Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Spectral Index-Based Monitoring (2000–2017) in Lowland Forests to Evaluate the Effects of Climate Change

In the next decades, climate change will put forests in the Hungarian Great Plain in the Carpathian Basin to the test, e.g., changing seasonal patterns, more intense storms, longer dry periods, and pests are expected to occur. To aid in the decision-making process for the conservation of ecosystems depending on forestry, how woods could adapt to changing meso- and microclimatic conditions in the near future needs to be defined. In addition to trendlike warming processes, calculations show an increase in climate extremes, which need to be monitored in accordance with spatial planning, at least for medium-scale mappings. We can use the MODIS sensor dataset if up-to-date terrestrial conditions and multi-decadal geographical processes are of interest. For geographic evaluations of changes, we used vegetation spectral indices; Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI) and Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), based on the summer half year, 16-day MODIS data composites between 2000 and 2017 in an intensively forested study area in the Hungarian Great Plain. We delineated forest areas on the Danube–Tisza Interfluve using Corine Land Cover maps (2000, 2006, and 2012). Mid-year changes over the nearly two-decade-long period are currently in balance; however, based on their reactions, forests are highly sensitive to abrupt changes caused by extreme climatic events. The higher occurrence of years or periods with extreme water shortages marks an observable decrease in biomass production, even in shorter index time series, such as that between 2004 and 2012. In the drought-stricken July-August periods, the effect of a dry year, subsequent to years with more precipitation, immediately pushes back the green mass and the reduction in the biomass production could become persistent, according to climatology predictions. The changes of specific sub-periods in the vegetation period can be evaluated even in a relatively short, 18-year data series, including the change in the growing values of the vegetative growth in spring or the increase in the summertime biomass production. Standardized differences highlight spatial differences in the biomass production; in response to years with the highest (negative) biomass difference; typically, the northern and southwestern parts of the Danube–Tisza Interfluve in the study area have longer lasting losses in biomass production. A comparison of NDVI and EVI values with the PaDI drought index and the vegetation indices of LANDSAT Operational Land Imager sensor respectively confirms our results.
Face template protection using deep LDPC codes learning

There is a noticeable tendency to apply deep convolutional neural network (CNN) in facial identification, since it is able to boost performance in face recognition and verification. However, due to the users have unique facial, exposure of face template to adversaries can severely compromise system security and users' privacy. Here, the authors propose a face template protection technique by using multi-label learning, which maps the facials into low-density parity-check (LDPC) codes. Firstly, a random binary sequence is generated to represent a user and further hashed to produce the protected template. During the training, the random binary sequences are encoded by an LDPC encoder to produce diverse binary codes. Based on carefully designed deep multi-label learning, the facial features of each user are mapped to a diverse binary code. In the process of recognition and verification, the deep CNN mapping architecture is modelled as a Gaussian channel, while the noise brought by intra-variations in the outputs of CNN can be removed by the LDPC decoder. Thus, a robust face template protection scheme is achieved. The simulation results on PIE and extended Yale B indicate that the proposed scheme achieves high genuine accept rate at 1% false accept rate.
Classifications of Forest Change by Using Bitemporal Airborne Laser Scanner Data

Changes in forest areas have great impact on a range of ecosystem functions, and monitoring forest change across different spatial and temporal resolutions is a central task in forestry. At the spatial scales of municipalities, forest properties and stands, local inventories are carried out periodically to inform forest management, in which airborne laser scanner (ALS) data are often used to estimate forest attributes. As local forest inventories are repeated, the availability of bitemporal field and ALS data is increasing. The aim of this study was to assess the utility of bitemporal ALS data for classification of dominant height change, aboveground biomass change, forest disturbances, and forestry activities. We used data obtained from 558 field plots and four repeated ALS-based forest inventories in southeastern Norway, with temporal resolutions ranging from 11 to 15 years. We applied the k-nearest neighbor method for classification of: (i) increasing versus decreasing dominant height, (ii) increasing versus decreasing aboveground biomass, (iii) undisturbed versus disturbed forest, and (iv) forestry activities, namely untouched, partial harvest, and clearcut. Leave-one-out cross-validation revealed overall accuracies of 96%, 95%, 89%, and 88% across districts for the four change classifications, respectively. Thus, our results demonstrate that various changes in forest structure can be classified with high accuracy at plot level using data from repeated ALS-based forest inventories.
Runoff Generation and Soil Erosion at Different Age of Acacia Plantation in Hoa Binh Province, Vietnam

To determine the characteristics of runoff generation and soil erosion at the different ages of Acacia plantation in Luong Son headwater of Vietnam, four plots (15m2 plot-1) were set up. Of those, two plots were at up-hill and down-hill in 1-year-old and two plots in 5-years-old Acacia plantation. Soil erosion and runoff were monitored during rainy season from April to September 2018. The main finding includes: (1) Runoff coefficient at Acacia 1-year-old down and up was ranged from 0.36% - 0.46% with the average 0.41%. Acacia 5-years-old, down and up was 0.35% - 0.39%, averaged 0.37%. It shows the slightly different between the locations of two years due to the different ground cover but not statistical significant different; (2). Soil erosion in Acacia-1 and Acacia-5 year old were 21.84 and 14.20 ton/ha/6months, respectively. The data for soil erosion was statistical significant different between two ages of Acacia plantation. Soil erosion at the study site was very high within strong erosion base on TCVN5299: 2009; (3) Both runoff and soil erosion had strong relationship with precipitation (R2 range from 0.52-0.85, with P-value = 0.00). This result suggests that more concerning and applying suitable management for reducing the negative impact of Acacia plantation at the headwater of Vietnam is necessary.
Analysis of Spatial and Seasonal Differences in the Diurnal Rainfall Cycle over Sumatera Revealed by 17-Year TRMM 3B42 Dataset

We analyzed 3-hourly Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission multi-satellite analysis (TRMM 3B42) version-7 data for the 17year period 1998−2014 to investigate seasonal and geographic characteristics of the diurnal rainfall cycle (DRC) over Sumatera, Indonesia. Dividing Sumatera into north, central, and south regions approximately perpendicular to the west coast, we point out for the first time early-afternoon initiation of daily rainfall not only in the Barisan Mountains but also in the east-coastal small islands (ECSIs) such as Bangka and Belitung. Westward and eastward migrations of rainfall areas from the Barisan Mountains are varied with seasons and regions, with the most remarkable being westward during September-October-November (SON) in the central region and the least remarkable occurring during JuneJuly-August (JJA) in the southern region. In the central region, the DRC reaches a distance of ~700 km off the west coast during SON and of only 200 km during March-April-May (MAM). The other westward migrations from the ECSIs in the central and southern regions (except for JJA) have been confirmed by 5-year hourly Multi-functional Transport Satellite-1R (MTSAT-1R) cloud-top data. The results shown in this paper suggest that the rainfall distribution with respect to coastal distance, varying geographically and seasonally. (Citation: As-syakur, A. R., K. Imaoka, K. Ogawara, M. D. Yamanaka, T. Tanaka, Y. Kashino, I. W. Nuarsa, and T. Osawa, 2019: Analysis of spatial and seasonal differences in the diurnal rainfall cycle over Sumatera revealed by 17-year TRMM 3B42 dataset. SOLA, 15, 216−221, doi:10.2151/sola.2019-039.)
Host-children of tourism destinations: systematic quantitative literature review

ABSTRACT Although it is estimated that 19 million children are engaged in the tourism industry, our knowledge of child labour issues within tourism is highly limited. This paper systematically and quantitatively reviewed interdisciplinary research on host-children, aiming to identify the extent of scholarly attention. The work sought to map the trajectory of existing literature and identify whether, and if so, how host-children were included in research. The review revealed that within the limited host-children studies, child sex workers have received the most attention whereas issues relating to other child labourers have been neglected. Additionally, this review identified that the subjective dimensions of tourism impacts on host-children have been overlooked and limited studies have actually reflected children's voice in the research. Based on these findings, the directions for future research on host-children are recommended.
Salinity and sodicity hazard characterization in major irrigated areas and irrigation water sources, Northern Ethiopia

Abstract Considerable area of land is becoming unproductive every year because of salinity and sodicity in Lowlands of Ethiopia. For sound land use and irrigation water management, it is a paramount important to know the salinity/sodicity status of soils and irrigation water quality. Therefore, the study was conducted to characterize and classify the salinity and sodicity hazards of major irrigated areas and irrigation water sources in Northern Ethiopia. Irrigation water samples were also collected from both sources used for irrigation in the study area. Moreover, representative soil profiles were also opened and soil samples were collected and analyzed. The Shwarobit river and the groundwater sources were found to be in the medium (C2) (341.7 µS/cm) and high (C 3) (1452.9 µS/cm) salinity hazards, respectively. With regards to the sodicity hazard criteria, both water sources were found to be low (S1). According to the US Salinity Laboratory Staff criteria, soils irrigated by the Shwarobit River met the criteria to be classified as saline soils. However, except the surface layer of the profile the soils irrigated by a combination of shwarobit River and groundwater sources met the criteria to be classified as a saline-sodic soils. Therefore, according to the water and soil analysis results, there will be a potential danger of sodicity and actual salinity development in the intended irrigation scheme. Thus, selection of crop type and proper irrigation methods should be designed for sustainability of soil productivity in the study area.
A Tablet-Computer-Based Tool to Facilitate Accurate Self-Assessments in Third- and Fourth-Graders

Although student self-assessment is positively related to achievement, skepticism about the accuracy of students’ self-assessments remains. A few studies have shown that even elementary school students are able to provide accurate self-assessments when certain conditions are met. We developed an innovative tablet-computer-based tool for capturing self-assessments of mathematics and reading comprehension. This tool integrates the conditions required for accurate self-assessment: (1) a non-competitive setting, (2) items formulated on the task level, and (3) limited reading and no verbalization required. The innovation consists of using illustrations and a language-reduced rating scale. The correlations between students’ self-assessment scores and their standardized test scores were moderate to large. Independent of their proficiency level, students’ confidence in completing a task decreased as task difficulty increased, but these findings were more consistent in mathematics than in reading comprehension. We conclude that third- and fourth-graders have the ability to provide accurate self-assessments of their competencies, particularly in mathematics, when provided with an adequate self-assessment tool.
Portraying the Impact of the Tibetan Plateau on Global Climate

As the most extensive highland in the world, the Tibetan Plateau (TP) plays an important role in shaping the global climate. Quantifying the effect of the TP on global climate is the first step for a full understanding of the TP’s standing on planet Earth. Through coupled model sensitivity experiments, we draw a panorama of the TP’s global impact in this paper. Our model results show that the absence of the TP would result in a 4°C colder and 10% drier climate in the Northern Hemisphere (NH). The TP has a striking remote effect on the North Atlantic. Removing the TP would enhance the westerlies in the mid- to high latitudes of the NH and weaken the easterlies over the tropical Pacific. More moisture would be relocated from the tropical Pacific to the North Atlantic, shutting down the Atlantic thermohaline circulation, which would eventually result in more than 15°C colder and 20% drier climate over the North Atlantic. Our model results suggest that the presence of the TP may have contributed greatly to the hospitable modern climate in the NH, by promoting the establishment of the thermohaline circulation in the Atlantic, and therefore enhancing the northward ocean heat transport and atmosphere moisture transport across the equator.
Toward the more effective identification of journals with anomalous self-citation

Because of its important evaluative function, journal impact factors began to be manipulated by anomalous self-citations. To deal with this scientific misconduct and its undesirable influences, in this paper, an automatic classification model for journals with anomalous self-citation was constructed based on previous research. First, a training journal set and three test journal sets of normal journals and abnormal journals were established and four features were selected from a feature set. Then, a classification model was learnt using the Deep Belief Network (DBN) method, which was successfully able to identify abnormal journals in the data sets. Third, Logistic Regression and Support Vector Machine were employed to learn the classification models, the classification performances for which were then compared with the DBN model. Finally, 1138 journals in twelve subject areas from the journal Citation Report (JCR) in 2014 were chosen as empirical journal samples for the DBN model, from which 6.9 percent of empirical journals were identified as suspect journals with anomalous self-citation.
Observational Study on the Characteristics of the Boundary Layer during Changes in the Intensity of Tropical Cyclones Landing in Guangdong, China

Eleven tropical cyclones that landed in Guangdong Province since 2012 and experienced strengthening or weakening over the offshore area were studied. Since the structure of the tropical cyclone boundary layer significantly influences the variation of the intensity of the cyclone, continuous observations of the wind profile radar at a coastal radar station in Guangdong Province were combined with aircraft observation data of the No. 1604 “Nida” cyclone to analyse the variations in the distributions of the radial wind, tangential wind, and angular momentum in the typhoon boundary layer and the similarities and differences between the boundary layers of the 11 tropical cyclones during the strengthening or weakening of their intensities. The analysis results show that the presence of the supergradient wind and the enhancement effect of the radial inflow play important roles in enhancing the intensity of a tropical cyclone. The observations indicate that when the tangential wind velocity in the maximum wind velocity radius reaches the velocity of the supergradient wind and when the radial inflow either gradually increases towards the centre of the tropical cyclone or gradually covers the entire boundary layer, the angular momentum tends to be shifted towards the centre. At this time, the maximum radial inflow, maximum tangential wind, and maximum angular momentum are in the same height range in the vertical direction. When a strong radial outflow occurs in the boundary layer of a tropical cyclone or the area with maximum wind velocity is located in the air outflow, the angular momentum cannot easily be transported towards the centre of the typhoon. Therefore, the spatial configuration of the three physical quantities will determine future changes in the intensity of tropical cyclones. The scope of the results presented here is limited to the 11 selected cases and suggests extending the analysis to more data.
The Evaluation of SfM Technique in the Determination of Surface Deformation on Skidding Roads Following Timber Harvesting

Forest roads are necessary engineering structures for accessing and managing forestry resources. Considering the difficult terrain and its numerous variable effects, it must be ensured that the capacity of forest roads function adequately and that the road platform is suitable for vehicle traffic. This study aimed to focus on the determination and evaluation of deformation on the surface of the soil roads in the forest using SfM (Structure from Motion) technique. The study focused on the usage opportunity of close-range photogrammetry in the analysis of surface deformation on skidding roads used for forestry operations. Field surveys were conducted on a newly constructed skidding road for forestry operations with a four-wheel farm tractor. The geo-spatial location of the road was obtained by a Total Station (TS) prior to harvesting operation. A digital camera mounted on a 3.5 m high pole was used as a carrier platform in the field survey. The photographs with front and side overlaps (approximately 60% and -80%) were obtained from 95 m segment of the unpaved road. The spatial (X, Y and Z) differences between field measurements- and SfM-based models were compared using Root Mean Square Error (RMSE), and the values of spatial error (SfMXY: 0.048; SfMZ: 0.010 for estimated model) were calculated. The change rate of stable, accumulations and abrasions on the road surface were calculated as 0.165%, 48.642% and 51.192%, respectively. The present study demonstrated that the use of semi-automatic measurement technique offers a promising potential for the evaluation of forest road surface deformation.
Groundwater Autochthonous Microbial Communities as Tracers of Anthropogenic Pressure Impacts: Example from a Municipal Waste Treatment Plant (Latium, Italy)

The groundwater behavior at a municipal solid waste disposal dump, located in Central Italy, was studied using a multi-parameter monitoring over 1 year consisting of 4 seasonal samples. The hydrological and hydrogeological dynamics of water circulation, microbiological parameters (microbial abundance and cell viability of the autochthonous microbial community), dissolved organic carbon, and several contaminants were evaluated and related to the geological structures in both two and three dimensions and used for geostatistical analysis in order to obtain 3D maps. Close relationships between geological heterogeneity, water circulation, pollutant diffusion, dissolved organic carbon, and cell viability were revealed. The highest cell viability values were found with dissolved organic carbon (DOC) values ≤0.5 mg/L; above this value, DOC negatively affected the microbial community. The highest DOC values were detected in groundwater at some sampling points within the site indicating its probable origin from the waste disposal dump. Although legislation limits for the parameters measured were not exceeded (except for a contaminant in one piezometer), the 1-year multi-parameter monitoring approach made it possible to depict both the dynamics and the complexity of the groundwater flux and, with “non-legislative parameters” such as microbial cell viability and DOC, identify the points with the highest vulnerability and their origin. This approach is useful for identifying the most vulnerable sites in a groundwater body.
Performance Analysis of the Differences Restricted Access Window (RAW) on IEEE 802.11ah Standard with Enhanced Distributed Channel Access (EDCA)

IEEE 802.11 standard is a WLAN (Wireless LAN) standard that has been used in all over the world. IEEE 802.11ah is the newer technology that designed to supports Internet of Things (IoT) and Machine-to-machine Communication (M2M). IEEE 802.11ah has a feature called Restricted Access Window (RAW) that capable to reduce power usage and have satisfying Quality of Service (QoS). In this research, Enhanced Distributed Channel Access (EDCA) is also applied. Same as RAW, EDCA also be able to affect QoS by modified the MAC Layer in 802.11 standard. This research used 3 different scenarios for RAW parameters: Modifying the number of RAW Group, Modifying the number of RAW Slot, and Comparing 2 Datamode. The EDCA Parameters that used in this research were: Contention Window and Arbitrary inter-frame Spacing Number. The values that expected to be the output in this research are: Delay, Throughput, Packet Delivery Ratio, Availability, and Reliability. After the research has been simulated, the results are: First, the lowest of average delay was Ngroup = 1, the highest of PDR was Ngroup = Nsta/2, and the highest of Throughput was Ngroup = Nsta/2. Second, the lowest of average delay was RAW Slot = 6, the highest of PDR were RAW Slot = 3 and 4, and the highest of Throughput was RAW Slot = 4. Third, the lowest of average delay was Datamode 3,9 Mbps BW 2 MHz, the highest of PDR was Dat mode 3,9 Mbps BW 2 MHz, and the highest of Throughput was Datamode 3,9 Mbps BW 2 MHz. Reliability, Availability, and Energy Consumption also can be affected by modifying RAW parameters, in 802.11ah Energy Consumption can be reduced by increasing the number of RAW Stations and RAW Groups.