Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Effect of Droughts on Vegetation Condition in Germany: An Analysis Based on Two Decades of Satellite Earth Observation Time Series and Crop Yield Statistics

Central Europe experienced several droughts in the recent past, such as in the year 2018, which was characterized by extremely low rainfall rates and high temperatures, resulting in substantial agricultural yield losses. Time series of satellite earth observation data enable the characterization of past drought events over large temporal and spatial scales. Within this study, Moderate Resolution Spectroradiometer (MODIS) Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI) (MOD13Q1) 250 m time series were investigated for the vegetation periods of 2000 to 2018. The spatial and temporal development of vegetation in 2018 was compared to other dry and hot years in Europe, like the drought year 2003. Temporal and spatial inter- and intra-annual patterns of EVI anomalies were analyzed for all of Germany and for its cropland, forest, and grassland areas individually. While vegetation development in spring 2018 was above average, the summer months of 2018 showed negative anomalies in a similar magnitude as in 2003, which was particularly apparent within grassland and cropland areas in Germany. In contrast, the year 2003 showed negative anomalies during the entire growing season. The spatial pattern of vegetation status in 2018 showed high regional variation, with north-eastern Germany mainly affected in June, north-western parts in July, and western Germany in August. The temporal pattern of satellite-derived EVI deviances within the study period 2000–2018 were in good agreement with crop yield statistics for Germany. The study shows that the EVI deviation of the summer months of 2018 were among the most extreme in the study period compared to other years. The spatial pattern and temporal development of vegetation condition between the drought years differ.
A two-step approach to hydrothermal gasification

This thesis deals with the design and development of a process for the conversion of wet biomasses, primarily to H2. Wet biomasses contain over 80% moisture, such as bio-wastes and wastewaters produced in the food and agro-industries. In order to overcome the energy-intensive drying step for traditional biomass conversion technologies, a newer route for conversion involves the use of water as a reaction medium. Such processes are hydrothermal in nature. The process under consideration in this thesis is a two-step catalytic process for hydrothermal gasification with simultaneous reduction of the organic content of the residual water phase. The first part of the thesis (Chapters 2 and 3) includes studies focussed on obtaining a more fundamental understanding of the two main catalytic processes under consideration: stabilisation and gasification. Stabilisation, described in Chapter 2, was successfully applied to convert highly reactive aqueous carbohydrates to more stable molecules that would subsequently minimise, if not eliminate, coke production upon further processing. In Chapter 3, the hydrothermal gasification of sorbitol was studied using a 5 wt % Pt on γ-Al2O3 catalyst, with an without N2 as a sweep gas. The complex reaction mechanisms were described through a path-lumped kinetic scheme. The reactor model was used to demonstrate the feasibility of the process on an industrial scale. The second part of this thesis (Chapters 4 and 5) includes work focussed on process development with an aim to identify whether the process is ready for implementation on a larger, industrial scale. In Chapter 4, a sequential combination of the studied gasification catalysts (Pt and Ru) was found to provide a two-fold advantage to the hydrothermal gasification process, through the optimal production of H2, at complete carbon to gas conversions. In Chapter 5, a process development and economic analysis was conducted. An energy balance demonstrated that the process an overall energy efficiency of 65 %. The rest of the energy produced (~ 35 %) was used to meet the process demands of electricity, steam and fired heat. The price of H2 obtained was comparable to H2 prices obtained from other renewable technologies.
Tensor Discriminant Analysis via Compact Feature Representation for Hyperspectral Images Dimensionality Reduction

Dimensionality reduction is of great importance which aims at reducing the spectral dimensionality while keeping the desirable intrinsic structure information of hyperspectral images. Tensor analysis which can retain both spatial and spectral information of hyperspectral images has caused more and more concern in the field of hyperspectral images processing. In general, a desirable low dimensionality feature representation should be discriminative and compact. To achieve this, a tensor discriminant analysis model via compact feature representation (TDA-CFR) was proposed in this paper. In TDA-CFR, the traditional linear discriminant analysis was extended to tensor space to make the resulting feature representation more informative and discriminative. Furthermore, TDA-CFR redefines the feature representation of each spectral band by employing the tensor low rank decomposition framework which leads to a more compact representation.
Systematic Literature Review in Computer Science - A Practical Guide

This work aims to provide a practical guide to assist students of Computer Science courses and related fields to conduct a systematic literature review. The steps proposed in this paper to conduct a systematic review were extracted from a technical report published by the researcher Barbara Kitchenham and arranged in a more objective format, in order to make information more accessible and practical, especially for those who are having their first contact with this technique. The target audience for this work are undergraduate, master's and doctoral students that are in the initial phase of their bibliographic research.
Effects of the Supercell's Size on Muon Positions Calculations of La2CuO4

The outcome of the density functional theory (DFT) technique within the supercell's framework of La2CuO4 (LCO) are reported. We evaluatedlocal dipolar fields of muon's position inside LCO assuming dipolar interaction is occurred by varying the supercell's size. We found out that the field on proposed muon's trapping positions were known to be not affected so much by supercell's size and still fairly larger than the experimental data. Our results suggest that the inclusion of quantum effects of implanted muon and the electronic spin are required to explain experimental data.
Dynamics Of Rotor Supported By Magnetic Bearing

This paper presents a study of the dynamic behavior of a rotor system supported by magnetic bearing. Specifically, the work investigate the range of realistic operating parameters that evolve around the rotation pattern of magnetically supported rotor, the vibration that occurs during the operation and the results difference after adjustments of some input parameters. The simulations of rotating rotor with magnetic bearing supports will be executed using ANSYS software. By varying the damping ratio and stiffness coefficient, the simulation shall produce different results. With the simulation, the research can identify the limit to instability by varying the damping of bearing during operation, thus, suggest recommendations on improvement of stability of magnetic supported rotor system.
CRITICAL RACE THEORY AND HIGHER EDUCATION: THE MEANING OF COUNTERSTORYTELLING FOR STUDENTS OF COLOR AT PREDOMINATELY WHITE INSTITUTIONS

This research explores the meaning of counterstorytelling for recent alumni of color who graduated from a predominately white institution (PWI) and participated in a research or scholarship program during their undergraduate studies. Utilizing in-depth, semi-structured interviews, the researcher collected descriptions from 11 alumni of color. An improved understanding of the meaning of counterstorytelling can enable educators to create academic programming that better supports students of color. Degree Type Dissertation Degree Name Doctor of Social Work (DSW) First Advisor John L. Jackson, Jr Second Advisor Lina Hartocollis
Bacterial Metabolism in Wastewater Treatment Systems

Water that has been used by people and is disposed into a receiving water body with altered physical and/or chemical parameters is defined as wastewater. If only the physical parameters of the water were changed, e.g., resulting in an elevated temperature after use as a coolant, treatment before final disposal into a surface water may require only cooling close to its initial temperature. If the water, however, has been contaminated with soluble or insoluble organic or inorganic material, a combination of mechanical, chemical, and/or biological purification procedures may be required to protect the environment from periodic or permanent pollution or damage. For this reason, legislation in industrialized and in many developing countries has reinforced environmental laws that regulate the maximum allowed residual concentrations of carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorous compounds in purified wastewater, before it is disposed into a river or into any other receiving water body However, enforcement of these laws is not always very strict. Enforcement seems to be related to the economy of the country and thus differs significantly between wealthy industrialized and poor developing countries. In this chapter basic processes for biological treatment of waste or wastewater to eliminate organic and inorganic pollutants are summarized.
Preparation and Characterization of 3-Glycidoxypropyltrimethoxysilane Functionalized Graphene Oxide

The graphene oxide (GO) was prepared by the Hummers method, and then functionalized by 3-glycidoxypropyltrimethoxysilane. Functionalized graphene oxide (FGO) was characterized by using Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and thermogravimetric analysis (TG). The results show that 3-glycidoxypropyltrimethoxysilane reacted with hydroxyl group of graphene oxide. The FGO have a sheet-like structure with wrinkles. The shifts of XRD peaks to low degree for FGO indicate the occurrence of intercalation of 3-glycidoxypropyltrimethoxysilane and as well as increase in the thermal stability.
MOTIVATIONAL IMPACT AND VALUE PERCEPTION OF DIGITAL BADGES TOWARDS APPLYING FOR JOBS: EVIDENCE FROM INDONESIAN UNDERGRADUATES

In the age of competition for employers to acquire talents, especially when digitization takes place in just about everything, companies can implement digital badge to attract talents. The employers face a challenge of talents shortage in which employers hardly fill positions in the company. Despite the big number of graduates who are looking for jobs, this problem still arises because those graduates tend to be more selective in applying for jobs. In this study, the implementation of digital badge is examined through the perspective of self-determination theory, which explains three types of motivation, i.e. a motivation, extrinsic motivation, and intrinsic motivation. The study aims to examine the influence of those three types of motivation on perceived value (PV) of digital badge and intention to send application to a company that implements digital badge. A quantitative approach is employed and final year college students and fresh graduates living in Greater Jakarta Metro Area or Jakarta, Bogor, Depok, Tangerang, and Bekasi are studied. 411 samples are gathered and the study found that the three types of motivations influence PV of digital badge. However, only amotivation and PV of digital badge influence the intention to send application to a company that implements digital badge.
The Dynamics of Sea Tide-Induced Fluctuations of Groundwater Level and Freshwater-Saltwater Interface in Coastal Aquifers: Laboratory Experiments and Numerical Modeling

Laboratory experiments were conducted in a vertical, two-dimensional, rectangular flow tank, simulating the response of a phreatic coastal aquifer to a sea tide. Imposed sinusoidal fluctuations of the saltwater level at one side of the flow tank caused three types of fluctuations: (a) hydraulic head throughout the aquifer, (b) saturation degree within the capillary fringe, and (c) salt concentration surrounding the freshwater-saltwater interface (FSI), all recorded by head, saturation, and salinity sensors, respectively. Significant time lags were observed both in the saturation degree within the unsaturated zone and in the salinity within the FSI. All measured values, recorded by the three types of sensors, were simulated and reproduced using a numerical model. The calibrated model was used for mapping the time lags throughout the aquifer. It was found that the time lag of saturation fluctuations within the unsaturated zone increased upward from the groundwater level as the unsaturated hydraulic conductivity decreased. Similarly, the time lag of salinity fluctuations within the FSI increased downward, with distance from the groundwater level. We interpret the low hydraulic conductivity at the capillary zone as the source of attenuation of both saturation and salinity, because both are controlled by the vertical advection of the whole freshwater body. This advection is significantly slower compared to the dynamics of pressure diffusion. The uniqueness of this study is that it provides quantitative data on the attenuation at the capillary zone and its effect on the salinity time lag in coastal aquifer systems.
Party Positions from Wikipedia Classifications of Party Ideology

Abstract We develop a new measure of party position based on a scaling of ideology tags supplied in infoboxes on political parties’ Wikipedia pages. Assuming a simple model of tag assignment, we estimate the locations of parties and ideologies in a common space. We find that the recovered scale can be interpreted in familiar terms of “left versus right. ” Estimated party positions correlate well with ratings of parties’ positions from extant large-scale expert surveys, most strongly with ratings of general left–right ideology. Party position estimates also show high stability in a test–retest scenario. Our results demonstrate that a Wikipedia-based approach yields valid and reliable left–right scores comparable to scores obtained via conventional expert coding methods. It thus provides a measure with potentially unlimited party coverage. Our measurement strategy is also applicable beyond Wikipedia.
Integrating Usability into the Agile Development Process: A preliminary empirical study

Background: Interest in the integration of the agile software development process (ASDP) and user-centred design (UCD) has grown over the last decade. However, there are not many papers that study this issue holistically and uncover the current state of this integration. Aim: This study sets out to answer the following research question: What is the current state of integration between agile processes and usability? Method: We conduct a systematic mapping study (SMS). We analyze the articles and the results were cross checked by the authors, and any disagreements were discussed and resolved in meetings. Results: We retrieved a total of 161 Primary Studies. There are very few papers that study the literature holistically and report the current state of usability in the ASDP. Conclusions: We categorized according to four criteria: process, practice, team and technology integration. The largest group refers to process integration with a total of 76 Primary Studies.
Eastern Oyster (Crassostrea virginica) Filtration Efficiency of Chlorophyll-a under Dynamic Conditions in the Hudson-Raritan Estuary at Pier 40, New York City

Eastern oyster (Crassostrea virginica) abundance has declined severely over the past century along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts of the United States. For varied reasons, overfishing among the foremost, bivalves no longer make up considerable reefs as was common. While discourse continues on oyster restoration and augmentation, gaps in knowledge of C. virginica and regional environmental interactions remain. Our primary aim was to examine the C. virginica filter feeding of phytoplankton in the Hudson River Estuary, New York City. Secondarily, this study examined the filtration of these oysters in relation to environmental attributes. Chlorophyll-a, the predominant photosynthesizing pigment in red and green algae, is an indicator of phytoplankton productivity in aquatic settings. Crassostrea virginica consumes first-tier plankton from the water column’s seston; thus analysis of chlorophyll-a content allows estimating phytoplankton concentrations, from which oyster filtration efficiency (FE) was quantified. Water conditions (temperature, dissolved oxygen, pH, salinity, turbidity, tide and flow rate) also were recorded. Spectrophotometric determination of chlorophyll-a concentration methodology was derived from the Standard Methods text favored by the US EPA. This project compared real-time Hudson River Estuary (HRE) water samples prior to passing through a contained oyster reef and samples of water post-filtration. This sampling scenario was unique as the contained reef used was fed by HRE water. Most studies on oyster filtration have been laboratory-based, and few assessed oysters in the field. This study took place at Pier 40, the River Project Wetlab, lower Hudson River along Manhattan. The FE of this reef was calculated for two months during various environmental states which can be the basis of future investigations. Statistically significant differences were found between pre- and post-filtration water samples (Z = 4.620, p < 0.001). This study provides a glimpse at how the oysters fare in the HRE environment and expands upon known oyster ecological services and environmental interactions.
The role of academic libraries in research and teaching

The perceptions of faculty members from the faculties of social sciences and humanities regarding the role of the library in assisting with their research and teaching needs are compared with those of academic librarians. This research was designed as a comprehensive, mixed-methods study. First, interviews were conducted with faculty members and librarians; then, based on the findings, a questionnaire was constructed and distributed to faculty members and librarians in these departments. The main finding is that the contribution of library services to the various aspects of teaching and research is perceived as higher by the librarians than by the faculty members. Faculty members appear to expect more from the library in various aspects of research support; however, most faculty members believe that the library fulfils their teaching needs. Regarding research, faculty members believe most libraries support the technical aspects, but they do not support other aspects, such as locating the information or providing more comprehensive information relevant for the faculty members’ research. Therefore it is important to compare and resolve the differences between faculty and librarians’ perceptions. The findings of this study indicate that the perception in libraries needs to change, and some of these changes should be made already in the preparatory stages of the profession.
Assessment of the ecological quality of soft-bottom benthic communities in the Syrian coast, Eastern Mediterranean

The present study was aimed to evaluate several benthic biological indices to assess the ecological quality status of marine environments in Syria. Samples were obtained from four different areas of Syrian coast (Al-Bassit, Banias, Tartous and Al-Hamidia) on a monthly scale from March 2007 to December 2007. Results showed that the percentage of benthic species are increased significantly in the stations with healthy ecological status. The cluster analysis and the MDS have shown that the studied stations are subjected to environmental disturbance. Some species have been found to be more sensitive (high values of Hurlbert Index) than others such as the Rhinoclavis kochi, which belonged to the Gastropodes taxa and Notomastus latericeus belonged to the polychaetes taxa. The ecological quality of the Syrian coast was assessed using three biotic indices (H′, AMBI and BQI). The Shannon–Wiener index H′ was ranged from 2.88 to 5.39. Thus, the ecological status varied between moderate and high. The values of AZTI Marine Biotic Index (AMBI) and Benthic Quality Index (BQI) classified the ecological state between high and good (slight disturbance).
Macroeconomic news surprises, volume and volatility relationship in index futures market

ABSTRACT This paper examines the role of macroeconomic news surprises on returns volatility of Indian Index futures market. Empirical literature posits that news arrivals have an influential impact on asset returns and returns volatility. Consistent with this proposition, we have undertaken a comprehensive examination to understand the relationship between macroeconomic news releases, trading volume, and returns volatility in an emerging financial market like India. Using high-frequency data sampled at 1-minute interval along with a broader class of macroeconomic news, we found that macroeconomic news surprises significantly affect both returns volatility and trading volume and that the response of Index futures contract to macroeconomic news surprise is rather swift and significant. Further, there is evidence that several macroeconomic news surprises seemingly exhibit asymmetric impact on the Index futures contract.
A head position estimation method for a variety of recumbent positions for a care robot

This paper describes a head position estimation method for a variety of recumbent positions for a care robot. First, the robot detects a fallen person using a laser range finder and moves there for getting a point cloud. The obtained point cloud is matched with those with head positions in the database using the ICP (iterative closest point) algorithm for estimating the current head position. Then, extracted head positions with matching scores above a threshold are clustered, and the center of the cluster with the highest accumulated scores is determined to be the head position. A human pose database construction system is also described.
Fuzzy Based Implementation of Multi - Keyword Ranked Search over Encrypted Cloud Data in Secure Cloud Environment

Cloud computing enables the paradigm of data outsourcing. However, to protect data privacy, sensitive cloud data have to be encrypted before outsourced to the commercial public cloud, which makes effective data utilization service is a challenging task. Even though searchable encryption techniques allow users to securely search over encrypted data through keywords, they support only Boolean search and are not yet sufficient to meet the effective data utilization need that is inherently demanded by large number of users and huge amount of data files in cloud. Hence it is necessary to allow multiple keywords in the search request and return documents in the order of their relevance to the keywords. The works on searchable encryption focused on single keyword search or Boolean keyword search and the result produced by them are rarely sorted. An effective method proposed for this challenging problem is privacy-preserving search over encrypted cloud data. This method establishes a set of strict privacy requirements for such a secure cloud data utilization system through MRSE. Among various multi-keyword semantics, this method chooses the efficient similarity measure of “coordinate matching”. Then according to Top K Query method the sorted results are produced. The privacy is preserved by the chunk of data stored in a various server’s. Then further improvisation is taken to introduce low overhead on computation and communication in future.