Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Remote sensing as a data source in a resource-limited context: species distribution modelling of invasive cattle ticks in West Africa

Approximately eight years ago, an exotic cattle tick from Latin America, Rhipicephalusmicroplus, invaded West Africa. Ad hoc sampling revealed that it has established viable populations in a few locations in Ivory Coast and through most of Benin.Because of the threat that R. microplus poses toanimal production,several research projects are working on an efficient control strategy, which is based on a map of current and potential distribution. This type of health mapping is part of a long-existing but currently re-emerging field of study that investigates the spatial dynamics of diseases and other health-related issues. Remote sensing and GIS have been essential instruments in this field. In this paper, we illustrate the contribution of environmental variables for disease management in the case of R. microplus, varying from the drafting of a sampling strategy to maps of areas at-risk of invasion for intensive monitoring. Individual Earth Observation images provide only very static information on tick habitat. Often, it is precisely the seasonality of temperature, humidity and vegetation which is important for vector development. NOAA’s AVHRR and more recently the MODIS sensor provide this data on a (bi) weekly basis and is an ideal source for tick distribution mapping. Of particular interest for further development are the EO data describing air temperature, humidity, vapour pressure deficit, and soil moisture. In order to be useful forepidemiological applications, this data needs to be available easily and in a standardised manner over large areas, and sufficiently detailed in terms of both spatial and temporal resolution.
Adaptive Cost Accounting Control: Issues in Realizing Deming Synergy

We report on a consultation addressing the re-configuration of a Standards Cost Accounting System of a major MNC. We identified two fundamental theoretical issues pertinent to this re-configuration: Their Standards Cost Accounting [SCA] System was (1) not adaptive within their control time frame, and (2) the holistic systemic protocols espoused by W. Edwards Deming were not used to condition the decision-making framework addressing control. We developed an adaptive Decision Support System [SCA:DSS] that offered the following integrated systemic features: (i) The SCA:DSS is parametrized using the Marketing/Sales sub-budget as approved by corporate-level management and (ii) is used to set the control standards for direct Materials & Labor costs and ABC related allocations, (iii) A detailed interactive profiling of production activity is produced at a time when adaptive corrective actions would still be reasonably possible, and (iv) Adaptive: Best, Stasis and Corrective Action Cases regarding the effect of these corrective actions on the contribution margin are displayed. However, even given the adaptive design features and the explicit designs to effect holistic integration over the pilot division and the central headquarters of the firm, the SCA: DSS failed to be implemented. We offer valuable insights into this failure-to-launch that may be indispensable in effecting a synergetic environment where adaptive holistic cost control may be realized. In this paper all of the technical functionalities of the SCA: DSS are detailed and a working illustration is provided. The SCA: DSS is offered as a free download without restrictions to its use.
ASSESSMENT OF ONLINE TEACHING TOOLS FOR OCCASIONAL USE

This work presents an assessment and selection criteria for online teaching platforms for short-term, non-regular lessons. Online platforms for occasional use differ from those meant for regular, long-term courses in that an occasional use might not justify their purchase or installation in the teacher’s and the students’ devices, for example. The aim of this project was to find as many available platforms as possible, and to rank them in terms of criteria established by the University of Campinas’ academic community, which are their end users, and target audience of this project. A list of the ranked platforms, together with a flow chart to help teachers select the best available platform for their specific practice, as well as a description and tutorial of the top-ranked platform, was published at Unicamp’s website.
HIGH PERFORMANCE AND LOW POWER ASYNCHRONOUS DATA SAMPLING WITH POWER GATED DOUBLE EDGE TRIGGERED FLIP-FLOP

Power consumption and energy efficiency is a major role in sequential circuit design. Power gating is a technique that is used to reduce the static power consumption of idle modules. Usage of Dual Edge Triggered Flip-flop (DETFF) is an efficient technique since it consumes the clock frequency and less power than Double Edge Triggered Flip-flops (DETFF’s). Integrating power gating technique with DETFF reduces the power consumption and leakage power further, but it leads to asynchronous data sampling problem. In this paper, two methods have been used to eradicate the asynchronous data sampling problem and their power analysis has been estimated. In order to reduce the leakage power consumption further, a new design has proposed for a DETFF. Based on his new design, the two methods have been implemented using 130 im Tanner EDA tool.
A THEORETICAL AND EXPERIMENTAL STUDY ON DESIGN CREATIVITY

This paper presents a mathematical model for understanding the factors that lead to a creative design, using the axiomatic theory of design modeling. This mathematical model provides the dynamic mechanism underlying the creative design process: design governing equation. It is pointed out that there may exist a chaotic motion behind the design process because of the nonlinearity of the design governing equation. Based on the recursive-logic based design process model for solving this equation, three routes to creative design are given. A case study from a patent and a software experiment are used to verify the presented mathematical theory.
Non-starch polysaccharides on nutrient digestibility of diets for different production stages of pigs

The corn and soybean are the major constituents in pigs diets, however, there is a constant search for nonstarch polysaccharides (NSPs) food sources to feed pigs at different production stages. This review objective is to provide grants to improve the NSPs knowledge, in relation to their influence on the nutrients digestibility and availability in diets for pigs in different production stages. NSPs are macromolecules simple sugar polymers (monosaccharides) resistant to enzymatic hydrolysis in pigs’ gastrointestinal tract due to the connections type between the existing units of low molecular weight carbohydrates, but subject to hydrolysis in the large intestine through microbial fermentation. Its inclusion in pig nutrition have shown positive effects on productivity, by reducing costs, by acting positively on physiology to improve enzyme secretion and digestibility in the initial phase, by acting as an energy source in the growth phase, the positive effects on carcass quality or to control possible problems associated with excessive food intake and stress arising from confinement in the reproductive stages. When soluble NSPs are highly fermentable they may increase the digesta viscosity forming a gel, affecting gastric emptying, increasing the chyme viscosity, leading to particles reduction in the diffusion rate and reducing the digesta enzyme-substrate contact. The studies with ingredients containing NSPs inclusion to feed pigs showed significant advances in identifying the sources and the many roles in the animal body at different production stages. However, there is a huge variation in the composition of NSPs in the various sources, and the experiments carried out in most cases are not conclusive. Thus, further research with the NSPs use, both soluble and insoluble, will be important, therefore, may potentiate the various sources use in pig diets without acting negatively.
Estimating the Impact of Instructional Practices on Student Achievement in Science

This study used a hierarchical linear model (HLM) to estimate direct and indirect effects of instructional practices recommended by the National Science Education Standards on individual achievement. Three pedagogical reforms—namely, providing more opportunities for laboratory inquiry, increasing emphasis on critical thinking, and reducing the amount of teacher-centered instruction—were expected to account for variability in school mean achievement and explain why gender, racial-ethnic status, and socioeconomic status have more influence on achievement of students in some schools than in others. Results suggest that whereas the instructional policies recommended by the authors of the Standards may be associated with higher achievement overall, they are equally likely to have the unintended consequence of contributing to greater achievement gaps among students with different demographic profiles. Theoretical expectations about the impact of instructional practices on academic excellence and equity require further evaluation. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 36: 1110–1126, 1999
Nonparametric Double Robustness

Use of nonparametric techniques (e.g., machine learning, kernel smoothing, stacking) are increasingly appealing because they do not require precise knowledge of the true underlying models that generated the data under study. Indeed, numerous authors have advocated for their use with standard methods (e.g., regression, inverse probability weighting) in epidemiology. However, when used in the context of such singly robust approaches, nonparametric methods can lead to suboptimal statistical properties, including inefficiency and no valid confidence intervals. Using extensive Monte Carlo simulations, we show how doubly robust methods offer improvements over singly robust approaches when implemented via nonparametric methods. We use 10,000 simulated samples and 50, 100, 200, 600, and 1200 observations to investigate the bias and mean squared error of singly robust (g Computation, inverse probability weighting) and doubly robust (augmented inverse probability weighting, targeted maximum likelihood estimation) estimators under four scenarios: correct and incorrect model specification; and parametric and nonparametric estimation. As expected, results show best performance with g computation under correctly specified parametric models. However, even when based on complex transformed covariates, double robust estimation performs better than singly robust estimators when nonparametric methods are used. Our results suggest that nonparametric methods should be used with doubly instead of singly robust estimation techniques.
EARLY CRETACEOUS DEVELOPMENT OF THE MOUNTAUN CRIMEA

ABCTRACT Recent studies of the Crimea give us new data for the interpretation of Early Cretaceous history of the region, which differs from the previous data. Shortly, it could be established as following. (1) The compression and later extension in the latest Berriasian – E. Valanginian resulted in the formation of complex graben system. The Plain Crimea was an uplift; the basin deepen to the S and the Mountain Crimea was mostly submerged. (2) L. Valanginian – E. Hauterivian phase was marked by the northward tropical sea transgression and formation of complex facial system in slow extensional conditions. (3) During the L. Hauterivian – Aptian the whole area quickly subsided. The Mountain Crimea was overlapped by uniform pelagic facies. The sea covered Plain Crimea almost completely and Boreal water mass reached this area in the Late Hauterivian. (4) The new uplift and folding event of the Mountain Crimea took place in the E. – M. Albian. In contrast, back-arc rift system was formed in the Plain Crimea, where volcanic sediments appeared. (5) During the latest M. Albian – L. Albian rifting event and a series of transgressions lead to the submersion of the Mountain Crimea and possibly to the Black Sea opening.
Mitigating BYOD Information Security Risks

Organisations that allow employees to Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) in the workplace trade off the convenience of allowing employees to use their own device against higher risks to the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of organisational information assets. While BYOD is a well-defined and accepted trend in some organisations, there is little research on how policies can address the information security risks posed by BYOD. This paper reviews the extant literature and develops a comprehensive list of information security risks that are associated with allowing BYOD in organisations. This list is then used to evaluate five BYOD policy documents to determine how comprehensively BYOD information security risks are addressed. The outcome of this research shows that of the 13 identified BYOD risks, only 8 were adequately addressed by most of the organisations.
OBJECT DEFORMATIONS FROM IMAGE SILHOUETTES USING A KINEMATIC FINITE ELEMENT BEAM MODEL

Abstract. In this paper a method is presented which allows the measurement of deflections and torsion by means of the silhouette of an object in images. The method is based on a finite element description of a beam. The benefit of this method is the determination of the deformation out of the silhouette of an object in images without the need of signalization. The presented method is tested against simulated data as well as against real objects in laboratory tests. As an outlook the presented method can be further modified. By combination with a laser scanner it seems to be possible to replace the CAD model of an object with the point clouds of one or more kinematic laser scans.
Implementation fidelity of a voluntary sector-led diabetes education programme

Purpose The quality of voluntary sector-led community health programmes is an important concern for service users, providers and commissioners. Research on the fidelity of programme implementation offers a basis for assessing and further enhancing practice. The purpose of this paper is to report on the fidelity assessment of Living Well Taking Control (LWTC) – a voluntary sector-led, community-based education programme in England focussing on the prevention and management of type 2 diabetes. Design/methodology/approach This fidelity of implementation (FoI) study was conducted with the Devon-based LWTC programme. A fidelity checklist was developed to analyse audio records of group-based lifestyle education sessions – implementation was rated in terms of adherence to protocol and competence in delivery; the influence of wider contextual factors was also assessed. Kappa statistics (κ) were used to test for inter-rater agreement. Course satisfaction data were used as a supplementary indicator of facilitator competence. Findings Analysis of 28 sessions, from five diabetes prevention and two diabetes management groups (total participants, n=49), yielded an overall implementation fidelity score of 77.3 per cent for adherence (moderate inter-rater agreement, κ=0.60) and 95.1 per cent for competence (good inter-rater agreement, κ=0.71). The diabetes prevention groups consistently achieved higher adherence scores than the diabetes management groups. Facilitator competence was supported by high participant satisfaction ratings. Originality/value An appropriate level of implementation fidelity was delivered for the LWTC group-based education programme, which provides some confidence that outcomes from the programme reflected intervention effectiveness. This study demonstrates the viability of assessing the FoI in a voluntary sector-led public health initiative and the potential of this method for assuring quality and informing service development.
Interpreting seasonal convective mixing in Devils Hole, Death Valley National Park, from temperature profiles observed by fiber‐optic distributed temperature sensing

Devils Hole, a groundwater‐filled fracture in the carbonate aquifer of the southern Nevada Mojave Desert, represents a unique ecohydrological setting, as home to the only extant population of Cyprinodon diabolis, the endangered Devils Hole pupfish. Using water column temperatures collected with a fiber‐optic distributed temperature sensor (DTS) during four field campaigns in 2009, evidence of deep circulation and nutrient export are, for the first time, documented. The DTS was deployed to measure vertical temperature profiles in the system, and the raw data returned were postprocessed to refine the calibration beyond the precision of the instrument's native calibration routines. Calibrated temperature data serve as a tracer for water movement and reveal a seasonal pattern of convective mixing that is supported by numerical simulations of the system. The periodic presence of divers in the water is considered, and their impacts on the temperature profiles are examined and found to be minimal. The seasonal mixing cycle may deplete the pupfish's food supplies when nutrients are at their scarcest. The spatial and temporal scales of the DTS observations make it possible to observe temperature gradients on the order of 0.001°C m−1, revealing phenomena that would have been lost in instrument noise and uncertainty.
Personality and Career Concomitants of Life Stress in College Students.

ABSTRACT The Psychological Distress Invenery (PDI) has been shown to discriminate between college students seeking help in the college counseling center from non-help seekers, between depressed and non-depressed students, and between students' global self-appraisals of high versus low stress. A study was conducted to investigate concurrent validity for the POI by exploring the inventory's ability to discriminate among college students with respect to their level of support, attitudes toward the opposite sex, and career indecision. Subjects, one-half of'whom were experiencing high levels of life stress and one-half of whom were experiencing low levels of life stress, were 88 male and 88 female college students. Subjects completed the PDI, and the Attitudes toward Nomen, Attitudes toward Men, Social Support, Career Indecision, and Certainty of Major scales. The results indicated that high stress was associated with high social support. Other findings suggest that high stress interferes with vocational exploration and certainty regarding one's tentatively chosen field of study. The present results offer some validity of the PDI. Attitudes toward men and women, however, seemed relatively free from bias resulting from life stress. Additionally, analysis of the Attitudes toward men subscores suggests that they may assess somewhat stereotypic sex role patterns. (RS)
The determination of residual stress in extruded Ti-6Al-4V by contour method and finite element analysis

The contour method has been used to assess the level of residual stress generated during the post extrusion air cool and water quenching of a Ti-6Al-4V extruded bar. A length of the extrudate was transversally sectioned using electrical discharge machining (EDM), resulting in minimal damage to the cut surface; the stress relieved profile present at the cut surface was then measured using a coordinate measuring machine (CMM). The cut section was recreated in an ABAQUS finite element (FE) model and the inverse of the stress relieved profile recorded by CMM was applied as a boundary condition; by forcing the model’s surface topology to match the measured cut surface, residual stresses normal, i.e. longitudinal stresses, to the cut surface of the extruded profile were then calculated. Results were compared to air cooling and quenching simulations performed in the DEFORM FE package. The distribution of tensile and compressive residual stresses observed via experimental and simulation work were found to be a good match with the distribution correlating with local variations of cooling rate during quenching.
Implications of Components of Income Excluded from Pro Forma Earnings for Future Profitability and Equity Valuation

This study addresses three research questions relating to total exclusions, special items, and other exclusions. Are each of these pro forma exclusion components forecasting irrelevant? Are each of the exclusion components value irrelevant? Are the valuation multiples on the exclusion components justified by their ability to forecast future profitability as predicted by the Ohlson (1999) model? Findings are generally consistent with the market-inefficiency results presented in Doyle et al. (2003). Total exclusions are valued negatively by the market despite the prediction that total exclusions will be valued positively. Valuation results also suggest that stocks with positive other exclusions are overpriced.
Potential Effects of Passenger Pigeon Flocks on the Structure and Composition of Presettlement Forests of Eastern North America

Abstract: We considered the possible effects Passenger Pigeon (Ectopistes migratorius) flocks may have had on the disturbance regime and species composition of presettlement forests in eastern North America. We suggest that the activities of roosting and nesting Passenger Pigeons caused widespread, frequent disturbances in presettlement eastern forests through tree limb and stem breakage and nutrient deposition from pigeon excrement. We suspect that the deposition of fine fuels resulting from such disturbances may have influenced fire intensity and frequency in presettlement forests. Further, we propose that consumption of vast quantities of acorns by pigeons during the spring breeding season may partially explain the dominance of white oak (Quercus alba) throughout much of the presettlement north‐central hardwoods region. Consequently, the pigeon's extinction may have facilitated the increase and expansion of northern red oak (Quercus rubra) during the twentieth century. Although it is difficult to accurately quantify how physical and chemical disturbances and mast consumption by Passenger Pigeon flocks affected forest ecology, we suspect they shaped landscape structure and species composition in eastern forests prior to the twentieth century. We believe their impact should be accounted for in estimates of the range of natural variability of conditions in eastern hardwood forests.
Computation of forces in strongly nonlinear magnetic fields using higher-order eggshell algorithm

Annotation — A novel version of the eggshell-based procedure for numerical computation of magnetic forces and torques acting on ferromagnetic bodies in highly nonlinear magnetic fields is presented. The procedure works with a fully adaptive higher-order finite element method developed for years in our research group, that is implemented in own code Agros2D and library Hermes. The power of the methodology and both codes is demonstrated on the solution of two typical examples: computation of the static characteristic of a magnetic actuator and torque characteristic of a flux-switched permanent-magnet machine. The results obtained are compared with data calculated by several other available codes.