Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Prediction of antimicrobial peptides using hyperparameter optimized support vector machines

Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) play a key role in the innate im mune response. They can be ubiquitously found in a wide range of eukaryotes including mammals, amphibians, insects, plants, and protozoa. In lower organisms, AMPs function merely as antibiotics by permeabilizing cell membranes and lysing invading microbes. Prediction of antimicrobial peptides is important because experimental methods used in characterizing AMPs are costly, time consuming and resource intensive and identification of AMPs in insects can serve as a template for the design of novel antibiotic. In order to fulfil this, firstly, data on antimicrobial peptides is extracted from UniProt, manually curated and stored into a centralized database called dragon antimicrobial peptide database (DAMPD). Secondly, based on the curated data, models to predict antimicrobial peptides are created using support vector machine with optimized hyperparameters. In particular, global optimization methods such as grid search, pattern search and derivative-free methods are utilised to optimize the SVM hyperparameters. These models are useful in characterizing unknown antimicrobial peptides. Finally, a webserver is created that will be used to predict antimicrobial peptides in haemotophagous insects such as Glossina morsitanandAnopheles gambiae .
Current Account Adjustment in Industrialized Countries

This paper examines the dynamics of current account adjustment among industrialized countries. We identify twenty-five episodes in which a large sustained improvement in the current account occurred between 1980 and 1997. We find that a typical current account reversal begins when the current account deficit is about 5 percent of GDP, and that it is associated with slowing income growth and a 10-20 percent real depreciation. Real export growth, declining investment, and an eventual leveling off in both the net international investment position and the budget deficit-GDP ratio are also likely to be part of the adjustment. These results suggest that current account reversals in industrialized countries are largely a function of the business cycle.
Peru case study: power relations in community-based tourism

ABSTRACT Community-based tourism (CBT) uses existing natural and cultural resources and contributes to their preservation. Local communities are often presented as homogenous blocks in literature, without the presence of internal power struggles or contrasting values. In tourism studies, it is frequently assumed that CBT can overcome power imbalances by involving all stakeholders in a process that meets the desires of all stakeholders. In the context of how the CBT tourist attraction Vicos in Peru got authenticated, this case study explored not only the power imbalances between external and internal stakeholders, it also gathered empirical data regarding power issues in the authentication process of the tourist attraction, as well as the empowerment of community members. By researching the interests and influence of different external and internal stakeholders in the authentication process of Vicos, it was detected that various instruments of power were used. Moreover, differences in the empowerment of local community members were noticed, not only economically, but also in other dimensions. In conclusion, this study enriches tourism studies regarding imbalanced power relations between external and internal stakeholders, differences in the empowerment of community members through CBT and the presence of power issues in the authentication process of tourist attractions.
Perception of socio-environmental risks imminent risks in the vicinity of their home, analysis of discourse in a community of Hidalgo, Mexico

A risk is defined as the probability for an unpleasant health event to occur. It is measured and expressed by causal associations analyzed from the epidemiological perspective.The natural risks are also defined by determined places and moments of occurance, as part of a nature phenomenon that is potentially dangerous for a community, being able to cause damage to people and their belongings (Lopez y Vidal, 2012).
Values as predictors of consumers' green product purchase behaviour

Consumers are key actors in promoting environment-friendly consumption behaviours. Throughout times, consumers are becoming apprehensive of the environmental problems caused by their day-to-day consumption of goods and services, and as a result, they prefer to purchase green products. The study examines the influence of values such as environmental concern, self-transcendence and self-enhancement on attitude towards green product purchase. The research model developed is verified, applying structural equation modelling technique with a sample of 1150 consumers from the state of Goa, India. The findings suggest that environmental concern and self-transcendence has a significant positive, whereas self-enhancement has a significant negative influence on attitude towards green product purchase. There is an indicative positive influence of attitude towards green product purchase on green product purchase intention and green product purchase behaviour. The findings do not support the mediating role of green product purchase intention in the relationship between attitude towards green product purchase and green product purchase behaviour. The managerial implications of the findings are also outlined in the paper.
Using Steady‐State Backwater Analysis to Predict Inundated Area from National Water Model Streamflow Simulations

National Water Model (NWM) simulates the hydrologic cycle and produces streamflow forecasts for 2.7 million reaches in the National Hydrography Dataset for continental United States (U.S.). NWM uses Muskingum–Cunge channel routing, which is based on the continuity equation. However, the momentum equation also needs to be considered to obtain more accurate estimates of streamflow and stage in rivers, especially for applications such as flood‐inundation mapping. Here, we used a steady‐state backwater version of Simulation Program for River NeTworks (SPRNT) model. We evaluated SPRNT’s and NWM’s abilities to predict inundated area for the record flood of Hurricane Matthew in October 2016. The Neuse River experienced record‐breaking floods and was well‐documented by U.S. Geological Survey. Streamflow simulations from NWM retrospective analysis were used as input for the SPRNT simulation. Retrospective NWM discharge predictions were converted to stage. The stages (from both SPRNT and NWM) were utilized to produce flood‐inundation maps using the Height Above Nearest Drainage method which uses the local relative heights to find out the local draining potentials and provide spatial representation of inundated area. The inundated‐area accuracies for NWM and SPRNT (based on comparison to a remotely sensed dataset) were 65.1% and 67.6%, respectively. These results show using steady‐state SPRNT results in a modest improvement of inundation‐forecast accuracy compared to NWM.
Securing cloud-based data analytics: A practical approach

James Stephen, Julian PhD, Purdue University, December 2016. Securing CloudBased Data Analytics: A Practical Approach. Major Professor: Patrick Eugster. The ubiquitous nature of computers is driving a massive increase in the amount of data generated by humans and machines. The shift to cloud technologies is a paradigm change that offers considerable financial and administrative gains in the effort to analyze these data. However, governmental and business institutions wanting to tap into these gains are concerned with security issues. The cloud presents new vulnerabilities and is dominated by new kinds of applications, which calls for new security solutions. In the direction of analyzing massive amounts of data, tools like MapReduce, Apache Storm, Dryad and higher-level scripting languages like Pig Latin and DryadLINQ have significantly improved corresponding tasks for software developers. The equally important aspect of securing computations performed by these tools and ensuring confidentiality of data has seen very little support emerge for programmers. In this dissertation, we present solutions to a. secure computations being run in the cloud by leveraging BFT replication coupled with fault isolation and b. secure data from being leaked by computing directly on encrypted data. For securing computations (a.), we leverage a combination of variable-degree clustering, approximated and offline output comparison, smart deployment, and separation of duty to achieve a parameterized tradeoff between fault tolerance and overhead in practice. We demonstrate the low overhead achieved with our solution when securing data-flow computations expressed in Apache Pig, and Hadoop. Our solution allows assured computation with less than 10 percent latency overhead as shown by our evaluation. For securing data (b.), we present novel data flow analyses and program
Velocity Field Estimation on Density‐Driven Solute Transport With a Convolutional Neural Network

Recent advances in machine learning open new opportunities to gain deeper insight into hydrological systems, where some relevant system quantities remain difficult to measure. We use deep learning methods trained on numerical simulations of the physical processes to explore the possibilities of closing the information gap of missing system quantities. As an illustrative example we study the estimation of velocity fields in numerical and laboratory experiments of density‐driven solute transport. Using high‐resolution observations of the solute concentration distribution, we demonstrate the capability of the method to structurally incorporate the representation of the physical processes. Velocity field estimation for synthetic data for both variable and uniform concentration boundary conditions showed equal results. This capability is remarkable because only the latter was employed for training the network. Applying the method to measured concentration distributions of density‐driven solute transport in a Hele‐Shaw cell makes the velocity field assessable in the experiment. This assessability of the velocity field even holds for regions with negligible solute concentration between the density fingers, where the velocity field is otherwise inaccessible.
Minimum semblance weighted stacking with polarity correction for surface microseismic data processing

Diffraction-stack-based algorithms are the most popular microseismic location methods for surface microseismic data. They can accommodate microseismic data with low signal-to-noise ratio by stacking a large number of traces. However, changes in waveform polarity across the receiver line due to source mechanisms may prevent stacking methods from locating the true source. Imaging functions based on simple stacks have low resolution, producing large uncertainty in the final location result. To solve these issues, we introduce a minimum semblance weighted stacking method with polarity correction, which uses an amplitude trend least-squares fitting algorithm to correct the polarity across the receiver line. We adapt the semblance weighted stacking for better coherency measure to improve the imaging resolution. Moreover, the minimum semblance is used to further improve the resolution of location results. Application to both synthetic and real data sets demonstrates good performance of our proposed location method.
Investigation of the time-dependent dynamics between government revenue and expenditure in China: a wavelet approach

Abstract Unlike previous studies on causal relationships between government revenue and expenditures in China, this study takes into consideration structural breaks in the data by performing wavelet decomposition prior to testing for Granger causality between the fiscal components. The use of wavelet decomposition is motivated by economic theories, which suggest allowing for different budgetary considerations at different time horizons, as well as by the existence of special properties in the data in the form of unit roots and structural breaks. The results from the Granger causality test when using the wavelet-decomposed quarterly data over the period 1980–2015 indicate that government revenue Granger-causes government expenditure (tax-and-spend hypothesis) in the wavelet scales of two to four quarters. The results also show that bidirectional causality (fiscal synchronisation) exists in the wavelet scale of eight to sixteen quarters. Understanding the causal relationships between revenue and expenditure at different time scales is important for formulating relevant policy measures in order to maintain fiscal sustainability in China.
Additive Manufacturing of Heterogeneous Lattice Structures: An Experimental Exploration

3D printed heterogeneous lattice structures are beam-and-node based structures characterised by a variable geometry. This variability is obtained starting from a periodic structure and modifying the relative density of the unit cells or by combining unit cells having different shapes. While several consolidated design approaches are described to implement the first approach, there are still computational issues to be addressed to combine different cells properly. In this paper, we describe a preliminary experimental study focused on exploring the design issues to be addressed as well as the advantages that this second type of heterogeneous structures could provide. The Three-Point-Bending test was used to compare the behaviour of different types of heterogeneous structures printed using the Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM) technology. Results demonstrated that the possibility of combining multiple unit cells represents a valid strategy for performing a more effective tuning of the material distribution within the design space. However, further studies are necessary to explore the behaviour of these structures and develop guidelines for helping designers in exploiting their potential.
Frequency regulation possibilities of power-to-gas plants in grids including high shares of renewable energy production

Introduction In networks where high share of renewable energy sources are used for primary energy production the inertia will become low since the rotating mass of the connected synchronous machine is mainly lost [1],[2]. The lower inertia means that connected regulation reserves must be able to respond faster to a frequency containment control than currently. The requirement for faster regulation have already been recognized by the transmission system operators (TSO) and distribution system operators (DSO). Recognition of the increasing need of balancing reserves has led to higher prices offered by the TSOs for power plants involved in the frequency regulation markets.
Climate Change Adaptations for Coastal Farms: Bridging Science and Mātauranga Māori with Art and Design

Indigenous coastal farming communities need to address future climate change impacts, yet many communities are slow to respond, due to lack of adequate information, economic pressures, the abstract nature of climate change science and poor communication between what science knows and what indigenous farming communities need to know. Art and design can address these issues by synthesizing broad scientific principles with local place-specific culture and their visual language can effectively communicate short and long-term benefits to local communities. Art and design are thus both generative research methods and media for representation. This research uses art and design to provide a bridge between the Māori culture of a local farming community in coastal New Zealand and climate change science. It provides a framework of strategies for new farm practices. Underpinned by the qualitative awareness of thresholds and an open-ended toolbox of land-based strategies, the role of the framework is to catalyze adaptation. The framework is responsive to both the Māori worldview and scientific knowledge, and has the potential to provide a model for other coastal communities.
Investimento em Intangível e Criação de Valor: uma Análise das Companhias Abertas Brasileiras no Período 2000-2014

Este artigo analisa a relação entre investimentos em ativos intangíveis e criação de valor das empresas brasileiras de capital aberto no Brasil, medida pelo Q de Tobin. No artigo, aplica-se o system GMM em um painel de dados formado por 208 firmas com ações negociadas na Bolsa de Valores (B3) brasileira no período 2000-2014. Os dados são provenientes da Economática e Instituto Nacional de Propriedade Industrial (INPI). O principal resultado mostra impactos positivos do fluxo de investimento em ativos intangíveis (mas não seu acúmulo) sobre o valor das empresas.
Uuema eesti ilukirjanduse mitmikute loendid

Uku Raudvere ja Kristel Uiboaed Tartu Ülikooli raamatukogu ja Eesti Rahvusraamatukogu Taust Alates 01.01. 2017 jõustus autoriõiguse seaduse muudatus, mis võimaldab digitaalse objekti töötlemist tekstija andmekaeve eesmärkidel tingimusel, et selline kasutamine ei taotle ärilisi eesmärke (AutÕS § 19 lg 31). Samal ajal hakkas kehtima ka säilituseksemplari seadus, mille järgi on kirjastustel kohustus loovutada raamatukogudele lisaks füüsilistele ka digitaalsed teosed. Seega on uus olukord laiendanud uuema ja mitmekesisema uurimismaterjali kättesaadavust. Käesolev töö on esimene katse seda materjali kasutades luua teadlaste ja arendajate jaoks vabalt kättesaadav ressurss. Ressurss Mitmikud on esitatud failidena, ühe-, kaheja kolmekaupa. Info on failides tabulaatoriga eraldatud ( tab-delimited) ja organiseeritud järgnevalt: sõnavorm või mitmik, selle sagedus kõigis allikates kokku, allikate arv, kus vorm või mitmik esines. Näiteks
“ET-CALCULATOR” A NEW MODEL TO ROBUSTLY CALCULATE EVAPOTRANSPIRATION IN EGYPT

The Penman-Monteith (P-M) equation is widely recommended to calculate evapotranspiration (ET) because of its detailed theoretical base and its accommodation of small time periods. Thus, there is a need to develop a model to easily calculate ET and can be used by extension workers. The objective of this research is to use evaluate the MS Excel sheet capability to develop a program to calculate ET values in the Governorates of the Nile Delta and Valley. A model was developed called “ET-Calculator”. The model uses P-M equation to calculate ET. Weather parameters of 17 governorates in the Nile Delta and Valley were input (maximum and minimum temperature, mean of relative humidity, wind speed and solar radiation), as well as the elevation above sea level in order to calculate ET values. To test the validity of the model, the estimated ET values by ET-Calculator model were compared to the estimated ET values by BISm model. Closeness of both estimated ET values to each other was tested by Root Mean Square Error per observation (RMSE/obs) and Willmott index of agreement (d). The results indicated that ET-Calculator model estimated monthly and annual ET values in all governorates similar to the ET values estimated by BISm model, where RMSE/obs values were low and d values were high. These results implied that the presence of friendly and easy use program to calculate ET, such as ET-Calculator facilitate the calculation of water requirements for crops by extension workers and could improve the current situation of agricultural water management in Egypt.
The Role of Public Skepticism and Distrust in the Process of CSR Communication

Through a cross-sectional online survey, this study examines the moderated mediation model of public skepticism toward organizational altruism and public distrust of CSR messages in the process of corporate social responsibility (CSR) communication. Focusing solely on CSR communication elements rather than CSR practice, this study sheds light on the significant role that effective CSR communication elements play in attenuating public skepticism and further inducing positive public evaluations of an organization. Our results suggest that skepticism toward altruism is significantly reduced by the six effective CSR communication elements—CSR informativeness, transparency, objectivity, consistency, personal relevance, and a less promotional tone. In turn, an organization is able to restore the publics’ positive evaluation of it. Although this study confirms the moderating role of public distrust in the process, it also reveals this moderating role to move in an unexpected direction. That is, the positive effects of effective CSR communication elements are much greater for people who have stronger distrust of CSR messages than those with less distrust. This indicates that public distrust of CSR messages (developed over time) may be overcome with quality CSR communication.
Seasonal and gendered variations in experiences and perceptions of water insecurity among smallholder farmers in western Kenya: a qualitative study

Water insecurity contributes to negative physical and mental health outcomes, and has been found to disproportionately affect women, who are typically primarily responsible for fetching water and managing its use. However, little is understood about how water insecurity manifests among agrarian, HIV-affected populations in sub-Saharan Africa. To explore water insecurity experiences among HIV-affected, smallholder farmers in western Kenya, the unique experiences of women in this context, and coping strategies to water insecurity consequences, data were collected as part of the Shamba Maisha study (NCT02815579). The Shamba Maisha study tests an agricultural intervention to improve the health and nutrition of people living with HIV. Interviews were conducted with 30 adults (24 women; 6 men; age = 41.7±9.4 years). Interviewers asked open-ended questions, probing about water acquisition, uses of water, challenges, strategies to cope with water-related challenges, farming practices, and perceived benefits of the Shamba Maisha program through the go-along interview method. A coding framework was developed after identifying emergent themes, and analysis was conducted using a combination of inductive and a priori methods using Atlas.ti 8. Almost 70% of interviewed households experienced water scarcity and poor water quality. Water insecurity challenges and associated consequences varied depending on the season. Women were responsible for the acquisition and management of water (90%), which resulted from normalized gender roles. Primary methods of coping with water insecurity were storing water (96.7%), treating water (86.7%), and diversifying water sources (83.3%). Shamba Maisha study participation increased participants’ empowerment, offered new agricultural opportunities, and increased hope for the future. Addressing water insecurity must be specific to the season and differences in water experiences across gender, and has the potential to significantly improve physical and mental
Virginia’s Climate Modeling and Species Vulnerability Assessment: How Climate Data Can Inform Management and Conservation

Authors would like to thank David Kramar (CMI) for managing data and contributions to the species models. They also would like to thank Patty Glick (NWF) and Naomi Edelson (NWF) for their review of the document, and Ryan Kingston (NWF) for his assistance with graphics. We would also like to thank Maja Smith of MajaDesign, Inc. for the graphic design work.