Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A global survey of cloud overlap based on CALIPSO and CloudSat measurements

Abstract. Using 2B-CLDCLASS-LIDAR (radar–lidar) cloud classification and 2B-FLXHR-LIDAR radiation products from CloudSat over 4 years, this study evaluates the co-occurrence frequencies of different cloud types, analyzes their along-track horizontal scales and cloud radiative effects (CREs), and utilizes the vertical distributions of cloud types to evaluate cloud-overlap assumptions. The statistical results show that high clouds, altostratus (As), altocumulus (Ac) and cumulus (Cu) tend to coexist with other cloud types. However, stratus (St) (or stratocumulus, Sc), nimbostratus (Ns) and convective clouds are much more likely to exhibit individual features than other cloud types. On average, altostratus-over-stratus/stratocumulus cloud systems have a maximum horizontal scale of 17.4 km, with a standard deviation of 23.5 km. Altocumulus-over-cumulus cloud types have a minimum scale of 2.8 km, with a standard deviation of 3.1 km. By considering the weight of each multilayered cloud type, we find that the global mean instantaneous net CREs of multilayered cloud systems during the daytime are approximately −41.3 and −50.2 W m−2, which account for 40.1 and 42.3% of the global mean total net CREs at the top of the atmosphere (TOA) and at the surface, respectively. The radiative contributions of high-over-altocumulus and high-over-stratus/stratocumulus (or cumulus) in the all multilayered cloud systems are dominant due to their frequency. Considering the overlap of cloud types, the cloud fraction based on the random overlap assumption is underestimated over vast oceans, except in the west-central Pacific Ocean warm pool. Obvious overestimations mainly occur over tropical and subtropical land masses. In view of a lower degree of overlap than that predicted by the random overlap assumption to occur over the vast ocean, particularly poleward of 40° S, the study therefore suggests that a linear combination of minimum and random overlap assumptions may further improve the predictions of actual cloud fractions for multilayered cloud types (e.g., As + St/Sc and Ac + St/Sc) over the Southern Ocean. The establishment of a statistical relationship between multilayered cloud types and the environmental conditions (e.g., atmospheric vertical motion, convective stability and wind shear) would be useful for parameterization design of cloud overlap in numerical models.
Common Loon, Gavia immer , Breeding Success in Relation to Lake pH and Lake Size Over 25 Years

I monitored Common Loon ( Gavia immer ) breeding success in relation to lake pH (range 4.0–8.5) between 1982 and 2007 on 38 single-pair lakes (5–88 ha) in the Sudbury, Ontario, area. No chicks fledged on lakes with pH < 4.4. Chicks fledged on lakes with slightly higher pH only if the lakes were relatively large. Acidic lakes became less acidic as sulphur dioxide emissions from the Sudbury smelters and sulphur deposition from other long-range sources decreased. Two lakes initially too acidic to support successful loon reproduction eventually had successful reproduction. One loon pair used two large acidic lakes (combined area 140 ha) connected by shallow rapids, and one of the adults made extremely long dives (average = 99 s) while foraging for the chicks. One chick died on that lake after apparently ingesting a very large food item; the lack of smaller items was attributed to the lake’s acidity. My results suggest that a shortage of food for chicks is the main reason why low pH reduces breeding success. I suggest that, for lakes without high levels of dissolved organic carbon (DOC), the critical pH for loon breeding success is approximately 4.3, and the suboptimal pH is approximately 4.4–6.0.
Ownership Structure and Earnings Management Practices of Nigerian Companies

The ownership of a business is a major factor in its survival and progress rate. It is assumed that the going concern nature of a business depends solely on its ownership structure which may also be determined by its size and capital base. Reviewing the financial reports of 137 sampled companies, this study examined the role of ownership structure on earnings management practices of Nigerian companies. Earnings management was measured using the magnitude of the discretionary accruals. The study tested the effect of ownership structure on earnings management. The OLS regression technique was used to measure the research model as well as the Pearson Moment Correlation Coefficient. The study shows that ownership structure has a significant relationship with earnings management practices in Nigeria. It further revealed that there is a positive significant relationship between management ownership and family ownership with earnings management. Also, there is a negative significant relationship between block ownership with earnings management practices in Nigeria. This study recommends that business regulators at all levels should monitor the ownership structure of companies operating in Nigeria.
Understanding Aspects of Individual and Collaborative Skill Acquisition in Face-to-Face and Distance Training Situations

Abstract : Programmatic learning and transfer studies were conducted in co-located and distributed contexts to investigate team-level acquisition of knowledge, use of communication, and establishment and maintenance of trust in complex simulations of military tasks. In these studies, team training occurred in co-located or in distributed contexts, and testing occurred in the same or in an opposite context. Across studies, team performance in distributed contexts was greater than for co-located teams. At initial transfer, all teams showed performance decrements but performance subsequently improved. Results for communication conditions revealed physical context effects at transfer. Results of team-level antecedents to trust, propensity to trust, and trust behaviors indicate that team trust can be built equally well in co-located or in distributed situations if team members are confident in their ability and competence in doing their tasks. Overall, improvements in both training and learning theory are suggested by identifying several variables that affect team performance in context.
Pliocene climate variability on Milankovitch to millennial time scales : A high-resolution study of MIS 100 from the Mediterranean

Astronomically tuned high-resolution climatic proxy records across marine oxygen isotope stage 100 (MIS100) from the Italian Monte San Nicola section and ODP Leg 160 Hole 967A are presented. These records reveal a complex pattern of climate fluctuations on both Milankovitch and sub-Milankovitch timescales that oppose or reinforce one another. Planktonic and benthic foraminiferal dO records of San Nicola depict distinct stadial and interstadial phases superimposed on the saw-tooth pattern of this glacial stage. The duration of the stadial–interstadial alterations closely resembles that of the Late Pleistocene Bond cycles. In addition, both isotopic and foraminiferal records of San Nicola reflect rapid changes on timescales comparable to that of the Dansgard–Oeschger (D–O) cycles of the Late Pleistocene. During stadial intervals winter surface cooling and deep convection in the Mediterranean appeared to be more intense, probably as a consequence of very cold winds entering the Mediterranean from the Atlantic or the European continent. The high-frequency climate variability is less clear at Site 967, indicating that the eastern Mediterranean was probably less sensitive to surface water cooling and the influence of the Atlantic climate system. Concomitant changes in the colour reflectance of ODP Site 967 and the calcium carbonate record of San Nicola probably indicate that part of the high-frequency climate variability (3–5 kyr) in the eastern Mediterranean is related to changes in Saharan dust supply. Evidently, enhanced dust deposition in the Mediterranean correlates with the cold intervals of the millennial-scale D–O oscillations suggesting that the Atlantic pressure system may have played a critical role in varying the wind strength and/or aridification of northern Africa. D 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Investigation of tablettability and drug release properties of ethyl cellulose

The purpose of the present research is to investigate systematically the tablettability and drug release properties of ethyl cellulose (EC) in compact form. A total of nine batches of compacts containing metformin hydrochloride (MTF) as model drug and ECs with varying viscosity grades (7, 10, and 100 cps) at 10, 20 and 30% w/w contents were prepared. Profound effect of viscosity grades and content of EC on compression behavior of granules and drug release from compacted matrices was observed. An increase in EC 7 cps content resulted improvement in tensile strength and compactibility. However, compression susceptibility gets inversely affected. EC 7 cps has shown MTF release, which is extended upto 10 hours (t90%), attributed to high interparticulate interactions. Similar trend was observed with both EC 10 cps (t90%; upto 13 hours) and 100 cps (t90%; upto 10 hours). Surprising results were observed for matrices of EC 10 cps at 20% w/w, which showed moderate compactibility and tensile strength, but extended the MTF release for maximum time among all compact formulations (t90%; 13 hours; peppas model). These results show the use of EC 10 cps in formulations desired for extended drug release at its optimum content. Matrices containing EC 100 cps have shown better compressibility and compactibility among all batches. The anomalous behavior of high viscosity EC (at 20% w/w content) matrices releasing drug in shorter time (t90%, 8 hours; zero order) can be ascribed to poor matrixing of MTF in EC network due to high molecular weight of EC 100 cps.
Student Engagement: A Successful Approach to Teaching and Learning in a Third-level Engineering Module at the University of KwaZulu-Natal 1

The range of outcomes evident in student learning often signals a variety of teaching and learning approaches. In an attempt to address the needs of a large and diverse student body in a high-risk module at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, a teaching and learning approach quite different from the traditional lecture-style approach was introduced. The study reported in this article focused on a third-year civil engineering module where the lecturer used a combination of weekly plenary sessions and interactive group sessions to encourage interaction among students and between students and staff. The research question for the study was, ‘What effect do increased studentstudent and staff-student interaction and engagement have on student confidence, motivation and academic success? ’ Interviews, observations and final module marks were used to generate the data that were used to answer the research question. Findings from the qualitative study indicate improved student confidence and motivation. Analysis of the final module marks established that this approach supports academic success. The findings have implications for research and practice particularly at UKZN as they show that implementing and researching innovative practices has enabled the establishment of better teaching and learning environments that have the derived benefit of improved pass rates.
Investigating factors influencing women‟s inclination in adopting managerial positios in Iranian higher education

The objective of this study is to investigate the impact of multiple roles, leadership aspiration and Organizational Barriers on women‟s inclination in adopting managerial positions in Iranian universities. Survey data were collected from 135 women faculty members in top Ten Iranian Universities. Structural equation modeling was used to examine the hypothesized model, and hierarchical regression analysis was conducted to test the interaction effects. it was found that faculties‟ career role salience is positively related to their leadership aspiration and faculties‟ perceived work-family conflict is negatively related to their leadership aspiration. lower levels of leadership aspiration, in turn, resulted in faculties‟ inclination in adopting managerial positions. In addition, the effect of career role salience on leadership aspiration was found to be moderated by family role salience. so the positive relationship between career role salience and leadership aspiration will be stronger for employees with lower family role salience, compared to those with higher family role salience. Moreover, the effect of leadership aspiration on faculties‟ inclination in adopting managerial positions was found to be moderated by perceived organizational barriers. so the negative relationship between leadership aspiration and women‟s inclination in adopting managerial positions will be stronger for faculties who have higher perception of organizational barriers, compared to those with lower perception of organizational barriers.
Architectural Scene Construction Model Based on Adaptive Error Correction RANSAC Algorithm

This paper proposes an architectural scene construction model based on adaptive error correction RANSAC (random sample consensus) algorithm. Firstly, SIFT algorithm is used to perform initial matching on the feature point of two frames in architecture scene. Secondly, extreme value detection on DoG space is conducted to locate the position of the feature point and its location scale. Thirdly, the principal curvature is calculated by using Hessian matrix to remove the unstable marginal answering point. Fianally, RANSAC algorithm is used to remove the mismatching point, then, the adaptive error is corrected through polar geometric principle so that the accuracy of RANSAC algorithm can be improved. Simulations show the improved model proposed in this paper has better anti-noise performance and higher point-matching accuracy.
Assessment of genetic variation among populations of Rhynchostylis retusa, an epiphytic orchid from Goa, India using ISSR and RAPD markers

Rhynchostylis retusa (L.) Bl. , a monopodial epiphytic orchid species with attractive flowers arranged in racemose inflorescence, ranks among the important Indian ornamental orchids. Comparative population studies using PCR based markers, RAPD and ISSR, were performed to assess the genetic diversity of the wild orchid. Among the 35 primers tested, 13 RAPD and 7 ISSR primers were selected for the analysis. In total, 74 RAPD and 30 ISSR fragments were generated. High level of polymorphism was recorded in RAPD (76.13%) than ISSR (62.6%). In case of RAPD, Nei’s average genetic identities value for different populations of R. retusa ranged from 0.405 to 0.932. While for ISSR, it ranged from 0.733 to 0.933. The results of the present study can be seen as starting point for future research on the population and evolutionary genetics of this species.
Fault-Proneness of Open Source Systems: An Empirical Analysis

Developing quality software is a very complex job considering the complexity and size of software developed these days. Early prediction of software quality assists in optimizing testing resources. Many fault prediction models have been developed using several internal attributes and different machine learning techniques. However, the open-source community still lacks a concise knowledge about what types of internal attributes affect the software quality the most. In this work, an empirical investigation is conducted to explore the relationships between internal attributes of open-source systems and their fault-proneness. The results of the empirical analysis showed that by selecting only nine internal attributes, the fault prediction models accuracy did not decrease significantly. This indicates that only a subset of these internal attributes is worth collection and investigation. By focusing on a small set of internal attributes, the quality assurance team can save time and resources while achieving high accuracy fault- proneness predictions.
Investigating the Impact of Distributed Generators Power Factor to Simultaneous Optimization Analysis

This paper discusses the optimal Distributed Generator (DG) coordination using the Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) technique where the DG output and location are determined simultaneously. Furthermore, this study analyzes both single DG and multiple DGs configurations. The influence of DG Power Factor (PF) to the optimal DG placement and the DG output are investigated by varying the DG PF values. Specifically, the PF were configured to five values, which are 0.8, 0.85, 0.9, 0.95 and 1.0. From the results, the optimal DG placements are similar, regardless of the PF condition. For example, in the single DG unit experiment, the optimal DG location is at bus 6 whilst in the triple DG units test, the optimal locations are at busses 14, 24, and 30. In contrast, the value of PF significantly influences the optimal DG output and power loss reduction. This study concludes that the design with three DGs where their PFs are configured to 0.8 has the least power loss.
Modulating microfibrillar alignment and growth factor stimulation to regulate MSC differentiation for interface tissue engineering

Trinity Centre for Bioengineering, Trinity Biomedical Sciences Institute, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin 2, Ireland. Department of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering, School of Engineering, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin 2, Ireland Tissue Engineering Research Group, Department of Anatomy, Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, Dublin 2, Ireland Advanced Materials and Bioengineering Research Centre (AMBER), Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland and Trinity College Dublin, Dublin 2, Ireland
Genetic relationships between nine Annona muricata L. accessions using RAPD markers

Introduction. Annona muricata L. is a fruit tree species of tropical origin whose fruit, the soursop, although having great potential, is not commercially exploited enough. So there is little information on this species and, in particular, on its germplasm characterization. Consequently, the purpose of our study was to estimate the genetic variability between nine soursop accessions using the RAPD marker technique. Materials and methods. By means of RAPD analysis, using the Jaccard's coefficient, a similarity matrix was generated between nine accessions, seven of them collected in Venezuela and two in Brazil. With these, a phenogram was obtained using UPGMA clustering analysis. The ordering of the accessions was also achieved by means of a principal component analysis. Results. Seventeen RAPD fragments were obtained, of which 14 were polymorphic. Average similarity was 0.5333, and ranged from 0.2627 to 1.000. The phenogram identified two groups, equal to principal coordinates analysis. The Venezuelan accessions showed more variability when compared with the Brazilian ones (Jaccard's coefficient of 0.5038 and 0.5442, respectively). Discussion. Compared with other studies on various fruit trees, that carried out here on A. muricata underlined a great genetic variability. The situation is thus favorable to undertake in Venezuela a breeding program in this still under-exploited fruit species.
Simulation of dynamic behavior of quasi-brittle materials with new rate dependent damage model

Stress-based nonlocal model, Damage, Rate dependency, Dynamic crack-branching Abstract. In concrete often complex fracture and fragmentation patterns develop when subjected to high straining loads. The proper simulation of the dynamic cracking process in concrete is crucial for good predictions of the residual bearing capacity of structures in the risk of being exposed to extraordinary events like explosions, high velocity impacts or earthquakes. As it is well known, concrete is a highly rate dependent material. Experimental and numerical studies indicate that the evolution of damage is governed by complex phenomena taking place simultaneously at different material scales, i.e. micro, meso and macro-scales. Therefore, the constitutive law, and its rate dependency, must be adjusted to the level of representation. For a proper phenomenological (macroscopic) representation of the reality, the constitutive law has to explicitly describe all phenomena taking place at the lower material scales. Macro-scale inertia effects are implicitly simulated by the equation of motion. In the current paper, dynamic crack propagation and branching is studied with a new rate-dependent stress-based nonlocal damage model. The definition of rate in the constitutive law is changed to account for the inherent meso-scale structural inertia effects. This is accomplished by a new concept of effective rate which governs the dynamic delayed response of the material to variations of the deformation (strain) rate, usually described as micro-inertia effects. The proposed model realistically simulates dynamic crack propagation and crack branching phenomena in concrete.
A projection scheme for incompressible multiphase flow using adaptive Eulerian grid

This paper presents a finite element method for incompressible multiphase flows with capillary interfaces based on a (formally) second‐order projection scheme. The discretization is on a fixed Eulerian grid. The fluid phases are identified and advected using a level set function. The grid is temporarily adapted around the interfaces in order to maintain optimal interpolations accounting for the pressure jump and the discontinuity of the normal velocity derivatives. The least‐squares method for computing the curvature is used, combined with piecewise linear approximation to the interface. The time integration is based on a formally second order splitting scheme. The convection substep is integrated over an Eulerian grid using an explicit scheme. The remaining generalized Stokes problem is solved by means of a formally second order pressure‐stabilized projection scheme. The pressure boundary condition on the free interface is imposed in a strong form (pointwise) at the pressure‐computation substep. This allows capturing significant pressure jumps across the interface without creating spurious instabilities. This method is simple and efficient, as demonstrated by the numerical experiments on a wide range of free‐surface problems. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
The Application of Model of Input and Output Transformations in Measuring Business Performance

Performance is a term which we use in everyday life. One of the areas of its application is business performance, which is the subject of our research. Business performance depends on a number of factors. There are also several methods in theory how to measure business performance. The aim of this paper was to point out the possibility of the application of matrix model as one of the modern methods of performance measurement. This method provides opportunities for various calculations and economic analysis. In this paper we applied one of them – the model of input and output transformations applying simplex method of linear programming. We used the model of input and output transformations for the calculation of business efficiency. Our goal was to use this model for the calculation of business performance and to highlight the fact that efficiency and performance are related, or even they have the same meaning. We applied Spearman`s rank correlation coefficient to confirm the match of rankings of business performance and efficiency. We found out that there is relationship between performance and efficiency. With the use of mentioned approach we can calculate performance of individual businesses or industry and we can also formulate solutions for performance enhancement.
FACE RECOGNITION USING PCA, LDA AND VARIOUS DISTANCE CLASSIFIERS

Face recognition has become a major field of interest these days. Face recognition algorithms are used in a wide range of applications such as security control, crime investigation, and entrance control in buildings, access control at automatic teller machines, passport verification, identifying the faces in a given databases. This paper discusses different steps involved in face recognition using Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and Linear Discriminant Analysis (LDA) and the different distance measures that can be used in face recognition