Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Projections Bayesian Model Averaging in Forecasting International Migration

The paper is devoted to the development of Bayesian methodology for international migration forecasting. Its aim is to present a statistical framework for (1) a formal selection of a forecasting model, and (2) combining knowledge from various competing models in order to obtain averaged forecasts. The main benefit of pooling forecasts yielded by different models is the reduction of forecast error resulting from the uncertainty of model specification. The Bayesian framework ensures the formal status of applied statistical tools in addressing the uncertainty issues, allowing at the same time for an explicit incorporation of subjective expert opinion in the model selection process, as well as in the models themselves. In the paper, a theoretical discussion is supported by an empirical application of the presented methodology to a forecast of migration flows between Germany and three European countries: Poland, Italy, and Switzerland, for the period 2005–2010. The analysis employs macro-level data from the population registers of the countries under study, and is restricted to forecasting models based on simple stochastic processes. * Paper prepared within the framework of the project “Forecasting international migration in Europe: a comparison of traditional methods and the Bayesian approach”, financed by the Foundation for Population, Migration and Environment (BMU-PME) from Zurich. The author also benefited from the Stipend for Young Scientists of the Foundation for Polish Science (FNP). Credits go to Prof. Jacek Osiewalski for the original idea underlying the paper and for helpful remarks, as well as to Prof. Marek Kupiszewski for his comments to the earlier draft. All remaining errors are mine. ◊ Mailing address: CEFMR, ul. Twarda 51/55, 00-818 Warsaw, Poland, tel. +48 22 697 88 34, fax +48 22 697 88 43, e-mail: j.bijak@cefmr.pan.pl, web: www.cefmr.pan.pl.
Response of fish communities to intense drought in Brazilian savanna streams

The physical structures of streams are subjected to intense changes throughout the seasons. Intense drought in dry periods has been frequent and potentially harmful to aquatic species. In this study, we tested whether the changes in the habitat structure of the streams during the dry period determine the organization of fish communities. Five streams in the Upper Tocantins River were studied in the dry and rainy seasons. The species were characterized by 13 functional traits based on morphological measurements. The descriptors of functional diversity were: mean pairwise functional distance of species in the community (MPD) and mean functionally nearest species distance (MNTD). We also calculated the standardized effect size for MPD and MNTD, an indicator of functional redundancy, and compared the observed patterns with those expected by chance. Streams differed between seasons with respect to environmental variables. Functional diversity in the rainy season did not differ from the pattern expected by chance for both metrics. While functional diversity in the dry season has not differed from the pattern expected by chance for SES MPD , a greater functional redundancy for SES MNTD was found in this season. These results indicate that environmental changes in the streams during the dry season are important constraints for fish occurrence, preventing the occurrence of functionally original species. Therefore, a prospective scenario of dry-period intensification could result in functionally redundant communities, with functional homogenization of the regional species pool.
ECCENTRICITY FAULT DIAGNOSIS STUDYING FOR A ROUND ROTOR SYNCHRONOUS MACHINE

The paper presents a mathematical base modeling combined to Modified-Winding -Function-Approach (MWFA) for eccentricity fault detection of a round-rotor synchronous machine. For this aim, a 6-pole machine is considered, and the machine inductances are computed by MWFA in healthy and also under eccentricity fault. A numerical discrete-time method has been proposed to machine modeling in voltage-fed case, and an exact analytical method is proposed to calculate the machine's currents and torque. A method is introduced for both static and dynamic eccentricity fault diagnosis, which is proposed for first time. A mathematical base method is introduced for machine modeling, and new results are obtained to a novel method addressing for eccentricity fault diagnosis. The method is validated by Finite-Element-Method (FEM) so accuracy of the proposed method is proofed.
Informational Retrieval Using Crawler & Protecting Social Networking Data from Information leakage

Online social networks, such as Facebook, Twitter, Yahoo! , Google+ are utilized by many people. These networks allow users to publish details about themselves and to connect to their friends. Some of the information revealed inside these networks is meant to be private or public. Yet it is possible to use learning algorithms on released data to predict private or public information and use the classification algorithm on the collected data. In this paper, we explore how to get social networking data to predict information. We then devise possible classification techniques that could be used in various situations. Then, we explore the effectiveness of these techniques and attempt to use. We collect the different information from the users groups. On which we concluded the classification of that data. By using the various algorithms we can predict information of users. Crawler programs for current profile work. We constructed a spider that crawls & indexes FACBOOK. In this paper we focus on crawler programs that proved to be an effective tool of data base. In this paper we elaborate the use of data mining technique to help retailers to identify user profile for a retail store and improved. The aim is to judge the accuracy of different data mining algorithms on various data sets. The performance analysis depends on many factors encompassing test mode, different nature of data sets, and size of data set. Keyword: Social network analysis, data mining, social network data,WEKA.
Hybrid Inverse Problems Arising from Acousto-Electric Coupling

Hybrid Inverse Problems Arising from Acousto-Electric Coupling Ilker Kocyigit Chair of the Supervisory Committee: Professor Gunther Uhlmann Mathematics We study hybrid imaging techniques that aim to overcome the ill-posedness of the Electric Impedance Tomography using the acousto-electric coupling. For the isotropic case, we consider the problem of reconstructing the internal conductivity of an object by making electric measurements on the boundary while perturbing the conductivity by sending ultrasound waves to the object. The conductivity can be uniquely recovered by using one boundary potential. To obtain the uniqueness, the problem is reduced to an inverse problem with internal data. Lipschitz type stability results for certain internal data are also discussed. In the last part of this thesis we discuss similar inverse problems in more general settings.
How to integrate cover crops to enhance sustainability in banana and citrus cropping systems

In Martinique (French West Indies), because of the susceptibility of the insular environment, the demand from society and policy-makers is high for sustainable and environmentally friendly fruit production systems. In tropical wet areas, weed management is crucial but difficult to control without herbicides. Herbicide becomes the most important pesticide input in banana plantations and orchards, thus developing herbicide-free alternatives are a priority. Cover crop intercropping constitutes the best option. Besides weed control, we considered their ability to reduce runoff and soil erosion, to compete with the main crop for water and nutrients, to host pests and natural enemies, and to preserve biodiversity. Thus, cover crops turn into global services crops. A multi-step and multi-criteria grid was built to select the ideal cover crop. We tested it on banana fields and citrus orchards. First, cover crop pre-selection was common and checked for climate suitability, seed availability, height, status of noninvasive species and capacity to be perennial. Second, we assessed the agronomic behaviour of seven pre-selected cover crops under field conditions. We measured cover crop specific traits (germination rate, covering rate, perenniality, biomass production, root depth, nutrient uptake or recycling, regrowth after mowing, adaptation to shade). Last, according to each cropping system specifications, we designed prototypes with the most relevant cover crops. In citrus orchards, grasses characterized by a high covering index associated with a low biomass production were selected, but natural enemies hosting services were poor. In banana fields, grasses were intercropped too, but nitrogen competi¬tion, was too high and led to loss in banana yield. As a conclusion, we showed that the concept of an ideal cover plant has to be implemented and combined in a more efficient mixed cover system (grasses mixed with nitrogen fixing plants). (Resume d'auteur)
Large-Eddy Simulation of the Flow Around a Ground Vehicle Body

Large Eddy Simulation of the the flow around bus-like ground vehicle body is presented. Both the time-averaged and instantaneous aspects of this flow are studied. Time-averaged velocity profiles are computed and compared with the experiments by Duell and George (SAE Paper 1999-01-0812) and show good agreement. The separation length and the base pressure coefficient are presented. The predicted pumping process in the near wake occurs with a Strouhal number St=0.073, compared with St=0.069 in the experiment. Unsteady results at two points are presented and compared with the experiments. The coherent structures are studied and show good agreement with the experiments.
5314 -12 PEREZ 37-3.indd

D. Pérez, J. Iannacone, and H. Pinedo. 2010. Toxicological effect from the stem cortex of the amazonic plant soapberry Paullinia clavigera (Sapindaceae) upon three arthropods. Cien. Inv. Agr. 37(3):133-143. Toxicological effects of four extracts proceeding from the stem cortex of the amazonic plant Paullinia clavigera D.R. Simpson (Sapindaceae) by decoction, ethanolic, chlorophormic and hexanic on three arthropods: Rhynchophorus palmarum (Linnaeus, 1758) (Curculionidae), Eupalamides cyparissias (Fabricius, 1777) (Castniidae) and Artemia franciscana (Kellog, 1906) (Artemiidae) in Ucayali, Peru were studied. The four extracts at the highest concentration tested were: decoction at a proportion 1:10 (w/v), ethanolic, chlorophormic and hexanic at 100 mg·L-1. Toxic effects were evaluated at 12, 24, 48 and 72 hours on larvae of III instar of R. palmarum and larvae of II instar of E. cyparissias; and at 24 and 48 hours on nauplii of A. franciscana. Toxicity in terms of LC50 on the three arthropods evaluated depends of type of extract of soapberry employed. In R. palmarum, decoction (LC50-72H = 59.15%) presented a high toxicity, although a significant effect of hydroalcoholic extract was observed at 40 mg·L1 in comparison with control. The extracts of decoction (LC50-72H = 70.71 %) and ethanolic (LC50-72H = 66.21 mg·L-1) presented high toxicities on E. cyparissias, and finally, hexanic extracts (LC5048H = 18.79 mg·L -1), decoction (LC50-48H = 23.82 %) and chlorophormic (LC50-48H = 23.64 mg·L 1) presented the highest toxicities on A. franciscana. In the phytochemical analysis, saponins showed a very positive reaction in hydroalcoholic extract, and flavonoids and phenols had a very positive reaction in extract of decoction. The triterpenes were present only in the hexane extract. The hydroalcoholic and decoction extract showed toxicity on the two pest R. palmarum and E. cyparissias, but only the hydroalcoholic compared to the other three extracts had the lowest effect of risk and higher selectivity to the aquatic environment on A. franciscana.
Normal and reverse stock splits in the V4 countries monetary stimulus

The economic crisis has forced managers of joint stock companies to look for short-term solutions for the sharp changes in stock prices of their companies. Even the companies of the V4 countries are not the exception. The authors have focused on those companies where have been used either reverse stock split or stock split. They analyzed the effects of the reverse stock split or stock splits on the abnormal returns of stocks. In this paper, the authors analyzed a dataset from 1993 until 2015 with 124 reverse stock splits and 184 stock splits in total focused on the stock market in V4. Based on their own research they conclude that when reverse stock splits were used stock returns significantly decreased one day around the announcement date. They conclude that managers of a company might use this instrument to move the stock price back to the optimal trading range outside of the penny stock area. In the case of stock splits, the authors concluded that the use of this tool results in a significant increase in the returns of a stock after the announcement date. However, the results are in contrast to some former studies which found no positive effect on the returns caused by stock splits. The authors conclude that managers of a company might use this instrument to transport information content of future (positive) performance of a company to the traders.
The Effectiveness of Using 3D Printing Technology in STEM Project-Based Learning Activities

Engineering design process has been recognized as one of the crucial parts of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education. However, when focusing on engineering design process, STEM education at the Kindergarten-12 level often neglects the role of modeling in engineering design process. The characteristic of rapid prototyping of 3D printing technology could be utilized in supporting modeling during engineering design process. This study aims to explore the effectiveness of application of 3D printing technology to STEM project-based learning activities in developing students’ understanding regarding engineering design process, particularly their understanding of modeling. This study employed a quasi-experimental pretest-posttest non-equivalent control group design. A series of knowledge structure analyses showed that in terms of knowledge structures for modeling in engineering design process, the experimental group explained better than the control group in terms of information processing strategies after the teaching experiment.
Toward the design of a low cost vision-based gaze tracker for interaction skill acquisition

The human gaze is a basic mean for non verbal interaction between humans; however, in several situations, especially in the context of upper limb motor impairments, the gaze constitutes also an alternative mean for KXPDQ∂V interactions with the environment (real or virtual). Mastering these interactions through specific tools, requires frequently the acquisition of new skills and understanding of mechanisms which allow to acquire the necessary skills. Therefore the technological tool is a key for new interaction skillV∂ acquisition. This paper presents a tool for interaction skill acquisition via a gaze. The proposed gaze tracker is a low cost head mounted system based on vision technology ≥RQO\¥ . The system hardware specifications and the status of the gaze tracker design are presented; the dedicated algorithm for eye detection and tracking, and an improvement of G. Zelinsky model for eye movement predication during the search of a predefined object in an image are outlined. Results of the software preliminary evaluation are presented.
egradation study of piperazine , its blends and structural analogs for O 2 capture : A review haukat

Postcombustion carbon dioxide (CO2) capture using amine scrubbing is an emerging technology to mitigate CO2 emissions. Benchmark amines used in this technology are monoethanolamine (MEA), methyldiethanolamine (MDEA), and diethanolamine (DEA). Amines undergo irreversible reactions, resulting degradation of the solvent under process operating conditions. Degradation of solvent may create environmental concerns, increased costs as well as corrosion in the process equipment. Piperazine (PZ) has been investigated as a novel amine solvent for CO2 capture. It has high CO2 capture capacity and absorption rate with thermal and oxidative degradation resistance. This study discusses the thermal and oxidative degradation of PZ under process operating conditions. A critical review of various parameters, such as the effect of temperature, amine concentration, CO2 loading ( ̨), partial pressure of oxygen (O2)
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory Recent Work Title Exploring Cosmic Origins with CORE : The Instrument Permalink

We describe a space-borne, multi-band, multi-beam polarimeter aiming at a precise and accurate measurement of the polarization of the Cosmic Microwave Background. The instrument is optimized to be compatible with the strict budget requirements of a mediumsize space mission within the Cosmic Vision Programme of the European Space Agency. The instrument has no moving parts, and uses arrays of diffraction-limited Kinetic Inductance Detectors to cover the frequency range from 60 GHz to 600 GHz in 19 wide bands, in the focal plane of a 1.2 m aperture telescope cooled at 40 K, allowing for an accurate extraction of the CMB signal from polarized foreground emission. The projected CMB polarization survey sensitivity of this instrument, after foregrounds removal, is 1.7 μK·arcmin. The design is robust enough to allow, if needed, a downscoped version of the instrument covering the 100 GHz to 600 GHz range with a 0.8 m aperture telescope cooled at 85 K, with a projected CMB polarization survey sensitivity of 3.2 μK·arcmin.
Could there be Unintended Effects of Government Support for Seafood Traceability Implementation on Business Planning? Results of a Survey among Italian Fishery Businesses

Governments have intervened in food, agricultural and fisheries markets through various support programs to promote adoption of traceability practices and systems in order to raise food safety levels and increase industry competitiveness. The aim of this paper is to investigate intended and unintended effects of participation in such supporting programs. Intended effects comprise of the impacts on traceability capacity levels, costs and benefits of program participants vs. comparable non-participants. Unintended effects concern the firms’ planning accuracy which we propose to measure through deviations of actual from expected outcomes. We conduct our empirical analysis based on a sample of 55 Italian fishery businesses which we divide in firms who received support, a comparable control group and the remaining sample. Although we find that recipients of government support have higher average levels of traceability capacity and overall benefits than the control group, differences are not statistically significant. In regards to the unintended effects of government support, we find that recipients of government support reported larger deviations of actual from expected benefits than the control group did. While these differences were not significant at the aggregate level, significant differences are found at the level of specific benefit categories. For example, support recipients had overestimated sales and price related benefits but severely underestimated efficiency gains in operations. The results suggest that the motivation for participating in a government support program may not align with the firm’s strategic goals. This misalignment may reduce planning accuracy.
The Influence of Personality and Cultural Aspects on Binge Drinking and Excessive Gaming

Binge drinking can lead to serious consequences as blackouts, injuries, academic failure, car accidents, or hazardous sexual behavior. Excessive gaming, too, can lead to undesirable outcomes as academic failure, social isolation, or depression. This study attempts to investigate how personality and cultural variables serve as risk factors and if both problem behaviors belong to the same construct. The Twente Model of Binge Drinking serves as a guideline for investigation. Adolescents of 16-20 years of age (N=201) successfully completed the online- or paper-survey. The data showed that hopelessness/introversion and anxiety sensitivity are negatively correlated with binge drinking, whereas sensation seeking and impulsiveness were positively associated with drinking. Also, it several cultural aspects are connected with binge drinking: the alcohol-related rules that parents provide, the respect the adolescent has towards his parents, leisure activities and visiting ‘keten’. The rules and social-entertainment activities moderated the relationship of hopelessness and binge drinking. Impulsiveness and hopelessness were positively associated with gaming. It could not be concluded that both behaviors belong to one construct. Further investigation is needed to confirm these findings.
BOARD EVALUATION PROCESS IN ITALY: HOW FAR IS IT FROM THE UK STANDARD?

How to cite this paper: Soana, M. G. , & Crisci, G. (2017). Board evaluation process in Italy: How far is it from the UK standard? Corporate Board: role, duties and composition, 13(3), 6-18. http://doi.org/10.22495/cbv13i3art1 ISSN Online: 2312-2722 ISSN Print: 1810-8601 Received: 19.09. 2017 Accepted: 20.11. 2017 JEL Classification: G34, M14 DOI: 10.22495/cbv13i3art1 Both the UK and the Italian Corporate Governance Codes call for boards to undertake an annual evaluation of their own performance and that of their committees. The study analyses the board review process conducted by the 25 most capitalized Italian listed companies at June 30th, 2016 and the top 25 companies included in the FTSE 100 on the same date in terms of objectives, parties involved, methodological approaches, suggestions to shareholders, board nomination and election. The Italian trends on board evaluation are compared to UK trends, as the UK is particularly advanced with regard to best practices on board selfassessment. Our analysis shows that in 2016 the most capitalized Italian companies seem to have improved their self-assessment compared to the past, in particular with regard to the disclosure of the process, the involvement of independent external consultants and the number of evaluated subjects. However, some aspects require improvement in the near future.
Using In Situ Video Analysis to Assess Juvenile Flatfish Behavior Along the Oregon Central Coast

We examined the feasibility of using a video beam trawl system to assess behavioral responses of juvenile flatfishes in relation to co-occurring habitat features, most notably dissolved oxygen (DO) concentrations. Sixteen samples were collected along a cross shelf transect in the central Oregon coast during summer 2008. We found that juvenile fish reaction duration, defined as the time in seconds from first reaction to capture, decreased with decreased DO. However, other variables such as bottom water temperature, fish size, and fish species composition by site are potentially confounding factors of the analysis. The dominant flatfish species shifted from English sole (Parophyrs vetulus) to Pacific sanddab ( Citharichthys sordidus) with increased depth. Escape behavior varied from “burying” in the shallows, to “hovering” at mid-depth stations, and “running” at the deepest site. Collectively, our results suggest that the video beam trawl effectively monitor behavioral metrics and community composition of nearshore flatfish assemblages.