Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Classification of Current Vegetation Cover and Alpine Treeline Ecotone in the Praděd Reserve (Czech Republic), Using Remote Sensing

Abstract The goal of the study was to derive up-to-date and complex information on the current vegetation cover of the Praděd Reserve (Hrubý Jeseník Mountains, Czech Republic), with special regard to the unique alpine treeline ecotone formed by krummholz of Norway spruce. We argue that the data of remote sensing and automated techniques of image processing should be preferably used. Accordingly, a color-infrared orthophoto map was classified in a land cover map employing maximum likelihood spectral classifier, ancillary data, texture analysis, and a knowledge base classification technique. The overall classification accuracy was about 78%, distinguishing 7 land cover classes. Using a reclassified land cover map and the moving window mean filter, a spruce canopy closure map was calculated. The continuous map of the canopy closure was subsequently reclassified in predefined intervals that were used for an automated delimitation and mapping of complex transitional borders of the alpine treeline ecotone. The proposed method can serve for objectified mapping of gradual transitions between any land cover or vegetation classes.
Grain-size to effective pore-size transformation derived from electrokinetic theory

Most permeability models use effective grain size or effective pore size as an input parameter. Until now, an efficacious way of converting between the two has not been available. We propose a simple conversion method for effective grain diameter and effective pore radius using a relationship derived by comparing two independent equations for permeability, based on the electrokinetic properties of porous media. The relationship, which we call the theta function, is not dependent upon a particular geometry and implicitly allows for the widely varying style of microstructures exhibited by porous media by using porosity, cementation exponent, formation factor, and a packing constant. The method is validated using 22 glass bead packs, for which the effective grain diameter is known accurately, and a set of 188 samples from a sand-shale sequence in the North Sea. This validation uses measurements of effective grain size from image analysis, pore size from mercury injection capillary pressure (MICP) measurement.
Fuzzy Adaptive Containment Control for Nonlinear Multi-Manipulator Systems With Actuator Faults and Predefined Accuracy

Compensating for the infinite number of actuator faults considered in nonlinear multi-manipulator systems is a significant, yet a crucial issue for control problems. In view of this, a novel fuzzy adaptive fault-tolerant control algorithm is proposed for nonlinear multi-manipulator systems to eliminate the influence of actuator faults and improve accuracy essentially, as well as achieve the objective of containment. First, a Lyapunov function is constructed by replacing the square term of the error with a series of smooth functions. Moreover, a predefined accuracy function is introduced and a new fuzzy adaptive fault-tolerant containment control scheme is designed. This overcomes the problem that existing methods cannot guarantee the negative-definite property of time derivative of Lyapunov function between two adjacent actuator faults. And it also ensures the boundedness of containment errors. Furthermore, projection-based adaptive parameters and the turning function are fused to compensate the influence of actuator faults. Finally, the effectiveness of the designed control scheme is verified by a simulation example of multiple single-link manipulator systems.
Process Indicators for Grading Group Essays: Learning Analytics of Assessment Data and Online Behaviour

The aim of this study was to identify process-related indicators for grading group essays. The research participants were students registered in a teacher-training course using an instructional design with face-to-face and digital blended learning. The course required the students in small collaborative groups to design, implement, and evaluate a teaching program using creative pedagogical designs, which were documented using group essays. Four indicators relating to group essays along the course process were collected: (A) group essay grades assessed by different agents, (B) students’ other course grades or behaviours (i.e., multiple assessments) as well as (C) comment behaviours and (D) version history behaviours through an online co-editing system (i.e., Google Docs). Statistical analysis results indicated that the instructor’s group essay grades were related to the group essay grades assessed by out-group peers (i.e. peers from other groups), online group comment frequencies, and online group comment interaction density. Keywords: assessment methods and tools, collaborative learning, essay grading, learning analytics, higher education
A century of pluralistic ignorance: what we have learned about its origins, forms, and consequences

The concept of pluralistic ignorance was introduced a century ago by social psychologist, Floyd Allport. It has been broadly applied in the social sciences, including psychology, sociology, political science, and economics. Pluralistic ignorance is a situation in which group members systematically misestimate their peers' attitudes, feelings, and private behaviors. This paper reviews the range of phenomena that pluralistic ignorance has been invoked to explain, the different accounts that have been offered for its emergence, and the various techniques that have been employed to dispel it. It distinguishes between micro and macro variants of pluralistic ignorance and discusses the challenges involved in generating a theory that encompasses both variants.
COVID-19 preventive behaviors and digital health communication media usage model

Abstract More than two years have passed, and the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is yet to be completely resolved. Campaigns on COVID-19 preventive behaviors have become crucial in tackling this issue among the public. Persuading the public to practice COVID-19 preventive behaviors remains to be a challenge. The current research aims to develop and test a model that can explain COVID-19 preventive behaviors by considering two factors: digital communication and psychological factors. This study employed a quantitative approach, wherein data were collected through an online survey. The sample consisted of 358 participants. Samples were selected using the purposive sampling method. SEM-PLS was used as an analytical tool in this study. The results of this research indicate that COVID-19 preventive behaviors are directly and positively influenced by behavioral intentions, digital media platforms, and communication exposure. Furthermore, COVID-19 preventive behaviors are indirectly influenced by perceived threat, subjective norms, perceived behavior control, awareness, knowledge, attitude, and message characteristics. Meanwhile, source credibility was proven to have neither direct nor indirect influence on COVID-19 preventive behaviors.
Post-marketing safety surveillance for both CRM197 and TT carrier proteins PCV13 in Jiangsu, China

Background This study is to evaluate the safety of two kinds of PCV13 carriers by monitoring the occurrence of adverse event following immunization (AEFI) after the launch of two kinds of PCV13 carriers in Jiangsu Province, China. Methods The AEFI Information System (CNAEFIS) of mainland China was used to monitor the incidence and classification of adverse reactions of the CRM197-carrier protein PCV13 and TT-carrier protein PCV13 vaccines. Results There was no statistical difference between the cumulative reported incidence of AEFI between the two vaccines from 2020 to 2022 (χ2 = 1.991, p < 0.158). 96.62% of the AEFIs were classified as common reactions; rare reactions and coincidental events only accounted for 2.99 and 0.39% of all the AEFI cases, respectively. Redness (2.6 cm–5 cm) is the commonest symptom at the injection site for both vaccines. More than 97% of AEFIs occurred between 30 min and 3 days after administration for both types of PCV13. Conclusion Both vaccines perform well in terms of safety. We did not identify any new/unexpected safety concern from the NAEFISS during a 4 years timespan.
Cross-Level Influence of Group-Focused Transformational Leadership on Organizational Citizenship Behavior among Chinese Secondary School Teachers

The organizational citizenship behavior of teachers holds paramount significance in elevating school organizational effectiveness and sustaining competitive advantage. To address this, this study examines the cross-level influence of group-focused transformational leadership on organizational citizenship behavior among secondary school teachers. This exploration includes investigating the mediating role of individual-level psychological contract fulfillment and the moderating impact of group-level collectivism. An empirical investigation involving 1162 secondary school teachers in China was designed for this purpose. The results demonstrate that group-focused transformational leadership significantly positively impacts teachers’ organizational citizenship behavior. Moreover, this relationship is positively moderated by collectivism at the group level, suggesting a stronger effect of transformational leadership on organizational citizenship behavior in more collective-oriented groups. Additionally, the findings reveal that psychological contract fulfillment at the individual level mediates this cross-level relationship, providing evidence for its role in translating leadership’s influence to organizational citizenship behavior. The findings underscore the significance of concentrating on group-focused transformational leadership, cultivating a collectivist atmosphere, and guaranteeing the fulfillment of psychological contracts as pivotal strategies for bolstering organizational citizenship behavior among teachers.
Scientometric Analysis on Cash Waqf Linked Sukuk (CWLS)

This study aims to conduct a scientometric analysis of the literature related to Cash Waqf Linked Sukuk (CWLS) in the context of waqf. The scientometric method is used to measure and analyze the development patterns, research contributions, and interactions between researchers in the CWLS domain. Data was collected through the scientific literature platform Dimensions.ai with relevant keywords. Data visualization was also used to understand the relationship between authors, publications, and key concepts in CWLS literature. The results of this analysis provide insights into the development of research, key contributions of researchers, as well as the evolution of concepts in CWLS. This study provides a more comprehensive view through research paths with specific theme clusters of the CWLS-related literature and helps identify key patterns and important contributions in understanding the implications of Islamic economics and finance in the context of waqf.
Overcoming the Narrative of Indifference: A Discussion on How First-Generation College Students Are Unique

ABSTRACT First-generation college students are unique. However, there are some professionals in academia who may question this fact. This is concerning and akin to dismissing the demographic differences that are unique to many of our students, thereby contributing to the extent to which our students may feel marginalized and/or underserved. Given that first-generation college students are enrolling in higher education institutions at unprecedented rates, and recent estimates have shown that approximately one third of all incoming college students are first-generation college students, it is vital that the question of “are first-generation college students really unique? ” be clearly and concisely answered.
Novel approaches for quantifying source zone natural attenuation of fossil and alternative fuels

Natural attenuation represents an environmentally and economically sustainable means to manage contaminants in situ. To assess potential human and environmental risks associated with this strategy, there is a need to characterize the extent of contaminant containing source zones. Moreover, to obtain public and regulatory support, there is a need to demonstrate that mass losses are occurring. However, quantifying the extent and rate of natural attenuation under field conditions remain challenging. Here a novel approach for assessing and monitoring sites impacted by hydrocarbon and ethanol-blended fuels using surficial gas effluxes is developed. The approach is tested at several sites including those impacted by a crude oil pipeline rupture, ethanol-blended fuel train car derailments, and historic refinery operations. The approach was refined through inclusion of isotopic measurements, comparison to other approaches for monitoring microbial activity, and evaluation of seasonal dynamics and microbial communities. Process-based reactive transport modeling was used to integrate and interpret field data and develop and illustrate a more robust conceptual model of the processes occurring at the different field sites. Results demonstrate that surficial gas effluxes are able to both delineate contaminant containing source zones, and distinguish between the rates of natural soil respiration and contaminant mineralization. In scenarios where methane oxidation goes to completion, carbon dioxide fluxes are sufficient for evaluating natural attenuation rates; when methane escapes oxidation, measurements of methane fluxes are also needed. Results also demonstrated that measurement of radiocarbon is particularly useful for determining the contribution of contaminant degradation to the measured efflux. Comparison of seasonal dynamics showed that both biological and physical parameters must be considered when quantifying average annual contaminant degradation rates while comparison to other approaches for measuring microbial activity showed good correlations with gas effluxes. Comparison across the field sites investigated, showed degradation rates were relatively high at ethanol-blended fuel release sites. In-depth microbiological evaluation of microbial communities at one ethanol-blended fuel release site showed a substantial change in the microbial community associated with the release. Overall, the novel methods provide a useful approach for assessing the extent and rate of natural attenuation at hydrocarbon contaminated field sites.
Clinical Impact of Preoperative Tonsil and Adenoid Size on Symptomatic Outcomes Following Adenotonsillectomy in Pediatric Patients

Background Adenotonsillar hypertrophy is a common clinical problem in pediatric patients. Adenotonsillectomy is a surgical intervention to remove airway obstruction and alleviate symptoms. However, some children continue to experience persistent symptoms after surgery. Objective This study aimed to investigate the relationship between preoperative tonsils and adenoid size and the persistence of symptoms, including snoring, mouth breathing, noisy breathing, and sleep apnea, after adenotonsillectomy in pediatric patients. Method This study was conducted in Taif, Saudi Arabia, and included 109 pediatric patients aged three to 14 years who underwent adenotonsillectomy. Data on preoperative and postoperative symptoms were collected through patient records and follow-up surveys. Tonsil and adenoid size were assessed using the Brodsky scale and endoscopic grading scales, respectively. Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS Version 26 (IBM Corp., Armonk, NY). Results The most prevalent presenting symptoms were snoring, mouth breathing, and noisy breathing. Tonsil size grades 3+ and 4+ were significantly more prevalent than the other grades (p<0.05). Adenoid size grades 3 and 4 were also significantly more prevalent than the other grades (p<0.05). Significant associations were observed between tonsil and adenoid size grades and specific presenting symptoms, such as snoring, mouth breathing, and noisy breathing. No significant correlations were found between preoperative tonsil or adenoid size and postoperative persistent symptoms. Conclusion While tonsil and adenoid size are essential factors in determining the need for surgery, they may not predict postoperative resolution of symptoms. A comprehensive evaluation of various clinical factors is necessary to understand the persistence of symptoms after surgery. Although adenotonsillectomy is an effective treatment for upper airway obstruction in pediatric patients, some individuals may experience residual symptoms.
A Raman spectroscopic study of diamond and disordered sp3‐carbon in the coesite‐bearing Straumen Eclogite Pod, Norway

Raman spectral point analysis and Raman mapping have been applied to study the nature of carbon‐bearing microinclusions C3‐1 and C5‐1 within zircon in phengite–kyanite–coesite eclogite sample 62a from the Straumen Eclogite Pod in the Western Gneiss Region (WGR), S.W. Norway. Graphitic carbon is always present with a degree of structural disorder comparable to that found in other ultra high pressure metamorphic (UHPM) terranes; it is compatible with an origin by a partial retrogression of the coexisting diamond due to depressurization by exhumation. Hematite coexists with diamond in C3‐1. In both microinclusions, the Raman wavenumber position of the diamond peak varies from point to point, from the ideal value of 1332 cm−1, frequently down to ∼1328 cm−1 and sometimes down to ∼1322 cm−1 in C3‐1. The bandwidth also increases proportionally. Some spectra reveal doublets with peaks at ∼1328 and ∼1322 cm−1 and even a triplet. These Raman data are discussed in terms of one or other kind of structural disorder of sp3‐carbon, for example metamictization, overtemperature or overpressure, nitrogen impurities and especially stacking disorder, that is, with the possible existence or coexistence of 3C, 2nH and/or 3mR polytypes in a mixture in the same monocrystal. The question of a metamorphic or a contamination origin of the diamond and the disordered sp3‐carbon in slide 62a is evaluated; numerous arguments favour the UHPM origin. These new data contribute to the ongoing debate on the various petrological and geodynamical models (including possible deviatoric stress) for the creation of diamond in UHPM rocks in general. This new locality of diamond at Straumen, the fourth in the WGR but the first in the southwestern part of the UHPM area of the WGR, provides a minimum pressure estimate for UHP metamorphism of ∼3.5 GPa. Taken together with other published P–T estimates, 3.75 ± 0.75 GPa covers all of the estimates of the minimum pressure for coesite‐, diamond‐ or orthopyroxene‐bearing eclogite types in the WGR.
Women construction workers in Nepal: Collectivities under precarious conditions

In this article, we explore the experiences of women construction workers in Nepal and the strategies that these workers have adopted to challenge the exploitation and inequalities they confront. We firstly argue that the experiences of women construction workers in Nepal are shaped by compulsive engagement in labor markets under conditions of informality, precarity, and gendered responsibility for social reproduction. These experiences reflect multiple intersections of gender, class, caste, and ethnicity in the arenas of the household, the workplace, trade unions, and the state. However, policy interventions related to women's participation in labor markets and inspired by the Gender Equality as Smart Economics approach, such as Nepal's post‐earthquake mason training scheme targeting women construction workers, render invisible these structures of inequality, exploitation, and violence. Second, we argue that women construction workers negotiate—and in some cases challenge and change—working conditions, primarily through a variety of informal and formal collective strategies. Women construction workers' own narratives and practices, we find, bear little resemblance to the narratives promoted by the International Financial Institutions and the state, in which women workers appear as resilient, altruistic, and industrious entrepreneurial subjects seeking individual self‐improvement within the neoliberal framework. They rather invoke informal and organized collectivities, negotiate, and often resist, gendered norms of behavior and at times radically re‐envision the scope of trade union struggles.
Analyst Tracking and Enterprise ESG Performance

ESG investment has increasingly become a mainstream investment concept. As the external supervisor and the carrier of "business signals", the analyst's analytical opinions have a great impact on investors' investment decisions. Based on China's Shanghai and Shenzhen A-share listed companies from 2009 to 2022 as research samples, this paper empirically tests the effect and mechanism of analyst tracking on enterprise ESG performance. It is found that analyst tracking can significantly improve the ESG performance of the enterprise. This conclusion is still robust after a series of tests, while the conclusion is still valid after the endogeneity problem is taken into account by the cross-cross term test. The mechanism shows that analyst tracking can improve the environmental, social and governance performance of enterprises by increasing the transparency of enterprises. The results of heterogeneity analysis show that the effect is more significant in state-owned enterprises, large-scale enterprises and companies that are not part of the CSI 300 index or are followed by non-star analysts. This paper provides a theoretical basis for investors to make investment decisions and for enterprises to improve their sustainable development capabilities.
Hedged ETFs

Hedged Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) provide individual investors with the opportunity to invest in ETFs that follow strategies similar to those of hedge funds and seek returns uncorrelated with the market. In this article I analyze the performance of six different categories of 49 Hedged ETFs and 539 Hedged Mutual from January 2008 to December 2014, and compared them with five different asset categories of index ETFs. Hedged ETFs and Mutual Funds had highly negative or low correlation with other index ETFs which indicates that they did help investors diversify. Hedged ETFs also had much lower risk compared with other index ETFs with the exception of bond market ETF AGG. However, this did not translate into superior absolute or risk-adjusted performance, and Hedged ETFs underperformed all other asset categories (with the exception of Commodities ETF DBC). The absolute- and risk-adjusted performance of Hedged Mutual Funds was similar to that of Hedged ETFs. Based on these findings investors would have been better off with index fund ETFs.
Interbrain Synchrony During Mentor-Mentee Verbal Interaction. Preliminary Results of EEG-Hyperscanning Study

Interactions between instructors and learners are actively studied in educational settings using a range of techniques, focusing on interpersonal attunement and synchrony. However, mentoring as a form of educational interaction is less studied. The current exploratory study focuses on interbrain synchrony (IBS) between mentors and mentees during verbal interaction in a naturalistic workplace environment. Fifteen pairs of mentors and their mentees completed simultaneous EEG recordings in four social conditions: resting state and social baseline before interaction, work case discussion, free communication, and resting state and social baseline after an interaction. The preliminary results showed higher IBS in the free communication condition compared to the work case discussion condition. In the resting state condition, a higher IBS was found at the beginning of the experiment compared to the end, whereas opposite results were obtained for IBS in the social baseline condition. The results only partially support previous findings in the literature where higher IBS levels were observed in more interactional conditions and at the end of interaction compared to the beginning.