Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Compact Convolutional Transformer (CCT)-Based Approach for Whitefly Attack Detection in Cotton Crops

Cotton is one of the world’s most economically significant agricultural products; however, it is susceptible to numerous pest and virus attacks during the growing season. Pests (whitefly) can significantly affect a cotton crop, but timely disease detection can help pest control. Deep learning models are best suited for plant disease classification. However, data scarcity remains a critical bottleneck for rapidly growing computer vision applications. Several deep learning models have demonstrated remarkable results in disease classification. However, these models have been trained on small datasets that are not reliable due to model generalization issues. In this study, we first developed a dataset on whitefly attacked leaves containing 5135 images that are divided into two main classes, namely, (i) healthy and (ii) unhealthy. Subsequently, we proposed a Compact Convolutional Transformer (CCT)-based approach to classify the image dataset. Experimental results demonstrate the proposed CCT-based approach’s effectiveness compared to the state-of-the-art approaches. Our proposed model achieved an accuracy of 97.2%, whereas Mobile Net, ResNet152v2, and VGG-16 achieved accuracies of 95%, 92%, and 90%, respectively.
Feasibility of detecting apple scab infections using low-cost sensors and interpreting radiation interactions with scab lesions

ABSTRACT Apple scab is a disease caused by the fungus Venturia inaequalis (Cke.) Wint. which can spread rapidly throughout orchards diminishing tree productivity and causing huge losses in marketable fruit. Efficient orchard reconnaissance and early detection of infections can inform fungicide applications for effective disease control and a range of new low-cost sensors offer a means of imaging orchards as the basis of scab detection. This study evaluates the potential contribution of three imaging devices: a multispectral (VIS-NIR) camera, thermal camera and a 3D sensor, for the detection of scab on young apple plants. In a controlled experiment, apple seedings were infected with scab and disease progression was imaged daily under natural illumination conditions in a glasshouse with minimal image processing. Whilst the thermal and 3D sensors images were deemed unsuitable for scab detection, the high-resolution multispectral imagery was exceptionally effective, with the NIR band (800–1000 nm) permitting the earliest scab detection due to the substantially lower reflectance of the fungal structures of V. inaequalis relative to healthy leaf tissue. We offer a model of near-infrared radiation interactions with the fungus and leaf interactions to explain reflectance characteristics of scab-infected leaves throughout the growth cycle of the pathogen. The simple, low-cost remote-sensing approach developed here holds considerable promise for providing timely information on tree infection to improve the efficiency of apple scab disease management routines.
Coordinate-space solver for superfluid many-fermion systems with the shifted conjugate-orthogonal conjugate-gradient method

Self-consistent approaches to superfluid many-fermion systems in 3-dimensions (and subsequent time-dependent approaches) require a large number of diagonalizations of very large dimension hermitian matrices, which results in enormous computational costs. We present an approach based on the shifted conjugate-orthogonal conjugate-gradient (COCG) method for the evaluation of the Green's function, from which we subsequently extract various densities (particle number, spin, current, kinetic energy, etc.) of a nuclear system needed in self-consistent approaches. The approach eschews the construction of the quasiparticle wavefunctions and their corresponding quasiparticle energies, which are never explicitly needed in any density functional approaches. As benchmarks we present calculations for nuclei with axial symmetry, including the ground state of spherical (magic or semi-magic) and axially deformed nuclei, the saddle-point in the $^{240}$Pu constrained fission path, and a vortex in the neutron star crust.
Stability of charged solitons and formation of boson stars in five-dimensional anti-de Sitter spacetime

We study the stability of charged solitons in five-dimensional anti-de Sitter (AdS) spacetime. We show that for appropriate choices of the parameters of the model these solutions become unstable to form scalar hair. We find that the existence of charged solitons with scalar hair depends crucially on the charge and the mass of the scalar field. We investigate the dependence of the spectrum of solutions on the mass of the scalar field in detail. For positive mass of the scalar field, the hairy solitons can be interpreted as charged boson stars. We find that for a sufficiently small value of the charge of the scalar field a ‘forbidden band’ of the boson star’s mass and charge exists, while all our results indicate that—contrary to the asymptotically flat spacetime case—boson stars in asymptotic AdS can have arbitrarily large charge and mass.
Networking Method for the Structure of a Large Modular Deployable Space Antenna

A high-precision networking method for a modular deployable antenna with ultramultiple modules is proposed to solve the problem of achieving an accurate formation of the structure of a large-aperture modular deployable space antenna. In accordance with the general requirements for the deployment surface of deployable antennas, the structure composition and deployment principle of a deployable antenna are analyzed, and the topological law of a hexagonal prism modular structure is expounded. On the basis of basic theories of differential geometry, analytical geometry, and robotics, the mathematical model of an envelope circle and that of its center are established. Then, a networking model of structure that includes 61 modules in the fully deployed state is established. Finally, the established model is verified via a numerical simulation method, and the influence law of structural parameters on networking characteristics is analyzed and studied. Simulation results show that the networking method can realize an accurate connection of multiple modules. The networking method for the structure of a modular deployable antenna proposed in this study can provide a reference for research on basic theory of a deployable antenna’s mechanism and related engineering applications.
The Effelsberg-Bonn HI Survey: Milky Way data

Since autumn 2008 an L-band 7-Feed-Array is operated for astronomical science at the 100-m radio telescope at Effelsberg. This receiver is used to perform an unbiased, fully sampled HI survey of the whole northern hemisphere observing both the galactic and extragalactic sky in parallel - the Effelsberg-Bonn HI survey (EBHIS). We present first results based on the Milky Way data. Up to now two larger coherent regions were mapped each covering about 2000 square degrees. One of these fields covers the northern part of the high-velocity cloud complex GCN. With the better angular resolution of the EBHIS we resolve the previously detected clouds into isolated compact clumps and find a linewidth-radial velocity relation giving hints on an interaction of accreting material with the Milky Way halo.
Prioritizing Choices in the Conservation of Flora and Fauna: Research Trends and Methodological Approaches

Here, we synthesized the research trends in conservation priorities for terrestrial fauna and flora across the globe from peer-reviewed articles published from 1990 to 2022, following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. Results showed India to have the highest number of studies (i.e., 12) about the topic. Contrarily, most of the megadiverse and biodiversity hotspot countries have only 1–3 studies. Flora studies are more documented than faunal studies. The bio-ecological attributes are the most frequently used criteria for prioritizing choices in the conservation of fauna (i.e., 55.42%) and flora species (i.e., 41.08%). The climatic/edaphic and the taxonomic/genetic variables for flora had the lowest frequency (i.e., <5%). For fauna, the lowest value (i.e., <10%) was observed in socioeconomic and climatic/edaphic criteria. Moreover, the point scoring method (PSM), was the most frequently used in conservation prioritization, followed by conservation priority index (CPI), correlation analysis, principal component analysis (PCA), species distribution model, and rule-based method. The present review also showed multiple species as the most frequently used approach in prioritizing conservation choices in both flora and fauna species. We highlight the need to increase not only the conservation prioritization studies but also the scientific efforts on improving biodiversity-related information in hotspot regions for an improved prioritization methodology, particularly in faunal aspect.
Finite-Time Fault-Tolerant Prescribed Performance Control of Connected Vehicles With Actuator Saturation

This paper investigates the prescribed performance control problem for a vehicular platoon (i.e., a group of vehicles that travels in close proximity to one another, nose-to-tail, at highway speeds) simultaneously considering actuator faults and saturation. In the first case, a Gaussian error function (GEF) is applied to replace the nonsmooth actuator saturation of each vehicle in a smooth way. Then, a finite-time prescribed performance function (FNPPF) is proposed, which guarantees the tracking error of the platoon system converges to a predetermined region in a defined time. Subsequently, by combing the fuzzy-logic system (FLS) and parameter learning algorithm, an adaptive control scheme is developed in the context of sliding mode control, which guarantees all signals in the closed-loop system are practically finite-time stable. Finally, numerical simulations are carried out for a six-vehicle platoon to show the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm.
Long and short high energy components presented in GRBs

We present a leptonic model on the external shock framework to describe the long- and short- lasting GeV component of some GRBs. This model was already applied successfully to GRB 090926A, and we extend it to describe the high-energy emission of GRB 090902B and GRB 090510. We argue that the high-energy emission consists of two components, one at MeV energies with a duration of a few seconds during the prompt phase, and a second GeV component lasting hundred of seconds after the prompt phase. The short high-energy component can be described as SSC emission from a reverse shock and the longer component arises from SSC emission of the forward shock. The main assumption of our model is that the jet is magnetized and evolves in the thick-shell case. The calculated fluxes and break energies are all consistent with the observed values.
Chinese Word Attention based on Valid Division of Sentence

Chinese word attention (CWA) with word-level information is very important for natural language processing. The purpose is how to attention words in a sentence. We first explore the valid divisions of a sentence by splitting word tools. We use BERT for character and word pre-training. Each character embedding with its word in one division is encoded in block local attention. We use attention with prior to assign attention weights to each splitting result, and finally combine the global attention mechanism to get the optimal recognition result in Chinese NER.
A Dynamic Traffic Generator for Elastic 5G Network Slicing

The machine learning rise has created a need for 5G traffic data, which remains scarce despite numerous studies relying on machine learning models and algorithms. In this article, we introduce a traffic generator for 5G traffic provisioning under different traffic usage scenarios including traffic forecast. The generator relies on open data from the vehicular and pedestrian traffic of the City of Montreal, which is refactored in order to generate different classes of network traffic, with different characteristics associated with typical 5G applications, and then with different traffic patterns and peak hours. The outcome is a valuable tool for researchers and practitioners interested in the performance evaluation of 5G network traffic predictions and elastic resource orchestration. We give an illustration of the traffic dynamics coming out of our generator, thanks to the refactoring of the open data of the City of Montreal. It shows that the traffic generated is a good fit for studies aiming at traffic prediction or proactive network provisioning under different elastic resource orchestration policies.
Active Polarization Modulation of Terahertz Radiation Using Metamaterial/Graphene-Based Optoelectronic Devices

We investigate the modulation performance of a metamaterial/graphene optoelectronic device in the THz range. Operating characteristics such as amplitude, phase and polarization modulations of broadband THz radiation are reported. The accomplishments of modulation depth include >75% in spectral amplitude, $\gt 15^{\circ}$ in spectral phase, $\gt 0.2$ active modulation of ellipticity ratio, and active rotational angle changes of 20°. These achievements are the key elements towards efficient manipulations of THz radiation for applications such as next-generation wireless communications, spectroscopy, and imaging.
Toroidal metamaterial

It is shown that a new type of metamaterial, a 3D-array of toroidal solenoids, displays a significant toroidal response that can be readily measured. This is in sharp contrast to materials that exist in nature, where the toroidal component is weak and hardly measurable. The existence of an optimal configuration, maximizing the interaction with an external electromagnetic field, is demonstrated. In addition, it is found that a characteristic feature of the magnetic toroidal response is its strong dependence on the background dielectric permittivity of the host material, which suggests possible applications. Negative refraction and backward waves exist in a composite toroidal metamaterial, consisting of an array of wires and an array of toroidal solenoids.
Genome‐wide SNPs confirm plumage polymorphism and hybridisation within a Cyornis flycatcher species complex

Morphology has been a leading taxonomic guiding light to systematists for the last couple of hundred years. However, the genetic and – more recently – genomic revolution have produced numerous demonstrations of erroneous classifications that were based on labile morphological traits. We used thousands of genome‐wide markers to shed light on evolutionary dynamics in a confusing and taxonomically obscure group of Asian Cyornis flycatchers. Using genomic data, we corroborated recent findings based on three mitochrondrial and five nuclear genes that the two taxa hainanus and klossi which were previously treated as separate species (Cyornis hainanus and Cyornis rubeculoides klossi, respectively) are genomically homogeneous and form a single species, C. hainanus. We also uncovered a novel case of interbreeding between C. hainanus and a non‐sister species, C. glaucicomans, illustrating these flycatchers' ability to hybridise in marginal situations even after substantial times of divergence. Our study illustrates how genome‐wide loci can shed light on complicated taxonomic problems, resulting in a better integration of phenotypic and genotypic data.
Partial Ionization Cross Sections of Tungsten Hexafluoride Due to Electron Impact

The ionization data of a neutral molecule are crucial to model the energy deposition and dissociative ionization process. We study theoretically the electron impact ionization process and report on the dissociative ionization cross sections of the tungsten hexafluoride cations invoking the modified-binary-encounter-Bethe model. In this model, the binary-encounter-Bethe model is modified by applying the transformation to the binding energies of the molecular orbitals and then normalizing the partial ionization cross sections of the cations using the branching ratios. The normalization is performed at a particular energy and ensures that the branching ratios of different fragments are summed to unity. The model yielded satisfactory results for both the singly and doubly ionized ions. The approach validates the results of Basner et al. The advantages and limitations of this model are also discussed. This work corroborates the importance of mass spectrometry data in the proper understanding of the ionization process.
Earnings Management and Corporate Performance in the Scope of Firm-Specific Features

Various models have been created all around the world to identify enterprises that manipulate their earnings. These earnings management techniques aid businesses in enhancing their financial performance or gaining some competitive advantages. The primary goal of this article was to identify the firm-specific characteristics that affect how businesses manage their earnings using a sample of 15,716 businesses from various economic sectors in the Slovak environment during a 3 year period. The level of earnings management was measured by discretionary accruals using the Kasznik model. In this paper, a correspondence analysis using the chi-square distance measure was applied to find the dependence between the earnings management practices and firm-specific features (firm size, legal form, and sectoral classification). The results of the study indicate that aggressive (income-increasing) earnings management practices are typical of small enterprises with a public limited ownership structure, mostly in sectors R and M (using the NACE sectoral classification). Conservative (income decreasing) practices can be observed in enterprises in the sectors J or F, and they are also used by medium-sized enterprises and those with private limited ownership structure. The results revealed that large enterprises do not tend to manipulate their earnings, as well as enterprises operating in sector K. The insights of this study may provide important and useful information for shareholders and regulators in evaluating determinants that are effective in mitigating earnings management practices. Authorities, regulators, analysts, and auditors may find the importance of the discovered variances helpful in identifying various strategies and techniques for earnings manipulation that may differ among industries according to their typical characteristics.
A UNIVERSAL NEUTRAL GAS PROFILE FOR NEARBY DISK GALAXIES

Based on sensitive CO measurements from HERACLES and H i data from THINGS, we show that the azimuthally averaged radial distribution of the neutral gas surface density (ΣH i+ ΣH2) in 33 nearby spiral galaxies exhibits a well-constrained universal exponential distribution beyond 0.2 × r25 (inside of which the scatter is large) with less than a factor of two scatter out to two optical radii r25. Scaling the radius to r25 and the total gas surface density to the surface density at the transition radius, i.e., where ΣH i and ΣH2 are equal, as well as removing galaxies that are interacting with their environment, yields a tightly constrained exponential fit with average scale length 0.61 ± 0.06 r25. In this case, the scatter reduces to less than 40% across the optical disks (and remains below a factor of two at larger radii). We show that the tight exponential distribution of neutral gas implies that the total neutral gas mass of nearby disk galaxies depends primarily on the size of the stellar disk (influenced to some degree by the great variability of ΣH2 inside 0.2 × r25). The derived prescription predicts the total gas mass in our sub-sample of 17 non-interacting disk galaxies to within a factor of two. Given the short timescale over which star formation depletes the H2 content of these galaxies and the large range of r25 in our sample, there appears to be some mechanism leading to these largely self-similar radial gas distributions in nearby disk galaxies.
RF Edge Physics on the Alcator C-Mod Tokamak

Alcator C-mod is a compact, high-field, RF-heated tokamak which has been operational since 1993. RF heating uses the fast magnetosonic wave at the fundamental frequency of the minority ion species. The behavior of the fast wave is studied using probes located in the plasma edge. A fast-reciprocating Langmuir probe unaffected by RF was built and used to measure the modification of the plasma edge caused by RF and by RF-induced H-mode. The plasma edge was seen to not significantly change during RF, but the electron density decreased during H-mode by a factor of 2. Comparison with another fast-reciprocating probe revealed substantial variations of electron temperature and density along magnetic field lines outside the separatrix. The ion saturation current density profile implies that about 50 kW of RF is dissipated in the edge due to RF sheaths surrounding the antennas and the limiters. A second diagnostic, an array of loop probes mounted behind tiles on the inner wall opposite one of the RF antennas, was built and installed to measure the fraction of power transmitted through the plasma. This was seen to vary with minority concentration during D(H) heating at 5.4 T but not during D(3 He) heating at 8 T. The probe measurement agreed very well with the prediction of the full-wave code FELICE, and with an analytic theory of single-pass absorption, extended to include the effect of an internal resonator on the low-field side of the central evancescent layer. During shots the probe signal was seen to vary synchronously with the sawtooth instability in the plasma center. The sense of this variation reversed as the minority concentration in D(H) was raised, in accordance with the analytic theory. The Parametric Decay Instability (PDI) was observed on a third diagnostic, a pre-existing set of Langmuir probes on poloidal limiters. The observance of PDI during magnetic field ramps was correlated with the passage of the fpR = 3fCD cyclotron harmonic layer by the antenna Faraday Screen, and with the observation of energetic Deuterium flux by the Charge Exchange diagnostic, but not with the observation of impurities. received patient instruction in the craft of machining stainless steel. In Ed Fitzgerald I had a model of resourcefulness. Jack Nickerson, Bill Beck and Tom Toland helped me get things done. From Steve Kochan, Bob Childs, and Tom Hsu I received education in the principles of mechanical design, while Bill Parkin showed me how to troubleshoot …
Efficient Oxygen Vacancy Defect Engineering for Enhancing Visible-Light Photocatalytic Performance over SnO2−x Ultrafine Nanocrystals

Regardless of its good electron-transfer ability and chemical stability, pure Zn2SnO4 (ZSO) still has intrinsic deficiencies of a narrow spectral response region, poor absorption ability, and high photo-activated carrier recombination rate. Aiming to overcome the deficiencies above-mentioned, we designed a facile hydrothermal route for etching ZSO nanoparticles in a dilute acetic acid solution, through which efficient oxygen vacancy defect engineering was accomplished and SnO2−x nanocrystals were obtained with an ultrafine particle size. In comparison with the untreated ZSO nanoparticles, the specific surface area of SnO2−x nanocrystals was substantially enlarged, subsequently leading to the notable augmentation of active sites for the photo-degradation reaction. Aside from the above, it is worth noting that SnO2−x nanocrystals were endowed with a broad spectral response, enhancing light absorption capacity and the photo-activated carrier transfer rate with the aid of oxygen vacancy defect engineering. Accordingly, SnO2−x nanocrystals exhibited significantly enhanced photoactivity toward the degradation of the organic dye rhodamine B (RhB), which could be imputed to the synergistic effect of increasing active sites, intensified visible-light harvesting, and the separation rate of the photo-activated charge carrier caused by the oxygen vacancy defect engineering. In addition, these findings will inspire us to open up a novel pathway to design and prepare oxide compound photocatalysts modified by oxygen vacancy defects in pursuing excellent visible-light photoactivity.