Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Ocean Vector Wind Retrievals From TRMM Using a Novel Combined Active/Passive Algorithm

This article presents a novel ocean vector wind (OVW) retrieval algorithm for remote sensing of ocean winds, using the precipitation radar (PR) and tropical rainfall measurement mission (TRMM) microwave imager (TMI) that operated for >17 years on the TRMM observatory. In this study, the wind speed and anisotropic wind direction (WD) characteristics of the ocean backscatter and brightness temperature (Tb) were empirically characterized to produce geophysical model functions for 49 PR beam positions and three TMI frequency channels (10, 19, and 37 GHz). For passive TMI measurements, the modified second stokes parameter (weighted difference of V and H-pol Tb's) was used to cancel the atmosphere contribution, which enhances the WD signal. Thus, combining linearly polarized Tb measurements with the anisotropic backscatter signature of the Ku-band PR, the feasibility of retrieving ocean surface wind vector is demonstrated. The OVW retrieval algorithm is validated by comparing retrievals with collocated numerical weather models wind vectors, and the statistics of OVW retrieval accuracy is presented.
Twitter Sentiment Analysis: Case Study on the Revision of the Indonesia’s Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) Law 2019

Pros and cons of the Revision of the Indonesia’s Corruption Eradication Commission (Komisi Pemberantasan Korupsi or KPK) Law 2019 encourage a wave of demonstrations throughout September 2019. In addition, some Indonesian people also expressed their opinions regarding the Revision of KPK Law 2019 through social media Twitter. This research was conducted to analyze public opinion sentiments towards the Revision of KPK Law 2019 and is expected to be an input for the government to obtain public views, as well as a reference in the decision-making process as needed. Sentiment analysis is performed using Support Vector Machine (SVM), Decision Tree, and Naive Bayes algorithm. The result shows the SVM algorithm has the highest performance and accuracy at 81.70%, followed by Naive Bayes at 80.90%, and the Decision Tree at 74.55%. Based on the results of testing in this study, it was found that more than 75% of Indonesian people who voiced their opinions through Twitter had negative sentiments towards the Revision of KPK Law 2019. The negative sentiments are caused by people who consider this regulation to be ratified in a hurry, while people who have positive sentiments assume that the Revision of KPK Law 2019 can encourage the performance of the KPK to be more objective.
A Process-Based Assessment of CMIP5 Rainfall in the Congo Basin: The September–November Rainy Season

Congo basin September–November rainfall varies by up to a factor of 3 across CMIP5 coupled models. The severe lack of observational data in this region makes model evaluation difﬁcult using standard techniques. This study uses a process-based assessment to evaluate the plausibility of mechanisms related to coupled model rainfall in September–November. Models tend to simulate a rainfall maximum in either the west or east of the basin. In most months, western Congo rainfall is positively correlated with eastern Congo rainfall across models, as relatively wet models are often wetter everywhere; however, in August– November this correlation becomes insigniﬁcant, suggesting that processes relating to rainfall differences in each subdomain are distinct. Composite analysis of wet and dry models in each subdomain suggests that the tropical eastern Atlantic SST bias helps differentiate between models in the west: wetter models tend to have a larger ( ; 1 8 –2 8 C) and more equatorward SST bias, higher evaporation over the ocean, and higher local convection. In the east, rainfall differences between models are related to more remote SST differences, including cold South Atlantic and warm eastern Indian Ocean SSTs. Wetter models exhibit stronger westerly ﬂow across the tropical eastern Atlantic, as part of an enhanced equatorial zonal overturning cell. Dry models in the east feature a stronger and more equatorward northerly component of the midlevel African easterly jet, which may contribute to suppressed convection over the domain. This assessment casts doubt on the credibility of models that are very wet in the west of the Congo basin and have a large Atlantic SST bias.
Geomorphological evolution of a debris‐covered glacier surface

There exists a need to advance our understanding of debris‐covered glacier surfaces over relatively short timescales due to rapid, climatically induced areal expansion of debris cover at the global scale, and the impact debris has on mass balance. We applied unpiloted aerial vehicle structure‐from‐motion (UAV‐SfM) and digital elevation model (DEM) differencing with debris thickness and debris stability modelling to unravel the evolution of a 0.15 km2 region of the debris‐covered Miage Glacier, Italy, between June 2015 and July 2018. DEM differencing revealed widespread surface lowering (mean 4.1 ± 1.0 m a‐1; maximum 13.3 m a‐1). We combined elevation change data with local meteorological data and a sub‐debris melt model, and used these relationships to produce high resolution, spatially distributed maps of debris thickness. These maps were differenced to explore patterns and mechanisms of debris redistribution. Median debris thicknesses ranged from 0.12 to 0.17 m and were spatially variable. We observed localized debris thinning across ice cliff faces, except those which were decaying, where debris thickened. We observed pervasive debris thinning across larger, backwasting slopes, including those bordered by supraglacial streams, as well as ingestion of debris by a newly exposed englacial conduit. Debris stability mapping showed that 18.2–26.4% of the survey area was theoretically subject to debris remobilization. By linking changes in stability to changes in debris thickness, we observed that slopes that remain stable, stabilize, or remain unstable between periods almost exclusively show net debris thickening (mean 0.07 m a‐1) whilst those which become newly unstable exhibit both debris thinning and thickening. We observe a systematic downslope increase in the rate at which debris cover thickens which can be described as a function of the topographic position index and slope gradient. Our data provide quantifiable insights into mechanisms of debris remobilization on glacier surfaces over sub‐decadal timescales, and open avenues for future research to explore glacier‐scale spatiotemporal patterns of debris remobilization. © 2020 The Authors. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd
Dual-Band Dual-Polarized Waveguide Slot Antenna for SAR Applications

The design of a shared-aperture waveguide slot antenna operating in dual-band and dual-polarization (DBDP) is proposed in this letter for synthesis aperture radar (SAR) applications. The frequencies of the antenna are in both L- and C-band with frequency ratio of 4:1. The C-band horizontal-polarized subarray antenna is achieved by 16 V-shaped slots opened on a ridged waveguide, while the vertical-polarized subarray is realized by 16 longitudinal slots displaced from the centerline on the other ridged waveguide. The L-band vertical-polarized subarray is comprised by four groups of longitudinal slots cut in the metal-wall interlacing with the C-band dual-polarized antenna array sharing the same aperture. The L-band waveguide is a multiridge cavity under the C-band waveguide. A DBDP antenna module comprising 4 × 16 C-band dual-polarized elements and 1 × 4 L-band elements was manufactured in aluminum alloy. Experimental results show that the proposed antenna can obtain excellent electromagnetic performance and maintain satisfactory thermal and mechanical properties for space-borne SAR applications.
Thermal annealing of implanted 252Cf fission tracks in monazite

Abstract. A series of isochronal heating experiments were performed to constrain monazite fission track thermal annealing properties. The 252 Cf fission tracks were implanted into monazite crystals from the Devonian Harcourt granodiorite (Victoria, Australia) on polished surfaces oriented parallel to (100) pinacoidal faces and perpendicular to the crystallographic c axis. Tracks were annealed over 1, 10, 100 and 1000 h schedules at temperatures between 30 and 400 ∘ C. Track lengths were measured on captured digital image stacks and then converted to calculated mean lengths of equivalent confined fission tracks that progressively decreased with increasing temperature and time. Annealing is anisotropic, with tracks on surfaces perpendicular to the crystallographic c axis consistently annealing faster than those parallel to the (100) face. To investigate how the mean track lengths decreased as a function of annealing time and temperature, one parallel and two fanning models were fitted to the empirical dataset. The temperature limits of the monazite partial annealing zone (MPAZ) were defined as length reductions to 0.95 (lowest) and 0.5 (highest) for this study. Extrapolation of the laboratory experiments to geological timescales indicates that for a heating duration of 10 7 years, estimated temperature ranges of the MPAZ are − 44 to 101 ∘ C for the parallel model and − 71 to 143 ∘ C (both ± 6–21 ∘ C, 2 standard errors) for the best-fitting linear fanning model ( T0=∞ ). If a monazite fission track closure temperature is approximated as the midpoint of the MPAZ, these results, for tracks with similar mass and energy distributions to those involved in spontaneous fission of 238 U, are consistent with previously estimated closure temperatures (calculated from substantially higher energy particles) of 50 ∘ C and perhaps not much higher than ambient surface temperatures. Based on our findings we estimate that this closure temperature ( Tc ) for fission tracks in monazite ranges between ∼ 45 and 25 ∘ C over geological timescales of 10 6 –10 7 years, making this system potentially useful as an ultra-low-temperature thermochronometer.
A Deep Reinforcement Learning Approach for Online Computation Offloading in Mobile Edge Computing

With the explosion of mobile smart devices, many computation intensive applications have emerged, such as interactive gaming and augmented reality. Mobile edge computing is put forward, as an extension of cloud computing, to meet the low-latency requirements of the applications. In this paper, we consider an edge computing system built in an ultra-dense network with numerous base stations, and heterogeneous computation tasks are successively generated on a smart device moving in the network. An optimal task offloading strategy, as well as optimal CPU frequency and transmit power scheduling, is desired by the device user, to minimize both task completion latency and energy consumption in a long-term. However, due to the stochastic computation tasks and dynamic network conditions, the problem is particularly difficult to solve. Inspired by reinforcement learning, we transform the problem into a Markov decision process. Then, we propose an online offloading approach based on a double deep Q network, in which a specific neural network model is also provided to estimate the cumulative reward achieved by each action. We also conduct extensive simulations to compare the performance of our proposed approach with baselines.
Endoparasic diseases of ostriches in eastern Ukraine

National Scientific Center Institute of Experimental and Clinical Veterinary Medicine, 83, Pushkinska St, Kharkiv, 61023, Ukraine Sumy National Agrarian University, 160, Herasym Kondratiev St, Sumy, 40021, Ukraine Kharkiv National Technical University of Agriculture named after Petro Vasylenko, 44, Alchevskih St, Kharkiv, 61002, Ukraine *Corresponding author E-mail: paliy.dok@gmail.com Received: 11.08. 2020. Accepted 27.09. 2020
Acid Phosphatase Activities in Developing Seeds of Pisum sativum L

The seedcoats contain almost all of the acid phosphatase activity (EC 3.1.3.2) in the pea seed in the earliest stages of expansion. The seedcoat activity is maximal by the end of the period of rapid cell expansion and declines as the embryo matures. The developing cotyledons show a later rise in acid phosphatase activity to a maximum shortly before dehydration. The activity in the embryonic axis shows a marked increase only during dehydration. The acid phosphatase activity in the seedcoats results almost entirely from an isoenzyme with high electrophoretic mobility in 5.5% polyacrylamide gels (RF 0.97). This isoenzyme has not been detected in other tissues from the plant. The phosphatase activity in the cotyledons is accounted for by one major isoenzyme at RF 0.75 and by four minor components. The partially purified enzyme from the seedcoats shows a broad pH optimum from pH 5.0 to pH 6.0. In contrast, the preparation from the cotyledons has an optimum close to pH 5.6 and is slightly more sensitive to inhibition by 0.2 mM PI.
Antibiotic Resistance and Mutation Rates of Mycoplasma

of ulcerative enteritis when yolk sac cultures were fed to quail. The organism was reisolated from quail which died following oral administration of yolk cultures. The bacterium was also pathogenic for quail by the intramuscular and intraperitoneal routes. Yolk cultures heated at different temperatures up to 80 C for varying periods up to one hour remained pathogenic for embryos. Yolk cultures remained pathogenic for quail after storage at 20 C for 12 months.
NON-EQUILIBRIUM 'ISLAND' COMMUNITIES. A GUILD OF TROPICAL BARK BEETLES

SUMMARY (1) Fifteen species of bark beetle and one ambrosia beetle (Scolytidae) were found breeding in the fallen leafstalks of eight species of tree in West Malaysia. (2) Comparisons of the communities present in different trees and at different sites indicate that long distance dispersal is relatively infrequent, and that the beetle guild as a whole does not show strong host preferences within the range of tree species with suitable leaves. (3) Species which are known to breed in other habitats (twigs, fruits, etc.) tend to have high niche breadths and high overlap values in the leafstalk habitat. Four of the five species only known to breed in leafstalks have low niche breadths and low overlap values, particularly with each other. Niche separation of the specialist species is largely through preferences for different host genera. Further niche separation occurs because most species preferentially attack different parts of the leafstalk. (4) Colonization of the leafstalks is particularly affected by their moisture content. Within the leafstalks, mortality of the immature stages is low, but brood sizes are small, apparently due to the poor quality of the leafstalks as food. (5) Species which breed in leafstalks in the non-seasonal tropics occupy a habitat which is continuously renewed over the life of the tree and essentially spatially constant during that time. For the specialist species, these advantages presumably outweigh the disadvantages of poor food quality and small brood sizes. (6) Most bark and ambrosia beetles breed in habitats which are unstable, and spatially and temporally heterogeneous. This creates problems of dispersal and host-finding for the adult beetles, particularly in the tropical rain forest. Various strategies have been evolved to overcome these problems. From the point of view of the adult beetle, the heterogeneity is reduced by polyphagy, and by breeding in leafstalks. Spanandry facilitates the colonization of low stability habitats. Species which attack but do not kill living trees avoid these problems but are faced by others. Similar strategies have been evolved by other insects living in habitats with similar characteristics.
Plasticity based interface model for failure modelling of unreinforced masonry under cyclic loading

In this work our objective is to understand the failure behaviour of unreinforced masonry under in-plane cyclic loading. For this purpose we proposed a plasticity based interface model consists of a single yield surface criteria which is a direct extension of Mohr-Coulomb criteria with a tension cut and compression cap and a back stress vector is introduced as a mixed hardening law variable in the adopted yield surface to capture the unloading/reloading behaviour of masonry under cyclic loading. A simplified micromechanical interface modelling approach is adopted to capture all the failure modes of masonry. The integration of the differential constitutive equation is done by using implicit Euler backward integration approach and the obtained non-linear set of equations are solved by a combined local/global Newton solver. The proposed constitutive model is implemented in ABAQUS by writing UMAT (user-defined subroutine) and the obtained numerical results are compared with experimental results available in the literature.
Evaluation of different wood harvesting systems in typical Mediterranean small-scale forests: a Southern Italian case study

Use of small-scale harvesting equipment in forestry is increasing in many regions of the world and tractor-based systems are the most common type of small-scale forestry equipment. This equipment is smaller, less expensive and less productive than advanced forestry machines and the choice of method depends on forest site-specific conditions. In southern Italy the prevailing conditions are those characteristic of small-scale forestry: harvested areas and volume are limited and ground-based extraction is still the most common harvesting technique. Two harvesting systems conventionally adopted in Italian small-scale forestry are those using either winch or grapple fitted farm tractors for wood extraction. A continuous time study was adopted to determine productivity rates and wood extraction costs and develop skidding time prediction models for these two different wood harvesting systems as used in typical Mediterranean forests, in chestnut and silver fir thinning operations. Comparing winch and grapple extraction revealed considerable differences in productivity (2.91 and 5.92 m3 h-1 respectively). Factors significantly affecting productivity differences were extraction distance and payload per turn. The study concluded that farm tractors can be used for small scale harvesting operations and its results can be used to set piece rates, design and rationalize work and estimate costs. In order to sustain small-scale harvesting equipment effectiveness, skid trails should be planned in forests. The use of farm tractors needs to be encouraged as an alternative self-sufficient productivity method in small-scale forestry operations.
An IIoT System to Monitor 3D–Printed Artifacts via LoRaWAN Embedded Sensors

In this paper we consider an Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) system, based on the production of 3D–printed artifacts that are equipped with embedded sensors to monitor some environmental variables such as temperature, humidity, etc. These sensors allow to gather information during the production phase of the artifacts, as well as while they are deployed in their final locations, so that diverse operations (e.g. tuning of the production parameters, predictive maintenance, environmental monitoring) can be undertaken. Monitoring is implemented via LoRaWAN, a Low Power Wide Area Network (LPWAN) that allows to acquire data from the sensors embedded in the artifacts. After a description of the IIoT system, we provide the description of some experimental tests we carried out in this challenging context, aimed at investigating both the reliability of the transmission and the battery life time. The outcomes of such experiments indicate the actual feasibility of the proposed technique.
A review on Improving Phosphorus use efficiency of upland rice with emerging opportunities of breeding

Phosphorus is an essential macro nutrient for plant growth, especially in nucleic acids and metabolic pathways. It is important nutrient for root development as well as plant growth. Phosphorus deficiency is very common in upland rice, and its damage occurs throughout crop cycle. Improving Phosphorus Use Efficiency is required in rice crop especially in upland rice as phosphorus uptake is difficult due to aluminium toxicity, P-fixation which occurs commonly in acid soil and slow diffusion rate. Through this paper we are reviewing the importance of Phosphorus Acquisition Efficiency (PAE), and Phosphorus Use Efficiency (PUE). Phosphorus uptake 1 (Pup1) a major QTL has been mapped from the population resulting from a cross between Nipponbare x Kasalath. Phosphorus-Starvation Tolerance 1 (OSPSTOL1) is a gene which shows Phosphorus tolerance in Pi deficient soils found within the QTL Pup1.
General practitioners’ knowledge, attitudes and practices on antibiotic prescribing for acute respiratory infections in children in Lubumbashi, Democratic Republic of Congo

Objective: To assess the knowledge, attitudes and practices declared among general practitioners (GPs) concerning the use of antibiotics for the treatment of ARI in children under 5 years in Lubumbashi. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted to assess the level of knowledge, attitude and practices concerning antibiotic prescribing among 67 GPs working in the pediatric setting in various health structures in Lubumbashi city, in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Data were collected from April 1st to June 30th, 2020. Results: GPs had limited knowledge about antibiotic prescriptions (mean of 46% correct answers to 8 questions). Although they are generally concerned about antibiotic resistance (mean ± SD = 0.50 ± 0.68), and are unwilling to submit to pressure to prescribe antibiotics to meet patient demands and expectations (mean ± SD = –1.78 ± 0.31) and the requirements to prescribe antibiotics for fear of losing patients (mean ± SD = –1.67 ± 0.47), there was a lack of motivation to change prescribing practices (mean ± SD = −0.37 ± 0.94) and strong agreement that they themselves should take responsibility for tackling antibiotic resistance (mean ± SD = 1.24 ± 0.74). Multiple linear regression results showed that higher knowledge scores were associated with less avoidance of responsibility when prescribing antibiotics (β = 0.919; p = 0.000). Conclusion: To curb the over-prescription of antibiotics, it is not enough to improve knowledge in itself. The lack of motivation of physicians to change must be addressed through a systematic approach. These data show the need for interventions that support the rational prescribing of antibiotics.
A chromatographic method for detection of palm oil in butter

Replacement with the cheaper animal fats or vegetable oils is conventional in milk through direct incorporation or homogenization of skimmed milk with less expensive foreign fats. The main objective of the present study was to evaluate the capability of a simple, fast, and reliable method for the detection of added palm oil in butter. The butter samples were mixed with palm oil (0.5-50 wt%) followed by gas chromatography analysis of fatty acids and sterols. The results confirmed the potential of discrimination based on a significant increase in the content of unsaturated fatty acids (C18:1 and C18:2) and a decrease in saturated fatty acids (mainly C10:0, C12:0, and C14:0). The differences are detectable for at least 10.0 wt% of the palm oil. Also, significant variations were observed in the cholesterol and sitosterol as marker sterols in the butter and palm oil, respectively. The study demonstrates the high potential of the procedure to rapidly detect and discriminate between butter-palm oil blends among pure samples.