Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
ASSESSING THE IMPACTS OF CLIMATIC FACTORS ON COTTON YIELD AND ITS ECONOMIC INDICATORS

Cotton is one of the strategic crops in Egypt. This article investigates the impacts of climatic factors and their variations on the cotton yield and its economic benefits during the period from 1998 to 2019. We chose the Kafr El-Sheikh Governorate, where cotton is one of the major planted crops, was chosen for the analysis. The climatic factors utilized were the maximum, minimum and average temperatures; relative humidity; solar radiation and wind speed. Precipitation was excluded, as Egypt depends mainly on irrigation. The climatic factors utilized influenced yield during different growth stages: wind speed showed an influence only on the germination stage, whereas temperature had a major impact before and at the maturity stages. The latter correlation was positive in July and negative in August and September. Relative humidity and solar radiation impacted on yield at different growth stages, with an almost positive correlation with solar radiation and both a positive and a negative correlation with relative humidity. For the study of the economic indicators of cotton, cotton data were taken for the whole Egyptian Governorate during the period 2005-2019. The study showed a decrease in the net return during the period from 2005 to 2015 that reached a loss (minus value) of 195 Egyptian pounds (LE) in 2015, followed by an increase during the period from 2016 to 2019 due to the increase in farm gate prices.
Visual Question Answering: A Deep Interactive Framework for Post-Disaster Management and Damage Assessment

Each natural disaster has left a trail of destruc-tion and damage, which must be managed very effectively to reduce the disaster’s impact. Lack of proper decision in the post-disaster managerial level can increase human suffering and waste a great amount of money. Our objective is to incorporate a deep interactive approach in the decision-making system especially in a rescue mission after any natural disaster to understand the condition of the damages and to take data-driven steps for the systematic distribution of the limited resources and accelerating the recovery process. We believe that Visual Question Answering (VQA) is the ﬁnest way to address this issue. In visual question answering, a query-based answer regarding the situation of the affected area can add value to the decision-making system. Our main purpose of this study is to develop a Visual Question Answering model for post-disaster damage assessment purposes. With this aim, we collect the images by UAV (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle) after Hurricane Harvey and develop a dataset that includes the questions that are very important in the decision support system after a natural disaster. In addition, We propose a supervised attention-based approach in the modeling segment. We compare our approach with the two other baseline attention-based VQA algorithms namely Multimodal Factorized Bilinear (MFB) and Stacked Attention Network (SAN). Our approach outperforms in providing answers for several types of queries including simple counting, complex counting compares to the baseline models.
Study on the Comprehensive Improvement of Ecosystem Services in a China’s Bay City for Spatial Optimization

Ecosystem services are characterized by region and scale, and contribute to human welfare. Taking Yantai city, a typical bay city in China, as the example, its three representative ecosystem services: food supply (FS), carbon sequestration (CS) and water yield (WY) were chosen as study targets. Based on analyzation of six different aspects of the supply and variation characteristic of demand, this study tried to propose advices for comprehensive improvement of ecosystem services for spatial optimization. The results showed that: (1) ecosystem services supply was strong in central and southern areas of Yantai, while the northern coastal areas were relatively weak; (2) synergistic relationships were found of FS-CS, FS-WY and CS-WY both in 2009 and 2015, with the strongest one for FS-WY. Additionally, in the synergistic relationships, each pair of ecosystem services was dominated by one ecosystem service; (3) most of the three pairs of synergistic relationships had the tendency to strengthen with larger scales; (4) four ecosystem demands changing areas were observed and comprehensive improvement suggestions for them were proposed. This work provides a new attempt to improve ecosystem services based on its supply-demand relationship, which will give a baseline reference for related studies in Yantai city, as well as other similar bay cities.
A Sentiment-Enhanced Corruption Perception Index

Direct measurement of corruption is difficult due to its hidden nature, and measuring the perceptions of corruption via survey-based methods is often used as an alternative. This paper constructs a new non-survey based perceptions index for 111 countries by applying sentiment analysis to Financial Times articles over 2005–18. This sentiment-enhanced corruption perception index (SECPI) captures not only the frequncy of corruption related articles, but also the articles’ sentiment towards corruption. This index, while correlated with existing corruption perception indexes, offers some distinct advantages, including heightened sensitivity to current events (e.g., corruption investigations and elections), availability at a higher frequency, and lower costs to update. The SECPI is negatively correlated with business environment and institutional quality. Increases in the perceived incidence or scope of corruption influences economic agents’ behaviors, and thus economic dynamics. We found that when the SECPI is at least one standard deviation above the mean, the growth per capita falls by 0.65 percentage point on average, with more pronounced impacts for emerging market and low income countries.
The importance of self-management in the leisure activities of young people

ABSTRACT This report addresses the proposition that young people's self-management of peer group leisure activities results in higher levels of satisfaction with them and makes them more meaningful and impactful. This study collected information in a self-administered questionnaire about the type of leisure spaces and management strategies used by young people aged 16–18 years old and addressed issues related to school time and free time. The sample under study was comprised of students in public, subsizised, and private schools in Northern Spain. The primary purposes of this study were thus to determine where, in which activities, organizational responsibility was taken and whether doing so contributed to the meaning and value of the experience. Analysis of variance and correlational analysis of survey results established that assuming responsibility for the organization of an activity is associated with greater enjoyment and activity satisfaction among young people, as well as making the activity more important in their lives. The greatest implication for the provision of activities at this period of adolescence and youth is that participants be afforded the opportunity for self-management.
Peer-induced fairness and personalized pricing in a channel

Abstract Consumers incur utility loss when they find that their peers pay different prices for the same product, which seemingly poses a threat to firms practising personalized pricing. This paper studies the interaction between peer-induced fairness and personalized pricing in a distribution channel consisting of one manufacturer and one retailer. While consumers are fair-minded, the retailer can apply personalized prices. Using a game-theoretic approach, we find that consumer fairness concern compels the retailer to reduce prices. However, the retailer will reduce the price toward high-valued consumers by a larger amount than the price toward low-valued consumers. This drives the manufacturer to offer a much lower wholesale price. As a result, the retailer using personalized pricing is better off in the presence of consumer fairness concern. This finding still holds when the capability of personalized pricing is endogenous, when social comparison may increase a consumer’s utility, and when the degree of fairness concern depends on the size of population. These effects are unique to peer-induced fairness, while related emotions such as distributional fairness concern cannot improve the retailer’s profit.
WRF-Chem Modeling of Summertime Air Pollution in the Northern Great Plains: Chemistry and Aerosol Mechanism Intercomparison

Oil and gas production in the Bakken region increased dramatically during the past decade. A WRF-Chem modeling study of the Northern Great Plains was conducted for a July 2010 baseline scenario prior to the largest of these production increases. Simulations using the RACM-MADE/SORGAM, CBMZ-MOSAIC, and MOZART-MOSAIC chemistry-aerosol mechanisms were compared to each other and against ground level observations. All three gas-aerosol modules produced similar prediction results for O3, and NO2, with moderate correlation to hourly measurements and monthly average values overpredicted by 20% for O3 and underpredicted by 5% for NO2. Monthly average PM2.5 concentrations were relatively accurate, but correlation to hourly measurements was very low and PM2.5 subspecies exhibited high variability with a mix of over and underpredictions depending on the mechanism. Pollutant concentrations were relatively low across the mostly rural study domain, especially in the Bakken region. Results from this work can be used as a basis of comparison for studies of more recent time periods that include increased oil and gas-related emissions.
Application of multicultural-based learning model syntax of social studies learning

Abstract This study analyses the differences in knowledge, attitudes and multicultural skills of primary school students divided into two learning models, namely a multicultural-based learning model and a student team achievement division (STAD). This study used a quasi-experiment with two control classes and two experimental classes which were determined through random sampling. Prior to being randomised, an equivalence test was carried out to ensure all classes were equal. The experiment used was a post-test-only control group design with multicultural knowledge test instruments, multicultural attitude inventories and observation guidelines of multicultural skills. The results show that the multicultural knowledge, attitudes and skills of students who took multicultural-based learning model syntax were better than students who took the STAD type of cooperative learning model. The mean score of multicultural knowledge, multicultural attitudes and multicultural skills were 25.60, 147.95 and 121.05, respectively. Meanwhile, students who took the STAD learning model showed the mean score of multicultural knowledge, multicultural attitudes and multicultural skills were 22.88, 128.08 and 114.27, respectively. The syntax of a local genius-based learning model is easier for teachers and students to understand the learning steps. This makes learning more challenging, fun, values-based and meaningful for students’ real lives. Keywords: Model syntax, multicultural, knowledge, attitude, skill.
The power of the little ones: Computed and observed aftershock hazard in Central Italy

Seismic hazard in Central Italy due to the 2016–2017 seismic sequence is modeled using a standard probabilistic aftershock seismic hazard model. Two key features of the model are the consideration of time-dependent aftershock occurrence, modeled by stacking Omori decay curves associated with the three largest (Mw > 5.5) events, and the incorporation of geologic information by modeling the locations of expected seismicity along realistic fault surfaces. The computed seismic hazard at Amatrice indicates higher hazard values compared to those computed using a conventional time-independent hazard analysis. We then compare the computed hazard curves against empirical hazard curves constructed for 12 individual recording stations in terms of peak ground acceleration, each with at least 35 (and up to 231) recordings. At eight sites, the observed exceedances fall within one standard deviation of the expected mean, while at the remaining sites, the observed exceedances fall outside this range indicating a poorer match. The soil sites are among the stations with the poorest match, suggesting that site effects may not be accurately modeled with the current approach.
Language Experience and Subjective Word Familiarity on the Multimodal Perception of Non-native Vowels

The present study investigated native (L1) and non-native (L2) speakers’ perception of the French vowels /ɔ̃, ɑ̃, ɛ̃, o/. Thirty-four American-English learners of French and 33 native speakers of Parisian French were asked to identify 60 monosyllabic words produced by a native speaker in three modalities of presentation: auditory-only (A-only); audiovisual (AV); and visual-only (V-only). The L2 participants also completed a vocabulary knowledge test of the words presented in the perception experiment that aimed to explore whether subjective word familiarity affected speech perception. Results showed that overall performance was better in the AV and A-only conditions for the two groups with the pattern of confusion differing across modalities. The lack of audiovisual benefit was not due to the vowel contrasts being not visually salient enough, as shown by the native group’s performance in the V-only modality, but to the L2 group’s weaker sensitivity to visual information. Additionally, a significant relationship was found between subjective word familiarity and AV and A-only (but not V-only) perception of non-native contrasts.
Effect of fretting-wear on dynamic analysis. Comparison between experimental results and numerical simulations for a vibratory friction rig.

Dry friction in contact interfaces can have an important impact on the dynamic response of jointed structures subjected to vibration. It may cause fretting-wear leading to a modiﬁcation of the contact surface geometry by producing wear debris through material removal and dissipating energy. Consequently, the contact behaviour is modiﬁed and the worn geometry induces a change in vibrations level. Therefore, it is important to be able to simulate these complex phenomena occurring at the interfaces to predict the forced response of assembled structures and also their life-expectancy to design high conﬁdence components. A multi-scale approach is implemented considering a slow-scale for wear phenomena and a fast-scale for the non-linear dynamic response and applied to validate an experimental test.
Wear and Corrosion Resistance of CoCrFeNiSiMoW Medium-Entropy Alloy Coatings on Q235 Steel

CoCrFeNiSiMoW medium-entropy alloy coatings (MEACs) were fabricated by plasma-arc surfacing welding on Q235 steel. The microstructures and mechanical properties of CoCrFeNiSiMoW MEACs were studied. CoCrFeNiSiMoW MEACs are made from a mixture of NiCrCoMo cubic (FCC) solid solution phase, (Fe, Ni), Mo1.24Ni0. 76, and CoCx phases by XRD analysis. The average hardness values of the one- and two-layer CoCrFeNiSiMoW MEACs obtained were 186 ± 1.56 and 198 ± 1.78 HV, respectively. Compared with the one-layer CoCrFeNiSiMoW coating, the two-layer coating has a better wear performance due to its higher hardness. Its corrosion resistance is better because of its higher Ni content.
The Effect of Competence and Utilization of Information Technology on Tax Auditor Performance with Motivation as Variable Moderation

: This study has several objectives. First, it analyzes the effect of competence and utilization of information technology on tax auditors' performance. Second, analyze the influence of competence and utilization of tax auditors' information technology, moderated by motivation. This research population is 166 tax auditors in the Riau Directorate General Regional Office environment, as many as 153 people, and the sampling method is saturated samples. Data processed is primary data obtained by processing questionnaire data. Data processed is primary data obtained by processing questionnaire data and analyzed using the Smart PLS Version's help. 3.2. 8 Program. The study results prove that information technology competence and utilization have significantly affected the tax auditors' performance. The last, motivation moderates the effect of competence and utilization of information technology on tax auditors' performance.
XML Dataset and Benchmarks for Performance Testing of the CLS Labelling Scheme

Extensible Markup Language (XML) has become a significant technology for transferring data through the world of the Internet. XML labelling schemes are an essential technique used to handle XML data effectively. Labelling XML data is performed by assigning labels to all nodes in that XML document. CLS labelling scheme is a hybrid labelling scheme that was developed to address some limitations of indexing XML data. Moreover, datasets are used to test XML labelling schemes. There are many XML datasets available nowadays. Some of them are from real life datasets and others are from artificial datasets. These datasets and benchmarks are used for testing the XML labelling schemes. This paper discusses and considers these datasets and benchmarks and their specifications in order to determine the most appropriate one for testing the CLS labelling scheme. This research found out that the XMark benchmark is the most appropriate choice for the testing performance of the CLS labelling scheme.
CaAIL1 Acts Positively in Pepper Immunity Against Ralstonia Solanacearum by Repressing Negative Regulators.

AP2 subfamily transcription factors participate in plant growth and development, but their roles in plant immunity remain unclear. Here, we discovered that the AP2 transcription factor CaAIL1 functions in immunity against Ralstonia solanacearum infection (RSI) in pepper (Capsicum annuum). CaAIL1 expression was upregulated by RSI, and loss- and gain-of-function assays using virus-induced gene silencing and transient overexpression, respectively, revealed that CaAIL1 plays a positive role in immunity to RSI in pepper. Chromatin immunoprecipitation sequencing (ChIP-seq) uncovered a subset of transcription-factor-encoding genes, including CaRAP2-7, CaGATA17, CaGtf3a and CaTCF25, that were directly targeted by CaAIL1 via their cis-elements, such as GT or AGGCA motifs. ChIP-qPCR and electrophoretic mobility shift assays confirmed these findings. These genes, encoding transcription factors with negative roles in immunity, were repressed by CaAIL1 during pepper response to RSI, whereas genes encoding positive immune regulators such as CaEAS were derepressed by CaAIL1. Importantly, we showed that the atypical EAR motif (LXXLXXLXX) in CaAIL1 is indispensable for its function in immunity. These findings indicate that CaAIL1 enhances the immunity of pepper against RSI by repressing a subset of negative immune regulators during the RSI response through its binding to several cis-elements in their promoters.
Polynomial Analogue of Gandy’s Fixed Point Theorem

The paper suggests a general method for proving the fact whether a certain set is p-computable or not. The method is based on a polynomial analogue of the classical Gandy’s fixed point theorem. Classical Gandy’s theorem deals with the extension of a predicate through a special operator ΓΦ(x)Ω∗ and states that the smallest fixed point of this operator is a Σ-set. Our work uses a new type of operator which extends predicates so that the smallest fixed point remains a p-computable set. Moreover, if in the classical Gandy’s fixed point theorem, the special Σ-formula Φ(x¯) is used in the construction of the operator, then a new operator uses special generating families of formulas instead of a single formula. This work opens up broad prospects for the application of the polynomial analogue of Gandy’s theorem in the construction of new types of terms and formulas, in the construction of new data types and programs of polynomial computational complexity in Turing complete languages.
Positive and Negative Experiences, E-safety and Sharing with Others: Surfing the Internet and Social Networks and the Correlations Between Experiences, Self-image and Computer Skills Among Children and Adolescents

In light of the many major changes in the lives of children and adolescents due to digital developments, this study sought to examine positive and negative experiences, e-safety and sharing with others while surfing the internet and especially social networks from the point of view of children and adolescents. The study also examined the correlation between these experiences, self-image and computer skills. Participating in this mixed-method study were 373 children and teenagers, who were divided into three age groups. The findings showed a positive correlation between self-image, the level of computer skills and the degree of internet use. The measure of self-esteem was found to correlate positively with the parameters of social networks surfing except for the parameter of negative experiences. Social networks and internet use among 16-18-year-olds was found to be higher than among younger children, with a rise in the number of teenagers’ negative experiences that corresponded to the rise in use. The adolescents also mentioned they had been exposed to violent content at a higher rate than the younger groups.
Privacy‐preserving convolutional neural network prediction with low latency and lightweight users

Convolutional neural networks (CNNs) have excellent and extensive applications in image recognition. With the continuous exploitation of data value and the proliferation of machine learning‐as‐a‐service, convolutional neural network prediction schemes on privacy preservation have been introduced one after another, which makes much more attention focused on the privacy leakage and services offered to be efficient and light. Therefore, how to improve the convolutional neural prediction scheme on the premise of privacy preservation turns out to be an imperative research issue. In this paper, we propose a privacy‐preserving convolutional neural network prediction scheme (PCP‐LL) that supports low latency and lightweight users. The scheme starts from the perspective of lossless accuracy from underlying networks. First, we construct a secure activation function computing protocol (SActF) utilizing a commodity‐based secure comparison protocol, which reduces the complexity and latency during the activation function computing under ciphertexts compared with common schemes. Second, to further support lightweight users, we introduce a secure output layer protocol (SOut) that enables users to obtain the prediction results without extra decryption after simple operations. Then, the scheme adopts the distributed two trapdoors public‐key cryptosystem (DT‐PKC) to achieve both data and model security, which well avoids security issues especially such as wiretapping by semi‐honest participants commonly in secret sharing schemes. Finally, through relevant evaluations, the scheme not only achieves privacy preservation and low latency, but also supports lightweight users.
Social media and entrepreneurship: exploring the impact of social media use of start-ups on their entrepreneurial orientation and opportunities

PurposeThe aim of this paper is to investigate how social media use (SMU) affects the entrepreneurial orientation (EO) and entrepreneurial opportunities (EOP) of start-ups.Design/methodology/approachThe hypothesis testing and analysis were conducted using the partial least squares approach to structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM). FindingsThe research shows that SMU has a strong positive impact on EOP, while it has no impact on start-ups' EO. Interestingly, the impact of SMU on EOP is stronger than the impact of EO on EOP.Originality/valueThe findings add new knowledge to the emerging research stream that focuses on SMU in the context of entrepreneurship and provides useful insights for both scholars and practitioners. In particular, the evidence suggests implications for stakeholders with regard to their firms' entrepreneurial activities. This research offers several possible avenues for future research.