Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
ANALYSIS OF COASTAL AND OFFSHORE FISHERMEN'S WILLINGNESS TO ACCEPT THE REWARD OF REDUCING FISHING ACTIVITIES IN TAIWAN

The government in Taiwan has recently instituted a comprehensive program to give fishermen the incentive to reduce fishing effort voluntarily. In this study, we conducted a survey to investigate fishermen's behavior and used the ANOVA analysis and the Probit model to identify factors that affect fishermen's willingness to accept the reward for reducing fishing activities. Out of the 279 valid samples, only 161 (57.71%) respondents are willing to accept the offer, which is much lower than the more than 80% that government expected. However, 98.57% of the respondents realized the deterioration of the coastal and offshore fishery resources and 78% supported restrictions on fishing activities during the spawning and juvenile seasons, an indication that a need for a mandatory season closure policy in the future. This study finds that the accuracy of prediction of the Probit model is 87.81%, indicating that the model predicts fisherman's choice reasonably well. The primary variables that affect fishermen's willingness to accept the Reward of Reducing Fishing Activities Program are the average number of fishing days per trip, the type of policy in the coastal and offshore fishery deemed most urgent, whether the rewarding schedule being reasonable or not, the willingness to support rewarding schedule, and the willingness to support the government in implementing a restriction on fishing activities during the spawning and juvenile seasons. The Probit regression results show that fishermen with fishing vessels that are between 50 and 100 tons are more likely to accept the offer than other fishermen. This may be attributed to the reduction of support on fuel, since larger size fishing vessels have higher fuel costs. Fishing vessel operators whose major fishing gears are torch light or others miscellaneous fishery gears and operate on a seasonal basis are more likely to accept the offer than fishing vessels in trawl and angling fisheries. Fishing vessels fishing within 12 nautical miles from the shore and whose owners are older than sixty-one years old are more likely to accept the offer. On the other hand, fishermen who disagree or very much disagree with the rewarding scheme and the view that fishing effort should be reduced when the support on fuel decreases, and who are unwilling to accept the offer under the reward level set for 2004, showed a lower percentage to accept the offer.
Effects of Mental Workload and Operator Control on Perceived Usability

In developing products or systems, the importance of usability has become increasingly emphasized over the past few decades. An important factor in understanding the usability of an application is the context in which the application is being used. As a part of addressing this issue, we manipulated two task characteristics (i.e., mental workload and operator control) and examined their effects on perceived usability, using a simulated home security system. The experimental results showed that there were significant effects of the mental workload/operator control features on perceived usability. Also, under high mental workload, the interaction between the mental workload and the operator control factors was not sufficiently supported. Possible reasons for the results and some implications for the findings are discussed.
Aircraft wing design using GA-based multi-level strategies

The design of the wings for a transonic civil transport aircraft is an extremely complex task. It is normally undertaken over an extended time period and at a variety of levels of complexity. Typically, simple empirical models are used at the earliest stages of concept design, followed by ever more complex methods as the design process proceeds towards the final detailed stages. Moreover, this process is increasingly dominated by computational methods for both analysis (such as CFD) and synthesis (such as optimization). In this paper the further development of the Southampton Wing Design Environment is described. This Problem Solving Environment (PSE) combines multiple analysis methods of differing levels of comlexity with powerful search and optimization techniques. A particular focus of the research is the use of evolutionary search strategies, such as genetic algorithms, and of data fusion between the results of various analysis codes when applied to concept design problems.
Factors Associated with the Prevalence of Precarious Positions in Canadian Libraries: Statistical Analysis of a National Job Board

Abstract Objective - To collect and share information about the prevalence of precarious work in libraries and the factors associated with it. Methods - The authors collected and coded job postings from a nationwide job board in Canada for two years. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to explore the extent of precarity and its relationship with job characteristics such as job type, institution type, education level, and minimum required experience. Results - The authors collected 1,968 postings, of which 842 (42.8%) were coded as precarious in some way. The most common types of precarious work were contracts (29.1% of all postings) and part-time work (22.7% of all postings). Contracts were most prevalent in and significantly associated with academic libraries and librarian positions, and they were most often one year in length. Both on-call and part-time work were most prevalent in school libraries and for library technicians and assistants, and they were significantly associated with all institution types either positively or negatively. Meanwhile, precarious positions overall were least prevalent in government and managerial positions. In terms of education, jobs requiring a secondary diploma or library technician diploma were most likely to be precarious, while positions requiring an MLIS were least likely. The mean minimum required experience was lower for all types of precarious positions than for stable positions, and the prevalence of precarity generally decreased as minimum required experience increased. Conclusion - The proportion of precarious positions advertised in Canada is substantial and seems to be growing over time. Based on these postings, employees with less experience, without advanced degrees, or in library technician and assistant roles are more likely to be precarious, while those with managerial positions, advanced degrees, or more experience, are less likely to be precarious. Variations in precarity based on factors such as job type, institution type, education level, and minimum required experience suggest that employees will experience precarity differently both within and across library systems.
Experimental and theoretical analysis of the flow in a centrifugal compressor volute

Volute scroll, conic diffuser and sudden expansion discharge loss account for 4–6 points of efficiency decrement in a typical centrifugal compressor stage. The flow in a volute is highly comlex. It is strongly believed that understanding of the detailed flow structure in a volute will provide insights on minimizing the losses by isolating the mechanisms that contributes to entropy generation. The result will be more efficient centrifugal compressor product for customers at higher profitability levels for manufacturers. Results of an experimental and theoretical analysis of the flow inside in a single stage centrifugal compressor volute are presented. Experiments were performed at three speeds and eight mass flow rates per speed. Static pressure distributions were mapped on the vaneless diffuser and volute casings. This data gave a good understanding of the flow structure in the volute. A meanline analysis was performed using the experimental results in order to obtain the absolute velocity and flow angle leaving the impeller. The combination of the two data sets was used as boundary conditions for a theoretical analysis. Theoretical results showed the detail flow structures inside the vaneless diffuser and volute with good agreement to the experiment.Copyright © 2002 by ASME
Road Maintenance Management System Using 3D Data by Terrestrial Laser Scanner and UAV

– In road maintenance, it is necessary to construct an environment that manages 3D data and maintenance information for its effectivity and efficiency. Engineers should be able to use 3D data not only for virtually reviewing the design of a facility, but also for analyzing building operations and performance. Using 3D data will thus improve the efficiency of operations and maintenance. The primary objective of this research is to support road maintenance work using 3D data by combining point cloud data of terrestrial laser scanning (TLS) and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) with photogrammetry. TLS and photogrammetry technologies were used to survey pavement, landform, and bridge of road structures. This research evaluated the accuracy of the usage of point cloud data by TLS and photogrammetry for road maintenance. This method can be used to check potholes and surface irregularities on pavement that can be easily and quickly confirmed by management. To evaluate the accuracy of 3D data of the bridge, we compare the 3D data with its design conditions. The 3D data describes the structure with high accuracy. The 3D data could be used to develop a road maintenance management system that accumulates data and refers to the inspection results and repair information. The system can link inspection results and recondition information with the point cloud data for display, storage, and reference, facilitating the management of road cracks and areas for repair. The prototype system was developed using Skyline Terra Explorer Pro. It was visualized constructed 3D data on temporal sequence.
Remote Sensing of Weather and Road Surface Conditions

Advances in road weather sensing technologies have made noninvasive road weather sensors a valuable component in many intelligent transportation systems (ITS) applications. This study investigates the reliability of using such a sensor for a proposed weather-responsive variable speed limit system. The Vaisala surface state and temperature sensors (DSC-111 and DST-111) were selected for the proposed application. The sensors' ability to provide accurate and reliable data was tested under various conditions in a controlled laboratory environment. Specifically, four outputs of interest from the sensors were tested in this investigation: surface state, snow and ice depth, water depth, and grip level. Testing results showed that the sensors determined the surface state (dry, moist, wet, snowy, and icy) accurately and reliably. The sensors' snow depth readings were found to be inaccurate, while the sensors' ice depth measurements were found to be relatively close to the actual depths. For water depth, only a limited number of readings were close to the actual depths, while other readings were highly inaccurate. In an effort to test the potential of the sensor in providing reliable inputs to the proposed ITS application, a calibration was conducted for the sensor water depth measurements at various water depths and sensor installation angles. Calibration results showed that the water depth could be accurately estimated with the calibrated sensor measurements, regardless of water depth or sensor installation angle. Sensor estimates of grip level were found to be highly correlated to the coefficient of static friction for the conditions considered in this study.
Private Road Competition and Equilibrium with Traffic Equilibrium Constraints

Toll road competition is one of the important issues under a build-operate-transfer (BOT) scheme, which is being encountered nowadays in many cities. When there are two or more competing firms and each firm operates a competitive toll road, their profits are interrelated due to the competitors' choices and demand inter-dependence in the network. In this paper we develop game-theoretic approaches to the study of the road network, on which multiple toll roads are operated by competitive private firms. The strategic interactions and market equilibria among the private firms are analyzed both in determining their supply (road capacity) and price (toll level) over the network. The toll road competition problems in general traffic equilibrium networks are formulated as an equilibrium program with equilibrium constraints or bi-level variational inequalities. Heuristic solution methods are proposed and their convergences are demonstrated with simple network examples. It is shown that private pricing and competition can be both profitable and welfare-improving.
Coronavirus SARS-CoV-2: Hypotheses of impact on the circulatory system, prospects for the use of perfluorocarbon emulsion, and feasibility of biophysical research methods (editorial)

This paper highlights published hypotheses on the possibility of coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 entry into the bloodstream, its interaction with vascular endothelium, red blood cells, hemoglobin and its fragments. As a result of such interaction, iron ions may be released into the bloodstream and, subsequently, a cytokine storm may occur. In this context, it is important to find a cytoprotective agent capable of blocking such processes. The perfluorocarbon emulsion could be a candidate for this role. The aim of the paper is to show the feasibility of biophysical methods to study the molecular mechanisms of action of SARS-CoV-2 on human red blood cells and hemoglobin as well as the restorative and cytoprotective effect of the perfluorocarbon emulsion during Fe 2+oxidation in heme. Materials and methods. High resolution spectroscopy, atomic force microscopy, atomic force spectroscopy, electroporation were used. Blood was exposed to oxidizing agents of different nature. Perfluorocarbon emulsion was added in various concentrations and its effect at various incubation times was studied. Concentration of hemoglobin derivatives was calculated considering multicollinearity, and statistical analysis of the results was performed. Results. The perfluorocarbon emulsion was shown to have an effective restorative and cytoprotective action in iron ion oxidation in the heme: Fe 3+was restored to Fe 2+. The degree of MetHb reduction to HbO 2and Hb depended on the concentration of the oxidizing agent and incubation time. We observed a change in MetHb content from 80–90% to 5–12%. The perfluorocarbon emulsion in clinical concentrations helped eliminate local membrane defects and restored normal erythrocyte morphology. Conclusion. In the light of the studied hypotheses, the use of perfluorocarbon emulsion can become an effective method for blocking the consequences of coronavirus effect on the blood cells and restoring a normal gas exchange.
Quantifying the carbon balance of managed grasslands in near-real time and at field scale by using satellite data and biogeochemical modelling

Grasslands are the most widespread terrestrial ecosystem in the United Kingdom (UK). They represent a critical carbon (C) reservoir and provide forage and fodder to millions of livestock. Quantifying how management and climate affect grassland C dynamics is key to achieving climate-resilient farming, to shaping and monitoring data-informed policies, and to transitioning to a zero-C agri-food sector. To this end, remote sensing systems provide information on grassland vegetation in near-real time, across large domains and at high resolution. Biogeochemical models use our continuously-developing knowledge on ecosystem functioning to describe ecosystem C dynamics and the effects of weather and human management on them. Field measurements of C pools and fluxes provide direct ground observations of grassland C losses and gains. The combination of earth and ground observations with modelling represents a robust way for quantifying, monitoring and verifying grassland ecosystem C stocks. This presentation demonstrates our current capabilities in regards to this. We have developed and tested a model-data fusion (MDF) framework that uses earth observation data (Proba-V and Sentinel-2) on vegetation canopy (leaf area index) to infer vegetation management (grazing, cutting) and inform a validated process-based model of field-scale C dynamics (DALEC-Grass). The framework was applied for 2017-2018 at 1855 grassland fields that were sampled from across the UK. The MDF-predicted livestock density per area and the corresponding agricultural census-based data had a correlation coefficient (r) of 0.68. The MDF-predicted annual yield (harvested and cut biomass) was within the range of relevant measured data and reflected the variation of grassland management intensity across the UK. On average, the simulated grasslands were C sinks in 2017 and 2018 but the 2018 European summer heatwave resulted in a 9-fold increase in the number of simulated fields that were C sources in 2018 compared to 2017. We argue that earth observation data can be used in a MDF framework to monitor grassland vegetation management and to simulate its impacts on the C balance of any UK grassland field as well as to attribute changes in annual C balance to human activities and weather anomalies.
EVALUATION OF THE SLOPE-AREA METHOD FOR CONTINUOUS STREAMFLOW MONITORING

Low-cost pressure transducers equipped with capabilities to transmit the data in real time enable to conveniently measure water surface elevations at remote locations. If a pair a sensors is set up at two close locations on a reach of quasi-uniform flow, the water surface slope can be derived at fast sampling rates. This setup paired with analytical models allows to dynamically monitor both steady and unsteady flows. Described in this paper is the use of direct slope measurements in a simplified form of the slope-area discharge estimation method. The slope-area (SA) method is a discharge estimation approach typically used to determine peak flows occurring during floods. The simplified estimation method, labeled herein as the continuous slope area (CSA), is based on Manning’s equation. The CSA is applied to an actual cross-section geometry obtained from local geodetic survey, an assumed Manning’s roughness coefficient, and the free-surface slope estimated from continuous stage measurements at the ends of the channel reach. The CSA method is evaluated for continuous streamflow measurements in steady and unsteady flows passing through a gaging site located on a small stream (Clear Creek, Iowa, USA). Comparison of the streamflow during several unsteady flows at this site reveals that the CSA method displays loops in the stage-discharge relationship that are not captured by a collocated stage-discharge based gaging station. An additional advantage over the widely-used stage-discharge approach is that the CSA method can be implemented immediately after it is set up as there are no ratings associated with this method.
Research on Static Tension Ratio Characteristic of Double-Vessel Friction Hoist System Components

Double-vessel multi-rope friction hoist system, of which the lifting, starting, running, and braking must meet the safety conditions in operation. Non-skid safety boundary conditions were originally determined by Euler’s formula. In order to avoid the complex task of check and check-again calculation in the friction hoist system design. In this research, static tension ratio c, which was closely bonded with anti-skid design was directly brought into the analysis and research on the system. As a result, characteristic of static tension ratio c of component quality of friction hoist system was found, which offers a simple, sound and reliable theoretical foundation for the anti-skid and optimization of system configuration.
Quasi-three-level converter for switched reluctance motor drives reducing current rising and falling times

This study presents a new configuration of power converter for switched reluctance motor drives. The system allows reduction of the detrimental impact of the commutation processes in motor winding on overall motor performance through enabling reconfiguration of windings connection during operation of motor. Shorter time of commutation, which is the main characteristic of the system, increases the motor average torque particularly in range of operation with high rotational speed. Application of the system in a standard switched reluctance motor-based drive results in extension of range of operation with constant torque and mechanical power as much as two times. The electromechanical characteristics of motor driven from the system are compared with those of the same motor driven from a standard half-bridge converter.
Hands-on Learning for Freshman Engineering Students

Formal library orientation sessions for freshman engineering students have been offered for more than seven years by librarians in the Engineering and Physical Sciences Library (EPSL), University of Maryland. Approximately 800 students per year attend these sessions. The sessions are conducted in the library and are required by all students enrolled in ENES 100 (Introduction to Engineering Design). In the spring of 2001 the orientation sessions were reformatted based on comments contained in short surveys completed by students at the end of each session. The format was changed from completely lecture-based to a more interactive session entitled "EPSL Expedition. " In addition, during this same semester, librarians volunteered to rewrite and update the chapter on "Library Research Skills" for the course textbook, Introduction to Engineering Design by James W. Dally. This paper will attempt to answer the following question: Do freshman engineering students learn and retain more information through an "interactive" orientation session than they do from a "lecture" based session?