Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Past dynamics of the Australian monsoon: precession, phase and links to the global monsoon concept

Abstract. Past variations in the dynamics of the Australian monsoon have been estimated from multi-proxy analysis of a core retrieved in the Eastern Banda Sea. Records of coccolith and pollen assemblages, spanning the last 150 000 years, allow reconstruction of past primary production in the Banda Sea, summer moisture availability, and the length of the dry season in northern Australia and southeastern Indonesia. The amount of moisture available during the summer monsoon follows typical glacial/interglacial dynamics with a broad asymmetrical 100-kyr cycle. Primary production and length of the dry season appear to be closely related, given that they follow the precessional cycle with the same phase. This indicates their independence from ice-volume variations. The present inter-annual variability of both parameters is related to El Nino Southern Oscillation (ENSO), which modulates the Australian Winter Monsoon (AWM). The precessional pattern observed in the past dynamics of the AWM is found in ENSO and monsoon records of other regions. A marked shift in the monsoon intensity occurring during the mid Holocene during a period of constant ice volume, suggests that low latitude climatic variation precedes increases in global ice volume. This precessional pattern suggests that a common forcing mechanism underlies low latitude climate dynamics, acting specifically and synchronously on the different monsoon systems.
Acclimatization and growth of tissue cultured banana co-inoculated with microbiological and chemical commercial products in different soils in Kenya

The efficacy of co-inoculation of microbiological products and combining them with a chemical stimulant in enhancing survival and growth of tissue culture banana under different soil conditions was investigated in the greenhouse. Tissue cultured banana (Gros Mitchel cv.) was inoculated with products containing Bacillus spp. , arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF), Trichoderma harzianum, Myconate (chemical stimulant) and their combinations. Two soil types (Rhodic Ferralsol and Vertisol) were used at the hardening and potting phases and inoculation of plants was done at both phases. Plant growth was assessed at an interval of two weeks. Destructive harvesting was done and mycorrhizal colonization, root and shoot biomass and shoot nutrient uptake were assessed at the end of nursery phase. The effect of the products on the measured parameters depended on soil type with Vertisol being most receptive to inoculation. The combination of Bacillus spp. with AMF or Myconate or T. harzianum in the Vertisol gave the most significant increase in plant growth by over 28, 24 and 14%, respectively and in plant biomass accumulation by over 34, 46 and 33%, respectively compared to the control. Mycorrhizal colonization was not significantly affected by product inoculation in the two soils. In the Rhodic Ferralsol, the combination of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi with T. harzianum promoted the highest uptake of zinc, boron, magnesium and phosphorus; T. harzianum+ Bacillus spp. promoted the highest uptake of potassium, while AMF+ Myconate promoted the highest uptake of calcium. In the Vertisol, the combination of Bacillus spp. with arbuscular mycorrhiza fungi gave the highest uptake of phosphorus, magnesium, calcium and boron; Bacillus spp. + Myconate gave the highest uptake of potassium, while singly applied AMF gave the highest uptake of zinc. Results demonstrate that tissue cultured bananas’ survival and growth can benefit from co-inoculation of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi and Trichoderma or Bacillus or a chemical stimulant during the nursery phase. The effect of coinoculation is however depended on soil type.
KLASIFIKASI KELAINAN JANTUNG DENGAN METODE TRANSFORMASI FOURIER DAN JARINGAN SARAF TIRUAN

Masalah kesehatan dengan gangguan sistem kardiovaskuler masih menduduki peringkat yang tinggi secara global. Salah satu cara mendeteksi adanya kelainan pada sistem kardiovaskuler khususnya jantung yaitu melalui pembacaan Elektrokardiogram (EKG). Namun karena pembacaan rekaman EKG dibutuhkan pengalaman dan keahlian khusus maka dilakukan perancangan perangkat lunak berbasis jaringan saraf tiruan untuk membantu identifikasi adanya kelainan jantung melalui citra digital elektrokardiogram. Citra diolah menggunakan metode pengolahan citra sehingga diperoleh ordinat grafik citra yang merepresentasikan potensial listrik jantung. Ekstraksi fitur menggunakan transformasi Fourier yang kemudian dibagi menjadi beberapa koefisien Fourier. Masukan pada perangkat lunak adalah koefisien hasil transformasi Fourier yang telah dinormalisasi. Keluaran dari perangkat lunak dibagi menjadi tiga kelas, yaitu jantung dengan fibrilasi atrium, jantung koroner dan jantung normal. Tingkat akurasi maksimal perangkat lunak ini sebesar 95.45%, dengan pembagian koefisien hasil transformasi Fourier 1/8 dan jumlah node 5, sedangkan tingkat akurasi minimal perangkat lunak ini sebesar 68.18% dengan pembagian koefisien hasil transformasi Fourier 1/32 dan jumlah node 32. Hasil tingkat akurasi perangkat lunak ini secara keseluruhan memiliki rata-rata 86.05% dan standar deviasi 7.82.
AIMC 2017 Asia International Multidisciplinary Conference DIGITAL GAME DESIGN ACTIVITY : IMPLEMENTING GAMIFICATION WITH CHILDREN IN THE CLASSROOM

The idea of applying gamification approach is very beneficial to the 21 century education especially to teacher and student. However, this approach is still a stigma in our society today in terms of acceptance, implementation and implication in the classroom setting for children. In this paper, we present a qualitative study through participant observation and semi structured interview involving 20 children. Gamification concept that applied in this study is project based in which children need to design a digital game. Analysis of the data showed an interesting, promising finding, suggesting that the learning approach that is integrated with digital games is realizable through digital games gamification, the implementation of which relies on a systematic instructional planning; its suitability with the learning objectives and the implication of gamification approach towards 21 century education. The gamification approach is expected to exert a significant positive impact on both students and teachers, which is gradually, but surely, becoming an important learning approach in the 21 century education © 2018 Published by Future Academy www.FutureAcademy. org.UK
Enhanced critical size defect repair in rabbit mandible by electrospun gelatin/ β -TCP composite nanofibrous membranes

The design and fabrication of biodegradable barrier membranes with satisfactory structure and composition remain a considerable challenge for periodontal tissue regeneration. We have developed a biomimetic nanofibrous membrane made from a composite of gelatin and β-tricalcium phosphate (β-TCP). We previously confirmed the in vitro biological performance of the membrane material, but the efficacy of the membranes in promoting bone repair in situ has not yet been examined. Gelatin/β-TCP composite nanofibers were fabricated by incorporation of 20wt. % β-TCP nanoparticles into electrospun gelatin nanofibers. Electron microscopy showed that the composite membranes presented a nonwoven structure with an interconnected porous network and had a rough surface due to the β-TCP nanoparticles, which were distributed widely and uniformly throughout the gelatin-fiber matrix.The repair efficacy of rabbit mandible defects implanted with bone substitute (Bio-Oss) and covered with the gelatin/β-TCP composite nanofibrous membrane was evaluated in comparison with pure gelatin nanofibrous membrane. Gross observation, histological examination, and immunohistochemical analysis showed that new bone formation and defect closure were significantly enhanced by the composite membranes compared to the pure gelatin ones. From these results, we conclude that nanofibrous gelatin/β-TCP composite membranes could serve as effective barrier membranes for guided tissue regeneration.
Patterns of precursory rockfall prior to slope failure

In this paper we examine data generated using high-resolution three-dimensional laser scanning monitoring of coastal rock cliffs. These data are used to identify spatial and temporal patterns in rockfall activity behavior prior to slope failure. Analysis of the data suggests that given sufficient measurement precision precursory behavior, here manifest as the rate of rockfall activity prior to failure, can be detected, measured, and monitored. Environmental conditions appear to have a diminishing influence on the occurrence of increasingly large slope failures. The monitoring data implies a time-dependent sequence in the occurrence of smaller rockfalls in the period leading to the largest failures recorded. This behavior is attributed to the mechanisms of strain accumulation in the rock mass resulting from brittle failure of the slope. The implication is that combining these data with models of failure mechanisms may allow failure time to be forecast from wide-area monitoring of precursory behavior. These findings have implications for the management of potentially unstable slopes, the understanding of slope failure mechanisms, and the generation of a new type of slope failure warning systems.
The transtheoretical model: Changes in health beliefs among female adolescents in Iran during 3 years

BACKGROUND: The present study aimed to track adolescents’ attitudes towards changes in their health behavior considering perceived benefit and barrier in different stages of physical activity during a three-year transitional period from junior high school to high school. METHODS:Data were collected amongst female adolescents in 2010 (n = 558) using random cluster sampling method, of whom 400 were provided by follow-up data in 2013. The stages of change and health beliefs regarding physical activity were measured using self-reported questionnaires. The research data were, then, analyzed in statistical analysis system (SAS), using inferential statistics. RESULTS: The baseline participants had a mean age of 14.28 ± 1.54 and at follow-up were 17.52 ± 1.82. At the baseline and follow-up, proportions of participants in pre-adaption and adaption stages were 26.7%-73.3% and 72.3%-27.7%, respectively. At baseline, pre-contemplators showed significantly lower positive attitude and greater agreement for most of the barrier items than those on other stages. In the baseline, female in action and maintenance stages endorsed greatest agreement for the barrier item i.e. having too much homework. In comparison to females, in the maintenance stage pre-contemplators were more likely to agree that a "not knowing how to do a certain type of exercise"(OR = 10.30, CI = 4.42-23.99). At the follow-up, in the pre-contemplators and maintenance stages, the greatest amount of agreement for the barrier item was "not enough time". CONCLUSION: This study revealed transition from junior high school to high school and showed lower physical activity in females. Consequently, perceived barriers increased and perceived benefits decreased in the transition
Ecological applications of remote sensing data in Neotropical rainforests

Understanding species’ distributions is a central theme of biodiversity studies. A combination of data derived from moderate and high spectral resolution satellite imagery (vegetation indices and hyperspectral narrow bands, respectively) was used to address questions regarding tree species’ distributions, vegetation phenology, and influences on bird seasonal movements in tropical rainforests. Vegetation indices were used in ecological niche modeling to predict movement patterns of a tropical canopy frugivorous bird in Central America: the predicted distributions generally recovered observed non-breeding ranges, but estimated lowland areas for the breeding range, which is restricted to middle elevations. Hyperspectral imagery provided sufficient spectral information to discriminate crowns of five different tree taxa that represent food resources for macaws and peccaries in southeastern Peru. Tree spectra showed significant temporal variation, suggesting that it is possible to study tree phenology remotely. Current and future developments of remote sensing techniques permit regional studies of ecosystem functions and structure.
Survey of Security in Home Connected Internet of Things

Security and privacy have been increasingly important issues, especially surrounding privacy in consumer’s homes. Internet of things devices, while providing opportunity, also provide danger through poor or inconsistent implementation of security protocols or hardening techniques. Security research around home connected internet of things devices must then have more significant and sum-mative research and literature to combat these dangers. This paper presents an overview of existing research focusing on internet of things devices intended for consumers in the home, discusses some specific case studies of vulnerabilities in existing and common devices, overviews some best practices as they’re suggested in various papers, and finally adds some discussion on interesting solutions to security in the connected internet of things home. This paper finds that many home connected internet of things devices are lacking minimal security, and that both consumption and production of home connected internet of things devices require a security focus in order to provide a stable foundation for this rapidly proliferating infrastructure.
Secure Group Key Management using Ciphertext in MANETs

The modern developments in Mobile AdhocNETworks (MANETs) suffer from efficient and secure broadcasting of messages to a distant system. The main obstacles for the secured information transfer are restricted communication from the cluster/group nodes to the sender and unavailability of a trusted public/private key generation center. This paper proposes a technique that uses a combination of broadcast encryption technique and Cluster/Group key agreement to overcome the obstacles. Among the proposed techniques each member maintains one public/secret key pair, seeing that the remote sender broadcasts to the subgroup. Though the non-intended member conspire they will not extractinformation that boosts security of the message. The Cluster /Group size is independent of computation and communication overhead that decreases the delay. The proposed technique provides competent approach to add or delete members of a cluster and a flexible rekeying strategy. In case of conspiracy it provides security to the broadcasted data. Simulation results are given using NS2.
ON THE SOLUTION OF A CLASS OF ELLIPTIC PROBLEMS

In this paper, a class of elliptic partial differential equations (PDEs) is considered. A sufficient condition for the existence and uniqueness of a solution to the problem is obtained. Discretizing the equation by the finite difference method yields a linear system whose matrix is nonsymmetric and banded. We show that under a certain condition the discretization parameter can be chosen small enough so that the linear system has a unique solution. An algorithm is presented to build the matrix and the vector on the right-hand side of the linear system. The numerical tests performed confirm the efficiency of the algorithm. Mathematics Subject Classification: 65F.
Searching for gas giant planets on Solar system scales – a NACO/APP L′-band survey of A- and F-type main-sequence stars

We report the results of a direct imaging survey of A- and F-type main sequence stars searching for giant planets. A/F stars are often the targets of surveys, as they are thought to have more massive giant planets relative to solar-type stars. However, most imaging is only sensitive to orbital separations $>$30 AU, where it has been demonstrated that giant planets are rare. In this survey, we take advantage of the high-contrast capabilities of the Apodizing Phase Plate coronagraph on NACO at the Very Large Telescope. Combined with optimized principal component analysis post-processing, we are sensitive to planetary-mass companions (2 to 12 $M_{\rm Jup}$) at Solar System scales ($\leq$30 AU). We obtained data on 13 stars in L'-band and detected one new companion as part of this survey: an M$6.0\pm0.5$ dwarf companion around HD 984. We re-detect low-mass companions around HD 12894 and HD 20385, both reported shortly after the completion of this survey. We use Monte Carlo simulations to determine new constraints on the low-mass ($<$80 $M_{\rm Jup}$) companion frequency, as a function of mass and separation. Assuming solar-type planet mass and separation distributions, normalized to the planet frequency appropriate for A-stars, and the observed companion mass-ratio distribution for stellar companions extrapolated to planetary masses, we derive a truncation radius for the planetary mass companion surface density of $<$135 AU at 95% confidence.
Depolymerization of Lignin to Produce Monophenols and Oligomers Using a Novel Ni/Ce-CNT Catalyst

A novel composite catalyst consisting of nickel, cerium, and carbon nanotube (CNT) was developed for native lignin and industrial lignin depolymerization. It was found that Ni and Ce had synergistic effects on the depolymerization. Native lignin was depolymerized to monophenols with a yield of 21.4% at 300 °C for 2 h under 2 MPa hydrogen pressure with serious coke formation. A milder condition set at 280 °C for 2 h under 2 MPa hydrogen pressure provided a monophenols yield of 13.5% with 78.6% lignin removal, but much less coke formation and better catalyst reusability. Even after running the trial four times, the catalyst presented high efficiency. Industrial lignin was depolymerized to oligomers, which are a series of aromatic micromolecules that could be extracted by specific organic solvents such as ethyl acetate. Those oligomers could be used as high calorific value bio-oil. After being depolymerized at 260 °C for 1 h under 2 MPa hydrogen pressure, the yields of oligomers were 56.0% and 11.6% extracted by ethyl acetate (EA) and petroleum ether (PE), respectively. After recycling four times, the catalyst still exhibited high activity. It was clear that the Ni/Ce-CNT was an effective catalyst in lignin depolymerization.
Examining Ireland's Post-Famine Economic Growth Performance

This paper sets out a short-cut method for allocating country level GDP estimates across regions. Comparing UK regional GDP estimates generated using the short-cut method against existing regional GDP figures suggests that it produces acceptable results. We make estimates of GDP for the four countries of the UK for each of the census years between 1861 and 1911. Irish GDP per worker and per caput grew faster than British. These indicators demonstrate weak convergence of the two regions. The bulk of the Irish performance may be explained by traditional forces such as TFP growth and capital accumulation.
Design and testing of a low cost micro-volume sprayer for bait spraying

The European directives 2009/128/EC, devoted to establish a framework for Community action to achieve the sustainable use of pesticides and the 2009/127/EC, related to design, construction and maintenance of machinery for pesticide application, are being changing significantly the pest and weed control. In this context, many studies were carried out in order to develop precision spraying devices and to find alternative at conventional chemical pesticides. On this last regard, one of the rising solutions, is the poisoned sugar-based bait to control the fruit flies. These pests are becoming a great issue for a broad Mediterranean orchard cultivation area, where a lot of damages were documented. Therefore, this study looks the developing and testing of a micro-volume sprayer. An electrical sprayer with an automatic spray controller based on open source Arduino platform, was designed. The prototype was tested in laboratory condition and on cherry growing for two seasons in center Italy to assess the operative reliability. Results showed the efficacy of sprayer and use of bait (Spintor-Fly ®) to the control of the cherry fruit fly.
Instructional design in game based learning and applications used in educational systems

The paper examines literature on the subject of instructional design and game based learning with the aim of identifying its positive effects and impact on users. Special attention was given to learning, encouragement and development of skills acquired through the use of game based learning. Game based learning is considered to be a complex system that requires instructional support geared towards stimulating cognitive processes. Several empirical research papers which provide insight into this field of interest have been chosen. The second set of papers provides confirmation accompanied with an analysis of instructional support as a function of the learning support. Also included were recent works which indicated the need for further research and the heterogeneity of the existing research. Other works complemented the unit and are mutually interconnected by a methodological approach providing insight into the issues that should be investigated in the future.
Simulations of Aerosol Optical Properties to Top of Atmospheric Reflected Sunlight in the Near Infrared CO2 Weak Absorption Band

Abstract Over the Asian continent, high aerosol loading is critical to ensure the high accuracy of CO2 retrieval in the near infrared absorption band. Simulations were per-formed to explore the effect of light path modification by aerosol son the atmospheric CO2 near infrared band (6140–6270 cmñ1). The Vector LInearized Discrete Ordinate Radiative Transfer (VLIDORT) model and the Line-By-Line Radiative Transfer Model (LBLRTM) were used for forward calculations. The U.S. standard atmosphere was used for atmospheric profiles. The results indicate that the aerosols caused similar effects to increases in CO2 in the planetary boundary layer and became more significant with aerosol layer rising while aerosol optical depth was 0.1. This effect will cause an over estimation of the CO2 mixing ratio in the retrieval process and an under estimation in the aerosol layer. The results also indicate that the effect of urban and industrial aerosols is smaller than that of non-absorbing and dust aerosols because of the nearly constant absorption properties in the near infrared band.
Fatigue Life Evaluation of Friction Stir Welded 7075-T651 Aluminum Alloy Joints

Aluminium 7075T651 alloys are widely used in the production of light weight structures requiring a high strength to weight ratio and high corrosion resistance. The effect of processing parameters on fatigue life of 7075-T651 aluminium joints produced by friction stir welding was investigated in the present study. Welding samples were made by employing rotating tool speed of 770, 900 and 1200 r.p.m, welding speeds of 70, 75 and 80 mm/min. After welding process, mechanical properties of samples were evaluated by means of fatigue testing machine at room temperature. Results clearly illustrated that as the tool speed decreases, fatigue life decreases. The highest fatigue life was obtained with 80mm/min welding feed and weld speed of 1200 r.p.m.