Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Three-Dimensional Numerical Simulation of Saltwater Extraction Schemes to Mitigate Seawater Intrusion due to Groundwater Pumping in a Coastal Aquifer System

A series of three-dimensional numerical simulations using a multidimensional hydrodynamic dispersion numerical model was performed to analyze various saltwater extraction schemes for mitigating seawater intrusion attributed to groundwater pumping in a coastal aquifer system. A steady-state numerical simulation was performed first to obtain initial (i.e., pregroundwater pumping) steady-state conditions before groundwater pumping, and then a transient-state numerical simulation was performed to obtain intermediate (i.e., postgroundwater pumping) steady-state conditions during groundwater pumping. In the subsequent series of transient-state numerical simulations as scenario and sensitivity analyses, four different saltwater extraction factors such as the amount of saltwater extraction, the number of extraction wells, the horizontal location of extraction wells, and the vertical interval of saltwater extraction were considered to determine an optimal saltwater extraction scheme for the coastal aquifer system .
Challenges and Opportunities in Estimating the Value of Goods and Services in Temperate Grasslands — A Case Study of Prairie Grasslands in Manitoba, Canada

was estimated to be approximately $1,436 million/yr ($630 ha/yr), with a range of $1,203 million/yr ($527 ha/yr) to $1,880 million/yr ($810 ha/yr). The two most highly valued goods and services in Manitoba grasslands were perennial forage production and carbon sequestra‐ tion. Multidisciplinary research, focusing on economic valuation of non-market goods and services will provide more relevant transfer values than those obtained from other ecosystems and will greatly improve estimates of grassland value. This study shows that goods and services in complex ecosystems such as temperate grasslands can be valued using market and non-market based valuation methods. Improvements in
Conceptualization and Measurement of Peer Collaboration in Higher Education: A Systematic Review

Collaboration is a construct comprising diverse definitions and frameworks. Additionally, being a latent variable and because of its complexity and interactive nature, collaboration is difficult to measure. Therefore, this systematic literature review was guided by two fundamental questions: what to measure and how to measure. Through the review and synthesis of 28 carefully selected studies we derived an integrative framework displaying indicators for peer collaboration in higher education and beyond. Moreover, the results give insights into measurement approaches of collaboration comprising information on data collection and analysis as well as contextual factors (e.g., task type, time).
From Cover to Immucover: Adversarial Steganography via Immunized Cover Construction

Recent advancements in image steganography demonstrate that reasonable cover enhancement approaches can effectively improve the security performance of steganography. However, the existing proposals based on adversarial steganography against targeted steganalyzers are insufficient in terms of eliminating or reducing anomalous pixels caused by subsequent embedding. This limitation impedes the full potential of cover enhancement schemes for enhancing steganographic security. In this article, we present Immucover, a novel immunized cover image construction method that leverages fuzzy enhancement and an artificial immune system (AIS) to incorporate texture region- and edge-region-adaptive enhancement. Specifically, we first design a parameterized method to adaptively enhance the texture region of the given cover image using a distortion function. Then, Immucover detects and enhances the edge region of the cover image using a fuzzy-parameterized approach based on an optimized smallest univalue segment assimilating nucleus for edge detection. Finally, a powerful AIS module acts as an optimizer to optimize the parameters that affect the texture and edge area, i.e., the area where the secret information is suitably embedded. In this way, a so-called immunized cover image is generated. In addition, we develop a novel affinity metric to assess the antibody quality within the AIS module, which guides the generation of the immunized cover with higher security. Comprehensive experiments conducted on widely used datasets demonstrate that our Immucover provides significantly improved resistance to steganalysis and enhances the security of steganography.
Impact of Permission in Android on Data Security

Abstract Android is an application platform for mobile devices with an advance and moderate frequent feature of operating systems. It includes all software systems, software package frameworks, and core programs. This platform permits to collect and verify important personal information concerning the user/client through untrusted apps. However, to install an application, the device feature uses permissions that are allowed by the user. The user has an attribute to research permissions and aborts the setup if the permissions are unfriendly or unrestricted. Android permission analysis schemes play a major and important role in securing important information and privacy of users from unbearable behaviors of untrusted android permission apps within the aspect of securing purposes. This survey tries to handle and deal with the android permission application permissions related to security and privacy challenges. It includes various research articles published in computers and security, digital investigation, decision support systems, systems and software security, and information forensics journals in the last 10 years. The survey includes the subsequent prior considerations, analysis problems motivated by the theme, the methodology used, the ability of result analysis conducted, and mechanical man options thought-about for performance analysis.
Next generation compact IR spectrometers for the Moon

Our understanding of the origin, movement, and storage of water on the Moon remains largely unconstrained. Measurements of water absorption features over the same swaths as a function of time of day from a nearly polar orbit, the science goal proposed for the BIRCHES (Broadband InfraRed Compact High-resolution Exploration Spectrometer) payload designed and built for the Lunar Ice Cube orbiter, was intended to provide such essential constraints. BIRCHES was a compact version of OVIRS (Origins Spectral Interpretation Resource Identification Security Regolith Explorer Visible InfraRed Spectrometer) plus a compact cryocooler. IR spectrometer capabilities have been greatly advanced, since its selection in 2015 for the NASA NEXT STEP program, in terms of sensitivity, spectral coverage, and less active cooling demand as exemplified by the NASA GSFC Compact Thermal Imager (CTI), which utilizes a Type II SLS (Strained Super Lattice) combined with the ACADIA processor, follow on to the OVIRS SIDECAR (System Image, Digitizing, Enhancing, Controlling, And Retrieving) ASIC. Although initially developed for astronomical applications, the CTI has, with the addition of a cryocooler, already been modified for lunar surface applications. The ‘Next generation’ orbital mission and surface package concepts discussed here would utilize advanced versions of BIRCHES, of comparable mass, power and volume but with superior performance, and would likely be significantly more robust and ‘roomy’, due to availability of high-performance thermal protection components and a larger 12U platform. A compact textual camera and internal calibration source would thus be added.
Horizontal pullout capacity of a group of two vertical plate anchors in clay

The horizontal pullout capacity of a group of two vertical strip plate anchors, placed along the same vertical plane, in a fully cohesive soil has been computed by using the lower bound finite element limit analysis. The effect of spacing between the plate anchors on the magnitude of total group failure load (P-uT) has been evaluated. An increase of soil cohesion with depth has also been incorporated in the analysis. For a weightless medium, the total pullout resistance of the group becomes maximum corresponding to a certain optimum spacing between the anchor plates which has been found to vary generally between 0.5B and B; where B is the width of the anchor plate. As compared to a single plate anchor, the increase in the pullout resistance for a group of two anchors becomes greater at a higher embedment ratio. The effect of soil unit weight has also been analyzed. It is noted that the interference effect on the pullout resistance increases further with an increase in the unit weight of soil mass.
Method of parameterization for infrared cooling between altitudes of 30 and 70 kilometers

A simple parameterization of infrared cooling between altitudes of 30 and 70 km consists of the sum of the exact cooling for a reference temperature profile and a Newtonian cooling approximation for departures from this profile. The parameterization is developed by using the 1962 standard atmosphere for the reference temperature. The exact line-by-line calculation of cooling gives total infrared cooling rates that in the vicinity of the stratopause are somewhat greater (∼1 deg day−1) than the values obtained by previous investigators, apparently because the present study includes ‘second hot bands’.
Analytical Ultracentrifugation Detects Quaternary Rearrangements and Antibody-Induced Conformational Selection of the SARS-CoV-2 Spike Trimer

Analytical ultracentrifugation (AUC) analysis shows that the SARS-CoV-2 trimeric Spike (S) protein adopts different quaternary conformations in solution. The relative abundance of the “open” and “close” conformations is temperature-dependent, and samples with different storage temperature history have different open/close distributions. Neutralizing antibodies (NAbs) targeting the S receptor binding domain (RBD) do not alter the conformer populations; by contrast, a NAb targeting a cryptic conformational epitope skews the Spike trimer toward an open conformation. The results highlight AUC, which is typically applied for molecular mass determination of biomolecules as a powerful tool for detecting functionally relevant quaternary protein conformations.
Cenozoic landscape and ice drainage evolution in the Lambert Glacier–Amery Ice Shelf system

Abstract Landforms and sediments in the Prince Charles Mountains record the timing and magnitude of Cenozoic palaeotopographic changes in the Lambert Glacier–Amery Ice Shelf system. A review of geomorphic and sedimentological evidence indicates that considerable (>1–2 km) glacial incision into a pre-glacial palaeosurface occurred along the major outlet glaciers during the Cenozoic. This erosion was in turn the likely driver for uplift that averaged c. 50 m/Ma along the flank of the Amery Ice Shelf since at least the mid-Miocene Epoch. The volume of eroded material is an order of magnitude greater than the quantity of sediment presently preserved in Prydz Bay, suggesting considerable export of Cenozoic sediment off the continental shelf. The magnitude of erosion recorded in the Prince Charles Mountains is sufficient to have focussed Cenozoic ice-drainage patterns, but was too slow to have driven Quaternary changes in ice volume.
The Discontinuous Diffusion of User-Generated Content

This research investigates the discontinuous diffusion process associated with User Generated Content (UGC). Specifically, we examine the daily views for a sample of videos posted on YouTube. We assume that the audience for each video is drawn from two segments that represent the initial poster’s segment and a secondary diffusion segment. The UGC spreads within each segment according to segment-specific Weibull diffusion processes and across segments according to a stochastic process that allows the second segment to begin its diffusion process at a later point in time. Our results indicate that UGC’s diffusion in many cases is discontinuous, and the secondary diffusion segment, on average, begins its adoption process significantly later than the initial segment. We also examine two factors that may impact diffusion and diffusion discontinuity: seeding and content. We find that while seeding through posters who have large observe network sizes (such as subscribers or friends) may generate more immediate viewership, seeding through posters who have large, unobserved network sizes (individuals who are connected to the poster but unobservable), relative to the secondary segment, reduces diffusion discontinuity. In addition, we find that the magnitude of discontinuity varies across video content. Furthermore, we provide managers with a methodology to forecast the timing of discontinuity.
Timing, selectivity and varietal response to mechanical thinning of apples and pears.

SummaryMechanical thinning of cv Delicious apples six to ten weeks after full bloom eliminated the need for hand thinning. Fruit removed earlier than six weeks would have shed naturally. Fruit removed after ten weeks was poorly distributed as increasing fruit weight caused the fruiting laterals to hang lower than 45° from the vertical. Mechanical thinning was non-selective for fruit size. Of five pear cultivars examined, Williams, Josephine and, to a lesser extent. Beurre Bosc could be mechanically thinned successfully. The long flexible peduncle was a major limitation in mechanically thinning Packham’s Triumph pears. Mechanical and hand thinning were equally effective in reducing the proportion of small fruit in Williams pears.
Economic evaluations of unpaid household work: Africa, Asia, Latin America and Oceania

Women, Work and Development Series The majority of women around the world work long hours and contribute significantly to production and to family income, although this fact is not generally recognised in attitudes and policies or reflected in official statistics. Women's ability in helping to bring about improvements in their own and their family's welfare depends on social and economic factors as well as on specific policy measures.This volume builds on earlier work by the author on methodology of evaluating unpaid household work. The first study "Unpaid work in the household: A review of economic evaluation methods" dealt with Europe and North America while the present study extends the review to economic evaluations of domestic and related activities performed in Africa, Asia, Latin America and Oceania.
The positive impact of mindfulness interventions on the explicit and implicit affective attitudes toward vegetarian foods

Objectives The main goal of our intervention study was to investigate whether two conceptually different mindfulness interventions positively impacted the explicit and implicit affective evaluations of vegetarian foods. We included possible mediating variables (e.g., wellbeing) and related our results to the stage model of self-regulated behavioral change (SSBC). Methods We implemented a compassion and caring-based mental training (N = 31) and an adapted MBSR course (N = 34) as mindfulness interventions, and a stress-reduction course (N = 26) as the active control group. The curriculums consisted of 12 weekly group sessions á 75 min. All participants were tested pre- and post-intervention and 3 months after the last intervention session, answered questionnaires (mindfulness, compassion, wellbeing, items of the SSBC) and completed an explicit affective evaluation task and an affective priming task. Results There was an improvement in the explicit attitudes toward vegetarian foods regardless of the intervention group. In the SSBC, we found a link between the explicit attitudes toward vegetarian foods and the indicated stage in the model. Multiple regression analysis revealed social and personal norms and a vegetarian/vegan diet as the only significant predictors for goal intention in the SSBC. Conclusion The results of our study suggest that both conceptually different mindfulness interventions, as well as a stress-reduction program, have a positive impact on explicit affective attitudes toward vegetarian foods. We highlight the meaning of inner dimensions and transformation for change processes for a more sustainable diet and the role of social and personal norms.
Design and verification of periodic metallic mesh structures for optical windows

RADAR Cross Section (RCS) is an essential factor in modern defense applications for detection and identification of platforms. Careful management of RCS requirements is crucial from initial design phase to integration stage. Electrooptical sensors create discontinuities on the frame of the platform which can negatively impact the low RCS requirement. To ensure the low RCS requirement, discontinuities, either as protrusion or opening, shall be electrically conductive and optically transparent. The use of metasurfaces, designed with a periodic mesh structure, is a widely adopted approach meeting these requirements. Electromagnetic and optical performance of periodic mesh structure depend on parameters such as shape of elements, dimensions of elements, interelement spacing, substrate material parameters etc. This paper starts with the analysis of electromagnetic shielding effectiveness of periodic mesh structure via equivalent circuit method (ECM) and Floquet Port Modes. ANSYS HFSS and CST MWS software are used for the analysis of Floquet Port Modes. Analysis results are compared with measurements via coaxial holder method stated in ASTM D 4935 standard. Samples used in coaxial holder is produced with photolithography. Aligned dual antennae method referred in IEEE 299 is used as verification technique. Additionally, diffraction effects from the mesh structure are analyzed and measured in the visible and mid-wave range.
A compilation of common crossbill Loxia curvirostraL., 1758 ring-recovery data from the Iberian Peninsula and other European regions

In November 2021, a female common crossbill ringed in Switzerland was found in the Sistema Central mountain range, within the administrative border of the Community of Madrid (Spain). This is an unusal record due to the lack of data on irruptions of this species from central or northern Europe in the centre of the Iberian Peninsula. In this study, we have compiled all the existing common crossbill ring-recovery data from Iberia and other European regions. Our results show that common crossbill populations in the Iberian Peninsula are mainly sedentary, with limited movements across the different pine forest masses in search of food. In contrast, northern European common crossbill populations develop long distance migratory movements that may involve a large number of individuals following a NE-SW axis that, in an irregular manner and depending on the year, can arrive in the Iberian Peninsula in mid-August or September, where they may remain for several years before returning to their places of origin. In the Iberian Peninsula, these crossbills seem to use the pine species available as a trophic resource according to their ecological speciation, including species not present in their regions of origin.
WATER QUALITY IN AGRICULTURAL, URBAN, AND MIXED LAND USE WATERSHEDS 1

ABSTRACT: Water quality and nonpoint source (NPS) pollution are important issues in many areas of the world, including the Inner Bluegrass Region of Kentucky where urban development is changing formerly rural watersheds into urban and mixed use watersheds. In watersheds where land use is mixed, the relative contributions of NPS pollution from rural and urban land uses can be difficult to separate. To better understand NPS pollution sources in mixed use watersheds, surface water samples were taken at three sites that varied in land use to examine the effect of land use on water quality. Within the group of three watersheds, one was predominately agriculture (Agricultural), one was predominately urban (Urban), and a third had relatively equal representation of both types of land uses (Mixed). Nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), total suspended solids (TSS), turbidity, pH, temperature, and streamflow were measured for one year. Comparisons are made among watersheds for concentration and fluxes of water quality parameters. Nitrate and orthophosphate concentrations were found to be significantly higher in the Agricultural watershed. Total suspended solids, turbidity, temperature, and pH, were found to be generally higher in the Urban and Mixed watersheds. No differences were found for streamflow (per unit area), total phosphorus, and ammonium concentrations among watersheds. Fluxes of orthophosphate were greater in the Agricultural watershed that in the Urban watershed while fluxes of TSS were greater in the Mixed watershed when compared to the Agricultural watershed. Fluxes of nitrate, ammonium, and total phosphorus did not vary among watersheds. It is apparent from the data that Agricultural land uses are generally a greater source of nutrients than the Urban land uses while Urban land uses are generally a greater source of suspended sediment.
Survey of methods for soil moisture determination

Increased interest in soil moisture information for applications in such disciplines as hydrology, meteorology, and agriculture has necessitated an overview of both existing and proposed methods for determination of soil moisture. This paper thus discusses methods of in situ soil moisture determination including gravimetric, nuclear, and electromagnetic techniques; soil physics models that track the behavior of water in the soil in response to meteorological inputs (precipitation) and demands (evapotranspiration); and remote sensing approaches that use the solar, thermal infrared, and microwave portions of the electromagnetic spectrum. The abilities of these approaches to satisfy various user needs for soil moisture information vary from application to application. Therefore we have proposed a conceptual scheme for merging these approaches into an integrated system. This system should provide soil moisture information having the potential for meeting the requirements of various applications.
Possible molecular exploration of herbal pair Haizao-Kunbu in the treatment of Graves’ disease by network pharmacology, molecular docking, and molecular dynamic analysis

Objective To promote the development and therapeutic application of new medications, it is crucial to conduct a thorough investigation into the mechanism by which the traditional Chinese herb pair of Haizao-Kunbu (HK) treats Graves’ disease (GD). Materials and methods Chemical ingredients of HK, putative target genes, and GD-associated genes were retrieved from online public databases. Using Cytoscape 3.9. 1, a compound-gene target network was established to explore the association between prosperous ingredients and targets. STRING, Gene Ontology, and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes pathway analyses visualized core targets and disease pathways. Additionally, we conducted a refined analysis of the binding interactions between active ingredients and their respective targets. To visualize these findings, we employed precise molecular docking techniques. Furthermore, we carried out molecular dynamics simulations to gain insights into the formation of more tightly bound complexes. Results We found that there were nine key active ingredients in HK, which mainly acted on 21 targets. These targets primarily regulated several biological processes such as cell population proliferation, protein phosphorylation, and regulation of kinase activity, and acted on PI3K-AKT and MAPK pathways to treat GD. Analysis of the molecular interaction simulation under computer technology revealed that the key targets exhibited strong binding activity to active ingredients, and Fucosterol-AKT1 and Isofucosterol-AKT1 complexes were highly stable in humans. Conclusion This study demonstrates that HK exerts therapeutic effects on GD in a multi-component, multi-target, and multi-pathway manner by regulating cell proliferation, differentiation, inflammation, and immunomodulatory-related targets. This study provides a theoretical foundation for further investigation into GD.