Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Fuzzy system modeling for forecasting water quality index in municipal distribution system

An attempt has been made to develop a fuzzy expert system capable of establishing a criterion for predicting water quality index (WQI) in the various zones of municipal distribution system using pH, alkalinity, hardness, dissolved oxygen (DO), total solids (TS) and most probable number (MPN). The proposed expert system includes a fuzzy model consisting of IF-THEN rules to determine WQI based on water quality characteristics. The fuzzy models are developed using triangular and trapezoidal membership functions, with centroid, bisector and mean of maxima (MOM) methods for defuzzification. Further, the performance of fuzzy models is compared with adaptive neuro fuzzy inference (ANFIS) models. ANFIS models are developed by using triangular, trapezoidal, bell and Gaussian membership function. The study reveals that fuzzy models outperform ANFIS models for all water quality classes. Out of twenty nine zones in the study area, for twenty two zones fuzzy model with triangular membership function performs better than trapezoidal membership function and, for sixteen zones, the centroid method, for seven zones bisector and for remaining six zones MOM method of defuzzification performs better.
Board Composition and Social & Environmental Accountability: A Dynamic Model Analysis of Chinese Firms

This research contributes to the existing corporate governance (CG) and social and environmental accountability (SEA) literature by exploring the impact of CG mechanisms (board independence, board size, CEO duality, and board gender diversity) on Chinese firms’ environmental performance, sustainability performance, and environmental information disclosures (EID). Furthermore, the investigation consequently ascertains the amount to which the CG–SEA connection is influenced by CEO qualities. Using a dynamic model of a SysGMM regression model, we found that board size, independence, and gender diversity in board and CEO duality are all favorably connected to Chinese enterprises’ environmental performance over a window of 10 years (2010–2019). Additionally, our findings imply that the analyzed CEO characteristics positively moderate the relationship between CG and SEA. Our findings have significant consequences for all stakeholders, including environmentalists, corporate regulators, CEOs, policymakers, and regulators.
Speech production accuracy of children with auditory brainstem implants: A comparison with peers with cochlear implants and typical hearing using Levenshtein Distance

Auditory brainstem implantation (ABI) is a recent innovation in pediatric hearing restoration in children with a sensorineural hearing impairment. Only limited information is available on the spontaneous speech development of severe-to-profound congenitally hearing-impaired children who received an ABI. The purpose of this study was to investigate longitudinally the accuracy of ABI children’s word productions in spontaneous speech in comparison to the accuracy of children who received a cochlear implant and children with normal hearing. The data of this study consist of recordings of the spontaneous speech of the first three Dutch-speaking children living in Belgium who received an ABI. The children’s utterances were phonemically transcribed and for each word, the distance between the child’s production and the standard adult phonemic transcription was computed using the Levenshtein Distance as a metric. The same procedure was applied to the longitudinal data of the children with CI and the normally hearing children. The main result was that the Levenshtein Distance decreased in the three children with ABI but it remained significantly higher than that of children with typical hearing and cochlear implants matched on chronological age, hearing age, and lexicon size. In other words, the phonemic accuracy increased in the children with ABI but stayed well below that of children without hearing loss and children with cochlear implants. Moreover, the analyses revealed considerable individual variation between the children with ABI.
Biodiversity Evaluation: From Endorsed Indexes to Inclusion of a Pollinator Indicator

There is increasing interest in evaluating biodiversity to preserve ecosystem services. Researchers can sustain policymakers by providing tools, such as indexes and indicators, that need constant implementation to become accepted standards. Implementation may vary from re-evaluation of existing indicators to introduction of new ones based on emerging threats to biodiversity. With the aim of contributing to the compelling need to estimate and counterbalance pollinator loss, we screened existing bioindicators. We first selected indexes/indicators applied to agricultural contexts and concurrently endorsed by a regulatory agency. We then extended our analysis to indexes/indicators based on arthropod taxa and formally recognized at least by national bodies. Our procedure identified a combination of surveys of various animal taxa and remote landscape analyses (e.g., using a GIS and other cartographic tools). When the animals are arthropods, most indexes/indicators can only address confined environments (e.g., grasslands, riversides). Indicator strength was improved by the simultaneous inclusion of biotic and abiotic components. Pollinator sensitivity to changes at micro-habitat level is widely appreciated and may help distinguish agricultural practices. A biodiversity index based on pollinators, including a wide monitoring scheme supplemented by citizen science, is currently fostered at the European level. The results obtained using such an index may finally enable focusing of strategic funding. Our analysis will help to reach this goal.
Clustering Analysis Methods for GNSS Observations: A Data‐Driven Approach to Identifying California's Major Faults

We present a data‐driven approach to clustering or grouping Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) stations according to observed velocities, displacements or other selected characteristics. Clustering GNSS stations provides useful scientific information, and is a necessary initial step in other analysis, such as detecting aseismic transient signals (Granat et al., 2013, https://doi.org/10.1785/0220130039). Desired features of the data can be selected for clustering, including some subset of displacement or velocity components, uncertainty estimates, station location, and other relevant information. Based on those selections, the clustering procedure autonomously groups the GNSS stations according to a selected clustering method. We have implemented this approach as a Python application, allowing us to draw upon the full range of open source clustering methods available in Python's scikit‐learn package (Pedregosa et al., 2011, https://doi.org/10.5555/1953048.2078195). The application returns the stations labeled by group as a table and color coded KML file and is designed to work with the GNSS information available from GeoGateway (Donnellan et al., 2021, https://doi.org/10.1007/s12145-020-00561-7; Heflin et al., 2020, https://doi.org/10.1029/2019ea000644) but is easily extensible. We demonstrate the methodology on California and western Nevada. The results show partitions that follow faults or geologic boundaries, including for recent large earthquakes and post‐seismic motion. The San Andreas fault system is most prominent, reflecting Pacific‐North American plate boundary motion. Deformation reflected as class boundaries is distributed north and south of the central California creeping section. For most models a cluster boundary connects the southernmost San Andreas fault with the Eastern California Shear Zone (ECSZ) rather than continuing through the San Gorgonio Pass.
Kinematics of a smart variable caster mechanism for a vehicle steerable wheel

The lateral force of a tyre is a function of the sideslip and camber angles. The camber angle can provide a significant effect on the stability of a vehicle by increasing or adjusting the required lateral force to keep the vehicle on the road. To control the camber angle and hence, the lateral force of each tyre, we can use the caster angle of the wheel. We introduce a possible variable and controllable caster angle ϕ in order to adjust the camber angle when the sideslip angle cannot be changed. As long as the left and right wheels are steering together according to a kinematic condition, such as Ackerman, the sideslip angle of the inner wheel cannot be increased independently to alter the reduced lateral force because of weight transfer and reduction of the normal load F z . A variable caster mechanism can adjust the caster angle of the wheels to achieve their top capacity and maximise the lateral force, when needed. Such a system would potentially increase the safety, stability, and maneuverability of the vehicles. Using the screw theory, this paper will examine the kinematics of a variable caster and present the required mathematical equation to calculate the camber angle as a function of suspension mechanism parameters and other relevant variables. Having a steered wheel about a tilted steering axis will change the position and orientation of the wheel with respect to the body of the car. This paper provides the required kinematics of such a suspension and extracts the equations in special practical situations. The analysis is for an ideal situation in which we substitute the tyre with its equivalent disc at the tyre plane.
Effect of Water/Cement and Aggregate/Cement Ratios on Consistency and Compressive Strength of Concrete Using Volcanic Stone Waste as Aggregates

This study investigates the effect of water cement (w/c) ratio and aggregate cement (a/c) ratio on consistency and compressive strength of concrete made by using volcanic stone waste aggregates. A total of 12 (twelve) concrete mixtures were made by varying w/c ratio and a/c ratio. Portland pozzolan cement was used as a hydraulic binder while volcanic stone wastes with a maximum diameter of 40 mm granules were used as fine aggregate and coarse aggregate. The consistency test, which is expressed in term of slump, was carried out for fresh concrete, while the compressive strength test, for each concrete mixture, was realized at the age of 28 days using 5 (five) cubical specimens measuring 150x150x150mm. The results of this study show that slump increases and compressive strength decreases with increasing w/c ratio for a constant a/c ratio. Slump decreases and compressive strength slightly increases with increasing a/c ratio for a constant w/c ratio. The decrease in slump and the increase in compressive strength with increasing a/c ratio for a constant w/c ratio is more clearly noted for a w/c ratio more than 0.5. Compressive strength decreases proportionally with increasing slump due to the increase in w/c ratio. This decrease tends to be sharper in mixture with lower a/c ratio.
Using Crime Data to Assess Longitudinal Relationships Between Community Violent Crime and Aggressive Behavior Among At-Risk Youth

The goal of this study was to assess longitudinal, predictive relationships between community violent crime and reactive and proactive aggression. Community violent crime data were gathered from local law enforcement agencies and combined with an existing dataset of at-risk youth. Aggression was assessed by parents using the Reactive and Proactive Aggression Questionnaire (RPQ). Data were examined over four time points. Autoregressive cross-lagged modeling was used to test two models: one for proactive aggression and one for reactive aggression. Results revealed a positive relationship between community violent crime and proactive aggression, whereas the model including reactive aggression had poor model fit. Therefore, results support reactive and proactive aggression as distinct constructs. Findings also demonstrate that publicly accessible violent crime data can be used to predict children’s behavior over time. Finally, results have important implications for preventive interventions for at-risk youth.
Interpreting the influence of urban form on household car travel using partial least squares structural equation modelling: some evidence from Northern Ireland

ABSTRACT This paper investigates the relative influence of urban form, attitude and preferences and socio-economic and demographic factors on travel patterns in terms of vehicular miles travelled in Northern Ireland. Two specific issues unique to the research context, where car reliance is an inherent part of daily lifestyle, are of concern when determining the pattern of these inter-relationships: firstly ‘where we live’ and secondly its impact on ‘how we travel’ or vice versa. Using partial least squares structural equation modelling the empirical findings show that while there is no significant direct influence of the neighbourhood scale urban form variables on the vehicular miles travelled (VMT), regional-scale urban form factors exert a strong effect on VMT. Car-oriented preference and socio-economic characteristics were found to be key determinants of VMT, although the strongest influence is exerted by residential preferences namely ‘where we live’ which in turn influences ‘how we travel’.
Developing flipped learning resources to support secondary school mathematics teaching during the COVID-19 pandemic

ABSTRACT Teachers and students have experienced an unusual year in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic. To minimize the risk of the epidemic spreading, face-to-face lecturing hours have been reduced, resulting in a substantial need for online instruction. Our project thus aims to develop open access flipped learning resources (e.g. dynamic courseware and instructional videos) for secondary school mathematics teachers and students in Hong Kong. The overarching goal of this study is to make theoretically and empirically supported suggestions for developing the resources. Experiential learning theory was used as the theoretical foundation for developing the resources. A three-cycle recursive instructional design approach involving 34 mathematics educators was used to develop and improve materials that better meet the needs of frontline teachers. Both the qualitative (semi-structured interviews and written feedback) and quantitative (evaluative survey) data collection methods were conducted. The findings of this study reveal the concerns of and requests from our teacher participants, such as providing more detailed guidelines, advanced questions, and interactive quizzes. The findings also reflect the substantial need for open access flipped learning resources in secondary schools. Based on the lessons learned, suggestions are made to inform future development of resources (e.g. inviting retired teachers for assistance).
Global Illumination Technique for Aircraft Infrared Signature Calculations

There is an increasing need of infrared signature knowledge of aerospace vehicles, both for defense and civilian applications, such as stealth technology, sensor design, and aerial obstacle detection for unmanned aerial vehicles. Models have been developed for this purpose by manufacturers or research laboratories, in order to predict infrared signatures of targets in the specific fields investigated. In some circumstances, it may be necessary to model complex radiative phenomena, such as diffuse reflections between different parts of the airframe, to improve the infrared target signature accuracy, or to help experimental image interpretation. An aircraft infrared signature modeling code, developed at ONERA, has been upgraded with a global illumination model, based on a Monte Carlo ray tracer, in order to evaluate the influence of these effects. First, this paper presents the main characteristics of the code and the principles of the rendering method. Next, comparisons are accomplished with another simula.
Optimal electronic doping in p-wave superconductors

Recently, within a generalized Hubbard model which includes correlated nearest (∆t) and next-nearest hopping interactions (∆t_3 ), a comparative study between d- and s*- wave superconducting ground states on a square lattice was performed. It was found that the critical temperature of transition T_c (n), as a function of the electron concentration n, reaches a maximum (T_(c-max) at a given optimal doping (n_op) for each value of the ratio (t’)⁄t, where t and t’ are the tight-binding nearest and next-nearest hopping parameter of a square lattice, respectively. From all values obtained for T_(c-max) ((t’)⁄(t,n_op) a global minimum one was encountered for both symmetries. Likewise, in the same space, a minimal ground state energy E_g was also obtained. For d-wave channel both minima are localized around the same optimal doping, however, for s* symmetry, the two minima are located at different electron concentrations. In this work, we additionally study how the p-wave ground-state energy and the critical temperature depend on the hoppings parameters and the electron concentration. The results show that for p-wave, minimum global values of and in the space do exist too, they are found around half filling but, as occurs for s*- wave, the minimum of T_(c-max) does not occur at the same point as . Moreover, we present a ground-state phase diagram in the space (t’)⁄(t,n_op) where it is possible to find zones of coexistence and competition between the s*-, p- and d-wave symmetries. Also, an analysis of the shape of the Fermi surface and the single-particle energy, as functions of the wave vector of an electron in the Cooper pair, has been done for different regions of the mentioned space.
Morphological Characterization of Twenty One Sweet Pepper (Capsicum annuum L.) Genotypes Collected from Native and Alien Sources

Sweet pepper is one of the most important nutritious vegetable and its demand is increasing day by day in Bangladesh indicating need to characterize and assess morphological variability for varietal improvement programme. Twenty-one sweet pepper genotypes from native and alien sources were characterized for twenty-six morphological traits using vegetative and reproductive appearances at Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Agricultural University, Gazipur, Bangladesh from October 2018 to March 2019. Marked variation was exhibited among twenty-six qualitative traits (26) studied. Twenty-two (22) characters showed undeniable variation among the genotypes. The presence of higher percentage (61.90%) of light purple color at node were observed indicated high amount of anthocyanin content. Leaf shape is used as genotypes identifier at vegetative stage and herein three types of leaves were found with dark green color (76.19%) that is highly correlates with yield. In case of flower, same level of stigma exertion (61.90%) with 100% white color corolla indicates higher number of fruit sett were exhibited. Entire genotypes exerted one or more exclusive characters especially fruit shape and color in Bangladesh perspective which could be used as an important breeding tools. Fruit color was observed in various categories at intermediate and mature stage as for instance yellow, green, purple, orange, red etc. in addition higher percentage of blocky fruit shape (38.09%) were observed and these are the consumer fascinating attributes of sweet pepper. However, selection of genotypes with desirable morphological trait can be used for their exploitation of future breeding programme.
Impact of Underreporting on Mileage and Travel Time Estimates: Results from Global Positioning System-Enhanced Household Travel Survey

Trip underreporting has long been a problem in household travel surveys because of the self-reporting nature of traditional survey methods. Memory decay, failure to understand or to follow survey instructions, unwillingness to report full details of travel, and simple carelessness have all contributed to the incomplete collection of travel data in self-reporting surveys. Because household trip survey data are the primary input into trip generation models, it has a potentially serious impact on transportation model outputs, such as vehicle miles of travel (VMT) and travel time. Global Positioning System (GPS) technology has been used as a supplement in the collection of personal travel data. Previous studies confirmed the feasibility of applying GPS technology to improve both the accuracy and the completeness of travel data. An analysis of the impact of trip underreporting on modeled VMT and travel times is presented. This analysis compared VMT and travel time estimates with GPS-measured data. These VMT and travel time estimates were derived by the trip assignment module of each region's travel demand model by using the trips reported in computer-assisted telephone inter views. This analysis used a subset of data from the California Statewide Household Travel Survey GPS Study and was made possible through the cooperation of the metropolitan planning organizations of the three study areas (Alameda, Sacramento, and San Diego, California).
Cerebral Microbleeds With Atrial Fibrillation After Ablation Therapy

Background The prevalence of cerebral microbleeds (CMBs) is significantly higher in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) than in those without AF. CMBs in patients with AF have been reported to be primarily of the lobar type, but the exact cause of this remains unknown. We investigated the possibility that hemorrhagic transformation of embolic microinfarction can account for de novo lobar CMBs. Methods A total of 101 patients who underwent ablation therapy for AF were prospectively registered, and 72 patients completed the assessment with MRI 6 months after catheter ablation. Brain MRI, including diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) and susceptibility-weighted imaging (SWI), were examined at 1–3 days (baseline) and 6 months after catheter ablation. We quantitatively evaluated the spatial and temporal distribution of embolic microinfarctions and de novo CMBs. Results Of the 101 patients, 68 were enrolled in this study. Fifty-nine patients (86.8%) showed embolic microinfarctions on baseline DWI immediately after catheter ablation. There were 137 CMBs in SWI, and 96 CMBs were of the lobar type. Six months later, there were 208 CMBs, including 71 de novo CMBs, and 60 of 71 (84.5%) were of the lobar type. Of the 71 de novo CMBs, 56 (78.9%) corresponded to the location of previous embolic microinfarctions found on baseline DWI. The platelet count was significantly lower and hematocrit/hemoglobin and Fazekas score were higher in the group with de novo CMBs than in the group without de novo CMBs. Conclusion De novo CMBs frequently appeared after catheter ablation therapy. Our results suggest that embolic microinfarction can cause lobar CMBs.
High-intensity curvilinear movements’ relevance in semi-professional soccer: An approach from principal components analysis

Due to the high number of variables reported from tracking systems, the interest in data reduction techniques has grown. To date, principal component analysis (PCA) has been performed in soccer, but since the results depend on the variables included, a lack of objectivity continues to be of concern. The aim of this study was to highlight the variables that compose the principal components (PC) in semi-professional soccer, including all variables extracted from tracking systems. Data were collected from a semi-professional Spanish team that participated in 10 matches. From more than 250 variables, the PCA grouped a total of 19 variables in six PCs, explaining 72% of players’ external load. All variables were related to centripetal force, high intensity running, and high-intensity efforts and short efforts. Interestingly, the first PC was composed of four variables related to centripetal force. The current exploratory analysis indicated that, in addition to traditional high-intensity displacement variables, force measures should also be considered in soccer match analysis due to their effect on a player’s external load.