Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Modeling Adaptive Strategies on Maintaining Wheat-Corn Production and Reducing Net Greenhouse Gas Emissions under Climate Change

Climate change has posed serious challenges to food production and sustainable development. We evaluated crop yields, N2O emissions, and soil organic carbon (SOC) in a typical wheat–corn rotation system field on the North China Plain on a 50-year scale using the Denitrification–Decomposition (DNDC) model and proposed adaptive strategies for each climate scenarios. The study showed a good consistency between observations and simulations (R2 > 0.95 and nRMSE < 30%). Among the twelve climate scenarios, we explored ten management practices under four climate scenarios (3 °C temperature change: P/T−3 and P/T+3; 30% precipitation change: 0.7P/T and 1.3P/T), which have a significant impact on crop yields and the net greenhouse effect. The results revealed that changing the crop planting time (CP) and using cold-resistant (CR) varieties could reduce the net greenhouse effect by more than 1/4 without sacrificing crop yields under P/T−3. Straw return (SR) minimized the negative impact on yields and the environment under P/T+3. Fertigation (FG) and Drought-Resistant (DR) varieties reduced the net greenhouse effect by more than 8.34% and maintained yields under 0.7P/T. SR was most beneficial to carbon sequestration, and yields were increased by 3.87% under 1.3P/T. Multiple adaptive strategies should be implemented to balance yields and reduce the environmental burden under future climate change.
Assessing the impact of social grants on household welfare using propensity score matching approach

Purpose – This study aims to investigate the impact of social grants on rural household welfare in a village located in one of the poorest provinces in South Africa – KwaZulu Natal Province. Actually, since the inception of democratic rule, theSouthAfricangovernmenthasturned to social grantsto addresstheissuesof poverty, income inequality and to improve household welfare. The coverage of social grants has increased substantially with more than 17 million (about 34% of the population) South Africans being recipients of social grants. Despite having relatively well-developed social security system, poverty levels in rural parts of SouthAfrica remains very high. Design/methodology/approach – This study uses a cross-sectional households survey data conducted in Hlokozi village. A propensity score matching technique, which accounts for non-random selection of households, is applied. Findings – The results reveal that social grants have a signi ﬁ cant and positive impact on rural household welfare. Speci ﬁ cally, the nearest neighbour matching estimates suggest that the causal effect for social grants on household welfare is the region of about R5,830. Consistent with the nearest neighbouring method, the results obtained using the Kernel matching method show that social grants are signi ﬁ cant in improving rural householdwelfare. Originality/value – While there are a number of studies that have shed some light on how social grant reduces poverty in South Africa, there are some gaps. Firstly, only a few studies have interrogated the impact of social grants on household welfare. Secondly, most of these studies have relied on descriptive analysis, and ﬁ nally, besides poverty being high in rural areas, research on the impact of social grants on rural household welfare remains thin.
Does ESG Decrease Information Asymmetry? Evidence from Earnings Conference Call Tones and Subsequent Returns

This paper examines how firm ESG performance affects the managerial and analyst tones in quarterly earnings conference calls, and its incremental effect on post-earnings returns. We find that high ESG firms exhibit more optimistic management tone after controlling for quarterly financial performance metrics. Tone difference in conference calls between managers and analysts predicts negative abnormal returns in the three-day window around earnings announcements. In the 60-day period post earnings announcement, low ESG firms exhibit return reversals related to tone difference, but high ESG firms exhibit neither drift nor reversal. These results are consistent with reduced information asymmetry in firms with investment in ESG. Our findings are not solely attributable to governance, which indicates that environmental and social initiatives, as well as governance, add to the quality of the firm’s information environment.
Typologies and touchpoints: Designing multi-channel digital strategies

Purpose This study aims to gain a clearer understanding of digital channel design. The emergence of new technologies has revolutionised the way companies interact and engage with customers. The driver for this research was the suggestion that practitioners feel they do not possess the skills to understand and exploit new digital channel opportunities. To gain a clearer understanding of digital channel design, this paper addresses the research question: What digital channels do companies from a wide range of industries and sectors use? Design/methodology/approach A content analysis of 100 international companies was conducted with multiple data sources to form a typology of digital “touchpoints”. The appropriateness of a digital channel typology for this study was for developing rigorous and useful concepts for clarifying and refining the meaning of digital channels. Findings This study identifies what digital channels companies globally currently employ and explores the related needs across industries. A total of 34 digital touchpoints and 4 typologies of digital channels were identified across 16 industries. This research helps to identify the relationship between digital channels and enabling the connections with industry. Research limitations/implications The findings contribute to the growing research area of digital channels. The typology of digital channels is a useful starting point for developing a systematic, theory-based study for enabling the development of broader, comprehensive theories of digital channels. Practical implications Typologies and touchpoints are outlined in relation to industry, company objectives and customer needs to allow businesses to seize opportunities and optimise performance through individual touchpoints. A digital channel model as a key outcome of this research guides practitioners on what touchpoint to implement through an interrelated understanding of industry, company and customer needs. Originality/value This is the first paper to explore a range of industries in relation to their use of digital channels using a unique content analysis. Contributions include clarifying and refining digital channel meaning; identifying and refining the hierarchical relations among digital channels(typologies); and establishing typology and industry relationship model.
Contrastive Explanation

According to a causal model of explanation, we explain phenomena by giving their causes or, where the phenomena are themselves causal regularities, we explain them by giving a mechanism linking cause and effect. If we explain why smoking causes cancer, we do not give the cause of this causal connection, but we do give the causal mechanism that makes it. The claim that to explain is to give a cause is not only natural and plausible, but it also avoids many of the objections to other accounts of explanation, such as the views that to explain is to give a reason to believe the phenomenon occurred, to somehow make the phenomenon familiar, or to give a Deductive-Nomological argument. Unlike the reason for belief account, a causal model makes a clear distinction between understanding why a phenomenon occurs and merely knowing that it does, and the model does so in a way that makes understanding unmysterious and objective. Understanding is not some sort of super-knowledge, but simply more knowledge: knowledge of the phenomenon and knowledge of its causal history. A causal model makes it clear how something can explain without itself being explained, and so avoids the regress of whys, since we can know a phenomenon's cause without knowing the cause of the cause. It also accounts for legitimate self-evidencing explanations, explanations where the phenomenon is an essential part of the evidence that the explanation is correct, so the explanation can not supply a non-circular reason for believing the phenomenon occurred. There is no barrier to knowing a cause through its effects and also knowing that it is their cause. The speed of recession of a star explains its observed red-shift, even though the shift is an essential part of the evidence for its speed of recession. The model also avoids the most serious objection to the familiarity view, which is that some phenomena are familiar yet not understood, since a phenomenon can be perfectly familiar, such as the blueness of the sky or the fact that the same side of the moon always faces the earth, even if we do not know its cause. Finally, a causal model avoids many of the objections to the Deductive-Nomological model. Ordinary explanations do not have to meet the requirements of the Deductive-Nomological model, because one does not need to give a law to give a cause, and one does not need to know a law to have good reason to believe that a cause is a cause. As for the notorious over-permissiveness of the Deductive-Nomological model, the reason recession explains red-shift but not conversely, is simply that causes explain effects but not conversely, and the reason a conjunction of laws does not explain its conjuncts is that conjunctions do not cause their conjuncts.
Proceedings of the British Society for Parasitology

Although there is much descriptive information on the growth of nematodes, few detailed analytic studies have been made. Fitted growth curves have invariably been constructed using mean values obtained from worm populations present in a particular host or culture, but none have been constructed by following the development of individual organisms. Almost all studies have accepted the measure of change in length as a sufficient basis by which to express growth rate. Investigations correlating weight, dimensional change and chemical composition will have to be made to obtain a more adequate basis by which to evaluate the growth process. The interesting hypothesis of Rogers & Sommerville that growth in nematodes is controlled by endocrine function needs to be explained in many nematode groups. Such studies will require new approaches to in vitro culture and maintenance.
Experiencing treatment for tuberculosis

A qualitative study that aims to know the experience of undergoing the tuberculosis treatment. The Grounded Theory was used as a methodological reference. The data were collected through interviews with five sampling groups, with a total of 26 people. The data coding and analysis allowed identifying two categories: undergoing treatment and abandoning treatment. Undergoing treatment includes: taking the medications; seeing the doctor; running tests; staying away from work; having a consistent feeding; resting. The features related to abandoning treatment of tuberculosis are complex and are not related only to the medication collateral effects, use of alcohol and drugs. Having the income compromised, not being able to stay away from work and not remaining in hospital are situations that can contribute to abandoning. The treatment success is beyond the pharmacological efficacy, there are difficulties related to the person with tuberculosis, to the treatment employed and the kind of attention received. DESCRIPTORS: Tuberculosis. Nursing. Social support. Therapy. LA EXPERIENCIA VIVIDA AL REALIZAR EL TRATAMIENTO PARA LA TUBERCULOSIS RESUMEN: Es un estudio cualitativo con el objetivo de conocer la experiencia vivida al realizar el tratamiento para la tuberculosis. Como marco teorico metodologico se utilizo la Teoria Fundamentada. La recoleccion de los datos se hizo por medio de entrevistas con cinco grupos de muestras, para un total de 26 personas. A partir de la codificacion y el analisis de los datos se identificaron dos categorias, a saber: Hacer el tratamiento y Abandonar el tratamiento. La primera incluye: tomar los remedios; ir a las consultas; hacer los examenes; retirarse del trabajo; alimentarse correctamente; descansar. Los factores relacionados con el abandono del tratamiento de la tuberculosis son complejos y no estan relacionados solamente con los efectos colaterales de los medicamentos, el uso de bebidas alcoholicas y las drogas. Otros factores que tambien pueden contribuir para el abandono del tratamiento de la tuberculosis son: la disminucion del sueldo, la imposibilidad de obtener el permiso medico y de ser hospitalizado. El suceso del tratamiento va mas alla de la eficacia farmacologica, existiendo dificultades relacionadas a la persona con tuberculosis, al tratamiento empleado y al tipo de atencion recibida DESCRIPTORES: Tuberculosis. Enfermeria. Apoyo social. Terapia.
Maximum Palinstrophy Growth in 2D Incompressible Flows: Instantaneous Case

In this study we investigate the vortex structures which lead to the maximum possible growth of palinstrophy in two-dimensional incompressible flows on a periodic domain. It is shown that these questions are related to a broader research program concerning the problem of the finite-time singularity formation in the three-dimensional Navier-Stokes system. Such extreme vortex events are found systematically via numerical solution of suitable variational optimization problems. We identify several families of maximizing vortex states parameterized by their palinstrophy, palinstrophy and energy and palinstrophy and enstrophy. Evidence is shown that some of these families saturate estimates for the instantaneous rate of growth of palinstrophy obtained using rigorous methods of mathematical analysis, thereby demonstrating that this analysis is in fact sharp. In the limit of small palinstrophies the optimal vortex states are found analytically, whereas for large palinstrophies they exhibit a self-similar multipolar structure. It is also shown that the time evolution obtained using some families of the instantaneously optimal states as the initial conditions saturates the theoretical upper bound for the maximum growth of palinstrophy in finite time. Possible consequences of this finding for the study of extreme events in fluid flows are discussed.
A system for biomedical audio signal processing based on high performance computing techniques

In this paper, a noninvasive portable prototype is presented for biomedical audio signal processing. The proposed prototype is suitable for monitoring the health of patients. The proposed hardware setup consists of a cost-effective microphone, multipurpose microcontroller and computing node that could be a mobile phone or general-purpose computer. Using parallel and high-performance techniques, this setup allows one to register and wirelessly multicast the recorded biomedical signals to computing nodes in real time. The developed prototype was used as a case study to estimate the heart rate (HR) from the captured biomedical audio signal. In this regard, the developed algorithm for estimating HR comprises three stages: preprocessing, separation, and HR estimation. In the ﬁrst stage, the signal captured by the microphone is adapted for processing. Subsequently, a separation stage was proposed to alleviate the acoustic interference between the lungs and heart. The separation is performed by combining a non-negative matrix factorization algorithm, clustering approach, and soft-ﬁlter strategy. Finally, HR estimation was obtained using a novel and efﬁcient method based on the autocorrelation function. The developed prototype could be used not only for the estimation of the HR, but also for the retrieval of other biomedical information related to the recording of cardiac or respiratory audio signals. The proposed method was evaluated using well-known datasets and compared with state-of-the-art algorithms for source-separation. The results showed that it is possible to obtain an accurate separation and reliable real-time estimation in terms of source separation metrics and relative error in the tested scenarios by combining multi-core architectures with parallel and high-performance techniques. Finally, the proposed prototype was validated in a real-world scenario.
An Investigation of CK Metrics Thresholds

There is a dearth of studies that identified thresholds values of Chidamber and Kemerer (CK) metrics. In an empirical study on open-source software, Eclipse project—Version 3.0, we identified the thresholds values for CBO, RFC and WMC at two levels of risks using a quantitative methodology based on the logistic regression curve. These threshold values can be used to identify the most error-prone classes.
Modifying the Rebound: It depends! Explaining Mobility Behaviour on the Basis of the German Socio-Economic Panel

We address the empirical question to which extent higher fuel efficiency of cars affects additional travel and how this behavioural aspect is modified by additional variables. The data set used to estimate a theoretical model of the rebound effect covers two panel waves, 1998 and 2003, taken from the German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP). To take full advantage of the information in the data available, and to avoid problems due to possible selection effects, we estimated an unbalanced two-wave random effects panel model. Our results suggest that in line with the rebound hypothesis, there is a negative effect of car efficiency on the kilometers driven. That is, the lower the fuel consumption, the larger the driven distance. However, contrasting recent empirical literature about the rebound effect in the transportation sector, this seems to be true only for cars with a consumption of more than roughly eight liters per hundred kilometers. In addition, we find a positive diesel effect, which implies that owning a diesel engined car, has a positive effect on the driven distance. Both effects can be interpreted as support for the rebound hypothesis, although not in a simple linear way. Moreover, it can be shown that some "soft" variables such as certain attitudes towards the environment tend to amplify this non-linear rebound effect. Our results support the general direction of the rebound effect on households travel activities. But because of the remaining political relevance of the rebound effect, they also highlight the importance of accounting for additional behavioural variables which tend to influence individual mobility behaviour. Hence, the classical interpretation of the rebound as a linear effect of advances in fuel economy on individual travel has to be questioned.
The origin of massive diamicton facies by iceberg rafting and scouring, Scoresby Sund, East Greenland

Almost 90% of 39 m of core material recovered from Scoresby Sund and the adjacent East Greenland shelf is massive diamicton, interpreted to be formed predominantly by the release of iceberg rafted debris and reworking by iceberg scouring. There is also likely to be a contribution from suspension settling of fines derived from glaciofluvial sources. Model calculations suggest that the 14C derived Holocene sedimentation rate of 0.1-0.3 m 1000 yr−1 in Scoresby Sund can be accounted for mainly by iceberg rafting of debris. A further 4% of core material is of gravel or coarse sand lenses, interpreted to reflect iceberg dumping of debris. Intensive iceberg scouring, which reworks sea floor sediments, is observed on acoustic records from over 30 000 km2 of the Scoresby Sund fiord system and the adjacent East Greenland shelf (69-72°N and 75°N). The rate of iceberg production from Greenland Ice Sheet outlet glaciers, and iceberg drift tracks on the shelf, suggests that iceberg rafting and scouring may be important over a significant proportion of the 500 000 km2 area above the shelf break. The relatively extensive modern occurrence of massive diamicton, formed by iceberg rafting and scouring, together with suspension settling of fines, suggests that it may also be a significant facies in the glacier-influenced geological record. The recognition in the geological record of the massive diamicton facies described above may also indicate the former presence of fast flowing ice sheet outlet glaciers.
A New Physics-based Approach for Estimating a Buried Object’s Location, Orientation and Magnetic Polarization from EMI Data

A new physics-based expression is presented for determining a buried object’s location, orientation and magnetic polarizibility. The approach assumes the target exhibits a dipolar response and requires only three global values: a magnetic field vector H, a vector potential A and a scalar magnetic potential ψ, all at a single location in space. Among these values, only the scattered magnetic field, H, is measurable with current electromagnetic induction sensors. Therefore, in order to estimate the scattered magnetic scalar and vector potentials from data, a numerical technique called the normalized surface magnetic source (NSMS) method is employed. Originally, in the NSMS model, the scattered magnetic field outside the object is reproduced mathematically by equivalent magnetic charges distributed on a three-dimensional (3-D) closed surface. Here, a two-dimensional (2-D) implementation of the NSMS that uses elementary magnetic dipoles, instead of magnetic charges distributed on a planar surface placed under.
Mammalian faunal dynamics of the great American interchange

The American interchange of land mammals reached its acme during the late Blancan and early Irvingtonian in North America and during the Chapadmalalan and Uquian in South America. It lasted about two million years and included taxa adapted to diverse habitats. It was preceded in the early Hemphillian in North America and the Huayquerian in South America by the interchange of a few heralding genera. The MacArthur-Wilson faunal equilibrium hypothesis correctly predicts a marked increase in originations, number of genera, and turnover rate for the South American fauna during the peak of the interchange. Subsequent further increases were not so predicted but closely resemble patterns also observed in late Pleistocene land mammals of Europe and North America. The continued increase in South American land mammal genera after the interchange had largely ceased resulted principally from autochthonous evolution of northern immigrant stocks. A marked decrease in South American ungulate genera (from thirteen to three) coincided with the appearance of fourteen northern ungulate genera and therefore appears to be a replacement phenomenon. The area/diversity relationship predicts no important change in generic diversity if a maximum of only nine percent of North America is occupied by the interamerican mingled fauna. At the family level, however, diversity is seriously overestimated due to the nomenclatural artifact of increased relative diversity by filtering.
The Significance of Including Breed in the Prediction of Trimmed Fat from Lamb Carcasses using Different Indicators of Fatness

lamb carcasses, representing 4 sire breeds (Texel, T; Dorset, D; Border Leicester, BL; Merino M) and 2 dam breeds (M, BLXM), were used to assess importance of including breed in the prediction of carcass fat level (trimmed fat %, TF) from fat measurements at 3 sites on the carcass (GR tissue depth; fat depth at the 5 th rib, FD5; and fat depth over the eye muscle, FDC). Data were obtained for 2 sexes (cryptorchid, ewe) in 3 years. Inclusion of sire breed and dam breed significantly (P<0.05) improved the R 2 for the prediction equations using each of the 3 fat measurements and including carcass weight as the predictors of TF. Sire breed was more important than dam breed. While GR and FD5 had similar precision for the prediction of TF, FD5 showed no bias due to breed of sire. It was concluded that with no information on the breed of sire, FD5 is a more suitable indicator of carcass fatness than GR or FDC, as it accounts for the differences in the distribution of fat between sire breeds.