Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A NEW FIND OF MEGALOTRAGUS PRISCUS (ALCELAPHINI, BOVIDAE) FROM THE CENTRAL KAROO, SOUTH AFRICA

We document the occurrence of the Florisian, or late Quaternary, form of the giant a1celaphine, Megalotragus priscus, from dongas on the Ongers River, near Britstown in the central Karoo. This is significant as it confirms the occurrence of the species in the Karoo and it suggests significantly wetter environments and productive grasslands in the central Karoo in pre-Holocene times. The present-day Karoo environment did not maintain populations of large ruminant grazers similar to M. priscus, and other specialized Florisian grazers , prior to the advent of agriculture and pasture management. Aridification in recent times is the likely cause of changes in grassland quality and the local dissappearance of these animals, if not their extinction.
Determinants of islamic banking profitability: roles played by internal and external banking factors

Due to the uncertainties and slowdown in the global economy, Islamic banking is facing challenges that will affect its performance and profitability. Poor performances include high level of credit risk, poor quality loans, limited or inadequate capitalization and operational efficiencies will influence the profit of banks. The idea of this paper is to examine how internal and external factors affect the profitability of Islamic banks. This will be seen on how performance through bank size, asset quality, GDP, inflation and money supply attempt to address the banks’ profitability. 11 samples of banks with six years financial data are chosen to be analyzed in this research. The results are obtained from applying the panel data analysis. It is expected that the findings of this study will show that the variety of internal and external factors will lead to banks profitability. If the Islamic banks fully understand and able to determine the strength factors, it will enhance the institutions’ profitability. Therefore, policy makers, financial analyst and investors may benefit from this research as it could be a guideline to them in analyzing the factors affecting the success of Islamic banks. Thus, this may contribute to a higher growth rate for the banks that are involved.
A Seismic Channel Model: The San Ramon Fault

Although seismic waves have been studied for many years, their soliton structure has only recently studied. Deformation solitons propagate along earthquake faults and can induce large earthquakes. Rotation solitons are generated in earthquake sources and propagate throughout the Earth. The conclusion to be reached from our paper is that the research on seismic solitons is essential for investigating the propagation of seismic waves and helps understand mechanisms triggering earthquakes. This paper discusses the development of elastodynamics equations similar to Maxwell's equations in a chiral -mode which is applied to a seismic channel, which is dispersive and nonlinear. The chirality is described in terms of the formalism proposed by Born-Fedorov. The nonlinearity is Kerr-type, and dispersion of the medium is taken into account explicitly through the Taylor series expansion. Through numerical calculations these theoretical results allow us analyze the soliton propagation of S-seismic pulses which can induce strong earthquakes. The numerical calculation is applied to the San Ramon Fault localized in Santiago City, Chile which is a seismically active fault that is a main element to be considered in any study on seismic hazard assessment for this city.
DYNAMIC OF THE LOWER TROPOSPHERE FROM MULTIWAVELENGTH LIDAR MEASUREMENTS

The dynamical behavior of the PBL (Planetary Boundary Layer) has a direct effect on the air quality and on the boundary layer parameterization schemes used in local, regional and global models. Active remote sensing systems such as LIDARs (Light Detection and Ranging) use aerosols of the atmosphere as tracers for identification of atmospheric state determined by convective activity, turbulence or dust intrusions. In this paper we have used multiwavelength lidar measurements from a scientific research center in Magurele, Bucharest area (44.35 N latitude, 26.03 E longitude) to provide information about the PBL height evolution, correlated to Saharan dust intrusions over Romania and to meteorological conditions. The Richardson number method is used to estimate the boundary layer height from the radio-soundings. We have used pressure, temperature and dew point profiles as well as the wind direction profiles from NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) data base. The height of layers in the lower troposphere from lidar signal was calculated using the gradient method- minima of the first derivative. The results were consistent with the ones obtained from radio soundings.
Medium Voltage AC-DC Converter Systems for Ultra-Fast Charging Stations for Electric Vehicles

The environmental impact of petroleum-based transportation infrastructure gained more and more significance during the last decade as fossil fuel powered vehicles lead to high emissions of CO2 and other greenhouse gases. With the electric mobility becoming a real solution for a sustainable future by using renewable energy sources, the emissions of carbon and in general greenhouse gases can be substantially reduced in order to mitigate the induced ecological effects. For today’s electric vehicles already featuring suitable (but limited) ranges and having advantages over vehicles driven by internal combustion engines as higher engine efficiency, regenerative braking and reduced noise emission, the key element for their success are the charging systems as well as the battery technology. To overcome the range limitations given through the long charging times so-called ultra-fast charging stations have to be developed with a charging power of several 100 kW preferably connected to the medium voltage AC grid which substantially increase the autonomy and the flexibility of electric vehicle drivers. After presenting a brief motivation for the topic of the electric mobility in Chapter 1 together with today’s charging methods as well as available charging infrastructure, state-of-the-art research approaches for an ultra-fast charging station for electric vehicles with integrated energy storages are summarized. In Chapter 2 the design aspects for an ultra-fast charging station are given from which concepts for the realization are developed and the specifications and requirements for the power electronic converter system and the energy storage can be stated. Then, state-of-the-art medium voltage bidirectional isolated AC-DC converter topologies suitable for the grid interface of an ultra-fast charging station are evaluated in Chapter 3 with the focus set on the integration of a battery energy storage system as well as the integration of the galvanic isolation on module level from which two single-stage converter systems are identified for a further investigation. The first converter system is the cascaded AC-DC dual active bridge
An Exploratory Clustering Study of Rare Adverse Events in Drug Eluting Stents Patients

We present an exploratory study of a group of patients (150) who have undergone precutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty with the use of drug eluting stents. We concentrate on the most often studied rare adverse event, i.e. death, as well as the still unexplored cancer variable. The aim of the study is to identify possible statistical hypotheses for a subsequent, large sample study. The results of this study may lead to a change in the therapy administered after precutaneous coronary interventions which will reduce the mortality rate. To achieve this, we use clustering techniques such as hierarchical cluster analysis, principal components methods and interactive brushing. We show that death cases cluster in the space defined by the available variables, while the cancer cases do not seem to cluster.
Modulation of chorus intensity by ULF waves deep in the inner magnetosphere

Previous studies have shown that chorus wave intensity can be modulated by Pc4‐Pc5 compressional ULF waves. In this study, we present Van Allen Probes observation of ULF wave modulating chorus wave intensity, which occurred deep in the magnetosphere. The ULF wave shows fundamental poloidal mode signature and mirror mode compressional nature. The observed ULF wave can modulate not only the chorus wave intensity but also the distribution of both protons and electrons. Linear growth rate analysis shows consistence with observed chorus intensity variation at low frequency (f <∼ 0.3fce), but cannot account for the observed higher‐frequency chorus waves, including the upper band chorus waves. This suggests the chorus waves at higher‐frequency ranges require nonlinear mechanisms. In addition, we use combined observations of Radiation Belt Storm Probes (RBSP) A and B to verify that the ULF wave event is spatially local and does not last long.
Robust Linear Neural Network for Constrained Quadratic Optimization

Based on the feature of projection operator under box constraint, by using convex analysis method, this paper proposed three robust linear systems to solve a class of quadratic optimization problems. Utilizing linear matrix inequality (LMI) technique, eigenvalue perturbation theory, Lyapunov-Razumikhin method, and LaSalle’s invariance principle, some stable criteria for the related models are also established. Compared with previous criteria derived in the literature cited herein, the stable criteria established in this paper are less conservative and more practicable. Finally, a numerical simulation example and an application example in compressed sensing problem are also given to illustrate the validity of the criteria established in this paper.
What Works in Gifted Education Mathematics Study: Impact of Pre-Differentiated and Enriched Curricula on General Education Teachers and Their Students. Research Monograph Series. RM13242.

Heterogeneous elementary school mathematics classrooms contain an astonishing array of student learning needs, including differences in abilities, cultures, and languages. Although many teachers strive to respond to student diversity, sensing that a “one-sizefits-all” curriculum fails to reach all learners, the time and knowledge demands of differentiation often preclude teachers from making meaningful adjustments that enhance learning. Consequently, effective differentiation of curriculum and instruction is absent in most classrooms in the United States. Prior research found that providing teachers with professional development and predifferentiated and enriched curricula—developed according to exemplary practices in gifted education—has proven effective for students identified as mathematically talented. However, applying differentiation and enrichment strategies to all students has previously found mixed results. The impact of this type of curriculum intervention on teacher learning has also not been well-documented. In addition, in conjunction with professional development, educative curricular materials designed to provide teachers with guidance while promoting teacher learning offers promise in increasing the probability of effectively implementing pre-differentiated curricula. Therefore, the present study seeks to determine how exposure to pre-differentiated and enriched curricula incorporating educative curriculum materials affects students’ achievement as well as teacher and administrator responses to the intervention. A 2-year multi-site cluster randomized control trial study (randomized by school for participants recruited during the first year and randomized by classroom for participants recruited during the second year) recruited a national sample of 4,530 grade 3 students in 216 classrooms from 62 schools across 17 states. All treatment teachers participated in professional development on differentiated instruction and enrichment practices, as well as specific training in using the components of the three differentiated mathematics units.
The continuous hydrothermal synthesis of nano-particulate ferrites in near critical and supercritical water

Magnetic spinel type oxides such as magnetite, Fe3O4, cobalt, nickel, and zinc ferrites, MFe2O4 (M = Co, Ni, Zn) and the mixed nickel and cobalt ferrite, NixCo1 − xFe2O4 have been synthesised continuously by the hydrolysis and simultaneous oxidation of mixtures of Fe(II) acetate and different M(II) acetates in near-critical and supercritical water using a flow reactor. The materials have been characterised by powder X-ray diffraction (PXD) and, in selected cases, by transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The bulk composition of the samples was determined by Atomic Absorption analysis (AA). Additionally, Energy-dispersive Detection X-ray analysis (EDX) was carried out on some of the samples. TEM pictures showed a “bimodal” particle size distribution: small particles of ca. 10 nm and larger particles of up to 100 nm, both of which are highly crystalline. Possible reaction mechanisms are discussed, which may be responsible for the observed morphology. The effects of temperature and residence time on the reaction have been studied.
TRANSFORMATION OF CHRYSANTHEMUM (DENDRANTHEMA GRANDI-FLORUM (RAMAT.) KITAMURA) VIA AGROBACTERIUM TUMEFACIENS)

This study attempted transformation of chrysanthemum (Dendranthema grandiflorum (Ramat.) Kitamura) and studied several factors affecting stable transformation of chrysanthemum, including cultivars of chrysanthemum, strains of Agrobacterium tumefaciens, promoters, and conditions of the co-cultivation period. Four days of co-cultivation at 24°C were optimal using A. tumefaciens strain EHA101 and plasmid pIG121Hm. Integration of the transgenes was confirmed by Southern blot analyses about four transformation. The neomycin phosphotransferase gene (nptII) was integrated in all transformants which were selected by kanamycin resistance. One transformant lacked both the s-glucuronidase gene (uidA) and hygromycin B phoshphotransferase gene (hpt), while the other transformants contained all three transgenes. RNA gel-blot analyses revealed the presence of nptII transcripts in two transformants that were resistant to kanamycin in the rooting test. Transcripts of the uidA and hpt genes were not detected in any of the transformants, suggesting that differences in promoters or introduced genes might significantly affect expression.
The Calibration of Mid-Infrared Star Formation Rate Indicators

With the goal of investigating the degree to which the MIR emission traces the SFR, we analyze Spitzer 8 and 24 μm data of star-forming regions in a sample of 33 nearby galaxies with available HST NICMOS images in the Paα (1.8756 μm) emission line. The galaxies are drawn from the SINGS sample and cover a range of morphologies and a factor ~10 in oxygen abundance. Published data on local low-metallicity starburst galaxies and LIRGs are also included in the analysis. Both the stellar continuum-subtracted 8 μm emission and the 24 μm emission correlate with the extinction-corrected Paα line emission, although neither relationship is linear. Simple models of stellar populations and dust extinction and emission are able to reproduce the observed nonlinear trend of the 24 μm emission versus number of ionizing photons, including the modest deficiency of 24 μm emission in the low-metallicity regions, which results from a combination of decreasing dust opacity and dust temperature at low luminosities. Conversely, the trend of the 8 μm emission as a function of the number of ionizing photons is not well reproduced by the same models. The 8 μm emission is contributed, in larger measure than the 24 μm emission, by dust heated by nonionizing stellar populations, in addition to the ionizing ones, in agreement with previous findings. Two SFR calibrations, one using the 24 μm emission and the other using a combination of the 24 μm and Hα luminosities (Kennicutt and coworkers), are presented. No calibration is presented for the 8 μm emission because of its significant dependence on both metallicity and environment. The calibrations presented here should be directly applicable to systems dominated by ongoing star formation.
Lung tumor boundary tracking in MRI with moving mesh correspondences for adaptive radio therapy

Delineation of lung tumor regions from magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) poses many difficulties due to MR signal similarities of the region of interest and surrounding area as well as the influence of respiration. However, accurate segmentation of the tumor region is of utmost importance in planning a radiation therapy since a small error can result in some healthy tissues to receive excessive radiation. This study presents a semi-automated method to delineate lung tumor regions from a sequence of MRIs. The proposed method uses a non-rigid image registration framework to propagate the boundaries of the tumor region in MRI acquired during a radiation treatment stage, given manual segmentation on frames acquired during pretreatment stage. We investigate two approaches: 1) the first one utilizes manual segmentation of the first frame during the pretreatment stage; and 2) the second one utilizes manual segmentation of all the frames during the pretreatment stage. We evaluated the proposed approaches over a sequence of 400 images acquired from 4 patients. The proposed method based on the utilization of all the frames yielded a Dice score of 0.90 ± 0.04 and a Hausdorff distance of 1.17 ± 0.35 pixels (2.83 ± 0.79 mm) in comparison to expert manual segmentation.
How big is an OMI pixel

Abstract. The Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) is a push-broom imaging spectrometer, observing solar radiation backscattered by the Earth's atmosphere and surface. The incoming radiation is detected using a static imaging CCD (charge-coupled device) detector array with no moving parts, as opposed to most of the previous satellite spectrometers, which used a moving mirror to scan the Earth in the across-track direction. The field of view (FoV) of detector pixels is the solid angle from which radiation is observed, averaged over the integration time of a measurement. The OMI FoV is not quadrangular, which is common for scanning instruments, but rather super-Gaussian shaped and overlapping with the FoV of neighbouring pixels. This has consequences for pixel-area-dependent applications, like cloud fraction products, and visualisation. The shapes and sizes of OMI FoVs were determined pre-flight by theoretical and experimental tests but never verified after launch. In this paper the OMI FoV is characterised using collocated MODerate resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) reflectance measurements. MODIS measurements have a much higher spatial resolution than OMI measurements and spectrally overlap at 469 nm. The OMI FoV was verified by finding the highest correlation between MODIS and OMI reflectances in cloud-free scenes, assuming a 2-D super-Gaussian function with varying size and shape to represent the OMI FoV. Our results show that the OMPIXCOR product 75FoV corner coordinates are accurate as the full width at half maximum (FWHM) of a super-Gaussian FoV model when this function is assumed. The softness of the function edges, modelled by the super-Gaussian exponents, is different in both directions and is view angle dependent. The optimal overlap function between OMI and MODIS reflectances is scene dependent and highly dependent on time differences between overpasses, especially with clouds in the scene. For partially clouded scenes, the optimal overlap function was represented by super-Gaussian exponents around 1 or smaller, which indicates that this function is unsuitable to represent the overlap sensitivity function in these cases. This was especially true for scenes before 2008, when the time differences between Aqua and Aura overpasses was about 15 min, instead of 8 min after 2008. During the time between overpasses, clouds change the scene reflectance, reducing the correlation and influencing the shape of the optimal overlap function.
Gender inequalities among adults and children in collective households

This paper studies the distribution of resources within Albanian families in 2012 using a collective consumption model with two alternative specifications: the first enables the estimation of intrahousehold distribution of resources among male adults, female adults and children; the second extends the analysis to girls and boys. To improve the identification in the context of extended families we implement a strategy to identify the main decision making couple within the household. In line with previous evidence on gender discrimination in Albania, the results show that the female shares of resources are substantially lower with respect to a fair distribution, and that sons receive a larger share of resources than daughters. We further explore whether the migration experience of the husband of the main couple influences the distribution of resources within the family and find evidence that the time spent abroad by the male migrant increases gender inequality (by increasing the share of men more than that of women) and worsen children’s position, both when the family was left behind and when also women and children joined the migrant in the destination country.
Information Communication Technology Penetration and its Impact on Education: Lessons of Experience from Selected African Countries of Ghana, Kenya and Rwanda

The study examined the extent of penetration of Computer and Internet as Information Communication Technology (ICT) tools and their potential positive impact on educational institutions, individuals and societies at large. The study employed a mixed methods approach involving quantitative and qualitative approaches using secondary and primary data sources. The study was premised on the social cultural theory propounded by Vygotsky in the early 20 th century which emphasizes the role of the society and interaction in learning and development process. This study focused on lessons of experience regarding the extent ICT has transformed education in Ghana, Kenya and Rwanda. The study largely relied on secondary data available mainly in official websites, published documents like articles in journals and unpublished documents as well as primary data from interviews with leading educationists, researchers and policy makers in the Eastern African Region. The findings in the three countries show the existence of political awareness and will to make ICT a transformative and economic tool. Practically on the ground, educational institutions and their stakeholders have already embraced ICT and their actions are portrayed in the progressive efforts to avail required basic ICT infrastructure and future roadmaps of the targets to hit. It was also noted that Rwanda is taking the lead in the achievements in ICT. It was also evident that the three countries were experiencing nearly identical challenges ranging from inadequate funding to put in place appropriate tools and infrastructure and low level of ownership and sustainability of ICT projects. The study recommended the punctual monitoring and evaluation of ICT projects; follow up and enforcement of policies and resolutions, synergize all educational stakeholders’ efforts and expertise together as some of the coping strategies with the highlighted barriers. Invariably, countries should learn from one another in terms of achievement made and challenges to be overcome. [[293 words] Key words : Information Communication Technology (ICT), ICT penetration, ICT in education, ICT impact, Ghana, Kenya, Rwanda