Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Comparison of Spatial and Temporal Cloud Coverage Derived from CloudSat, CERES, ISCCP and Their Relationship with Precipitation Over Africa

The spatial and temporal cloud coverage derived by CloudSat, CERES, ISCCP satellite observations and their relationship with GPCP and TRMM precipitation in West, East and South of Africa were analyzed in this study. CloudSat, CERES and ISCCP show that the high spatial cloud coverage is more frequent in equatorial regions mainly due to more strong convection than other regions. CloudSat shows a low temporal cloud coverage than CERES and ISCCP which are close. Only ISCCP was used to investigate seasonal and temporal variability of different cloud types. The stratocumulus, altostratus, and cirrus clouds are the low, middle and high cloud types with high cloud coverage during JJA, JJA, MAM in West of Africa, during SON, JJA, MAM in East of Africa, and during SON, DJF, DJF in South of Africa respectively . The correlation between cloud coverage and precipitation dataset generally shows a low positive correlation in East of Africa probably due to GPCP and TRMM observations biases whereas a high positive correlation in West and South of Africa. Only middle clouds level in East of Africa, both low and middle in West of Africa show negative correlation with precipitation, whereas all cloud types level in South of Africa show a positive correlation with precipitation.
Effect of appendicularians and copepods on bacterioplankton composition and growth in the English Channel

We compared the effects of the presence of the appendicularian Oikopleura dioica and the copepods Acartia clausii and Calanus helgolandicus on the coastal bacterioplankton community off Plymouth. Mesozooplankton were added to water samples and bacterioplankton growth was monitored by flow cytometry. Phylogenetic composition of bacterioplankton was analysed using fluorescence in situ hybridisation (FISH) with rRNA-targeted oligonucleotide probes. The bacterioplankton composition did not change in the presence of either appendicularians or copepods, and generally the same proportions of bacterioplankton groups were determined. In late spring, 15 ± 2% of cells hybridised with a probe specific to the Kingdom Archaea. The majority of cells (88 ± 2%) belonged to the Kingdom Bacteria, and 86% of cells were identified using group-specific probes. The Cytophage-Flavobacterium cluster dominated the community, comprising 64 ± 0.5% of cells. The g-proteobacteria were the second abundant group, comprising 11 ± 0.5% of cells, and the SAR86 cluster of g-proteobacteria accounted for 6 ± 5%. The a-proteobacteria comprised 10 ± 5% of bacterioplankton, and the Roseobacteria related cluster represented 9 ± 3% of cells. The reduction of bacterioplankton growth caused by appendicularian bacterivory was 0.4 to 14% ind. -1 l-1, and the total appendicularian population could reduce bacterial growth in coastal waters in late spring-summer by up to 9%. In contrast to the appendicularians the copepods stimulated bacterial growth, and in summer the bacterioplankton growth may be increased by up to 13% by the combined effect of dominant copepod populations. Thus, the appendicularians and copepods had an opposite but moderate effect on the bacterioplankton growth and no effect on the bacterioplankton composition.
Farmers and policy-makers’ perceptions of climate change in Ethiopia

Climate change is one of the most urgent and complex challenges for societies and economies. Left unaddressed it contains the potential to compromise the well-being of the current and future generations. Smallholder farmers who depend on rain-fed agriculture are heavily affected and it is important to understand what they think about the problem and its impacts so that remedial measures can be tailored to address the same. Hence this study explores how farmers and policy-makers in Ethiopia conceived climate change, factors contributing to it and its impacts. The study is based on a field research conducted from January to May 2012 in Sidama’s three agroecological zones (AEZs), namely, the highlands, midlands and lowlands. It deployed both qualitative and quantitative research method. Data collection involved (a) semi-structured interviews with 15 farmers and 17 policy-makers, (b) focus group discussion with 30 farmers, and (c) a survey of 120 farmers. The novelty of the study lies in exploring and comparing two sets of views (that of local people and the policy-makers) on climate change. Findings revealed that farmers clearly perceived climate risks based on their experience and knowledge of their local environment. The commonly cited indicators of change include high temperature, rainfall, seasonal shifts and incidence of certain diseases. Farmers also identified specific indicators such as change in wind direction, disappearance of plant (crop and tree) species, growing hitherto unfamiliar crops and emergence of new parasites and weeds. Their perceptions of causes of climate change are mixed: deforestation, God’s wrath, human activities, and weakened indigenous practices and values. On the other hand, participants from policy-making community espoused views shared by scientific discourse such as deforestation, global warming and CO2 emissions. The gap in understanding needs to be bridged by information and education of the local public with the policy-makers paying attention to the importance of indigenous knowledge.
Cradle to Gate Life Cycle Assessment of Continuous Production for Solar Collector Selective Surface

In this study, a cradle-to-gate life cycle assessment (LCA) has been evaluated for the selective surface of solar collector which is commonly used in the production of renewable energy. The plant construction and production stages are investigated along with the use of technology and the recycling of raw materials in this assessment. The new production process is continuous and differs from the conventional batch systems in the respect. Product eco profile is obtained based on data from a live prototype plant in Istanbul, Turkey and its environmental impact is analyzed.
Better Understanding of Resonance through Modeling and Visualization

Students encounter cavity resonance and waveguide phenomena in acoustics courses and texts, where the study is usually limited to cases with simple geometries: parallelepipeds, cylinders, and spheres. Long-wavelength approximations help with situations of more complexity, as in the classic Helmholtz resonator. At Kettering University, we are beginning to employ finite element modeling in our acoustics classes to help undergraduates better understand the acoustic modes of actual structures. This approach to the timeindependent wave equation (the Helmholtz equation) was first used in a research and measurements class to investigate two classic resonance problems. The first problem was a study of resonance in bottles of various shapes. The second problem, a standard application of the Helmholtz resonator, aimed to control noise in a duct at a single “problem frequency. ” Students employed swept-sine tests with their structures to determine acoustic mode frequencies. For some of the bottles, pressure mode shapes were also measured by moving a small microphone. The measurements were then compared to results from a time-harmonic finite element model, and when possible, to predictions based on simplified models (the Helmholtz resonator and cylinders). The dependence of the mode shape on varying cross-section enriched the understanding that the textbooks could deliver. In the noise control problem with a duct and resonator, the interaction of the resonator with standing waves of the duct was made clear through visualization. In particular, the model could simulate an infinite duct—not available in our lab! —to clarify the effect of the Helmholtz resonator. Measurements and models from student work will accompany discussion, and ideas for future implementation in courses will
2 Signaling Educational Performance 2 . 1 Theoretical background

While the fact that students perform better in education systems with curriculumbased external exit exams is well documented, little is known about the channels through which this reduced-form pattern arises. One possible channel is that central exams increase the signaling value of high school leaving grades, so that students increase their learning effort to reap later labor-market benefits. This paper tests this channel in a differences-in-differences framework, estimating whether earnings differences between high and low grades are greater in German States without central Abitur exams than ones with them. There is clear evidence that the earnings premium for high school leaving grades is bigger when they are based on central exams. Central exams also increase the number of interviews and job offers per application. JEL-Code: I20, J31, J24
Effect of [ 5-adrenergic stimulation on free fatty acid content in subepicardial and subendocardial layers of the dog heart in situ . Separation and assay by capillary gas chromatography

The effects of 13-adrenergic stimulation produced by an infusion of isoproterenol (1 p.g-kg -~ rain -~, 30 min) were studied in situ in the anaesthetized dog placed under a total cardiopulmonary bypass. Samples of the subepicardial and the subendocardial layers were homogenized separately prior to the extraction and methylation of free fatty acids (FFA). Gas chromatography on Carbowax 20 M capillary columns was used for the quantitation of myristic (C 14:0), palmitic (C 16:0), palmitoleic (C 16:1), stearic (C 18:0), oleic (C 18:1), linoleic (C 18:2), and arachidonic (C 20:4) acids. Within 5 min, isoproterenol decreased the tissue content of FFA significantly. The decrease was more pronounced in the endocardial layer where the FFA concentration reached its minimum at the 5th or the 15th min. In the epicardial layer, all the FFA reached their minimal concentration at the 30th min of the isoproterenol infusion. In both layers, lactate content remained unchanged at 5 and 15 min and rose at the 30th min only and content in phosphorylated compounds (ATP, creatine-phosphate CP) did not show any significant variation during the ~-stimulation period. A significant correlation was found between the ehronotropic effect of isoproterenol and the reduction of FFA concentration.
A INSERÇÃO E OS TEMPOS VERBAIS NO PORTUGUÊS FALADO

This dissertation studies insertionone of the strategies of spoken Portugueseand the use of verbal tenses, based on the theoretical principles of Linguistics from the perspective of Textual Linguistics and Semantics. For this research, some excerpts of the “corpora” were analyzed which were established by exploration of the Cult Urban Linguistic Pattern of Sao Paulo, of Mato Grosso do Sul Linguistics Atlas and the Bandeirante Project of Philology and Popular Portuguese of Brazil, from Sao Paulo State, with the informants belonging to different genders, diverse age groups and education level. In order to proceed with this researched, the nature and functions of insertion phenomenon, the use of verbal tenses in the different types of insertion, the relationship between the use of verbal tenses in those insertions as well as in preceding and following insertions, in addition to the relationship between the use of the verbal tenses and the communicative attitude and communicative perspective beyond the relevance, when part of the narrated world. From the obtained data, in qualitative analysis, it was possible to verify that there are variations as to the verbal transitions in those mentioned States (Mato Grosso do Sul and Sao Paulo) and also among informants and that insertion does not interrupt the textual sequence, yet, quite on the contrary, it contributes for the coherence, which justifies the major frequency of explainable functions and comments. It was also observed that the use of verbal tenses, both in the case of homogeneous and heterogeneous transitions, have always been subordinated to discourse, which is also subordinated to the developed themes and both to the social characteristics of the speakers.
Radiocarbon Content of Dissolved Organic Carbon in the South Indian Ocean

We report four profiles of the radiocarbon content of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) spanning the South Indian Ocean (SIO), ranging from the Polar Front (56°S) to the subtropics (29°S). Surface waters held mean DOC Δ14C values of −426 ± 6‰ (~4,400 14C years) at the Polar Front and DOC Δ14C values of −252 ± 22‰ (~2,000 14C years) in the subtropics. At depth, Circumpolar Deep Waters held DOC Δ14C values of −491 ± 13‰ (~5,400 years), while values in Indian Deep Water were more depleted, holding DOC Δ14C values of −503 ± 8‰ (~5,600 14C years). High‐salinity North Atlantic Deep Water intruding into the deep SIO had a distinctly less depleted DOC Δ14C value of −481 ± 8‰ (~5,100 14C years). We use multiple linear regression to assess the dynamics of DOC Δ14C values in the deep Indian Ocean, finding that their distribution is characteristic of water masses in that region.
Diagnostic potential of the PMS-phage assay and PMS-culture to detect Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis in bovine milk

Controlling the spread of Johne’s disease, caused by Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis ( MAP ), in domestic livestock is challenging. Current diagnostic methods 28 lack sufficient sensitivity to detect sub-clinically infected animals, and thus better diagnostic 29 methods are needed. This study was carried out to investigate the diagnostic potential of two 30 novel peptide-mediated magnetic separation (PMS)-based tests - a PMS-phage assay and 31 PMS-culture – both of which have been developed and optimised to detect viable MAP cells 32 in bovine milk. Individual milk samples (50 ml) were obtained from 105 ‘non-infected’ and 40 33 ‘ MAP -infected’ animals (classified as such on the basis of prior faecal culture and serum- 34 ELISA results) in three dairy herds, and tested in parallel by the PMS-phage assay and 35 PMS-culture. Diagnostic sensitivity (DSe) and specificity (DSp) of the PMS-phage and PMS- 36 culture methods were determined relative to the MAP infection status of the animal 37 contributing the milk sample. The PMS-based tests applied individually showed moderate 38 DSe (PMS-culture 0.250 and PMS-phage assay 0.325) and high DSp (0.962 and 1.000, 39 respectively). When results of the two PMS-based tests were combined, DSe increased 40 substantially to 0.525 and the DSp was calculated to be 0.962. It was concluded that 41 combined application of the PMS-phage assay and PMS-culture provided the most complete 42 picture regarding the presence of viable MAP in bovine milk samples. A comprehensive 43 validation of the PMS-based assays relative to currently used diagnostic methods (faecal 44 culture and serum-ELISA) would be the next step in assessment of the diagnostic potential 45 of these novel PMS-based methods.
Going Beyond ERP Implementation: An ERP Assimilation Cross-Case Analysis

ERP systems have long been known for their significant impacts on the adopting companies, irrespective of size and industry. To better understand and to maximize the positive impacts, ERP research has mostly focused on the selection, evaluation and implementation stages. Failure rates, however, indicate that post- implementation is another essential stage for ERP projects success. Based on a qualitative research design using case-study methodology, this study investigates the determinants of ERP assimilation success during the post-implementation stage. A comparison between three Canadian manufacturing companies is made. A set of lessons learned based on this analysis are presented.
On Reducible Degeneration of Hyperelliptic Curves and Soliton Solutions

In this paper we consider a reducible degeneration of a hyperelliptic curve of genus g. Using the Sato Grassmannian we show that the limits of hyperelliptic solutions of the KP-hierarchy exist and become soliton solutions of various types. We recover some results of Abenda who studied regular soliton solutions corresponding to a reducible rational curve obtained as a degeneration of a hyperelliptic curve. We study singular soliton solutions as well and clarify how the singularity structure of solutions is reflected in the matrices which determine the soliton solutions.
SELECTIVE PLASMONIC CONTROL OF EXCITONS AND THEIR NON-RADIATIVE ENERGY TRANSFER IN COLLOIDAL SEMICONDUCTOR QUANTUM DOT SOLIDS

SELECTIVE PLASMONIC CONTROL OF EXCITONS AND THEIR NON-RADIATIVE ENERGY TRANSFER IN COLLOIDAL SEMICONDUCTOR QUANTUM DOT SOLIDS Tuncay Ozel M.S. in Physics Supervisor: Assist. Prof. Dr. Hilmi Volkan Demir August 2009 To date extensive research has proved that semiconductors and metals exhibit extraordinary optical properties in nano-dimensions compared to their bulk counterparts. For example, an interesting effect is observed in metal nanostructures/nanoparticles (NPs) that we form to obtain localized plasmons, with their optical response highly tuneable using the size effect. Another field of interest at the nanoscale is the investigation of light generation and harvesting using colloidal semiconductor quantum dot nanocrystals (NCs) that we synthesize in few nanometers, with their emission and absorption excitonic peaks conveniently tuneable using the size effect. In this thesis, we proposed and demonstrated the first accounts of selectively plasmonically-controlled colloidal quantum dot emitters assembled in innovative architectures, with a control achieved either through spatial selection or spectral selection. In the first set of designs, we developed for the first time plasmonic NC-composites that rely on spatially-selected plasmon-coupled CdTe NC-monolayers interspaced with respect to Au NP-monolayers in a repeating three-dimensional layer-by-layer architecture. In these bottom-up designs of hybrid nanocomposites, the photoluminescence kinetics is strongly modified and a record quantum efficiency of 30% is achieved for such CdTe NC solids. In the second set of
Long-Term (1951–2007) Rainfall Trends around Six Indian Cities: Current State, Meteorological, and Urban Dynamics

The present study focuses on analyzing the precipitation trends over six Indian cities during the summer monsoon (June–September) covering the period 1951–2007 and also attempting to investigate possible urban forcing and dynamics by examining the variation in precipitation in the upwind and downwind directions. The analysis shows negative trends in the total number of rainy days over Hyderabad (−10.4%), Kanpur (−7.1%), Jaipur (−10.5%), and Nagpur (−4.8%) and positive trends over Delhi (7.4%) and Bangalore (22.9%). On the other hand, decreases of −21.3%, −5.9%, −14.2%, and −14.6% in seasonal rainfall are found over Delhi, Hyderabad, Jaipur, and Kanpur, respectively, whereas Bangalore and Nagpur show 65.8% and 13.5% increase. The lesser rainfall and rainy days, along with the mostly declining trend, in the downwind directions of the cities may imply an urban influence in precipitation associated with the increased anthropogenic emissions due to expansion of the urban areas and the increase of population. However, the large spatiotemporal variability of precipitation and the lack of statistical significance in the vast majority of the trends do not allow the extraction of safe conclusion concerning the aerosol-precipitation interactions around Indian cities.
Joint Alignment of Segmentation and Labelling for Arabic Morphosyntactic Taggers

We present and compare three methods of alignment between morphemes resulting from four different Arabic POS - taggers as well as one baseline method using only provided labels. We combined four Arabic POS - taggers: MADAMIRA (M A), Stanford Tagger (ST), AMIRA (AM), Farasa (FA); and as the target output used two Classical Arabic gold standards: Quranic Arabic Corpus (QAC) and SALMA Standard Arabic Linguistics Morphological Analysis (SAL). We justify why we opt to use label for aligning instead of word form. The problem is not trivial as it is tackling six different tokenisation and labelling standards. The supervised learning using a unigram model scored the best segment alignment accuracy, correctly aligning 97 % of morpheme segments. We then evaluated the alignment methods extrinsically, in terms of their effect in improving accuracy of ensemble POS - taggers, merging different combinations of the four Arabic POS - taggers. Using the best approach to align input POS taggers, ensemble tagger has correctly segmented and tagged 88.09% of morphemes. We show how increasing the number of input taggers raise the accuracy, suggesting that input taggers make different errors.
Sensor Scheduling for Hunting Elusive Hiding Targets: a Restless Bandit Index Policy

We consider a sensor scheduling model where a set of identical sensors are used to hunt a larger set of heterogeneous targets, each of which is located at a corresponding site. Target states change randomly over discrete time slots between “exposed” and ‘hidden,” according to Markovian transition probabilities that depend on whether sites are searched or not, so as to make the targets elusive. Sensors are imperfect, failing to detect an exposed target when searching its site with a positive misdetection probability. We formulate as a partially observable Markov decision process the problem of scheduling the sensors to search the sites so as to maximize the expected total discounted value of rewards earned (when targets are hunted) minus search costs incurred. Given the intractability of finding an optimal policy, we introduce a tractable heuristic search policy of priority index type based on the Whittle’s index for restless bandits. Preliminary computational results are reported showing that such a policy is nearly optimal and can substantially outperform the myopic policy and other simple heuristics.
Viewpoint: Sustainability of pinon-juniper ecosystems - A unifying perspective of soil erosion thresholds

Many pinon-juniper ecosystems in the western U.S. are subject to accelerated erosion while others are undergoing little or no erosion. Controversy has developed over whether invading or encroaching pinon and juniper species are inherently harmful to rangeland ecosystems. We developed a conceptual model of soil erosion in pinon-juniper ecosystems that is consistent with both sides of the controversy and suggests that the diverse perspectives on this issue arise from threshold effects operating under very different site conditions. Soil erosion rate can be viewed as a function of (1) site erosion potential (SEP), determined by climate, geomorphology and soil erodibility; and (2) ground cover. Site erosion potential and cover act synergistically to determine soil erosion rates, as evident even from simple USLE predictions of erosion. In pinon-juniper ecosystems with high SEP, the erosion rate is highly sensitive to ground cover and can cross a threshold so that erosion increases dramatically in response to a small decrease in cover. The sensitivity of erosion rate to SEP and cover can be visualized as a cusp catastrophe surface on which changes may occur rapidly and irreversibly. The mechanisms associated with a rapid shift from low to high erosion rate can be illustrated using percolation theory to incorporate spatial, temporal, and scale-dependent patterns of water storage capacity on a hillslope. Percolation theory demonstrates how hillslope runoff can undergo a threshold response to a minor change in storage capacity. Our conceptual model suggests that pinon and juniper contribute to accelerated erosion only under a limited range of site conditions which, however, may exist over large areas.
Simulating a Guitar with a Conventional Sonometer

In this paper we present a simple way to convert a conventional sonometer into a simulated fretted instrument, such as a guitar or similar, by adding a fingerboard to the sonometer. In particular, we use this modified apparatus in relation to the problem of the instrument intonation, i.e., how to obtain correctly tuned notes on these string instruments. The experimental procedures presented in this study can become a more structured laboratory activity to be used in general physics courses or acoustics classes.