Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Sustainability of Village Tank Cascade Systems of Sri Lanka: Exploring Cascade Anatomy and Socio-Ecological Nexus for Ecological Restoration Planning

Village Tank Cascade Systems (VTCSs) in the Dry Zone of Sri Lanka have evolved as sustainable ecosystems through human interventions to ensure water availability and other services for people and their environs during the last few millennia. However, VTCSs are vulnerable to global environmental changes resulting in continual deterioration of ecological health and hydro-socio-ecological status, crucial for the food and livelihood security of rural farming communities in the dry zone. This paper seeks to explore resource systems of the Mahakanumulla VTCS located in Anuradhapura district of Sri Lanka to (i) identify the spatial metrics linked to the sustainability and socio-ecological resilience of the VTCS, and (ii) determine interactions among system elements and their impacts on productivity and restoration challenges. The spatial analysis was conducted using a Digital Elevation Model (DEM), recent digital topographic map layers and Google Earth images to understand the spatial distribution and ensemble of tank environs. Participatory field assessment data were also used to determine socio-ecological nexus and factors that contribute to the reduction of ecological productivity of VTCS. The study revealed that the ensemble of tank environs is significant for providing regulatory and supporting ecosystem services (ES) and synergistic relationships with provisional ES of the VTCS. Results also revealed that the complex land-water-biodiversity-climate and food nexus that determines the productivity of the VTCS could be adopted in VTCS ecological restoration planning. The study presents a comprehensive framework to analyse causal factors and processes leading to reduction of overall productivity linked with variables of socio-ecological properties, vulnerability and resilience of the VTCS landscape.
Y-Shaped Demultiplexer Photonic Circuits Based on Detuned Stubs: Application to Radiofrequency Domain

We present a theoretical and experimental study of photonic demultiplexers based on detuned stubs. The demultiplexers consist of Y-shaped structures with one input line and two output lines. Two different types of structures are proposed to achieve a selective transfer of a single mode in one output line without disturbing the second one. (i) In the first platform each output contains two different stubs attached at two different sites (U-shaped resonators). We derive in closed form the geometrical parameters of the stubs to achieve a selected frequency in each line while keeping the other line unaffected. The frequency selection can be made on the basis of two different mechanisms, namely a Fano or an electromagnetic induced transparency (EIT) resonance. Consequently, different demultiplexing schemes can be designed by a combination of the two mechanisms, such as Fano-Fano, Fano-EIT or EIT-EIT. In particular, the width of the Fano or EIT resonances can become zero for an appropriate choice of the stubs’ lengths, giving rise to trapped modes also called bound in continuum states (BICs) with infinite quality factors. We also show that the crosstalk between the two outputs can reach minimum values around −45 dB. (ii) In the second platform, each output line contains a photonic comb with a defect stub. The latter is appropriately designed to filter one or a few frequencies in the bandgap of the photonic comb. The analytical calculations are performed with the help of the Green’s function method which enables us to derive the transmission and reflection coefficients as well as the density of states (DOS). These results are confirmed by experimental measurements using coaxial cables in the radio frequency domain.
Ecological aspects of edaphic grubs (Coleoptera: Scarabaeoidea: Melolonthidae) in tropical forested and intervened ecosystems of the Northeast Colombian Andes

Objective. To establish the variation of the diversity, density and biomass of white grubs of the Melolonthidae family in soils affected by mining and in the soil of an oak forest in the upper basin of the Surata river (Santander, Colombia). Scope. To analyse the diversity, density and biomass of the immature stages of beetles (Coleoptera: Melolonthidae) on two soil uses: recovered gold exploration platforms and an oak forest. Methodology. Monthly quadrants of 1 m2 by 30 cm deep were made throughout 12 months of sampling. The area of study is located in the northeast Colombian Andes, between 2,300 and 2,950 meters above sea level. Correlations were established between the measured parameters (abundance, richness of species, biomass, density and numbers of Hill) and biophysical factors of the study area. Main results. The highest values were observed in the oak forest: 12 species, 6.16 gr/m2 and density 4.08 ind/m2. However, only the biomass values were statistically significant (Z= 2.903; p= 0.004). Significant correlations were observed between abundance, density and biomass with the lowest humidity in the platforms but not in the oak forest. The maximum values of abundance, density and biomass coincided with the rainy season, and the highest values of diversity occur at the end of the dry seasons. Conclusions. The data obtained in this high mountain ecosystem show interesting variations in abundance and richness, which can be explained by the presence of a wide and extensive matrix of oak forest that allows the permanence of species of white grubs and relatively well-preserved natural populations.
Dynamic Capital Structure and Its Speed of Adjustment: a Case of Listed Manufacturing Firms in Indonesia

This study examines the determining factors and the speed of adjustment of manufacturing firms’ capital structure in Indonesia. This research uses data of 118 listed manufacturing companies from 2014 to 2018 and offers a continuation of Indonesia’s existing literature by applying a dynamic model. The results reveal that Indonesian manufacturing firms practice optimal capital structure and are altered by firm-specific and time-varying factors. Firms’ decisions regarding capital structure are determined by firm-specific factors: non-debt tax shields, tangibility, and stock price performance. The results also indicate the speed of adjustment does exist, although the speed of adjustment finds lower than in previous research. The slowdown of the manufacturing industry growth from 2014 to 2018 turns out to be in line with the slow pace of leverage adjustment.
Uniform observability of the one-dimensional wave equation for non-cylindrical domains. Application to the control's support optimization

This work is concerned with the controllability of the one-dimensional wave equation with controls distributed over non-cylindrical domains. The controllability in that case has been obtained in [Castro-Cindea-Munch, Controllability of the linear one-dimensional wave equation with inner moving forces, SIAM J. Control Optim 2014] for domains satisfying the usual geometric optics condition. In the present work, we first show that the corresponding observability property holds true uniformly in a precise class of non-cylindrical domains. Within this class, we then consider, for a given initial datum, the problem of the optimization of the control support and prove its well-posedness. Numerical experiments are then discussed and highlight the influence of the initial condition on the optimal domain.
Learning Deep Bayesian Latent Variable Regression Models that Generalize: When Non-identifiability is a Problem

Bayesian Neural Networks with Latent Variables (BNN+LV's) provide uncertainties in prediction estimates by explicitly modeling model uncertainty (via priors on network weights) and environmental stochasticity (via a latent input noise variable). In this work, we first show that BNN+LV suffers from a serious form of non-identifiability: explanatory power can be transferred between model parameters and input noise while fitting the data equally well. We demonstrate that, as a result, traditional inference methods may yield parameters that reconstruct observed data well but generalize poorly. Next, we develop a novel inference procedure that explicitly mitigates the effects of likelihood non-identifiability during training and yields high quality predictions as well as uncertainty estimates. We demonstrate that our inference method improves upon benchmark methods across a range of synthetic and real datasets.
O-Net: A Convolutional Neural Network for Quantitative Photoacoustic Image Segmentation and Oximetry

Estimation of blood oxygenation with spectroscopic photoacoustic imaging is a promising tool for several biomedical applications. For this method to be quantitative, it relies on an accurate method of the light fluence in the tissue. This is difficult deep in heterogeneous tissue, where different wavelengths of light can experience significantly different attenuation. In this work, we developed a new deep neural network to simultaneously estimate the oxygen saturation in blood vessels and segment the vessels from the surrounding background tissue. The network was trained on estimated initial pressure distributions from three-dimensional Monte Carlo simulations of light transport in breast tissue. The network estimated vascular SO2 in less than 50 ms with as little as 5.1% median error and better than 95% segmentation accuracy. Overall, these results show that the blood oxygenation can be quantitatively mapped in real-time with high accuracy.
Blow up of solutions for a Parabolic-Elliptic chemotaxis system with gradient dependent chemotactic coefficient

Abstract We consider a Parabolic-Elliptic system of PDE’s with a chemotactic term in a N-dimensional unit ball describing the behavior of the density of a biological species “u” and a chemical stimulus “v. ” The system includes a nonlinear chemotactic coefficient depending of “ ” i.e. the chemotactic term is given in the form for a positive constant χ when v satisfies the poisson equation We study the radially symmetric solutions under the assumption in the initial mass For χ large enough, we present conditions in the initial data, such that any regular solution of the problem blows up at finite time.
Crustal Structure Beneath the Northern Appalachians and the Eastern Grenville Province

Southeastern Canada and the northeastern USA include terranes that were tectonized since the Archean, making this region an excellent place to investigate the evolution of continental crust. Our study area covers the Archean southeastern Superior Province, the Proterozoic eastern Grenville, and the Phanerozoic northern Appalachians comprising terranes with either Peri‐Laurentian or Peri‐Gondwanan heritage. Adopting a Rayleigh wave ambient noise tomography method, we used noise data recorded between 2013 and 2015, and obtained high resolution anisotropic tomographic images of the crust enabling us to discuss tectonic implications. The azimuthal anisotropy orientations follow a dominant NE‐SW trend across the study area, but some localized changes of anisotropy direction in the Bay of Fundy and across the Appalachian front are observed. The crust beneath the older Superior and Grenville provinces is generally fast, whereas the Appalachians include strong slow anomalies, especially at upper crustal depths, where they represent thick sedimentary basins beneath the St. Lawrence valley, the Gulf of St. Lawrence, and the Bay of Fundy. We suggest that the boundary between the Peri‐Laurentian and the Peri‐Gondwanan terranes at depth is marked by a Moho‐offset feature observable in our models. A generally similar crustal seismic signature for the two youngest easternmost tectonic domains suggest that they were never separated by a wide ocean basin. Our results provide important evidence for evolution of the continental crust during and after accretionary/collisional episodes in the study area.
Development of a Hybrid Artificial Neural Network-Particle Swarm Optimization Model for the Modelling of Traffic Flow of Vehicles at Signalized Road Intersections

The tremendous increase in vehicular navigation often witnessed daily has elicited constant and continuous traffic congestion at signalized road intersections. This study focuses on applying an artificial neural network trained by particle swarm optimization (ANN-PSO) to unravel the problem of traffic congestion. Traffic flow variables, such as the speed of vehicles on the road, number of different categories of vehicles, traffic density, time, and traffic volumes, were considered input and output variables for modelling traffic flow of non-autonomous vehicles at a signalized road intersection. Four hundred and thirty-four (434) traffic datasets, divided into thirteen (13) inputs and one (1) output, were obtained from seven roadsites connecting to the N1 Allandale interchange identified as the busiest road in Southern Africa. The results obtained from this research have shown a training and testing performance of 0.98356 and 0.98220. These results are indications of a significant positive correlation between the inputs and output variables. Optimal performance of the ANN-PSO model was achieved by tuning the number of neurons, accelerating factors, and swarm population sizes concurrently. The evidence from this research study suggests that the ANN-PSO model is an appropriate predictive model for the swift optimization of vehicular traffic flow at signalized road intersections. This research extends our knowledge of traffic flow modelling at a signalized road intersection using metaheuristics algorithms. The ANN-PSO model developed in this research will assist traffic engineers in designing traffic lights and creation of traffic rules at signalized road intersections.
A 14-nm Ultra-Low Jitter Fractional-N PLL Using a DTC Range Reduction Technique and a Reconfigurable Dual-Core VCO

This work presents a 6-GHz low-jitter and high figure-of-merit (FoM) fractional-<inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$N$ </tex-math></inline-formula> phase-locked loop (PLL). It uses a digital-to-time converter (DTC)-based sampling PLL architecture. To achieve ultra-low jitter in fractional-<inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$N$ </tex-math></inline-formula> mode, a phase detector range reduction technique is used to halve the required DTC delay range (DR), resulting in lower thermal noise and better DTC linearity. Moreover, a reconfigurable dual-core voltage-controlled oscillator (VCO) provides extra freedom in power and jitter tradeoff. It achieves 83.4-fs rms jitter in fractional-<inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$N$ </tex-math></inline-formula> mode, integrated from 10 kHz to 100 MHz, with a 76.8-MHz crystal oscillator (XO) reference. In the low-power mode, the rms jitter degrades to 96.3 fs and the PLL FoM improves from −250.1 to −251.2 dB, as the PLL power consumption reduces from 14.2 to 8.2 mW. The measured fractional spurs are less than −70 dBc for near-integer channels. The PLL rms jitter remains within 100 fs across the 5–7-GHz output frequency band, thanks to the digital background calibrations. It is implemented in a 14-nm FINFET process and occupies 0.31 mm<sup>2</sup>.
Spatiotemporal Characteristics of Relocated Deep Low‐Frequency Earthquakes Beneath 52 Volcanic Regions in Japan Over an Analysis Period of 14 Years and 9 Months

We constructed a catalog of deep low‐frequency (DLF) earthquakes beneath 52 volcanic regions in Japan to investigate their seismicity based on three analyses: relocation, classification, and detection. Relocation and classification analyses were based on waveform correlation, and detection analysis was conducted using the matched filter technique. We detected a total of 105,327 DLF earthquakes and found that DLF earthquakes in many regions are spatially clustered with a spatial spread of only 1–2 km with approximately 5 km intervals between the lower limit of crustal earthquakes and Moho discontinuity. Based on temporal seismicity patterns, DLF earthquake groups in each region can be classified into episodic and non‐episodic types. Episodic groups consist of seismic swarms and quiescence. In some episodic groups, DLF earthquakes have constant recurrence interevent times or increasing interevent times as a function of time. Swarms of DLF earthquakes sometimes are associated with volcanic activities at the surface, which are crustal deformations of Meakan volcano, 2007 and 2014 eruptions of Ontake volcano, and the 2015 magma intrusion of Sakurajima volcano. The spatiotemporal characteristics of DLF earthquake groups may be linked to the movement of magmatic fluids. The discrete vertical separation of DLF earthquake groups may reflect small‐scale heterogeneities, such as injected magma. Periodic activity patterns may be caused by volcanic mechanisms, such as intermittent magma flow. The variety of DLF earthquake patterns may suggest that multiple mechanisms, including magma cooling and intermittent magma flow in complex magma supply systems, may trigger DLF earthquakes rather than a single mechanism.
Propolis supplementation affects performance, intestinal morphology, and bacterial population of broiler chickens

A meta-analysis was conducted to examine the effect of supplementing the diet of broiler chickens with propolis on growth, bacterial population of the intestine, antiviral serum concentration, intestinal morphology, and digestive enzyme activities in broiler chickens. Forty peer-reviewed articles that had been published between 2003 and 2019 were identified using the PRISMA protocol and included in the study. Data were analysed with mixed model methodology, in which the studies were considered random effects, whereas the level of supplemental propolis was considered a fixed effect. Responses to propolis supplementation in bodyweight (BW) and average daily gain (ADG) were quadratic, but average daily feed intake (ADFI) was not affected. Propolis supplementation improved feed conversion ratio (FCR) significantly as a linear function of the level of supplement. The optimum level of supplementation was between 256 and 262 mg/kg feed and produced maximum ADG and final BW. There was a tendency for mortality to decrease because of propolis supplementation. Propolis had no detectable effect on serum antiviral concentration, intestinal bacterial population or intestinal morphology. Among digestive enzymes, only sucrase increased linearly as propolis was increased. Thus, supplementation with propolis increased the growth performance of broiler chickens positively and the effect was dose dependent. This may have been partly because of an improvement in sucrase activity and other factors related to the nutritional content of propolis. Future study to evaluate specific bioactive compounds of propolis is therefore warranted.
Radio Transmitter Identi�cation Under Small Sample Conditions

Radio transmitter identification is an emerging technology that uses RF fingerprints to identify different radiation sources, and can find important applications in the field of wireless security. The choice of classifier is one of the key factors affecting recognition performance. Aiming at the shortcomings of a single classifier model, the author proposes a radio transmitter identification method based on improved SVM-KNN. First, the square integral bispectrum (SIB) algorithm is used to extract the signal fingerprint features from the steady-state signal of the mobile phone. Then, instead of the traditional Euclidean distance calculation method, the manifold geodesic distance calculation method is used to calculate the distance between the test sample and each support vector. Experimental studies using the same model of mobile phone show that the improved SVM-KNN algorithm is less affected by the choice of kernel function parameters, and has higher recognition accuracy without increasing the computational complexity. We also proved the robustness of our method in a wide range of signal-to-noise ratio.
The mediating role of work-life balance on the relationship between job resources and job satisfaction: perspectives from Indian nursing professionals

Purpose The purpose of this study is to empirically investigate the mediating effect of work-life balance (WLB) in the relationship between three significant job resources (namely, job autonomy, supervisor support and co-worker support) and job satisfaction experienced by frontline nursing professionals during the COVID-19 pandemic in an Indian setting using the theoretical foundation of job demands-resources theory. Design/methodology/approach Structured questionnaire survey has been used to get the responses from 452 nursing professionals in India during the COVID-19 pandemic. To carry out data analysis structural equation modeling has been used. Findings The results reveal the relationship between the framed hypotheses. Surprisingly, the relationship between all three job resources and WLB was found to be positive, and also WLB was positively associated with nursing professionals’ job satisfaction during pandemic situations. However, WLB partially mediated the relationship only between two job resources (namely, job autonomy and supervisor support) and job satisfaction. Originality/value The research paper addresses Indian nursing professionals’ perceptions of job resources, WLB and job satisfaction during the COVID-19 pandemic. This paper seeks to examine such a relationship when nursing professionals’ worked round the clock with intuitive expertise and cautiousness to provide quality care and responded more efficiently to scarce resource situations.
Paclitaxel - Combined Curcumin - Loaded PLA-TPGS - Based Nanoparticles Induce Apoptosis and Inhibit the Growth of Breast Cancer Cells and Multicellular Tumor Spheroids

Paclitaxel and curcumin have been reported as anti-cancer drugs. Here we presented a novel combination of paclitaxel and curcumin-loaded PLA-TPGS (PTX-Cur/PLA-TPGS) nanoparticles prepared by a modified solvent extraction/evaporation technique. These nanoparticles were well distributed and stable in water. This combination of paclitaxel and curcumin gave a higher efficiency of both drugs in cytotoxicity; induced apoptosis; and effect on cell cycles of KPL4 cell line in compare with the use of paclitaxel or curcumin alone or even a normal mixture of these two drugs. Furthermore, PTX-Cur/PLA-TPGS nanoparticles exhibited a powerful ability in preventing MCF7 spheroids growth. Interestingly, curcumin also functioned as both a drug and a label. Base on the autofluorescence of curcumin, the absorption of PTX-Cur/PLA-TPGS nanoparticles into MCF7 spheroids could be followed and calculated. These results suggested that the nanoparticle-drug combination may provide a promising multifunctional delivery system for anti-cancer drugs.
Integrating Safety Analysis into Model‐Based Systems Engineering for Aircraft Systems: A Literature Review and Methodology Proposal

Model‐Based Systems Engineering (MBSE) has become increasingly popular within the aircraft industry in recent years. However, this model‐based approach presents a challenge as traditional safety analysis practices are unable to keep up, resulting in inconsistency between the system and safety domains. This paper proposes a methodology tailored towards aircraft systems that addresses this issue by integrating safety analysis into MBSE. This is achieved by extending the Systems Modeling Language (SysML) profile to account for safety data in the system model and utilizing an Application Programming Interface (API) to automate the generation of safety analysis artefacts. The proposed methodology also allows for requirements management integration to increase the efficiency of the system development process.