Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Oceanic bromoform sources for the tropical atmosphere

Oceanic bromoform (CHBr3) is the major source of organic Br to the atmosphere and may be significant for ozone depletion through the contribution of reactive bromine to the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere of the midlatitudes and tropics. We report the first analyses of boundary layer air, surface and deep ocean waters from the tropical Atlantic. The data provide evidence of a source of CHBr3 throughout the tropical open ocean associated with the deep chlorophyll maximum within the tropical thermocline. Equatorial upwelling carries the CHBr3 to the surface, adding to increased concentrations in the equatorial mixed layer and driving oceanic emissions that support locally elevated atmospheric concentrations. In air masses that had crossed the coastal upwelling region off NW Africa even higher atmospheric mixing ratios were measured. The observations suggest a link between climate, wind‐driven upwelling, and the supply of Br to the upper atmosphere of the tropics.
A proportional-derivative-sliding mode hybrid control scheme for a robot manipulator

Abstract A hybrid proportional-derivative-sliding mode control scheme is proposed for robot manipulators. This hybrid controller is composed of a proportional-derivative controller and a semi-continuous sliding mode controller. The hybrid controller has a robust performance in the reaching phase, which does not possess the invariance property of the sliding mode, and it has chattering-free characteristics in the sliding mode. Thus, the proportional-derivative-sliding mode hybrid controller has a robust performance in the whole control region. The controller was applied to a two-link SCARA (selective compliant articulated robot for assembly) robot manipulator. It was shown that the proposed control has a good transient response and trajectory tracking performance in the presence of model uncertainties.
Genetic programming as a model induction engine

Present day instrumentation networks already provide immense quantities of data, very little of which provides any insights into the basic physical processes that are occurring in the measured medium. This is to say that the data by itself contributes little to the knowledge of such processes. Data mining and knowledge discovery aim to change this situation by providing technologies that will greatly facilitate the mining of data for knowledge. In this new setting the role of a human expert is to provide domain knowledge, interpret models suggested by the computer and devise further experiments that will provide even better data coverage. Clearly, there is an enormous amount of knowledge and understanding of physical processes that should not be just thrown away. Consequently, we strongly believe that the most appropriate way forward is to combine the best of the two approaches: theory-driven, understanding-rich with data-driven discovery process. This paper describes a particular knowledge discovery algorithm—Genetic Programming (GP). Additionally, an augmented version of GP—dimensionally aware GP—which is arguably more useful in the process of scientific discovery is described in great detail. Finally, the paper concludes with an application of dimensionally aware GP to a problem of induction of an empirical relationship describing the additional resistance to flow induced by flexible vegetation.
Microstructural Parameters of HPMC/PVP Polymer Blends Using Wide Angle X-Ray Technique

Hydroxypropylemethylecellulose (HPMC) and Polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) polymer virgin and blend films were prepared and investigated using wide angle X-ray scattering method. Microstructural parameters like lattice strain (g %), the crystallite size for individual the Bragg's reflection (hkl) have been computed using line profile analysis and hence by whole pattern fitting method. The X-ray diffraction study reveals that the blending of PVP decreases the crystallanity of HPMC up to 5:4 concentration and then increases. Measured tensile strength decreases, Young's Modulus decreases, and % elongation increases as the concentration of PVP increases. The surface morphology investigated using scanning electron microscope, shows that the two polymers were miscible in all concentration range.
A Real-Time Detection Approach to Network Traffic Anomalies in Communication Networks

With the advance of new network technologies, new types of applications are quickly arising. Network traffic exponentially is rising. Accordingly, this results in new challenges for network traffic anomaly detections. This paper proposes a new quick detection approach to network traffic anomalies. Firstly, network traffic is regarded as a time series of signals and is constructed into a matrix. Secondly, the principal component decomposition is performed for the matrix. The network traffic is divided into principal and non-principal components. Thirdly, the empirical mode decomposition is carried out for these two components. In this case, a quick anomaly detection algorithm is presented. Simulation results show that our approach is feasible and promising.
Design and implementation of a chatbot in the context of customer support

Customer support is perhaps one of the main aspects of the user experience for online services. However with the rise of natural language processing techniques, the industry is looking at automated chatbot solutions to provide quality services to an ever growing user base. This thesis presents a practical case study of such chatbot solution for the company GAMING1. First, an introduction to the market the company operates in is presented as well as a quick review of the field of conversational agents, highlighting the previous and current techniques used to develop chatbots. Then, the theory behind the techniques used is presented. Mainly deep learning techniques such as gated recurrent unit neural networks are discussed. Afterwards, a checklist of the issues solved by the chatbot is put on paper. Then a scalable software architecture for the chatbot is proposed and explained. A way of extracting ticket data as well as a quick dataset analysis are shown. A complete analysis of various neural network structures for user intent classification is shown alongside models for requesting a human operator if need be. The gated recurrent units were shown to be the most effective for classification whereas simpler models worked quite well for the human operator requester. Finally, a summary of performance metrics for the chatbot’s various submodules is shown. However since performance metrics are hard to interpret for dialogue systems, a series of practical test cases are presented as they show that the bot’s behaviour is more than satisfactory despite certain performance metrics remaining unsatisfactory.
The contribution of research to the development of organic farming in Europe

On national as well as on EU level, research funds should be directed substantially towards organic farming in order to improve the economic and ecological performance of organic farming. The impact of research funds is very high in this field of food production, because, as yet, the potential of organic farming has been scarcely tapped by research. Integrating organic farming research into conventional research structures means disintegrating organic farming itself. Therefore, special attention should be given to how research activities are organised. National or regional centres of competence (hubs) are needed in order to provide and maintain an appropriate quality of research. These hubs can be organised as real or virtual centres. Evaluation procedures for most national and EU research funds do not consider adequately the unique approach and methodology of organic farming research.
Knowledge-Intensive Business Services and Co-production of Knowledge - the Role of Public Sector?

The rise of knowledge economy has put knowledge-intensive services high on the research agenda. The argument is that their overall impact on economy has grown significantly. Besides creating a significant number of highly skilled jobs within the sector, knowledgeintensive services are seen in a pivotal role facilitating innovation and economic growth across the sectors. In the current society knowledge-intensive services have many roles, and they touch the very essence of the innovation system, knowledge itself. It is assumed that they can contribute to the renewal and growth of other businesses by creating fertile ground for innovations and diffusion of novel practices. Also public sector has recognised the central role of knowledge-intensive services, their ability to facilitate innovations, job creation and economic growth. As a result, policy measures and instruments are increasingly addressing knowledge-intensive services. The aim of this research is to create a better understanding of how knowledge-intensive services can benefit client firms, and how various policy measures may influence the use of knowledge-intensive services.
The isotopic composition of methane in the stratosphere

Abstract. The isotopic composition of stratospheric methane has been determined on a large suite of air samples from stratospheric balloon flights covering subtropical to polar latitudes and a time period of 16 yr. 154 samples were analyzed for δ 13 C and 119 samples for δD, increasing the previously published dataset for balloon borne samples by an order of magnitude, and more than doubling the total available stratospheric data (including aircraft samples) published to date. The samples also cover a large range in mixing ratio from tropospheric values near 1800 ppb down to only 250 ppb, and the strong isotope fractionation processes accordingly increase the isotopic composition up to δ 13 C = −14‰ and δD = +190‰, the largest enrichments observed for atmospheric CH 4 so far. When analyzing and comparing kinetic isotope effects (KIEs) derived from single balloon profiles, it is necessary to take into account the residence time in the stratosphere in combination with the observed mixing ratio and isotope trends in the troposphere, and the range of isotope values covered by the individual profile. The isotopic composition of CH 4 in the stratosphere is affected by both chemical and dynamical processes. This severely hampers interpretation of the data in terms of the relative fractions of the three important sink mechanisms (reaction with OH, O( 1 D) and Cl). It is shown that a formal sink partitioning using the measured data severely underestimates the fraction removed by OH, which is likely due to the insensitivity of the measurements to the kinetic fractionation in the lower stratosphere. Full quantitative interpretation of the CH 4 isotope data in terms of the three sink reactions requires a global model.
Polycentric urban development in China: A multi-scale analysis

This article reports a multi-scale analysis of polycentric urban development in 22 Chinese city-regions. Using fine-grained population data, our analysis contrasts polycentric development patterns at multiple geographical scales. We present a typology of Chinese city-regions based on both (1) their inter-city polycentricity and (2) the intra-city polycentricity of the individual cities that comprise these urban regions. Overall, we find only limited levels of association between inter-city and intra-city polycentricity. The Pearl River and Yangtze River Deltas have high levels of inter-city and intra-city polycentricity. Most city-regions in Central and Western China are characterized by a primate urban system and low levels of inter-city polycentricity. We hypothesize the major economic, political, and geographical processes underlying observed patterns.
Clinical and Molecular Diagnosis in Muscular Dystrophies

Muscular dystrophies are a diverse group of inherited muscle disorders with a wide range of clinical manifestations from a severe form with early onset and early death to adult forms with later onset and minimal clinical manifestation that do not affect life-span. Overlapping clinical symptoms and the multitude of genes that need to be analyzed for an accurate characterization make the diagnosis hard. In next-generation sequencing era, a lot of used assay in molecular diagnostics must be taken into consideration formuscular dystrophy diagnosis. However, formore accurate diagnosis, muscle protein expressions analysis may have prognostic value. In this chapter, we present the most important clinical and laboratory findings in the most common forms of muscular dystrophies and molecular diagnostic approaches for a more accurate diagnosis.
Analysis of Interregional Labor Migration in Spain Using Gross Flows

In this paper we study the economic determinants of Spanish interregional labor force flows from an aggregate perspective. The study is based on a matching model of the labor market applied to migration, and uses gross rather than net flows as other studies do. Among the main results, we find that unemployment increases out-migration because unemployed people search more actively, but when the unemployment rate is above a certain level this effect is reduced. We also find that the rate of change of relative wages is a significant determinant of migration in Spain.
Diet of northern bottlenose whales inferred from fatty-acid and stable-isotope analyses of biopsy samples

The Gully submarine canyon off eastern Canada has been designated a pilot marine protected area largely because of the northern bottlenose whales (Hyperoodon ampullatus) found there. Studies of this species' diet elsewhere in the North Atlantic Ocean have suggested specialization on the deep-sea squid Gonatus fabricii. We found a high proportion of the congener Gonatus steenstrupi in the stomachs of two bottlenose whales stranded in eastern Canada. In 1997, we collected remote biopsy samples from free-ranging bottlenose whales off Nova Scotia; fatty acids were de- termined from blubber samples and stable isotopes (carbon and nitrogen) from skin samples. Although fatty-acid strati - fication throughout the depth of the blubber layer was present (determined from blubber samples of stranded animals), the magnitude of stratification was less pronounced than in many other cetaceans, allowing some qualitative inferences to be made from shallow biopsy samples. Fatty-acid patterns and stable-isotope values from whales were compared with those in samples of G. fabricii from the Norwegian Sea. Blubber fatty acid composition was similar in character- istics to that of adult G. fabricii but was markedly distinct from that of juvenile G. fabricii and other recorded prey species. Nitrogen-isotope values implied that bottlenose whales (mean 15.3‰) and adult G. fabricii (mean 13.7‰) occupy high trophic levels. Overall, the results of these techniques concurred in suggesting that squid of the genus Gonatus may form a major part of the diet of bottlenose whales in the Gully.
BIOMECHANICAL ANALYSIS OF THE SNATCH TECHNIQUE OF ELITE MALES IN TAIWAN

The study compared two-dimensional snatch parameters of Taiwan elite males with International athletes by two-dimensional snatch parameters. Two males who were good Weight Lifting athletes in Taiwan were analyzed through PEAK motion analysis system to obtain kinematic data of the bar bell and human body. The result we found out as follows (1) The maximum velocity of barbell raising of this study was from 2.049 m/s to 2.124 m/so (2) The barbell speed ratio of the first and second pull of male lifters of this study was from 1.07 to 1.47. (3) The percentage of barbell height to the lifters' height of females lifters was 73% to 74% (4) The vertical dropping velocity of gravity of body of this study was 203.1 m/s to 205.7 m/so
BUYER-SUPPLIER COLLABORATION AND SUPPLY CHAIN RESILIENCE: A CASE STUDY IN THE PETROCHEMICAL INDUSTRY

The purpose of this study was to investigate the underlying mechanisms through which buyer-supplier collaboration enables resilience. A single case study method was adopted, examining a critical case within the petrochemical industry. Data was collected through semi-structured interviews. The rationale for undertaking buyer-supplier collaboration in the focal firm is grounded in Kraljic’s procurement matrix, accounting for underlying risks of supply disruptions that are inherent in the resilience discourse. The findings suggested that collaboration between buyers and suppliers does not directly lead to supply chain resilience, but rather enables the antecedents to supply chain resilience. The study developed an understanding of the specific mechanisms through which the antecedents of resilience are enabled in the petrochemical industry.
The Key Role of E2F in Tumor Suppression through Specific Regulation of Tumor Suppressor Genes in Response to Oncogenic Changes

E2F, the principal target of the tumor suppressor pRB, plays crucial roles in tumor sup- pression. Upon dysfunction of pRB, E2F activates tumor suppressor genes such as ARF , an upstream activator of the tumor suppressor p53, resulting in the induction of apop- tosis and tumor suppression. The E2F activity that activates the tumor suppressor genes is detected only in cancer cells and not in normal growing cells. The E2F activity can drive selective suicide gene expression and induce apoptosis specifically in cancer cells. Thus, the E2F activity provides a beneficial tool to specifically target cancer cells in cancer treatment.
Externalities in Economies with Imperfect Information and Incomplete Markets

This paper presents a simple, general framework for analyzing externalities in economies with incomplete markets and imperfect infonnation. By identifying the pecuniary effects of these externalities that net out, the paper simplifies the problem of determining when tax interventions are Pareto improving. The approach indicates that such tax interventions almost always exist and that equilibria in situations of imperfect information are rarely constrained Pareto optima. It can also lead to simple tests, based on readily observable indicators of the efficacy of particular tax policies in situations involving adverse selection, signaling, moral hazard, incomplete contingent claims markets, and queue rationing equilibria. Traditional discussions of externalities have emphasized the distinction between technological externalities, in which the action of one individual or firm directly affects the utility or profit ofanother, and pecuniary externalities, in which one individual's or firm's actions affect another only through effects on prices. While the presence of technological externalities imply, in general, that a competitive equilibrium may not be Pareto efficient, pecuniary externalities hy themselves are not a source of inefficiency. The fact that prices change has, of course important consequences: there are both distributional and allocational effects. But, the distribution effects "net" out: gains for example, hy firms whose prices increase—are precisely offset by losses—e.g., to individuals who must pay higher prices. And, there are no welfare losses from the allocation effects as long as the price changes involved are small: if firms are maximizing profits and individuals are maximizing utility, both facing prices that correctly refiect opportunity costs, then standard envelope theorem arguments imply that changes in profits or utility induced by changes in allocations (resulting from any small change in prices) are negligible.
Nanocrystalline NiFe2O4 particles synthesized by citrate – Urea assisted combustion process

Nanocrystalline NiFe2O4 particles are prepared using citric acid urea assisted combustion process by varying the metal ions, citric acid and urea ratio as 1:1:0.5, 1:1:1 and 1:1:2. The prepared samples are characterized using XRD, FTIR, DSC and SEM-EDS techniques. The impurity free pure nanocrystalline (~20 nm) NiFe2O4 powder is obtained for M:CA: urea ratio 1:1:0.5 sample.
Borrowing for Hospitalization in India 1

Borrowing to cover hospital costs is a major concern in developing countries, like India, as it may push households into despairs of poverty and indebtedness. The present study examines factors that lead to borrowing for hospitalization in case of Indian households. For this purpose, we use sample selection model. The analysis points out vulnerability of households from deprived sections of society and uneducated households, as they are more likely to borrow. Moreover, higher availability of public hospitals lowers probability of borrowing in rural areas. Thus, increasing coverage of public hospitals in rural areas might prove to be helpful.
S08-5 A methodology for predicting the impact of sea level rise on shorebirds (Charadrii) in estuaries

Mean sea level has been rising around Britain and the North Sea region over the past century and is predicted to rise more over the next century as a result of global climate change. Britain is internationally important for the large numbers of shorebirds (Charadriiformes) that winter on its estuaries, a habitat that will be directly affected by rising sea levels. The BTO has developed models for estimating estuarine shorebird densities from measurements of estuarine geomorphology predis- posed to predict how sea level rise may affect shorebirds. A methodology integrating these models with digital elevation models, coastline management plans and predictions of sea level rise was explored using two case study estuaries. The studies suggest that the densities of shorebird species favoring muddy sediments will decrease as sediments become increasingly sandy under management scenarios that allow land behind existing sea defenses to be reclaimed by the sea. However, where changes in estuary shape become great enough to bring about this shift, the associated increase in area more than compensates for the assumed degradation of habitat and such that numbers of shorebirds may be accommodated overall.
OPERATING PERFORMANCE AND FINANCIAL SUCCESS: EVIDENCE FROM PAKISTANI COMPANIES

This paper examines the relationship between risk adjusted performance of stocks measured by Sharpe Ratio and the firm’s operating performance measured by various indicators of profitability, liquidity, leverage, and size (market capitalization). Using fixed effect panel data models this paper seeks to identify which of the operating performance factors are important indicators of stock market performance in Pakistan’s emerging market. In this regard, we have employed the data for 107 companies listed on Karachi Stock Exchange over the period of 12 years from 1996- 2007. The empirical findings show that profitability measures, especially return-on-assets and firm size have a positive and significant effect on firm’s financial success whereas leverage is negatively related to stock market performance.
Environmental Disasters and Migration

This paper reviews the effect of environmental disasters on migration. Although there is an increase of environmental disasters and migration over the past years, the relationship is complex. While some authors find that environmental disasters increase migration, others show that they have only a marginal or no effect or are even negative. Migration appears to be an insurance mechanism against environmental shocks. Remittances help to decrease households' vulnerability to shocks but also dampen their adverse effects. Finally, we discuss policy implications and future research avenues.
Empirical Analysis of Bicultural Border College Students' Attitudes Toward Money

The objectives of this study were to investigate bicultural border college business students’ attitudes toward money, and to use the results to educate students about the possible impacts of their money attitude dimensions on their financial behavior patterns. A questionnaire survey using five-point Likerttype Money Attitude scale developed by Yamauchi and Templer (1982) was employed. Empirical results based on the K-means cluster analysis identified three groups of respondents. Statistical analyses revealed that there were significant differences between the money attitude dimensions with respect to cluster, gender and student classification.