Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Simultaneous test for linear model via projection

Abstract In this paper, we focus on the simultaneous test for the high-dimensional linear model coefficient. In high-dimensional setting, the traditional F-test is infeasible while the dimension is larger than the sample size because the sample covariance matrix is not invertible. Even when the dimension is smaller than the sample size, the efficiency of the classical F-test diminishes rapidly as the dimensionality increases. Several existing methods modified the classical F-test by removing the inverse term in the statistics and performed well. However, those modifications may lose efficiency due to the ignorance of correlation and those moment based procedures are sensitive to outlying observations and heavy tailed data. We propose a centered rank based method using projection which is robust in a broad range of distribution and alternative hypothesis. Under some mild conditions, we derive the best projection direction. The proposed procedure can retain type I error rate pretty well with the asymptotic distribution due to the data splitting strategy. Finite sample simulation studies are in accordance with the theoretical results.
Broadband Active Control of Transverse Scattering from All-Dielectric Nanoparticle

Steering electromagnetic scattering by subwavelength objects is usually accompanied by the excitation of electric and magnetic modes. The Kerker effect, which relies on the precise overlapping between electric and magnetic multipoles, is a potential approach to address this challenge. However, fundamental limitations on the reconfigurability and tunability challenge their future implementation in practical applications. Here, we demonstrate a design approach by applying coherent control to a silicon nanodisk. By utilizing an experimentally feasible two-wave excitation, this coherent light-by-light control enables a highly reconfigurable, broadband, and tunable transverse scattering, extending the feasibility of unidirectional scattering in various practical scenarios, including on-chip integrations and optical communications.
Growth, Nitrogen Uptake of Maize (Zea mays L.) and Soil Chemical Properties, and Responses to Compost and Nitrogen Rates and Their Mixture on Different Textured Soils: Pot Experiment

Integrated nutrient management, which primarily involves the combined application of organic and inorganic nutrient sources, is one of the simplest approaches to handle declining soil fertility challenges and increase crop productivity and production. Keeping in view this fact, a pot experiment was conducted to evaluate the effects of compost and inorganic nitrogen fertilizer and their mixture on soil properties, growth, and nitrogen uptake of maize on loam and clay textured soils at the Awada Agricultural Research Subcenter. Treatments comprised factorial combinations of five compost rates (0, 5, 10, 15, and 20 t·ha−1) and four rates of inorganic nitrogen fertilizer (0, 46, 92, and 138 kg·N·ha−1) laid out as a completely randomized design with three replications. Results showed that both the main and interaction effects of compost and mineral N fertilizer rates significantly affected the selected soil chemical properties and yield, and nitrogen concentration of maize. There were significant associations between plant parameters and soil nitrogen contents. The addition of 92 kg·ha−1·N + 10 t·ha−1 compost and 46 kg·ha−1·N + 10 t·ha−1 compost was the best treatments for loam and clay textured soils of the study areas, which improved shoot dry matter by 179.5 and 284.5%, compared to the unfertilized pot, respectively. From the results of this experiment, we concluded that the integrated application of compost and mineral nitrogen fertilizer enhanced soil chemical properties and thus improved nitrogen uptake and sustainable production of maize in the study areas.
Improving evaluation of nonlethal tools for carnivore management and conservation: evaluating fladry to protect an endangered species from a generalist mesocarnivore

Carnivore conservation and management are global research priorities focused on reversing population declines of imperiled species and identifying more effective and humane management of generalist carnivores with thriving populations. Nonlethal methods to mitigate conflict are increasingly used to advance conservation objectives; however, there is limited knowledge about the effectiveness of many nonlethal methods. We tested a nonlethal tool (fladry), that serves as a barrier to deter wolves Canis lupus and coyotes Canis latrans, for its efficacy at preventing coyotes from using prairie dog Cynomys ludovicianus colonies, the primary prey for critically endangered black‐footed ferrets Mustela nigripes. We used camera trap data and an occupancy approach to evaluate the tool’s efficacy. We measured coyote response to fladry at both a coarse monthly scale (via use, attraction and avoidance probabilities) and a fine scale (via daily activity). Overall, use of areas inside exclosures declined by 60% after 60 days of fladry application and coyotes avoided some previously used areas both within and outside exclosures. Interestingly, coyotes were attracted to previously unused areas surrounding exclosures and increased activity around the periphery of fladry exclosures by 170% immediately after fladry installation, suggesting coyotes actively explored these areas and may have responded to fladry in a way that is counterintuitive to management expectations. Occupancy models provided more robust evaluation of fladry and revealed important behavioral responses relative to other common evaluation techniques (i.e. time until first detected crossing). Our results have implications for future development and evaluation of nonlethal tools for carnivore conservation and management globally.
Improving the Safe Operation of Platoon Lane Changing for Connected Automated Vehicles: A Novel Field-Driven Approach

Connected and automated vehicles (CAVs) platoons have been widely researched because of their efficiency advantages. However, most studies mainly focus on the stability control of platoon and there is a lack of in-depth consideration of platoon lane changing. In order to make up for this vacancy, this study focused on the dynamic gap in the platoon lane changing process. First, an intra-platoon potential field of vehicles in the platoon was established by combining the repulsive force under vehicle safety and the gravity inside the platoon, which can effectively characterize the risk distribution around vehicles. Second, the platoon lane changing process was designed and critical distances of platoon vehicles under different conflict situations were analyzed. Based on this, this study proposed a critical distance model of platoon lane changing. Furthermore, we also found that the critical distances for platoon lane changing were within an interval with upper and lower bounds, which was different from the minimum distance of non-platoon vehicles. Finally, experiments were conducted and the results showed that the proposed model could effectively represent the relationship between the distance between vehicles in the platoon and the motion state of the surrounding vehicles. Moreover, the proposed method could also be applied to the lane-changing maneuver of a self-organizing platoon at a strategic level in a CAVs system.
Application of Multi-Criteria Decision Making Models in Forest Fire Management

The study on effective factors of forest fire prevention policy is helpful to reduce forest fire impacts on extensive environmental damage in the long-term period. In other words, forest fire management is the result of a complex interaction among criteria. The present study aims to create a scientific analysis of the most effective criteria based on TOPSIS and SAW methods in the Arasbaran forest. The five top optimal criteria selection by TOPSIS method introduced that “association and cooperation between the executive and responsible institutions” have the first rank (CCi+=0.85), “Lack of deterrence law in dealing with forest fire offenders in human–caused forest fires” has the second rank (CCi+= 0.84) and followed by “Lack of up-to-date scientific information on susceptible areas in the region”, “Increasing the cooperation of NGOs and increase public trust”; and “Lack of forest road network access to ignite regions” (CCi+= 0.789; 0.787; 0.77, respectively). The five top optimal criteria resulting from the SAW method showed that “Local people participations” provide the highest score (FS=0.39) and followed by “association and cooperation between the executive and responsible institutions (FS=0.39), “Increasing the cooperation of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and increase public trust” (FS=0.36), “Raising awareness of the position of natural resources among local peoples and attracting their cooperation” (FS=0.35) and “Optimal Use past experiences” (FS=0.34). It is suggested that evaluating the ecological and environmental factors affecting the forest fire occurrence and extension could become a set of complement factors to setting management criteria for demonstrating the best management strategies.
Polymeric textile-based electromagnetic interference shielding materials, their synthesis, mechanism and applications – A review

The rapid proliferation of electronic devices and their operation at high frequencies has raised the contamination of artificial electromagnetic radiations in the atmosphere to an unprecedented level that is responsible for catastrophe for ecology and electronic devices. Therefore, the lightweight and flexible electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding materials are of vital importance for controlling the pollution generated by such high-frequency EM radiations for protecting ecology and human health as well as the other nearby devices. In this regard, polymeric textile-based shielding composites have been proved to be the best due to their unique properties such as lightweight, excellent flexibility, low density, ease of processability and ease of handling. Moreover, such composites cover range of applications from everyday use to high-tech applications. Various polymeric textiles such as fibers, yarn, woven, nonwoven, knitted, as well as their hybrid composites have been extensively manipulated physically and/or chemically to act as shielding against such harmful radiations. This review encompasses from basic concept of EMI shielding for beginner to the latest research in polymeric-based textile materials synthesis for experts, covering detailed mechanisms with schematic illustration. The review also covers the gap of materials synthesis and their application on polymeric textiles which could be used for EMI shielding applications. Furthermore, recent research regarding rendering EMI shielding properties at various stages of polymeric textile development is provided for readers with critical analysis. Lastly, the applications along with environmental compliance have also been presented for better understanding.
Audit committee characteristics and bank performance: evidence from India

Purpose This study aims to investigate the impact of various audit committee (AC) characteristics on the performance of Indian commercial banks. Additionally, it also analyses the non-linear relationship of AC size and AC chairman tenure with bank performance. Design/methodology/approach A panel data approach has been used in this study. The authors have used the fixed-effect estimation technique to examine the relationship between AC characteristics and bank performance during the period 2009–2010 to 2016–2017. Findings The authors find that the professional financial education of the AC chairman and members positively affects bank performance. the frequency of the AC meetings and audit chair busyness bears an inverse relationship with performance. The findings are more or less consistent across the various bank performance measures and subsamples classified based on the time period and ownership of the banks. Practical implications This study provides insights to policy regulators and policymakers who are entrusted with the establishment of ACs in the banks in light of the ongoing regulatory reforms. Originality/value The study is among one of the early studies, which study the relationship between AC characteristics and bank performance in the light of recent regulatory reforms. It also extends the existing study by considering both public and private banks operating in India.
Preparation and Characterization of Bio-Nitrogen-Doped Activated Carbon

Blood (livestock blood) is a cheap and readily available biomass material with a relatively high protein content.In this study, bio-nitrogen doped activated carbon (BN-AC) was prepared by chemical activation method with nitrogen-rich pig blood as raw material and magnesium chloride as activator.The specific surface area of BN-AC is 283.719 m2/g, and the pore volume is 0.128 cm3/g.The optimum conditions for the preparation of BN-AC were as follows: the mass impregnation ratio of activator to blood powder was 2:1, the impregnation time was 12 h, and the activation temperature was 600 ℃. The forms of biological nitrogen in activated carbon were studied by elemental analysis, Boehm titration, FTIR and XPS.The results showed that the total basicity of 0.720 mmol/g, and acidity of 0.313 mmol/g of the BN-AC.The surface of the precursor has only one Pyrrolic N, and the surface of BN-AC contains Pyridinic N, Pyrrolic N and Graphitic N, the N content of the precursor was successfully preserved.BN-AC has higher methylene blue and iodine adsorption values than ordinary activated carbon.
Agricultural Value Chains. A Bibliometric Review and Analysis.

This work analyzes the visibility and scientific impact of publications related to agricultural value chains. The incidence of bibliometric indicators allows for the interpretation of bibliographic information generated worldwide. Objective: The objective of this research is to analyze the published literature and bibliometric indicators on agricultural value chains. The Web of Science database was used to extract value chains data. The study analyzed articles published between 2010 and 2020. The keywords used are "agricultural value chains'' and articles from journals or studies related to the subject were selected for bibliometric analysis and methodological review. In the search for the keyword, a total of 4208 results were extracted, of which 1,669 records were considered for analysis. The bibliometric analysis of the data reveals that Wageningen University (55) has the highest number of publications, followed by Chinese Acad Sci (26). The author Klerkx L (9) has the highest number of records, followed by Hellin J (7). With respect to the countries with the greatest contributions on the subject are: the People's Republic of China, Germany, Italy, France and the United States. The study contributes to the analysis of bibliometrics and provides a methodological review of published journal articles on agricultural value chains. This bibliographic study presents the history of research development in agricultural value chains.
A primer on partially observable Markov decision processes (POMDPs)

Partially observable Markov decision processes (POMDPs) are a convenient mathematical model to solve sequential decision‐making problems under imperfect observations. Most notably for ecologists, POMDPs have helped solve the trade‐offs between investing in management or surveillance and, more recently, to optimise adaptive management problems. Despite an increasing number of applications in ecology and natural resources, POMDPs are still poorly understood. The complexity of the mathematics, the inaccessibility of POMDP solvers developed by the Artificial Intelligence (AI) community, and the lack of introductory material are likely reasons for this. We propose to bridge this gap by providing a primer on POMDPs, a typology of case studies drawn from the literature, and a repository of POMDP problems. We explain the steps required to define a POMDP when the state of the system is imperfectly detected (state uncertainty) and when the dynamics of the system are unknown (model uncertainty). We provide input files and solutions to a selected number of problems, reflect on lessons learned applying these models over the last 10 years and discuss future research required on interpretable AI. Partially observable Markov decision processes are powerful decision models that allow users to make decisions under imperfect observations over time. This primer will provide a much‐needed entry point to ecologists.
Molecular Dynamics of The Early Stages of High Temperature Corrosion

We performed molecular dynamics simulations of the high temperature oxidation of metal alloys composed of Al, Cr and Fe and compared their behavior with that of pure Fe. The metal alloy elements (Al and Cr) segregated to the surface during oxidation producing a lower stress gradient at the metal/environment interface compared to pure Fe. We have found that the lowered stress gradients produced in the alloy material appear to play a key role in the development of corrosion. Interfaces with lower stress gradients have reduced rates of H2O adsorption, especially for the ferritic (bcc) alloys. The diffusivity of oxygen and hydrogen drops more rapidly for the interfaces with reduced stress gradients. The stress gradient is also diminished when the gas pressure is increased, indicating that the Fe-Cr-Al alloy system is more resistant to oxidation than pure Fe at higher pressures. Therefore, we conclude that the lower stress gradients at the alloy/environment interface reduce the stress concentration and can slow down the rate of the initial oxide scale growth. We also compared bcc and fcc alloys with pure Fe based on our 3 evaluation criteria (peak stress, stress gradient and summation of stress in the oxide scale). We found that the alloys have lower values under the three criteria compared to pure Fe. The bcc alloy has the best score under a water rich environment and the fcc alloy is proven to be the better for peak stress and summation of stress in the oxide scale under an oxygen rich environment. For surface segregation to occur, we find that a minimum content of Al or Cr content in the near-surface region must be achieved.
Different bone anchorages for Morse taper implants with different lengths in maxilla anterior: An in silico analysis

This study aimed to evaluate the stress distribution in bone tissue, in Morse tapper implants and components supporting a single crown in the maxillary anterior area, under different bone anchorages (conventional, bicortical and bicortical with nasal floor elevation) and implant lengths (8.5 mm, 10 mm and 11.5 mm) using 3D finite element analyses. Three 3D models including element #11 were simulated using software InVesalius, Rhinoceros 3D and SolidWorks. Bone block models were reconstructed from computed tomography and simulated the placement of one implant of 4 mm of diameter and lengths above mentioned, supporting cemented zirconia crown. The 3D models were processed by the finite element FEMAP and NeiNastran software, using a load of 178N were applied at 0º, 30º and 60º, considering the implant long axis. Results were visualized as the von Mises stress, maximum principal stress and microstrain maps. Bicortical bone anchorages showed lower stress and microstrain bone tissue when compared to conventional bone anchorage. However, no differences were observed between bicortical and nasal floor elevation. Regarding implants and components, the stress distribution was similar between models with little stress relief in the apical region of the implants for implants with conventional anchorage. The conclusion drawn from this study is that non-axial loading showed worse biomechanical behavior for bone tissue and implants/components. The bicortical techniques (bicortical and nasal floor elevation) should be preferred during the implant placement to reduce the stress and microstrain in the bone tissue.
Elasticity of the Number of World Cruise Tourists Using the Vector Error Correction Model

Along with the growth of the marine tourism industry, the number of global cruise tourists is rapidly increasing; the competition among regions to attract cruise tourists is increasing. The current study aims to verify that the global cruise tourism industry can be sustainable through its inherent power for long-term balanced convergence within the industry and can flexibly respond to external shocks such as COVID-19. This study applies the Vector Error Correction Model (VECM) to estimate the long-term balance function that determines the number of world cruise tourists. This study reveals that the number of world cruise tourists finally converges to long-term balance if the number of world cruise tourists at present is lower than the one at long-term equilibrium. In summary, the results of the VECM in the present study suggest the presence of an “invisible hand” in the global cruise tourism industry converging to a long-term balance. A few previous studies have suggested ways to increase global cruise tourists and promote the cruise tourism industry through qualitative methods, however, little research has estimated the decision function of the number of cruise tourists at a long-term equilibrium point. This study shows the dynamic characteristics of the cruise tourism market using the VECM.
Concurrency control for real‐time and mobile transactions: Historical view, challenges, and evolution of practices

Recently, mobile computing has changed the way that spatial data and GIS are processed. Unlike wired and stand‐alone GIS, now the trend has been switched from offline to real‐time data processing using location aware services, such as GPS technology. The increased usage of location aware services in multiuser real‐time environment has made transaction management incredibly significant. If the simultaneous query operations on the same data item are not handled intelligently then this results in data inconsistency issue. Concurrency control protocol is one of the primary aspects that helps in overcoming this issue a in multiuser environment. To the best of our knowledge, the impact of technological advancements on concurrency control has not been thoroughly studied in the literature. In this article, we explored the literature on concurrency control algorithms in depth with respect to real‐time applications and the applications with moving objects. We defined a taxonomy of concurrency control solutions and assessed the maturity of these solutions in the light of characteristics of real‐time and mobile environment. We compared the most recent developments made in the literature and presented meaningful insights. Challenges are also identified and discussed, which can assist in doing research in this domain in future.