Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Time series prediction of sea surface temperature in Indian ocean by superensembling of artificial neural network output

: ANN have been used to access the predictability of the sea surface temperature in Indian ocean. Sea surface parameter is used to understand the exchange of momentum, heat,gases and moisture across air sea interface. Its knowledge is necessary to explain and predict important climate and weather processes including the summer monsoon. The objective of the study is to have time series prediction of the sea surface temperature in Indian ocean by superensembling ANN outputs . Forecasting of severe weather conditions are proposed to be carried out. The possibility of accurate weather prediction is still a distant dream for researchers. The sensitive dependence of the weather system on initial conditions does not render the system to be modeled by deterministic methods. Such systems are called chaotic systems. It may, nevertheless, be useful to have a system which may be able to predict if catastrophic events will occur even if the scientific understanding of the subject remains limited. Therefore the creation of a model with dynamical characteristics similar to the unknown model generating the time series produced by these systems could help in the prediction of such systems. Artificial Neural Network is one such system.It remains to find out the actual effect of neural network ensemble forecast on the basis of sensitivity to initial conditions of the ANN and also on the basis of topological organization as the case is with dynamical modeling. Such ensembling is called superensembling in the context of present work. It is not a priori obvious whether or not the concept of multimodelensembling has a natural significance in statistical forecasting. Does superensembling of ANN models can be equated with multimodel havensemble? A variation of the present proposal has been very recently proposed and successfully implemented. The study aimed to do multimodel ensembling by ANN models. In the context of the above study it is interesting to observe the error patterns while doing the superensembling as proposed in the present study wherein topological ensembling has been proposed.
An Approach Using Sudden Change in Geometrical Shape of a Sample for Fabricating Micro Materials Utilizing Electromigration

The utilization of electromigration of induced micro materials in passivated aluminum films was investigated. The experimental sample was a passivated polycrystalline Al line with a hole using sudden change in geometrical shape of the specimen. However, the sudden change in the geometrical shape of the metal line is considered for effective accumulation of atoms. Therefore, the microsphere inside the hole, microsphere outside the hole and large cracks were formed at the predetermined positions of the sample using sudden change in geometrical shape. The experimental results and model are explained in the discussion.
Information Frictions in the Labor Market: Evidence from a Field Experiment in Uganda∗

We study information frictions on the skills of workers during the hiring process in firms. By designing and evaluating a matching and signalling intervention between small firms and young workers in the Ugandan labor market, we provide evidence on the magnitude of these frictions, and quantify the gains to both employers and workers from increased information on skills at recruitment. We document substantial heterogeneity in the ability of firm owners to screen workers, and to react to the signalling intervention. In our Control group of matches, where no new information is revealed, firm owners of higher cognitive ability are more likely to hire workers with higher skills. In addition, high ability owners react to the information revelation by increasing hires among matched workers with a lower level of the skills being signalled. On the contrary, firm owners of lower ability do not screen workers along the skills we measure, and do not react to the new information. Our final set of results show that the intervention has persistent effects, and also impacts the outside options of workers, thus facilitating the reallocation of labor across jobs in the economy. These findings are rationalized through a screening model with symmetric information between heterogeneous firms and workers, in which both sides of the market are allowed to react to the information revelation on skills. JEL Classification: J23, J24, J46, M51, D22, D82 ∗We wish to thank Imran Rasul, Richard Blundell and Costas Meghir for their advice and support throughout this project. We also thank everyone at BRAC Uganda that has made this project possible, and in particular Jenipher Musoke and Bhuiyan Muhammad Imran. We have benefited greatly from discussions with Leon Matagi. We also thank seminar participants at UCL, IFS and Yale. Brian Kule has provided excellent research assistance. All errors remain ours. This document is an output from a project funded by the UK Department for International Development (DFID) and the Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA) for the benefit of developing countries. The views expressed are not necessarily those of DFID or IZA. †University College London and Institute for Fiscal Studies. Email: vittorio.bassi. 09@ucl.ac. uk ‡BRAC Liberia. Email: nansamba.aisha@gmail.com
Effects of Outdoor Environment on Air Exchange Rate

Indoor air quality is the chemical, physical and biological properties that indoor air must have to not cause any negative impact on occupants’ health and provide comfort: feel fresh, pleasant and stimulating. The indoor air quality is mainly determined by the indoor pollution sources and the outdoor air imported to the building. The indoor pollution sources are related to occupants, the building and their activities. The effect of the outdoor air in the indoor environment depends on its level of pollution and the amount entering the building through different ventilation systems and infiltrations. Ventilation and infiltrations are essential to ensure an optimal level of indoor air quality by refreshing the air. However, this can mean extra energy consumption because it can affect thermal comfort. Therefore, it is important to evaluate the efficiency of ventilation. One way to characterize the ventilation rate, and the amount of air entering or leaving the indoor environment, is by the air exchange rate. The air exchange rate indicates the number of times that air in a fixed space is replaced by outdoor air in one hour. This study aims to determine the changes in the air exchange rate throughout the day depending on the weather conditions in the Mechanical Engineering Department building within the university campus located in the south of Coimbra city, Portugal. In line with this purpose, the air exchange rate determined using the metabolic CO2 decay tracer gas technique, by measuring the CO2 concentration inside and outside the building during a 3-month period. Meteorological observations were obtained from a weather station set in the car park. The variations and correlations of the air exchange rate against various outdoor meteorological factors, namely temperature, dew point, barometric pressure, wind speed and direction, precipitation and solar irradiation were tested using statistical regression techniques. This paper concludes that the air exchange rate measured by the CO2 tracer gas technique in an unoccupied building depends on meteorological conditions. Almost 80% of the variation in the air exchange rate can be explained by meteorological variables such as temperature, dew point, humidity, and wind speed and direction. Other parameters that affect air exchange rate are wind direction and precipitation. In these cases, the effects are conditioned to the situation. For example, only the wind coming from the direction in which the building is exposed has a noticeable effect. The precipitation episodes have different effects. Generally, it rains in cloudy skies, which reduces the amount of solar radiation that reaches the surface of the earth and the building. Thus, it can increase photosynthesis and the production of environmental CO2 thanks to the extra contribution of water, an essential component in the respiration-photosynthesis process. All these parameters indirectly affect the air exchange rate.
Fixed-Effect Versus Random-Effects Meta-Analysis in Economics: A Study of Pass-Through Rates for Alcohol Beverage Excise Taxes

This paper compares two methods for meta-analysis: fixed-effect models and random-effects models. Both models are applied to pass-through rates of excise taxes on alcohol beverages. Using a sample of estimates from 30 primary studies, weighted means are first reported for each method and compared against a fully-passed tax or unitary rate Dispersion and heterogeneity statistics are used to assess the performance of each method. Second, means and dispersion statistics are reported by subgroups for country source; beverage (beer, wine-spirits); and published status. Third, tests are conducted for publication selection bias using funnel plots and regression asymmetry tests. Fourth, three procedures are undertaken to reduce selection bias: trim-and-fill; cumulative meta-analysis; and meta-regressions. Based on a variety of tests and procedures, three conclusions are reached. First, a random-effects model is more appropriate for these data, reflecting diverse estimates of pass-through rates. Second, pass-through rates are approximately one regardless of beverage. Third, greater attention needs to be given to the choice of model for meta-analysis in economics.
The Salamander daiSy: a novel CapTive rearing meThod For CannibaliSTiC Salamander larvae

—Salamanders are often reared in captivity to support reintroduction efforts and laboratory experiments. However, larval salamanders can experience intense competition and cannibalism in captive environments that can influence survival, morphological traits, and developmental rates. Collectively, these outcomes can reduce the effectiveness and success of conservation and research efforts. Herein, we present a novel captive rearing method for cannibalistic salamanders, the salamander daisy. Our method houses salamanders in individual chambers floating in shared water, compared to traditional methods that house salamanders either communally or in individual containers. Additionally, we compared differences in survival and body size after rearing 21 Tiger Salamanders (Ambystoma tigrinum) using a traditional method compared to salamander daisy method. Survival of A. tigrinum reared using the salamander daisy method was 2.5 times higher (95%) than using the traditional method (38%). Therefore, more animals could be available for experiments or reintroductions using our novel method. We observed no difference in mean snout-vent length (SVL) or mass between methods. However, we found that variance in SVL and mass in the traditional method was > 31 times higher than when using the salamander daisy method. Our method is simple to construct, minimizes cannibalism, and makes animal husbandry more tractable. By using our method, we hope that investigators can produce more animals that have limited variation and are standardized in morphology. Moreover, this might maximize the efficiency and success of future experiments and reintroductions of imperiled salamanders.
IMPACT OF ORGANIC MATTER AND SOIL TYPES ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF FUSARIUM WILT OF CHILLI

Chilli (Capsicum annum L.) is an important summer vegetable crop of Pakistan. It belongs to family Solanaceae (Bosland and Votava, 2000; Ziino et al., 2009). It was originated from South and Central America. In 1500 AD, it was introduced in South Asia and dominates the world’s spice trade. Its world production was assessed to be 3.47 million tones (Hussain and Abid, 2011). In Pakistan, it is cultivated on an area of 62.7 thousand hectares and total production of 150,300 tons (Bashir et al., 2016). It has high nutritional value as it contains carotene (175 μg), thiamine (0.190 mg), riboflavin (0.190 mg), niacin (0.900 mg) and vitamin C (111 mg) per 100 grams (Joshi et al., 2012). Successful production of chilli is facing numerous problems of fungal, bacterial and viral diseases owing to nonavailability of disease free seeds. Among these constrains, Fusarium wilt caused by Fusarium oxysporum (Schlect.) Emend. Synd. and Hans. f. sp. capsici Riv. is the most important one, which is a destructive soil born fungal pathogen (Matthew et al., 2006). In the world, this disease reduced $65300.00 million revenue with 48 percent disease incidence and yield losses of 100kg bags/ha (Matthew et al., 2006) while in Pakistan, the overall disease incidence is 21.9 percent in vegetables followed by 16.6 percent in hot pepper and decrease the production of 115.5 to 90.5 thousand tons during 1999-2005 (Hussain and Abid, 2011). Appearance of yellow leaves, decaying and stunting are the characteristic symptoms of Fusarium wilt of green chilli. The whole plant appears to be brown and sunken with discoloration and girdling of cankers at the base (Matthew et al., 2006). Plants wilt due to pathogen attack expressed distinct morphological appearance as compared to abiotic stress. Pathogen enters through fibrous roots from soil, its existence in xylem and phloem tissues, blocks the entire vascular system of plants (El-Kazzaz et al., 2008). Microbial communities are greatly influenced by soil types. Microconidia of Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. capsici (Foc) has different modes of damage in cultivated as well as uncultivated soils owing to the change in the density of spore and soil types. Sandy loam soils have less water holding capacity which is unsuitable for fungal growth because water is the foremost component which is deficient in sandy soils as compared to clay loam soil (Latiffah et al., 2009). Temperature has an adequate effect on the growth of soil borne pathogens. High temperature reduces the manufacturing of antimicrobial compounds such as capsaicinoids, capsicine and phenolics which provide a place for pathogen attack in the absence of these antimicrobial compounds (Estrella et al., 2003). Pak. J. Agri. Sci., Vol. 55(4), 749-753; 2018 ISSN (Print) 0552-9034, ISSN (Online) 2076-0906 DOI: 10.21162/PAKJAS/18.4987 http://www.pakjas. com.pk
Quasi-Steady Droplet Combustion with Fuel Leakage

This work addresses the soot formation problem in diffusion flames using the flame fuel leakage model developed for the droplet combustion. From the energetic point of view, soot and pollutant gases carry chemical energy not converted to heat in the flame to the ambient; the same occurs with flame fuel leakage. The parallel between soot and fuel leakage opens opportunities of using results from flame fuel leakage model to understand the effect of soot formation on the diffusion flame properties. To gain insight and to reduce the complexity of the problem, the model is based on some simplifying assumptions . One of them is reaction to be performed through a one-step mechanism with large activation energy, under which asymptotic expansion is a valid strategy to analyse the problem. The results show that the fuel leakage model can be used to describe the soot formation, but some droplet combustion properties are not well represented by the model.
RDFAdaptor: A set of ETL plugins for RDF data processing

The interdisciplinary nature and rapid development of the Semantic Web led to the mass publication of RDF data in a large number of widely accepted serialization formats, thus developing out the necessity for RDF data processing with specific purposes. So far, several solutions with relevant functional modules have been introduced. But still many requests are difficult to accomplish with minimal overhead due to the limitations of current tools or services, e.g, low integration, high use complexity, poor scalability. In this paper, the RDFAdaptor is proposed as a comprehensive RDF ETL framework for data integration and federation over multi-source heterogeneous repositories or endpoints in a rapid building and cost saving way. The RDFAdaptor can provide user interface and configuration templates which enable its usability in various applications of RDF data generation, multi-format data conversion, remote RDF data migration, and RDF graph update in semantic query process, since it comprises of a set of portable plugins. The paper discusses how the plugin set framework designed on open-source ETL tool and SPARQL 1.1 enables its access to data of different types and formats as well as manage linked data in hybrid storage mode. We demonstrate the features of the plugin set by presenting two use cases or experiments and share the lesson learnt from the practical experience.
Comparative miCrohabitat CharaCteristiCs

—We studied the microhabitat characteristics of 747 egg masses of the federally-threatened Rana draytonii (California red-legged frog) at eight sites in California. our study showed that a broad range of aquatic habitats are utilized by ovipositing R. draytonii, including sites with perennial and ephemeral water sources, natural and constructed wetlands, lentic and lotic hydrology, and sites surrounded by protected lands and nested within modified urban areas. We recorded 45 different egg mass attachment types, although the use of only a few types was common at each site. these attachment types ranged from branches and roots of riparian trees, emergent and submergent wetland vegetation, flooded upland grassland/ruderal vegetation, and debris. eggs were deposited in relatively shallow water (mean 39.7 cm) when compared to maximum site depths. We found that most frogs in artificial pond, natural creek, and artificial channel habitats deposited egg masses within one meter of the shore, while egg masses in a seasonal marsh averaged 27.3 m from the shore due to extensive emergent vegetation. Rana draytonii appeared to delay breeding in lotic habitats and in more inland sites compared to lentic habitats and coastal sites. eggs occurred as early as mid-december at a coastal artificial pond and as late as mid-april in an inland natural creek. We speculate that this delay in breeding may represent a method of avoiding high-flow events and/or freezing temperatures. Understanding the factors related to the reproductive needs of this species can contribute to creating, managing, or preserving appropriate habitat, and promoting species recovery.
Interesting paths in the mapper complex

Given a high dimensional point cloud of data with functions deﬁned on the points, the mapper algorithm produces a compact summary in the form of a simplicial complex connecting the points. We study the problem of quantifying the interestingness of subpopulations in a given mapper complex. First, we create a weighted directed graph G = ( V, E ) using the 1 -skeleton of the mapper complex. We use the average values at the vertices of a target function (dependent variable) to direct the edges from low to high values, and assign the diﬀerence (high − low) as the weight of the edge. Covariation of the remaining h functions (independent variables) is captured by a h -bit binary signature assigned to the edge. An interesting path in G is a directed path whose edges all have the same signature. The interestingness score of such a path as a sum of its edge weights multiplied by a nonlinear function of their corresponding ranks, i.e., the depths of the edges along the path. Such a nonlinear function could model application use-cases where the growth in the dependent variable values is expected to be concentrated in speciﬁc intervals of a path. Second, we study three optimization problems on this graph G to quantify interesting subpopulations. In the problem Max-IP , the goal is to ﬁnd the most interesting path in G , i.e., an interesting path with the maximum interestingness score. For the case where G is a directed acyclic graph (DAG), we show that Max-IP can be solved in polynomial time. In the more general problem IP , the goal is to ﬁnd a collection of interesting paths that are edge-disjoint, and the sum of interestingness scores of all paths is maximized. We also study a variant of IP termed k -IP , where the goal is to identify a collection of edge-disjoint interesting paths each with k edges, and the total interestingness score of all paths is maximized. While k -IP can be solved in polynomial time for k ≤ 2 , we show k -IP is NP-complete for k ≥ 3 even when G is a DAG. We develop heuristics for IP and k -IP on DAGs, which use the algorithm for Max-IP on DAGs as a subroutine. We have released open source implementations of our algorithms to ﬁnd interesting paths. We also present a detailed experimental evaluation of this software framework on a real-world maize plant phenomics data set. We use interesting paths identiﬁed on several mapper graphs to explain how the genotype and environmental factors inﬂuence the growth rate, both in isolation as well as in combinations.
10: Cloud-Resolving Studies of West Pacific Tropical Cyclones

(i) Study the predictability of TCs occurring over West Pacific using the Weather Research and Forecast (WRF) with the finest grid resolution of 1 – 2 km; (ii) examine the multiscale dynamical processes leading to TC genesis and rapid deepening; (iii) explore the roles of different physical processes, including the air-sea interaction and cloud microphysics, in determining changes in TC intensity, inner-core structures and the formation of spiral rainbands, and (iv) provide a theoretical understanding of different (e.g., vortex-Rossby, inertial-gravity, and mixed-Rossby-gravity) wave motions in TCs.
GROWTH INFLUENCE CARBON INCORPORATION RATES

--Growth is a significant contributor to tissue stable isotope incorporation rates, particularly in ectotherms. However, few data exist describing how growth affects rates of carbon incorporation during discrete periods of growth and development within a species. Here we use a bi-directional diet switch experiment to estimate carbon incorporation rates and diet-to-tissue discrimination factors in two life-stages of Desert Box Turtles (Terrapene ornata luteola) growing at different rates. The younger more rapidly growing turtles had shorter carbon half lives in plasma (34 d) and red blood cells (RBCs; 69 d), relative to older, more slowly growing animals (61 d for plasma, while carbon isotope ratios in RBCs did not achieve equilibrium). Plasma carbon turnover was minimally influenced by growth in juvenile (25% ± 7%) and sub-adult (20% ± 7%) turtles. Growth was an important driver for RBC carbon incorporation rates, accounting for 50% ± 22% in juvenile turtles. At equilibrium, diet-to-tissue discrimination factors varied in turtles feeding on a C3 plant vs. a C4 plant-based diet, a phenomenon probably related to differences in diet quality. We also found that the diet treatment affected the extent to which isotope ratios in the current diet influenced the stable isotope ratios in previously accrued growth rings (63–70% for turtles eating the C3 diet vs. 32–37% for turtles eating the C4 diet.). This study significantly adds to the comparative data available for reptiles, and increases our knowledge of how growth, developmental stage, and diet quality affect stable isotope dynamics in these organisms.