Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Perceptions of Cyclone Preparedness: Assessing the Role of Individual Adaptive Capacity and Social Capital in the Wet Tropics, Australia

Given projections of future climate-related disasters, understanding the conditions that facilitate disaster preparedness is critical to achieving sustainable development. Here, we studied communities within the Wet Tropics bioregion, Australia to explore whether people’s perceived preparedness for a future cyclone relates to their: (1) perceived individual adaptive capacity (in terms of flexibility and capacity to plan and learn); and (2) structural and cognitive social capital. We found that people’s perceived cyclone preparedness was only related to their perceived individual flexibility in the face of change. Given that people’s perceived cyclone preparedness was related to individualistic factors, it is plausible that individualism-collectivism orientations influence people’s perceptions at an individual level. These results suggest that in the Wet Tropics region, enhancing people’s psychological flexibility may be an important step when preparing for future cyclones. Our study highlights the need to tailor disaster preparedness initiatives to the region in question, and thus our results may inform disaster risk management and sustainable development policies.
Equilibrium States in Open Quantum Systems

The aim of this paper is to study the question of whether or not equilibrium states exist in open quantum systems that are embedded in at least two environments and are described by a non-Hermitian Hamilton operator H. The eigenfunctions of H contain the influence of exceptional points (EPs) and external mixing (EM) of the states via the environment. As a result, equilibrium states exist (far from EPs). They are different from those of the corresponding closed system. Their wavefunctions are orthogonal even though the Hamiltonian is non-Hermitian.
Towards TB Elimination in Aotearoa/New Zealand: Key Informant Insights on the Determinants of TB among African Migrants

Migrants living in low incidence countries, including New Zealand (NZ), are disproportionately affected by tuberculosis (TB). This foreign-born group poses important challenges to achieving the national TB elimination targets. Thus, the aim of this study was to contribute to the understandingof factors that influence the incidence of TB among African migrants living in NZ. We employed a semi-structured interview approach to explore the perceptions of NZ-based African community leaders, health professionals and a non-governmental TB support organisation about the wider determinants of TB. The findings, though not completely generalizable, suggest that many NZ-based Africans endure a difficult process of integration, perceive themselves as least susceptible to TB and have low awareness about available health services. Furthermore, the cost of general practitioner (GP) services, mistrust of health professionals, TB stigma and the NZ immigration policy were indicated as important barriers to TB services. Strategies to address TB among migrants must therefore be more holistic and not be centred on a fragmented approach that overemphasises the biomedical approaches, as the incidence of TB is more likely the outcome of a complex interplay of several underlying factors.
An evaluation on attitudes of students, receiving English preparatory education, towards English course

The main aim of this research is to assess the attitudes of students, receiving English Preparatory Education (EPE), towards English courses. This work was carried out based on survey research model. According to the findings gained by means of discriminant analysis, we can make a collocation among learners’ attitudes depending on their income levels that were displayed in portional of horizontal average as low, middle and high. In particular, it was reached with figure %52,3 among the learners whose income level was illustrated as middle. Finally, when the attitudinal descriptive measure instrument was put into consideration during the educational- teaching processes, we can suggest an other more functional measurement instrument that can be used instead of attitudinal, or that’s to say, it can be concluded that there is another variance which can better perceive income measurement to collocate the findings in more correct figures 52,3% of research.
Machine Vision Retrofit System for Mechanical Weed Control in Precision Agriculture Applications

This paper presents a machine vision retrofit system designed for upgrading used tractors to allow the control of the tillage implements and enable real-time field operation. The retrofit package comprises an acquisition system placed in the cabin, a front-mounted RGB camera sensor, and a rear-mounted Peiseler encoder wheel. The method combines shape analysis and colorimetric k-nearest neighbor (k-NN) clustering for in-field weed discrimination. This low-cost retrofit package can use interchangeable sensors, supplying flexibility of use with different farming implements. Field tests were conducted within lettuce and broccoli crops to develop the image analysis system for the autonomous control of an intra-row hoeing implement. The performance showed by the system in the trials was judged in terms of accuracy and speed. The system was capable of discriminating weed plants from crop with few errors, achieving a fairly high performance, given the severe degree of weed infestation encountered. The actuation time for image processing, currently implemented in MATLAB integrated with the retrofit kit, was about 7 s. The correct detection rate was higher for lettuce (from 69% to 96%) than for broccoli (from 65% to 79%), also considering the negative effect of shadows. To be implementable, the experimental code needs to be optimized to reduce acquisition and processing times. A software utility was developed in Java to reach a processing time of two images per second.
Agent-Based Models in Social Physics

We review the agent-based models (ABM) on social physics including econophysics. The ABM consists of agent, system space, and external environment. The agent is autonomous and decides his/her behavior by interacting with the neighbors or the external environment with the rules of behavior. Agents are irrational because they have only limited information when they make decisions. They adapt using learning from past memories. Agents have various attributes and are heterogeneous. ABM is a non-equilibrium complex system that exhibits various emergence phenomena. The social complexity ABM describes human behavioral characteristics. In ABMs of econophysics, we introduce the Sugarscape model and the artificial market models. We review minority games and majority games in ABMs of game theory. Social flow ABM introduces crowding, evacuation, traffic congestion, and pedestrian dynamics. We also review ABM for opinion dynamics and voter model. We discuss features and advantages and disadvantages of Netlogo, Repast, Swarm, and Mason, which are representative platforms for implementing ABM.
Internal alignments of red versus blue discs in dark matter haloes

Large surveys have shown that red galaxies are preferentially aligned with their haloes, while blue galaxies have a more isotropic distribution. Since haloes generally align with their filaments, this introduces a bias in the measurement of the cosmic shear from weak lensing. It is therefore vitally important to understand why this difference arises. We explore the stability of different disc orientations within triaxial haloes. We show that, in the absence of gas, the disc orientation is most stable when its spin is along the minor axis of the halo. Instead when gas cools on to a disc, it is able to form in almost arbitrary orientation, including off the main planes of the halo (but avoiding an orientation perpendicular to the halo's intermediate axis). Substructure helps gasless galaxies reach alignment with the halo faster, but has less effect on galaxies when gas is cooling on to the disc. Our results provide a novel and natural interpretation for why red, gas poor galaxies are preferentially aligned with their halo, while blue, star-forming, galaxies have nearly random orientations, without requiring a connection between galaxies' current star formation rate and their merger history.
Technological Acceptance and Consumer ' s Behavior on Buying Online Insurance

This research aims to study consumer’s behavior on buying online car casualty insurance. The sample group was 400 respondents which were selected by convenience sampling method. Questionnaires were used as a research instrument while chi square was used as a statistical tool for the hypothesis testing.The research revealed two major findings which were 1)there were significant differences between customer’s technological acceptance and consumer’s behavior on buying online car casualty insurance and 2) there were significant differences between customer’s trust and consumer’s behavior as well.
An Introduction to Maximum Likelihood Estimation and Information Geometry

In this paper, we review the maximum likelihood method for estimating the statistical parameters which specify a probabilistic model and show that it generally gives an optimal estimator with minimum mean square error asymptotically. Thus, for most applications in information sciences, the maximum likelihood estimation suffices. Fisher information matrix, which defines the orthogonality between parameters in a probabilistic model, naturally arises from the maximum likelihood estimation. As the inverse of the Fisher information matrix gives the covariance matrix for the estimation errors of the parameters, the orthogonalization of the parameters guarantees that the estimates of the parameters distribute independently from each other. The theory of information geometry provides procedures to diagonalize parameters globally or at all parameter values at least for the exponential and mixture families of distributions. The global orthogonalization gives a simplified and better view for statistical inference and, for example, makes it possible to perform a statistical test for each unknown parameter separately. Therefore, for practical applications, a good start is to examine if the probabilistic model under study belongs to these families.
Global mapping of Martian hematite mineral deposits: Remnants of water‐driven processes on early Mars

Near-global (60°S to 60°N) thermal infrared mapping by the Thermal Emission Spectrometer (TES) on Mars Global Surveyor has revealed unique deposits of crystalline gray hematite (α-Fe2O3) exposed at the Martian surface in Sinus Meridiani, Aram Chaos, and in numerous scattered locations throughout Valles Marineris. The Sinus Meridiani material is an in-place, rock stratigraphic sedimentary unit characterized by smooth, friable layers composed primarily of basaltic sediments with ∼10–15% crystalline gray hematite. This unit has outliers to the north that appear to have formed by stripping and removal. The hematite within Aram Chaos occurs in a sedimentary layer within a closed basin that was likely formed during the basin infilling and predates the formation of nearby chaos and outflow terrains. This unit appears to be exposed by erosion and may be more extensive beneath the surface. The Valles Marineris occurrences are closely associated with the interior layered deposits and may be in place within the layers or eroded sediments. Overall, crystalline gray hematite is extremely uncommon at the surface, yet in all observed locations it is closely associated with layered, sedimentary units. Here we argue that these hematite deposits have formed by a process involving chemical precipitation from aqueous fluids, under either ambient or hydrothermal conditions. Thus the TES mineralogic data provide evidence that liquid water has been stable at or near the surface, probably for millions of years by analogy with terrestrial iron formations, in specific locations on early Mars.
Squeezed thermal reservoir as a generalized equilibrium reservoir

We explore the perspective of considering the squeezed thermal reservoir as an equilibrium reservoir in a generalized Gibbs ensemble with two non-commuting conserved quantities. We outline the main properties of such a reservoir in terms of the exchange of energy, both heat and work, and entropy, giving some key examples to clarify its physical interpretation. This new paradigm allows for a correct and insightful interpretation of all thermodynamical features of the squeezed thermal reservoir, as well as other similar non-thermal reservoirs, including the characterization of reversibility and the first and second laws of thermodynamics.
Master Data Management – Creating a Common Language for Master Data Across an Extended and Complex Supply Chain

Connectivity provided by technology and liberation of trade have led to a globalization of organizations, affecting supply chains to expand in complexity. As a result, many organizations today have challenges of managing information in a consistent manner throughout a complex system environment. This study aims to identify the most valuable attributes of a solution for managing master data, in an efficient and consistent manner, across an extended and complex supply chain. Master data, such as products, customers and suppliers, can be defined as valuable core business information, since it is vital for supporting business operations. A requirements elicitation was performed, including interviews conducted internally with employees at IFS and externally with customers. Furthermore, a requirements analysis resulted in a specification of requirements including the most desirable attributes of a future Master Data Management (MDM) solution. Five main themes of the attributes were identified; architecture, availability and integration, governance, user interface and lifecycle management. The study contributes to the area of research, by identifying challenges and valuable attributes to consider when developing or investing in a solution for MDM.
Effects of environmental stress on ascidian populations in Algeciras Bay southern Spain Possible marine bioindicators

The distribution and abundance of littoral ascidians were analyzed with respect to thelr possible relationships with environmental stress. As part of a multidisciplinary research project on the benth~c communities in Algeciras Bay, southern Spain, a suite of environmental variables was measured (hydrodynamism, silting, suspended solids and organic matter). After displaying the similalities of fauna through clustering and ordination of sampling sites, the relationships between community differences and changes in the abiotic component were established based on the BIO-ENV procedure and Canonical Correspondence Analysis. Hydrodynamism and the percentage of organic matter in the silt is the variable combination that best explains (Spearman correlation of 0.82) the biotic structure. While all ascidians show a certain tolerance to diverse environmental factors, some species such as Ciona intestinalis. Diplosoma spongiforme, Phallusia mammillata, Microcosmus squamiger, Styela plicata and Synoicum argus could be considered as indicators of areas which have been subject to intense stress (substrate transformation, water stagnation and sedimentation excess) over long periods of time, whereas others such as Aplidium conicurn, Aplidium punctum. Clavelina dellavallei, Halocynthia papillosa and Stolonica socialis, which live only in natural and non-perturbed rock areas, could be categorized as species very sensitive to stress, as well as ind~cators of good conditions.
First Report of Ampelomyces quisqualis from Sycamore and Crape Myrtle and Its Potential as a Mycoparasite of Powdery Mildew

: During screening fungi as potential biological control agents for plant parasitic fungi, a fungal strain, EML-FAM3, was isolated from powdery mildew leaf lesions caused by Erysiphe platani on sycamore ( Platanus occidentalis L.), and another strain, EML-FAMC1, from Erysiphe australiana on crape myrtle ( Lagerstroemia indica L.). Based on the morphological characteristics and phylogenetic analysis of the internal transcribed spacers (ITS1 and ITS2) and 5.8S rDNA, the strains were identified as Ampelomyces quisqualis. To our knowledge, this is the first report of new mycohosts, E. platani and E. australiana, of the mycoparasite A. quisqualis on sycamore and crape myrtle plants. The hyperparasite may represent the potential for controlling E. platani and E. australiana epidemics.
Quantum Simulation of Hawking Radiation with Surface Acoustic Waves

In 1975, using quantum field theory in curved space-time, S. Hawking predicted black holes to emit thermal radiation. Since the experimental observation from an actual black hole is challenging, analogue systems have gained more and more attention in the verification of this concept. We propose an experimental set-up consisting of two adjacent piezoelectric semiconducting layers, one of them carrying dynamic quantum dots (DQDs), and the other being p-doped with an attached gate on top, which introduces a space-dependent layer conductivity. The propagation of surface acoustic waves (SAWs) on the latter layer is governed by a wave equation with an effective metric. In the frame of the DQDs, this metric is equivalent to that of a two dimensional non-rotating and uncharged black hole with an apparent horizon for SAWs. Analogue Hawking radiation appears in form of phonons. We show that for a GaAs piezoelectric the Hawking temperature is in the mK-regime.
A diffuse interface model for the analysis of propagating bulges in cylindrical balloons

With the aim to characterize the formation and propagation of bulges in cylindrical rubber balloons, we carry out an expansion of the nonlinear axisymmetric membrane model assuming slow axial variations. We obtain a diffuse interface model similar to that introduced by van der Waals in the context of liquid–vapour phase transitions. This provides a quantitative basis to the well-known analogy between propagating bulges and phase transitions. The diffuse interface model is amenable to numerical as well as analytical solutions, including linear and nonlinear bifurcation analyses. Comparisons to the original membrane model reveal that the diffuse interface model captures the bulging phenomenon very accurately, even for well-localized phase boundaries.
Learning from Logged Bandit Feedback of Multiple Loggers

We explore the problem of Batch Learning from Bandit Feedback (BLBF) in a setting where the training data comes from multiple logging policies. This setting is ubiquitous in search, recommendation, and ad placement, since these systems are regularly updated by deploying new policies in production or in A/B testing. Unfortunately, we find that naively using this heterogeneous log data can lead to situations where adding more training data decreases learning accuracy. To overcome this problem, we propose a learning algorithm that incorporates a weighted estimator, providing optimal variance within its class. Empirical results confirm that this leads to substantial improvements in learning accuracy.
A QUANTITATIVE CRITERION FOR DEFINING PLANETS

A simple metric can be used to determine whether a planet or exoplanet can clear its orbital zone during a characteristic time scale, such as the lifetime of the host star on the main sequence. This criterion requires only estimates of star mass, planet mass, and orbital period, making it possible to immediately classify 99% of all known exoplanets. All eight planets and all classifiable exoplanets satisfy the criterion. This metric may be useful in generalizing and simplifying the definition of a planet.
Suspended Accounts: A Source of Tweets with Disgust and Anger Emotions for Augmenting Hate Speech Data Sample

In this paper we present a proposal to address the problem of the pricey and unreliable human annotation, which is important for detection of hate speech from the web contents. In particular, we propose to use the text that are produced from the suspended accounts in the aftermath of a hateful event as subtle and reliable source for hate speech prediction. The proposal was motivated after implementing emotion analysis on three sources of data sets: suspended, active and neutral ones, i.e. the first two sources of data sets contain hateful tweets from suspended accounts and active accounts, respectively, whereas the third source of data sets contain neutral tweets only. The emotion analysis indicated that the tweets from suspended accounts show more disgust, negative, fear and sadness emotions than the ones from active accounts, although tweets from both types of accounts might be annotated as hateful ones by human annotators. We train two Random Forest classifiers based on the semantic meaning of tweets respectively from suspended and active accounts, and evaluate the prediction accuracy of the two classifiers on unseen data. The results show that the classifier trained on the tweets from suspended accounts outperformed the one trained on the tweets from active accounts by 16% of overall F-score.
Semiparametric Maximum Likelihood Estimates of Spatial Dependence

We semiparametrically model spatial dependence via a combination of simpler weight matrices (termed spatial basis matrices) and fit this model via maximum likelihood. Estimation of the model relies on the intuition that bounds to the log-determinant term in the log-likelihood can provide penalties to overfitting both the level and pattern of spatial dependence. By relying on symmetric and doubly stochastic spatial basis matrices that reflect different weight specifications assigned to neighboring observations, we are able to derive a mathematical expression for bounds on the log-determinant term that appears in the likelihood function. These bounds can be conveniently calculated allowing us to solve for maximum likelihood estimates at the bounds using a simple optimization over two quadratic forms that involve small matrices. An intuitively pleasing aspect of our approach is that the objective function for the bounded log-likelihoods contains one quadratic form equal to the sum-of-squared errors measuring the quality of fit, and another quadratic form reflecting a penalty to overfitting spatial dependence. We apply our semiparametric estimation method to a housing model using 57,647 U.S. census tracts.
Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR) Thermally driven convection in Li||Bi liquid metal batteries

Liquid Metal Batteries (LMBs) are a promising concept for cheap electrical energy storage at grid level. These are built as a stable density stratification of three liquid layers, with two liquid metals separated by a molten salt. In order to ensure a safe and efficient operation, the understanding of transport phenomena in LMBs is essential. With this motivation we study thermal convection induced by internal heat generation. We consider the electrochemical nature of the cell in order to define the heat balance and the operating parameters. Moreover we develop a simple 1D heat conduction model as well as a fully 3D thermo-fluid dynamics model. The latter is implemented in the CFD library OpenFOAM, extending the volume of fluid solver, and validated against a pseudo-spectral code. Both models are used to study a rectangular 10×10 cm Li||Bi LMB cell at three different states of charge.