Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Impact of Urban Growth Pattern on Local Road Network: A System Dynamics Study

The complex nature of urban growth in cities whose population is exponentially increasing requires a comprehensive understanding to create a precise and descriptive modelling. In order to identify the main factors that influence the behavior of such complex growth and consequently recognize the most applicable future projection to the growth in each urban category, a system dynamics model was developed in which all pertinent variables are incorporated. This model was proven to be capable of simulating the urban growth in Baquba city for some six decades from 1957 to 2017. The simulation results showed very high goodness of fit with the historical records with an R2 ranging between 0.987 and 0.997 proving the validity and applicability of the model. The interaction between various urban categories showed that the road network area was negatively influenced mainly by the rapid growth of residential and public areas. The future projections of this model to the target year of 2035 showed that the residential, public, commercial and industrial categories are increasing by; 55%, 84%, 40%, and 19% respectively. The road area has also increased by 19% in the same projection gaining more expansion than what it got in the last three decades prior to 2017.
An Approach to Trade-off Privacy and Classification Accuracy in Machine Learning Processes

Machine learning techniques applied to large and distributed data archives might result in the disclosure of sensitive information. Data often contain sensitive identifiable information, and even if these are protected, the excessive processing capabilities of current machine learning techniques might facilitate the identification of individuals. This discussion paper presents a decision-support framework for data anonymization. The latter relies on a novel approach that exploits data correlations, expressed in terms of relaxed functional dependencies (rfds), to identify data anonymization strategies for providing suitable trade-offs between privacy and data utility. It also permits to generate anonymization strategies leveraging multiple data correlations simultaneously to increase the utility of anonymized datasets. In addition, our framework provides support in the selection of the anonymization strategies by enabling an understanding of the trade-offs between privacy and data utility offered by the obtained strategies. Experiments on real-life datasets show that our approach achieves promising results in data utility while guaranteeing the desired privacy level. Additionally, it allows data owners to select anonymization strategies balancing their privacy and data utility requirements.
Southern Africa Labour and Development Research Unit by Vimal Ranchhod Household responses to adverse income shocks : Pensioner out-migration and mortality in South Africa

How do poor households respond to the cessation of cash transfers in developing countries? South Africa’s generous social pension system results in most of the poor elderly being the primary ‘breadwinner’ in the household. I estimate the magnitude of the changes in household composition and labour force activity amongst the resident members of the household, that correlate with a pensioner leaving the household. I use nationally representative matched panel data from several waves of the South African Labour Force Surveys. Compositional changes include the out-migration of school-aged children, and in-migration of middle aged females and older adults of either gender. More than 1 in 4 losing households get an additional older adult. For ∗Post doctoral fellow, Saldru, Univ. of Cape Town and Population Studies Center, Univ. of Michigan †I acknowledge comments and contributions from David Lam, James Levinsohn, Charles Brown, Justin McCrary, Taryn Dinkelman, an anonymous ERSA referee and various seminar participants at the Univ. of Michigan, the Univ. of Cape Town, the ERSA labour economics workshop 2006, the PAA 2006 meetings and the African Econometric Society 2007 meetings. Financial assistance was provided by the Fogarty International Center (Grant:D43-TW000657) and the National Research Foundation of South Africa. An earlier version of this paper has been published as an ERSA working paper. All errors and omissions remain fully my responsibility. people who maintain their residency status across waves, I find large and statistically significant increases in employment rates for middle aged females and males (9.3 and 8.1 percentage points in each case), as well as for older adult females and males (10.3 percentage points in each case). For middle aged adults, this is not accompanied by a corresponding increase in labour supply.
Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics the Effect of Organic Compounds on the Growth Rate of Cloud Droplets in Marine and Forest Settings

Organic matter represents an important fraction of the fine particle aerosol, yet our knowledge of the roles of organics in the activation of aerosol particles into cloud droplets is poor. A cloud condensation nucleus (CCN) counter is used to examine the relative growth rates of cloud droplets for case studies from field measurements on the North Pacific Ocean and in a coniferous forest. A model of the condensational growth of water droplets, on particles dissolving according to their solubility in water, is used to simulate the initial scattering of the droplets as they grow in the CCN counter. Simulations of the growth rates of fine particles sampled in the marine boundary layer of the North Pacific Ocean shows no evidence of natural marine organic material contributing to the CCN water uptake but there is an indication of an influence from organics from diesel ship emissions on the size distribution of sulphate and the ability of these particles to act as CCN. Simulations of the observations of water uptake on biogenic organic aerosol particles sampled in a coniferous forest indicate an impact of the organic on the water uptake rates, but one that is still smaller than that of pure sulphate. The existence of organics becomes important in determining the water uptake as the organic mass increases relative to sulphate. The values of the organic component of the hygroscopicity parameter κ that describes the CCN activity were found to be negligible for the marine particles and 0.02–0.05 for the forest particles.
Automated Synthesis of Optimal Decision Trees for Small Combinatorial Optimization Problems

Damasceno, Cleber Oliveira; Vidal, Thibaut Victor Gaston (Advisor); Barboza, Eduardo Uchoa (Co-Advisor). Automated Synthesis of Optimal Decision Trees for Small Combinatorial Optimization Problems. Rio de Janeiro, 2021. 54p. Dissertação de Mestrado – Departamento de Informática, Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio de Janeiro. Classical complexity analysis for NP-hard problems is usually oriented to “worst-case” scenarios, considering only the asymptotic behavior. However, there are practical algorithms running in a reasonable time for many classic problems. Furthermore, there is evidence pointing towards polynomial algorithms in the linear decision tree model to solve these problems, although not explored much. In this work, we explore previous theoretical results. We show that the optimal solution for 0-1 combinatorial problems can be found by reducing these problems into a Nearest Neighbor Search over the set of corresponding Voronoi vertices. We use the hyperplanes delimiting these regions to systematically generate a decision tree that repeatedly splits the space until it can separate all solutions, guaranteeing an optimal answer. We run experiments to test the size limits for which we can build these trees for the cases of the 0-1 knapsack, weighted minimum cut, and symmetric traveling salesman. We manage to find the trees of these problems with sizes up to 10, 5, and 6, respectively. We also obtain the complete adjacency relations for the skeletons of the knapsack and traveling salesman polytopes up to size 10 and 7. Our approach consistently outperforms the enumeration method and the baseline methods for the weighted minimum cut and symmetric traveling salesman, providing optimal solutions within microseconds.
Aqueous chemical bleaching of 4-nitrophenol brown carbon by hydroxyl radicals; products, mechanism, and light absorption

The reaction of hydroxyl radicals (OH) with 4-nitrophenol (4NP) in an aqueous solution was investigated at pH = 2 and 9. The molar yield of the phenolic products quantiﬁed was ca. 0.2 at pH = 2 and 0.4 at pH = 9. The yield of 4-nitrocatechol (4NC) was higher at pH = 9. At the same time, a lower number of phenolic products was observed at pH = 9 due to irreversible reactions of some phenols formed at pH > 7. Mineralization investigated with a total organic carbon (TOC) analyzer showed that after 4NP was completely consumed, approximately 85 % of the organic carbon remained in the aqueous solution. Moreover, as inferred from the TOC measurements and the molar yields of the phenols formed, 65 % of the organic carbon that remained in the aqueous solution was attributed to the non-aromatic products. The light absorption of the reaction solution between 250 and 600 nm decreased as a result of the OH reaction with 4NP. However, the 4NP solution showed a noticeable resistance to the chemical bleaching reaction investigated due to the formation of light-absorbing by-products. This phenomenon effectively prolongs the timescales of the chemical bleaching of 4NP by OH by a factor of 3–1.5 at pH 2 and 9, respectively. The experimental data acquired indicated that both photolysis and the reaction with OH can be important processes for the removal of light-absorbing organic compounds from cloud water particles containing 4NP.
Role of Technological Capabilities in Enhancing FDI Flows in Developing Asia-Pacific Economies

Developing countries look forward to foreign direct investment (FDI) as a stable source of non-debt creating capital. FDI also offers these economies access to advanced technology and global marketing networks. Similarly, foreign firms investing in developing country markets look for some conditions to be met in host countries, which allow them to produce more efficiently through better exploitation of their typical intangible assets, like superior patented technology, management and marketing skills (Lall and Streeten, 1977; Soci,2002). Otherwise, foreign firms have the option of serving new markets through either exports or arm’s-length arrangements like licensing. Of course, success in capturing new markets through exports depends heavily on barriers to trade, while licensing, particularly in products involving advanced know-how, needs to overcome critical problems arising from informational asymmetry between foreign sellers and local franchisees. Nevertheless, foreign firms commit to overseas investment by ‘internalizing’ operations once they find it cheaper to produce abroad (Buckley and Casson, 1976), given some intrinsic features of developing host countries. These features, as explained later, determine the capabilities of individual countries for attracting FDI.
Chapter 2. Introductory Theory of Interferometry and Synthesis Imaging

In this chapter, we provide a simplified analysis of interferometry and introduce several important concepts. We first consider an interferometer in one dimension and discuss the effect of finite bandwidth and show how the interferometer response can be interpreted as a convolution. We extend the analysis to two dimensions and discuss circumstances in which three-dimensional imaging can be undertaken. This chapter is intended to provide a broad introduction to the principles of synthesis imaging to facilitate the understanding of more detailed development in later chapters. A brief introduction to the theory of Fourier transforms is given in Appendix 2.1.
Estimate Instantaneous Solar Radiation Incident upon Terrain in Bushfire Zone Using Digital Elevation Model and Natural Disaster Forecast

Effectively combined and practical methods have been applied into investigating the formation of bushfire in view of natural factors on the basis of a geographical location and local solar time under a clear weather. The instantaneous solar radiation accident onto the tilted surface of terrain in one bushfire burning zone is traced by its path. The extraterrestrial solar radiation is directly calculated by using approved astronomic formulas in which solar time and geometry are involved. Due to scattering and adsorption in atmospheric layer, extraterrestrial solar beam is classified into direct, diffuse and reflected beam when they are incident upon each tilted surface of terrain and received by it. Their calculations are performed by reliable empirical formulas respectively in a clear sky. The real values of geometric parameters of terrain are acquired by integrating digital elevation model with the corresponding satellite imagery. The solar time is determined by local time and geographical location of burning zone. Therefore, the solar radiation incident upon the complex terrain of burning zone is taking place instantaneously. The total radiant flux is sum of direct, diffuse and reflected radiant flux and located into an arbitrarily designed enclosure. It is treated to uniformly distribute and incident upon the tilted surfaces. The distribution of total radiant flux is still affected by complex terrain. Finally, by means of semi-infinite model and distribution of total radiant flux, the temperature at surface and inside soil is obtained respectively. The combined methods of research are useful in not only forecasting the risk of bushfire but also investigating soil drought.
Approaches to engaging people with dementia in meaningful occupations in institutional settings: A scoping review

Background : People with dementia in institutional settings lack engagement in meaningful occupations, which may cause decreased quality of life. Although many researchers and professionals have proposed approaches to engage people with dementia in these occupations, an overview seems to be missing. Aim : This scoping review provides an overview by categorizing and describing the characteristics of the approaches. Material and method : A thorough literature search in nine databases identified the studies on approaches. We included 54 studies and extracted bibliometric data. A content analysis revealed the characteristics of the approaches. Results : Four categories of approaches were uncovered. First, the literature defined the concept of meaningful occupation in various ways. Second, a category of approaches provided theoretical knowledge of meaningful occupations. The third category focused on specific themes, such as certain methods. The final described comprehensive multilevel approaches. Conclusion : This review contributes to knowledge of the diversity of approaches to engage people with dementia in meaningful occupation within institutional settings. Significance : We suggest that occupational therapy researchers and practitioners consider how the concept of meaningful occupation is embedded in the theoretical landscape. Furthermore, activity programming requires reflexive decision-making at the policy and practice level, as engagement in meaningful occupations is complex.
Emergence of chironomid midges in four differently fertilized rice paddies.

: Few studies have been conducted on the biology of chironomid midges occurring in rice paddies, albeit their occurrence in significant biomass. This investigation was for three years from 1977 to 1979 in four paddy plots at 50-km north of Tokyo, which were treated with three different fertilizers and with none. The organic fertilizer plot produced 1,765 midges per square per season, followed by the inorganic fertilizer plot producing 1,376. About half numbers were produced in the non-fertilizer and green manure plots. Fifteen species occurred from these paddies. Chironomus ptficiotendipes and Procladius ctussinerwis in this order. Simpson's diversity tended to small season as
Socket Emulation over a Publish / Subscribe Network Architecture

The current drive towards new networking paradigms that make information the center of the network architecture, cannot ignore the fact that any new architecture will have to co-exist with the existing Internet for an extended period of time. In order for a new architecture to be globally deployed, it must ensure that existing applications will continue to operate, preferably without the need to even recompile them. As part of the Publish Subscribe Internet Routing Paradigm (PSIRP) project, we have explored the options for making existing applications based on the ubiquitous Sockets Application Programming Interface (API) compatible with the PSIRP prototype implementation, which is based on publish/subscribe principles throughout the protocol stack. We describe an emulator which mediates between the client/server socket calls and the publish/subscribe calls implemented by the PSIRP prototype. Our socket emulator allows existing applications, either TCP or UDP based, to run unmodified over an information centric network architecture that is radically different from the endpoint centric Internet architecture for which they were designed.
Experiment and FEM Modelling of Bond Behaviors between Pre-stressing Strands and Ultra–High–Performance Concrete

The objective of this paper is to investigate the bond properties of prestressing strands embedded in Ultra–High–Performance Concrete (UHPC). The UHPC was made in laboratory using local materials in Vietnam.Its mixture contains: silica aggregates, portland cement PC40, fly ash, silica fume, polycarboxylate superplasticizer and the micro steel fibers.The experimental process is realized on a pull-out test. The volume fraction of micro steel fibers in UHPC was 2%. The prestressing strand with diameters of 15.2mm was considered. The interface shear strength between strand and UHPC is identified based on the results of force and displacement obtained during the pull-out test. The Cohesive Zone Model (CZM) is implemented in finite element model to study this interface behavior. This model described by a piecewise linear elastic law. The CZM’s parameters are identified based on experimental results of pull-out test.The numerical studies are used the CZM in ANSYS software. Two numerical tests are realized and compared with experimental results: pull-out test and other test to verify the deflection of I girder due to prestressing force.
University of Birmingham Observation of a New b- Resonance

From samples of pp collision data collected by the LHCb experiment at ﬃﬃﬃ s p ¼ 7 , 8 and 13 TeV, corresponding to integrated luminosities of 1.0, 2.0 and 1 . 5 fb − 1 , respectively, a peak in both the Λ 0 b K − and Ξ 0 b π − invariant mass spectra is observed. In the quark model, radially andorbitally excited Ξ − b resonanceswith quark content bds are expected. Referringto thispeak as Ξ b ð 6227 Þ − , the mass andnatural width are measured to be m Ξ b ð 6227 Þ − ¼ 6226 . 9 (cid:2) 2 . 0 (cid:2) 0 . 3 (cid:2) 0 . 2 MeV =c 2 and Γ Ξ b ð 6227 Þ − ¼ 18 . 1 (cid:2) 5 . 4 (cid:2) 1 . 8 MeV =c 2 , where the first uncertainty is statistical, the second is systematic, and the third, on m Ξ b ð 6227 Þ − , is due to the knowledge of the Λ 0 b baryon mass. Relative production rates of the Ξ b ð 6227 Þ − → Λ 0 b K − and Ξ b ð 6227 Þ − → Ξ 0 b π − decays are also reported.
Exploring alternatives to the hierarchical menu structure used in mobile phones

Mobile phones of today often come with a static hierarchical menu structure which, due to the small size of the screen, raises some usability issues such as many switches of screens and poor relations between different screen pages. Another problem is the limited customization possibilities of the menu structure. The aim of this master thesis is to design a user interface that addresses some of the weaknesses in existing mobile phone interfaces and to evaluate the interface not only from a human computer interaction aspect, but also to include aspects from the area user experience. First the existing interface of the mobile phone was investigated to point out the weaknesses and inspire alternative solutions. A design proposal was developed and implemented as a high-fidelity prototype to show the functionality. Later, in-depth interviews were conducted with users to evaluate the prototype. To include user experience in the evaluation, emocards were used to help the participants to give better emotional responses towards different aspects of the design solution. The evaluation showed that better solutions regarding different usability issues can be generated; there are ways to reduce the number of screens concerning certain activities. It is also possible to help users to get a better understanding of the overall structure and to lessen disorientation within the mobile phone. There also exists an interest for making the mobile phone more personal.
Screen Time Versus Face Time: How Social Media Usage Affects Time Spent Face to Face

How has the recent surge in social media network usage affected in-person social interaction? As the Internet continues to become more integrated in everyday forms of communication and interaction, sociologists disagree about the implications it will have on in-person socialization. Some argue that social media will revolutionize social interactions, while others believe that it will lead to a loss of privacy and an increase in isolation. I propose that the more social media networks an individual is a regular user of, the fewer days they will interact face-to-face with other people. Using 685 responses garnered from computer-assisted interviews in the 2016 General Social Survey, regression analyses were conducted to determine the relationship between social media network usage and in-person social interaction while controlling for age. Results from bivariate analysis show a positive but weak association between social media usage and in-person social interaction, revealing that the more networks an individual used, the more they interacted with others in-person. In multivariate results, this relationship disappeared. The results do not support the hypothesis, but instead indicate that age is a more important predictor of decreased in-person social interaction. In future studies, researchers should investigate the effects of social media usage on in-person social interaction with larger samples and more in-depth questions about the ways in which social media networks are being used and time spent online.
Safety and functional significance of Weissella cibaria and W. confusa 1 in food: a polyphasic approach 2

13 Weissella cibaria and Weissella confusa are controversial species of lactic acid bacteria (LAB) 14 found in food products. They are naturally present in many fermentation processes of vegetables 15 and cereals, with a positive implication for the quality of food. On the other hand, Weissella species 16 have been associated to possible human infections, and for this reason the strains of the species are 17 not yet used as starter cultures and are not included in Qualified Presumption of Safety status of 18 European Food Safety Authority (EFSA). An in-depth analysis of the physiological and genetic 19 characteristics of Weissella species could help to select suitable strains for possible practical 20 applications. A comparative genome analysis of 15 sequenced W. cibaria and five W. confusa 21 genomes available to date was carried out, in parallel with a polyphasic study of twelve strains of 22 W. cibaria and eight strains of W. confusa previously isolated from sourdough-like maize bran 23 fermentation. The comparative genomic analysis resulted in an absence of severe pathogenicity 24 factors. Although some putative virulence genes were found, these, for homology and function, 25 were present in other LAB species/strains, considered safe by EFSA and commonly used as 26 probiotics. The phenotypic tests carried out on our strains corroborated the genomic results. 27 Moreover, interesting functional and pro-technological traits were highlighted in the tested strains, 28 for both the species. 29