Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Effects of deficit irrigation and groundwater depth on root growth of direct seeding rice in a column experiment

Rice is an essential crop in Iran that is grown mostly in areas where depth to groundwater is low. Root growth and water uptake of rice under shallow groundwater has not been thoroughly studied. This experiment was conducted to determine the lowland rice (cv. Ghasrodashti) root distribution above shallow groundwater in relation to deficit irrigation and groundwater depth in cylindrical greenhouse lysimeters. The irrigation treatments were continuous flood irrigation (CFI) and intermittent flood irrigation (4- and 8-day intervals IF-4 and IF-8). The groundwater depths (GWD) were 0.3, 0.45 and 0.6 m from the soil surface. In general, 40-60% of root dry weight was observed in the top 10 cm of soil in CFI treatments and IF-4 with 0.3 m GWD resulted in 20% increase in root dry weight in 10-20 cm layer compared with 0-10 cm. However, the root dry weight in 0-10 cm at 0.60 m GWD was 58% lower in intermittent irrigation compared to CFI. There was no significant difference in mean root length density in IF-4 with 0.3 m GWD compared with CFI. In general, lowland rice showed good ability to develop its root system in shallow groundwater level conditions in order to extract water due to lower soil water content in the intermittent flood irrigations. Simple equations were presented to predict the groundwater contribution to evapotranspiration based on the root length density and root weight density. Therefore, in areas with shallow groundwater depth (up to 0.45 m from the soil surface) and low potential evapotranspiration, application of IF-4 instead of CFI can be useful management especially where water scarcity is a serious problem.
Variations of cetane number of jatropha biodiesel blends with mineral diesel

Cetane number (CN)- a prime indicator of diesel fuel quality, is a quantity indicating the combustion behaviour of diesel fuel and compression required for ignition in diesel engines. This study examines the determination of CN of Jatropha biodiesel blends with mineral diesel using their physical properties, and their variations of CN with percentage composition of Jatropha biodiesel in the blends. Jatropha biodiesel, converted through a transesterification process of its oil, is obtained and blended with diesel to obtain blend B10 (10% biodiesel and 90% diesel) on a volumetric basis, at 25 o C ambient temperature and the same basis was employed for blends B20, B30, B40 and B50. The specific gravity and mid-distillation characteristic were obtained using a hydrometer and distillation curve apparatus based on ASTM D1298 and D86 standards respectively. The CN of Jatropha oil, its biodiesel and Jatropha biodiesel blends with diesel were analytically determined, employing the empirical relationship between measured physical properties of a two-variable cetane index equation. The results show that the CN of the Jatropha biodiesel increases significantly (about 29%) after transesterification compared with that of the Jatropha oil. Moreover, the specific gravity and CN of the blends increase with the percentage composition of Jatropha biodiesel in the blends. The CN of Jatropha biodiesel is 44.10, which is 8.7% higher than that of mineral diesel (40.62). It can be implied from the research outcomes that blending Jatropha biodiesel with diesel increases the CN of the blends, thus, could be used as cetane point (number) enhancer.
Dynamics and stability of an annular electrolyte film

We investigate the evolution of an electrolyte film surrounding a second electrolyte core fluid inside a uniform cylindrical tube and in a core-annular arrangement, when electrostatic and electrokinetic effects are present. The limiting case when the core fluid electrolyte is a perfect conductor is examined. We analyse asymptotically the thin annulus limit to derive a nonlinear evolution equation for the interfacial position, which accounts for electrostatic and electrokinetic effects and is valid for small Debye lengths that scale with the film thickness, that is, charge separation takes place over a distance that scales with the annular layer thickness. The equation is derived and studied in the Debye-Hückel limit (valid for small potentials) as well as the fully nonlinear Poisson–Boltzmann equation. These equations are characterized by an electric capillary number, a dimensionless scaled inverse Debye length and a ratio of interface to wall electrostatic potentials. We explore the effect of electrokinetics on the interfacial dynamics using a linear stability analysis and perform extensive numerical simulations of the initial value problem under periodic boundary conditions. An allied nonlinear analysis is carried out to investigate fully singular finite-time rupture events that can take place. Depending upon the parameter regime, the electrokinetics either stabilize or destabilize the film and, in the latter case, cause the film to rupture in finite time. In this case, the final film shape can have a ring- or line-like rupture; the rupture dynamics are found to be self-similar. In contrast, in the absence of electrostatic effects, the film does not rupture in finite time but instead evolves to very long-lived quasi-static structures that are interrupted by an abrupt re-distribution of these very slowly evolving drops and lobes. The present study shows that electrokinetic effects can be tuned to rupture the film in finite time and the time to rupture can be controlled by varying the system parameters. Some intriguing and novel behaviour is also discovered in the limit of large scaled inverse Debye lengths, namely stable and smooth non-uniform steady state film shapes emerge as a result of a balance between destabilizing capillary forces and stabilizing electrokinetic forces.
Impact of Some Common Chronic Dermatoses on Quality of Life of Egyptian patients in Delta Region

Background: Skin is the most visible organ which determines to a great extent our appearance and plays a major function in social communication and sexual attractiveness. Thus, the skin condition may have a considerable impact on the patient's well being. Regardless of the psychiatric morbidity, skin diseases can greatly affect the patient's quality of life (QOL). Thus, patient oriented QOL measures are particularly beneficial in chronic diseases as they assess how the diseases affect a person socially, psychologically and physically. Objectives: The aim of this work was to determine the impact of some chronic dermatoses (acne vulgaris, psoriasis (Ps) and vitiligo) on QOL among the patients in the Delta region. Patients and Methods: The current study comprised 120 patients who were classified into three groups; each group contained 40 patients, (group I acne vulgaris), (group II Ps) and (group III vitiligo). All these patients were subjected to: combined dermatological and psychological questionnaires to assess the QOL. Results: (Group I): As regard Cardiff Acne Disability Index (CADI) score; the social relationships and psychological states problems showed statistically significant difference compared with the subjective assessment of the current acne severity. (Group II): As regard Psoriasis Disability Index (PDI) score; the psychological, daily activities and social relationships problems showed statistically significant difference compared with physical and work or school problems. (Group III): As regard Vitiligo Disability Index (VDI) score; the daily activities and social relationships problems showed statistically significant difference compared with feeling and symptoms, personal relationships and financial problems. In the current study, we found that the acne vulgaris as a disease has the worst QOL . Egyptian Dermatology Online Journal Vol. 10 No 1: 2, June 2014 2 http://www.edoj. org.eg Conclusion: The dermatologists should understand the profound effect of these diseases on the QOL and should know the psychosocial and psychiatric consequences of the diseases.
How Large are the Cost Savings from Emissions Trading? An Evaluation of the U.S. Acid Rain Program

Emissions trading programs are designed to keep compliance costs low but studies on actual savings are limited. This paper is the first to conduct a comprehensive analysis of the cost savings from the Acid Rain Program (ARP), the largest emissions trading program implemented in the U.S. I estimate a discrete choice model of coal procurement and scrubber installation to recover structural parameters of compliance cost functions at the generating unit level. Using the model, I predict compliance choices under a uniform emission standard that yields the same aggregate emissions as the ARP. I estimate cost savings under the ARP to be about 130-330 million (1995 USD) per year. The numbers are much smaller than in previous literature (Carlson et al., 2000; Ellerman et al., 2000). I propose that lower transport costs reduced cost heterogeneity across generating units, and that improvements in scrubbing technology and state policies may have also contributed to a decrease in cost savings.
Spatial Clustering Using Hierarchical SOM

The amount of available geospatial data increases every day, placing additional pressure on existing analysis tools. Most of these tools were developed for a data poor environment and thus rarely address concerns of efficiency, high-dimensionality and automatic exploration [1]. Recent technological innovations have dramatically increased the availability of data on location and spatial characterization, fostering the proliferation of huge geospatial databas‐ es. To make the most of this wealth of data we need powerful knowledge discovery tools, but we also need to consider the particular nature of geospatial data. This context has raised new research challenges and difficulties on the analysis of multidimensional geo-referenced data. The availability of methods able to perform “intelligent” data reduction on vast amounts of high dimensional data is a central issue in Geographic Information Science (GISc) current research agenda.
Output Consensus Regulation for State-Unmeasurable Discrete-Time Multiagent Systems with External Disturbances

This paper deals with the output consensus regulation problem for discrete-time multiagent systems with state-unmeasurable agents and external disturbances under directed communication network topologies. Firstly, the mathematical model for the output consensus problem of discrete-time multiagent systems is deduced and formulated via making matrix transformation. Then, based on state observers, a novel output consensus protocol with dynamic compensator which is used as observer for the exosystem is proposed to solve this problem. Some knowledge of matrix theory and graph theory is introduced to design protocol parameters and the convergence of output consensus errors is proved. Finally, a numerical simulation example is shown to verify the effectiveness of the proposed protocol design.
A Survey of Systems and Improvement Approaches for Psychological Healthcare

This paper reviews the literature to date that uses industrial and systems engineering and operations management methods to improve psychological healthcare in the military setting as well as in the civilian sector. The study findings are categorized using an Enterprise Architecture framework; the categorization highlights the enterprise architecting views that have been more thoroughly studied and those areas that have not been addressed as extensively by the present research. The review also found that methods based in industrial and systems engineering and operations management concepts related to improvements in policy may be developed more holistically in the both the military and civilian sectors. In conclusion, methods used to improve psychological healthcare in both sectors may be transferable across sectors and should be considered for to the improvement of psychological health at large.
A New Coupling Metric: Blending Structural and Semantic Relations

Coupling metrics represent the relationships between source code artifacts in software systems. Coupling is considered an important concept in measuring design quality and maintainability. Many coupling measures have been proposed in the context of object-oriented systems. A popular way to measure coupling is through structural properties and static code analysis. Another way to measure coupling is through semantic information encoded in identifiers and comments. However, there is still much to be understood about which aspects of coupling affect quality or other external attributes of software. This paper presents a new coupling metric for object-oriented systems that analyze both structural and semantic relationships between methods and classes. A study is performed on open source software systems to compare the new metric with existing structural and semantic coupling metrics. The study shows that the new metric captures new dimensions of coupling, which are not captured by existing coupling metrics. This paper investigates the use of the new proposed coupling metrics during change impact analysis. By comparing our new metric to other coupling metrics, we show that our new metric is a better predictor for classes impacted by changes.
Transfer Pricing: The Case of Saudi Arabia

This study examines transfer pricing behaviour for the purpose of shifting profits between national tax jurisdictions with different rates of profit tax in the context of the Saudi oil and gas sector as well as that of several other countries (i.e., Australia, Canada, Czech Republic, France, Korea, Japan, Kuwait, Norway, Poland, Sweden, UK and US). The methodology of the Bartelsman and Beetsma (2003) is proposed as the basis for testing the hypothesis. The results of this study show that the Bartelsman and Beetsma (2003) model when applied to the Saudi Arabia oil and gas sector does not detect transfer pricing behaviour for the purpose of shifting profit. However, the Bartelsman and Beetsma (2003) model when applied to other countries such as Japan, Korea, Norway, Poland, and the United Kingdom does show results that suggests the presence of transfer pricing behaviour for the purpose of shifting profits.
ROBUST VISION-BASED 3 D LOCALIZATION OF PLANAR OBJECTS FOR INDUSTRIAL BIN-PICKING SYSTEMS

This project presents an algorithm for planar objects detection for Bin-Picking systems with a single 2D camera. Bin-Picking systems are automated systems that have to hold and drop objects from a bin where these objects are randomly placed, to, for example, a conveyor belt, or must simply hold them for other possible manufacturing processes. These systems allow to automatize the process to grasp objects that come from a certain manufacturing process and locate them for the next manufacturing process that they have to undergo. The present project is a reimplementation of the algorithm presented by Pretto et al. [1]. In particular, a di erent approach for the object detection stage has been implemented. The algorithm presented here is a robust and exible vision system for a 3D localization of planar objects. The system of Pretto et al. is able to work with nearly any planar object randomly placed in a bin or in a conveyor belt. The system has 6 degrees of freedom, is able to detect and handle planar objects not only placed on an ideal layer but also when they are sloping. The important innovation with respect to other Bin-picking systems is the use of a single 2D camera, di erently from the majority Bin-Picking systems that use 3D cameras, or laser triangulation systems, or laser range nders, that make the price of the systems to grow up a lot. The presented algorithm can work with any planar objects, with a thickness from some millimetres up to several centimetres, without handle parameters, since the only e ort required is to give as input the CAD model of the object that the user is looking for. The localization process is based on a two step strategy: • a candidates selection • re nements to get the best matches In this paper the attention is focused on both points of the procedure, precisely the candidates selection is quite similar to the one used in [1], while the re nements have been made with a di erent algorithm. Instead of using a Hough Like voting scheme to match the objects the concept of the chamfer distance [2] has been used. At the end of the development, the new implementation, that use the standard chamfer distance to detect objects, showed to be really robust and quite fast, and it could be considered for a implementation of a real Bin-Picking system. However it is bit slower than the original one presented by Pretto et al.
Balancing the dual functions of portfolio assessment

While research on portfolio assessment (PA) has focused largely on the summative aspects of writing assessment, not much has been done to find out its formative potential. Drawing upon student questionnaires and student and teacher interview data, this paper aims to explore the formative functions of PA and, specifically, how the formative potential of PA can be better utilized in the EFL writing classroom. The findings of the study indicate that although students responded positively to the formative aspects of PA, they still preferred summative grading and tended to believe that grades were the best way to inform their current standards of writing. The paper ends with a discussion on how the formative aspects of PA could be strengthened and how PA can integrate teaching and assessment to benefit students’ learning of writing.
Assessing spatial and temporal patchiness of the autotrophic ciliate Myrionecta rubra: a case study in a coastal lagoon

Myrionecta rubra patchiness in a Mexican coastal lagoon was studied. The 3 objectives were to (1) characterize the spatial distribution of M. rubra patches through time; (2) characterize and model the spatial distribution of M. rubra at scales ranging from m to km, and from 1 wk to more than 1 yr; and (3) to place the patchiness patterns of M. rubra into an ecological context. Geostatistical analysis was applied to data collected from simple and nested sampling grids in different seasons; autocorrelation analysis was used to detect temporal regularities over 55 wk. Classical statistics were applied to data from 10 sites in the lagoon to identify trends relating ciliate abundance to environ- mental conditions. Patches were detected and characterized using empirical variograms and mod- elled by omnidirectional Gaussian and exponential functions. For most of the analysis variance was low in the nugget parameter, indicating a strong spatial resolution of the data, and the range param- eter indicated that M. rubra formed patches of 10, 20, 80, 130, and 170 m. Spatial analysis using hier- archical grids produced a more detailed assessment of patches than single grids alone. Conditional simulation of patches indicated the presence of a >2 km patch covering most of the western lagoon. Patch densities varied from between 4 and 700 cells ml -1 . M. rubra abundance exhibited a temporal, pulse-like pattern; autocorrelation revealed a 13 wk periodicity. At the lagoonal level, multiple regression revealed a trend towards higher abundance in the north-west of the lagoon and a decrease during the dry season. Finally, we speculate on the forces causing heterogeneity at large (>1000 m), meso (100 to 1000 m), and fine (1 to 100 m) scales by examining physical-chemical envi- ronmental factors and physiological behavioural properties of the ciliate and its potential predators. We propose that M. rubra patches originate by fragmentation of larger patches, growth of smaller patches, and physical-behavioural aggregation of cells.
Effects of different finishing feeding strategies for culled cows on lipid and organoleptic characteristics of the meat

Culled dairy cows (n=32) were either slaughtered immediately after culling-off (control) or subjected to a finishing period of 12 weeks. For finishing, three different diets were tested. A forage-only group was fed with ad libitum with corn silage. Two other groups either received a high-fiber concentrate feed (crude rice bran) or a concentrate feed with lower fiber content (cassava pulp). Cows were slaughtered on four days with two cows per treatment each. Samples of the Longissimus dorsi were individually excised 24 hrs post-mortem. Feeds were analyzed for proximate contents and fatty acid profile. In the LD, apart from fatty acid analysis, thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS), color and sensory grading was determined in LD aged for 0, 1, 3, 5, and 7 days in vaccuumized form. Treatment effects were determined by analysis of variance. Finishing on corn silage only increased the proportions of conjugated linoleic acids, docosahexaenoic acid and total polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) and led to rather dark meat. The other traits remained widely unaffected. Adding crude rice bran to the finishing diet did not cause a lot of differences to control. The lipids in the LD of the rice-bran fed cows had higher PUFA proportions and a lower shelf life. Finishing with a diet lower in fiber increased intramuscular fat to 6.7% vs. 3.4-4.2% in the other groups. Concomitantly, sensory scoring in terms of tenderness, juiciness, flavor intensity and overall acceptability was mostly highest. Concerning fatty acid profile (except palmitic acid), TBARS and color the meat of the group receiving cassava pulp resembled that of the control. In conclusion, it seems advantageous in terms of lipid- and sensoryrelated sense to finish culled cows either with high-quality forage alone or this forage supplemented with cassava pulp.
Stock Optimization in Emergency Resupply Networks under Stuttering Poisson Demand

We consider a network in which field stocking locations (FSLs) manage multiple parts according to an (S-1,S) policy. Demand processes for the parts are assumed to be independent stuttering Poisson processes. Regular replenishments to an FSL occur from a regional stocking location (RSL) that has an unlimited supply of each part type. Demand in excess of supply at an FSL is routed to an emergency stocking location (ESL), which also employs an (S-1,S) policy to manage its inventory. Demand in excess of supply at the ESL is backordered. Lead time from the ESL to each FSL is assumed to be negligible compared to the RSL-ESL resupply time. In companion papers we have shown how to approximate the joint probability distributions of units on hand, units in regular resupply, and units in emergency resupply. In this paper, we focus on the problem of determining the stock levels at the FSLs and ESL across all part numbers that minimize backorder, and emergency resupply costs subject to an inventory investment budget constraint. The problem is shown to be a nonconvex integer programming problem, and we explore a collection of heuristics for solving the optimization problem.