Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
HOG-ShipCLSNet: A Novel Deep Learning Network With HOG Feature Fusion for SAR Ship Classification

Ship classification in synthetic aperture radar (SAR) images is a fundamental and significant step in ocean surveillance. Recently, with the rise of deep learning (DL), modern abstract features from convolutional neural networks (CNNs) have hugely improved SAR ship classification accuracy. However, most existing CNN-based SAR ship classifiers overly rely on abstract features, but uncritically abandon traditional mature hand-crafted features, which may incur some challenges for further improving accuracy. Hence, this article proposes a novel DL network with histogram of oriented gradient (HOG) feature fusion (HOG-ShipCLSNet) for preferable SAR ship classification. In HOG-ShipCLSNet, four mechanisms are proposed to ensure superior classification accuracy, that is, 1) a multiscale classification mechanism (MS-CLS-Mechanism); 2) a global self-attention mechanism (GS-ATT-Mechanism); 3) a fully connected balance mechanism (FC-BAL-Mechanism); and 4) an HOG feature fusion mechanism (HOG-FF-Mechanism). We perform sufficient ablation studies to confirm the effectiveness of these four mechanisms. Finally, our experimental results on two open SAR ship datasets (OpenSARShip and FUSAR-Ship) jointly reveal that HOG-ShipCLSNet dramatically outperforms both modern CNN-based methods and traditional hand-crafted feature methods.
Phase-Field Modeling of Damage and Fracture in Laminated Unidirectional Fiber Reinforced Polymers

The damage and fracture behavior of Fiber Reinforced Polymers (FRPs) is quite complex and is different than the failure behavior of the traditionally employed metals. There are various types of failure mechanisms that can develop during the service life of composite structures. Each of these mechanisms can initiate and propagate independently. However, in practice, they act synergistically and appear simultaneously. The difficulties that engineers face to understand and predict how these different failure mechanisms result in a structural failure enforce them to use high design safety factors and also increases the number of certification tests needed. Considering that the experimental investigations of composites can be limited, very expensive, and time-consuming, in this contribution the newly developed multi Phase-Field (PF) fracture model [1] is employed to numerically study the failure in different Unidirectional Fiber Reinforced Polymers (UFRPs) laminates, namely, fracture in single-edge notched laminated specimens, matrix cracking in cross-ply laminates, and delamination migration in multi-layered UFRPs. The formulation of the PF model incorporates two independent PF variables and length scales to differentiate between fiber and inter-fiber (matrix-dominated) failure mechanisms. The physically motivated failure criterion of Puck is integrated into the model to control the activation and evolution of the PF parameters. The corresponding governing equations in terms of variational formulation is implemented into the Finite Element (FE) code ABAQUS utilizing the user-defined subroutines UMAT and UEL.
Managerial Ability, Managerial Incentives and Firm Performance: Empirical Evidence from Vietnam

This study investigates the impact of managerial ability and managerial incentives on firm performance. In particular, it studies how managerial ability factor can exert significant influence on the profitability and the risk of firms. By doing this, the study can provide several policy implications about how managerial ability can influence firm decisions and its corresponding business policies. Data of the study was collected from the Annual Enterprises Survey (AES), which is conducted by the General Statistics Office of Vietnam (GSO) during the 2009–2013 period. After removing firms with insufficient financial information, our final dataset includes over 50,000 firms in Vietnam. The main result of the study shows that there is a significant and positive relationship between managerial ability and firm leverage. This finding indicates that managerial ability significantly plays an important role in making financial decisions. In addition, our study provides empirical evidence about the causal relationship between managerial compensation and firm risk-taking behavior. Specifically, we find that firm risks are significantly associated with compensation schemes including lower delta and higher vega. In other words, our study implies that the sensitivity of CEO wealth to stock volatility can positively affect both delta and vega or managerial incentives schemes. firm performance study provides the first to in the literature by investigating the ability of latent, manager characteristics in explaining variation in firm performance.
Critical thinking on efflorescence in alkali activated cement (AAC)

Alkali-activated cement (AAC), also known as “geopolymer”, has been extensively investigated over the past 40 years and has been developed from laboratory mock ups to real structural usage in construction in the last decade. While numerous life cycle analyses and carbon accounting studies show the “green potential” of this material compared to Portland cement, some authors state that the high alkali concentration in AAC is a potentially unstable factor which may lead to, for example, efflorescence. This paper presents a critical thinking on the literature and some new experimental work regarding the possibility of efflorescence in AAC products. Subjects of the discussion include: (1) the role of alkalis in AACs, (2) the effect of alkali concentration on efflorescence, (3) the effect of solid precursor selection on efflorescence, (4) the effect of curing scheme and chemical additives on efflorescence, and (5) the impacts of efflorescence on the microstructural properties of AACs. Particular attention is given to the relationship between pore structure and efflorescence behaviour, and consequently the mechanical properties of AACs suffering from either efflorescence or alkali loss (by leaching). The changes in sodium aluminosilicate hydrate (N-A-S-H) gels due to efflorescence or alkali loss are critical to the durability of AACs. This paper emphasizes that the nature of the solid precursor and the pore structure of the resulting AAC are the two most important factors that control efflorescence rate. However, considering its alkaline nature, it seems difficult or impossible to avoid this issue in AAC products, although kinetically controlled diffusion of alkalis using phase transformation techniques may help to mitigate efflorescence. Efflorescence in AAC is a “skin issue” that needs to be carefully treated. It is recognized to be different from the visually similar, but chemically distinct, efflorescence that occurs in Portland cement based materials.
Phase transitional behaviour of S-shaped oligomers incorporating biphenylene and cholesterol entities

ABSTRACT A new series of symmetrical S-shaped oligomers 4,4′-bis[(5-cholesteryloxycarbonylpentyl alkoxy)hexyloxy]biphenyl consisting of outer spacers –(COCH2)n– as well as an inner spacer –(CH2)6– has been synthesised. Their liquid crystalline properties and phase transition temperatures with associated enthalpy changes are recorded. The outer spacers are varied from n = 5–8 to 10 and 11. The compounds with even spacer exhibit enantiotropic phase and oligomers with odd parity display monotropic phase. The oligomers with odd membered n = 5, 7 and 11 exhibit N* and SmC* phases upon cooling. Whilst upon heating, the homologues with even-numbered member n = 6 and 10 show N* phase and upon cooling, both compounds exhibit N* and SmC* phases. However, oligomer with outer spacer n = 8 displays enantiotropic N* and SmC* phases. The temperature range of N* phase for even and odd membered decreased as the outer spacers are increased. The odd–even effect has been found in the I–N* transition temperatures where the odd-parity oligomers exhibit lower values when compared to compounds of an even-parity series. The X-ray diffraction measurements reveal the appearance of SmC* phase that can be associated with the monolayer ordering of these oligomers. GRAPHICAL ABSTRACT
Materialism and Drinking Motives: Examining the Longitudinal Associations in an Undergraduate Sample

Frequent alcohol use is associated with impairments in an individual’s health and with associated negative outcomes. Impairments include neurocognitive deficits, neurodegeneration, impaired functional brain activity, and decreased cognitive performance (Zeigler et al. , 2005). Negative outcomes include altered sleep schedules, poor academic performance (Singleton & Wolfson, 2009), and increased injury rates (Jackson et al., 2005). Young adults attending college and university often partake in greater experimentation and alcohol use (Karam et al., 2007). O’Malley and Johnston (2002) found that approximately 40% of American college students were heavy drinkers (i.e., had 5 or more consecutive drinks in the past 2 weeks), and had increased alcohol use when compared to similar-aged young adults not attending college. It is therefore important to examine individual differences in psychological characteristics predisposing or preceding alcohol use in college students to inform prevention and treatment efforts and reduce overall harms. One factor that may be important and overlooked in the alcohol literature is materialism. The self-determination theory posited by Deci and Ryan (1985) suggests that individuals have three fundamental psychological needs: competence, autonomy, and relatedness to others. Based on this theory, Kasser and Ryan (1996) ABSTRACT. Alcohol use is common among individuals attending university and frequent use is associated with several negative effects. It is therefore important to assess individual difference factors preceding alcohol use. Materialism, a value one holds that prioritizes status through the acquisition of money and possessions, has received minimal research focus in relation to alcohol use and has predominantly been examined using cross-sectional designs (i.e., data collected at one time point). The present study was the first to test the association between materialism, risky drinking motives (i.e., motives preceding alcohol use associated with increased consumption and related problems), and risky personality traits (i.e., stable characteristics associated with frequent substance use and related problems) using a short-term longitudinal design. Undergraduate student drinkers (N = 317) completed self-report questionnaires at baseline and follow-up (2 weeks later). Hierarchical regression analyses found that greater levels of materialism significantly predicted each drinking motive while controlling for risky personality traits. Materialism significantly predicted drinking to cope with depression when controlling for trait hopelessness (β = .16, p = .014), drinking to cope with anxiety while controlling for anxiety sensitivity (β = .11, p = .024), and drinking for enhancement while controlling for sensation seeking (β = .24, p < .001). Results provide evidence that materialism is associated with risky drinking motives, which may inform prevention and treatment efforts for problematic use among undergraduate students.
Paternalistic leadership in Kuwaiti business environment: Culturally endorsed, but largely ineffective

There is an assumption from the reviewed literature that Paternalistic Leadership (PL) is culturally endorsed as a leadership style in Kuwait. With many diverse perspectives on the effectiveness of paternalistic leadership, the research objectives of the current research are threefold. First, to examine if PL is recognized as a leadership style in Kuwait organizations, second, to test the effectiveness of that style if present, and third, to identify the specifics of the Kuwaiti leadership practice. The findings lead to the conclusion that PL is present in Kuwaiti leadership practices, culturally is endorsed, but otherwise is considered as an ineffective leadership style because of the influence of wasta.
Study on long-term pollution characteristics of UHVDC lines under different environmental conditions

In order to fully obtain the contamination deposited characteristics of UHVDC transmission lines insulators under different meteorological conditions, this paper takes UHVDC transmission lines on four typical climatic conditions (extreme arid, arid, semi-arid, semi-humid and humid) as study objects to perform detailed layout scheme design and natural contamination deposited test, then obtains the characteristics and design parameters of contamination deposited of UHVDC insulators under four types of environmental conditions for many years and the influences of different umbrellas types, materials and voltage types (AC and DC) on the performance of contamination deposited on insulators. The results show that from the extremely arid region to the humid region, the saturated contamination deposited time, dust to salt ratio and the uneven contamination deposited ratio KE all decrease, ESDD of the outer umbrella and the bell jar-shaped insulators are 0.82 (humid), and those of the composite insulation and the hydrophilic surface on tension strings are 1.64 (extreme arid) and 1.84 (semi-arid). the degree of uneven contamination deposited of DC line is significantly higher than that of the AC line, and the ratio of contamination deposited on AC and DC lines under different meteorological conditions are different.
Resistance distances in fullerene graphs

Resistance distances are computed for all 1812 C 6 0 fullerenes and found to correlate with the number of pentagon adjacencies and hence with relative energy. Within the set, the unique isolated-pentagon isomer has the lowest resistance distance (R T = 479482/209), the lowest Wiener index (W = 8340) and the highest Balaban index (J = 2025/2224). The most stable C 4 0 fullerene isomer, one of two with the lowest achievable number of pentagon adjacencies, also has the lowest resistance distance in the set.
Should children with psoriasis be consulted to a rheumatologist? Result from pediatric rheumatology-dermatology collaboration

OBJECTIVE The objectives of this study were to determine the musculoskeletal (MSK) conditions associated with pediatric psoriasis (Pso) and to evaluate the thickness of Achilles tendon of children with Pso and healthy controls (HCs). METHODS Pso patients who were followed-up in dermatology outpatient clinic were referred to a pediatric rheumatology center. All patients and healthy peers were evaluated with standardized forms. Both patients and controls underwent ultrasonographic evaluation for Achilles tendon thickness. RESULTS A total of 55 pediatric Pso and 46 healthy children were included in the study. Of patients with Pso 56.4% had arthralgia, 25.5% had lower back pain, 18.2% had heel pain, 12.7% had hip pain, and 10.9% described morning stiffness. Arthritis was detected in 7.3%, sacroiliac tenderness in 12.7%, and enthesitis in 9.1% of the patients. Arthralgia, lower back pain, and heel pain were significantly frequent in Pso group than healthy children median left and right Achilles tendon thicknesses of Pso patients who were significantly greater than that of HCs prevalence of psoriatic arthritis (PsA) among Pso patients was 7.3%. CONCLUSION Evaluation of a child with Pso regularly for the MSK complaints is critical for the early recognition of PsA. Ultrasonography is a useful technique for screening Pso patients for early detection of enthesopaty.
Phytoplankton diversity of a de-mineralized subtropical reservoir of Meghalaya state, northeast India

Available online at http://aquatres.scientificwebjournals. com ABSTRACT This study monitors the spatio-temporal variations of phytoplankton of a soft-water and de-mineralized reservoir of Meghalaya state of northeast India. Phytoplankton assemblages of the littoral and limnetic regions reveal total 36 species and diverse desmids, and contribute dominantly to net plankton abundance. Our results record the quantitative importance of Charophyta > Bacillariophyta > Dinophyta and Charophyta > Dinophyta, and the ‘specialist’ nature of 11 and six species at the littoral and limnetic regions, respectively. Staurastrum spp. and Cosmarium spp. are notable taxa. Phytoplankton indicates moderate species diversity and depicts dominance and evenness variations. The individual abiotic factors exert differential influence on various taxa at the two regions and the canonical correspondence analysis registers 73.02 and 71.14% cumulative influence of 10 abiotic factors on the littoral and limnetic assemblages, respectively. The spatial differences of phytoplankton composition, richness, abundance, important groups and taxa, specialist species, diversity indices and the influence of individual abiotic factors are hypothesised to habitat heterogeneity amongst the sampled regions. This study records notable temporal differences of phytoplankton richness, abundance, diversity and the role of abiotic factors vis-a-vis the limited survey of November 1990–October 1991.
Effect of Sulphuric Acid Concentration on Anodised Titanium for Biomedical Application

Anodic oxidation (AO) is a chemically electrode reactions between electric field driven metal and oxygen ion diffusion to the formation of an oxide film on anode surface. This method able to modified the oxide layer of titanium (Ti) from smooth (bioinert) to porous surface (bioactive) by thickening the oxide film which enhance osseointegration and corrosion resistance of the Ti. This paper presents a study of surface characterisations of anodised titanium in sulphuric acid (H2SO4) formed via anodic oxidation. Anodic films were obtained by using AO method in sulphuric acid, where the concentration and voltage were varied in the range of 0.3-1.8 M and 50-200 V respectively. The samples are examined by using X-ray diffractometer (XRD), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM). From XRD analysis, oxide conversion is identified from very small amount of anatase (50 V) to high crystallinity of anatase at 100 V and mixture of anatase and rutile at 200 V. The FESEM results show that the surface of titanium changed from smooth to rough surface by increasing the applied voltage and concentration of electrolyte. The surface roughness (Ra) of anodic titanium increased with increment of the voltage and concentration of sulphuric acid. Keywords—Anodic oxidation, titanium, biomaterials, thin film, sulphuric acid
Machine Learning Classification of Price Extrema Based on Market Microstructure and Price Action Features. A Case Study of S&P500 E-mini Futures. Reproducibility package

The study introduces an automated trading system for S&P500 E-mini futures (ES) based on state-of-the-art machine learning. Concretely: we extract a set of scenarios from the tick market data to train the models and further use the predictions to statistically assess the soundness of the approach. We deﬁne the scenarios from the local extrema of the price action. Price extrema is a commonly traded pattern, however, to the best of our knowledge, there is no study presenting a pipeline for automated classiﬁcation and proﬁtability evaluation. Additionally, we evaluate the approach in the simulated trading environment on the historical data. Our study is ﬁlling this gap by presenting a broad evaluation of the approach supported by statistical tools which make it general-isable to unseen data and comparable to other approaches.
Power Devolution and Economic Stability: Evidence from Pakistan

The current study analyzed the impacts of fiscal decentralization (FD) on the economic stability of Pakistan. This study used time series data from 1981 to 2017. The collected data was first passed through the unit root analysis. ARDL estimation techniques were employed to scrutinize the data where long-run associations were tested through Wald F-statistics. The long-run estimates were extracted by applying Ordinary Least Square, and error correction mechanisms were employed to find the speed of adjustment for disequilibria between the long and the short run. Wald F-statistics confirmed the existence of long-run cointegration. Long-run elasticities suggested that fiscal decentralization because of limited institutional capabilities of provincial governments failed in bringing stability in the economy of Pakistan. Similarly, transparency issues and misspecification of projects hinder the outcome of investment to stabilize the economy. High service payments on debt cut the amount that can be used for skills improvements and destabilize the economy. High Population growth puts pressure on infrastructure and reduces production capacity, ultimately destabilizing the economy by increasing unemployment and inflation. Based on these findings, the government is suggested to improve the institutional capacity of lower governments for the desired outcome of power devolution.
The Implementation of Flipped Classroom Model in Teaching English to Sapta Andika Junior High School Students in Academic Year 2019/2020

This research investigated (1) the implementation of Flipped Classroom for teaching English; (2) the students’ achievement; (3) the students’ opinion; and (4) the differences between the high and low achieving students’ opinion toward Flipped Classroom. There were 41 seventh grade students and one English teacher of the seventh grade investigated. In this research, interview, questionnaires and lesson plan analysis were analyzed using interactive model; meanwhile the post-test and high and low achieving students’ opinion given were statistically analyzed using SPSS 16. It was resulting that in implementing Flipped Classroom the teacher did several preparations and teaching procedures which differentiated the classroom activity and home activity; the students’ achievement was seen to be good; the students also perceived the learning positively; the differences among high and low achieving students’ opinion were not significantly seen. This research helps the teacher who wants to implement flipped classroom as a consideration in teaching.
Assessment on the level of contamination of Turag river at Tongi area in Dhaka

Assessment on the level of pollution of Turag river water was performed by measuring various physico-chemical parameters. Water samples were collected five times in a year both dry and rainy season at five different locations: Bishwa Ijtema field, Tongi Bridge, Kachare ghate, River side of Dhaka Dying and Effluent of Dhaka Dying. Most of the measured parameters exceeded the permissible limit of standard level. Values for different parameters at different points were recorded such as Temperature (T): 23.9 to 31.2°C, pH: 7.2 to 10.1, Salinity: 64 to 933 ppm, Total dissolved solid (TDS): 90 to 1244 ppm, Electrical Conductivity (EC): 135 to 1856 µs/cm, Dissolve oxygen (DO): 0.5 to 3.6 mg/L and Chemical oxygen demand (COD): 220 to 1170 mg/L. The concentration (ppm) of heavy metals were also observed such as Chromium (Cr) 0.0339 to 0.6334, Cadmium (Cd) 0.0068 to 0.0170, Nickel (Ni) 0.1282 to 0.6207, Cooper (Cu) 0.0148 to 0.1703 and Zink (Zn) 0.0366 to 0.1890 at dry season. The values of different parameters determined are above the safe limits recommended by DoE, EQS and WHO. Therefore, it can be concluded that water relieved from selected locations were not suitable for human consumption during the period of experiments. Bangladesh J. Sci. Ind. Res. 51(3), 193-202, 2016