Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Critical drought intensity-duration-frequency curves based on total probability theorem-coupled frequency analysis

ABSTRACT A methodology using the standardised precipitation index is proposed to develop critical drought intensity-duration-frequency (IDF) curves. We define dry periods within which we recognise droughts of different durations. The most severe drought for each drought duration in each year is called the critical drought. The total probability theorem-coupled frequency analysis is used to determine the best-fit probability distribution function of drought severity, which is then converted to intensity. The generalised extreme value probability distribution function is found to best fit the critical drought severity. The methodology is implemented using monthly precipitation data for a meteorological station in Turkey. The critical drought intensity decreases linearly with increasing drought duration, whereas the return period increases exponentially when the drought becomes more severe. The site-specific IDF curves furnished with an empirical relationship between the intensity and return period allow one to characterise the drought not by an index-based intensity but by its return period. This kind of presentation is physically easier to understand, in particular for stakeholders and decision makers in practice.
Implicating Human Values for designing a Digital Government Collaborative Platform for Environmental Issues: A Value Sensitive Design Approach

Digital technology is instrumental in designing e-government services to achieve environmental sustainability. This study aims to implicate essential human values for designing a Digital Government Collaborative Platform (DGCP), which seeks to enhance the collaboration between citizens and government officers to address environmental issues in Sri Lanka. The study adopts a value sensitive design (VSD) approach to identify human values to conceptualize the design. The results reveal 15 human values shared by citizens and officers of environmental authorities: transparency, safety, universal usability, feedback, authenticity, fairness, representativeness, accountability, legitimacy, informed consent, autonomy, awareness, human welfare, attitude, and trust. In addition to the identified human values, four system feature categories have been proposed from interviews. Thus, the study advances knowledge in designing an e-government system for collaboration between citizens and government officers, especially in tackling environmental problems in developing countries. Further, the study contributes knowledge to VSD for digital collaboration for improving environmental sustainability.
Research on Separation of Chromium and Iron in Waste Ferrochromium Alloy

Recycling of chromium from waste ferrochromium alloy has been researched.Ferrochromium alloy is leached using sulfuric acid,iron is removed from the leaching solution by Mohr's salt crystallization method.The main effects of technological conditions on ferrochromium alloy leaching and chromium and iron separation are examined.The research results indicat that when sulfuric acid concentration is of 500 g/L,solid-liquid ratio is of 1∶6,temperature is of 95 ℃,alloy granularity is of 61~44 μm,leaching time is of 4 h,the chromium leaching rate reaches 93.85%. Under the conditions of solution pH of 0.5,ammonium sulfate excess coefficient of 3.0,[Cr3+] of 70 g/L,[Fe2+] of 15~20 g/L,temperature of 70 ℃,reaction time of 6 h,rapid cooling,crystallization of 24 h,96.52% of iron is removed and only 1.85% of chromium is lost,very good chromium and iron separation effect can be obtained.
Who Supported the Strong Preventive Measures During the Covid-19 Pandemic?

The current Coronavirus pandemic has caused large-scale negative consequences to the economic developments as well as the society on a global scale. To prevent the further spreading of the virus, most governments have put forward a set of very strong measures that restrict citizen’s freedom to some extent (the most striking examples are the series of measurements taken during the lockdown phase). However, it is yet well established who might follow these measurements and who might not. The current study offers an innovative look at the personal characteristics that may link to one’s support for these strong preventive measures. The survey study found no supportive evidence for the positive relationships between disgust sensitivity as well as of patriotism to one’s support to strong preventive measures. The interviews conducted further suggest that people’s support for the policies might decrease over time and that one might only support the policies when it's absolutely necessary. The paper also discusses implications, limitations, and future directions of the current study.
Thermal decomposition behaviour and kinetics of Xinjiang siderite ore

In order to provide a better theoretical foundation for utilisation of Xinjiang siderite resources in China, its thermal decomposition behaviour was studied in neutral and oxidising atmospheres by employing thermodynamics analysis, chemical titration, thermogravimetric, and X-ray diffraction means. Isothermal experiments were conducted to investigate the thermal decomposition kinetics of siderite lump in a weakly oxidising atmosphere at 500–850°C. The results reveal that siderite has self-magnetisation characteristics under controlled conditions, and the phase evolution process and final products of decomposition depend temperature and atmosphere. The phase transformation process in weak oxidising atmosphere follows the steps as: FeCO3 → Fe3O4 → γ-Fe2O3 at 550°C, and FeCO3 → FeO + Fe3O4 → Fe3O4 → γ-Fe2O3 → α-Fe2O3 at 800°C. In inert atmosphere, the decomposition pathway is FeCO3 → Fe3O4 below 733°C and FeCO3 → FeO + Fe3O4 above 733°C. The molar ratio of FeO/Fe3O4 increases with temperature. The decomposition kinetics of siderite lump in oxygen-deficient atmosphere is consistent with chemical reaction control in the temperature range 500–700°C and nucleation and growth mechanism in the 750–850°C. The corresponding activation energies are 53·73 and 38·15 KJ mol−1, respectively.
Edge‐cloud collaborative architecture based multi‐time scales rolling optimization of regional integrated electrical and natural gas energy system considering wind power uncertainty

With the serious energy crisis and speedy development of natural gas utilization, regional integrated electrical and gas energy system is an efﬁcient way to improve energy potency. This paper studies the energy scheduling of integrated electrical and gas energy system with bi-directional energy conversion at distribution network level, considering wind power uncertainty. To realize independent autonomy of energy networks, meantime adjusting scheduling strategies of integrated energy system from system-level perspective, innovative edge-cloud collaborative operation architecture is proposed. In edge servers, electrical and gas networks are optimized severally for scheduling strategies. In cloud server, the uncertainty of wind power are processed with robust optimization method, strategies of energy conversion units are updated for re-optimization. Cooperated with edge-cloud architecture, a novel multi-time scales rolling optimization framework is proposed, electrical and gas networks are optimized under day-ahead time scale in corresponding edge servers, and electrical network is further adjusted under intraday time scale in electrical edge server. Case studies show that edge-cloud collaborative operation architecture can ensure the practical feasibility of optimization, which is more suitable for energy scheduling of integrated electrical and gas energy system. Multi-time scales rolling optimization framework have signiﬁcant efﬁciency on reducing the impact of wind power uncertainty.
Informed Geoheritage Conservation: Determinant Analysis Based on Bibliometric and Sustainability Indicators Using Ordination Techniques

Ordination methods are used in ecological multivariate statistics in order to reduce the number of dimensions and arrange individual variables along environmental variables. Geoheritage designation is a new challenge for conservation planning. Quantification of geoheritage to date is used explicitly for site selection, however, it also carries significant potential to be one of the indicators of sustainable development that is delivered through geosystem services. In order to achieve such a dominant position, geoheritage needs to be included in the business as usual model of conservation planning. Questions about the quantification process that have typically been addressed in geoheritage studies can be answered more directly by their relationships to world development indicators. We aim to relate the major informative geoheritage practices to underlying trends of successful geoheritage implementation through statistical analysis of countries with the highest trackable geoheritage interest. Correspondence analysis (CA) was used to obtain information on how certain indicators bundle together. Multiple correspondence analysis (MCA) was used to detect sets of factors to determine positive geoheritage conservation outcomes. The analysis resulted in ordination diagrams that visualize correlations among determinant variables translated to links between socio-economic background and geoheritage conservation outcomes. Indicators derived from geoheritage-related academic activity and world development metrics show a shift from significant Earth science output toward disciplines of strong international agreement such as tourism, sustainability and biodiversity. Identifying contributing factors to conservation-related decisions helps experts to tailor their proposals for required evidence-based quantification reports and reinforce the scientific significance of geoheritage.
Effect of Pole and Slot Combination on the AC Joule Loss of Outer-Rotor Permanent Magnet Synchronous Motors Using a High Fill Factor Machined Coil

This paper proposes a design guideline for selecting the pole and slot combination of an outer-rotor permanent magnet synchronous motor (PMSM) using a maximum slot occupation (MSO) coil. Because the MSO coil has a large conductor area, the AC Joule loss in the conductors may be increased at high frequencies. To ensure high-efficiency for the PMSM, it is necessary to reduce the loss. Thus, it is important to select the pole- and slot- combination that has the minimum AC Joule loss. The loss is caused by skin/proximity effects and variations in the slot leakage flux. The skin effect is due to the armature winding and the variation in the slot leakage flux is due to the field flux. A method for separating the AC Joule loss due to each component using the frozen permeability method is proposed. Based on the proposed method, the effect of each cause on the loss at various pole- and slot- combinations is analyzed in this study.
MULTICRITERIA DECISION-MAKING IN THE SELECTION OF WARSHIPS: A NEW APPROACH TO THE AHP METHOD

The budgetary constraints for the Brazilian Navy (BN) have caused several negative effects, resulting in an undersized fleet, decreasing the capacity to protect marine oil and natural gas fields, combat marine pollution from ships, and monitor other illegal activities at sea and inland waters. This paper aims to choose a medium-sized warship to be built by the BN, through the application of the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) method. After a bibliometric study on Multiple-Criteria Decision-Making (MCDM), the AHP was chosen as the most appropriate method for the proposed case study. We analyzed three ship projects with regard to nine operational and economic criteria, taking into account the evaluations of BN officers with recognized experience and knowledge in military operations. We also introduced a sensitivity analysis based on the relationship between standard deviation and mean scores in order to verify and increase the reliability of the ranking. As a result, the methodology suggested that the best option is to build a brand-new ship with more significant modernizations to provide for the operational needs of the BN.
Dividend payout policies in the pre and post split share structure reform in China

Abstract This paper examines the motivation of dividend payout policies for Chinese listed firms before and after the Split Share Structure Reform in China from the corporate governance-related viewpoint. Analysis was carried out using panel data with random effect from a sample of firms listed on the A-share Chinese market in the period of 2001–2004 (before the reform) and 2014–2017 (after the reform). It is found that (1) the incentive of tunnelling via dividend by controlling shareholders is weaken after the reform; (2) dividends are taken as a measure to reduce agency problems caused by free cash flows after the reform; (3) dividends after the reform become more stable than those before the reform. (4) in general, the market reacts positively to the increase of dividend both before and after the reform. It can be concluded that dividend policies are taken as the measure of minority shareholder protection and signalling rather than expropriation after the reform. This paper contributes to the literature by comparing dividend payout policies during the full circulation era with that before the reform was initiated.
University Teaching Planning in Times of COVID-19: Analysis of the Catalan Context and Proposal for a Future Model from ESIC Business and Marketing School Experience

On 14 March 2020, Spain came to a standstill and the movement of people was restricted with the publication of Royal Decree (RD) 463/2020 and the education sector had to reinvent itself with new rules and procedures. The purpose of this paper is to analyse the impact of the different government regulations and their effect on university teaching planning. Since the approval of RD 555/2020, educational competences were returned to the autonomous communities and each of them implemented different public policies. We will analyse the specific impact on teaching planning and models applied in Catalonia and their development, which vary according to the evolution of the number of COVID-19 infections and which has been marking the political, economic and social agenda since the beginning of the pandemic. The university has moved from teaching in a face-to-face environment to a virtual or semi-virtual or blended learning environment. This change implies a paradigmatic transformation in communication, education, organisation, evaluation and planning, among others. At ESIC Business & Marketing School (ESIC) these pedagogical paradigm shifts have contributed to transform the learning processes in a context of pedagogical innovation.
Application of Spaghetti Diagram in Layout Evaluation Process: A Case Study

The case study of the Spaghetti diagram application in the evaluation of the production workplace layout was carried out in order to verify the proposed Excel application in specific production conditions. This paper presents an analysis of the existing workplace layout and two new proposals of layout. The analysis was realized for all layouts using Excel application Spaghetti diagram and the obtained results were compared with each other. In conclusion, the experience with Excel application was summarized and advantages and disadvantages of its use were specified. The defined approach also expects the usage of other methods and tools, such as video-based time analysis tools. In a comprehensive approach to layout issue, the paper specifies the possibility of an effective combination of different methods and tools and sets out directions for further development.
Single- and mixed-metal–organic framework photocatalysts for carbon dioxide reduction

The photocatalytic reduction of carbon dioxide (CO2) into high value-added chemical fuels is deemed an attractive way for working out the energy dilemma and ameliorating extreme CO2 emission. Metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) are inorganic–organic hybrid materials constructed from metal/metal cluster nodes and organic bridging linkers, which can be considered as desired photocatalysts in the field of CO2 conversion owing to their superior CO2 capture capacity, unique reticular structures and photoelectronic properties. Herein, recent progress in MOF-based photocatalysts for CO2 reduction is discussed, mainly focusing on homometallic- and heterometallic-MOFs for photocatalytic CO2 reduction. Varied strategies for improving the properties of MOF-based photocatalysts and the correlation between the structures and activity are highlighted, which will provide insight for the construction of highly efficient MOF-based photocatalysts for CO2 conversion. The challenges of this field are mentioned, which will facilitate the development of MOFs for efficient CO2 conversion.
Large‐Scale Fabrication of Surface Ion Traps on a 300 mm Glass Wafer

Herein, a large‐scale fabrication of radio frequency (RF) surface ion traps on a 300 mm glass wafer using a standard foundry process is reported. Established wafer‐level packaging process of electroplated Cu with Au finish is used to fabricate the surface electrodes directly on the glass wafer substrate. A trap is tested by loading it with laser‐cooled 88Sr+ ions. The trap shows a stable operation with RF amplitudes in the range of 100–250 V at 33 MHz frequency. The ion lifetime is on the order of 30 min with laser cooling with a vacuum chamber pressure of ≈5 × 10−11 mbar. These results demonstrate the potential of large‐size foundry glass substrates to realize scalable and integratable trapped ion‐based quantum devices.
Benthic Foraminiferal Response to Sedimentary Processes in a Prodeltaic Environment: The Gulf of Patti Case Study (Southeastern Tyrrhenian Sea)

Analyses of benthic foraminiferal assemblages were carried out on sediment samples collected in the Gulf of Patti (NE Sicily, Tyrrhenian Sea), where high sedimentation rates in front of the Mazzarrà River led to the growth of a prodelta. The frequency of riverine sedimentary fluxes is testified by the widespread occurrence of erosional and depositional bedforms indicative of high-energy processes on the prodelta slope.The frequency of riverine sedimentary fluxes suggests the widespread occurrence of erosional and depositional bedforms indicative of high-energy processes on the prodelta slope. The study aimed to assess the spatial distribution of benthic foraminiferal assemblages and sediment grain size along different sectors of this prodelta to define any relationship between the foraminiferal assemblages, the environmental gradients and the sedimentary processes. In particular, we focused on the role of the highly energetic impulsive torrential inputs that dominate the depositional environment and likely affect food supply and its control on the foraminiferal density and biodiversity. The dominance of opportunistic agglutinated taxa associated with hyaline eutrophic species is a distinctive character likely related to organic matter enrichment and physical disturbance associated with inputs from torrential rivers.
Examining the Impact of Professional Development on the Self-Determined Learning Model of Instruction for General and Special Educators

There is limited research examining professional development for general and special education teachers implementing self-determination interventions. This study presents outcomes of a 2-day professional development training for the Self-Determined Learning Model of Instruction (SDLMI) for general and special educators guided by key elements of professional development. Results suggested teachers had positive perceptions of the training and showed improvements in knowledge and skills related to self-determination, but reported no change in perceived usefulness for students. Findings suggested teachers already perceived self-determination to be important and relevant to their students and that this professional development training was successful in improving teachers' knowledge and skills. Further research is needed to examine how this training impacts teacher implementation of the SDLMI and student outcomes.
OzNomads: a case study examining the challenges of COVID-19 for a community of lifestyle travellers

ABSTRACT OzNomads are lifestyle travellers who practice extreme mobilities and are independent of specific geographic locations. The COVID-19 pandemic, and subsequent measures imposed by federal and state governments to control it, have had adverse effects on the OzNomad community. In stark contrast to the benefits of the lifestyle prior to the pandemic, this paper outlines five emerging challenges facing OzNomads: displacement, marginalization, social isolation, financial impacts and mental health. Such challenges have serious implications for the wellbeing of a community that contributes substantially to regional and rural Australia as workers, consumers and volunteers.
Consumer's perceptions of chicken meatballs with partial fat replacement by whole precooked pearl millet flour / Percepção dos consumidores sobre almondegas de frango com substituição parcial de gordura por farinha de milheto integral pré-cozida

Innovations in the processed meat products have focused on healthier reformulations, especially improving the nutritional quality by reducing fat content. This work aimed to develop reformulated chicken meatballs with partial fat replacement by whole precooked pearl millet (Pennisetum glaucum (L.) R. Br) (WPPM) flour and to understand the consumer's acceptance and perceptions using a check-all-that-apply (CATA) questionnaire. Texture Profile Analysis (TPA), cooking loss, and color were also analyzed. All products were well accepted by consumers but the highest concentrations of WPPF interfered negatively with the sensory quality of the meatballs. A fat substitution of 3% promoted the best market potential, with associations by consumers with CATA terms "flavor of grilled chicken," "juicy," "gold color," and "soft when chewing". Pearl millet flour is a promising ingredient to reformulate chicken meatballs with less fat and should be better exploited by meat-processing industries.
Deviance residual‐based control charts for monitoring the beta‐distributed processes

Beta‐distributed process outputs are common in manufacturing industry because they range from 0 to 1 based on inputs like yield. Under the normality assumption, Shewarts control charts and Hotelling's control charts based on the deviance residual have been applied to monitor the process mean of the beta‐distributed process outputs. The normality assumption can be violated according to the shape of the beta distribution. Therefore, without the normality assumption, we propose antirank control charts, exponentially weighted moving average (EWMA) control charts and cumulative sum (CUSUM) control charts. The proposed control charts outperform the existing control charts in the experimental results. The previous research has been focused on monitoring the process mean only. For the first time, in order to monitor the process variance of the beta‐distributed process outputs, we propose the multivariate exponentially weighted mean squared deviation (MEWMS) chart, the first norm distance of the MEWMS deviation from its expected value (MEWMSL1) chart, the chart based on MEWMS deviation with the approximated distribution of trace (MEWMSAT), the multivariate trace sum squared deviation (MTSSD) chart and the multivariate matrix sum squared deviation (MMSSD) chart based on the deviance residual. The proposed control charts are compared and recommended in terms of the experimental results. This research can be a guideline for practitioners who monitor the deviance residual.