Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The case for convergence: Assessing regional income distribution in Asia and the Pacific

This paper considers income inequality in Asia and the Pacific, examining whether there has been an increase or decrease in income inequality among countries in the region in recent decades. By analysing the position of countries’ GDP per capita relative to that of a reference economy (Australia), the study finds that between the years 1970 and 2014, most of the region’s less affluent countries were able to catch up in relative terms, allowing them to slowly move up the income matrix towards higher tier groups. Subregional examination reveals that most of the income convergence in the Asia-Pacific region was due to exceptional economic growth in East and North-East Asia and, to a lesser extent, in South-East Asia. While the paper shows that relative income differences between countries in the region have fallen since the 1970s, it points to the need for differentiating between relative and absolute measures of inequality. Insufficient convergence and substantial initial differences in GDP per capita have meant that, despite a decline in relative inequality, absolute differences in average income have grown during the same period.
Incremental, transitional and transformational adaptation to climate change in resource extraction regions

Non-technical summary Mining regions are affected by climate change. Supplies of energy and water are required, and operations become hazardous during adverse weather events. Adapting to climate change takes three forms: incrementally improving the resilience of mining operations; transitioning to more inclusive governance through institutional and policy innovations; and more profound transformations that shift the balance of power, including profit-sharing, localized control or cessation of mining entirely. Clarifying adaptation pathways helps to identify priorities and inform policies for a fairer and more sustainable future for mining and the regions where it takes place. Technical summary Mining regions are strategically important in the response to climate change given advances in global governance and shifting risks at extraction sites. There are sustainability and justice considerations that offer critical lessons for the design of climate change adaptation in these regions. This article systematically reviews and evaluates the social and interdisciplinary science literature on adaptation to climate change in mining regions in order to identify the goals and scale of proposed solutions, their shortcomings and possible learning opportunities. The review employs a framework of adaptation pathways that distinguishes between incremental, transitional and transformational adaptation. In this way, it contributes to the growing literature on resource extraction and climate change adaptation by providing further understanding of how adaptation in mining regions can and does occur. The review finds a lack of clarity in how adaptive responses and behaviours are framed. Conceptual lenses need to be multi-scalar, dynamic and polycentric, with more empirical and practical work to identify how to enable adaptation in mining regions, not only through deploying technology, but also through better governance practices and more egalitarian power structures.
Analysis of Changes in Forest Structure using Point Clouds from Historical Aerial Photographs

Dynamic changes in land use, many of which are related to land abandonment, are taking place in many regions of the world. As a result, forest vegetation appears, which in part is a consequence of planned afforestation programs and in part has the characteristics of secondary forest succession. Monitoring of forest structure allows the range and dynamics of such changes to be identified. The aim of the study was to assess the usefulness of historical aerial photographs in the determination of forest structure. On the basis of such data, a point cloud was created which represented the forest structure in 1966. Subsequently, using airborne laser scanning data for the same area, corresponding datasets describing the situation in 2012 were created. Comparison of the two tall vegetation models made it possible to perform four analyses related to forest structure changes over a period of 46 years. The analyses were carried out in four areas in southern Poland. The analysis of the results confirmed that historical aerial photographs may be a valuable source in long-term analyses of changes in the range and height structure of areas containing tall vegetation.
An Assessment of Sustainable Development in the South Central Coast of Vietnam during the Period from 2010 to 2016

In the context of global change, the rapidly increase of socio-economic development can trigger the negative impacts on coastal resources, environment and ecosystems, causing the deterioration of the system sustainability. Vietnam is one of the most vulnerable countries by climate change. Of which, the South Central Coast (SCC) is a highly vulnerable area to climate extreme events and sea level rise. This research aimed to build a theoretical framework for evaluating the level of sustainable development in the SCC. By using Delphi method, Interpolation method and Evaluation method, the research proposed a set of indicators, which consists of 32 indicators of the four dimensions (Economic; Social; Environmental; Infrastructure and Governance) in order to evaluate the sustainable development index (SDI) of the SCC provinces. Results show that the SDI had an increased tendency from 2010 to 2016. In general, Da Nang is the capital of the region and the SDI was highest which increased from 0.38 in 2010 to 0.61 in 2016 through the development of economic, infrastructure and urban governance dimensions. In contrast, during the survey, Binh Dinh and Phu Yen’s SDI were still lower than other provinces. Results suggested that it is necessary to enhance the policy and planning to implement the sustainable development goals together with the economy, society, environment and infrastructure development. The sustainable development indicators can potentially contribute to apply to monitor the sustainable development in other coastal regions in Vietnam.
The Effects of Brazilian Second (Winter) Corn Crop on Price Seasonality, Basis Behavior and Integration to International Market

The purpose of this study is to analyze the impact of the growth of Brazilian winter corn crop on spot price seasonality, basis patterns, and the integration to international market. A moving average method and regression analysis were used to test for seasonal variations, while econometric time-series methods tests were applied to verify the market integration. Results indicated that the expansion of the winter corn crop has changed the seasonality of prices and basis and increased the level of integration with the international market.
Health literacy among young Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander males in the Northern Territory

The Alcohol, Other Drugs, and Gambling (AODG) Unit at Menzies School of Health Research is leading a research project relating to Health Literacy Among Young Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Males in the NT. The aim of this study is to explore the interplay between health literacy, gender (specifically masculinities) and cultural identity among young Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander males aged 14-24 years living in the Northern Territory (NT), Australia.
Evolution of human–environmental interactions in China from the Late Paleolithic to the Bronze Age

Exploring prehistoric variation in human–environmental interaction is critical for understanding the historical patterns and mechanisms of long-term human–land evolution. In this paper we review the published radiocarbon and optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) data from Late Paleolithic, Neolithic and Bronze Age sites in China, analyze the spatial–temporal distribution of these sites, and compare it with the results of recent paleoclimatic and archaeological studies. We seek to study the trajectory and influencing factors of human–environmental interactions in late prehistoric China. We detect changing patterns in the relationship between humans and the environment during different phases of the prehistoric era in China. Climate change clearly affected the environment of hunter-gatherer groups between 50,000–10,000 BP (before present, defined as 1950AD), and variation in human population in Neolithic China (∼10,000–4000 BP) was likely influenced primarily by the development of agriculture, in addition to substantial climate events. The spatial scale of human settlements expanded in the Bronze Age (∼4000–2200 BP) in a period of cooling climate. During this time the impact of human activities on the environment increased significantly, primarily caused by technological innovations related to the onset of prehistoric transcontinental cultural exchange in Eurasia.
Dual origin of garnet peridotites of Dabie-Sulu UHP terrane, eastern-central China

occur within quartzofeldspathic gneiss in the DabieSulu ultrahigh-pressure (UHP) terrane of eastern-central China. Type A mantle-derived peridotites are fragments of mantle wedge that have been sequestered into subducted continental lithosphere whereas type B crustal-hosted peridotites are portions of mafic-ultramafic complexes emplaced into continental crust prior to subduction. Type A lherzolites have lower CaO, Al2O3, TiO2 and REE contents than primitive mantle, and pyroxenites preserve mantle O isotope values (δ18O: 5.0–5.6‰) and 87Sr/86Sr ratios (0.7032– 0.7036). In contrast, Type B peridotites, including pyroxenites, show a wide range in CaO, Al 2O3, TiO2 and REE; some possess extremely [(La/Yb)N = 17386] to moderately fractionated LREE-enriched REE patterns. Type B peridotites have relatively low δ18O values of + 1.5 to + 4.1‰, and high 87Sr/86Sr ratios (0.707– 0.708), and were subjected to crustal contamination and/or metasomatism prior to UHP metamorphism. Garnet peridotites of both types have experienced four distinct stages of recrystallization: (I) primary formation, (II) peak UHP metamorphism, (III) granulite and amphibolite facies retrogression during decompression, and (IV) greenschist facies overprint. P-T estimates of UHP metamorphism are 800 to 1000 ̊C and pressures of 35–60 kbar. These garnet peridotites provide a window into geochemical characteristics of mantle wedge and deep subduction processes involving the role of different fluids (surficial vs. juvenile) sequestered within a subducting continental lithosphere plate.
Biogas Generation through Anaerobic Digestion of Compost Leachate in Semi-Continuous Completely Stirred Tank Reactors

The composting process of organic fraction of municipal solid waste, besides to the residual compost, generates a wastewater that is characterized by a high organic load. The application of anaerobic processes represents an advantageous solution for the treatment and valorization of this type of wastewater. Nevertheless, few works have been focused on the anaerobic digestion of compost leachate. To overcome this dearth, in the present paper an extensive experimental investigation was carried out to develop and analyse the anaerobic treatment of young leachate in completely stirred tank reactors (CSTR). Initially, it was defined a suitable leachate pretreatment to correct its acidic characteristics that is potentially able to inhibit methanogenic biomass activity. The pretreated leachate was fed to the digester over the start-up phase that was completed in about 40 days. During the operational period, the organic load rate (OLR) changed between 4.25 kgCOD/m3d and 38.5 kgCOD/m3d. The chemical oxygen demand (COD) abatement was higher than 90% for OLR values up to 14.5 kgCOD/m3d and around to 80% for applied loads equal to 24.5 kgCOD/m3d. At this OLR, it was reached the maximum daily biogas production of about 9.3 Lbiogas/(Lreactord). The CH4 fraction was between 70%–78% and the methane production yield in the range 0.34–0.38 LCH4/gCODremoved. The deterioration of biogas production started for OLR values that were over the threshold of 24.5 kgCOD/m3d when a volatile fatty acids (VFA) accumulation occurred and the pH dropped below 6.5. The maximum ratio between VFA and alkalinity (ALK) tolerable in the CSTR was identified to be 0.5 gCH3COOH/gCaCO3. Through an economic analysis, it was proven that the digestion of compost leachate could ensure significant economic profits. Furthermore, the produced digestate had characteristics that were compatible for agricultural applications.
A review of rail track degradation prediction models

ABSTRACT The increase in traffic congestion in urban areas as a result of more private transport intensifies the importance of promoting public transport and rail transport in particular. The increasing demand for rail transport will lead to more pressure and stress on rail components and consequently higher rates of degradation. If degradation of railway components is not treated by means of effective maintenance strategies, catastrophic human casualties and massive financial losses are inevitable. Degradation prediction modelling is the key element in the establishment of cost-effective and efficient maintenance strategies in railway systems. This paper reviews different models proposed in the literature for rail track degradation prediction, including mechanistic models, statistical models and Artificial Intelligence (AI) models. In addition, the advantages and disadvantages of each model are explained, and factors influencing rail track degradation are investigated.
Research and Design of Electronic Evidence Preservation Platform based on Block Chain and Merkle Tree

After a thorough study of the characteristics of electronic evidence, an electronic evidence preservation scheme based on block chain and Merkle Tree is proposed. In this scheme, a P2P network technology is used to realize the decentralization of the system, an encryption algorithm is used to ensure the security of user data, Merkle tree technology is used to ensure non tampering and traceability of data, an improved consensus algorithm is designed to ensure data consistency between computing nodes, timestamp technology is used to ensure the existence of data in a specific time period or before a certain time, and block chain data structure is used to store electronic evidence. An electronic evidence preservation platform based on block chain and Merkle Tree is designed and constructed. This platform can achieve the decentralized electronic evidence preservation in the cloud computing environment, and prevent any involved participants, including evidence investigators, cloud service providers, users and so on, from colluding to tamper with the digital evidence. Experiments show that the scheme can effectively preserve and verify the electronic evidence, and guarantee the integrity and timeliness of the evidence data.
Health Risks Associated with the Use of Water Mist Systems as a Cooling Intervention in Public Places in the Pilbara Region of Western Australia

The exposure of people to opportunistic premise plumbing pathogens (OPPPs) such as Legionella, Mycobacterium and Pseudomonas in aerosolised water has been linked to opportunistic infections. Water mist systems (WMS) that are used to cool public places by flash evaporation of tiny water aerosols are gaining prominence in hot climatic regions of Australia. Their potential to be colonised by OPPPs has not been adequately studied. The public health impact of OPPPs is significant, as Legionella caused 63% of waterborne disease case hospitalisations in the United States associated with drinking water systems during 2013–2014, and the incidence of Mycobacterium avium over the same period was 647 cases per 100,000. As WMS are part of premise plumbing, they have structural characteristics that can promote biofilm formation, as well as the presence of free-living amoebae (FLA), low residual disinfection levels, elevated water temperatures and oligotrophic conditions, all of which can promote OPPP inhabitancy. This review highlights the potential public health risks of using WMS as a cooling intervention in public places and advocates for their regulation in places of public assembly and entertainment.
Deep Learning-Based Automatic Horizon Identification from Seismic Data

Horizons in a seismic image are geologically signficant surfaces that can be used for understanding geological structures and stratigraphy models. However, horizon tracking in seismic data is a time consuming and challenging task. Saving geologist's time from this seismic interpretation task is essential given the time constraints for the decision making in the oil & gas industry. We take advantage of the deep convolutional neural networks (CNN) to track the horizons directly from the seismic images. We propose a novel automatic seismic horizon tracking method that can reduce the time needed for interpretation, as well as increase the accuracy for the geologists. We show the performance comparison of the proposed CNN model for different training data set sizes and different methods of balancing the classes.
Neural net architectures for image demosaicing

Demosaicing remains a critical component of modern digital image processing, with a direct impact on image quality. Conventional demosaicing methods yield relatively poor results especially light-weight methods used for fast processing. Alternatively, recent works utilizing Deep Convolutional Neural Nets have significantly improved upon previous methods, increasing both quantitative and perceptual performance. This approach has seen significant reduction of artifacts but there still remains scope for meaningful improvement. To further this research, we investigate the use of alternate architectures and training parameters to reduce incurred errors, especially visually disturbing demosaicing artifacts such as moiré and provide an overview of current methods to better understand their expected performance. Our results show a U-NET style Network to outperform previous methods in quantitative and perceptual error and remain computationally efficient for use in GPU accelerated applications as an end-to-end demosaicing solution.
Petrology and Geochemistry of Basalts from Tonnge Area, Tigyaing Township, Sagaing Region, Myanmar

Tonnge basalt is a relatively small basaltic field situated in the Tigyaing Township, Sagaing Region, Myanmar. This basaltic field is considered as one of the occurrences of younger extrusive rocks along the major strike-slip fault of central Myanmar. The basaltic lava flows erupted and rested upon the Upper Miocene-Pliocene Irrawaddy Sandstone. Petrological and geochemical studies of the Tonnge basalts have not been carried out yet. This paper reports the results of petrological and geochemical investigation on the basalts from Tonnge area. These data have provided insight into the origin and petrogenetic processes during evolution. The petrographic characteristics of the basalts have been studied using polarizing microscope. The major- and trace-element compositions of basalt samples were analyzed using X-Ray Fluorescence. The Tonnge basalts are porphyritic, holocrystalline and consist of phenocrysts of olivine, plagioclase ± clinopyroxene which are set in the fine-grained intergranular groundmass of olivine, pyroxene, and opaque minerals. The basalts show typical characters of alkali olivine basalts. Trace element assemblage of the studied basalts plots on various discrimination diagrams as within-plate basalt erupted in the continental setting. A relatively small volume, monogenetic nature and unique geochemical characteristics of the basaltic lavas suggest that they are derived from a single, short-lived, discrete parental magma as a result of partial melting.
Punching shear in heated interior reinforced concrete slab-column connections

16 Declaration . 18 Copyright statement . 18 Dedication . 19 Acknowledgements . 20 Chapter One: Introduction. 22 1.1 Background and motivation . 22 1.2 Aims and objectives . 25 1.3 Methodology . 25 1.4 Thesis overview . 26 Chapter Two: Background to punching shear at elevated temperatures . 28 2.1 A conceptual description of shear behaviour at ambient temperature: A general approach . 28 2.1.1 Mechanisms of shear transfer in the RC member at ambient temperature 33 2.1.2 Shear in reinforced concrete beams at ambient temperature – previous research 35 2.1.3 Punching shear at ambient temperature – previous research . 35 2.2 A conceptual description of shear behaviour at elevated temperatures . 43 2.2.1 Concrete at elevated temperatures . 44 2.2.2 Shear in RC beams at elevated temperatures – previous research . 45 2.2. 3 Punching shear at elevated temperatures – previous research . 45
The effect of inclined groins on the flow

Hydraulic structures, such as pile dikes, groins, splitting dikes, have been constructed in natural rivers to improve the channel stability to bank or bed erosions by reducing flow velocity or changing flow direction. In order to produce better river environments, river flow mechanisms with the hydraulic structures need to be intensively studied. In this paper, an experimental flow field with non-overflow groins in a straight rigid-boundary channel was produced, and the characteristics of the flow with groins positioned in stagger were also investigated by measuring two dimensional flow velocity fields. Eight different types of groins were positioned on the left side of the model channel. The velocity distributions around the groin and the geometry of bed flume before and after are measured. The effects of various groin parameters (width of groin per channel width, and its inclination) on the change in water velocity are studied. The model studies are performed using regular waves in a basin. The results show that the maximum water velocity was when the groin width was equal to one fifth of the flume width. The groin preferred to place inclined with 60° with the flume side. Key words: Nature-oriented river works, open channel flow, meandering river, experimental works, open channel flow, coastal evolution.
Status and socio-ecological dimensions of sacred groves in Northeast India

Sacred groves are among one of the best practices of biodiversity conservation used by the ethnic societies which are deeply associated with the religion and culture that significantly nurture nature. As these practices play a vital role in conserving socio-ecologically important species and protect threatened flora and fauna from extinction in different ecological zones. In northeast India, sacred groves are well connected with culture and society through religious beliefs of the population and their associated myths. Sacred groves cover a total of > 40,000 hectares of natural forest area in the five northeastern states of India. These forests house some of the most important and highly threatened species of plants. Wild relatives of present-day cultivated plants are found in these forests and hence act as the gene pool for these species. Social transformation and urbanization have a large impact on the structure and health of these forests and responsible for their destruction. Developmental projects like railways, roads, hydro-electric projects etc. have reportedly destroyed many groves in the past. Due to social transformation, the rate of activities like grazing, encroachment, cutting and collection of fuel wood, fruits and leaves has been increasing and posing a threat to the conservation of biodiversity and ecosystem function in the future. Creating awareness about the social and ecological benefits of maintaining sacred groves among local people, especially youth, can help in reviving these practices and conserving them as a natural heritage for future generations is the need of the hour.