Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Target strength estimation of black porgy Acanthopagrus schlegeli using acoustic measurements and a scattering model

: Black porgy are hatched and released in marine ranching areas in Japan, Korea and Taiwan to maintain fisheries resources in coastal areas. If acoustic methods are used for field surveys, target strength (TS) information on the species is needed to convert acoustic data to biomass density. Target strength of black porgy (Acanthopagrus schlegeli) 15.5–32.9 cm fork length (nine individuals) was measured at 38 and 120 kHz (split beam) by ex situ measurements (cage and fishhook methods) of living fish, a tethered method with shock-frozen fish, and an acoustic scattering model, the Kirchhoff ray mode (KRM) model based on fish morphology. The ex situ TS-to-fork length (FL, cm) relationships were TS38kHz = 20log10FL − 64.6 (r = 0.77) and TS120kHz = 20log10FL − 65.2 (r = 0.70). The values for the KRM model were TS38kHz = 20log10FL − 64.8 (r = 0.88) and TS120kHz = 20log10FL − 65.4 (r = 0.80). The agreement between the ex situ measurements and the KRM model for the mean TS was very good. In contrast, the results for the tethered method (TS38kHz = 20log10FL − 69.3 [r = 0.42]) differed markedly from the other two methods, perhaps because of the effects of the shock-freezing procedure in air. The results of the ex situ measurements and scattering model provide basic information for studying TS and conducting acoustic surveys of black porgy, even though the tethered method must be modified.
Vitamin supplements in the Era of SARS-Cov2 pandemic

Recently, the rapid and extensive spread of a novel human RNA betacoronavirus, known as severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), is causing a worldwide public health emergency, originated in Wuhan, China. The disease caused by this new coronavirus, called "COVID-19", is very contagious. Although most of infected subjects are asymptomatic or present with mild flu-like symptoms, the rapid spread of the virus has resulted in a significant amount of serious interstitial pneumonia that may quickly develop into severe acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), septic shock, sepsis-induced coagulopathy and fatal multiorgan dysfunction. Hence, the unabated spread of the disease demands an immediate need to explore all the plausible therapeutic and prophylactic strategies for reducing the high morbidity and mortality of this infection. At present, there is no vaccine or certainly effective antiviral treatment for human SARS-Cov-2 and the mainstay of clinical management is prevalently symptomatic treatment combined with a panel of drugs having variable and uncertain efficacy. Unfortunately, no many drugs have yet been approved to treat human SARS-Cov-2 infection and many agents are administered in off label route; several options are being studied to control or prevent clinical manifestations of this infection, including monoclonal antibodies, antiviral and anti-cytokine agents, antibiotics, and other drugs. Given that several vitamins are known to have antimicrobial properties and immunomodulatory activity, a potential role of vitamins in the COVID-19 treatment was investigated.
Coexistence of Autoimmune Disorders and Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus in Children: An Observation from Western Part of India

Introduction: Type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) is associated with various autoimmune disorders like celiac disease, thyroid disorder, adrenal failure, etc. However, how common is this association in Indian children is not clearly known. Objective: To assess the prevalence of other coexisting autoimmune disorders in children with T1DM. Materials and Methods: In this cross-sectional study, patients requiring insulin and ketosis-prone diabetic and with history of diabetic ketoacidosis/undetectable fasting C-peptide levels were included. Beside demographic and clinical data, detailed biochemistry evaluations were performed. Celiac disease was diagnosed as per the ESPGHAN diagnostic criteria. ACTH stimulation test was done to confirm the adrenal insufficiency in patients with basal serum cortisol <5 μg/dL. Thyroid function test (TSH) and anti-TPO antibody were assessed in all patients. Screening for other autoimmune disorders was done only when clinically indicated or symptoms or family history was suggestive of presence of such disorder. Results: Among 150 patients enrolled, 64.66% were males and mean age was 13.48 ± 3.29 years (range 3–18 years). Mean age at diagnosis of T1DM was 10.0 ± 3.63 years and duration of diabetes was 3.46 ± 3.18 years. The prevalence of antibodies positive against autoimmune diseases was anti-tTG IgA (20.7%), anti-TPO (33.7%), anti-CCP ab (1.3%), and ANA (0.7%). Significantly higher proportion of females had raised anti-TPO antibodies than males (47.2% vs. 25.8%, P = 0.006). Celiac disease was most common association (24.8%) followed by hypothyroidism (14.1%) and Grave's disease (3.3%). Significantly higher proportion of females had hypothyroidism than males (25.0% vs. 8.2%, respectively, P = 0.005). Prevalence of raised anti-tTG and anti-TPO did not differ significantly by the age (P = 0.841 and P = 0.067) or duration of T1DM (P = 0.493 and P = 0.399). Conclusion: In this part of country, celiac disease, hypothyroidism, and Graves's disease are common associations in children with T1DM.
Digitalised curriculum to the rescue of a higher education institution

ABSTRACT This time of COVID-19 has compelled higher education institution (HEI) academics to embrace a digitalised curriculum in teaching, learning, and research. A digitalised curriculum is a plan for and/or a plan of teaching, learning, and research, driven by specific hardware, software, and theories. HEI leaders of teaching and learning have been unsuccessful over the years in promoting the use of various kinds of learning management systems (LMSs) with the aim of embracing a digitalised curriculum. The unsuccessful promotion of LMSs was caused by the lack of compelling situations that forced digital technology refugees to use the LMSs. In 2020, when COVID-19, which originated in China, started to affect other countries, academics desperately transformed their minds in embracing the digitalised curriculum. They started to attend any workshops on the use of digital technologies through Zoom. The findings of the study reveal that the transformation experiences of these academics were reflections, translation, rotation, enlargement, and reduction. These transformation experiences addressed the tension between a performance curriculum and a competency-based curriculum. This study explored the transformation experiences of academics at an HEI in South Africa. Zoom observations, semi-structured interviews and focus-group discussions were used for data collection. A mixed method and pragmatic paradigm were used to frame this study. The study applied purposive with convenience sampling in selecting twenty participants. This study concludes by recommending the identification of values or ideologies relevant to the enactment of the digitalised curriculum that comes to the rescue of HEIs at this time of COVID-19 and beyond.
Isolation and Characterisation of Fusarium Resistance Gene Candidates in Zingiber spp. of North East India

Globally India is the largest producer and exporter of the finest quality ginger. It is estimated that more than 50% of the national production ginger comes from the North Eastern States. Ginger is used throughout the world as a spice or fresh herb or in medicines. Cultivated ginger originated in India or Southeast Asia (Ravindran et al., 1994). Globally, the main producers of ginger are India, China, Nepal, Indonesia and Nigeria (FAOSTAT 2010). India is the largest producer and exporter of the finest quality ginger. India’s production of ginger constitutes about 34.6 % of the total world’s production of ginger (FAOSTAT data, 2014). Ginger is grown in almost all the states of the North-Eastern region of India. Assam ranks first in ginger acreage as well as in production but productivity was highest in Mizoram, followed by Arunachal Pradesh, Assam and International Journal of Current Microbiology and Applied Sciences ISSN: 2319-7706 Volume 7 Number 09 (2018) Journal homepage: http://www.ijcmas. com
Nasal Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus Carriage Among Foreign Workers Recruited to Taiwan From Southeastern Asian Countries

Abstract Background In 2012, we identified the dissemination of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) sequence type (ST)45 strain in 14 nursing homes in Taiwan and foreign nurse workers, a significant risk factor for MRSA carriage. We conducted this study to understand MRSA carriage and molecular characteristics among foreign workers recruited from Southeastern Asian countries. Methods A cross-sectional study involving a total of 1935 foreign workers—929 (arrival group) and 1006 (staying group)—from Vietnam (n = 843), Indonesia (n = 780), the Philippines (n = 239), and Thailand (n = 70) were conveniently recruited during upon-arrival and regular health examination in a regional hospital. A nasal swab was obtained from each participant for detection of MRSA. Results Overall, MRSA carriage rate was 2.72%, with 2.26% for arrival group and 3.18% for staying group, and 4.74% for Vietnamese, 1.28% for Indonesians, 1.26% for Filipino, and none for Thai workers. Pulsotype AK/ST45 (57%) and pulsotype AX/ST188 (14%) were the top 2 dominant clones for the arrival group, whereas pulsotype D/ST59 (41%) (an endemic community clone in Taiwan) and pulsotype AK/ST45 (19%) were predominant for the staying group. A significant decrease of pulsotype AK/ST45 from 57% to 19% (P = .007) and increase of pulsotype D/ST59 from 4.8% to 41% (P = .004) were found between the arrival and the staying groups. Conclusions Approximately 3% of foreign workers recruited from Southeastern Asian countries to Taiwan were colonized with MRSA, including the ST45 strain. However, the MRSA isolates from workers staying in Taiwan were mostly a locally endemic clone and genetically different from those identified from workers on arrival.
Impact of Geophysical and Datum Corrections on Absolute Sea-Level Trends from Tide Gauges around Taiwan, 1993–2015

The Taiwanese government has established a complete tide gauge network along the coastline for accurate sea-level monitoring. In this study, we analyze several factors impacting the determination of absolute or geocentric sea-level trends—including ocean tides, inverted barometer effect, datum shift, and vertical land motion—using tide gauge records near Taiwan, from 1993–2015. The results show that datum shifts and vertical land motion have a significant impact on sea-level trends with a respective average contribution of 7.3 and 8.0 mm/yr, whereas ocean tides and inverted barometer effects have a relatively minor impact, representing 9% and 14% of the observed trend, respectively. These results indicate that datum shifts and vertical land motion effects have to be removed in the tide gauge records for accurate sea-level estimates. Meanwhile, the estimated land motions show that the southwestern plain has larger subsidence rates, for example, the Boziliao, Dongshi, and Wengang tide gauge stations exhibit a rate of 24–31 mm/yr as a result of groundwater pumping. We find that the absolute sea-level trends around Taiwan derived from tide gauges or satellite altimetry agree well with each other, and are estimated to be 2.2 mm/yr for 1993–2015, which is significantly slower than the global average sea-level rise trend of 3.2 mm/yr from satellite altimeters. Finally, a recent hiatus in sea-level rise in this region exhibits good agreement with the interannual and decadal variabilities associated with the El Nino-Southern Oscillation and Pacific Decadal Oscillation.
LEGITIMACY OF GREEN SOLOW MODEL AND ENVIRONMENTAL KUZNETS CURVE: A PANEL ANALYSIS FOR ASIAN COUNTRIES

Legitimate countries try to sustain the economic growth and on other side face the pollutant emissions during the production process. Global warming and climate changes are results of these pollutant emissions. The study estimates the Environmental Kuznets curve hypothesis empirically in the panel of Asian developed and developing countries. The numbers of cross sections are five with time period ranges from 1981 to 2010. The empirical results are obtained by fixed effect method. In addition, dynamic relationship between CO2 emission per capita, energy consumption per capita, export product diversification (Theil index) and economic growth per capita is checked. The value of Theil index suggests that in developed countries export product diversification is elastic whereas it is inelastic in developing countries. It suggests that developed countries export basket has items with less pollutant emissions effect. On other hand, export basket of developing countries still has large pollutant emission items. The energy consumption in industries for production is positively involved in CO2 emission. The GDP per capita is positively involved in CO2 emission whereas, squared GDP per capita involve in reduction of CO2 emission. The signs of GDP and squared GDP per capita provide the evidence of EKC hypothesis. In addition, study checks the validity of Green Solow model in Asian developed and developing countries with five numbers of cross sections. The validity is checked by Mann-Kendall trend test. The results infer that except Singapore, no other country exhibits the initial increasing and then decreasing trend to support the green Solow model. Moreover, graphical representation of Mann-Kendall trend test indicates that GDP or economic growth trend is higher than emission trend in Hong Kong and Singapore.
Mandatory disclosure in corporate debt restructuring via schemes of arrangement: A comparative approach

Creditors often face significant information asymmetry when debtor companies seek to restructure their debts. In the United Kingdom, it is mandatory for debtor companies, seeking to invoke the courts’ jurisdiction to restructure their debts via schemes of arrangement (schemes), to disclose material information in the explanatory statement to enable the creditors to make an informed decision as to how to exercise their votes in creditors’ meetings. The English schemes have been transplanted into common law jurisdictions in Asia, including Hong Kong and Singapore. However, due to the differences in the shareholding structures and the kinds of debts that are sought to be restructured in the UK and Hong Kong/Singapore, this transplantation gives rise to the question as to whether information asymmetry is in fact adequately addressed in the scheme process. Drawing from the experiences of Hong Kong and Singapore, we argue that there are three principal concerns in the current disclosure regimes: how debtors disclose the liquidation analysis or alternative to restructuring via schemes; how debtors disclose advisors’ fees; and the equality of provision of information in the scheme process.
Total factor productivity and socio-economic impact of fisheries technology in India*

Passion fruit is a native of the South American rain forests of the Amazon region, and is found in the forests of Manipur, Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh and Karnataka in India. Brazil ranks first in its production (4 lakh tonnes), while in India its production is only 0.5 lakh tonnes. It has a great demand in many countries, the major importing countries of passion fruit essence being the USA, Holland, Germany and France. In this paper, an estimation of cost and returns of cultivating passion fruit has been presented along with the economic viability of its cultivation and economics of its marketing and processing. The study is based on data collected from the 15 planters in Gonikoppa area in Karnataka and Kodagu Orange Growers Co-operative Society, Gonikoppa, during 2000–01. The establishment and maintenance cost in planting year 2000–01 has been found as Rs. 71,500, with yield per hectare as 200 quintals in the second and 250 quintals in the third and subsequent years. Net return per hectare in the third year has been worked out as Rs. 81, 125. The estimated economic life of passion fruit garden is six years and the Net Present Value (NPV) is Rs. 1,55,395 per hectare yielding a benefit-cost ratio of 2.17 at 15 per cent discount rate and Internal Rate of Return (IRR) of 67per cent. Passion fruit juice has an excellent international market. The cultivation of passion fruit in Kodagu district has been found as economically viable. Some other positive implications of its cultivation are also mentioned.
Popularity and Power: The Political Logic of Anticorruption in Authoritarian Regimes

Forceful anticorruption campaigns are common in authoritarian regimes but systematic evidence on how they actually work remains limited. We develop predictions about the patterns of enforcement based on the two fundamental challenges faced by autocrats: (1) containing mass discontent from below and (2) eliminating challengers within the elites. We test these predictions using both aggregate enforcement data (1988-2014), and a new dataset that tracks the political fates of over 3000 Chinese officials from 2000 to 2015. We find that the overall intensity of anticorruption is inversely related to the regime's economic performance, and individual-level investigations systematically shun away from clients of incumbent leaders while disproportionately targeting those affiliated with incumbents' rivals. Additional tests suggest that the discrepancy in enforcement cannot be explained by differential corruptness alone. Finally, we find that the recent anticorruption initiatives by Xi Jinping has led to a significant centralization of power within a smaller inner circle.
AEROTECH VI - Innovation in Aerospace Engineering and Technology

The AEROTECH conference was founded in 2005 and first held in Putrajaya, Wilayah Persekutuan. Since then, subsequent AEROTECH conferences were held biennially and this year, it is the sixth edition in the series. The AEROTECH conference is organized by the Department of Aerospace Engineering, Universiti Putra Malaysia and was initiated to provide a platform for local and international aerospace communities to convene and share the recent development and progress in aerospace technology. For this edition, AEROTECH VI conference is co-organized with Politeknik Banting Selangor. Overall, AEROTECH VI organizer has received over 90 paper submissions from both local and international communities. However, only 69 were accepted for this conference. All accepted papers have undergone an extensive review process by at least two experts from the relevant field. As one of the engineering fields with the highest technological density, aerospace engineering is always the spearhead of technological breakthrough. Its continual progression nourishes the other engineering fields and societies. Hence, AEROTECH VI adopts the theme “Innovation in Aerospace Engineering and Technology” with the aim of promoting creativity and advancement through the exchange of knowledge and status of cutting-edge research in aerospace engineering and technology. AEROTECH VI is also promoting industry-led research and technology activities among the academia and industry players. AEROTECH VI has attracted researchers and scientists not only from Malaysia but also from countries such as Iran, Iraq, Australia, Taiwan, Singapore, Thailand, Korea, India, Germany, USA and Spain. The conference covers research in the areas of aerodynamics, propulsion, aerospace structure and material, aerospace design, flight and system performance, space systems, aerospace management and operation, and aerospace reviews. We, the editors, thank the authors for their contributions and the reviewers for their expertise and valuable comments. We also like to thank the conference organizing committee and Universiti Putra Malaysia for their commitment and tremendous support to the success of AEROTECH VI. Our deep gratitude is extended to Politeknik Banting Selangor for their cooperation in co-organizing this year's conference.
Korean Wave Issue as A Soft Power Strategy in Taiwanese Presidential Election 2016

AbstractBoth state and non-state actors need the power to influence others to achieve their desired goals. Soft power isoften used by state or non-state actors to attracts the attention of others without using coercive actions to achievethe desired goals. This strategy has been widely used in various cases, including in the issue of China and Taiwan,especially in the "Taiwan Flag" incident involving Tzuyu, a K-Pop artist who declared herself a Taiwanese andcarried the Taiwan flag on a South Korean television program. This incident was later brought up by Tsai Ingwen, a politician from Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) to cooperate with the Taiwanese people against Chinain the 2016 Taiwan Presidential Election. This article will discuss how Tsai Ing-wen and the people of Taiwan usedKorean wave as a soft power strategy in the 2016 Taiwan Presidential Election to “fight” against China. Thosegave positive results due to the similarity of political values believed by Taiwan and carried by the Korean wave,as well as the goals shared by Tsai Ing-wen and people of Taiwan, thereby defeated the pro-China Kuomintang(KMT) party in the election.Keywords: Soft Power, Taiwan, China, Korean Wave, Taiwan Presidential Election 2016, Taiwan Flag IncidentAbstrakBaik aktor negara maupun non-negara memerlukan kekuatan untuk mempengaruhi pihak lain agar tujuan yangdiinginkan dapat tercapai. Salah satunya adalah soft power yang mengedepankan upaya menarik perhatianpihak lain tanpa menggunakan tindakan koersif untuk mencapai tujuan yang diinginkan. Implementasi strategitersebut telah banyak dimanfaatkan dalam berbagai kasus, salah satunya dalam isu China dan Taiwan dalam the“Waving Taiwan Flag” incident yang melibatkan Tzuyu yang merupakan artis K-Pop yang mendeklarasikan dirisebagai warga negara Taiwan serta membawa bendera Taiwan dalam salah satu program televisi di KoreaSelatan. Insiden tersebut kemudian diangkat oleh Tsai Ing-wen, seorang politisi dari Democratic ProgressiveParty (DPP) untuk bekerja sama dengan masyarakat Taiwan untuk melawan China dalam Taiwan PresidentialElection 2016. Artikel ini membahas bagaimana Tsai Ing-wen dan masyarakat Taiwan memanfaatkan isu Koreanwave sebagai strategi soft power dalam Taiwan Presidential Election 2016 untuk “melawan” kampanye pro Chinayang disuarakan oleh KMT. Implementasi isu Korean wave sebagai strategi soft power dalam Taiwan PresidentialElection 2016 memberikan hasil positif dan ikut mempengaruhi kemenangan Tsai Ing-wen dalam pemilu diTaiwan di tahun 2016.Kata Kunci: Soft Power, Taiwan, China, Korean Wave, Pemilu Presiden Taiwan 2016, Insiden Bendera Taiwan