Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Overstromingsrisico's in Nederland in een veranderend klimaat: Verwachtingen, schattingen en berekeningen voor het project Nederland Later

Het Milieu- en Natuurplanbureau (MNP) werkt aan een 2e Duurzaamheidsverkenning voor Nederland. In dat kader wordt onder meer nagegaan wat de klimaatverandering betekent  of zou moeten betekenen  voor de ruimtelijke ontwikkelingen in Nederland: Nederland Later. Een van de vragen daarbij is of, hoe, in welke mate en op welk moment de Nederlandse overheid de ruimtelijke ordening (veel) meer moet laten leiden door overwegingen van overstromingsrisicobeheersing. Daartoe zijn MNP en Delft Hydraulics (WL) gezamenlijk nagegaan hoe het risico zich ontwikkelt bij ongewijzigd beleid (referentiescenarios) en wat de consequenties zijn van enkele strategische beleidsalternatieven. De ontwikkeling van het risico is gekwantificeerd voor de periode tot 2040, maar gezien het feit dat de klimaatverandering en zeespiegelstijging dan nog lang zullen doorgaan en het ruimtegebruik niet snel en makkelijk valt te veranderen, wordt de ontwikkeling geplaatst in een lange-termijnperspectief. Het onderhavige rapport gaat in op de volgende vragen: . Wat betekent de klimaatverandering en zeespiegelstijging voor de beleidsopgave inzake overstromingsrisicos op korte en lange termijn? Hoe groot is het overstromingsrisico op dit moment en hoe ontwikkelt het zich tot 2040, uitgaande van ongewijzigd beleid en een groeiende bevolking en economie? Welke strategische beleidsalternatieven (opties) kunnen tegen die achtergrond worden onderscheiden en welke implicaties hebben deze?
DeepWind , 19 – 20 January 2012 , Trondheim , NORWAY Modelling the e ff ect of ocean waves on the atmospheric and ocean boundary layers

Ocean waves, in addition to generating direct forces on fixed and floating offshore wind generator structures, also have significant indirect effects via their influence on the atmospheric and oceanic boundary layers above and below the water surface. In the atmospheric boundary layer the waves act as roughness elements, influencing the turbulent flow and the vertical wind speed profile, and induce oscillatory motions in the airflow. Spray droplets from breaking wave crests enhance structure corrosion, and may lead to icing under low-temperature conditions. Below the water surface, the air-sea momentum flux and mechanical energy flux, mediated by the waves and wave-generated turbulence, affect the vertical profiles of ocean current, temperature, and salinity. Effects include modifying the structural forces and dynamics, and the movement and dispersion of marine organisms, pollutants, and air bubbles generated by breaking waves, with consequences for fouling, corrosion, and environmental impact. Measurement of relevant airflow and ocean dynamical variables is also challenging, as near the water surface it is often necessary to use instruments mounted on moving measurement platforms. Modelling such boundary-layer effects is a complex task, as a result of feedbacks between the airflow, wave field, current field, and turbulence in the atmosphere and the ocean. We present results from a coupled model study of the North Sea and Norwegian Sea area. We employ a mesoscale atmosphere model (WRF) and a spectral wave model (WAM), running simultaneously and coupled using the open-source coupler MCEL which can interpolate between different model grids and time steps. To investigate the ocean boundary layer, one-dimensional model experiments were performed for an idealized Ekman layer and for locations in the North Sea, Atlantic Ocean, and the northern Pacific, using a version of the GOTM turbulence model, modified to take wave dynamics into account. Results show how the wave field alters the ocean’s aerodynamic roughness and the air–sea momentum flux, depending on the relation between the surface wind speed and the propagation speed of the wave crests (the wave age). These effects will feed back into the airflow, wind speed and turbulence profile in the boundary layer. The ocean dynamics experiments showed results which compare favourably with field observations from the LOTUS3 and PROVESS experiments in the north Atlantic and North Sea, and Ocean Weather Station Papa in the Pacific Ocean.
Synthesis and Characterization of Co(II) and Cu(II) Pyrophosphate Coordination Complexes for Treatment of Pathogenic Agents.

Candidiasis, the yeast infection of the mouth, genitals, and blood can be fatal in individuals who are immunocompromised. In humans, Candidiasis is most commonly caused by the yeast, Candida albicans (C. albicans), but can also be caused by other Candida species . C. albicans demonstrates marked resistance towards Cu(II) but more sensitivity towards Co(II) compounds, especially in mutants that lack the CaCRP1 and CaCUP1 gene that encodes for the copper-transporting P-type ATPase and Metallothionein proteins, respectively. Here, I will describe the effects of Co(II) and Cu(II) metal based complexes that incorporate a bridging pyrophosphate (PPi) moiety. Currently, we are exploring potential mechanisms of copper resistance and cobalt sensitivity in C. albicans. We hope that in doing so, we can deepen our understanding of the nature of C. albicans sensitivity and shed more light on potential development of therapeutics. The main focus of this report will focus on the relationship between Co(II) and Cu(II) during in vitro assays of C. albicans clinical isolates to measure growth and metal retention in C. albicans.
IFRS Adoption and Financial Reporting Quality: Taiwan Experience

Taiwan’s financial accounting regulatory amendment directions shift the framework from the U.S. GAAP-based to International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS)-based to accelerate the pace of progress towards convergence with IFRS. In the amendment process, the converge outcomes of earnings quality become an important and urgent issue. The purpose of this study is to investigate the converge impacts on reporting quality over 1999 to 2009, which divided into three timeframes: the U.S. GAAP-based era ranging from 1999-2005, the IFRS convergence era ranging from 2006-2007, and the preparation period of IFRS adoption ranging from 2008-2009. Two criteria of reporting quality is included: value relevance and the magnitude of earnings management. The empirical results show that the financial reporting quality got improvement under the amendment towards IFRS adoption.
Effects of a Short-term Corn Rotation on Cotton Dry Matter Partitioning, Lint Yield, and Fiber Quality Production

Although cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) has traditionally been grown under a continuous monoculture production system in the Mississippi Delta, some cotton producers have begun rotating their land with corn (Zea mays L.) because of economic and agronomic factors. Because of the lack of knowledge regarding corn and cotton rotation systems in this region, the objectives of this research were to determine the effect on the growth and development, lint yield, yield components, and fiber quality of cotton grown following 1 or 2 yr of corn. The four rotation production systems were 1) continuous cotton, 2) continuous corn, 3) corn-cotton-corn-cotton, 4) cotton-corncorn-cotton. The study was conducted during the 2000 through 2003 growing seasons at Stoneville, MS, using four cotton cultivars (PayMaster 1218BR, Phytogen PSC 952, Stoneville 4691B, and SureGrow 747). Cotton was grown in the final year (2003) for all the rotation systems that had cotton as a component. Cotton was 10% taller when grown after 1 yr of corn and 13% taller after 2 yr of corn. Specific leaf weights (SLW) were 7% to 8% lower for cotton grown following corn than for continuously grown cotton. Cotton grown following 2 yr of corn yielded 13% more lint than the continuously grown cotton primarily because of the production of 13% more bolls per unit ground area. None of the other cotton yield components were different among the rotation systems. Micronaire from continuously grown cotton fiber was 1% and 3% greater than the fiber produced by cotton following 1 or 2 yr of corn, respectively. This minimal yield increase would probably not be sufficient to justify a change in cotton production systems; however, other economic factors or pest problems (disease, insects, weeds, or nematodes) might be important enough to justify a switch to this rotation.
THE ROLE OF TECHNOLOGY ACCEPTANCE MODEL ON EMAIL 
USAGE AMONG ACADEMICIAN IN MALAYSIAN PUBLIC AND 
PRIVATE UNIVERSITIES

This study examines the levels and factors contributing to email usage among academician in Malay-sian universities. The Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) was tested to investigate the relationship of perceived ease of use (PEOU) and perceived usefulness (PU) on email usage (U). By using survey questionnaires, data was collected from 274 academician in Malaysian public and private universi-ties. Path analysis was conducted using SmartPLS 2.0 to examine the research model. This research found that email usage among academician in Malaysian private universities is significantly higher than Malaysian public universities, albeit the usage were high for both types of universities.
Nominal and Real Stochastic Convergence of the BRICS Economies

Abstract This study sheds light on the real and nominal economic convergence and the time-varying convergence speed of Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa (BRICS). This paper also employs panel data models and a Malmquist index to analyze the mechanism of real economic convergence. The study finds evidence of real convergence in monthly growth of output (industrial production) of the BRICS economies, where the speed of convergence increases in the post-crisis period. Economic convergence is also witnessed by physical capital per capita and total factor productivity (TFP). However, lack of monetary convergence is apparent in nominal interest rate spreads, monetary aggregate M2, and the price level. Although the BRICS economies are converging to a fully-fledged economic and trade union, such convergence is not echoed by their monetary aggregates and price levels. Finally, the evidence of technological progress is expected to promote labor productivity and to further accelerate economic convergence.
Multidimensional Rank Based Poverty Measures A Case Study: Tunisia

For a long time, poverty measurement has been based strictly on a monetary approach. Since Sen (1976), many poverty measures have been proposed based on an axiomatic foundation, like the Sen (1976) measure, the class of FGT measures (1984), the Shorrocks (1995) measure, otherwise known as the Sen-Shorrocks-Thon (SST) measure. Due to capabilities approach (first developed by Sen (1985)) and basic needs approach, we realize that the poverty of a person is not only a lack of income but an insufficiency in various attributes of well-being. For better representing the multidimensional aspect of poverty, many approaches of multidimensional poverty measurement have been proposed like the multidimensional axiomatic approach. We propose in this paper to contribute to the latter approach. For that, we use a two-stage aggregation procedure to develop classes of multidimensional poverty measures which are extension to the multidimensional context of classes of generalized SST measures developed by Chtioui and Ayadi (2013). We apply our measures on Tunisia using the bootstrap method to see the evolution of multidimensional poverty between 1994 and 2006.
Elaboration, validation et application de la grille de critères de persuasion interactive

Les concepteurs d'interfaces ont un besoin sans cesse evoluant d'influencer les utilisateurs. Dans n'importe quel domaine, de la vente a l'ecologie en passant par l'education, les interfaces se font de plus en plus intelligentes, adaptatives et interactives afin d'inciter les individus a modifier leur attitude, voire leur comportement. Si l'inspection ergonomique et l'utilisabilite sont depuis longtemps prises en compte durant les phases d'evaluation ou de conception d'un produit, il s'avere que la dimension persuasive des technologies n'est pas encore reconnue. Or, cet aspect d'influence dans les medias represente un champ emergent ayant deja fait ses preuves au cours de nombreuses recherches dans des domaines varies. Il fait partie integrante de l'experience utilisateur. Face a l'absence d'outil valide dans ce domaine, une grille de criteres a ete creee pour repondre a ce besoin des concepteurs, des evaluateurs mais egalement des utilisateurs. Suite a la revue de cent soixante quatre articles portant sur le domaine de la captologie, une grille de huit criteres a ete elaboree comprenant : credibilite, privacite, personnalisation, attractivite, sollicitation, accompagnement initial, engagement et emprise. Cette grille degage egalement vingt-trois sous-criteres. Elle distingue la dimension statique, soit l'ensemble des qualites qu'une interface devrait posseder pour etre propice a la mise en place d'une boucle dite engageante, aussi appelee dimension dynamique. Cette grille a suivi une methode inductive et est basee sur un processus de conception iteratif prenant en compte l'avis d'experts en IHM et en ergonomie. Suite a differents pre-tests et a sa stabilisation, cet outil a ete teste aupres de trente experts en ergonomie afin de proceder a sa validation. Une experience basee sur une tâche d'identification d'elements dits persuasifs dans quinze interfaces a ete mise en place. L'utilisation de la grille a montre qu'elle aidait les experts a identifier 78,8% des elements persuasifs presents. Avec un score de Kappa de 0.76, un accord inter-juge fort a ete demontre. Suite a cette validation en laboratoire, une experience reelle visant a montrer son operationnalisation et a tester son efficacite sur le terrain a ete menee. Apres un premier usage comme outil d'evaluation, la grille a ete utilisee comme aide a la conception d'interfaces plus influentes. Appliquee dans le cadre d'un sondage entreprise en ligne annuel, la grille de criteres a permis de passer de 25% a 41% de repondants sur une population de 897 salaries. Enfin, l'application de cet outil dans le domaine de l'informatique decisionnelle et des progiciels de gestion integree presente des specificites. Un travail d'amenagement de deux outils a permis d'elaborer une reflexion sur les elements de la persuasion interactive propres a l'informatique decisionnelle.
The effect of financial incentives on quality of care: the case of diabetes

Australia introduced an incentive payment scheme for general practitioners to ensure systematic and high quality care in chronic disease management. There is little empirical evidence and ambiguous theoretical guidance on which effects to expect on the quality of care. This paper evaluates the impact of the payment incentives on quality of care in diabetes, as measured by the probability of ordering an HbA1c test. The empirical analysis is conducted with a unique data set and a multivariate probit model to control for the simultaneous self-selection process of practices into the payment scheme and larger practices. The study finds that the incentive reform had a positive effect on quality of care in diabetes management and that participation in the scheme is facilitated by the support of Divisions of General Practice.
Chemical Composition and Antibacterial Activity of Volatile Oil of Sequoia sempervirens (Lamb.) Grown in Egypt

The hydrodistilled essential oil of leaves of Sequoia sempervirens (Lamb.) belonging to family Cupressaceae was analyzed by GC/MS. Thirty six compounds were identified representing 95.62% of the total oil containing α-phellandrene (29.60%), dl-limonene (15.60%), α-pinene (8.65%) and terpinene-4-ol (3.5%) as major components. The studied essential oil showed a dose-dependent antioxidant activity using 2, 2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl assay (IC50: 32.2 μg/mL). The antimicrobial activity of S. sempervirens leaves oil was screened against Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria and fungi. The strongest antibacterial effects of oil were on Bacillus subtilis, Trichophyton mentagrophytes and Staphylococcus aureus. S. sempervirens oil showed potent cytotoxic activity against the tested carcinoma cell lines; hepatocellular (HEPG2), colon adenocarcinoma (HCT-116) and breast (MCF7) comparing to doxorubicin.
Fast solution of multi-scale antenna problems for the Square Kilometre Array (SKA) radio telescope using the Characteristic Basis Function Method (CBFM)

We present a numerically efficient technique, called the Characteristic Basis Function Method (CBFM), for computing the scan impedances of antenna elements located inside an electrically large subarray, which is surrounded by (many) other actively phase-steered subarrays. We construct a reduced moment matrix for a single subarray, and modify its entries in a manner that accounts for the mutual coupling between the surrounding subarrays. This enables us to circumvent the difficult problem of having to deal with the entire large array geometry in one step and reduces the total solve time significantly. Furthermore, the reduced moment matrix can be constructed in a time-efficient manner by exploiting the translation symmetry between pairs of Characteristic Basis Functions (CBFs). However, since we propose an overlapping domain decomposition technique for arrays of electrically interconnected antenna elements, symmetry can only be exploited if the mesh partitioning facilitates a one-to-one mapping of CBFs. To fully utilize the translation symmetry, a strategy has been developed to mesh the structure and to take advantage of this geometrical property. A numerical example is presented for a large array of subarrays of Tapered Slot Antennas (TSAs). The proposed method has good accuracy, excellent numerical efficiency, and reduced memory storage requirement.
EXEMPLARY SCIENCE ASSESSMENT PRACTICES

The research described in this paper was aimed at identifying exemplary assessment practices in secondary science classes. In the first stage, following a review of the literature, a six-scale instrument of 48 items was trialled with a sample of 470 students from grades eight, nine and ten in 20 science classrooms in three Western Australian schools. Based on internal consistency reliability data and exploratory factor analysis, refinement decisions resulted in a five-scale instrument that was named the Student Perceptions of Assessment Questionnaire (SPAQ). In the second stage, the SPAQ was used with an attitude scale, and a self-efficacy scale. This survey was administered to a larger sample of 960 students from 40 science classes from the same grades as in the first stage. Statistical analyses confirmed the validity and reliability of the SPAQ. Based on the results of this survey exemplary teachers were identified. In the third and last stage interviews with teachers and students were conducted. Classes of these exemplary teachers were also observed. These exemplary teachers were found to be thorough in their teaching, giving students enough time to prepare for the assessment, giving students freedom to choose from a variety of assessments and were flexible in teaching and assessment. They also demonstrated in-depth understanding of the science topics they were teaching.
A context-aware knowledge map to support ubiquitous learning activities for a u-Botanical museum

Recent developments in mobile and wireless communication technologies have played a vital role in building the u-learning environment that now combines both real-world and digital learning resources. However, learners still require assistance to control real objects and manage the abundance of available materials; otherwise, their mental workload could become so high that learning becomes less effective. The learner is the priority in every learning situation and is, therefore, a crucial factor in executing u-learning. This study presents a u-learning system that integrates context awareness and ontological technology to design a context-aware knowledge map (CAKM) to improve learning efficiency. A case study of an Orchid Island botanical ecosystem course was conducted in classrooms and at the Botanical Garden of National Museum of Natural Science in Taiwan. Participants were university teachers and students. A questionnaire based on the technology acceptance model (TAM) theory was designed and used to measure the willingness for adoption or usage of the proposed system. The results demonstrate that this innovative approach can enhance learning intention. The results also indicate that this CAKM not only substantially improves the effectiveness of subject learning but also enhances the usability of u-learning systems in the museum environment.
Effect of competitive exclusion in rabbits using an autochthonous probiotic

Animal nutrition has been severely challenged by the ban on antimicrobials as growth promoters. This has fostered the study of alternative methods to avoid colonisation by pathogenic bacteria as well as to improve the growth of animals and feed conversion efficiency. These new options should not alter the normal intestinal microbiota, or affect it as little as possible. The use of probiotics, which are live microorganisms that beneficially affect the host by improving its intestinal microbial balance, can be seen as a promising way to achieve that goal. In this study, New Zealand White rabbits were fed diets containing an autochthonous probiotic of Enterococcus spp. , with the strains EaI, EfaI and EfaD, and Escherichia coli, with the strains ECI 1, ECI 2 and ECD, during a 25-d trial, to evaluate the impact of the probiotic on the faecal microbiota, including population dynamics and antimicrobial resistance profiles. A control group of rabbits, which was fed a diet containing a commonly used mixture of antimicrobials (colistin, oxytetracycline, and valnemulin), was also studied. To assess the colonisation ability of the mentioned probiotic, the faecal microbiota of the rabbits was characterised up to 10 d after the administration had ended. Isolates of enterococci and E. coli were studied for phylogenetic relationships using enterobacterial repetitive intergenic consensus (ERIC-PCR) and pulse-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE), respectively. Although partially affected by an unexpected clinical impairment suffered by the rabbits in the experimental group, our results showed the following. The difference between the growth rate of the animals treated with antimicrobials and those fed the probiotic was not statistically significant (P> 0.05). The competitive exclusion product was present in the faecal samples in a large proportion, but stopped being recovered by culture as soon as the administration ended and the housing conditions were changed. Multidrug-resistant strains of enterococci and E. coli were more commonly recovered from faecal samples of animals fed diets containing antimicrobials, than from rabbits fed diets with our probiotic formula. The use of E. coli probiotics to prevent infection by enteropathogenic strains must be carefully considered due to the possible occurrence of gastrointestinal signs. On the other hand, enterococci strains may be more effective, but lack the long-term colonisation ability.
Non-linear Dynamic Analysis of a Piezoelectrically Actuated Flapping Wing

An energy method is used in order to derive the non-linear equations of motion of a smart flapping wing. Flapping wing is actuated from the root by a PZT unimorph in the piezofan configuration. Dynamic characteristics of the wing, having the same size as dragonfly Aeshna Multicolor, are analyzed using numerical simulations. It is shown that flapping angle variations of the smart flapping wing are similar to the actual dragonfly wing for a specific feasible voltage. An unsteady aerodynamic model based on modified strip theory is used to obtain the aerodynamic forces. It is found that the smart wing generates sufficient lift to support its own weight and carry a small payload. It is therefore a potential candidate for flapping wing of micro air vehicles.