Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Atmospheric and Ocean Conditions and Social Aspects Associated with Rip Current Drownings in the United States

xvi Chapter 1: Introduction 1 1.1 Rip Current Definition 3 1.2 Rip Current Observations 5 1.3 Ocean Conditions Associated with Rip Currents 8 1.4 Bathymetry, Structures, and Tides 12 1.5 Weather Conditions Associated with Rip Currents 18 1.6 Rip Current Forecasting 20 1.7 Social Aspects and Demographics of Rip Current Victims 22 1.8 Rip Current Education and Awareness 27 1.9 Research Questions 33 Chapter 2: Methods 35 2.1 Research Area 36 2.2 Rip Current Drowning Reports 37 2.3 Buoy and Nearshore Data 39 2.4 Morphodynamic Beach Data 40 2.5 NCEP/NCAR Reanalysis Data 40 2.6 Tidal Data 41 2.7 Beach Attendance Data 42 Chapter 3: Social Aspects and Demographics of Rip Current Victims 44 3.1 Demographics of Drowning Victims 46 3.2 Deadliest United States Beaches 48 Chapter 4: Drowning Details in the Western United States 50 4.1 Demographics of Drowning Victims 51 4.2 The Deadliest Beach Areas 53 4.3 Beach Characteristics 54 4.4 Spatial Surface Wind Velocity and Pressure Pattern Composites 56 4.5 Wave Height and Period Trends 60 4.6. Tidal Trend 64 4.7 Case Studies 65 ii Chapter 5: Drowning Details in the Gulf Coast States 70 5.1 Demographics of Drowning Victims 71 5.2 The Deadliest Beach Areas 72 5.3 Beach Characteristics 74 5.4 Spatial Surface Wind Velocity and Pressure Pattern Composites 76 5.5 Wave Height and Period Trends 80 5.6. Tidal Trends 84 5.7 Case Studies 86 Chapter 6: Drowning Details in the Florida Panhandle 91 6.1 Demographics of Drowning Victims 92 6.2 The Deadliest Beach Areas 92 6.3 Beach Characteristics 94 6.4 Spatial Surface Wind Velocity and Pressure Pattern Composites 97 6.5 Wave Height and Period Trends 99 6.6. Tidal Trends 102 6.7 Case Study 102 Chapter 7: Drowning Details in Southwest Florida 105 7.1 Demographics of Drowning Victims 106 7.2 The Deadliest Beach Areas 107 7.3 Beach Characteristics 108 7.4 Spatial Surface Wind Velocity and Pressure Pattern Composites 109 7.5 Wave Height and Period Trends 111 7.6. Tidal Trends 111 7.7 Case Studies 114 Chapter 8: Drowning Details in Southeast Florida 120 8.1 Demographics of Drowning Victims 120 8.2 The Deadliest Beach Areas 123 8.3 Beach Characteristics 124 8.4 Spatial Surface Wind Velocity and Pressure Pattern Composites 126 8.5 Wave Height and Period Trends 128 8.6. Tidal Trends 128 8.7 Case Studies 128 Chapter 9: Drowning Details in East Florida 134 9.1 Demographics of Drowning Victims 134 9.2 The Deadliest Beach Areas 137 9.3 Beach Characteristics 138 9.4 Spatial Surface Wind Velocity and Pressure Pattern Composites 138 9.5 Wave Height and Period Trends 143 9.6. Tidal Trends 143 9.7 Case Studies 146
Effective field theory and the Fermi surface

This is an introduction to the method of effective field theory. As an application, I derive the effective field theory of low energy excitations in a conductor, the Landau theory of Fermi liquids, and explain why the high-Tc superconductors must be described by a different effective field theory. Lectures presented at TASI 1992.
Undoing Performance in Micro Finance Institutions: Reflections on Regulatory Framework in Kenya

The performance of Micro Finance Institutions (MFIs) has been affected negatively by the current hypercompetitive economic environment which has been characterised by as unfair competition. Huge losses have been reported among MFIs in Kenya, this has forced MFIs to innovate differently;product, financial, organisational or market innovation. This has not yielded better results. The study sought to establish the moderating effect of the regulatory framework on the relationship between strategic innovation orientation and performance of MFIs using the case of Kenya. The indicators for the regulatory framework were;prudential guidelines, non-prudential guidelines, and government laws. A descriptive and explanatory research design was adopted as the research design with a target population of 13 MFIs from which a sample of 352 respondents was obtained using a proportionate stratified and simple random sampling technique. Both primary and secondary data was collected and analysed using multiple regression model. The regulatory framework was found to have a moderating effect on the relationship between strategic innovation orientation and performance. The findings established that regulatory framework had a moderating effect on the relationship between strategic innovation orientation and performance of MFIs. This informs the importance of regulation and control by regulatory bodies and the government.
CUSTOMER TRUST ONLINE: EXAMINING THE ROLE OF THE EXPERIENCE WITH THE WEB SITE

Previous studies have identified trust as an important factor influencing customer participation in web-based commerce. In this empirical study, we test an expanded model that includes the effect of the customers’ experience with and beliefs regarding a company’s web site on their trust in the company itself. We found that a positive experience with a website that provides customers with enjoyment and perceived control leads to greater trust in the company itself through the coustomers’ perceptions about the web site’s usefulness and eas of use. We also confirmed a positive relationship between customer trust in a company and customer retention and intention to buy.
University of Birmingham Steady-State Movement Related Potentials for Brain-Computer Interfacing

— An approach for brain computer interfacing (BCI) by analysis of steady-state movement related potentials (ssMRP) produced during rhythmic ﬁnger movements is proposed in this paper. The neurological background of ssMRPs is brieﬂy reviewed. Averaged ssMRPs represented the development of a lateralized rhythmic potential and the energy of the electroencephalogram (EEG) signals at the ﬁnger tapping frequency can be used for single trial ssMRP classiﬁcation. The proposed ssMRP-based BCI approach is tested using the classic Fisher’s linear discriminant (FLD) classiﬁer. Moreover, the inﬂuence of the current source density transform on the performance of BCI system is investigated. The averaged correct classiﬁcation rates (CCR) as well as averaged information transfer rates (ITR) for di ﬀ erent sliding time windows are reported. Reliable single trial classiﬁcation rates of 88%-100% accuracy are achievable at relatively high ITRs. Furthermore, we have been able to achieve CCRs of up to 93% in classiﬁcation of the sMRPs recorded during imagined rhythmic ﬁnger movements. The merit of this approach is in the application of rhythmic cues for BCI, the relatively simple recording setup, and straightforward computations which make the real-time implementations plausible.
On a revised pharmacology of apo-soluble guanylate cyclase and its therapeutic implications

Nitric oxide (NO) is a widely distributed gasotransmitter binding to the heme of soluble guanylate cyclase (sGC) to stimulate the formation of the second messenger cyclic GMP. In disease, two pathomechanisms can occur, scavenging of NO by reactive oxygen species so that sGC is insufficiently stimulated, and oxidative damage of sGC resulting in heme loss and a NO-insensitive apo-form of sGC. To address this therapeutically, two pharmacological principles have entered the clinic or clinical development. sGC stimulators (sGCs) allosterically sensitize sGC for lower NO levels to reach physiological cGMP levels again; sGC activators (sGCa) bind to the empty heme pocket of apo-sGC to recover cGMP formation. Here we show in vitro and in vivo that this dichotomic pharmacology of sGCs/sGC and sGCa/apo-sGC is wrong. Instead apo-sGC is both activated by sGCa and allosterically modulated by sGC stimulators. The sGCs binding site in sGC and apo-sGC, however, is redox sensitive explaining why it has been previously missed in apo-sGC preparations generated for example by using heme oxidants such as 1H-[1,2,4]oxadiazolo[4,3-a]quinoxalin-1-one (ODQ). Moreover, sGCs synergised with sGCa on apo-sGC in a supra-additive manner similar to the synergy between NO and sGCs on sGC. Our findings provide functional evidence including ischemic stroke, where apo-sGC rather than sGC is detectable, for identical modulation of sGC and apo-sGC by sGCs. This necessitates a revision of the dichotomic sGC/apo-sGC pharmacology and expands the therapeutic potential of sGCs and sGCa both individually and in combination. Significance statement Drugs that modulate the cyclic GMP forming enzyme soluble guanylate cyclase have provided breakthroughs in several previously unmet medical need areas. They currently fall into two categories, stimulators for the healthy enzyme and activators for the damaged form with non-overlapping indications. Here we show, however, that stimulators also work on the damaged enzyme and in synergy with activators. We also show the previously not recognised and not to be expected applicability of stimulators in ischemic stroke, a condition where no healthy enzyme is detectable. Since stimulators are currently registered and activators only in late-stage clinical development, this revised pharmacology contributed to a clinical phase II trial for post-stroke neuroprotection.
Spatial Prediction in Small Area Estimation

Small area estimation methods have become a widely used tool to provide accurate estimates for regional indicators such as poverty measures. Recent research has provided evidence that spatial modelling still can improve the precision of regional and local estimates. In this paper, we provide an intrinsic spatial autocorrelation model and prove the propriety of the posterior under a flat p rior. Further, we show using the SAIPE poverty data that the gain in efficiency using a spatial model can be essentially important in the presence of a lack of strong auxiliary variables
An Expert System Based on Type-1 Fuzzy Logic and Digital Image Processing for Knowledge Based Edge and Contour Detection

In computer vision, contour/edge detection is a crucial phenomenon. Edge detection is an important step in contour detection, which is helpful in the identification of important data. The accuracy of the edge detection process is heavily dependent on edge localization and orientation. In recent years, due to their versatility, soft computing approaches have been considered effective edge detection strategies. Broadly, edge detection accuracy is deeply affected by weak and dull edges. In recent works, edge detection based on fuzzy logic (FL) was proposed, and image edges were improved using guided filtering. However, guided image filtering (GIF) does not take into account the local features of an image. To include local features of an image for edge detection, an improved version, i.e., an offset enable sharpening-guided filter is used in this paper, and FL is used for edge detection. The figure of merit (FoM) and F-score are used to evaluate the method's accuracy. Using visual representations and performance metrics, the results are compared with those from cutting-edge techniques.
Evaluation of snow products over the Tibetan Plateau

Four satellite‐based snow products are evaluated over the Tibetan Plateau for the 2007–2010 snow seasons. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) Terra and Aqua snow cover daily L3 Global 500‐m grid products (MOD10A1 and MYD10A1), the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Interactive Multisensor Snow and Ice Mapping System (IMS) daily Northern Hemisphere snow cover product and the Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer – Earth Observing System Daily Snow Water Equivalent were validated against Thematic Mapper (TM) snow cover maps of Landsat‐5 and meteorological station snow depth observations. The overall accuracy of MOD10A1, MYD10A1 and IMS is higher than 91% against stations observations and than 79% against Landsat TM images. In general, the daily MODIS snow cover products show better performance than the multisensor IMS product. However, the IMS snow cover product is suitable for larger scale (~4km) analysis and applications, with the advantage over MODIS to allow for mitigation for cloud cover. The accuracy of the three products decreases with decreasing snow depth. Overestimation errors are most common over forested regions; the IMS and Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer – Earth Observing System Snow Water Equivalent products also show poorer performance that the MODIS products over grassland. By identifying weaknesses in the satellite products, this study provides a focus for the improvement of snow products over the Tibetan plateau. The quantitative evaluation of the products proposed here can also be used to assess their relative weight in data assimilation, against other data sources, such as modelling and in situ measurement networks. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Evaluating the Raspberry Pi as a Network Honeypot

We describe the operation of HoneyPi, an architecture utilizing Raspberry Pis to create a scalable distributed honeypot to capture and analyze network trafﬁc. We evaluate the feasibility of using Raspberry Pis in such an architecture, and the performance of the system itself. Finally, we aim to create a general project that may be utilized by CS 3410 students.
Seismic Performance of Steel Moment-resisting Frames with Nonlinear Replaceable Links

This thesis presents the development and the seismic performance evaluation of steel MRFs with nonlinear replaceable links. Although existing MRFs can provide life safety during a design level earthquake, they are expected to sustain significant damage at the locations of flexural yielding fuses in the beams. The design of the fuse is also interlinked with the design of the beam, often resulting in over-design. These drawbacks can be mitigated by introducing replaceable links at the locations of expected inelastic action. Four full-scale beam-to-column subassemblages with two link types were tested under cyclic loading: i) double channels with bolted web connections, ii) W-sections with bolted end plate connections. The experiments demonstrated that MRFs with replaceable links can provide strength and ductility equivalent to existing MRFs. Finite element models were then developed to capture the observed experimental responses, including local buckling, bolt slipping, and bolt bearing. Finally, preliminary design guidelines were proposed.
Real-time Behavior Profiling for Network Monitoring

This paper presents the design and implementation of a real-time behavior profiling system for Internet links. The system uses flow-level information, and applies data mining and information-theoretic techniques to automatically discover significant events based on communication patterns. We demonstrate the operational feasibility of the system by implementing it and performing benchmarking of CPU and memory costs using packet traces from backbone links. To improve the robustness of this system against sudden traffic surges, we propose a novel filtering algorithm. The proposed algorithm successfully reduces the CPU and memory cost while maintaining high profiling accuracy. Finally, we devise and evaluate simple yet effective blocking strategies to reduce prevalent exploit traffic, and build a simple event analysis engine to generate ACL rules for filtering unwanted traffic.
RF Mixed Signal Design and Layout Synthesis with Object-Oriented C++ for Nanometre SOI CMOS

In this thesis, a new top-down methodology for radio frequency (RF) mixedsignal design is presented. This methodology is based on a new IBM electronic design automation (EDA) tool for layout synthesis. A general description of this EDA tool, as well as its capabilities and features in a RF mixed-signal design flow, is presented. Then the methodology is demonstrated by the design of a ring oscillator circuit in a 90nm silicon-on-insulator (SOI) IBM CMOS process for technology benchmarking. The ring os­ cillator is composed of 11 CMOS inverters and the design is optimized with the EDA synthesis tool for maximum oscillation frequency. Figures of merit such as unity current gain frequency and unity power gain frequency are developed for the inverter to provide high-frequency performance insight. Inverter propagation delay in a ring is formulated to show that, for this CMOS process, an optimum device finger width of 1.4pm exists for minimizing delay in the presence of wiring parasitics.
Complex transport and magnetism of the ternary boride YbPt 5 B 2

Novel ternary platinum borides YbPt 5 B 2 and LuPt 5 B 2 have been synthesized by arc melting of constituent elements and subsequent annealing at 1020 K. The unit cell of YbPt 5 B 2 [YbPt 5 B 2 type, monoclinic space group C 2 / m , a = 15 . 4982(6) Å, b = 5 . 5288(3) Å, c = 5 . 5600(3) Å, β = 105 . 367(3) ◦ , single-crystal x-ray diffraction data] is composed of two structural fragments alternating along the a axis and extending inﬁnitively along the b axis: (i) columns of face-fused, boron-ﬁlled, and empty edge-connected trigonal metal prisms, and (ii) zigzag chains of B-ﬁlled trigonal prisms connected by common edges. LuPt 5 B 2 was found to be isotypic (Rietveld reﬁnement of powder x-ray diffraction data). YbPt 5 B 2 exhibits two magnetic phase transitions at T mag1 ∼ 8 K and T mag2 ∼ 4 K as deduced from speciﬁc heat, magnetostriction, electric resistivity, and magnetization data. The Kadowaki-Woods ratio of 1 . 22 × 10 − 5 μ(cid:3) cm(mol K / mJ) 2 classiﬁes YbPt 5 B 2 as a heavy fermion system. A magnetic phase diagram was established, using magnetostriction and magnetoresistance data. Nonmagnetic LuPt 5 B 2 is characterized by a simple metallic behavior.
Use and potential of wild plants in farm households

This book aims to raise awareness of the role of wild plants in many farming systems, providing examples from different systems around the world. It describes the contribution of wild plants as a source of food, fuelwood, shelter, medicines and dyes and their role in income generation for the improved welfare of farm households and local people. Wild plants are also of paramount importance as sources of wild germplasm that might enhance productivity, disease resistance, winter hardiness, drought survival and similar features of cultured species.
Identification of cis-regulatory elements related to water-deficit and low-temperature stress within the promoter of Citrus sinensis APETALA1

Citrus flowering is promoted by water-deficit and low-temperature stress and inhibited by gibberellins, providing a unique system to investigate regulation of floral development. In silico analysis, using plant cis-acting regulatory element databases, PLACE and PlantCARE, was conducted to compare transcriptional regulation of LEAFY (LFY), APETALA1 (AP1), and TERMINAL FLOWER (TFL) by water deficit, low temperature, abscisic acid and gibberellins in C. sinensis, Arabidopsis thaliana and Populus trichocarpa. A striking enrichment of response elements upregulated by water deficit was found in the C. sinensis AP1 (CsAP1) promoter, but neither the A. thaliana AP1 (AtAP1), nor P. trichocarpa AP1-1 (PtAP1-1) promoter. Notably, a tandem array of three response elements, each containing a LFY binding site, coupling element 3 site (CE3), and dehydration-responsive element (DRE), was found within a 100-bp region of the CsAP1 promoter. The CE3 and DRE sites are associated, respectively, with abscisic acid (ABA)-dependent and ABA-independent signaling pathways induced by water deficit. The CE3 sequence is present in the AtAP1, but not PtAP1-1, promoter. The DRE site is lacking in both AtAP1 and PtAP1-1. Three LFY binding sites are located in the CsAP1 and AtAP1 promoters, with only one in PtAP1-1. Multiple C-repeat binding factor (CBF) response elements associated with low-temperature responses through an ABA-independent signaling pathway are present in the CsAP1 and AtAP1 promoters, but not PtAP1-1. The unique 100-bp regulon of the CsAP1 promoter suggests that flower formation in C. sinensis in response to water-deficit and low-temperature stress is mediated at AP1 through ABA-dependent and ABA-independent pathways.
Environmental DNA assessment of airborne plant and fungal seasonal diversity 1 2

25 Environmental DNA (eDNA) metabarcoding and metagenomics analyses can improve 26 taxonomic resolution in biodiversity studies. Only recently, these techniques have been 27 applied in aerobiology, to target bacteria, fungi and plants in airborne samples. Here, we 28 present a nine-month aerobiological study applying eDNA metabarcoding in which we 29 analyzed simultaneously airborne diversity and variation of fungi and plants across five 30 locations in North and Central Italy. We correlated species composition with the ecological 31 characteristics of the sites and the seasons. The most abundant taxa among all sites and 32 seasons were the fungal genera Alternaria, Cladosporium, and Epicoccum and the plant 33 genera Brassica, Corylus, Cupressus and Linum, the latter being much more variable among 34 sites. PERMANOVA and indicator species analyses showed that the plant diversity from air 35 samples is significantly correlated with seasons, while that of fungi varied according to the 36 interaction between seasons and sites. The results consolidate the performance of a new 37 eDNA metabarcoding pipeline for the simultaneous amplification and analysis of airborne 38 plant and fungal particles. They also highlight the promising complementarity of this 39 approach with more traditional biomonitoring frameworks and routine reports of air quality 40 provided by environmental agencies. 41 42
Efficient implementation and processing of a real-time panorama video pipeline with emphasis on background subtraction

The Bagadus system has been introduced as an automated soccer analysis tool, and consists of an analysis subsystem, tracking subsystem and video subsystem. By automating the integration of these subsystems, Bagadus allows for simplified soccer analysis, with the goal of improving athletes’ performance. The system is currently installed at Alfheim stadium in Tromsø, Norway. A part of the video subsystem is the generation of panorama videos from four HD cameras. However, the pipeline for panorama video generation in the first version of the system did not manage to do this online and in real-time. In this thesis, we present how to build an improved panorama stitcher pipeline that is able to stitch video from four HD cameras into a panorama video online and in realtime. We describe in detail the architecture and modules of this pipeline, and analyze the performance, where we demonstrate real-time, live capture, processing and storage of four individual camera feeds and generation of a panorama video on a single machine. In addition, we focus on how background subtraction can be used to improve the pipeline. As part of this, we discuss how we can utilize player position data to improve the background subtraction process, and also discuss in detail how to optimize the background subtraction process on CPU and GPU.