Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Spectra of equatorial total electron content derived from GPS signals

High cadence GPS TEC signals collected on Ascension Island, South Atlantic Ocean, during sunspot minimum, and in Vanimo, Papua New Guinea, over half a solar cycle, have been analysed for their spectral properties. A new parameter T k has been introduced to quantify the strength of TEC irregularities at a scale size of 1 km. The scintillation strength and the spectral index have been analysed as functions of each other, and of local time, season, location and sunspot number. The scintillation strength is highest in autumn and spring in both locations, although the quietest period is summer in Ascension and winter in Vanimo. The scintillation strength decreases with decreasing sunspot number, but is consistently lower in Vanimo than in Ascension. The spectral index decreases with scintillation strength, and increases during the hours of the evening. A method is developed to estimate T k from the large data base of S 4 measurements.
Diet and performance in the scallop, Argopecten purpuratus: force production during escape responses and mitochondrial oxidative capacities

We examined whether escape response performance and mitochondrial capacities could reveal differences created by feeding scallops, Argopecten purpuratus, mono-specific algal diets composed of either Chaetoceros cal- citrans or Isochrysis galbana (variety T. iso) hereafter T. iso. Before and after feeding scallops with these diets, we assessed force production in vivo to evaluate escape response performance (initial and repeat). We measured oxidative capacities of mitochondria isolated from the adductor muscle and from the male and female portions of the gonad. Initial escape response performance was reduced more by the C. calcitrans diet than by the T. iso diet. Repeat escape responses, which require aerobic recuperation, were reduced by both treatments. The oxidative capacity of mitochon- dria isolated from muscle and female gonad was markedly lower in scallops fed C. calcitrans than in those fed T. iso. Flux through complex I-IV and through complex IV was also lower in mitochondria from muscle of scallops fed C. calcitrans than in those fed T. iso. Muscle aerobic capacity, assessed by citrate synthase activity, was lower in scallops fed C. calcitrans than in those fed T. iso. Despite the marked differences in fatty acid (FA) composition of the algal diets, the FA composition of mitochondrial phospholipids differed little between scallops fed C. calcitrans and those fed T. iso. Both escape response behaviour and mitochondrial capacities changed with feeding mono-specific diets. The simplicity of measurements of scallop escape responses suggests this as a practical means of evaluating the status of scallops for the two monoalgal diets tested.
Tsunami hazard assessment in the southern Colombian Pacific basin and a proposal to regenerate a previous barrier island as protection

Abstract. In this study, the tsunami hazard posed to 120 000 inhabitants of Tumaco (Colombia) is assessed, and an evaluation and analysis of regenerating the previous El Guano Island for tsunami protection is conducted. El Guano Island was a sandy barrier island in front of the city of Tumaco until its disappearance during the tsunami of 1979; the island is believed to have played a protective role, substantially reducing the scale of the disaster. The analysis is conducted by identifying seismotectonic parameters and focal mechanisms of tsunami generation in the area, determining seven potential generation sources, applying a numerical model for tsunami generation and propagation, and evaluating the effect of tsunamis on Tumaco. The results show that in the current situation, this area is vulnerable to impact and flooding by tsunamis originating nearby. El Guano Island was found to markedly reduce flood levels and the energy flux of tsunami waves in Tumaco during the 1979 tsunami. By reducing the risk of flooding due to tsunamis, the regeneration and morphological modification of El Guano Island would help to protect Tumaco.
THEME – TOWARDS INTELLIGENT MECHATRONIC SYSTEMS THROUGH ITERATIVE CONTROL LEARNING IN MACHINES

Introduction The learning from data and information has led to impressive achievements in recent years. Computer algorithms are now capable to successfully learn in many domains, including human language, ranging from speech recognition to accurate translations, real-time pattern recognition from images, digital advertising, self-driving vehicles, Atari, and Go [1]. The key enabler has been the availability of large amounts of data as well as ubiquitous and scalable computation and software.
Observed changes and variability of atmospheric parameters in the Baltic Sea region during the last 200 years

The Baltic Sea is located in Northern Europe and exhibits significant climate variability, with influence of air masses from arctic to subtropical origin. By updating and discussing results described in the framework of the BACC project (BALTEX Assessment of Climate Change for the Baltic Sea Basin), this study presents observed changes in atmospheric parameters during the last 200 yr. Circulation patterns show large decadal variability with a northward shift of storm tracks and increased cyclonic activity in recent decades with increased persistence of weather types. However, the wind climate shows no robust long-term trends, and is dominated by pronounced (multi-)decadal variability. Near-surface temperatures show continued warming, in particular during spring and winter; this is stronger over northern regions. Up to this point, no long-term trends are detectable for precipitation, although some regional indications exist for an increased length of precipitation periods, and possibly an increased risk of extreme precipitation events.
Identification of High Conditional Complexity in Source Code Based on Statistical Analysis

In order to identify the high conditional complexity in source code, a novel approach based on statistical analysis is proposed. According to the statistical analysis of two software metrics which are Method McCabe’s Cyclomatic Complexity (MMCC) and Method Average McCabe’s Cyclomatic Complexity Per Code Line (MAMCC) in a large number of projects, the probability density functions and cumulative distribution functions for describing distributions of these two metrics are obtained. Moreover, a model for identifying high conditional complexity is built by choosing reasonable threshold of these metrics, and this model can be used for preliminary screening the methods which have high MMCC and high MAMCC. The experimental results show that the proposed approach can identify some candidate methods which need to be refactored accurately.
Use and perceived effectiveness of pre-competition mood regulation strategies among athletes

The well-established link between mood and sport performance highlights a need for athletes to develop mood regulation strategies. Such strategies were investigated among 195 volunteer athletes. Participants completed the Regulation of Feelings Scale, a 37-item measure assessing frequency of use and perceived effectiveness of strategies to reduce feelings of anger, confusion, depression, fatigue, tension, and increase feelings of vigour on the day of a competition. The most popular strategies were “engage in physical pre-competition activities”, “spend time alone”, “give myself a pep talk”, “talk to someone about my feelings”, and “use humour”. Frequency of use and perceived effectiveness of strategies varied according to the specific mood dimension athletes sought to regulate. Strategies did not differ by gender, type of sport, or level of competition, but the order in which strategies were presented to the athletes influenced their responses. Exploratory factor analyses for each of the six mood dimensions did not support a theoretical model, which proposed that mood regulation strategies can be grouped into four types – behavioural distraction, behavioural engagement, cognitive distraction, and cognitive engagement. The present findings provide a rich source of information that may help to guide interventions among applied practitioners.
Expatriates and Non-Expatriates: Effects of Cultural Intelligence and Multicultural Personality on Passion for Work and Satisfaction With Life

The objective of this study is to compare the levels of cultural intelligence (CQ) and multicultural personality (MP) of expatriates and non-expatriates, according to the degree of intercultural contact, and to observe the predictive effect of CQ and MP in passion for work and satisfaction with life. Through a sample of 97 participants, a study with one-factor design 3 (intercultural contact degree: expatriates, non-expatriates with maximum intercultural contact and non-expatriates with minimum intercultural contact) was conducted. CQ and MP levels were compared, according to the degree of intercultural contact resorting to ANOVA one-way. The predictive effect of CQ and MP in passion for work and satisfaction with life was also evaluated by means of regression analysis. Expatriates, compared to the non-expatriates had higher levels of CQ, MP, passion for work and satisfaction with life. Multicultural skills such as CQ and MP were predictors of passion for work and satisfaction with life. As limitations, we can point out the small size of the samples and the fact that there is no control of individual variables. Passion for work and satisfaction with life are essential to promote individuals’ positive functioning, so the identification of their predictors is of utmost importance, both at individual and organizational levels. Understanding the impact of intercultural contact, CQ and MP on the performance of individuals, teams and organizations in multicultural contexts is an asset to global organizations and societies.
Propagation Modelling in Durian Orchard for Wireless Sensor Network at 2 . 4 GHz

The study of radio-wave propagation phenomena in the forest environment is required for increasing the potentialities of RF communications such as Wireless Sensor Network (WSN), Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) and others. In the WSN application, it is aimed to monitor and detect the desired parameters such as cars in car-park management systems, traffic in the intelligence transport system (ITS) and others depending on sensor type of sensor nodes [1]. In agricultural applications such as the wireless sensor systems in durian orchard in Thailand, it is employed to predict the maturity stage of durian. The sensor nodes will send the detected information (electrical properties of durian) to the server system via RF signal. Thus, knowing RF propagation channel characteristics is indispensable. The behavior of the communication channel (in forest) is important for planning the networks. One parameter that is used to setup networks is the path loss information or signal strength versus the distance. The path loss along the propagation path is dependent on the characteristic of the channel and its variation [2-3]. The experimental models of the forest environment are convenience to setup the WSN network. This paper focuses on WSN at the frequency of 2.4 GHz. The experimental data of signal strength versus distance in the durian orchard is used to construct the propagation model. We carried out our experiments in the durian orchard located at the Chantaburi province, Thailand. The experiments on point-to-point radio links between a fixed transmitter and a movable receiver (portable spectrum analyzer) were performed at various transmitting antenna heights. The empirical models such as the single slope and dual slope model are used to represent the path loss [4]. The comparison between single slope and dual slope models are presented. This paper is organized as follows. Section II describes the method of measurement. The measurement results such as single slope and dual slope regression are presented in Section III. The comparison between measurement results and the path loss modeling are discussed. Finally, Section IV is the conclusion.
POLLUTION IN THE FREE TROPOSPHERE : GEOMETRICAL , OPTICAL , AND MICROPHYSICAL CHARACTERIZATION WITH MULTIWAVELENGTH RAMAN LIDARS

We analyzed multiwavelength Raman lidar observations which were performed 1997-2004 at Leipzig, Germany, 1997 in Portugal, and 1999/2000 at the Maldives. Freetropospheric aerosol layers were advected to the three measurement sites from different source regions. Trajectory analysis and tracer calculations were used to identify mineral dust from Africa and Arabia, forest-fire smoke from Siberia and North America, anthropogenic pollution from India, Southeast Asia, North America and Europe as well as aged anthropogenic aerosols from polar regions. We characterized the aerosol types from the different source regions in terms of frequency of occurence, geometrical, optical and microphysical properties. The aerosol types (marine particles, mineral dust, forest-fire smoke, and anthropogenic particles) can be distinguished by their characteristic signatures in effective radius, single-scattering albedo (ssa), depolarization, and in the wavelength dependence of backscattering, lidar ratio, and extinction.
FOR TASK-ORIENTED ACTION PREDICTION

This paper aims at task-oriented action prediction, i.e., predicting a sequence of actions towards accomplishing a specific task under a certain scene, which is a new problem in computer vision research. The main challenges lie in how to model task-specific knowledge and integrate it in the learning procedure. In this work, we propose to train a recurrent long-short term memory (LSTM) network for handling this problem, i.e., taking a scene image (including pre-located objects) and the specified task as input and recurrently predicting action sequences. However, training such a network usually requires large amounts of annotated samples for covering the semantic space (e.g., diverse action decomposition and ordering). To alleviate this issue, we introduce a temporal And-Or graph (AOG) for task description, which hierarchically represents a task into atomic actions. With this AOG representation, we can produce many valid samples (i.e., action sequences according with common sense) by training another auxiliary LSTM network with a small set of annotated samples. And these generated samples (i.e., task-oriented action sequences) effectively facilitate training the model for task-oriented action prediction. In the experiments, we create a new dataset containing diverse daily tasks and extensively evaluate the effectiveness of our approach.
Can Functional Size Measures Improve Effort Estimation in SCRUM

In SCRUM projects, effort estimations are carried out at the beginning of each sprint, usually based on story points. The usage of functional size measures, specifically selected for the type of application and development conditions, is expected to allow for more accurate effort estimates. The goal of the work presented here is to verify this hypothesis, based on experimental data. The association of story measures to actual effort and the accuracy of the resulting effort model was evaluated. The study shows that developers' estimation is more accurate than those based on functional measurement. In conclusion, our study shows that, easy to collect functional measures do not help developers in improving the accuracy of the effort estimation in Moonlight SCRUM.
AFLP analysis among Ethiopian arabica coffee genotypes

Knowledge of genetic diversity is vital for genetic improvement and germplasm conservation. The genetic relationship of 28 Coffea arabica genotypes from Ethiopia was assessed using 10 Amplified Fragment Length Polymorphism (AFLP) primer combinations. The level of polymorphism was 30.9% and 18 markers were unique to 10 genotypes. Pair-wise genetic similarity coefficients ranged from 0.851 to 0.982, AD1491 being the most divergent and AD5091 the most closely related to all genotypes. All genotypes were independently distinguished and did not cluster according to collection region, demonstrating the presence of coffee genetic resource diversity within each region. Results of this study will be utilised for germplasm collection, conservation as well as in variety development efforts.
Small-Size Wideband Monopole Antenna with CRLH-TL for LTE Mobile Phone

A planar monopole loaded with composite right/left-handed transmission line (CRLH-TL) for broadband LTE mobile phone is presented. The CRLH-TL with a propagation constant of zero is added to widen the input impedance bandwidth of the antenna. The proposed antenna covers the LTE700/2500/GSM850/900/1800/1900/UMTS2100 and WLAN2400 bands. Impedance bandwidths of VSWR < 2:5 (S11 < i7dB) ranging from 675 to 1010MHz and 1690 to 2550MHz are obtained. The size of the monopole is 60£16£1mm 3 which is smaller than most of the LTE antennas. Detailed design considerations of the monopole are described. A prototype is fabricated and tested. Both simulated and experimental results are discussed.
Enzymes in Thymidylate Synthesis in Ureaplasma parvum as Medical Targets

The wall less bacterium Ureaplasma parvum (Up) is associated with ureathritis in adults and pneumonia in neonates. Up lack de novo nucleotide synthesis genes and has to import all DNA precursors. This thesis investigates known DNA biosynthesis pathways as targets for new antibiotics and concerns two enzymes in Up thymidylate synthesis; a thymidylate synthase (TS) and thymidine kinase (UpTK). TS activity was detected in Up-extracts and UU572 DNA could rescue a TS mutant E. coli. UU572 appeared to be proteolytic cleaved and cell cycle regulated in Up. Codon modified UU572 was cloned for expression in E. coli. However, no protein expression could be detected. A codon optimized synthesized UU572 homolog; MPN358 from Mycoplasma pneumonia was expressed in E. coli and showed TS activity. Low sequence homology to existing TSs suggests that UU572 and its homologs, belong to a new class of TS enzymes, which may contribute to future antibiotic development in human and veterinary medicine. Thirteen click chemistry-synthesized 3 ́-triazole thymidine analogs (1-13), using AZT as backbone, were evaluated with UpTK and hTK1. The bacterial TK exhibited a more open 3D structure than hTK1 explaining its substrate efficiency, while hTK1 seemed to have more closed structure as reflected by higher inhibition by the analogs. Docking models with 13 in TK1 structures revealed amino acid substitutions in the active site and most likely explain the different enzyme specificity. In addition, molecular docking could explain the 6-fold higher inhibition by the nucleoside analog 3 ́-azido-methyl-deoxythymidine (AZMT) with UpTK compared to hTK1. Nucleoside analogs have been used for fighting viruses with minimal side-effects. Why not use this strategy to control bacterial infections? The results presented in this thesis contribute towards attaining this goal.
Paternity Secrets: Why Women Don’t Tell

This paper reports findings from a study on paternity testing.1 Through an analysis of in-depth interviews with women from across Australia, some of whom were themselves uncertain of paternity, the study unveils their experiences of the making and keeping of a secret that became increasingly difficult to confess. In disclosing themes and commonalities in women’s accounts of their paternity secrets, it highlights the shared nature of the dilemma. At the same time, the differential and exceptional experiences of women in nonconventional and coercive relationships illustrate the precarious position of some women in relation to paternity uncertainty. Using a “moral panics” framework, the paper examines the way in which the activity of these women has been constructed as a widespread social problem encapsulated in the notions of paternity fraud and misattributed paternity. It then discusses the implications of this construction for the making of family policy based on reactivity to a moral panic.
3D/4D Ultrasound Being Applied to the Diagnosis of a True Knot in an Umbilical Cord

Viewing the articles published in this last issue of the Journal of Pregnancy and Child Health, one can see the various manuscripts that can be of interest to the obstetric (and related) clinician. What is also apparent, is the value of modern imaging for the diagnosis of conditions that may not have been diagnosable not too long ago. This includes 3D/4D Ultrasound being applied to the diagnosis of a true knot in an umbilical cord, or MRI for the diagnosis of endometriosis [1,2].
Identification of Monetary Policy Shocks within a SVAR Using Restrictions Consistent with a DSGE Model

I identify and estimate the monetary policy rule and the monetary policy shocks within a structural vector autoregression model for the US economy. I make two contributions to the literature. First, for identi cation I propose to use restrictions consistent with the literature on dynamic stochastic general equilibrium (DSGE) models. Typical DSGE model produces more restrictions than is required for the identi cation, so overidentifying restrictions can be tested against the data. The second contribution is a new method of testing the overidentifying restrictions. This method divides the set of identifying restrictions into subsets, and tests each subset independently of the others. This method does not reject most restrictions produced by the DSGE model. The only rejections provide evidence that the Federal Reserve uses delayed information about the in ation in policy making. The proposed approach to identi cation helps explain and solve the price puzzle problem reported in the previous literature.
Effect of heterointerface polarization charges and well width upon capture and dwell time for electrons and holes above GaInN/GaN quantum wells

The dwell time of electrons and holes above GaInN/GaN quantum wells is calculated using the k⋅p quantum transmitting boundary method. A long dwell time is an indication for high probability of carrier capture by the quantum well. Conversely, a reduced dwell time indicates that the carrier is likely to be coherently transported across the well. It is shown that sheet charges at GaInN/GaN heterointerfaces and a narrow quantum well lead to significant reductions in carrier dwell time. In addition, carrier capture is discussed in terms of a classical model that is consistent with dwell time calculations.
UNDERSTANDING THE INTERFACIAL INTERACTIONS IN SILICA REINFORCED POLYPROPYLENE NANOCOMPOSITES

In this study, polypropylene (PP) matrices containing various types and amounts of silica nanoparticles were prepared by melt compounding and injection molding. Both nonfunctionalized and dimethyldichlorosilane-functionalized silica nanoparticles were used. Three-component PP matrices were also prepared by including selected formulations of both Poly(propylene-g-maleic anhydride) copolymer (PPgMA) and different types of silica. Both silica types were found to provide a stiffening effect and enhance the viscoelastic behavior of PP, as determined by quasi-static tensile tests and dynamic mechanical analyses (DMA). The properties of the polymer/nanofiller interphase were investigated by modulated differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and DMA. A strong correlation between the glass transition temperature (Tg) and the tensile elastic modulus indicated the presence of secondary reinforcing mechanisms in silica PP nanocomposites.