Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Zero-mean Minace filters for detection in visible EO imagery

We consider using minimum noise and correlation energy (Minace) filters to detect objects in high-resolution Electro-Optical (EO) visible imagery. EO data is a difficult detection problem because only primitive features such as edges and corners are useful. This occurs because the targets and the background in EO data can have very similar gray levels, which leads to very low contrast targets; no hot spots (present in infrared (IR) data) or bright reflectors (present in synthetic aperture radar (SAR) data) exist in EO data. Since only geometrical (aspect view) distortions are expected in EO data (no thermal variations, as in IR, are expected), we consider using distortion-invariant Minace filters to detect targets. Such filters are shift-invariant and have been shown to be suitable for detection in other data (IR and SAR). Minace filters are attractive distortion-invariant filters (DIFs) because they require only a few filters to handle detection of multiple target classes. These filters must be modified for use on EO data. For EO data, zero-mean Minace filters formed from zero-mean, unit-energy data are used, and thus use of local zero-mean normalized correlations are needed. They show excellent initial detection results.
Quantitative analysis of land surface topography

Land surface topography significantly affects the processes of runoff and erosion. A system which determines slope, aspect, and curvature in both the down-slope and across-slope directions is developed for an altitude matrix. Also, the upslope drainage area and maximum drainage distance are determined for every point within the altitude matrix. A FORTRAN 66 program performs the analysis.
Modeling Critical Success Factors of Lean Strategy in the Manufacturing Industry

This article aims to provide valuable new insights into organizations implementing Lean Manufacturing (LM) as a continuous improvement strategy, focusing on those which are reducing waste in order to increase their competitiveness. A statistical approach was used to model the causal relationships between LM Critical Success Factors (CSFs) to achieve this goal. We used an instrument which has been previously validated in the transportation equipment manufacturing sector in the Mexican manufacturing industry. The proposed hypotheses were subjected to empirical tests using the Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) technique. The results indicate that Top Management Involvement and Commitment, with Project Leadership as a mediator, contributes indirectly and significantly to the increase in the benefits of LM projects. In addition, it was observed that Customer Focus, Linking Lean to the Suppliers, and Training and Education directly influence the increase in the benefits of LM projects in the sector. These findings offer a frame of reference for manufacturing industries with similar characteristics to the sector in this study who wish to increase their benefits by developing projects using LM methodology.
Integrated approach for the management of common bean rust (Uromyces appendiculatus) under field conditions

A field experiment was conducted to test the efficacy of different management practices and fungicide application timings for common bean rust management in Chitwan, Nepal. It was conducted in a randomized complete block design (RCBD) with two factors: management practices (Azoxystrobin, Trichoderma viride, maize intercropping + Trichoderma viride, Neem + Garlic extracts, and inoculated and untreated controls) and fungicide application timings (8 days after inoculation and 3 days after inoculation), each with three replications. The minimum disease severity was found with azoxystrobin, which was at par with neem + garlic extract and maize intercropping + Trichoderma at 50 days after inoculation (DAI). The maximum number of rust pustules per cm2 was observed in the control plots (7.56), followed by Trichoderma (4.79) at 50 DAI. The maximum necrotic colonies (%) were observed with the control (36.88%), followed by Trichoderma (25.15%), while the effects of other treatments were at par at 40 DAI. Maize intercropping with Trichoderma resulted in a maximum plant height (201.56 cm), which was at par with azoxystrobin (197.81 cm). The plants treated with azoxystrobin showed maximum green pod yield at one picking (2411.35 g) which was at par with maize intercropping + Trichoderma and neem + garlic extracts. Rust was controlled more effectively when the fungicides were sprayed at 4 DAI than 8 DAI. The maximum disease control was observed with Azoxystrobin; however, as other treatments also had comparable effects, an integrated approach could be adopted for the sustainable management of common bean rust.
Seven New Species of Eurotiales (Ascomycota) Isolated from Tidal Flat Sediments in China

Tidal flats have been reported to contain many microorganisms and play a critical role in maintaining biodiversity. In surveys of filamentous fungi from tidal flat sediments in China, seven new species of Eurotiales were discovered and described. Morphological characteristics and DNA sequence analyses of combined datasets of the BenA, CaM, and RPB2 regions support their placements and recognition as new species. Aspergillus liaoningensis sp. nov. and A. plumeriae sp. nov. belong to sections Candidi and Flavipedes of subgenus Circumdati, and A. subinflatus sp. nov. is a member of section Cremei of subgenus Cremei. Penicillium danzhouense sp. nov., P. tenue sp. nov., and P. zhanjiangense sp. nov. are attributed to sections Exilicaulis and Lanata-Divaricata of subgenus Aspergilloides. Talaromyces virens sp. nov. is in section Talaromyces. Detailed descriptions and illustrations of these novel taxa are provided. Their differences from close relatives were compared and discussed.
The Main Therapeutic Applications of Cannabidiol (CBD) and Its Potential Effects on Aging with Respect to Alzheimer’s Disease

The use of cannabinoids (substances contained specifically in hemp plants) for therapeutic purposes has received increased attention in recent years. Presently, attention is paid to two main cannabinoids: delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol (CBD). With respect to the psychotropic effects and dependence potential of THC (though it is very mild), its use is associated with certain restrictions, and thus the therapeutic properties of CBD are frequently emphasized because there are no limitations associated with the risk of dependence. Therefore, this review covers the main pharmacodynamic and pharmacokinetic features of CBD (including characteristics of endocannabinoidome) with respect to its possible beneficial effects on selected diseases in clinical practice. A substantial part of the text deals with the main effects of CBD on aging, including Alzheimer’s disease and related underlying mechanisms.
A diabatic circulation two-dimensional model with photochemistry: Simulations of ozone and long-lived tracers with surface sources

A two-dimensional zonally averaged time dependent model is developed to describe the transport and chemical transformations of species in the troposphere and the stratosphere. The constituents are advected by the residual Eulerian circulation, which is shown to equal the diabatic circulation under certain circumstances. Prescribed values of temperatures and diabatic heating rates are used to calculate the diabatic velocities. Slow diffusion, with Kyy = 3 × 109 cm2 s−1 and Kzz = 103 cm2 s−1, is included in the tracer transport calculations in the stratosphere, to simulate mixing due to wave transience. High diffusion coefficients are used in the troposphere. We show that the observed distribution of ozone is adequately reproduced in the model. In early spring, when the ozone columns attain the maximum values at middle and high latitudes, deviations from observations are 5–10% for all latitudes in the northern hemisphere. Stratospheric water vapor, which is extremely sensitive to the latitude of transport across the tropopause, is also well reproduced. Studies of the global atmospheric lifetimes for CF2Cl2, CFCl3, and CCl4 confirm that the strength of the global circulation is realistic in the model. Model experiments are performed with the recently measured low values of oxygen cross sections in the Herzberg continuum as well as with previous high values. In most cases, including ozone calculations, the low values improve the model results.
Puzzles of State Transformation: The Cases of Armenia and Georgia

The problems of weak state structures, including state territoriality, in the South Caucasus has highly influenced political developments and the building of a democratic state. This paper explains the difficulty of recovering statehood in the cases of Armenia and Georgia, both in the context of post-Soviet state transformation and post-conflict state-rebuilding. It argues that recovering statehood in the South Caucasus meant at once maintaining the status quo within the state structures and managing the highly volatile political and ethnic relations (culminating in armed conflict). In the cases of conflict, elite management impeded conflict solution. In this context, this paper finds that elite power slowed the construction of a democratic and effective state. In particular, elite fragmentation has led to serious impediments for state development and the consolidation of territoriality. In sum, elite-led state development and conflict management hindered the successful consolidation of state territoriality.
Microorganisms Involved in the Biodegradation and Microbiological Corrosion of Structural Materials

Microbiologically influenced corrosion (MIC) is the process of material degradation in the presence of microorganisms and their biofilms. This is an environmentally assisted type of corrosion, which is highly complex and challenging to fully understand. Different metallic materials, such as steel alloys, magnesium alloys, aluminium alloys, and titanium alloys, have been reported to have adverse effects of MIC on their applications. Though many researchers have reported bacteria as the primary culprit of microbial corrosion, several other microorganisms, including fungi, algae, archaea, and lichen, have been found to cause MIC on metal and non-metal surfaces. However, less attention is given to the MIC caused by fungi, algae, archaea, and lichens. In this review paper, the effects of different microorganisms, including bacteria, fungi, algae, archaea, and lichens, on the corrosion properties of engineering materials have been discussed in detail. This review aims to summarize all of the corrosive microorganisms that directly or indirectly cause the degradation of structural materials. Accusing bacteria of every MIC case without a proper investigation of the corrosion site and an in-depth study of the biofilm and secreted metabolites can create problems in understanding the real cause of the materials’ failure. To identify the real corrosion agent in any environment, it is highly important to study all kinds of microorganisms that exist in that specific environment.
Pan Evaporation Prediction Using LSTM Models Based on PCA Factor Reduction and Firefly Optimization Algorithm

Evaporation is an important part of the moisture exchange between the earth and the air. Understanding the trend of pan evaporation can help to reveal the status of actual evaporation, which is very useful for the allocation of regional water resources. However, long short-term memory (LSTM) has become a mainstream algorithm for predicting pan evaporation, there are two issues worth considering. One of the issues is how to automatically find the optimal hyperparameters, the other is how to eliminate the correlation between prediction factors to improve prediction performance. To address the two issues, this article proposes LSTM models based on principal component analysis (PCA) factor reduction and firefly optimization algorithm. In the proposed model, fire-fly algorithm can find the optimal hyperparameters, and PCA can eliminate the correlation between prediction factors. Xiangjiang River Basin, an important Basin for China’s water resource management, is selected as a study area, the experimental results are evaluated by root mean square error (RMSE) and the coefficient of determination ( $R^{2}$ ). The results show that the proposed models can successfully predict daily pan evaporation of the study area.
ANALISIS RISIKO PORTOFOLIO DENGAN METODE VALUE AT RISK (VAR) MELALUI PENDEKATAN HISTORICAL METHOD (BACK SIMULATION)

Suatu kegiatan investasi perlu mempertimbangkan akan besar resiko dan return yang akan didapat. Penilaian resiko dan return tersebut diperlukan suatu analisis guna mengetahui keakuratan besar risiko dan return. Pada umumnya hampir semua investasi mengandung unsur ketidakpastian atau risiko. Investor tidak tahu dengan pasti hasil yang akan diperolehnya dari investasi yang dilakukannya. Analisis portofolio optimal merupakan salah satu teknik analisis dalam menentukan besarnya resiko dan return. Value at Risk (VaR) adalah suatu alat ukur statistik risiko yang mengukur kerugian maksimum yang diharapkan dari sebuah investasi pada tingkat konfidensi (confidence interval) tertentu dan periode waktu (time period) tertentu dalam kondisi pasar normal. Penelitian ini membahas tentang analisis risiko portofolio dengan metode Value at Risk melalui pendekatan Historical Method. Sampel yang diambil adalah lima Bank di Indonesia yang mempunyai aset terbesar, yaitu Bank Central Asia (BCA), Bank Danamon Indonesia, Bank Mandiri, Bank Rakyat Indonesia (BRI) dan Bank Negara Indonesia (BNI) pada periode Januari 2012 – Desember 2012. Analisis risiko portofolio dengan metode VaR melalui pendekatan Historical Method dilakukan dengan 50 macam variasi pembobotan sehingga diperoleh pada tingkat keyakinan 95% dihasilkan nilai VaR sebesar antara -2,29% sampai dengan -0,9%. Dari 50 portofolio diatas tentunya investor akan dipilih portofolio terbaik menggunakan Sharpe Ratio. Dari hasil perhitungan diperoleh portofolio terbaik pada portofolio ke-49 dengan proporsi BDMN 20%, BNI 30%, BRI 20%, BMRI 10%, dan BCA 20% dengan nilai VaR -0,9% dan Ekspektasi Return 0,044%. Jika dana awal yang diinvestasikan sebesar Rp. 2.000.000. 000,-, maka hal ini dapat diartikan ada keyakinan sebesar 95% bahwa kerugian yang mungkin terjadi yang akan diterima investor tidak akan melebihi 0,90% atau Rp. 18.000.000,- dalam jangka waktu satu tahun. Keywords: Analisis Investasi, Historical Method (Back Simulation), Management Risiko, Portofolio, Value at Risk (VaR).
Clethra fimbriata hexanic extract triggers alteration in the energy metabolism in epimastigotes of Trypanosoma cruzi

Chagas disease (ChD), caused by Trypanosoma cruzi, is endemic in American countries and an estimated 8 million people worldwide are chronically infected. Currently, only two drugs are available for therapeutic use against T. cruzi and their use is controversial due to several disadvantages associated with side effects and low compliance with treatment. Therefore, there is a need to search for new tripanocidal agents. Natural products have been considered a potential innovative source of effective and selective agents for drug development to treat T. cruzi infection. Recently, our research group showed that hexanic extract from Clethra fimbriata (CFHEX) exhibits anti-parasitic activity against all stages of T. cruzi parasite, being apoptosis the main cell death mechanism in both epimastigotes and trypomastigotes stages. With the aim of deepening the understanding of the mechanisms of death induced by CFHEX, the metabolic alterations elicited after treatment using a multiplatform metabolomics analysis (RP/HILIC-LC-QTOF-MS and GC-QTOF-MS) were performed. A total of 154 altered compounds were found significant in the treated parasites corresponding to amino acids (Arginine, threonine, cysteine, methionine, glycine, valine, proline, isoleucine, alanine, leucine, glutamic acid, and serine), fatty acids (stearic acid), glycerophospholipids (phosphatidylcholine, phosphatidylethanolamine and phosphatidylserine), sulfur compounds (trypanothione) and carboxylic acids (pyruvate and phosphoenolpyruvate). The most affected metabolic pathways were mainly related to energy metabolism, which was found to be decrease during the evaluated treatment time. Further, exogenous compounds of the triterpene type (betulinic, ursolic and pomolic acid) previously described in C. fimbriata were found inside the treated parasites. Our findings suggest that triterpene-type compounds may contribute to the activity of CFHEX by altering essential processes in the parasite.
Neighbourhood renewal in Parkhurst, Johannesburg : a case study of gentrification?

As in many other countries, the processes of gentrification in South Africa have taken the form of urban regeneration. However, little geographical research has been conducted on gentrification in South Africa. This study adds to the literature by presenting the case of Parkhurst, a Johannesburg surburb, that has undergone gentrification. Parkhurst displays three of the four characteristics of gentrification: (1) the housing stock has undergone extensive physical improvement (2) property values have increased and (3) the original residents have been displaced. Although gentrification is usually also associated with a change in housing tenure from rentals to ownership, it was found that ownership was, and still is, a common feature, both prior to, and subsequent to, gentrification. The study found that Parkhurst has a demographic and a socio-economic profile typical of a gentrified suburb in that it is populated by young, educated and childless couples, many of whom are highincome-earning professionals, and new residents to the area. Due to its past designation as white space, this suburb is still a reflection of South Africa’s racially stratified past in that it is still numerically dominated by white people. Furthermore, the gender ratio is skewed in favour of males. Almost one third of the housing stock has been renovated or is under renovation. Some of the residential stands in the suburb have been converted into business units such as restaurants and antique shops. This research concluded that for Parkhurst the process of gentrification has been driven by consumptive patterns of behaviour, with individual consumption patterns in particular driving the process.
A Novel Three-Stage Battery Cell Anomaly Detection Approach for a Frequency Regulation-Energy Storage System in Edge-Cloud Computing

Energy storage systems (ESSs) have increasingly become important, and an electrical grid upgraded as a smart grid with the widespread use of renewables and electric vehicles needs to be stabilized considering the grid's safety, stability and reliability requirements. In this article, a new screening approach using three-stage battery cell anomaly detection is proposed. This approach more precisely quantifies the relative deterioration of battery cells, allowing battery cell outliers to be traceable during operation inside battery modules constituting battery racks in a (frequency regulation-)ESS. These outliers, which are represented by cell voltage imbalance to deteriorate over time, pose potential safety hazards and need to be targeted and prevented. The proposed approach is based on an edge-cloud computing framework. The progress of a conventional ESS suggests an advanced toward a next-generation ESS, where geographically distributed systems can be monitored and managed over edge-cloud computing in a distributed, decentralized fashion. The approach proposed in this research is a preliminary implementation that has been experimentally validated by an on-site, in-service FR-ESS.
Risks of Adverse Outcomes for Hospitalized COVID-19 Patients during the Four Waves in Brazil According to SARS-CoV-2 Variants, Age Group, and Vaccine Status

Brazil was hit with four consecutive waves of COVID-19 until 2022 due to the ancestral SARS-CoV-2 (B.1 lineage), followed by the emergence of variants/subvariants. Relative risks of adverse outcomes for COVID-19 patients hospitalized during the four waves were evaluated. Data were extracted from the largest Brazilian database (SIVEP-Gripe), and COVID-19 patients who were hospitalized during the peak of each of the four waves (15-week intervals) were included in this study. The outcomes of in-hospital death, invasive (IMV) and non-invasive (NIV) ventilation requirements, and intensive care unit (ICU) admission were analyzed to estimate the relative risks. A higher risk of in-hospital death was found during the second wave for all age groups, but a significant reduction was observed in the risk of death for the elderly during the third and fourth waves compared to patients in the first wave. There was an increased risk of IMV requirement and ICU admissions during the second wave for patients aged 18–59 years old compared to the first wave. Relative risk analysis showed that booster-vaccinated individuals have lower risks of in-hospital death and IMV requirement in all age groups compared to unvaccinated/partially vaccinated patients, demonstrating the relevance of full/booster vaccination in reducing adverse outcomes for patients who were hospitalized during the variant prevalence.
Subsurface geology of the Ariana region (Diapir Zone, northern Tunisia) by means of gravity analysis

Gravity data were used to investigate subsurface geology in the Ariana region from the Diapir Zone in Tunisia. Our study area is located in the north‐eastern part of the Maghrebides affected by the Alpine orogeny. Despite the smooth topography and the low density of the Quaternary series, integrated geological data and gravity responses (Bouguer anomaly and derivative mapping) help decipher the geological heterogeneities beneath the Quaternary overburden. The interpretation of the gravity data points to alignments of positive anomalies delineating two major orthogonal features that are thought to characterize the subsurface deep structures: 1) a lineament striking north‐west at the emplacement of an actual horst bordered by a buried fault‐system directed N140 and 2) a second counterpart striking north‐east, and is clearly expressed in the surface outcrops. These principal structural features were described as the result of a regional tectonic, compressive phase dating the Miocene. This phase was marked by reactivation and oblique‐slip displacements of regional faults; some of which (N070) are reverse and south‐east vergent. Further faulting enhanced the ascension of Triassic evaporites in diapir structures. This tectonic evolution may be integrated in the regional tectonic scheme of Alpine orogeny induced by a collision between African and European plates.
Transistor Self-Heating-Aware Synthesis for Reliable Digital Circuit Designs

With the continuous scaling in technology nodes, the transistor self-heating effect (SHE) emerges as a growing threat to circuit reliability. Increasingly confined transistor structures and advanced materials exacerbate thermal insulation, concealing temperature hotspots in the transistor’s channel. Without the consideration of these increased temperatures, reliability effects such as aging will be underestimated, putting the circuit at risk. In this work, we propose a novel design flow that enables designers to extract accurate SHE temperatures at the circuit level and harden their design with SHE-aware synthesis. Our approach employs customized standard cell libraries to convey SHE information and guide logic synthesis toward SHE-resilient designs. Using our approach, we demonstrate effective suppression of SHE in circuits by up to 50%, trading off improved SHE resilience against timing, power, and area goals. In addition, our SHE analysis allows for accurate estimation of timing guardbands, reducing unnecessary pessimism of conventional approaches by over 50%.