Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Multispectral Approach for Identifying Invasive Plant Species Based on Flowering Phenology Characteristics

Invasive plant species (IPS) are the second biggest threat to biodiversity after habitat loss. Since the spatial extent of IPS is essential for managing the invaded ecosystem, the current study aims at identifying and mapping the aggressive IPS of Acacia salicina and Acacia saligna, to understand better the key factors influencing their distribution in the coastal plain of Israel. This goal was achieved by integrating airborne-derived hyperspectral imaging and multispectral earth observation for creating species distribution maps. Hyperspectral data, in conjunction with high spatial resolution species distribution maps, were used to train the multispectral images at the species level. We incorporated a series of statistical models to classify the IPS location and to recognize their distribution and density. We took advantage of the phenological flowering stages of Acacia trees, as obtained by the multispectral images, for the support vector machine classification procedure. The classification yielded an overall Kappa coefficient accuracy of 0.89. We studied the effect of various environmental and human factors on IPS density by using a random forest machine learning model, to understand the mechanisms underlying successful invasions, and to assess where IPS have a higher likelihood of occurring. This algorithm revealed that the high density of Acacia most closely related to elevation, temperature pattern, and distances from rivers, settlements, and roads. Our results demonstrate how the integration of remote-sensing data with different data sources can assist in determining IPS proliferation and provide detailed geographic information for conservation and management efforts to prevent their future spread.
Learning Analytics for Learner Awareness in Remote Laboratories Dedicated to Computer Education

This paper addresses learning analytics for learner awareness in remote laboratories. The objectives we identified to provide selfand social awareness while learners are practicing in their virtual learning environment are threefold: (1) the definition of a performance metric that requires no assessment tests, (2) the tracking of data to infer that metric in real time, (3) the visualization of the performance metric to provide learners with awareness, without impacting learners’ cognitive load. To support these needs, we propose a metric related to our context of computer education, a generic tracking framework, and visualization tools. All of these suggestions have been implemented in Lab4CE, a remote laboratory management system for computer education currently in use within our university.
Feeling-of-Safety Slider: Measuring Pedestrian Willingness to Cross Roads in Field Interactions with Vehicles

Can interactions between automated vehicles and pedestrians be evaluated in a quantifiable and standardized way? In order to answer this, we designed an input device in the form of a continuous slider that enables pedestrians to indicate their willingness to cross a road and their feeling of safety in real time in response to an approaching vehicle. In an initial field study, 71% of the participants reported that they were able to use the device naturally and indicate their feeling of safety satisfactorily. The feeling-of-safety slider can consequently be used to evaluate and benchmark interactions between pedestrians and vehicles, and compare communication interfaces for automated vehicles.
Idea Bits: A Tangible Design Tool to Aid Idea Generation for Tangible Manipulation

Tangible interaction design students often find it difficult to generate ideas for tangible manipulation. They often restrict their explorations to a few familiar possibilities. To our knowledge, there is no design tool that focuses on facilitating the exploration of a variety of manipulation and aiding generation of ideas for manipulation. To address this gap, we designed Idea Bits, a tangible design tool consisting of interactive physical artifacts that enable users to experience a set of manipulations. These artifacts are coupled with digital examples of tangible systems and technical implementation guidance to help users understand how to implement the manipulations. Our work contributes knowledge about the generation of ideas for manipulation and will be useful to tangible interaction design students, instructors, practitioners, and researchers.
Chaotic orbits in thermal-equilibrium beams: Existence and dynamical implications

Phase mixing of chaotic orbits exponentially distributes these orbits through their accessible phase space. This phenomenon, commonly called ``chaotic mixing'', stands in marked contrast to phase mixing of regular orbits which proceeds as a power law in time. It is operationally irreversible; hence, its associated e-folding time scale sets a condition on any process envisioned for emittance compensation. A key question is whether beams can support chaotic orbits, and if so, under what conditions? We numerically investigate the parameter space of three-dimensional thermal-equilibrium beams with space charge, confined by linear external focusing forces, to determine whether the associated potentials support chaotic orbits. We find that a large subset of the parameter space does support chaos and, in turn, chaotic mixing. Details and implications are enumerated.
How autonomy emerges as agile cross-functional teams mature

Adopting the practices of autonomous agile teams in organizations predominantly utilizing staged waterfall type product development processes, introduces organizational, technical and cultural challenges. The Norwegian Labor and Welfare Services (NAV) delivers social and employment services to over 2 million users. NAV decided to investigate the benefits of autonomous agile teams and how to overcome possible challenges through a pilot software development project. The autonomy of the teams was defined by their freedom to work in close cooperation with product owners and users, to take ownership to their processes and practices, and to take responsibility for their interfaces to other systems. During two years of development, both the autonomous agile teams and the project governance matured towards a more coherent manner of working. The findings are used as one reference in the process of transforming the organization to deliver faster, better and to a lower cost.
Effects of UAV Image Resolution, Camera Type, and Image Overlap on Accuracy of Biomass Predictions in a Tropical Woodland

Unmanned aerial systems (UASs) and photogrammetric structure from motion (SFM) algorithms can assist in biomass assessments in tropical countries and can be a useful tool in local greenhouse gas accounting. This study assessed the influence of image resolution, camera type and side overlap on prediction accuracy of biomass models constructed from ground-based data and UAS data in miombo woodlands in Malawi. We compared prediction accuracy of models reflecting two different image resolutions (10 and 15 cm ground sampling distance) and two camera types (NIR and RGB). The effect of two different side overlap levels (70 and 80%) was also assessed using data from the RGB camera. Multiple linear regression models that related the biomass on 37 field plots to several independent 3-dimensional variables derived from five UAS acquisitions were constructed. Prediction accuracy quantified by leave-one-out cross validation increased when using finer image resolution and RGB camera, while coarser resolution and NIR data decreased model prediction accuracy, although no significant differences were observed in absolute prediction error around the mean between models. The results showed that a reduction of side overlap from 80 to 70%, while keeping a fixed forward overlap of 90%, might be an option for reducing flight time and cost of acquisitions. Furthermore, the analysis of terrain slope effect in biomass predictions showed that error increases with steeper slopes, especially on slopes greater than 35%, but the effects were small in magnitude.
Control of a three-stage three-phase cascaded modular power electronic transformer

Power electronic transformer (PET) has attracted increasing research attention and is becoming one of the key elements of the future power distribution systems, especially in renewable energy related fields. In this paper, a control strategy is proposed for a three-phase three-stage H-bridge based cascaded modular PET, which is comprised of distinct AC-DC, DC-DC and DC-AC stages. The control strategy consists of input stage part, isolation stage part and output stage part. Detailed analysis of each part is presented, and simulation results verify the analysis.
Evaluation of Sentinel-1 and 2 Time Series for Land Cover Classification of Forest-Agriculture Mosaics in Temperate and Tropical Landscapes

Monitoring forest–agriculture mosaics is crucial for understanding landscape heterogeneity and managing biodiversity. Mapping these mosaics from remotely sensed imagery remains challenging, since ecological gradients from forested to agricultural areas make characterizing vegetation more difficult. The recent synthetic aperture radar (SAR) Sentinel-1 (S-1) and optical Sentinel-2 (S-2) time series provide a great opportunity to monitor forest–agriculture mosaics due to their high spatial and temporal resolutions. However, while a few studies have used the temporal resolution of S-2 time series alone to map land cover and land use in cropland and/or forested areas, S-1 time series have not yet been investigated alone for this purpose. The combined use of S-1 & S-2 time series has been assessed for only one or a few land cover classes. In this study, we assessed the potential of S-1 data alone, S-2 data alone, and their combined use for mapping forest–agriculture mosaics over two study areas: a temperate mountainous landscape in the Cantabrian Range (Spain) and a tropical forested landscape in Paragominas (Brazil). Satellite images were classified using an incremental procedure based on an importance rank of the input features. The classifications obtained with S-2 data alone (mean kappa index = 0.59–0.83) were more accurate than those obtained with S-1 data alone (mean kappa index = 0.28–0.72). Accuracy increased when combining S-1 and 2 data (mean kappa index = 0.55–0.85). The method enables defining the number and type of features that discriminate land cover classes in an optimal manner according to the type of landscape considered. The best configuration for the Spanish and Brazilian study areas included 5 and 10 features, respectively, for S-2 data alone and 10 and 20 features, respectively, for S-1 data alone. Short-wave infrared and VV and VH polarizations were key features of S-2 and S-1 data, respectively. In addition, the method enables defining key periods that discriminate land cover classes according to the type of images used. For example, in the Cantabrian Range, winter and summer were key for S-2 time series, while spring and winter were key for S-1 time series.
Termination of Isoform‐Selective Vps21/Rab5 Signaling at Endolysosomal Organelles by Msb3/Gyp3

Traffic through endosomes and lysosomes is controlled by small G‐proteins of the Rab5 and Rab7 families. Like humans, Saccharomyces cerevisiae has three Rab5s (Vps21, Ypt52 and Ypt53) and one Rab7 (Ypt7). Here, we elucidate the functional roles and regulation of the yeast Rab5s. Using GFP‐tagged cargoes, a novel quantitative multivesicular body (MVB) sorting assay, and electron microscopy, we show that MVB biogenesis and thus MVB cargo sorting is severely impaired in vps21Δ ypt52Δ double mutants. Ypt53, the third Rab5 paralog, is hardly expressed during normal growth but its transcription is strongly induced by cellular stress through the calcineurin‐Crz1 pathway. The requirement for Rab5 activity in stress tolerance facilitated identification of Msb3/Gyp3 as the principal Rab5 GAP (GTPase accelerating protein). In vitro GAP assays verified that Vps21 is a preferred Gyp3 target. Moreover, we demonstrate that Gyp3 spatially restricts active Vps21 to intermediate endosomal compartments by preventing Vps21 accumulation on lysosomal vacuoles. Gyp3, therefore, operates as a compartmental insulator that helps to define the spatial domain of Vps21 signaling in the endolysosomal pathway.
Impact of color on marketing

Purpose – Color is ubiquitous and is a source of information. People make up their minds within 90 seconds of their initial interactions with either people or products. About 62‐90 percent of the assessment is based on colors alone. So, prudent use of colors can contribute not only to differentiating products from competitors, but also to influencing moods and feelings – positively or negatively – and therefore, to attitude towards certain products. Given that our moods and feelings are unstable and that colors play roles in forming attitude, it is important that managers understand the importance of colors in marketing. The study is designed to contribute to the debate.Design/methodology/approach – This article reviews the literature relating to color psychology in the context of marketing, highlights inconsistencies and controversies surrounding the color psychology, and, examines the impact of colors on marketing.Findings – Findings of the study are that managers can use colors to increase or decrease .
Children and the Timing of Women's Paid Work after Childbirth: A Further Specification of the Relationship.

An assessment was made of the role of children in the timing of womens employment in paid work after a birth. Data were obtained from the 1983-86 Panel Study of Income Dynamics on 597 American women aged 18-45 years with a birth after December 1982. Event history methods were used to determine the hazard of starting paid work for women who had a child. Explanatory variables were level of education work status during pregnancy race unemployment rate work experience income marginal federal income tax rate home ownership number of children ages of children and spacing of children. The conceptual framework was based on Backers new home economics which states that individuals attain their goals by allocating time and resources to this end subject to existing resource constraints and preferences. Opportunity costs are defined as the value of what is lost as the full wage of not working and reservation wage. Even though the assumption is made that the ratio of hazards stays constant over time Cox proportional hazard models were constructed and some time-varying variables were included. The findings revealed that 18% of women stopped work for 1 month or less. The probability of resuming work after 4 complete months was 50%; after 1 year 61%. Multivariate analysis showed that work during pregnancy had the most significant effect on future employment after a birth. Few variables were statistically significant. The likelihood of employment was 6.5 times higher for women who worked at least 7 months prior to the birth. After 6 months the likelihood was reduced to only 3 time higher. Home ownership increased the likelihood by 25% and each 1% increase in the marginal tax rate increased the likelihood by 5%; each $1000 of nonwage income lowered the likelihood by 36%. The implication was that paid maternity leave would encourage women to stay at home. There was no justification for business concerns that reproductive age women are a risk because of the likelihood of their not returning to paid work after childbirth and therefore should be disadvantaged in hiring and wage scales.
A Novel Data Place Encryption Algorithm

Encryption based researches mainly focuses on data encryption which are constrained either by different forms or formats of data. This paper proposes a method to encrypt any form of data such as image, text and sound. Thus keeping in view that in every form or format of data, elements of data can be represented by numbers at different places. In matrix as well as array of data, every data elements are arranged at places, these places can also be used for encryption instead of encrypting data element's value. This paper proposes an algorithm called data place encryption algorithm (DPEA) which is dependent on two keys to encrypt data places by swapping elements of data. Keys are used for "swapping sequence" generation. These keys are again encrypted using either RSA or any of the various proposed modified RSA algorithms so that data can only be decoded by private key of receiver. As this algorithm uses swapping method, the decoding and encoding algorithms are same. Plain text is generated when cipher text is swapped again using DPEA algorithm. In this paper a method inspired by frequency hopping spread spectrum (FHSS) technique is proposed to reduce chosen/plain text attacks.
Terminological Cycles in KL-ONE-based Knowledge Representation Languages

Cyclic definitions are often prohibited in terminological knowledge representation languages because, from a theoretical point of view, their semantics is not clear and, from a practical point of view, existing inference algorithms may go astray in the presence of cycles. In this paper, we shall consider terminological cycles in a very small KL-ONE-based language. For this language, the effect of the three types of semantics introduced by (Nebel 1987,1989,1989a) can be completely described with the help of finite automata. These descriptions provide a rather intuitive understanding of terminologies with cyclic definitions and give insight into the essential features of the respective semantics. In addition, one obtains algorithms and complexity results for subsumption determination. As it stands, the greatest fixed-point semantics comes off best. The characterization of this semantics is easy and has an obvious intuitive interpretation. Furthermore, important constructs - such as value-restriction with respect to the transitive or reflexive-transitive closure of a role - can easily be expressed.
Vocational skills in the accounting professional profile: the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA) employers' opinion

The increasingly dynamic environment in which accountants work has necessitated a reorientation of accounting education. In some countries this issue has raised great interest amongst accounting educators and practitioners. The ongoing debate has already resulted in the publication of several statements and research papers that have raised the question of the relevance of the role of vocational skills in accounting education. Examples of these vocational skills are communication skills, interpersonal skills, and problem-solving skills. This paper reports on the importance that the employers of management accountants gave to a specified set of vocational skills and capabilities and the level of ability of these skills exhibited by students. In order to prioritize future developments an integrated analysis of the two attributes, importance and exhibited level, is enabled by the use of strategic mapping. The results of this study suggest that the employers perceive deficiencies in several capabilities that they have identified as being quite important. These deficiencies exist, in the employers' opinion, both prior to recruitment and on professional qualification. The research also indicates that, in the opinion of these employers, the development of these skills should be a central concern for universities and professional bodies. The employers also indicated that vocational skills should be attained in an integrated way.
Neuromuscular Implications and Applications of Resistance Training

Strength gains have been attributed to neural adaptations such as alterations in recruitment, rate coding, synchronization of motor units, reflex potentiation, co-contraction of antagonists, and synergistic muscle activity. Although most training studies show increases in EMG, a few have shown increase in strength with no apparent changes in neural drive. This may highlight the importance of motor control and the reorganization of supraspinal inputs. High intensity concentric and eccentric contractions with arousal and imagery techniques merit further study in promoting optimal neural adaptations. Specificity of training mode, type of contraction, and angle and velocity have been documented. Most velocity specificity studies have emphasized movement rather than contraction speed, which may be the predominant factor. The high rate of force development achieved with ballistic contractions should serve as a template for power training. The extent of muscle hypertrophy is dependent upon protein degradation and synthesis, which may be enhanced through high intensity, high volume eccentric and concentric contractions.
Learning to produce direct tests for security verification using constrained process discovery

Security verification relies on using direct tests manually prepared. Test preparation often requires intensive efforts from experts with in-depth domain knowledge. This work presents an approach to learn from direct tests written by an expert. After the learning, the learned model acts as a surrogate for the expert to produce new tests. The learning software comprises a database for accumulating and sharing security verification knowledge. The learning approach uses process discovery to build an upper-bound model and continuously adds constraints to refine it. We demonstrate the feasibility and effectiveness of the learning approach in a commercial SoC verification environment.
Numerical competence in animals: Definitional issues, current evidence, and a new research agenda

Abstract Numerical competence is one of the many aspects of animal cognition that have enjoyed a resurgence of interest during the past decade. Evidence for numerical abilities in animals has followed a tortuous path to respectability, however, from Clever Hans, the counting horse, to modern experimental studies. Recent surveys of the literaturereveal theoretical as well as definitional confusion arising from inconsistent terminology for numerical processes and procedures. The term “counting” has been applied to situations having little to do with its meaning in the human literature. We propose a consistent vocabulary and theoretical framework for evaluating numerical competence. Relative numerousness judgments, subitizing, counting, and estimation may be the essential processes by which animals perform numerical discriminations. Ordinality, cardinality, and transitivity also play an important role in these processes. Our schema is applied to a variety of recent experimental situations. Some evidence of transfer is essential in demonstrating higher-order ability such as counting or “sense of number. ” Those instances of numerical competence in which all viable alternatives to counting (e.g., subitizing) have been precluded, but no evidence of transfer has been demonstrated might be described as “protocounting. ” To show that animals are capable of “true” counting future research will have to demonstrate generality across situations.
Contact transition control with semiactive soft fingertips

We address the problem of controlling contact forces generated when the fingers of a robot close on an object or make contact with surfaces in the robot's environment. The use of controllable fingertip materials is proposed to enhance system performance and avoid contact instability problems that can arise with noncollocated sensors and actuators. We describe a novel fingertip employing an electrorheological fluid and present the results of experiments to evaluate its capabilities when used with a robot contacting a stationary object at various speeds. Having characterized the fingertip behavior as a function of applied voltage, we turn to the question of optimal control, Using a simplified dynamic model of a robot equipped with a controllable electrorheological fingertip, we obtain a piece-wise optimal solution for the fingertip damping as a function of time, to minimize settling time while satisfying constraints on the contact forces.