Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
VARIABLE RATE NITROGEN APPLICATION IN FLORIDA CITRUS BASED ON ULTRASONICALLY-SENSED TREE SIZE

Most Florida citrus groves are still managed as large contiguous uniform blocks, despite significant variation in fruit yield and tree canopy size. Site-specific grove management by variable rate delivery of inputs such as fertilizers on a tree size basis could improve horticultural profitability and environmental protection. Tree canopy sizes were measured real-time in a typical 17-ha Valencia grove with an automated ultrasonic sensor system equipped with Differential Global Positioning System (DGPS). Prescription maps for variable application of nitrogen fertilizer were generated from ultrasonically scanned tree sizes on a single tree basis using ArcView GIS and Midtech Fieldware. Leaf samples from trees with different canopy sizes, which had been fertilized at a conventional uniform rate of 270 kg N/ha/y, were analyzed for nitrogen concentration. Analysis of 2980 tree spaces in the grove showed a skewed size distribution, with 62% in the 0- to 100-m3/tree volume classes and a median volume of 79 m3/tree. The tree volumes ranged from 0 to 240 m3/tree. Regression analysis showed that trees with excess leaf nitrogen (>3%) had canopies less than 100 m3. These trees receiving excess nitrogen are likely to have lower fruit yields and quality, and wasted fertilizer nitrates may leach beyond the root zone to groundwater. In order to rectify the excess fertilization of smaller trees, a granular fertilizer spreader with hydraulically powered split-chain outputs controlled with a MidTech Legacy 6000 controller was used for variable rate application of nitrogen in one-half of the grove. A 38% to 40% saving in granular fertilizer cost was achieved for this grove when variable N rates were implemented on a per-tree basis ranging from 135 to 270 kg N/ha/y.
Investigating the concentration levels, distribution patterns, source identification and health risk assessment of PAHs, n-alkanes, hopanes, and steranes in deposited dust of Mashhad, Iran

Deposited dust (DD) in urban environments contains carcinogenic organic compounds. The Indoor air quality is greatly affected by heating, ventilation, and air conditioning systems (HVAC), and in the Middle East most of the buildings are equipped by HVAC on top of them. It is possible that the DD on the roof near this equipment would be transferred to an indoor area. For these reasons, 40 samples of the over the roof DD were prepared, and organic compounds (16PAH compounds, 20n-alkane homologs, 8hopanes, and 6steranes) of DD were extracted using Soxhlet and analyzed by GC-MS. Source identification of organic compounds conducted by ring classification, diagnostic ratios, and factor analysis (FA). The results showed that the average (±SD) of total PAHs, n-alkanes, hopanes and steranes in DD were 1356.00 (±291.45) ng kg−1dw, 3211.65 (±969.18), 146.37 (±79.45) and 469.76 (±188.25) µg. g_1dw, respectively. The highest concentration of organic compounds was in the city center, where traffic congestion is common. Diagnostic ratios of n-alkanes results showed the dominant source is vehicular emission. FA results indicated vehicular emission and biogenic sources. In agreement, the results of sterane and hopane profiles confirm these results. On the other hand, the PAHs diagnostic ratios results indicated petroleum combustion sources. In this regard, FA findings showed combustion from vehicular emission and natural gas and wood combustion were the main factors. Furthermore, the incremental lifetime cancer risk was calculated as 8.45× 10−12 for children and 9.80 × 10−7 for adults, and the imposed risk was negligible.
Nonreciprocal cell for the broadband measurement of tensorial permeability of magnetized ferrites: direct problem

In this paper, a broad-band characterization method for measuring the complex permeability tensor components and complex scalar permittivity of magnetized ferrites is described. The technique is based on the reflection/transmission measurement of a rectangular waveguide partly filled with the ferrite that is to be characterized. The fundamental principle of the measurement consists in using the anisotropy of the material to lead to the nonreciprocity of the device in order to have the same number of measurable parameters (the S-parameters of the cell) for the characteristics we want to determine. Here, we will recall the principle of the mode-matching method used for the electromagnetic analysis of the cell (direct problem). We will bring to the fore the difficulties linked to the determination of the complex propagation constants of the different modes and will present a calculation procedure that makes this determination in a wide-frequency range easier. We will then compare at X-band frequencies (8-12 GHz) the theoretical S-parameters with those measured for ferrites of well-known properties in order to validate the direct problem. The determination of the permittivity and permeability values from the measured parameters (inverse problem) is not addressed here.
AC flashover characteristics of EHV line insulators for high altitude contamination regions

The relationship between the pollution flashover voltage and atmospheric pressure is presented. It is based on experimental results for three types of standard and antipollution line insulators with large leakage paths, carried out in a climate chamber. The principle of the characteristic exponent, n, which represents the decrease of pollution flashover voltage with the decline of atmospheric pressure, is proposed. The pollution flashover characteristics of these insulators are analyzed. <<ETX>>
Preparation and Characterization of Calcium Cross-Linked Starch Monolithic Cryogels and Their Application as Cost-Effective Green Filters

Monolithic cryogels from starch were successfully synthesized and applied as alternative biodegradable filters for the first time. Rice flour was cross-linked with Ca2+ from limewater during gelatinization before being frozen and then thawed for three cycles. The resultant material was then soaked in ethanol for 3 h before incubation at 80 °C for 1 h, yielding monolithic material with interconnected pores in sizes of 51 ± 18 to 52 ± 15 µm without any need of freeze-drying. The cryogels possessed macroporous structure with specific surface areas from 1.1 to 4.3 m2g−1, they could adsorb water from 599 ± 27 to 635 ± 59% of their dry weight with low swelling ratios of 6.0 ± 0.3 to 6.4 ± 0.6 gwater/gcryogel, and could be applied as biofilters to remove suspended particles and reduce the light absorption of water sample from 25 ± 3 to 96 ± 5%. The prepared biofilters can be re-used up to three times, although they cost only USD 0.0004/piece. Complete weight loss resulted from burial in soil for 30 days, indicating environmentally friendly biodegradation and potential for environmental applications.
Phase noise improvement in a loop configuration of oscillating antennas

Phase noise in a four-element array of oscillating antennas is analyzed for a loop configuration and a unilateral coupling topology. It is demonstrated that this structure, basically designed for circular polarization (CP) applications, also yields a 75% reduction of the near-carrier phase noise compared to a single oscillator. Experimental validation is made at 4 GHz. For this structure, deviation of the coupling phase from its nominal value has no influence on the phase noise performance.
Precipitation variability can bias estimates of ecological controls on ecosystem productivity response to precipitation change

Annual vegetation aboveground net primary productivity (ANPP) exhibits a non‐linear dependence on annual precipitation. A common pattern of non‐linearity, called asymmetry, arises when productivity responses in wet years are larger than declines in dry years. To date, ANPP asymmetry has been attributed primarily to vegetation water stress, an internal ecosystem response to precipitation and soil water availability. However, when quantified via the asymmetry index (AI) estimated from productivity measurements, the asymmetry can be a sampling artefact that arises from a positively skewed annual precipitation distribution. In this paper, we aimed to separate the sampling effect (from external precipitation variability) from the non‐linear response of the system (the internal ecosystem dynamics). We constructed a probabilistic model that integrates the precipitation distribution with the precipitation‐productivity response curve (PPT‐ANPP curve), derived using empirical formulae and a process‐based soil water balance model. The model was used to derive the probability density function of AI and to attribute its shape to the PPT distribution and the PPT‐ANPP response curve. The models were compared to data from 47 grasslands. Results demonstrated that positively skewed precipitation produces a positive AI as a statistical artefact. The non‐linear ecosystem PPT‐ANPP dependence can further enhance or dampen this statistical artefact. In all sites, the precipitation skew highly affected the probability of correctly identifying asymmetry using AI. Observed negative asymmetry arises from a larger soil water holding capacity and positive asymmetry from plant water stress. More robust statistical indicators of non‐linear ecological responses to climate variability are needed to improve ecosystem forecasts.
Assessing cloud computing adoption by it professionals in small business using the technology acceptance model

Cloud computing provides business applications and data accessed online using web browsers and dedicated clients. It enables usage of shared computing resources distributed around the world. The benefits of cloud computing include a lower total cost of ownership, flexible billing model, real time on-demand provisioning, resource pooling, and access to a broad network. The problem that was addressed by this research was cloud-computing adoption has been relatively slow among many organizations because of concerns about performance, security, compatibility, and adaptability, as the main technology factors. This study investigated the determinants of cloud-computing adoption, using the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) by measuring the influence of perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, and the effect of the technology factors of security, performance, compatibility, and adaptability on the behavioral intention to use cloud computing. The research model extended the TAM by adding those factors as external variables. This non-experimental quantitative predictive study was based on sample data collected from 153 respondents from an online survey. Link to the survey was sent to 1050 participants from randomly selected IT organizations in the small and medium-size business sector in the USA. Multiple linear regression as well as analysis of variance was used to assess the influence of performance, security, compatibility, and adaptability on the behavioral intention to use cloud computing moderated by perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use, It was found that performance influences intention to use cloud computing through both perceived usefulness (Regression coefficient — .481, p = .000) and perceived ease of use (Regression coefficient = .836, p = .000). It was also found that security influences the intention to use cloud computing through its influence on both perceived usefulness (Regression coefficient = .170, p — .002) and perceived ease of use (Regression coefficient = .148, p — .013). Compatibility and adaptability were found to have a combined influence on perceived usefulness, with a regression coefficient = . 110, p < . 05. No statistical evidence was found to suggest that compatibility or adaptability has any influence on perceived ease of use. Recommendations for future studies include assessing additional determinants of cloud computing, especially from individual and social factors and attributes, such as perceived behavioral control and self-efficacy of IT experience.
A Fundamental Study on the Hull Form Design Method for the Fore-body of Medium-sized Passenger Ship with Gooseneck Bulb

The economical and high-performance resistance hull is required due to the increasing oil price and the regulation of CO2 emissions, one of the methods to improve the resistance performance of medium-sized passenger ship is the hull design adopted with the gooseneck bulb. In order to effectively adopt the gooseneck, the resistance performance estimation and the optimization are demanded in accordance with the bulb parameters. This study performs the numerical series tests on the 5 kinds of bulb parameters to derive the regression equation to be utilized for the hull form design, of which data was analyzed statistically. This regression equation for resistance estimation is to be set as an objective function, and then using the optimization algorithm searches for the combination of the design variables of gooseneck bulb equivalent to the lowest point on the regression equation under several design conditions. Hull form design and its numerical simulation perform on the optimal component of the bulb hull suitable for a particular passenger ship that is among the ferries operating in the sea of the Far East Asia. As a result, the developed design method in this study confirmed the possibility of the hull form design of passenger ship applied gooseneck bulb with a good resistance performance.
Identity Leadership, Employee Burnout and the Mediating Role of Team Identification: Evidence from the Global Identity Leadership Development Project

Do leaders who build a sense of shared social identity in their teams thereby protect them from the adverse effects of workplace stress? This is a question that the present paper explores by testing the hypothesis that identity leadership contributes to stronger team identification among employees and, through this, is associated with reduced burnout. We tested this model with unique datasets from the Global Identity Leadership Development (GILD) project with participants from all inhabited continents. We compared two datasets from 2016/2017 (n = 5290; 20 countries) and 2020/2021 (n = 7294; 28 countries) and found very similar levels of identity leadership, team identification and burnout across the five years. An inspection of the 2020/2021 data at the onset of and later in the COVID-19 pandemic showed stable identity leadership levels and slightly higher levels of both burnout and team identification. Supporting our hypotheses, we found almost identical indirect effects (2016/2017, b = −0.132; 2020/2021, b = −0.133) across the five-year span in both datasets. Using a subset of n = 111 German participants surveyed over two waves, we found the indirect effect confirmed over time with identity leadership (at T1) predicting team identification and, in turn, burnout, three months later. Finally, we explored whether there could be a “too-much-of-a-good-thing” effect for identity leadership. Speaking against this, we found a u-shaped quadratic effect whereby ratings of identity leadership at the upper end of the distribution were related to even stronger team identification and a stronger indirect effect on reduced burnout.
Fundamentals of micromechanical thermoelectric sensors

The thermal and electrical properties of a thin heater strip made of silicon, consisting of a low-doped electrical resistor connected to highly doped long legs, are discussed based on analytical models for the heat and the electrical current transport. Such heater strips are used, for example, as sensitive position and height sensors in local-probe storage applications. The aim of the paper is to provide a thorough understanding of the important physical mechanisms and scaling laws, and thus to establish a solid basis for the directed engineering of such sensors. In particular, the dynamic response is treated in full generality, including the intricate electrothermal coupling arising from the highly temperature-dependent resistivity of the Si heater element.
Asserting an Eritrean identity in the face of imposed racialisation: national identity claims of some Eritrean refugees in South Africa

ABSTRACT Current literature on Eritrean national identity has been dominated by debates on its function as a unifying and homogenising civic identity in a context of a multi-ethnic, multi-religious and multi-clan national context. Little is known, however, about how an Eritrean national identity is mobilised among Eritreans living in racially organised host societies. This paper addresses this lacuna by examining how Eritrean refugees living in a racially classified South African host society self-identified. The focus of analysis for this paper was how an Eritrean national identity was mobilised by some participants in the face of experiencing racial classification. Some individuals defined themselves as ‘Eritrean’ to resist their classification as ‘Black’ in everyday life. I argue that beyond functioning as a homogenising and unifying civic identity, an Eritrean national identity functioned as a bulwark against ascribed racial classification in a race-conscious South African host society,
An On-Line Harmonic Elimination Pulse Width Modulation Scheme for Voltage Source Inverter

This paper proposes a new harmonic elimination PWM (HEPWM) scheme for voltage source inverters (VSI) based on the curve fittings of certain polynomials functions. The resulting equations to calculate the switching angle of the HEPWM require only the addition and multiplication processes; therefore any number of harmonics to be eliminated and the fundamental amplitude of the pole switching waveform (NP1) can be controlled on-line. An extensive angle error analysis is carried out to determine the accuracy of the algorithm in comparison to the exact solution. To verify the workability of the technique, an experimental single phase VSI is constructed. The algorithm is implemented on a VSI using a 16-bit microprocessor. The results obtained from the test rig are compared to the theoretical prediction and the results of the MATLAB simulations.
Safety and Security in Discretionary Travel Decision Making

Considerations of whether a travel alternative (e.g., mode, destination) affords a traveler an acceptable level of safety from traffic collisions and personal security from crime may be especially important for active modes of walking and bicycling. Although theory suggests that safety and security influence nonmotorized travel decision making, empirical evidence to support these hypotheses is inconclusive. In addition to measurement limitations and data constraints, safety and security concerns are often inadequately distinguished. This study advances knowledge in this area by analyzing objective safety and security measures within a mode–destination choice context. Discretionary trips from a Portland, Oregon, household travel survey were analyzed with a joint mode–destination choice multinomial logit model. Some measures of traffic safety—more comfortable facilities, sidewalks, traffic signals, and traffic calming installations—were positively associated with walking and bicycling. Measures of a lack of personal security (higher levels of crime) were negatively associated with walking, but this effect was countered by a positive interaction of origin–destination crime on walking. Age and gender rarely moderated these safety and security relationships. Although results provide tentative support of hypotheses on the relationship between safety and security and travel mode choice, more work is needed in this area. Measuring safety and security perceptions and applying more flexible structures for discrete choice modeling might be the most promising avenues for future research on the effects of safety and security in discretionary decision making of active travel. This analysis informs interventions to promote active travel and provides one way to include safety and security concerns in travel demand models.
Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Token Economy Practices in K-5 Educational Settings, 2000 to 2019

Token economy systems have been widely used as an evidence-based classroom management strategy to reinforce and improve prosocial responses. While token economies have been widely applied to educational settings, there have been mixed results regarding the effectiveness depending on the classroom type. To better understand the components contributing to the effectiveness, the researchers analyzed 24 token economy studies conducted in general and special education classrooms from kindergarten to fifth grade between 2000 and 2019. Eight token economy components and effect sizes were identified for each study and compared across different classroom types. The results showed that the token economy intervention yielded large effect sizes for both general and special education classroom types. There were differences in the usage of token components including backup reinforcer types, token production rate, and exchange production rate based on classroom types. Implications for future research and practice for educators and clinicians are discussed.
Development of an X-band advanced-concept input system for high-power gyroklystron

The development of an X-band triaxial input system for the high-power gyroklystron amplifier experiment at the University of Maryland, College Park, is proposed and discussed. In order to obtain high mode purity of a TE/sub 011/ mode in an overmoded coaxial input cavity while maintaining high coupling efficiency, a coaxial dual-cavity input structure with an outer TE/sub 411/ mode and an inner TE/sub 011/ mode coaxial cavity has been designed to obtain a low Q and to avoid mode distortion due to the coupling aperture between the input waveguide and the input cavity. A loaded quality factor of 73 and a resonant frequency of 8.570 GHz with high mode purity have been obtained for the inner TE/sub 011/ mode coaxial cavity. The experimental results are in good agreement with the theoretical designs. The details of the design methods and cold-test results of the X-band triaxial input system are presented in this paper.
Exploring Strategies for Deploying Knowledge Management Tools and Technologies

The overwhelming number of knowledge management (KM) tools on the market today and the hype surrounding them makes it difficult for knowledge managers to know which tools will provide them with the best KM value. Despite this wide array of options, there is no technological silver bullet to solve an organization’s KM problems. Knowledge managers have to develop mechanisms and strategies for how best to implement and use KM tools and technologies. Using an exploratory focus group comprised of knowledge managers from a number of different organizations, this study explores the relationship between KM and technology and identifies the strategies knowledge managers use to successfully recognize where and how technology should be implemented and used to facilitate knowledge management work.Our results support the existing KM literature by highlighting the importance of delivering KM tools on a solid foundation of information technology (IT) and information management (IM) infrastructure. Further, KM tools work best for different tasks and work groups; therefore, understanding which tool ismost appropriate for the use context is critical. We also gain an understand ing of the strategies that KM managers use for successful implementation and use of KM tools. These strategies embody the following principles: experimentation, iteration, adaptation of grassroots technologies and building on what works. The findings from this study suggest that when knowledge managers use these strategies for deploying KM tools, delivering success and business value from KM is much more likely.