Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Cloud/shadow segmentation based on multi-level feature enhanced network for remote sensing imagery

ABSTRACT In the application of remote sensing, cloud blocking brings trouble to the analysis of surface parameters and atmospheric parameters. Due to the complexity of the background, the influence of some cloud-like interferences (such as ice, snow, buildings, etc.) and the complexity of the cloud shape, the traditional deep learning method is difficult to segment the edge information of cloud and cloud shadow accurately, resulting in misjudgement at the edge. In order to solve these problems, a multilevel feature enhanced network is proposed for cloud/shadow segmentation. In this work, ResNet-18 is used as the backbone to extract all levels of semantic information, and Feature Enhancement Module is proposed to strengthen the feature information to obtain more effective feature information. Multiscale Fusion module is constructed to fuses multiscale features of deep information to obtain global feature information while considering local feature information. Finally, through the Feature Guidance module, low-level features are used to guide the high-level features to guide the recovery of spatial information and improve the efficiency of upsampling. On the data collected by Landsat-8, Sentinel-2, and HRC_WHU data set, the experimental results show that this method is superior to the existing methods.
MOSFET-C transimpedance filters with center frequency tunability feature

ABSTRACT In this paper, seven different MOSFET-C transimpedance filters with their corresponding transfer functions and basic filter specifications, are provided. Presented designs show second-order standard band-pass, low-pass, or high-pass characteristics. Moreover, some filters provide both low-pass and band-pass characteristics. Especially, having a tunability feature makes a design more useful and applicable for various communication and instrumentation systems. The selected filter topology was biased under various biasing conditions to tune central frequency by keeping bandwidth constant. To elaborate the design with different aspects, we checked its small-signal performance by introducing both changing temperature and implementation errors. The theoretical results are in detail verified by numerous simulations using Cadence IC6 Spectre analog design environment. In the design, transistors with 1.8 V supply voltage were used and modelled by the SilTerra Malaysia 180 nm CMOS process parameters. The implemented layout, including metal-insulator-metal on-chip capacitors, occupies an area of 175 μm × 75 μm, while the total power consumption of the filter is found to be only 128.86 μW.
Diversity, Identity and Le Vivre Ensemble in the Northwest Region of Cameroon since Precolonial Times

: Le vivre ensemble recently dominated political discourse in Cameroon due to the difficult cohabitation between the more than 250 ethnic groups that make up the Cameroon ‘nation’. The outcome has been inter-ethnic conflicts and the resurgence of identity crisis. If Cameroon is African in miniature because of its ethnic diversities, then the North West Region is Cameroon in miniature because its populations came from almost all the cultural spheres of Cameroon. This paper attempts an investigation into the attractiveness of the destination for settlers, the identity crisis that emerged from the settlement of strangers and the symbiosis and apparent calm that characterise autochthon-settler relationship in the Northwest Region since Precolonial Times. Data was collected from primary and secondary sources and the qualitative method used to analyse it. The findings suggest that the region’s economic potentials, the hospitality of its indigenes and the inter-dependence between the various ethnic groups made for thelevivre ensemble that characterised the peoples. Unlike the economically advanced Southern part of Cameroon where le vivre ensemble was problematic, the Northwest region has experienced some level of integration amongst different communities probably because of the non-politicisation of identity. The Northwest Region can therefore serve as a veritable laboratory for Cameroon at this time that national unity and national integration are threatened by ethnic and other forms of sub nationalisms.
Entrepreneurial Start-up Motivations and Growth of Small and Medium Enterprises in Tanzania: The Role of Entrepreneur’s Personality Traits

This study aims to analyze the mediating effect of personality traits in the relationship between entrepreneurial start-up motivations and small and medium enterprises (SMEs) growth. A gap has been identified in the literature, particularly in the indirect association of critical factors that may be beneficial to the growth of SMEs. In this study, a cross-sectional survey design was used because data were collected once in a time. Furthermore, structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to analyze data obtained from 367 SMEs’ owners. The findings indicate that entrepreneurial start-up motivations such as a desire for achievement, financial rewards, social recognition and a desire for independence are positively and significantly related to SMEs’ growth. Also, entrepreneurial start-up motivations positively and significantly influence personality traits among entrepreneurs. It was found that there is a significant link between personality traits and the SMEs’ growth. Additionally, the findings indicate that personality traits mediate the relationship between entrepreneurial start-up motivations and SMEs’ growth. The study’s findings have implications for the practices and theories in the entrepreneurship context.
Molecular characterization and in vitro control measures of fruit rot disease of Sweet pepper

Fruit rot disease of sweet pepper is one of the main fungal diseases causing huge economic losses to the grower. An experiment was conducted to find out the fungal pathogen associated with fruit rot disease of sweet pepper, obtained from experimental fields of Jahangirnagar University, Bangladesh. Fruit rot disease-causing fungus was isolated from infected fruits and identified using morphological characterization based on colony features, mycelia, conidia as well as molecular characterization based on internal transcribe spacer (ITS) region of the fungus. ITS sequence of our studied fungus MH368146.1 was genetically 99-100% similar to sequences of Fusarium solani in NCBI database. Typical fruit rot symptoms were reproduced by artificial inoculations of the isolated fungus. The mycelial growth of this fungus was evaluated on ten different solid culture media i.e., Potato Dextrose Agar, Yeast Extract Agar, Honey Peptone Agar, Hansen’s Medium, Sabouraud’s Glucose Agar, Kauffman’s Agar, Potato Sucrose Agar, Richard’s Agar and Carrot Agar. Fungus grew well on all tested solid culture media. Several bio-control agents and two commercial fungicides were evaluated against isolated fungus under in vitro condition, in which the highest percent inhibition of radial growth of the fungus was determined as 64.75% due to Trichoderma reesei isolate 2, and 60.63% by Tilt 250 EC (500 ppm) at 7 days post-incubation. Therefore, T. reesei was found as the most suitable to control the growth of F. solani under laboratory conditions. However, further pot and field trials needed to be confirmed the bio-control potential of it. Int. J. Agril. Res. Innov. Tech. 11(2): 108-116, Dec 2021
The Current Landscape of Liver Transplantation After Ex Situ Machine Perfusion and Normothermic Regional Perfusion in the United States

In the United States, there remains a discrepancy between the number of liver transplantation (LT) candidates awaiting transplantation and the availability of donor organs. To help address this discrepancy, the transplantation community has continued to pursue extended criteria donors. In particular, the number of donation after circulatory death (DCD) LTs performed annually in the Unites States has continued to grow. In response to these developments, there has been an interest in innovative technologies such as ex situ machine perfusion and in situ normothermic regional perfusion (NRP) as potential mechanisms to help safely expand the utilization of donated organs. This study aimed to examine the utilization of ex situ machine perfusion and thoracoabdominalNRP (TANRP) in the United States. Materials and Methods
Intrusion detection System for Attack Prevention in Mobile Ad-hoc Network

Mobile Ad-hoc Networks prove to be the best fit for various applications like Military operations, flood affected areas, remote area etc. Ad-hoc Networks are limited with energy and generally more venerable to various attacks as compared to other types of networks. Insider attacks are one of the active attacks occurred in Ad-hoc network. These attacks are very common in case of reactive protocols like Ad-hoc On Demand Distance Vector Protocol. In this work, an intrusion detection system will be developed for detection and isolation of attacks. In this research work, mac layer applications will be used for detecting malicious activities and will focus on the finding of attack sequences in the network. This research work will provide stable and effective attack observations which can be directly applicable to the Real environment for Mobile Ad-hoc Devices.
The Role of Trust in Mediating the Effect of Mobile Money Usage towards Financial Inclusion: Evidence from Gunungkidul, Indonesia

The increasing number of internet users in Indonesia has an impact on the increasing usage of mobile money as one of digital financial services. The use of mobile money can increase financial inclusion in society. Financial inclusion is proven to decrease poverty if it is carried out optimally. However, mobile money services lead to cost and benefit for people. Thus, trust to use this innovation becomes an important thing. This research aims to assess the role of trust as the mediator between mobile money usage and financial inclusion in productive age communities in Gunungkidul Regency, Yogyakarta, Indonesia. Gunungkidul Regency is one of regencies with the poorest population in the special region of Yogyakarta, Indonesia. It is expected that the increasing of mobile money usage and financial inclusion will reduce the poverty in Gunungkidul Regency, Indonesia. There are 486.509 population of productive age in this research and 400 of total sample which were taken with a non-probability sampling technique. This study applies the Sobel test by Kenny and Baron’s mediation analysis and the PROCESS method by Hayes. The results of this study show that the trust partially mediates the effect of mobile money usage towards financial inclusion in productivity age communities in Gunungkidul Regency, Indonesia. In order to build trust, the regulator in Indonesia should pay attention to the detail on data privacy and the effectiveness of mobile money usage. It is an effort to encourage people to use mobile money continuously and to attract more new users. The users are also encouraged to manage the use of mobile money properly as an effort to increase financial inclusion towards poverty alleviation.
What drives diversification? Range expansion tops climate, life history, habitat and size in lizards and snakes

A major challenge in ecology and evolutionary biology is to explain the dramatic differences in species richness among clades. Much variation in richness is explained by the differences in diversification rates among clades, and variation in diversification rates is often linked to various traits. But what types of traits are most important for explaining diversification? Here, we compared the impacts of different types of traits on diversification rates among lizard and snake families and tested predictions about the relative importance of ecology vs. morphology, static vs. dynamic traits and alpha vs. beta niche traits.
Control of Agrobacterium tumefaciens with Essential Oils Compared to Antagonistic Agrobacterium radiobacter Strain K84

Crown gall is one of the most hazardous diseases for nurseries of stone fruit plants. Biological control of crown gall caused by Agrobacterium tumefaciens using Agrobacterium radiobacter K84 is more comparatively effective in disease control compared to chemical means. In the present work, the distinguished components of essential oils of caraway (Carum carvi L.) were carvone (79.38157%) and limonene (18.78265%), and those for thyme (Thymus vulgaris L.) were identified as thymol (14.79336%), 1,8-Cineol (14.45795%), borneol (13.22024%), β-caryophyllene (10.86938%) and bornyl acetate (5.08278%). The inhibition zone produced by the antagonist A. radiobacter against A. tumefaciens 27AS_ Pp4 was 11.8 mm in diameter, whereas it was 10.2 and 11.0 mm in caraway and thyme essential oils, respectively. The minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) of essential oils against A. tumefaciens 27AS_Pp4 was 12.8 μl/ml of both caraway and thyme as compared with the minimal bactericidal concentration (MBC) being 25.6 and 12.8 μl/ml for caraway and thyme, respectively. When A. tumefaciens 27AS Pp4 was treated with caraway and thyme, the crystal violet uptake was increased. No disease syndromes were observed on apricot (Prunus armeniaca L.) seedlings inoculated with the pathogen A. tumefaciens 27AS_Pp4 and the antagonist A. radiobacter. Moreover, a significant decrease in the number of galls was observed in caraway and thyme essential oil treatments compared to the positive control. The fresh and dry weight of galls per plant confirmed the effectiveness of caraway and thyme treatments. The treatment of caraway essential oil showed a significant decrease in the fresh weight of shoots and roots compared to both positive and negative controls and A. radiobacter treatments. No significant differences in the fresh weight of shoots and roots in thyme oil treatment compared to negative control and A. radiobacter. Determination of the dry weight of shoots and roots comparatively confirmed these results. On the other hand, the essential oil of caraway showed a significant decrease in plant length compared to thyme, A. radiobacter, and positive and negative control treatments. In the case of thyme oil, the length of the plant has increased significantly compared to the negative control, with no significant difference between thyme oil and A. radiobacter treatments. These results suggest that the essential oils of caraway and thyme have a reasonable potential for controlling crown gall disease. Consideration should be given to the potential effect of the essential oil of caraway on plant growth. Further work with different horticulture seedling nurseries is needed.
Plugging I/O Resource Leaks in General Purpose Real-Time Systems

The I/O services implemented by general-purpose operating systems (GPOS) and commodity I/O devices are typically designed for high average-case performance without consideration of application-level timing constraints. Nevertheless, for economic reasons, such components are being used as building blocks for applications that are expected to meet timing constraints in order to function properly. A body of research on real-time (RT) theoretical analysis provides techniques for designing a system to meet timing constraints, however, the optimizations used for average-case performance in commodity I/O devices and GPOS do not lend themselves to such analysis. The most common approaches for dealing with this problem on general-purpose systems are to either disable optimizations or to forego applying any RT analysis. Disabling optimizations often results in poor performance. On the other hand, foregoing RT analysis means there is no assurance that the system will meet its timing constraints. The thesis of this dissertation is that adapting GPOS I/O scheduling to balance high throughput and low latency is practical and necessary for broadening real-time support for guaranteeing a larger number and wider variety of application timing constraints. By capitalizing on averagecase optimizations, a general purpose system is able to guarantee a wider spectrum of I/O timing constraints and increase system-wide performance, which includes applications that do not specify timing constraints. An observation underlying this thesis is that even though optimizations to improve average-case throughput may result in longer worst-case response times, there is a tradeoff: poor average-case throughput can cause a system to develop a backlog that translates into missed deadlines. This dissertation describes a journey to develop a new approach to extend real-time support in GPOS that provide I/O services. I/O services in a GPOS typically require both CPU and I/O device resources. The proper scheduling of these resources is critical to guarantee application timing constraints will be met. The contributions of this dissertation address the impact that scheduling I/O services has on throughput and latency. In the context of CPU resources, the overhead of switching between activities to achieve low latency is balanced with the reduction in processing throughput. In the context of I/O devices, throughput-improving optimizations offered by devices are leveraged, but are indirectly overridden when timing constraints might be in jeopardy. The
Selenium nanoparticles coated with resveratrol ameliorates the neurobiochemical abnormalities by attenuating oxidative stress and improving neurotransmissions in AlCl3-Induced Alzheimer’s model of rats.

Selenium nanoparticles coated with resveratrol ameliorates the neurobiochemical abnormalities by attenuating oxidative stress and improving neurotransmissions in AlCl3-induced Alzheimer’s model of rats Omayma A.R. AboZaid, Samy A. Hussein, Sawsan M. El-Sonbaty, Mohsen W. Afifi Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Benha University, Egypt. National Center for Radiation Research and Technology, Atomic Energy Authority, Cairo, Egypt
Process Assessment and Process Management for Intelligent Data Fusion & Resource Management Systems

Space Situation Awareness (SSA) requires an integrated diverse set of automated distributed data fusion tools at all levels of fusion. These tools need to be assessed before and during their use and managed in near-real-time to improve their performance based upon operator and contextual feedback. The SSA fusion system needs to be able to add new fusion and response management tools as they become available. There is significant need for the intelligent assessment and management of distributed Data Fusion & Resource Management (DF&RM) systems that will enable each DF&RM system instance to adapt its capabilities over time to meet changing mission requirements. To do this affordably the design of an intelligent system that performs space system abnormality detection and event characterization driven by the space catalog, space weather, and satellite state of health is discussed. Three solution types to this problem are described along with their problem-to-solution space mapping criteria. A design for the integration of these three solution types is defined using the Dual Node Network (DNN) DF&RM technical architecture. Then the Process Assessment & Process Management (PA&PM) functions for such SSA systems are presented to include: 1. Performance Assessment and Process Management (PAPM) 2. Context Assessment and Conformity Management (CACM) 3. Consistency Assessment & Adjudication Management (CAAM)
RELATION BETWEEN THE LEVEL OF HOPE AND FUNCTIONAL RECOVERY AMONG PATIENTS WITH SCHIZOPHRENIA

Background: Schizophrenia is a severe mental disorder interfering with an individual’s capacity of clear thinking, managing emotions, making decisions, and relations with others. Aim was to investigate the relation between the hope and functional recovery among patients with schizophrenia. Subjects and method: Design: the study utilized a descriptive correlational research design was used. Setting: psychiatric in patient unit at port said psychiatric health hospital. Tools: The herth hope index (hhi); composed of 12 items adapted version of the herth hope scale (hhs). Tool II: the functional remission of general schizophrenia scale is a 19 items clinician-based questionnaire. In addition, to the demographic and clinical data sheet. Results: there was a statistically significant relation between hope level and the onset of treatment, number of hospitalization. Hope was shown to be significantly linked to gender, age, and family income. There was a statistically significant positive association between hope and functional remission. Conclusion: the study concluded that most of the studied patients have a high level of hope and functional recovery. In addition, it was found that there was a significant positive association between the total score of hope level of schizophrenic patients and the total score of functional recovery. Recommendation: the study recommended that hope-instilling programs and psychological counseling services have to be provided to schizophrenic patients. Moreover, social skills training programs must be carried out for patients with schizophrenia and cooperation with other institutions and organizations has to be achieved for enhancing their levels of professional functioning.
Application of signal processing and analysis in detecting single line-to-ground (SLG) fault location in high-impedance grounded distribution network

In high-impedance grounded distribution networks which are common in many countries, single line-to-ground (SLG) fault diagnosis is difficult due to weak fault characteristics, noise interference, three-phase unbalanced operation's influence and so on. Upon thorough analysis on the space-time characteristics of SLG fault, this study applies signal processing and analysis techniques to do SLG fault location detection. First, finite impulse response (FIR) filter is applied to effectively strain out interference factors and extract pure fault characteristics for each line. Afterwards, hierarchical clustering is used to classify lines based on the extracted fault characteristics. According to the clustering result, the fault line could be determined. If there are monitoring terminals distributed in the fault line, the fault section could also be further identified. Simulation shows that the proposed method works well under various fault conditions and has a higher reliability compared with wavelet analysis. Besides, this method makes full use of the existing hardware conditions in the grid and the cost is low, hence it has high practical value.
Wind Disturbance Estimation and Rejection for Quadrotor Position Control

ight control can be quite signicant, and can lead to dangerous situations when operating in close proximity to obstacles or other aerial vehicles. This work seeks to improve quadrotor positioning performance by formally modeling the wind eects on quadrotor dynamics in order to estimate wind velocities in ight and control the vehicle accordingly. Models for wind disturbances, quadrotor dynamics in wind and onboard measurements are presented and an estimation algorithm is developed for the current wind velocity experienced by the vehicle. This wind estimate is used to improve positioning accuracy by both eliminating the eect of wind on the feedback position control law and adding a wind compensator to mitigate the eect of the expected wind disturbance. Simulation results are presented for multiple scenarios, and work is ongoing for implementation on board a quadrotor testbed.