of 1995-2010 through gravity model . We modify the model, introducing a new variable, the technological distance in order to understand the relevance of the technological gap between countries in the determination of trade flows. The results show that a number of variables such as gross domestic production, real exchange rate, tariff rates, technological distance and geographical distance are important determinants of bilateral trade flows, so that the GDP of exporter and importer countries, real exchange rate and technological distance in exporter countries have a positive and significant effect on export flows and the population, tariff rates in importer countries and geographical distance have a negative and significant effect on trade flows between d-8 countries. Jel classification: F1, F15
A Generalized Method of Wavelet Importance Sampling for Dynamic Global Rendering

An optimal wavelet product representation is employed to reduce computation by a strategy for hierarchically sampling a wavelet tree. For dynamic global rendering with multiple occlusions, we extend this double triple product integral to generalized multi-function product integral by proper ways of factorization that is reasonable for one dynamic variable applica- tions of rendering. Final experiments are well implemented with a GPU enabled pipeline with dynamic objects.
A Framework for Identifying the Conditions for Effective Collaborative Commerce in Adoption

This paper examines collaborative commerce (c-commerce) in the context of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs). C-commerce potentially provides opportunities for SMEs to access new markets, yet this opportunity has not been realized at least in Australia. This paper proposes a framework to identify the conditions that facilitate the adoption of c-commerce by SMEs. This framework is three dimensional – depth of inter-organisational relationships (IORs), degree of integration of IT within organisation strategy and organisational resources. This proposed framework, after validation, may provide a framework to better explain and predict c-commerce adoption.
High biodegradation levels of 4,5,6-trichloroguaiacol by Bacillus sp. isolated from cellulose pulp mill effluent

Isolou-se uma bacteria gram positiva, esporulada a partir de efluente de fabrica de polpa de celulose. Esse microrganismo, identificado como Bacillus sp. e nomeado IS13, foi capaz de degradar rapidamente o composto orgânico clorado 4,5,6-tricloroguaiacol (4,5,6-TCG) presente em meio de cultura a uma concentracao de 50mg/L. Essa concentracao equivale a 3x104 vezes mais 4,5,6-TCG que a concentracao encontrada no efluente original. A biodegradacao desse composto foi analisada por espectrofotometria de varredura e cromatografia gasosa. A falta de sub-produtos de degradacao sugeriu a verificacao da possibilidade de adsorcao e absorcao celular do 4,5,6-TCG ao inves de biodegradacao propriamente dita. Nao foram encontrados tracos de 4,5,6-TCG apos lise celular com lisozima e SDS e nao houve desprendimento desse composto apos agitacao vigorosa. Logo, o desaparecimento do 4,5,6-TCG do meio de cultura analisado foi interpretado como biodegradacao devido ao metabolismo do Bacillus sp. IS13. A partir desse microrganismo, buscou-se isolar plasmideos utilizando diferentes protocolos. Os melhores resultados foram obtidos atraves do metodo do CTAB, porem nao encontraram-se plasmideos no isolado IS13. Os resultados sugerem que a alta taxa de degradacao do 4,5,6-TCG e mediada por genes presentes no cromossomo bacteriano. A importância desse trabalho encontra-se na possibilidade de utilizacao do Bacillus sp. IS13 como inoculo em plantas de efluentes industriais, a fim de biodegradar compostos orgânicos clorados presentes nesses locais.
Management of Sustainable, Credible and Integrated Electronic Voting (E-Voting) System For Bangladesh

Abstract In this modern age countries worldwide evince a growing interest in electronic voting (e-Voting), which brings the idea of modernizing elections through electronic systems and provides many advantages such as efficiency, disseminating results more quickly, and in a cost-effective way. The paper gives a brief overview on recent developments of electronic voting systems in Bangladesh by using electronic voting machine (EVM) and addresses some strategies and principles in order to improve accessibility, easiness, accuracy, and security of election for better democratic process.
Coupled Navier Stokes-Molecular Dynamics Simulation using Iterative Operator-Splitting Methods

In this paper, we contribute a multi-scale method based on an iterative operator splitting method, which takes into account the disparity of the macroand microscopic scales. We couple Navier Stokes and Molecular Dynamics equations, while taken into account their underlying scales. Combining relaxation methods and averaging techniques we can optimize the computational effort. The proposed method enables simulations in which the continuum flow aspects of the flow are described by the Navier-Stokes equations at timescales appropriate for this level of modeling, while the viscous stresses within the Navier-Stokes equations are the result of Molecular Dynamics Simulations, with much smaller time-scales. The main benefit of the proposed method is that time-dependent flows can then be modeled with a computational work which is significantly smaller than when the complete flow would be modeled at molecular level, as a result of the different time-scales at the continuum and molecular levels, enabled by the application of the iterative operator-splitting method. We discuss the convergence analysis to the splitting methods, see also [27]. Finally we present numerical results for the modified methods and applications to real-life flow problems.
Transformational Teaching: Pakistani Students' Perspectives in the English Classroom.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the potential of transformational teaching practices in learning and teaching of English as a second language in Pakistan. The study examined student descriptions about professorial charisma, intellectual stimulation, and individualized consideration in bachelor English programs, as well as how these variables predicted effective teaching in the English language classes. A sample of 490 undergraduate students responded to a survey in seven public and private universities in Pakistan. The findings indicated that the transformational teaching behaviors were associated with the effective teaching. Regression analysis indicated that professorial charisma, intellectual stimulation, and individualized consideration were significant predictors of effective teaching in the English language classes. The implications for the improvement of English education are considered.
Spatial and temporal variation of microbial community structure in surficial sediments of Cochin estuary

Bacillus species constitute a diverse group of bacteria widely distributed in soil and the aquatic environment. In this study, Bacillus strains isolated from the coastal environment of Cochin, India were identified by detailed conventional biochemical methods, fatty acid methyl ester (FAME) analysis and partial 16S rDNA sequencing. Analysis of the data revealed that Bacillus pumilus was the most predominant species in the region under study followed by B. cereus and B. sphaericus. The B. pumilus isolates were further characterized by arbitrarily primed PCR (AP-PCR), antibiotic sensitivity profiling and PCR screening for known toxin genes associated with Bacillus spp. All B. pumilus isolates were biochemically identical, exhibited high protease and lipase activity and uniformly sensitive to antibiotics tested in this study. One strain of B. pumilus harboured cereulide synthetase gene cesB of B. cereus which was indistinguishable from rest of the isolates biochemically and by AP-PCR. This study reports, for the first time, the presence of the emetic toxin gene cesB in B. pumilus.
Data Processing in E-Health System

E-Health is the activity with the usage of electronic information resources in the health sector and it ensures rapid access of medical professionals and patients to them. This paper presents an approach to the e-Health monitoring system development based on the IoT (internet of things technology) technologies. For such kind of system designing the Hub IoT technology and mathematical apparatus of fuzzy logic are suggested. The paper deals with the analysis of existing technologies IoT, discovered the using cloud services advantages for data processing and storage in the IoT systems (in particular IoT Hub). To improve the cloud service efficiency for data transmission and processing the approach to preprocessing data in e-Health monitoring system is proposed. This approach takes into account the software and hardware infrastructure as the common influence factor. For understanding the specificity of medical data it is proposed to use the mathematical methods based on fuzzy logic for data processing.