Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Study on semi-global matching algorithm extended for multi baseline matching and parallel processing method based on GPU

This paper extended semi-global matching algorithm into multi baseline matching to improve matching reliability, especially studies kernel function optimization strategies and GPU threads’ executing scheme of matching cost cube computing and aggregating, and realized its fine granularity parallel processing based on GPU. The experiment results using three UCD aerial images based on Tesla C2050 GPU showed that MVLL’s semi-global optimize algorithm can improve matching effectiveness and productiveness.
Crime and the transition to parenthood. The role of sex and relationship context

Research on desistance from crime has paid little attention to parenthood as a "turning point". In this paper, we use Norwegian register data on a population of men and women who had their first child between 1995 and 2001 (131,167 women and 127,415 men). We provide separate estimates for sex and marital status as parenthood has different implications for men and women. Their social and economic situations will also vary by marital status, which is likely to have implications for offending. We describe the changes in offending for this sample year-by-year, comparing subjects before and after child-birth. Overall, we find that the transition to parenthood is characterized by a decrease in criminal activity. There is considerable heterogeneity between women and men. The term "turning point" applies only to men who are not living with the other parent.
Quantification of Lard in the Mixture with Olive Oil in Cream Cosmetics Based on FTIR Spectra and Chemometrics for Halal Authentication

The presence of lard (LD) in cosmetics products is a serious matter for certain religion, like Islam. The Muslim community is not allowed to use cosmetics products containing pig derivatives such as LD. Therefore, analysis of LD in cosmetics products is highly needed. The present study highlighted the employment of Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy in combination with chemometrics of multivariate calibration and principle component analysis (PCA) for quantitative analysis and classification of LD in the binary mixture with extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) as oil base in cream formulations for halal authentication. The lipid component in cream was extracted using liquid-liquid extraction using hexane as extracting solvent, and the lipid obtained was subjected to FTIR spectra measurement, using horizontal attenuated total reflectance as sampling technique. The result showed that FTIR spectroscopy in combination with partial least squares can be used to quantify the levels of LD in the mixture with EVOO in cosmetics creams using the combined frequency regions of 1785-702 cm -1 and 3020-2808 cm -1 . PCA using absorbance intensities at 1200 – 1000 cm -1 as variables has been successfully used for the classification of cream with and without LD in the formulation. The developed method is rapid and not involving the excessive sample preparation.
Nest Entrance Types of Stingless Bees (Hymenoptera: Apidae) in a Tropical Dry Forest of Mid-Western Brazil

Stingless bees are a very crucial group of tropical pollinators and a model system for social insects that has gained increasing attention recently. Stingless bees of the subtribe Meliponina popularly known as ‘indigenous bees’, are represented by 400 species spread out over all tropical regions of the world, as well as in subtropical regions of the Southern Hemisphere. The Neotropical Meliponina (sensu Silveira & Melo, 2002; Melo & Gonçalves, 2005) fauna is one of the most diverse, having high abundance in the Amazon (Michener, 2007; Roubik, 1989; Nogueira-Neto, 1997; Velthuis et al., 2005; Camargo & Pedro, 2007). All species of this tribe are highly social and some are kleptoparasitic (Michener, 2007). Nesting usually takes place in pre-existing cavities (hollow trees, abandoned nests of termites, ants, birds, etc.), Abstract Characteristics of nest structure and nesting habits are useful in taxonomical, phylogenetic, and ecological studies, but for some environments this information is lacking. The external architecture of the nest entrance of native stingless bees (Apidae sensu lato: Meliponina) was studied in the Serra da Bodoquena range mountain, Brazil. Our objective was to evaluate the pattern of nesting stingless bees in a tropical dry forest and check if the structure of micro-habitat can modify the default building entrance and the type of substrate used by bees. Colonies were discovered by active search and some workers were collected on the nest entrance with entomological nets. The following characteristics of the nest were described: the substrate used, shape and color of the nest entrance, entrance height aboveground, number of bees guarding the entrance of the colony, worker defense at the nest entrance, and description “in situ” of land use in the surroundings of the colony. We assessed a total of 26 nests of six species of Meliponina bees. The observed nest frequency were: Tetragonisca fiebrigi (Schwarz, 1938) (n=13), Scaptotrigona depilis Moure, 1942 (n=6), Plebeia sp.1 (n=4), Tetragona clavipes (Fabricius, 1804), Partamona cupira (Smith, 1863), and Oxytrigona tataira (Smith, 1863) (n=1). The substrates were used in the following order of preference: hollows of living or dead trees, cavities of limestone, termite mounds, and one nest in a wooden box. We detect different patterns of construction of nest entrance in Plebeia sp.1; and observed a highest nest aggregation in open areas. Sociobiology An international journal on social insects
CHILD LABOUR, SCHOOL ATTENDANCE AND PERFORMANCE: A REVIEW

This paper reviews the issues surrounding the derivation of estimates of the impact of child labor on school outcomes. The paper aims to review the current state of methodological and empirical knowledge concerning the impact of child labor on learning, to review existing data sets that could be used to address the issues, and to highlight areas where current research is lacking. This paper is an ILO/IPEC working paper funded by a a grant from the Dept. of Labor.
Review of Capital Budgeting Techniques and Firm Size

This study examines the type of capital budgeting methods used by textile firms in Pakistan and impact of firm size on these methods. This study also investigates the relationship between the total assets of the firm and annual turnover of the firm according to primary capital budgeting technique used. Questionnaire method is used as a source of gathering primary data. SPSS is used as tool for analysis of data. Cross tabulation is applied on each variable. Chi square test is also applied to investigate the relationship between total assets of firm and total turnover of the firm according to primary capital budgeting technique used. Findings of this study reveal that net present value method and internal rate of return are two mostly used methods. Findings also show that there is no relationship between the total assets of the firms and turnover of the firm according to capital budgeting technique used by firms. These results are well supported by the literature. Keywords: Net Present Value, Chi Square, Pakistan
Opercular differential pressure as a predictor of metabolic oxygen demand in the starry flounder

The feasibility of using a differential pressure sensor connected to an acoustic telemetry device to monitor opercular activity as a correlate of oxygen consumption was investigated. Four starry flounders Platichthys stellatus were fitted with a miniature differential pressure sensor mounted close to the operculum. A cannula was connected to the sensor and inserted under the operculum, inside the branchial cavity. Measurements of oxygen consumption and opercular activity were carried out over a broad range of metabolic activity, from the post-surgery stress (high metabolic rate) to routine metabolic rate the following day. Relationships between differential pressure changes (rate and amplitude) were highly correlated with oxygen consumption (r 2 =0.74 and 0.60 respectively). The results indicate that monitoring opercular activity offers an alternative method for measuring aerobic metabolism in free-swimming fishes in nature.
Physiological quality of cowpea seeds for different periods of storage

The aim of this study was to evaluate physiological quality in the seeds of four cowpea cultivars during nine months of storage. The cowpea cultivars used were BRS Mazagao, UFRR Grao Verde, Pretinho Precoce 1 and BRS Guariba, produced intercropped with cassava in the experimental area of the Centre for Agrarian Science of the Federal University of Roraima, in Boa Vista. After harvest, the seeds were dried, hand cleaned, placed in PET bottles and stored for nine months at a temperature of 23 oC and a relative humidity of 60% at the Seed Analysis Laboratory of Embrapa Roraima. Data analysis was carried out in a completely randomised design, in a 4 x 4 factorial scheme with eight replications. The physiological quality of the seeds was evaluated at the start of storage, and after 3, 6 and 9 months, for germination, first germination count, 1000-seed weight, moisture, electrical conductivity, speed of emergence, seedling field emergence and water gain. Physiological quality in the seeds of BRS Guariba is influenced by the storage period. Irrespective of storage period, seeds of the Mazagao cultivar show superior physiological quality in relation to the other cultivars. Seeds of the BRS Guariba and Grao Verde cultivars show a reduction in physiological quality after three months of storage.
Adaptive Fault Tolerance: Is ROS a Relevant Executive Support ?

Every system evolves in operation. A system that remains dependable when facing changes (new threats, failures, updates) is called resilient. We present advantages of Component-Based Software Engineering technologies for tackling a crucial aspect of resilient computing, namely the on-line adaptation of fault tolerance mechanisms. Then we show how this approach can be implemented on ROS, presently used for robotic and automotive applications, e.g. ADAS. We give some implementation details and result of different experiments to validate the solution. We finally report the lessons learned and the future work targeting resilient computing for automotive applications.
Defining unemployment in developing countries: The case of Trinidad and Tobago

The International Labour Organisation (ILO) argues for relaxing the standard definition of unemployment in developing countries where labour markets are not as efficient as those in the developed world. We examine whether such an extension of the standard definition is appropriate in the case of Trinidad and Tobago. Specifically, we use individual behaviour to classify persons into labour market states, rather than a priori criteria like job search. The Trinidad and Tobago Continuous Survey Sample of Population provides data uniquely suited to this purpose. Our results indicate that in Trinidad and Tobago males, who under the standard criteria would be considered out of the labour force because they report willingness to work but are not currently searching for a job, are appropriately classified as unemployed. Further evidence suggests that this may be because job search may not be as meaningful in rural as it is in urban areas. Outline
Questioning the Influence of Sunspots on Amazon Hydrology: Even a Broken Clock Tells the Right Time Twice a Day

It was suggested in a recent article that sunspots drive decadal variation in Amazon River flow. This conclusion was based on a novel time series decomposition method used to extract a decadal signal from the Amazon River record. We have extended this analysis back in time, using a new hydrological proxy record of tree ring oxygen isotopes (δ18OTR). Consistent with the findings of Antico and Torres, we find a positive correlation between sunspots and the decadal δ18OTR cycle from 1903 to 2012 (r = 0.60, p < 0.001). However, the relationship does not persist into the preceding century and even becomes weakly negative (r = −0.30, p = 0.11, 1799–1902). This result casts considerable doubt over the mechanism by which sunspots are purported to influence Amazon hydrology.
Socioeconomic determinants of health enhancing expenditure among the elderly in Malaysia: An ethnic comparison

The objective of this study is to examine the effects of socioeconomic factors on consumption of health-enhancing goods and services among different ethnicities of the elderly in Malaysia. The Third National Health and Morbidity Survey (NHMS III) comprising 4573 respondents (aged ≥ 60) is used for analysis.The results suggest that age, income, gender, education and location of residence are significantly associated with consumption of health-enhancing goods and services.Specifically, there are negative relationships between the likelihood of consuming health-enhancing goods and services and older individuals, lower income earners, males, the less-educated, and rural dwellers.Based on these findings, several intervention strategies toward promoting the consumption of health-enhancing goods and services are suggested.
Thermodynamic basis of capillary pressure in porous media

Important features of multiphase flow in porous media that distinguish it from single-phase flow are the presence of interfaces between the fluid phases and of common lines where three phases come in contact. Despite this fact, mathematical descriptions of these flows have been lacking in rigor, consisting primarily of heuristic extensions of Darcy's law that include a hysteretic relation between capillary pressure and saturation and a relative permeability coefficient. As a result, the standard capillary pressure concept appears to have physically unrealistic properties. The present paper employs microscopic mass and momentum balance equations for phases and interfaces to develop an understanding of capillary pressure at the microscale. Next, the standard theories and approaches that define capillary pressure at the macroscale are described and their shortcomings are discussed. Finally, an approach is presented whereby capillary pressure is shown to be an intrinsic property of the system under study. In particular, the presence of interfaces and their distribution within a multiphase system are shown to be essential to describing the state of the system. A thermodynamic approach to the definition of capillary pressure provides a theoretically sound alternative to the definition of capillary pressure as a simple hysteretic function of saturation.
Using Big Data Analysis to Improve Cache Performance in Search Engines

Web Search Engines process huge amounts of data to sup- port search but must run under strong performance requirements (to answer a query in a fraction of a second). To meet that performance they implement dierent optimization techniques such as caching, that may be implemented at several levels. One of these caching levels is the intersection cache, that attempts to exploit frequently occurring pairs of terms by keeping in the memory of the search node the results of in- tersecting the corresponding inverted lists. In this work we propose an optimization step to decide which items should be cached and which not by introducing the usage of data mining techniques. Our preliminary re- sults show that it is possible to achieve extra cost savings in this already hyper-optimized eld.
Experimental Study of Photovoltaic Thermal-Thermoelectric (PVT-TE) Air Collector

In this study, an experimental study has been conducted to determine the performance of the photovoltaic thermal- thermoelectric air collector (PVT-TE) hybrid system. Hybrid system consists of photovoltaic panel (PV) and thermoelectric modules (TEs) that can improve the energy efficiency of the system. The results of output temperature (To) and plate temperature (Tp) obtained from the experiment have been used to determine the performance of this hybrid system. Effect of mass flow rate and radiation intensity is also being investigated. Experimental studies were carried out at 0.02 kg/s and 0.09 kg/s which represent minimum and maximum of mass flow rate, and radiation intensities in the range of 268-922 W/m2.
Essays on money and information

ESSAYS ON MONEY AND INFORMATION Luis Araujo Randall Wright Social Norms and Money In an economy where there is no double coincidence of wants and no record-keeping of past transactions, money is usually seen as the only mechanism that can support exchange. In this paper we show that, as long as the population is finite and agents are sufficiently patient, a social norm establishing gift-exchange can substitute for money. However, for a given discount factor, population growth leads to the breakdown of the social norm. Additionally, increases in the degree of specialization in the economy can also eventually undermine the social norm equilibrium. By contrast, a monetary equilibrium exists independent of the population size or specialization. We conclude that, while social norms can support efficient exchange in economies with small populations and limited specialization, money is essential in economies without these features. Monetary Equilibrium with Decentralized Trade and Learning We consider an environment where trade is decentralized and agents only obtain information about the state of the economy (the monetary regime) through private histories. We characterize the dynamics of the market under different regimes and show that changes in the degree of information transmission in the economy reduce the bank’s willingness to choose a soft monetary regime. We also study the intertemporal consistency of the bank’s behavior. We show that in order for patient banks to choose a tight regime they must not only be concerned with building a good reputation, but also with maintaining their good reputation by behaving in such a way as to differentiate themselves from impatient banks.
Evidence of predation in two species of the Colobopsis cylindrica group (Hymenoptera: Formicidae: Camponotini)

The complex ecology and nutrition of “exploding” ants of the Colobopsis cylindrica group (COCY) is still poorly understood. Hitherto, this group of ants was thought to feed mainly on phylloplane biofilms with only scarce observations of carnivorous behaviour. This study focusses on observations and behavioural experiments conducted on Colobopsis badia and Colobopsis leonardi, two species native to Thailand. In experiments with C. leonardi, we investigated recognition and acceptance of diverse arthropod prey, as well as its mode of transport into the nest. In addition, preliminary data on C. badia were collected. We present the first recorded instances of predation for these species and discuss our findings in the light of previously published hypotheses on COCY nutrition and behaviour.
THE IMPACT OF GOVERNMENT SUBSIDIES ON THE OFF-FARM LABOR SUPPLY OF FARM OPERATORS

In addition to farm work, most farm families have someone working in off-farm employment. The purpose of this paper is to examine if, and how, the change in the nature of government farm programs in the recent past has affected the labor allocation of farm operator households to off-farm employment activities. The ultimate goal of this research is to investigate the potential impacts of decoupled payments on farm output.
Gas-solid phase equilibrium of biosubstances by two biological algorithms

Particle swarm optimization (PSO) and genetic algorithm (GA) are applied to the gas-solid phase equilibrium of biosubstances and to estimate their sublimation pressures (P s ). Four binary systems of supercritical carbon dioxide + biosubstances are considered in this study. The Peng‐ Robinson equation-of-state with the Wong‐Sandler mixing rules, are used as a thermodynamic model to evaluate the fugacity coefficients in the classical solubility equation, and the van Laar model was incorporated to evaluate the excess Gibbs free energy included in the mixing rules. Then, the P s is calculated from regression analysis of solubility data (y). P s is usually small for most solid biosubstances and in many cases available experimental techniques cannot be used to obtain accurate values. Therefore, estimation methods must be used to obtain these data. PSO and GA are used for minimize the difference between calculated and experimental solubility. Comparing PSO with GA, it is shown that the results of PSO are better than that of GA, and provide a preferable method to estimate y and P s of any biosubstances with
IMPACT OF WEATHER FACTORS ON POPULATION ABUNDANCE OF BRINJAL FRUIT AND SHOOT BORER, LEUCINODES ORBONALIS (GUENEE) IN RED LATERITIC ZONE OF WEST BENGAL

Brinjal (Solanum melongena L.) is an important solanaceous crop grown during Kharif or summer season throughout the India. The crop occupies an important position among the other regular vegetables crops grown throughout the country. A number of insect pests viz flea beetle, Peylliodes brettinghami Maulik; jassids, Amrasca devastans Dist. ; Epilachna beetle, Epilachna spp. ; fruits and shoot borer, Leucinodes orbonalis Guenee and aphids, Aphis gossypii Glover (Shukla and Khatri, 2010a) are reported to attack the crop at different growth stages of plant. Among them, the borer insect (L. orbonalis) is considered to be major limiting factor (Patnaik et al., 2010) causing extensive damage to crop to the tune of 2080% (Raju et al., 2007) both at vegetative and reproductive stages (Banerjee et al., 2009; Panja et al., 2013). Controlling the insect is very difficult as after hatching the borer larvae enter into the plant tissue within a very short period of time. Unaware about the typical nature of this insect, the brinjal growers apply insecticides indiscriminately with an average of 15-20 rounds of spray to minimize the borer infestation during crop growth period (Nayak et al., 2014). This is resulted in increased cost of production, adverse effects on the environment, destruction of natural enemies and development of pesticidal resistance in the insect (Mathur et al., 2012). Hence, the synchronization of insecticidal application and presence of neonate larvae on plant surface is very much crucial for successful control of the pest. Regular monitoring on seasonal incidence of pest is urgently needed as the insect may complete several generations in a crop growing season. Therefore, an investigation was carried out to study the population dynamics of this noxious insect during different crop growth periods under the influence of surrounding environment.
Evaluation of six sample preparation methods for determination of trace metals in lubricating oils using inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectrometry

Quantification of trace elements in used lubricating oil forms a vital part in monitoring engine conditions and impact on the environment. In this study, inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES) was employed for the determination of Ag, Ba, Cu, Mn and Ni in used lubricating oils. Methodology was developed so as to minimize the oil’s carbonaceous matter and its effect on viscosity.Accordingly, six oil sample preparation techniques (xylene dilution, detergent emulsion, microwave digestion, dry-ashing, wet-ashing and ultrasonic extraction) were investigated for their efficiency. Optimization of the factors influencing ultrasonic-assisted extraction and ICP-OES operating parameters enabled quantification of the trace metals in oils. Limits of detection (3 S b /m), in the ng g –1 range, were obtained for each element of interest using each method investigated. The validity of the methodologies studied was confirmed through the analysis of quality control (QC) samples. Analyte recoveries, ranging from 48.3 to 106 %, were obtained. Evaluation of the analytical methods studied with regard to accuracy, precision, LOD, linearity, applicability for routine analysis, preparation time and cost was made. Based on these evaluations, ultrasonic extraction has a clear advantage in terms of accuracy, applicability for routine analysis, time and cost of sample preparation. KEYWORDS Lubricating oil, ICP-OES, optimization.