Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
No change in topsoil carbon levels of Great Britain, 1978–2007

Abstract. Soil is an important store of carbon (C) and there has been recent concern that accelerated loss of carbon from the soil may be reinforcing climate change. There is therefore a need to both track current trends in soil C storage and to identify how soil can contribute to carbon emission reduction targets. Countryside Survey (CS) is an integrated national monitoring program in which vegetation, topsoil, water and land use measurements are made across Great Britain (GB). The soil component of CS is unique as topsoil C concentrations have been measured at three time points (1978, 1998 and 2007) together with topsoil bulk density (2007 only), vegetation composition (all years), and land use (i.e. Broad Habitat, 1998, 2007). The combined dataset allows estimates of change in topsoil C stock over time and the influence of land use change on topsoil C to be investigated. Results indicate that although there was a small increase (8%) in topsoil C concentration between 1978 and 1998 and small decrease (6.5%) between 1998 and 2007, there was no significant change in GB topsoil C concentration (in g kg−1), density (in t ha−1) or stock (in Tg) between 1978 and 2007. Within individual habitats some consistent trends were observed and by examining plots which had consistent vegetation composition since 1978 we demonstrate that land use change was not responsible for the few significant changes that were found. These results are comparable with the few other estimates of recent topsoil C concentration and stock changes in W. Europe, with the exception of a previous study in England and Wales which reported significant topsoil C losses of up to 50% over a similar period. Possible reasons for the contradictory findings are discussed. An extra 220–730 Tg of C would be stored in topsoil C stocks if all GB soils were optimised at the top 5–25% C densities as recorded for each habitat in 2007.
Estimation of shrub height for fuel-type mapping combining airborne LiDAR and simultaneous color infrared ortho imaging

A fuel-type map of a predominantly shrub-land area in central Portugal was generated for a fire research experimental site, by combining airborne light detection and ranging (LiDAR), and simultaneous color infrared ortho imaging. Since the vegetation canopy and the ground are too close together to be easily discerned by LiDAR pulses, standard methods of processing LiDAR data did not provide an accurate estimate of shrub height. It was demonstrated that the standard process to generate the digital ground model (DGM) sometimes contained height values for the top of the shrub canopy rather than from the ground. Improvement of the DGM was based on separating canopy from ground hits using color infrared ortho imaging to detect shrub cover, which was measured simultaneously with the LiDAR data. Potentially erroneous data in the DGM was identified using two criteria: low vegetation height and high Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), a commonly used spectral index to identify vegetated areas. Based on the height of surrounding pixels, a second interpolation of the DGM was performed to extract those erroneously identified as ground in the standard method. The estimation of the shrub height improved significantly after this correction, and increased determination coefficients from R2 = 0.48 to 0.65. However, the estimated shrub heights were still less than those observed in the field.
Electronic Banking and Customer Satisfaction in Bank Melli Iran

Many e-commerce transactions via e-payment systems is carried out. The aim of this study is that the theory of structures, an empirical analysis about the importance and ranking key factors that may be on customer satisfaction in electronic payment systems affect the Iranian banks. 9 specific topics of the factors in e-payment systems, customer satisfaction and affect are more key, were selected and reviewed. To achieve this goal, Out of 754 questionnaires for statistical analyses was provided to respondents. A total of 548 questionnaires were coded and analyzed using LISREL 8.53 to analyze the hypotheses. The research proved that the perceived importance of the key factors was correlated through security, trust, perceived advantage, processing speed, perceived risk, usability, focusing on customer needs, responding to objections and privacy. Important research results to help banks and other institutions providing e-payment systems in identifying key factors and their ranking for customer satisfaction and use it to better design of epayment systems will.
Investigating the Effect of Using Oil, Natural Gas and Coal on Economic Growth of Iran

The purpose of this study is to investigate the role of oil, natural gas and coal consumption in Iran’s economic growth during the periods from 1980 to 2012. The stationary analysis is performed by using ADF and Phillips-Perron unit root test and Auto-Regressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) approach was used to test for co-integration between the variables. The findings show that the variables are cointegrated; it means there is a long-run equilibrium relationship between the consumption of energy and economic growth. Accordingly the consumption of natural gas and coal was concluded to have positive and significant effect on economic growth, while the consumption of petroleum shows no significant effect on economic growth.
Interaction between Rural People’s Basic Needs and Forest Products: A Case Study of the Katha District of Myanmar

The understanding of interaction between rural people and forest products is one of the challenges faced while balancing forest product utilization with forest conservation in Myanmar. This study aims to contribute an effort to such challenges by analyzing the interaction of rural households with forest products in Myanmar. Data were collected using face-to-face questionnaire interviews with 218 households and conducting a rapid tree inventory across 132 circular random plots in selected rural communities around four townships of the Katha District. The empirical results indicate that the 95% of rural households were entirely dependent on forest products. The survey documented 13 main forest products and 54 tree species, which were primarily used for household consumption. Low-income households compared with medium- and high-income households with low educational level () and a small agricultural land area () were found to be more forest-dependent households. Illegal logging, mining, fuel-wood collection, slash-and-burn agriculture, and the establishment of forest plantations were reported as the main causes of forest products depletion. Findings from this study, although at a microlevel, can be used by the Myanmar Forestry Department as baseline information to improve community-based forest management activities.
Progress in Modeling Very Low Mass Stars, Brown Dwarfs, and Planetary Mass Objects

We review recent advancements in modeling the stellar to substellar transition. The revised molecular opacities, solar oxygen abundances and cloud models allow to reproduce the photometric and spectroscopic properties of this transition to a degree never achieved before, but problems remain in the important M-L transition characteristic of the effective temperature range of characterizable exoplanets. We discuss of the validity of these classical models. We also present new preliminary global Radiation HydroDynamical M dwarfs simulations.
Evaluating the TRMM Multisatellite Precipitation Analysis for Extreme Precipitation and Streamflow in Ganjiang River Basin, China

Based on the observed precipitation data and TRMM (Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission) 3B42 RTV7 and 3B42 V7 precipitation products from 2003 to 2010, the extreme precipitation and streamflow in the Ganjiang River basin were analyzed. The VIC hydrological model was used to simulate the streamflow driven by RTV7/V7 precipitation products in the Ganjiang River basin. The results show that () both of the RTV7 and V7 precipitation products have good applicability in precipitation estimation in the Ganjiang River basin and the correlation between the observed precipitation and RTV7 (V7) was as higher as 0.85 (0.86); () the RTV7/V7 precipitation products can well be used to simulate the streamflow by using the VIC hydrological model and the correlation between the observed streamflow and simulated streamflow driven by RTV7 (V7) products was as high as 0.86 (0.89); () the extreme precipitation varied greatly in the Ganjiang River basin and both of the RTV7 and V7 can capture the pattern of extreme precipitation in the Ganjiang River basin; however, higher extreme precipitation can be found in the northern Ganjiang River basin; () the extreme streamflow simulated driven by RTV7/V7 products agreed well with the observed extreme streamflow in the Ganjiang River basin. This study indicated that the TRMM 3B42 RTV7 and V7 products can be well used in the estimation of extreme precipitation and extreme streamflow.
Some nutritional characteristics and mineral contents in barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) seeds cultivated under salt stress

Barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) is an important food crop grown worldwide and it is important to investigate the quality of its grain as affected by various environmental conditions. In this study, barley was grown under increasing salt stress (0, 40, 80, and 120 mmol/l of NaCl) and the nutritional quality of its seeds was evaluated for their proximate composition, phenolic compounds and micro- and macro-mineral contents. Phenolic compounds of barley seeds increased significantly from 1.75 (control) to 1.95 mg gallic acid equivalent/g dry weight of barley seed in 120 mmol/l NaCl. Cu, Mg, and Ni contents were decreased whereas Fe, Mo, and Zn contents were increased significantly by increasing salinity. Among the macro-minerals in barley seeds cultivated under salt stress only K contents increased whereas Ca, Mg, P, and S contents were decreased significantly.
The Selling Mode in a Supply Chain with Online Retailing

In this paper, we consider a supply chain in which two competitive manufacturers sell products through an exclusive pure play e-tailer besides their traditional offline channels. Using a game-theoretical model, we analyze the e-tailer’s optimal choice for the selling mode in the presence of upstream competition, cross-channel spillover and cost asymmetry between the online and offline channels. We reveal that the e-tailer always prefers the agency selling mode to the reselling mode, if the spillover effect of the e-channel on the offline channel is negative. Otherwise, the e-tailer prefers the reselling mode to the agency selling mode, if the cost advantage of the e-channel over the offline channel is small and the competition between the upstream manufacturers is intense.
Comparative isolation protocols and characterization of stem cells from human primary and permanent teeth pulp

Aim: This study was developed to compare the morphological, proliferative and immunophenotypic profiles of pulp cells from permanent and primary teeth, obtained by two isolation methods. Methods: Normal human impacted third molars and exfoliated primary teeth were collected and cut around the cementoenamel junction. Pulp cells cultures were established by two approaches: enzyme digestion (3 mg/mL type I colagenase and 4 mg/mL dispase), or culture of the tissue explants in cell culture dishes. Morphological and proliferative analyses, as well as immunophenotype characterization with monoclonal antibodies against CD117, CD34 and CD45 surface receptors were performed. Results: For the permanent teeth, on the 4th day of culture, the cell number was significantly higher for the outgrowth method. By the end of the studied period (14th day), the enzymatic method was more efficient in promoting culture growth. On the other hand, for primary teeth, enzymatic digestion always promoted a higher cell proliferation. The immunophenotypic profiles were CD117+/ CD34-/ CD45- and CD117+/ CD34+/ CD45- for cells from permanent and primary teeth, respectively. Conclusions: The findings of this study indicate that both isolation methods can be efficiently used. The cell population displayed an immunophenotype compatible to the one of stem cells, with remarkable positive expression of CD117.
Herbivory Rate of Leaf‐Cutting Ants in a Tropical Moist Forest in Panama at the Population and Ecosystem Scales

Leaf‐cutting ants are frequently characterized as the major herbivores in the Neotropics, but quantitative data to back up this assumption are scarce. In this study, the consumption and herbivory rates for the entire leaf‐cutting ant (Atta colombica, Formicidae) population in an old secondary forest on Barro Colorado Island (BCI) in Panama were determined over 15 mo (on average 49 colonies). The number of harvested leaf fragments was calculated from monthly refuse deposition rates of the colonies and the regression between refuse deposition and harvesting rates. The inclusion of fragment characteristics (proportion of leaf fragments in the harvest, average fragment weight, and area) allowed us to calculate consumption and herbivory rates at colony, population, and ecosystem levels. The A. colombica population harvested 13.2 tons of biomass/yr and 13.1 ha of leaf area/yr, and deposited 9.4 tons of refuse material/yr. Rates varied considerably among colonies. At the ecosystem level, i.e., per forest area, herbivory rates were 132 kg biomass/ha/yr and 1310 m2 foliage/ha/yr. For the area on BCI where A. colombica occurs (100 ha), this is equivalent to 2.1 percent of the foliage area in the forest or 1.7 percent of the annual leaf‐area production. This value is considerably lower than previously published estimates of leaf‐cutting ant herbivory rates in tropical forests.
Pitch-angle diffusion coefficients from resonant interactions with electrostatic electron cyclotron harmonic waves in planetary magnetospheres

Abstract. Pitch-angle diffusion coefficients have been calculated for resonant interaction with electrostatic electron cyclotron harmonic (ECH) waves in the magnetospheres of Earth, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune. Calculations have been performed at two radial distances of each planet. It is found that observed wave electric field amplitudes in the magnetospheres of Earth and Jupiter are sufficient to put electrons on strong diffusion in the energy range of less than 100 eV. However, for Saturn, Uranus and Neptune, the observed ECH wave amplitude are insufficient to put electrons on strong diffusion at any radial distance.
Performance characteristics of UHF RFID tags used in identification on liquids

In this study, the behaviour of electromagnetic waves during communication between reader and tag in RFID system was investigated. The experiments were performed in UHF frequency range using several types of tag’s antennas. In order to evaluate the influence of liquid types on RF waves the tag’s antennas radiation pattern were measured. First, the preliminary experiments were performed to determine the impact of measuring condition on obtained results. Then, in the main tests the radiation pattern for several alcohols and ketones were measured. Streszczenie. W artykule opisano zachowanie fal elektromagnetycznych podczas komunikacji pomiedzy czytnikiem a etykietą w systemie RFID. Badania przeprowadzono przy uzyciu etykiet wyposazonych w rozne typy anten pracujących w zakresie UHF. W celu oszacowania wplywu typu plynu na fale elektromagnetyczne wykonano pomiary charakterystyk kierunkowych testowanych etykiet RFID. Przeprowadzono wstepne testy, aby ocenic wplyw warunkow pomiarowych na uzyskane wyniki oraz zmierzono charakterystyki kierunkowe etykiet RFID dla alkoholi i ketonow. (Pomiary charakterystyk etykiet UHF RFID stosowanych w identyfikacji w obecności plynow). Slowa kluczowe: identyfikacja radiowa, RFID, etykieta RFID, plyn, charakterystyka kierunkowa.
An Analytical Solution for Radiofrequency Ablation with a Cooled Cylindrical Electrode

We present an analytical solution to the electrothermal mathematical model of radiofrequency ablation of biological tissue using a cooled cylindrical electrode. The solution presented here makes use of the method of separation of variables to solve the problem. Green’s functions are used for the handling of nonhomogeneous terms, such as effect of electrical currents circulation and the nonhomogeneous boundary condition due to cooling at the electrode surface. The transcendental equation for determination of eigenvalues of this problem is solved using Newton’s method, and the integrals that appear in the solution of the problem are obtained by Simpson’s rule. The solution obtained here has the possibility of handling different functional dependencies of the source term and nonhomogeneous boundary condition. The solution provides a tool to understand the physics of the problem, as it shows how the solution depends on different parameters, to provide mathematical tools for the design of surgical procedures and to validate other modeling techniques, such as the numerical methods that are frequently used to solve the problem.
An identity between the m-spotty weight enumerators of a linear code and its dual

The m -spotty byte error control codes provide a good source for detecting and correcting errors in semiconductor memory systems using high density RAM chips with wide I/O data (e.g. 8, 16, or 32 bits). m -spotty byte error control codes are very suitable for burst correction. Here, we introduce the m -spotty weights and m -spotty weight enumerator of linear codes over the ring F2 + uF2 and prove a MacWilliams type identity.
Control of flyspeck (Schizothyrium pomi) on Actinidia arguta kiwifruit.

Flyspeck, caused by Schizothyrium pomi (anamorph Zygophiala jamaciensis), is a serious cosmetic skin disorder of Actinidia arguta kiwifruit in New Zealand. In a study of the disease in 2009-10, the bark of all 1-year-old canes was carrying large numbers of characteristic dark fruiting bodies (thyriothecia) (flyspecks). Germinating spores and hyphae of S. pomi were first observed on current season's canes in December 2009. Flyspecks were first found on fruit in mid-January 2010 and their incidence and severity increased until harvest in February 2010. Sprays of trifloxystrobin or carbendazim applied pre-blossom and during flowering reduced the incidence of fruit with flyspeck at harvest by an average of 70% compared with the untreated control. A single application at either of those times was similarly effective with one exception; trifloxystrobin applied as a pre-blossom spray failed to control flyspeck. Carbendazim residues (0.02 mg/kg) were recorded in the fruit at harvest following an application during flowering.
Coping with Drought

The slow-onset disasters, like drought, consistently deplete farmers’ resources at a faster rate than they can be replenished. Drought has been a recurring phenomenon in the southern regions of Iran and it has repeatedly been a leading cause of declining production and great human suffering. In view of the fact that poor and small farmers are more vulnerable, it is expected that they would be the main victims of such conditions. Investigation of rural poor strategies in drought conditions and assessing the impact of the governmental interventions to mitigate the drought consequences, especially on the poor state, constituted the main objectives of this study. Case study was the research method and an in-depth interview was used as the main technique of data collection. Findings revealed that farmers’ attitude towards drought was mostly metaphysical rather than physical and environmental. Poor farmers were harshly affected by the drought. It hurt them not only because of their attitude or belief, but also because of their low socio-economical position. Moreover, governmental interventions worsen the poor farmers’ situation because they treated all the farmers’ homogeneously. Much of governmental supportive services were benefited by non-poor farmers. On the contrary, the poor farmers’ who were in dire need, benefited the least. Therefore, governmental interventions fail to support the poor farmers, because it considers all stratums similar and it only focuses on productive policies. Some recommendations are pre-sented at the end of the article based on research findings.
A Comparison of Real Estate Marketing Systems: Theory and Evidence

The objective of this paper is twofold. One is to provide a search-theoretical model of the marketing choice of the seller. The model explains the seemingly contradictory empirical results as to whether a seller raises the price of his house to pass on a portion of the broker's commission to the buyer. The second is to offer empirical evidence on the impact of the MLS on the price. We control for selectivity bias in the data and obtain a surprising result that the decision to use a multiple listing service decreases the sale price of a property.
The Impact of Social Media Towards Brand Equity: An Empirical Study of Mall X

This research is aimed to analyze the impact of social media use and functionalities towards brand equity with an empirical study of Mall X. Mall X’s Instagram is being analyzed throughout this research. Furthermore, this research attempts to examine the impact of social media use and functionalities on brand equity elements simultaneously and individually. Data processing methods used in this research are validity and reliability test and classical assumption tests, while simple and multiple linear regressions are used as data analysis methods. Online questionnaire is used to collect data of 111 respondents. These research findings show that identity and conversation use and functionalities have significant impact on brand awareness simultaneously and individually, sharing and presence use and functionalities have significant impact on brand associations simultaneously and individually, reputation use and functionality has significant impact on perceived quality, and relationship use and functionality has significant impact on brand loyalty. Keywords: Social Media, Brand Awareness, Brand Association, Perceived Quality, Brand Loyalty
Which One Is Better, Simple or Complex Metrics?

At the early stage of software lifecycle, the complexity measurement of UML class diagrams plays an important role in software development, testing and maintenance, and provides guidance for developing high quality software. In order to study which one is better, simple or complex metrics, this paper analyzes and compares four typical metrics of UML class diagrams from experimental software engineering view points. Understandability, analyzability and maintainability were classified and predicted for 27 class diagrams related to a banking system by means of algorithm C5.0 within the famous toolkit Weka. Results suggest that the performance of simple metrics is not inferior to that of complex metrics, in some cases even better than that of complex metrics.