Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Global impacts of U.S. bioenergy production and policy : a general equilibrium perspective

GLOBAL IMPACTS OF U.S. BIOENERGY PRODUCTION AND POLICY: A GENERAL EQUILIBRIUM PERSPECTIVE The conversion of biomass to energy represents a promising pathway forward in efforts to reduce fossil fuel use in the transportation and electricity sectors. In addition to potential benefits, such as greenhouse gas reductions and increased energy security, bioenergy production also presents a unique set of challenges. These challenges include tradeoffs between food and fuel production, distortions in energy markets, and terrestrial emissions associated with changing land-use patterns. Each of these challenges arises from market-mediated responses to bioenergy production, and are therefore largely economic in nature. This dissertation directly addresses these opportunities and challenges by evaluating the economic impacts of U.S. bioenergy production and policy, focusing on both existing and future biomass-to-energy pathways. The analysis approaches the issue from a global, economy-wide perspective, reflecting two important facts. First, that large-scale bioenergy production connects multiple sectors of the economy due to the use of agricultural land resources for biomass production, and competition with fossil fuels in energy markets. Second, markets for both agricultural and energy commodities are highly integrated globally, causing domestic policies to have international effects. The reader can think of this work as being comprised of three parts. Part I provides context through an extensive review of the literature on the market-mediated effects of conventional biofuel production (Chapter 2) and develops a general equilibrium modelling
Numerical Investigation of Simultaneous Refractive index Sensor using 1D multichannel photonic crystal device

We present a multichannel sensor for the simultaneous monitoring of three different samples. established from a one-dimensional photonic crystal, this device is formed by an alternating layer of silicon dioxide (SiO2) and titanium dioxide (TiO2) with three defect layers containing the samples to be monitored. Numerical studies claim that three transmission peaks appear in the bandgap, these transmission peaks are caused by the three samples infiltrated in the defect layers. In real-time detection purposes, it is possible to exploit these transmission peaks. In addition, peak frequencies have the advantage of being susceptible to sample concentrations. With this photonic structure, a sensitivity of 800 nm per unit of refractive index (RIU) is reached.
BCI Training Effects on Chronic Stroke Correlate with Functional Reorganization in Motor-Related Regions: A Concurrent EEG and fMRI Study

Brain–computer interface (BCI)-guided robot-assisted training strategy has been increasingly applied to stroke rehabilitation, while few studies have investigated the neuroplasticity change and functional reorganization after intervention from multimodality neuroimaging perspective. The present study aims to investigate the hemodynamic and electrophysical changes induced by BCI training using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and electroencephalography (EEG) respectively, as well as the relationship between the neurological changes and motor function improvement. Fourteen chronic stroke subjects received 20 sessions of BCI-guided robot hand training. Simultaneous EEG and fMRI data were acquired before and immediately after the intervention. Seed-based functional connectivity for resting-state fMRI data and effective connectivity analysis for EEG were processed to reveal the neuroplasticity changes and interaction between different brain regions. Moreover, the relationship among motor function improvement, hemodynamic changes, and electrophysical changes derived from the two neuroimaging modalities was also investigated. This work suggested that (a) significant motor function improvement could be obtained after BCI training therapy, (b) training effect significantly correlated with functional connectivity change between ipsilesional M1 (iM1) and contralesional Brodmann area 6 (including premotor area (cPMA) and supplementary motor area (SMA)) derived from fMRI, (c) training effect significantly correlated with information flow change from cPMA to iM1 and strongly correlated with information flow change from SMA to iM1 derived from EEG, and (d) consistency of fMRI and EEG results illustrated by the correlation between functional connectivity change and information flow change. Our study showed changes in the brain after the BCI training therapy from chronic stroke survivors and provided a better understanding of neural mechanisms, especially the interaction among motor-related brain regions during stroke recovery. Besides, our finding demonstrated the feasibility and consistency of combining multiple neuroimaging modalities to investigate the neuroplasticity change.
Essays on Productivity and Structural Change within the Services Sector

My PhD thesis consists of three chapters. The first chapter revisits the results in Bernard and Jones (1996) that argue that a group of 14 OECD countries does not converge in the manufacturing sector. For an updated dataset I show that the non-catch-up in the manufacturing sector result still prevails for the standard estimators, but when I allow for parametrical heterogeneity it is overturned. I conclude that the estimators allowing for parametrical heterogeneity, for example MG and CDMG, can deal with the cross-country level measurement issues inherent for the manufacturing sector and reverse the pathological results about the convergence. The second chapter focuses on the role of the services sector for aggregate productivity growth and cross-country productivity differences. I show that, because of the substitutability between high- and low-productivity growth services sectors (progressive and stagnant services sectors), structural change would not take down aggregate productivity growth further in the future for developed countries. My results also reveal that this substitutability within the services sector contributes to productivity differences between the US and other developed countries. In the third chapter of my PhD thesis I want to understand the deeper causes behind the substitutability between progressive and stagnant services sectors. My results reveal that the substitutability of the progressive services with other sectors in the economy remains robust to the changes in input/output table and structural change within the investment value added. I note that the positive correlation between the nominal and real value added shares reflects the presence of progressive services. Modelling the progressive services separately can alone account for 30% of the income effects.
Hybrid Diesel-Electric Marine Propulsion Plant Control withNeural Networks

The purpose of this assignment is to develop a machine learning framework (LME-NNPower) based on neural networks that can be used for the online quasi-optimal control of HIPPO-2, the Hybrid Diesel Electric Marine Propulsion Plant of the Laboratory of Marine Engineering (LME). Initially we discuss the inner workings of the predictive stage of the framework. To be more precise in this stage of the assignment a neural network was created for the classification of the near future Cruising Trend (NN-CRT) into six possible classes, by using features from the Pitch Angle Operation Profile. Then another neural network was employed for the prediction of the mid term Pitch Angle Pattern (NN-PAC) into five possible classes (patterns). Yet again this is done by extracted different features from the Pitch Angle Operation Profile. Afterwards we examine the second stage of the framework, the control stage. Here for every pitch pattern we create a set of regression neural networks. One network (NN-ENG) is responsible for the torque command to the diesel engine and the other (NN-MOT) to the electric motor’s command. With this approach we are able to emulate optimal control that is based on a Nonlinear Model Predictive Control scheme that was studied in previous work. Finally a simulation scheme of the developed framework was established in the environment MATLAB Simulink. The simulations cover some crucial operation profiles and the framework was tested for it’s ability to emulate the original NMPC controller and therefore conduct an effective power split between the two main drivers of a diesel-electric marine power plant.
Forecasting Investment Needs in South Africa's Electricity and Telecom Sectors

Paper delivered at the ABCDE conference, held in Cape Town, South Africa, June 9-11, 2008. - This paper uses a 52-country panel-data for the period 1980-2002 to estimate demand for electricity and telecom services and, based on these estimates, projects investment needs in South Africa through 2010 for two growth scenarios. Projections of average annual investment needs in electricity and telecom for the current growth scenario (3,5% per annum) are of the order of 0,2% and 0,75% of GDP, respectively. An alternative, accelerated growth scenario (6% per annum) implies approximate doubling of investment needs in these sectors.
A STUDY ON DIFFERENT APPROACHES OF OUTLIER DETECTION IN DATA MINING

Data mining is a process of extracting knowledge from large databases. Knowledge is appreciated as ultimate power now a days and considered as very important factor for the success of any organization because it has impacted the role of people working in that organization. Outlier detection is an important task in data mining and it has got many real time applications. The majority of real-time data contains certain unwanted or unrelated values, generally termed as “outliers”. The segregation of outlier improves the quality of data, and thereby the accuracy rate is increased. The outlier is either individual or groups that depend upon the data and applications. Outlier occurs due to various reasons such as automatic faults, behavioral changes in the system, human error, irrelevant data and instrument faults. This paper presents an overview of outlier concepts, taxonomy, approaches and review of outlier detection algorithms and techniques.
Parametric Criteria in Onsite Earthquake Early Warning System

In recent years, rapid estimation of Peak Ground Motion (PGM) and Modified Mercalli Intensity (MMI) based on a few seconds of the initial portion of wave has been studied as the most important part of the onsite Earthquake Early Warning (EEW) systems studies. To establish an onsite EEW, we need the empirical relationship between earthquake size, PGM and epicentral distance in real-time mode. In some EEWs, the epicentral distance is estimated from the amplitude growth rate of a few seconds of P waves. Many studies have empirically confirmed that the growth rate becomes smaller as epicentral distance becomes far. This relation is true regardless of the earthquake size. In the current study, five parametric criteria including , , , and are proposed for quick detection of destructive oncoming strong motions at a specific target based on ground motions of the first 4 seconds of Japan event waveforms where and parameters represent the characteristics of wave envelope curve in a simple function with the form of . In this study, parameter is inversely proportional to epicentral distance which can be readily estimated within a given short time after P waves’ arrival. , and are the initial peak ground acceleration, velocity and displacement, respectively. The current study represent five thresholds parameters including , , , and in order to warn a Peak Ground Velocity ( ) greater than about 10 cm/sec which are clustered in strong shaking with Modified Mercalli Intensity ( ) larger than . Therefore, destructive earthquakes can be detected form the maximum amplitudes and growth rate of few seconds of P waves by using mentioned parametric criteria.
Geschlechtsunterschiede in der Stressvulnerabilität, Stressbewältigung und Stresssymptomatik bei Grundschulkindern

Zusammenfassung. In der vorliegenden Studie wurde der Frage nachgegangen, ob sich Madchen und Jungen im Grundschulalter in ihrer Stressvulnerabilitat und -symptomatik sowie in ihren Stressbewaltigungsstrategien unterscheiden. Dazu wurden bei 485 Kindern (51.1 % Madchen) der dritten und vierten Klassenstufe (Alter 8 – 11) die Stressvulnerabilitat, Stresssymptomatik und Stressbewaltigung (sozialer und leistungsbezogener Situationen) anhand des „Fragebogens zur Erhebung von Stress und Stressbewaltigung im Kindes- und Jugendalter“ (SSKJ 3 – 8; Lohaus, Eschenbeck, Kohlmann & Klein-Hesling, 2006) untersucht. Die Ergebnisse zeigen, dass bei Madchen eine hohere Stressvulnerabilitat und -symptomatik besteht als bei Jungen. Zur Bewaltigung von Alltagsstressoren suchten Madchen mehr soziale Unterstutzung als Jungen, wahrend Jungen haufiger vermeidend bewaltigten als Madchen. Die Geschlechtsunterschiede variierten nicht in Abhangigkeit der Stresssituation. Der Einsatz der Strategien Suche nach sozialer Unterstutzung,.
THE PROBLEM OF ABNORMAL BODY WEIGHT IN CHILDRENFROM SOUTHERN POLAND

Aim: The aim of the study was to estimate the incidence of being underweight, overweight and obese in preschool and younger school children, as well to determine the critical age groups at which the highest risk of an excessive body weight development is observed in each sex. Basic procedures: The study included 6,589 children aged 4-12 years, including 48.6% of girls and 51.3% of boys. Body mass index (BMI was calculated and body weight status was determined as underweight, norm, overweight or obese. The age groups at the highest risk of obesity development in each sex were noted. Results: Being overweight was diagnosed in 15.2% of girls, while obesity in 4.2%. In boys, being overweight occurred in 12.8% and obesity in 6.9%. The least cases of obesity (4%) were recorded for 4-year-olds, the most (14%) among 9-year-olds. The problem of being underweight affected almost 12% of participants. Main findings: Too low body weight was noted in every eighth child and excessive body weight in every fifth child aged 4-12 years. The highest increase in the prevalence of being overweight and obese was observed between groups of 8and 9-year-old children. The difference in the incidence of excessive body weight in the two groups was 8% in girls and 6% in boys. Conclusion: A school nurse and physical education teachers should pay particular attention to systematic monitoring of body weight gain for children aged 7, 8 and 9. Then it is also necessary to intensify educational activities promoting healthy lifestyles.
Entrepreneurial Behavior, Institutional Trust and National Innovation: A Macro-Level Empirical Study

Schumpeterian fundamentalism supports the argument that innovation is a dynamic process and novelties are initiated through economic agents namely the entrepreneurs; vis-a-vis a strong institutional environment is required to facilitate the innovation process. Therefore, the present study undertakes the macro-level empirical analysis on determining the impact of entrepreneurial behavior, property rights and state effectiveness on country’s innovation. The data is of panel nature consisting of 55 countries and a time period from 2010 to 2016. The empirical analysis is done using system GMM (Generalized Method of Moments) estimation technique. The study shows that the fear of failure rate and total early stage entrepreneurs reduces innovation in a country whereas there is a significant positive relationship between established business entrepreneurs and innovation. However, perceived opportunities have an insignificant impact. This means that it is not inevitable that opportunities necessary trigger innovation. In addition, the study shows that property rights play an integral role in developing institutional trust which boosts entrepreneurialism to undertake innovative venture. On the other hand, state effectiveness is negatively related to innovation i.e. institutional trust is brought down in fragile countries which retard country’s innovation.
Evolutionary Bilevel Approach for Integrated Long-Term Staffing and Scheduling

Determining size and structure of a company’s workforce is one of the most challenging tasks in human resource planning, especially when considering a long-term planning horizon with varying demand. In this paper an approach for integrated staffing and scheduling in a strategic long-term context is presented by applying evolutionary bilevel optimization. For demonstration, the example of determining the number of employees in different categories over the period of one year in a midsized call center of a utility is used. In doing so, two contrary objectives were optimized simultaneously: reduce the overall workforce costs and retain a high scheduling quality. The results show that the proposed approach could be used to support corporate decision making related to strategic workforce planning, not only for call centers but for any other kind of workforce planning involving personnel scheduling.
Pemetaan Potensi Air Tanah untuk Mendukung Pengembangan Pertanian Lahan Kering

Abstrak. Informasi potensi air tanah merupakan salah satu acuan yang sangat penting dalam pengelolaan air pada lahan kering baik untuk pemanfaatan aktivitas rumah tangga maupun untuk pengembangan pertanian. Sampai saat ini, metode atau survei geolistrik merupakan metode cepat dan penting untuk mempelajari dan menggambarkan kondisi akuifer di lahan kering. Teknik Vertical Electrical Sounding (VES) dipergunakan untuk menentukan potensi air tanah melalui dua elektroda arus yang diinjeksikan secara vertikal ke dalam bumi, dan sangat populer dalam studi air tanah karena tekniknya sederhana. Dari hasil pengukuran arus dan beda potensial untuk setiap jarak elektroda tertentu, dapat ditentukan variasi nilai hambatan jenis masing-masing lapisan di bawah titik ukur (titik sounding). Perbedaan sifat kelistrikan batuan antara lain disebabkan oleh perbedaan karakteristik batuan (kerapatan, porositas, ukuran pori, bentuk), kandungan air, suhu, dan sebagainya. Hasil penelitian di beberapa agroekosistem lahan kering yang tersebar di Pulau Sumatera, Jawa, Bali, Nusa Tenggara Barat dan Nusa Tenggara Timur memberikan informasi bahwa wilayah lahan kering tersebut memiliki air tanah dengan kategori sangat buruk sampai bagus dengan potensi debit antara <0,4 sampai 16,7 l detik-1. Peta potensi air tanah yang dihasilkan memberikan informasi tentang lokasi/titik pengamatan yang berpotensi untuk dilakukan pengeboran air tanah untuk digunakan sebagai sumber irigasi. Abstract. The information of groundwater potency is one of the most important reference in the water management on dry land for the utilization of household activities and agricultural development. Nowadays, the observation of geoelectrics has been utilized as quick and important exploring tool for studying and depicting the subsurface aquifer in arid areas. The Vertical Electrical Sounding (VES) technique was employed to determine the groundwater potential through two current electrodes vertically planted on the ground, and has proved very popular with groundwater studies due to simplicity of the technique. By measuring the resulting variations in electrical conductivity potential at other pairs of planted electrodes, it is possible to determine the variations in electrical conductivity of the layer at the VES’s point. It is based on measuring the contrast in electrical conductivity of the different rock units which is varying according to the rock nature (density, porosity, pore size and shape), water content and temperature. Result of the researches in several upland agroecosystem at Sumatera, Java, Bali, East and West Nusa Tenggara provided the information of groundwater potency. These upland areas have a groundwater potency between very poor to excellent categories, with potential discharge between <0,4 to 16,7 l sec-1. Groundwater potential maps provided the informations of the area which potential for groundwater drilling as a source of irrigation.
The complete chloroplast genome sequence of Pholidota articulata (Orchidaceae), a rarely medicinal orchid

Abstract Pholidota Lindl. ex Hook. was placed in tribe Arethuseae Lindl. (Epidendroideae, Orchidaceae), while its generic relationship has been unclear. Since the plastid genome could play a key role in plant systematics, the complete chloroplast (cp) genome of P. articulata was reported in this paper. The cp genome was 160,114 bp in length with four typical quadripartite structures, which was consisted of a large single copy (LSC) region of 87,756 bp, a small single copy (SSC) region of 18,872 bp, and two inverted repeats (IR) of 26,734 bp. In addition, the cp genome encoded 132 genes in total, of which were 113 unique genes, including 79 protein-coding genes, 30 tRNAs, and 4 rRNAs. The phylogenetic analysis indicated that P. articulata was closely clustered with other two species of Pholidota and that they appeared to be related to Pleione in Arethuseae Lindl.
The complete chloroplast genome of Stephania tetrandra (Menispermaceae)

Abstract The complete chloroplast genome of Stephania tetrandra was sequenced and assembled for the first time. The chloroplast genome is 159,974 bp in length, containing a large single-copy (LSC) region of 90,539 bp and a small single-copy region (SSC) of 20,735 bp, separated by a pair of inverted repeats (IRs) of 24,350 bp. The genome contains 113 unique genes, including 79 protein-coding genes (PCGs), 30 tRNA genes, and four rRNA genes. Among them, 15 genes have one intron each and three genes contain two introns. The overall GC content is 37.8%, while the corresponding values of LSC, SSC, and IR regions are 35.8, 32.4, and 43.7%, respectively. Phylogenetic analysis showed that S. tetrandra is more closely related to the clade of two species within Stephania, providing new insight into the evolution of Menispermaceae.
Characterization of the complete chloroplast genome of Stellaria dichotoma var. lanceolata Bunge, a traditional Chinese medicinal plant

Abstract Stellaria dichotoma var. lanceolata Bunge. is a traditional Chinese medicinal plant of Caryophyllaceae, which contains many chemicals, such as β-carboline alkaloids, sterols, cyclic peptides, phenolic acids, and flavonoids and so on, which was used as folk medicines for antifebrile to treat fever and to inhibit the cell growth, cyclooxygenase, and also can anti-inflammatory, anti-allergic, vasodilator, and other effects. Illumina paired-end reads data were used to assemble the complete chloroplast (cp) genome. 16,898,032 raw paired-end reads and the length distribution in 150,602 bp, including a large single-copy (LSC) region of 81,844 bp, a small single-copy (SSC) region of 17,022 bp and a pair of inverted repeats (IRs) of 25,868 bp. Besides, nine protein-coding genes (PCGs) genes and six tRNA genes possess a single intron, while clpP and ycf3 have a couple of introns. Based on the concatenated coding sequences of cp PCGs, the phylogenetic analysis showed that S. dichotoma and Pseudostellaria palibiniana (MK309611) are closely related to each other within the family Caryophyllaceae.