Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
An Active–Passive Microwave Land Surface Database From GPM

A microwave emissivity retrieval is applied to five years of global precipitation measurement (GPM) microwave imager (GMI) observations over land and sea ice. The emissivities are colocated with GPM’s dual-frequency precipitation radar (DPR) surface backscatter measurements in clear-sky conditions. The emissivity-backscatter database is used to characterize surfaces within the GPM orbit for precipitation retrieval algorithms and other applications. The full 10–166-GHz emissivity vector is retrieved using optimal estimation. Since GMI includes water vapor sounding channels, retrieval of the atmospheric and surface states are performed simultaneously. Using the MERRA2 reanalysis as the a priori atmospheric state and with proper characterization of its error, we are able to effectively screen for cloud- and precipitation-affected emissivities. Comparisons with colocated CloudSat data show that this GMI-based screen is able to detect precipitation that DPR alone does not; however, about 10% of precipitation occurrence from CloudSat is still undetected by GMI. The unsupervised Kohonen classification technique was then applied to multiyear monthly 0.25° gridded mean retrieved emissivities and backscatter distinctly for snow-free, snow-covered, and sea ice surfaces in order to classify surfaces based on both active and passive microwave characteristics. The classes correspond to vegetation coverage and type, inundation zones, soil composition, and terrain roughness. Snow and sea ice surfaces show clear seasonal cycles representing the increase in snow and ice spatial extent and reduction in the spring. Applications toward GPM precipitation retrieval algorithms and sensitivity to accumulated rain and snowfall are also explored.
Comparison of students' perception about curriculum design versus employability in Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand

Globalisation and technological developments demand employees be highly skilled. The graduates of Higher Education Institutions are facing problems in getting jobs due to lack of employability skills. Curriculum designing plays an essential role in preparing the student to meet the challenges of employment. The purpose of this paper is to understand the perception of students regarding the followed scheme of studies explicitly focused on perceived quality and applicability of the curriculum for employment. This study is conducted in universities across three countries (Malaysia, Indonesia, and Thailand). Focus group discussion held which comprises of 20 Master's Program participants from each country. The findings revealed that universities curriculum under Master's Program needs revision by addition of modules related to skills development, practical work, fieldwork and industrial interaction in the form of internships. A model has been designed to explain the curriculum design effectiveness and employability of the students in the three countries.
Net Herbage Accumulation Rate (NHAR) of Plantain and Chicory Based Sward Mixes

Introduction The managed grasslands of New Zealand have a range of forage species comprising grasses and legumes that can be grown and utilised in a wide range of conditions (Saggar et al., 2007). Perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne) and white clover (Trifolium repens) are the dominant grass and legume species found in these grasslands (Hodgson et al., 2005; Waghorn and Clark, 2004). Annual pasture production is affected by the soil moisture status, nutrient levels and temperatures (Valantine and Kemp, 2007). Therefore, monthly pasture production can vary from year to year. Net herbage accumulation rate (NHAR) is a measurement of pasture production (Valantine and Kemp, 2007). Net herbage accumulation rate can be used to help with livestock management by determining the carrying capacity of the land. Alternative forages such as plantain (Plantago lanceolata) and chicory (Cichorium intybus) are becoming popular in New Zealand. Kemp et al., (2010) suggested that farmers could achieve „marketable target weight‟ of lambs sooner by feeding a herb and legume mix consisted of plantain, chicory, white clover (Trifolium repens) and red clover (Trifolium pratense) compared to a ryegrass/white clover pasture. However, a significant potential limitation in the use of these herbages is the seasonality of their production. There is a dearth of knowledge on NHAR of these herb-clover mixes. Therefore, the aim of this study was to determine NHAR and NHAR curves for plantain and chicory based sward mixes.
Hunting and the Likelihood of Extinction of Amazonian Mammals

Species inhabiting tropical forests are thought to be on the verge of mass extinction. Much work has focused on extinction rates caused by deforestation; however, many of the recorded extinctions that have occurred since 1600 were a result of overhunting. We collected data on the relative abundance of large‐bodied mammals in the northeastern Peruvian Amazon in areas with persistent hunting pressure and in areas with infrequent hunting pressure. We quantified the effects of hunting by calculating the change in abundance of species between the infrequently and persistently hunted sites. We report that in Amazonian mammals weighing more than 1 kg the degree of population declines caused by hunting is correlated with the species’ intrinsic rate of natural increase (rmax ), longevity, and generation time. Our results show that species with long‐lived individuals, low rates of increase, and long generation times are more vulnerable to extinction than species with short‐lived individuals, high rates of increase, and shorter generations.
Mutational Robustness and Asymmetric Functional Specialization of Duplicate Genes

Most duplicate genes are eliminated from a genome shortly after duplication, but those that remain are an important source of biochemical diversity. Much of their diversification arises via functional OspecializationO, loss of some functions of the duplicates remaining in the genome. I here present evidence from genome-scale protein-protein interaction data, microarray expression data, and large-scale gene knockout data that this diversification is often asymmetrical: one duplicate usually shows significantly more molecular or genetic interactions than the other. I propose a model that can explain this divergence pattern if duplicate gene pairs are less likely to suffer deleterious mutations when having diverged asymmetrically. The data may provide the first evidence that natural selection has increased mutational robustness in genetic networks.
Measuring Economic Cycles in Data

To determine if enough data is available for forecasting or stress testing, a better measure of data length is required. The number of months or years of history we collect does not capture the autocorrelation structure of the data, and higher frequency sampling does not increase information content in most cases. Measures such as effective sample size provide ways of measuring data length but with recognized flaws. Analysts often resort to citing the number of recessions in the data, but this does not give a true measure of the amount of structure in data series from countries such as Australia or China. To overcome these limitations, the current work proposes a data driven metric that measures the number of economic cycles weighted by the severity of those cycles, utilizing a state space reconstruction approach. This measure can be employed to describe the amount of useful structure in historic data from a modeling perspective; current alternatives provide no such metric. Having an objective measure of economic cycles can be an important element of model risk management. Data length is a potential risk and can be a component of model risk scoring for corporate model inventories.
Screening of Anticancer Properties of some Medicinal Plants - Review

Cancer is a major health hazard both in developed and developing countries and is the second leading cause of death worldwide. It is a frightful and most devastating disease and main cause of morbidity and mortality globally; the number of cases of cancer deaths are increasing rapidly and estimated to be 21 million by 2030 (Siegel et al., 2016). Cancer is a complex disease with more than 100 disorders. It induces abnormal cell growth which spreads to different parts of the body and result in their dysfunction. According to GBD (2015) Disease and Injury Incidence and Prevalence Colloborators (2016) and WHO (2016), 8.8 million deaths occurred due to various types of cancer in 2015. According to Ruckmani et al., (2015), in India 5.5 lakh deaths occur every year and 8 lakh cases are detected.
Use of grape by‐product as a source of dietary fibre and phenolic compounds in sourdough mixed rye bread

Summary The study evaluated the effect of grape by-products (GP) on the chemical composition, soluble (SDF) and insoluble (IDF) dietary fibre, phenolic compounds and antioxidant activity (AA) and organoleptic characteristics of sourdough mixed rye bread. The following samples of sourdough mixed rye bread were prepared: control bread (BC) and breads with GP at four different levels: 4%, 6%, 8% and 10%. Addition of GP significantly improves dietary fraction contents, as bread with a 10% addition of GP accounts for 39% and 37% higher contents of IDF and SDF than BC. The assay of radical-scavenging activity and reducing ability showed that GP addition greatly enhanced antioxidant properties of mixed rye breads. Profiles of phenolic compounds of supplemented breads were dominated by procyanidin B1 and B2, catechin, epicatechin, caffeic acid and myricetin. With an increase in the level of GP, the hardness and gumminess of the bread significantly increase. Although both BC and supplemented breads showed common volatile compound profiles, there were slight differences in the concentrations of those components. Sensory evaluation of GP-enhanced breads revealed that a maximum of 6% GP could be incorporated to prepare acceptable products.
Why Are Consumers Willing to Pay More for Liquid Foods in Environmentally Friendly Packaging? A Dual Attitudes Perspective

Considering that one of the key components of liquid food in environmentally friendly packaging is its higher price, it may not be appealing to all consumers. However, a growing body of evidence has shown that the sale of liquid food in environmentally friendly packaging is increasing. The purpose of this study was to analyze why consumers are willing to pay more for liquid food in environmentally friendly packaging. Drawing on the theory of dual attitudes by Wilson, Lindsey, and Schooler, this study proposes that consumer purchasing behavior can be explained through implicit and explicit attitudes. Moreover, a consumer’s ecoliteracy and ecofriendly lifestyle might be important predictors of consumer attitudes toward environmentally friendly packaging. Our conceptual model was tested on survey data from 11 countries, with a total of 7028 respondents. The study revealed that consumers’ willingness to pay a higher price for liquid food in environmentally friendly packaging could be predicted by their positive attitudes toward (a) the environmental friendliness of the packaging, (b) the brand of the liquid food, and (c) the affordability of the liquid food in the environmentally friendly packaging. Ecoliteracy and having an ecofriendly lifestyle were found to be important predictors of consumer attitudes toward environmentally friendly packaging. This study contributes to the literature that aims to explain consumers’ willingness to pay more for food in environmentally friendly packaging. It identifies how much more consumers are willing to pay for food in environmentally friendly packaging and why.
Hydrobiological constraints of trace metals in surface water, coastal sediment and water lily of Calabar River, Nigeria

Trace metals concentrations in surface water, sediment and water lily (Nymphaea lotus) samples from the banks of Calabar River, a major tributary of Cross River Estuary, Nigeria were determined. The results revealed average concentrations 0.017, 0.010, 37.08 and 0.025 mg/l, respectively, for As, Cd, Fe and Pb in surface water samples, which exceeded Federal Environmental Protection Agency (FEPA) maximum guideline values. Elevated levels of heavy metals (As, 1.251 mg/kg; Cd, 0.038 mg/kg; Co, 0.509 mg/kg; Cu, 3.78 mg/kg; Fe, 35.48 mg/kg; Mn, 10.72 mg/kg; Ni, 0.732 mg/kg; Pb, 1.355 mg/kg; V, 0.427 mg/kg; and Zn, 8.665 mg/kg) in sediment samples indicated anthropogenic influences while, measured concentrations in N. lotus were typical of a growing plant.
Predicting ventilator-associated pneumonia

Department of Intensive Care Medicine, Multidisciplinary Intensive Care Research Organization (MICRO), Department of Clinical Medicine, Trinity College, Wellcome Trust-HRB Clinical Research Facility, St James Hospital, Dublin, Ireland; Hospital de Barcelona, IDIBAPS, CIBERes, Barcelona, Spain Correspondence to: Ignacio Martin-Loeches. Department of Anaesthesia and Critical Care Medicine, St James’s Hospital, Dublin, Ireland. Email: drmartinloeches@gmail.com. Provenance and Peer Review: This article was commissioned by the editorial office, Annals of Translational Medicine. The article did not undergo external peer review. Comment on: Liu W, Jiao Y, Xing H, et al. Active surveillance of ventilator-associated pneumonia in the intensive care unit and establishment of the risk grading system and effect evaluation. Ann Transl Med 2019;7:617.
Research on Improvement of Grounding Wire for Outdoor Line Hook

The grounding rod is used as a temporary grounding wire. It is an indispensable safety tool for electrical work. It is easy to carry and can be used flexibly in the field, so it is also called a portable grounding wire. Hanging the grounding wire is a safety barrier for the maintenance personnel to prevent sudden calls from harming the human body. However, in actual work, the grounding wire is frequently used and the operation seems to be simple, which makes people feel paralyzed, and its importance is often neglected. Incorrect use often occurs, which reduces or even sometimes loses the safety of the grounding wire. Role, so must pay enough attention.
A Methodology for Predicting Aggregate Flight Departure Delays in Airports Based on Supervised Learning

This paper proposes a new methodology for predicting aggregate flight departure delays in airports by exploring supervised learning methods. Individual flight data and meteorological information were processed to obtain four types of airport-related aggregate characteristics for prediction modeling. The expected departure delays in airports is selected as the prediction target while four popular supervised learning methods: multiple linear regression, a support vector machine, extremely randomized trees and LightGBM are investigated to improve the predictability and accuracy of the model. The proposed model is trained and validated using operational data from March 2017 to February 2018 for the Nanjing Lukou International Airport in China. The results show that for a 1-h forecast horizon, the LightGBM model provides the best result, giving a 0.8655 accuracy rate with a 6.65 min mean absolute error, which is 1.83 min less than results from previous research. The importance of aggregate characteristics and example validation are also studied.
Dynamic Spectrum Access Based on Improved SARSA Algorithm

Dynamic spectrum access is the core technology of cognitive radio, accurate spectrum access can effectively alleviate the shortage of spectrum resources and realize the "secondary utilization"of spectrum resources. For this reason, this paper proposes a dynamic spectrum access based on improved Sarsa algorithm. The algorithm uses a simulated annealing strategy instead of the ε-greedy strategy in action selection, which can effectively overcome the problem of the traditional Sarsa algorithm falling into a local optimum. Simulation experiments show that the algorithm proposed in this paper can effectively improve the throughput of cognitive users and reduce the probability of collision with the main user, what’s more, it also has a significant increase in speed.
The S-Commerce usage and acceptance modelling in Malaysia

The evolution of technology acceptance theories and models have started since the beginning of the 20th century and it is still evolving. This evolution is happened in different theoretical perspectives, such as: cognitive, affective, motivational, and behavioral intentions and reactions for individuals. Nowadays, understanding the reason of accepting or rejecting any new technology by users has become one of the most important areas in the IT field. The social media applications are benefited and enhanced the E-Commerce, Electronic Marketing (E-Marketing), and Electronic Shopping (E-Shopping) usage behaviors to get any information of any offered commodity in the easiest, fastest, and most familiar way, that will increase the retail profit as well. Social Commerce (S-Commerce) has become one of the most important fields and one of the fastest growing areas of the high technology sector development, especially in the trading and commercial environments. In this scope, it is presenting here the theories and models which were developed to study the acceptance by users and their adoption for new technology. this study adheres to the methodology of quantitative research, which offers a numerical measurement and analysis of the factors that determine adoption for samples 30 as a pilot study in Malaysia as a limit of this research specifically among 2 Malaysian Universities, that will lead to distribute the updated survey around 484 samples later. That results a high ratio of questionnaire validity and the effectiveness of the research hypothesis also found that the new model identifies the factors affecting S-Commerce usage behavior and continued usage intention, find the relationship between education and S-Commerce usage behavior and found such relationship between age and S- Commerce usage behavior
Ascorbic Acid Determination in Vegetables and Fruits: Comparison of Colorimetry with High Performance Liquid Chromatography

Ascorbic Acid (AsA) is included in various fruits and vegetables and its quantity correlates with quality after harvest. The quantity of AsA is usually evaluated by colorimetry but as this technique uses reduction of iron, it is easy for colorimetry to be influenced by reducing agents such as AsA. In this study, we compare colorimetry with high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) in measurement of AsA in fruits and vegetables. We also evaluated the correlation between colorimetry and antioxidant and iron reduction ability. As a result, the quantity of AsA measured by colorimetry was higher than that with HPLC for reduction materials except for AsA. There was poor correlation between colorimetry and antioxidant ability but good correlation between colorimetry and iron reduction ability. We conclude that colorimetry is not suitable for accurate evaluation of the quantity of AsA in vegetables and fruits but it is suitable for evaluation of iron reduction.
Effect of fungal degradation on technological properties of carbon nanotubes reinforced polypropylene/rice straw composites

Effects of fungal decay period on the technological properties of polypropylene/rice straw composites reinforced with different amount of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) were evaluated in this research work. The composite specimens were prepared using an internal mixer followed by compression molding. The specimens were then subjected to the fungal decay using white-rot fungus (Coriolus versicolor) for 1, 2, 3, and 4 months. The degree of fungal attack was recorded by determining the weight loss of the specimens. The physical and mechanical properties including water uptake, flexural strength, and impact strength (IS) were investigated. The results indicated that the weight loss of the specimens was significantly reduced by increasing the CNT loading levels. The weight loss ratio of the specimens with the CNT was lower than that of the specimens without the CNT. The modulus of rupture, modulus of elasticity, and IS of the specimens exposed to the fungal degradation increased in the presence of CNT. Furthermore, the decayed specimens without CNT had higher water uptake than those of the specimens with CNT. This was attributed to the decrease in the number of cavities on the surface of the composites containing CNT. Based on the findings obtained from the present study, it was concluded that the amount of the CNT should be considered according to the severity and duration of the fungal exposure.
Economic Peace Revisited: Coercion in a Liberal Order

Scholars have argued whether democratic peace also holds in the realm of economic sanctions – whether there is an economic peace. Substantial amounts of evidence have been gathered both for and against economic peace. We can see that findings have been extremely sensitive to changes in research design – new data or changes in statistical methods have led to divergent results. This article provides new insight, with the use of the updated TIES data set and improved methodology, into the topic of economic peace. I find that democracies are more likely to issue economic sanctions, and that there is no economic peace. In fact, democracies are more likely to sanction one another. I indicate that lack of economic peace is consistent with the public choice approach to economic sanctions. I argue that the exercise of power in the liberal order has been rechannelled to economic coercion.
Fly Ash Based Self-Cleaning Geopolymer Concrete Using Nanotechnology - A Review

The materials which widely used in construction for building technology is concrete. Anyway, the production of cement releases high amounts of greenhouse gases (CO2) to the atmosphere that leads to increased global warming. Accordingly, an alternative, sustainable construction material, geopolymer concrete, has been established. Geopolymer concrete seeks a greener alternative binder, which is an innovative construction material that alternates the Portland cement. Introduction of nano-particles in the cement paste to enhance the mechanical properties of geopolymer concrete. The content of concrete has been undertaken to be performed as a self-cleaning material in construction. The self-cleaning concrete properties are encouraging by introducing photocatalytic material of Titania (TiO2). These photocatalysts in Self-cleaning concrete will be motivated by ultraviolet radiation from the source such as the sun and promote the disintegration of organic particles. Hence, the stainlessness. Of the TiO2 surfaces can be sustained, and environmental pollution can be reduced. In this review paper, the mechanism, properties, application of both geopolymer and Titania, and health risk hazards are discussed from different author results. In summary, this review paper offers guidance for researchers in the future regarding self-cleaning nanotechnology in geopolymer concrete. Index Terms : Application of Titania in geopolymer concrete, Nanotechnology in geopolymer, Photocatalytic Geopolymer concrete, Self-cleaning