Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Estimation of Forest Structural Attributes Using Spectral Indices and Point Clouds from UAS-Based Multispectral and RGB Imageries

Forest structural attributes are key indicators for parameterization of forest growth models, which play key roles in understanding the biophysical processes and function of the forest ecosystem. In this study, UAS-based multispectral and RGB imageries were used to estimate forest structural attributes in planted subtropical forests. The point clouds were generated from multispectral and RGB imageries using the digital aerial photogrammetry (DAP) approach. Different suits of spectral and structural metrics (i.e., wide-band spectral indices and point cloud metrics) derived from multispectral and RGB imageries were compared and assessed. The selected spectral and structural metrics were used to fit partial least squares (PLS) regression models individually and in combination to estimate forest structural attributes (i.e., Lorey’s mean height (HL) and volume(V)), and the capabilities of multispectral- and RGB-derived spectral and structural metrics in predicting forest structural attributes in various stem density forests were assessed and compared. The results indicated that the derived DAP point clouds had perfect visual effects and that most of the structural metrics extracted from the multispectral DAP point cloud were highly correlated with the metrics derived from the RGB DAP point cloud (R2 > 0.75). Although the models including only spectral indices had the capability to predict forest structural attributes with relatively high accuracies (R2 = 0.56–0.69, relative Root-Mean-Square-Error (RMSE) = 10.88–21.92%), the models with spectral and structural metrics had higher accuracies (R2 = 0.82–0.93, relative RMSE = 4.60–14.17%). Moreover, the models fitted using multispectral- and RGB-derived metrics had similar accuracies (∆R2 = 0–0.02, ∆ relative RMSE = 0.18–0.44%). In addition, the combo models fitted with stratified sample plots had relatively higher accuracies than those fitted with all of the sample plots (∆R2 = 0–0.07, ∆ relative RMSE = 0.49–3.08%), and the accuracies increased with increasing stem density.
13 Spray Cooling

1.1 Categorisation of cooling techniques The need for higher heat flux cooling techniques is driven very much by the microelectronics and semiconductor industry. In accordance with Moore’s Law, continuing advances in the semiconductor industry allow the device feature size to shrink and the transistor density and switching speed to double every one and a half to two years. Correspondingly, the heat dissipation from the chip increases in proportion, if there is no change in the semiconductor technology. In their study on the limits of device scaling and switching speeds, Zhirnov et al. (2003) concluded that “even if entirely different electron transport models are invented for digital logic, their scaling for density and performance may not go much beyond the ultimate limits obtainable with CMOS technology, due primarily to limits on heat removal capacity”. For example, maximum heat flux at the localized submillimeter scale hotspots of high performance chips approaches 1 kW/cm2 (Bar-Cohen et al., 2006). The operating efficiencies and stability of these devices depend on how effectively the heat generated can be removed from the system. Hence, developments in the cooling system have to keep apace with the heat removal requirements, starting with forced air convection being enhanced by compact finned heat sinks, to liquid-cooled microchannel arrays, and ultimately using phase change heat transfer through the boiling phenomena or from atomized sprays and jets. The choice of an appropriate cooling technique is however dependent on the specific application and the critical system factors which must be satisfied, such as the maximum permissible heat flux, total heat load, tight temperature tolerances, reliability considerations or overall power consumption. The operating environment also play a significant part which may necessitate an emphasis on the use of space, complexity of the system’s components, relative maturity of the technology or cost. Table 1 shows comparative cooling technologies and the respective heat fluxes and heat transfer coefficients (Glassman, 2005). There may be other work that list values outside of this table, but the nominal capacities of these cooling technologies in the table can still be viewed as a good reference. In general, cooling methods using sub-cooled flow boiling (SCFB), micro-channel cooling, two-phase jet impingement and spray cooling have achieved very high heat fluxes (over 100 W/cm2) and heat transfer coefficients compared
Pressure Ulcers Prevalence and Potential Risk Factors Among Intensive Care Unit Patients in Governmental Hospitals in Palestine: A Cross-sectional Study

To determine the prevalence rate and the potential risk factors of pressure ulcers (PUs) among patients in the intensive care unit (ICU) departments of the government hospitals in Palestine. A quantitative, cross-sectional, descriptive analytical study was carried out in five government hospital intensive care units in four different Palestinian cities between September 27, 2017, and October 27, 2017. The data of 109 out of 115 (94.78%) inpatients were analyzed. The Minimum Data Set (MDS) recommended by the European Pressure Ulcer Advisory Panel (EPUAP) was used to collect inpatients’ information. The result of the analysis showed that the prevalence of pressure ulcers in the ICU departments was 33%, and the prevalence of PUs when excluding stage one was 7.3%. The common stage for pressure ulcers was stage one. It was also determined that the most common risk factors for the development of pressure ulcers were the number of days in the hospital, moisture, and friction. According to the recent studies in the Asian States, the prevalence of pressure ulcers in Palestine is considerably higher than in China and Jordan. However, it is still lower than the prevalence reported in comparable published studies in Western Europe. Increasing the staff’s knowledge about PUs screening and preventive measures is highly recommended in order to decrease the burden of PUs.
Ctrl C Ctrl Pay: Do People Mirror Payment Behaviour of Their Peers?

For stakeholders in the payment system seeking to influence the usage of specific payment instruments, it is important to know what drives consumers' choice of payment instrument. However, little is known about how the social environment influences payment behaviour. This study fills this gap by researching the relevance of peer effects for payment behaviour. We used the detailed payment diary data of Dutch consumers. Our findings show that payment behaviour is strongly influenced by the environment that people live in, especially when the environment is characterised by strong social cohesion. Hence, our study offers new insights into the diffusion of payment behaviour.
Molecular Diversity, Haplotype Distribution and Gene Flow of Bipolaris Sorokiniana Fungus Causing Spot Blotch Disease in Different Wheat Growing Zones

Bipolaris sorokiniana (BS) is an economically important fungal pathogen causing spot blotch of wheat (Trtiticum aestivum) and found in all wheat growing zones of India. Very scanty and fragmentary information is available on its genetic diversity. The current research is the first detailed report on the geographic distribution and evolution of BS population in five geographically distinct wheat growing zones [North Western Plain Zone (NWPZ), North Eastern Plain zone (NEPZ); North Hill Zone (NHZ), Southern Hill Zone (SHZ) and Peninsular Zone (PZ)] of India, studied by performing nucleotide sequence comparison of internal transcribed spacer region of 183 isolates. A moderate to high levels of haplotypic diversity was noticed in different wheat growing zones. Phylogenetic analysis suggests that B. sorokiniana exist in two distinct lineages as all isolates under study were grouped in two different clades and found analogous to the findings of haplotypic and median joining network analysis. The genetic parameters revealed the existence of 59 haplotypes with three major haplotypes (H_2, H_3, and H_25) which showed star-like structure network surrounded by several single haplotypes, revealing high frequency of the mutations ((Eta = 2 – 437) in total analyzed population. H_3 was observed as a predominant haplotype and prevalent in all the five zones. Moderate level of genetic differentiation was found between NEPZ and PZ (Fst = 0.563), whereas it was low between NEPZ and NHZ (Fst = -0.062). High level of gene flow was noticed between NWPZ and NEPZ (Nm = 14.32), while it was found minimum between SZ and NHZ (Nm = 0.50). Moreover, negative score of neutrality statistics (Tajima’s D and Fu’s FS test) for NWPZ, PZ and SHZ populations, suggested recent population expansion in these zones. However, positive score for both the neutrality tests observed in NEPZ and NHZ indicated the dominance of balancing selection in structuring their population. Recombination events were observed in the NWPZ, NEPZ and NHZ population, while it was absent in SHZ and PZ population. Thus, the lack of any specific genetic population structure in all the zones indicates for the expansion history only from one common source population i.e. NWPZ, a mega zone of wheat production in India. Overall, it seems that the predominance of individual haplotypes with a moderate level of genetic variation and men mediated movement of contaminated seed and dispersal of inoculum, mutations and recombination as prime evolutionary processes play essential role in defining the genetic structure of BS population.
Photonic crystal waveguides: Out-of-plane losses and adiabatic modal conversion

An accurate model for the out-of-plane radiation losses occurring when a guided wave propagating in a conventional waveguide impinges on a photonic crystal waveguide is presented. The model makes clear that the losses originate from insertion losses resulting from a mode mismatch. A generic taper structure realizing an adiabatic modal conversion is proposed and validated through numerical computations for cavities with large Q’s and large peak transmission.
RECYCLE AND REUSE OF WASTEWATER PRACTICES IN MIDDLE EAST AGRICULTURE

Recycled water is a reliable source of water that must be taken into account in formulating a sustainable water policy. Water reuse is increasingly been integrated in the planning and development of water resources in Middle east region, particularly for agriculture and landscape irrigation. Regulations on wastewater recycling and reuse are essential. They help protect public health , increase water availability , prevent coastal pollution and enhance water resources and nature conservation policies. Unifying wastewater recycling and reuse regulations around the Middle east basin would contribute to secure economic and touristic exchanges in the region. However, there is still a controversy between the defenders of strict water quality criteria for an absolute protection of public health and the defenders of a pragmatic stance promoting nonpotable water uses with less restrictive water quality criteria. Despite the high potential for wastewater recycling and reuse in the Middle east countries , only a few have systematically exploited this resource and have a wellestablished national policy. This paper presents the statues of wastewater recycling and reuse and proposes common criteria for Middle east region.
An Investigation of Linguistic Complexity by Sex and Minority Status Under Stress

Is the speech between men, women and minorities different under stress? Moreover, are these differences also found between speaking and self-reported experiences? The present study investigated these differences in two studies: an in-person stress task with a verbal social stress task, and an online self-reported task, with not evaluation and non-verbal responses. In particular, we were interested in what insights these differences might provide for student experiences under stress (common at a college level) and for specific identity related cognitions including one’s status, sense of authenticity and belonging, and affective and cognitive events. In Study 1, following stress (induced via the Trier Social Stress Test) we tested whether or not there were sex differences in linguistic complexity under duress, we expected that men would score higher for complex speech than women based on the results of Newman et al. (2008). In Study 2, we analyzed the contents of an open-ended survey which elucidated differences in linguistic complexity depending on sex and minority status. We also included mean differences of well-known indices of perceived stress, daily discrimination (overt), and microaggressions. There was evidence of speech differences by sex but not by minority status. Moreover, males were significantly higher in status related measures, whereas females reported higher experiences of identity related stress and subtle discrimination. These results suggest a need to consider more specific early interventions and inclusion strategies for students that explicitly address how to interface with such experiences during their college years. Moreover, these findings posit a need to bridge the gap between speech differences, as these minute linguistic variation may yield differences in college performance and consequences in broader society.
Logarithmically improved blow-up criterion for smooth solutions to the Leray-$\alpha $-magnetohydrodynamic equations

(1.1)  ∂tv + (u · ∇)v −∆v +∇π + 2∇|B| 2 = (B · ∇)B, ∂tB + (u · ∇)B − (B · ∇)v −∆B = 0, v = (1− α2∆)u, α > 0, div u = div v = divB = 0, (v,B)|t=0 = (v0, B0),div u0 = div v0 = divB0 = 0 in R3, where v : the fluid velocity field, u : “the filtered” fluid velocity, B : the magnetic field and π : the pressure, are the unknowns; α is the lengthscale parameter that represents the width of the filter. Note that the magnetic field is not regularized. It has lately received significant attention in mathematical fluid dynamics due to its connection to three-dimensional incompressible flows. When α→ 0, the model (1.1) reduce to the following MHD equations:
Identification and Classification of Usability Problems in a Nursing Information System

Nursing information system is a system that nurses are required to use in order to perform their daily activities. Poor user interface design of nursing information system can cause problems in nurses' interaction with the system. This research aimed to evaluate the usability of nursing information system. During this study, five evaluators examined the nursing information system with the heuristic evaluation method and by using the checklist of Nielsen usability principles. Then, the identified problems were categorized into 10 Nielsen usability principles, and the severity of the problems was determined. They also attributed each problem to one of usability attributes. A total of 104 unique problems were identified. Most of the problems were related to the principle of “consistency and standards. ” More than a third of the identified problems were classed as major and catastrophe, with the highest severity in the average problems of “help and documentation” and “error prevention. ” Most of the identified problems were attributed to effectiveness and satisfaction. Because a significant number of identified usability problems in nursing information system were major and catastrophe and were attributed to effectiveness and satisfaction, being able to remedy the problems could improve nurses' interaction with the system user interface and increase satisfaction and effectiveness of nurses.
Assessing the impact of Basel III on bank behaviour: A micro-founded approach

The failures of the banking sector to promote sustainable lending and to build strong capital and liquidity buffers prior to the 2008 Financial Crisis addressed the rationale for implementing the banking regulatory regime Basel III. In this paper, we question the fundamental role of this new regulatory regime in promoting bank lending and ensuring the adequate funding structure of the banking sector regarding the introduction of unprecedented international liquidity standards notably. We build a theoretical model of bank behaviour under a regulatory regime a la Basel III which points to two major results. First, Regulatory Authorities need to define the objectives and thus, the underlying tools implemented in order to achieve the optimum-optimurum. Second, we show that the competitive structure of the markets the bank faces is a determinant to take into account for achieving this optimum-optimurum.
What accounts for “ age ” effects on overall degree of foreign accent ?

Four hypotheses regarding “age” effects on ultimate L2 proficiency are considered here. All four are found to have some predictive power, but none is perfect. It appears that age-related effects arise from multiple factors that co-vary with the age at which L2 learning began. Of these, the amount and quality of L2 input received, and the strength of the L1 system, may be the most important long-term determinants of ultimate L2 proficiency.
Policy issues in the urban South

This paper will be dealing with elements of global regionalization and how it impacts economically on different groups of developing regions. It will highlight the spatial economic disadvantages Africa is facing in its quest to reconnect to the global economy. Moving its focus to urban South Africa, it will show how different sections of the country’s urban population are reacting to local economic conditions vis-a-vis current global economic trends. Based upon the structure of the informal urban economic sector in South Africa and how it has been impacting on the formal urban economic sector in the country over the past fifteen years, the paper will end with an assessment of the possible longer term effects the country’s ‘redesign city’-approach may have on urban economic structural changes in the future.
Heat Recovery With Low TemperatureSpray Drying For ThermochemicalHydrogen Production

This paper examines the heat transfer and evaporative drying of molten salt droplets in a thermochemical copper-chlorine (Cu-Cl) cycle of hydrogen production. An aqueous CuCl2 stream exiting from an electrochemical cell is preheated to 150°C, before entering the flash dryer to produce solid CuCl2(s). The device must add sufficient heat to remove water and recover solid CuCl2. New innovations of heat recovery aim to develop alternatives to reduce costs and improve efficiency of the evaporation process for CuCl2 particle production. This includes a new method to pressurize the liquid stream sufficiently to atomize droplets through a pressure-reducing nozzle in the spray system, thereby enhancing the device’s performance. The liquid phase flashes due to a sudden pressure drop. Unlike other thermochemical cycles, the Cu-Cl cycle can take unique advantage of low-grade waste heat for spray drying and vaporizing processes at low temperatures. The powder produced by spray drying is then injected in a fluidized reactor to eventually produce hydrogen. A common byproduct of manufacturing processes, incinerators, industrial furnaces, etc. – heat – can become a valuable resource through its utility for hydrogen production with the Cu-Cl cycle.
Dynamic probe for the measurement of acoustic pressure in aero-engines

A new microphone probe for the measurement of acoustic pressure is presented which was designed for measurements within the core of an aero-engine, i.e. being able to cope with high gas temperatures and high static pressure. The new design is based on years of experience with similar sensors for ambient pressure applications. The operation principle, the calibration procedure, as well as issues of the application to laboratory experiments and full-scale aero-engines are described. The sensor has been tested successfully at a combustion facility in Romania within the framework of the EC-project TEENI (turboshaft engine exhaust noise identification). It will be applied within this project to a full-scale turboshaft engine [1] as well as for other acoustic research, e.g. the investigation of the effectiveness of liner samples in a new test facility at DLR in Berlin.
The Diffusion of Corporate Governance to Emerging Markets: Evaluating Two Dimensions of Investor Heterogeneity

This paper investigates whether foreign institutional investors in emerging markets can enhance shareholder value. We pay special attention to two dimensions of investor heterogeneity: whether an investor declares itself as an activist, and whether an investor comes from a country with a strong tradition of investor activism. First, we apply an event study approach to the announcements of block purchases by foreign institutional investors in Korea. We find that stock prices rise on average, but only when foreign institutional investors declare themselves as activists. Source country identities also matter: The positive stock price reactions are more pronounced when the activist investors come from source countries with a strong tradition of investor activism. Second, we examine corporate financial policies and governance practices of target firms one to three years following block purchases by foreign activist investors. We find that target firms are more likely to reduce cash holdings, raise leverage ratios, and peg dividend payouts and stock repurchases more closely to changes in earnings, but only if foreign activists are from countries with a strong tradition of activism. We conclude that openness to foreign activist investors, especially those from countries with a strong tradition of activism, can indeed put pressures on firms in emerging markets to adopt corporate governance practices that enhance shareholder values.
UvA-DARE (Digital Academic Repository) Constructing workflows from script applications

For programming and executing complex applications on grid infrastructures, scientiﬁc workﬂows have been proposed as convenient high-level alternative to solutions based on general-purpose programming languages, APIs and scripts. GridSpace is a collaborative programming and execution environment, which is based on a scripting approach and it extends Ruby language with a high-level API for invoking operations on remote resources. In this paper we describe a tool which enables to convert the GridSpace application source code into a workﬂow representation which, in turn, may be used for scheduling, provenance, or visualization. We describe how we addressed the issues of analyzing Ruby source code, resolving variable and method dependencies, as well as building workﬂow representation. The solutions to these problems have been developed and they were evaluated by testing them on complex grid application workﬂows such as CyberShake, Epigenomics and Montage. Evaluation is enriched by representing typical workﬂow control ﬂow patterns.