Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Testing of adaptive and context‐aware systems: approaches and challenges

Adaptive systems (ASs) and context‐aware systems (CASs) are able to evaluate their own behaviour and to adapt it when the system fails to accomplish its goals or when better functionality or performance is possible. Ensuring the reliability of ASs and CASs is demanding because failures might have undesirable consequences. Testing ASs and CASs effectively is not trivial because of the inherent characteristics of these systems. The literature lacks a comprehensive review that provides a broad picture of the area; current reviews are outdated and incomplete. The objectives of this study are characterizing the state of the art in AS and CAS testing and discussing approaches, challenges, observed trends, and research limitations and directions. We performed a systematic literature review (SLR) and a thematic analysis of studies, reporting up‐to‐date, refined and extended results when compared with existing reviews. Based on 102 selected studies, we (i) characterized testing approaches by grouping techniques for ASs and CASs; (ii) updated and refined a characterization of testing challenges for ASs and CASs; and (iii) analysed and discussed research trends and implications for AS and CAS testing. There are recurring research concerns regarding AS and CAS testing. Examples are the generation of test cases and built‐in tests. Moreover, we also identified recurring testing challenges such as context monitoring and runtime decisions. Moreover, there are some trends such as model‐based testing and hybrid techniques and some little investigated issues like uncertainty and prediction of changes. All in all, our results may provide guidance for developers and researchers with respect to the practice and the future research on AS and CAS testing.
Introduction: The Kurds and the Kurdish Question in the Middle East

In the past decade, the Kurdish question has re-established itself at the heart of the regional political debates at a time when the Middle East is once again engulfed in conflict and violence. On numerous occasions during the second half of the twentieth century, Kurdish nationalism has managed to generate and maintain strong appeal amongst Kurdish populations in Iraq, Iran, Turkey and Syria, but these states have perceived Kurdish ambitions as a threat to their national security and regional stability. At the beginning of the twenty-first century, Kurdish political activism has reached a new height with Kurdish movements in Iraq, Turkey and Syria establishing themselves as important political actors in the domestic politics of these states. The consolidation of Kurdish autonomy in Iraq in 2005 and the establishment of a Kurdish de facto autonomous region within Syria in 2012 have turned the Kurds into actors capable of influencing regional political developments, and consequently enabled them to forge stronger relations with the international forces involved in the region. The rise of the pro-Kurdish movement in Turkish politics in the past two decades, especially its strong electoral performance in a number of elections since 2015, has placed the Kurds at the heart of the political developments in Turkey, too. This volume examines the Kurdish question as a deep-rooted and complex transnational issue. It brings together chapters that analyse the Kurds and Kurdistan from the medieval period to the present and takes a broad and multidisciplinary approach to events in the Kurdish regions in the Middle East. The multidisciplinary approach enables us to delineate and elaborate on the complexities of the social, political, economic and cultural forces and features pertaining to Kurds and Kurdistan and examine these forces and features from a number of innovative and critical perspectives. A brief
Effects of a Harvesting and Conservation Method for Small Producers on the Quality of the Produced Olive Oil

The production of ‘Premium’ olive oil depends in large part on the quality of the fruit. Small producers see themselves confronted with vast investments and logistic snags when they intend to optimize the harvesting. Today, manual harvesting devices promise less damaged fruit when compared to the traditional methods with nets while the use of a cooling room on the farm is suggested as a solution when the harvesting needs to be stretched out over several days. The use of a manual inverted umbrella during the harvest, together with a storage of up to 14 days at 5 °C, was studied for three cultivars (‘Arbequina’, ‘Picual’, and ‘Verdial’). Ten parameters of the produced oil were examined in two consecutive years together with an extended sensory analysis in the first year. The results underline the importance of the used harvesting and conservation method on the quality of the extracted oil, although the effect size of each factor varied in time and according to the cultivar. The results indicate that small producers with financial and logistic restrictions can obtain a high-quality product following the actions shown in this work, being able to compete in terms of quality in the market, either by combining both methods or by choosing the one that guarantees the best results given the cultivar and the specific storage time they need to consider.
Creep model for the long-term behaviour of combined cohesive-bridging model of FRP–concrete interface debonding under axial loading

Abstract External bonding of fibre-reinforced polymer (FRP) plates has emerged as a method for strengthening reinforced concrete structures. The creep of the concrete, adhesive and FRP can accelerate debonding along with the interface. In this paper, an original creep model is developed to study the long-term behaviour of combined cohesive-bridging model of an FRP–concrete interface, debonding under axial loading. A combined cohesive-bridging zone model is presented to simulate long-term debonding between the FRP plate and concrete beam interface. Four zones are distinguished and thoroughly analysed: elastic, softening, bridging and debonding. An original behaviour law is proposed, combining the creep modelling of the various materials. A new analytical model of the long-term shear stress distribution along the interface is developed. For application data, the bond-slip parameters for a real-time combined cohesive-bridging model along the FRP–concrete interface are determined by calibration based on the experimental and analytical data in the pre-existing literature. The simulation of the long-term bond-slip law of the FRP–concrete interface is based on the constant fracture energy Gf and shearing rigidity of the interface. The parametric study suggests that to extend the durability of an FRP–concrete interface, loads should be in the elastic stage, and thick, highly rigid FRP plates should be used.
Service user violence against social workers in Italy: Prevalence and characteristics of the phenomenon

Summary Client violence in social services is perceived as constantly increasing in Italy, raising deep concern. This article presents the results of the first online survey on the phenomenon. Involving 20,112 social workers, the aim was to determine the prevalence and forms of client violence towards social workers and to identify key factors associated with such events. Findings The results suggest that the vast majority of Italian social workers experience client violence during their careers. Verbal aggression and threats were most common forms of violence, followed by physical attacks and property damage. Young and less experienced social workers appeared more likely to be victims of violence, as well as those who more frequently work in isolation or without their colleagues’ support. Social workers in child protection services, services for adults and municipality services accessible to the entire population were found to be at higher risk of client violence. The social workers considered the quality of the client/professional relationship and communication skills to be critical in preventing and dealing with aggression by users. Unfulfilled clients’ expectation was considered to be one of the main factors contributing to frustration and the consequent hostile behaviour. Applications Violence against social workers is a ‘wake-up call’ that makes the weakening of welfare services, and therefore of professional social work, more visible. The first nationwide study on service user violence reported by this paper may significantly contribute to raising awareness about the phenomenon in Italy and to the devising of effective prevention programmes.
Occurrence, distribution and composition of marine mammals in the bight of Bony, Nigeria

Information on the distribution, occurrence and population structure of cetaceans (whales and dolphins) of the Atlantic coast of Nigeria in West Africa remains fairly sparse to date, with few detailed studies being conducted on this valuable marine resource. This paper highlights the abundant cetacean community sighted in the Nigerian coastal waters and the respective importance of this area as a prime coastal habitat for these mammals. The secondary objective was the evaluation of this resource and development of appropriatemanagement policies. Opportunistic data was collected on board six different marine vessels belonging to some international oil companies (IOC) in Nigeria, whose primary objective was to conduct seismic operations. 8,327 hours and 36 minutes of effort was logged during 2 wet and 3 dry seasons respectively, covering almost 880 km2 at a depth range of 10 to 70 m. The total number of individuals recorded was 2199 of which 80% were dolphins and 20% were whales. Out of these, 55.14% was sighted at depth range of 21 – 30 m. This was followed by 30.42% recorded at depth range of 31 - 40 m. The least frequency of 0.75 % was recorded at depth range of 61- 70m. Five hundred and twenty-five (525) individual whales was recorded, out of which 77.14% were adults and 22.86% were juveniles, while 1674 individual dolphins were recorded with 52.63% juveniles and 47.37% adult. Four species of dolphins were identified. The bottlenose dolphins, Tursiops truncatus was the most abundant owing to the large size of the groups observed, followed by common dolphin, Delphinus delphis. All species of dolphins identified occurred throughout the sampling months. Two species of whales were identified with the humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) predominant and killer whales (Orcinus orca) which seem to be present in just a part of a year. Nigerian coastal water is moderately rich in cetacean diversity, which is currently underreported due to limited research.Keywords: Whales, dolphins, species diversity, opportunistic surveys, Nigeria.
The interaction of resource use and gene flow on the phenotypic divergence of benthic and pelagic morphs of Icelandic Arctic charr (Salvelinus alpinus)

Abstract Conceptual models of adaptive divergence and ecological speciation in sympatry predict differential resource use, phenotype–environment correlations, and reduced gene flow among diverging phenotypes. While these predictions have been assessed in past studies, connections among them have rarely been assessed collectively. We examined relationships among phenotypic, ecological, and genetic variation in Arctic charr (Salvelinus alpinus) from six Icelandic localities that have undergone varying degrees of divergence into sympatric benthic and pelagic morphs. We characterized morphological variation with geometric morphometrics, tested for differential resource use between morphs using stable isotopes, and inferred the amount of gene flow from single nucleotide polymorphisms. Analysis of stable isotopic signatures indicated that sympatric morphs showed similar difference in resource use across populations, likely arising from the common utilization of niche space within each population. Carbon isotopic signature was also a significant predictor of individual variation in body shape and size, suggesting that variation in benthic and pelagic resource use is associated with phenotypic variation. The estimated percentage of hybrids between sympatric morphs varied across populations (from 0% to 15.6%) but the majority of fish had genotypes (ancestry coefficients) characteristic of pure morphs. Despite evidence of reduced gene flow between sympatric morphs, we did not detect the expected negative relationship between divergence in resource use and gene flow. Three lakes showed the expected pattern, but morphs in the fourth showed no detectable hybridization and had relatively low differences in resource use between them. This coupled with the finding that resource use and genetic differentiation had differential effects on body shape variation across populations suggests that reproductive isolation maintains phenotypic divergence between benthic and pelagic morphs when the effects of resource use are relatively low. Our ability to assess relationships between phenotype, ecology, and genetics deepens our understanding of the processes underlying adaptive divergence in sympatry.
Upgrading of Anaerobic Digestion of Waste Activated Sludge by Thermal Pretreatment

The effect of thermal pretreatment on the characteristics of degradation of waste activated slduge (WAS) in anaerobic digestion was investigated by laboratory-scale batch and continuous experiments at 35±1°C. The pretreatment temperatures of WAS ranged from 62 to 175°C and the pretreatment times were 15, 30, 60, 90 and 120 minutes. The organic particulates in WAS were solubilized to soluble carbohydrates, lipids and proteins or converted into the lower molecular weight compounds, such as volatile fatty acids, by the thermal pretreatment. Through the thermal pretreatment. the anaerobic degradability of WAS and the gas production from WAS were greatly increased, and the retention time necessary for anaerobic digestion was possible to be reduced by 5 days. The optimum pretreatment temperature and pretreatment time for the upgrading of anaerobic digestion of WAS were 170°C and 60 minutes, respectively. At this pretreatment condition, the COD removal and the gas production were markedly increased. At the digester with retention time from 5 to 10 days, the COD removal efficiency reached over 60% and gas production ranged from 223 to 235ml·gCOD−1 which were about 2 times those of the control. The numbers of methanogenic bacteria existing at retention times from 1.5 to 10.0 days ranged from 107 to 108 MPN·ml−1, and reached the maximum population level at the retention time of 5 days. The increase in solubilization and anaerobic degradation of major organic compounds in WAS by thermal pretreatment decreased in the following order: carbohydrates > proteins > lipids.
Acrylamide Inhibition in Cookies Using Natural Antioxidants

Acrylamide inhibition using natural antioxidant sources (buckwheat, cumin and black cumin), were evaluated in a cookie model system. Effects of additives on acrylamide precursors of formulated flour, antioxidant properties of flour and cookies, cookie baking properties (color, moisture and spread ratios) and acrylamide contents of cookies were examined. All addition systems to the flour increased the reducing sugars, asparagine contents and antioxidant properties, including total phenolic compounds (TPC), 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) free radical scavenging activity and ABTS + · inhibition of flour and cookies. Increasing levels of additives to the cookie formulas resulted in darker cookies with lower L*, a* and b* values when compared to control cookies. Moisture contents of the cookies were increased with the addition of buckwheat and cumin, while it decreased with the addition of black cumin. Cookie spread ratios were more than the spread ratio of control cookies. The acrylamide contents of prepared cookies were lower than that of control cookies. Addition of 15% buckwheat, 15% cumin and 15% black cumin to cookie formula reduced acrylamide level by 20.2%, 67.6% and 75.9%, respectively, in comparison with the control cookie samples which contained 361. 2μg/kg acrylamide. Sensory evaluation test parameters indicated that all cookies with different additives were scored as moderately liked.
A Morphodynamic Model to Evaluate Long‐Term Sandbar Rebuilding Using Controlled Floods in the Grand Canyon

Controlled floods released from dams have become a common restoration strategy in river systems worldwide. Here we present a morphodynamic model of sandbar volume change for a subset of sandbars of the Colorado River in Grand Canyon National Park, where controlled floods are part of a management strategy focused on sandbar maintenance. We simulate sandbars as a triangular wedge, where deposition and erosion are modeled using physically based approaches that are driven by nearly continuous observations of flow and suspended sand concentration. We optimize an eddy exchange coefficient and erosion rate parameter by comparing model predictions to measured bar volumes. The model captures most of the variability in observed volume changes, and demonstrates the importance of flood frequency and sand concentration on average bar size. The model is easily implemented and adaptable, providing a means for predicting the future behavior of sandbars under a variety of streamflow and sediment supply scenarios.
Construction of borders: Intra-psychological dynamics of emerging national identity

Border-making is an inevitable experience in human life. Borders can be viewed as part of an external sociocultural structure that guides the dynamics of dialogues between persons and institutions. However, in addition to the interpersonal and societal level of analysis, borders can be conceptualized as an intra-psychological process of identity formation that is involved in meaning making and in organizing experiences with the world. Within the framework of cultural psychology, this article will provide an account of the process of bordering, using the example of Estonian identity that is approached as an affective process of semiotic construction of borders between us and the “other” (i.e., “non-us”). Using the dialogical self theory, it will examine how different I-positions (e.g., I-as-Estonian) related to collective and personal past experiences are involved in the construction of borders. The tendency to incline toward re-creation of the established structure of borders with the potential to renegotiate them is also revealed in this study.
Experimental investigation of the strain‐rate effects on the failure of composite materials with off‐axis tensile tests on unidirectional plies

The present study experimentally investigates the mechanical response of T700/M21 Carbon Fibre Reinforced Polymers subjected to coupled shear and transverse tension at intermediate strain rates ranging from 10−3 to 15 s−1. Off‐axis tension specimens with transverse and oblique tabs are used for the various tests. Moreover, the specimen aspect ratio is quite low, since dynamic tests are performed in this study. The axial stress–strain curves are successfully simulated using finite element simulations with a viscoelastic model. Based on these numerical simulations, specific stress correction factors are computed to take the effect of end constraints into account for such low aspect ratio specimens. Finally, an increase in the material strength with the strain rate is observed.
Finite element bending analysis of symmetric and non-symmetric functionally graded sandwich beams using a novel parabolic shear deformation theory

In this paper, the bending behavior of functionally graded single-layered, symmetric and non-symmetric sandwich beams is investigated according to a new higher order shear deformation theory. Based on this theory, a novel parabolic shear deformation function is developed and applied to investigate the bending response of sandwich beams with homogeneous hardcore and softcore. The present theory provides an accurate parabolic distribution of transverse shear stress across the thickness and satisfies the zero traction boundary conditions on the top and bottom surfaces of the functionally graded sandwich beam without using any shear correction factors. The governing equations derived herein are solved by employing the finite element method using a two-node beam element, developed for this purpose. The material properties of functionally graded sandwich beams are graded through the thickness according to the power-law distribution. The predictive capability of the proposed finite element model is demonstrated through illustrative examples. Four types of beam support, i.e. simply-simply, clamped-free, clamped–clamped, and clamped-simply, are used to study how the beam deflection and both axial and transverse shear stresses are affected by the variation of volume fraction index and beam length-to-height ratio. Results of the numerical analysis have been reported and compared with those available in the open literature to evaluate the accuracy and robustness of the proposed finite element model. The comparisons with other higher order shear deformation theories verify that the proposed beam element is accurate, presents fast rate of convergence to the reference results and it is also valid for both thin and thick functionally graded sandwich beams. Further, some new results are reported in the current study, which will serve as a benchmark for future research.
Effect of the Natural Cat and Dog Liquid Additives on 3% Salt Fed Rats

Salt poisoning could be important for the pets’ life. High salt and low water consumptions can be effective in the formation of salt poisoning. Low levels of salt poisoning increase blood pressure which reduces the quality of life. Plant-origin cat and dog liquid additives are previously used and improve water consumption of rats. In this study, 36 wistar albino rats were randomly divided into 4 groups (regular diet with water (RDW), 3% salt containing diet with water (SW) or cat (SCat) or dog (SDog) liquid additives added to their water). Animals were fed ad libitum for two weeks. At day 0 and day 14, blood samples were collected from the rats. At Day 14, the rats were individually placed in metabolic cages and urine and fecal samples were also taken. The rats were subjected to necropsy and kidney tissue was removed. Sodium (Na) concentration of urine samples were 36% SCat and 45% SDog higher than those measured in the SW groups. Na concentration of the feces was higher in SW groups (27% or 47%) than those in the SCat and SDog groups, respectively. According to the kidney tissue microscopic findings, the health conditions of the SCat and SDog groups, supplemented with the additive were improved. Especially, SDog product reduced the negative effects of elevated salt intake on rats.
Molecular Models of Wolbachia-Induced Cytoplasmic Incompatibility Must Account for the Multiplicity of Compatibility Types.

Wolbachia endosymbionts commonly induce cytoplasmic incompatibility, making infected males’ sperm lethal to the embryos unless these are rescued by the same bacterium, inherited from their mother. Causal genes were recently identified but two families of mechanistic models are still opposed. In the toxin-antidote model, interaction between the toxin and the antidote is required for rescuing the embryos. In host modification models, a host factor is misregulated in sperm and rescue occurs through compensation or withdrawal of this modification. While these models have been thoroughly discussed, the multiplicity of compatibility types, i.e., the existence of many mutually incompatible strains, as seen in Culex mosquitoes, has not received sufficient attention. To explain such a fact, host modification models must posit that the same embryonic defects can be induced and rescued through a large variety of host targets. Conversely, the toxin-antidote model simply accommodates this pattern through variations in the toxin-antidote interaction sites.