Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Applicability Evaluation of Multisource Satellite Precipitation Data for Hydrological Research in Arid Mountainous Areas

Global Satellite Mapping of Precipitation (GSMaP), Climate Hazards Group InfraRed Preconception with Station data (CHIRPS), Tropical Rain Measurement Mission Multisatellite Precipitation Analysis (TRMM 3B42 V7) and Rainfall Estimation from Soil Moisture Observations (SM2RAIN) are satellite precipitation products with high applicability, but their applicability in hydrological research in arid mountainous areas is not clear. Based on precipitation and runoff data, this study evaluated the applicability of each product to hydrological research in a typical mountainous basin (the Qaraqash River basin) in an arid region by using two methods: a statistical index and a hydrological model (Soil and Water Assessment Tool, SWAT). Simulation results were evaluated by Nash efficiency coefficient (NS), relative error (PBIAS) and determination coefficient (R2). The results show that: (1) The spatial distributions of precipitation estimated by these four products in the Qaraqash River basin are significantly different, and the multi-year average annual precipitation of GSMaP is 97.11 mm, which is the closest to the weather station interpolation results. (2) On the annual and monthly scales, GSMaP has the highest correlation (R ≥ 0.82) with the observed precipitation and the smallest relative error (BIAS < 6%). On the seasonal scale, the inversion accuracy of GSMaP in spring, summer and autumn is significantly higher than other products. In winter, all four sets of products perform poorly in estimating the actual precipitation. (3) Monthly runoff simulations based on SM2RAIN and GSMaP show good fitting (R2 > 0.6). In daily runoff simulation, GSMaP has the greatest ability to reproduce runoff changes. The study provides a reference for the optimization of precipitation image data and hydrological simulation in data-scarce areas.
Changes in winter wheat grown under irrigated and rainfed conditions.

Changes of the canopy spectral reflectance, leaf area index (LAI) and chlorophyll density (CHLD) of winter water in irrigated and dry land at different growth stage were studied to analyze the correlation between hyperspectral vegetation indices and CHLD, and to confirm the optimum vegetation indices for estimating CHLD of winter wheat in irrigated and dry land. The result showed the trend of changes in LAI similar to CHLD in irrigated and dry land, the values increased at first and then decreased, but the maximum value of CHLD and LAI appeared at different growth stages. The changes in canopy reflectance were also similar in irrigated and dry land, canopy reflectance formed an obvious reflection peaks at a waveband (510-680nm), but with the grain filling stage progressed, the reflection peaks gradually became unobvious, and disappeared at maturity. NDVI (780,670) might be better to predict CHLD of winter wheat in irrigated land, with the determination coefficient of 0.9451, but DVI (1200, 670) might be to predict CHLD of winter wheat in dry land, with the determination coefficient of 0.7346.
Impact of Urbanisation and Human Activities on Diversity and Abundance of Ulidiid Flies (Diptera: Ulidiidae) in Wadi El-Natroun, Egypt

Urbanisation and its effects is one of the biggest and most critical environmental issues facing the world. In the present study, we evaluate the impact of urbanisation on the picture-winged flies (family Ulidiidae) communities in Wadi El-Natroun Depression, by assessing the changes in abundance and diversity. Six sites, each measuring about 2.1 ha, were determined: three sites (A1, A2, A3) are in an open area out of the city, and three sites (B1, B2, B3) are on the periphery of the city surrounded by inhabited buildings and assumed to suffer from anthropogenic activities (urbanised sites). The fly sampling was conducted monthly from January to December 2015 using sweep nets. Total abundance and species diversity of ulidiids in open sites were significantly higher than in urbanised sites. A similar population trend was recorded for Physiphora alceae (Preyssler) and Physiphora smaragdina (Loew). These species appear in early spring and increase gradually but were almost eliminated by the beginning of the fall. A bimodal seasonal profile was observed with two peaks of Ulidia fascialis Hendel density: April and July. The correlation between species abundance and temperature was positive, but it was only significant with P. alceae in the urbanised area and with P. smaragdina in the open area. In contrast, an inverse correlation was recorded between species abundance and relative humidity; however, it was only significant with P. alceae in open and urbanised areas. A scatter plot generated from a principal component analysis (PCA) of species abundance showed a clear grouping of the study sites based on whether they were open or urbanised. The results of the present study showed that the picture-winged flies were directly affected by the habitat changes related to urbanisation. Both species abundance and diversity were dramatically reduced in the urbanised area. Consequently, these flies could be potential habitat quality indicators.
Physiological Characteristics of Several Caragana Shrub Species under Extreme Conditions

The physiological characteristics such as photosynthesis, transpiration, stomatic regulation, water potential variation, chlorophyll fluorescence and proline accumulation etc. of four Caragana shrub species (Caragana frutex, C. opulens, C. leucophloea and C. stenophylla) under extreme soil drought condition and post-drought irrigation condition were studied. The results show that extreme soil drought coupling with high temperature, strong solar radiation and low air humidity made the physiological activity of four shrub species be limiting, therefore no obvious responses of various physiological indexes to the microclimatic factors could be observed; post-drought irrigation enabled the physiological activity of four shrub species to resume significantly, and their responses to the changes of microclimatic factors also became noticeable. Different species had different responsiveness to soil moisture variations, C. opulens exhibited a largest amplitude, while C. leucophloea showed a smallest amplitude. Physiological responses to soil moisture conditions demonstrate that C. opulens is a hygrophilous species, C. leucophloea has a low adaptability to soil moisture variation, but C. frutex and C. stenophylla have the largest adaptability.
State of Science Assessment of Remote Sensing of Great Lakes Coastal Wetlands: Responding to an Operational Requirement

The purpose of this research was to develop a state of science synthesis of remote sensing technologies that could be used to track changes in Great Lakes coastal vegetation for the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River Adaptive Management (GLAM) Committee. The mapping requirements included a minimum mapping unit (MMU) of either 2 × 2 m or 4 × 4 m, a digital elevation model (DEM) accuracy in x and y of 2 m, a “z” value or vertical accuracy of 1–5 cm, and an accuracy of 90% for the classes of interest. To determine the appropriate remote sensing sensors, we conducted an extensive literature review. The required high degree of accuracy resulted in the elimination of many of the remote sensing sensors used in other wetland mapping applications including synthetic aperture radar (SAR) and optical imagery with a resolution >1 m. Our research showed that remote sensing sensors that could at least partially detect the different types of wetland vegetation in this study were the following types: (1) advanced airborne “coastal” Airborne Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) with either a multispectral or a hyperspectral sensor, (2) colour-infrared aerial photography (airplane) with (optimum) 8 cm resolution, (3) colour-infrared unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) photography with vertical accuracy determination rated at 10 cm, (4) colour-infrared UAV photography with high vertical accuracy determination rated at 3–5 cm, (5) airborne hyperspectral imagery, and (6) very high-resolution optical satellite data with better than 1 m resolution.
Studying Land Cover Changes in a Malaria-Endemic Cambodian District: Considerations and Constraints

Malaria control is an evolving public health concern, especially in times of resistance to insecticides and to antimalarial drugs, as well as changing environmental conditions that are influencing its epidemiology. Most literature demonstrates an increased risk of malaria transmission in areas of active deforestation, but knowledge about the link between land cover evolution and malaria risk is still limited in some parts of the world. In this study, we discuss different methods used for analysing the interaction between deforestation and malaria, then highlight the constraints that can arise in areas where data is lacking. For instance, there is a gap in knowledge in Cambodia about components of transmission, notably missing detailed vector ecology or epidemiology data, in addition to incomplete prevalence data over time. Still, we illustrate the situation by investigating the evolution of land cover and the progression of deforestation within a malaria-endemic area of Cambodia. To do so, we investigated the area by processing high-resolution satellite imagery from 2018 (1.5 m in panchromatic mode and 6 m in multispectral mode) and produced a land use/land cover map, to complete and homogenise existing data from 1988 and from 1998 to 2008 (land use/land cover from high-resolution satellite imagery). From these classifications, we calculated different landscapes metrics to quantify evolution of deforestation, forest fragmentation and landscape diversity. Over the 30-year period, we observed that deforestation keeps expanding, as diversity and fragmentation indices globally increase. Based on these results and the available literature, we question the mechanisms that could be influencing the relationship between land cover and malaria incidence and suggest further analyses to help elucidate how deforestation can affect malaria dynamics.
Toxicity of a secondary metabolite produced by Simplicillium chinense Snef5 against the root-knot nematode Meloidogyne incognita

ABSTRACT We studied the bioactive compound of the fungus Simplicillium chinense strain Snef5, isolated from its culture filtrate. Following purification by chromatography, the structure of the secondary metabolite, identified as 2,6-pyridinedicarboxylic acid, was determined by spectroscopic methods (IR, 1H, and 13C NMR) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The metabolite exhibited antimicrobial activity against M. incognita with an LD50 of 0.229 mg/ml. The light microscope was used to observe the surface and internal cellular micro-structure of the nematodes. The results of the microscopy indicated that the anatomy of the J2 of M. incognita was disrupted following exposure to 2,6-pyridinedicarboxylic acid. This is the first report on the activity of 2,6-pyridinedicarboxylic acid of S. chinense metabolites on the root knot nematode. It showed a high level of nematicidal activity. Our data on the inhibitory effects of 2,6-pyridinedicarboxylic acid suggest that secondary metabolites from Snef5 have potential use as novel biological control agents.
Machine Learning and the End of Atmospheric Corrections: A Comparison between High-Resolution Sea Surface Salinity in Coastal Areas from Top and Bottom of Atmosphere Sentinel-2 Imagery

This paper introduces a discussion about the need for atmospheric corrections by comparing data-driven sea surface salinity (SSS) derived from Top- and Bottom-of-Atmosphere imagery. Atmospheric corrections are used to remove the effect of the atmosphere in reflectances acquired by satellite sensors. The Sentinel-2 Level-2A product provides atmospherically corrected Bottom-of-Atmosphere (BOA) imagery, derived from Level-1C Top-of-Atmosphere (TOA) tiles using the Sen2Cor processor. SSS at high resolution in coastal areas (100m) is derived from multispectral signatures using artificial neural networks. These obtain relationships between satellite band information and in situ SSS data. Four scenarios with different input variables are tested for both TOA and BOA imagery, for interpolation (previous information on all platforms is available in the training dataset) and extrapolation (certain platforms are isolated and the network does not have any previous information on these) problems. Results show that TOA always outperforms BOA in terms of higher coefficient of determination (R2), lower mean absolute error (MAE) and lower most common error (μe). The best TOA results are R2=0.99, MAE=0.4PSU and μe=0.2PSU. Moreover, the evaluation of the neural network in all the pixels of Sentinel-2 tiles shows that BOA results are accurate only far away from the coast, while TOA data provides useful information on nearshore mixing patterns, estuarine processes and is able to estimate freshwater salinity values. This suggests that land adjacency corrections could be a relevant source of error. Sun glint corrections appear to be another source of error. TOA imagery is more accurate than BOA imagery when using machine learning algorithms and big data, as there is a clear loss of information in the atmospheric correction process that affects the multispectral–in situ relationships. Finally, the time and computational resources gained by avoiding atmospheric corrections can make the use of TOA imagery interesting in future studies, such as the estimation of chlorophyll or coloured dissolved organic matter.
Empirical Distribution of Code Reviews in DHIS2 Repositories and the Impact of Code Reviews on the Popularity of DHIS2 Repositories on GitHub

—The District Health Information Software Version 2 (DHIS2) facilitates the collection and analysis of routine health data, to inform planning and decision making in the health sector. Majority of previous studies on DHIS2 have focused on social and political factors affecting the adoption of DHIS2 in different countries. However, the software engineering aspects of the DHIS2 have not been widely studied. Code review enables developers to review each other’s code to detect quality issues and share knowledge. Studies have investigated factors affecting the popularity of repositories in social coding websites like GitHub. However, as far as we know, no previous studies have investigated the impact that code reviews could have on the popularity of repositories on social coding websites. To make a start in ﬁlling this gap, we analysed 117 DHIS2 GitHub repositories to gather empirical evidence about the distribution of code reviews in these repositories, as well as the relationship between code review and the popularity of DHIS2 repositories on GitHub. We found the presence of minimal code review in DHIS2 repositories. Moreover, code review was generally found to affect the popularity of DHIS2 repositories on GitHub.
Building Extraction from Airborne LiDAR Data Based on Min-Cut and Improved Post-Processing

Building extraction from LiDAR data has been an active research area, but it is difficult to discriminate between buildings and vegetation in complex urban scenes. A building extraction method from LiDAR data based on minimum cut (min-cut) and improved post-processing is proposed. To discriminate building points on the intersecting roof planes from vegetation, a point feature based on the variance of normal vectors estimated via low-rank subspace clustering (LRSC) technique is proposed, and non-ground points are separated into two subsets based on min-cut after filtering. Then, the results of building extraction are refined via improved post-processing using restricted region growing and the constraints of height, the maximum intersection angle and consistency. The maximum intersection angle constraint removes large non-building point clusters with narrow width, such as greenbelt along streets. Contextual information and consistency constraint are both used to eliminate inhomogeneity. Experiments of seven datasets, including five datasets provided by the International Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing (ISPRS), one dataset with high-density point data and one dataset with dense buildings, verify that most buildings, even with curved roofs, are successfully extracted by the proposed method, with over 94.1% completeness and a minimum 89.8% correctness at the per-area level. In addition, the proposed point feature significantly outperforms the comparison alternative and is less sensitive to feature threshold in complex scenes. Hence, the extracted building points can be used in various applications.
Security of Internet of Things for systems of systems. (Sécurité de l'Internet des objets pour les systèmes de systèmes)

L'internet des objets (IoT) est une nouvelle technologie qui vise a connecter des milliards d'objets physiques a Internet. Ces objets peuvent etre engages dans des relations complexes, notamment la composition et la collaboration avec d'autres systemes independants et heterogenes, afin de fournir de nouvelles fonctionnalites, conduisant ainsi a ce que l'on appelle les systemes de systemes (SoS). Les composants de l'IoT communiquent et collaborent dans des environnements distribues et dynamiques, confrontes a plusieurs problemes de securite de grande ampleur. La securite es tconsideree parmi les enjeux majeurs de l'IoT et souleve des defis lies aux contraintes de capacite de calcul et stockage ainsi que le tres grand nombre des objets connectes. Dans cette these, nous nous interessons a l'application des outils cryptographiques ainsi que la technologie blockchain pour resoudre les problemes de securite dans l'IoT, a savoir : l'authentification et la gestion de confiance. Dans un premier lieu, nous nous sommes interesses au probleme du controle d'acces distant des actionneurs intelligents utilisant des dispositifs IoT. Pour aborder ce probleme, nous avons propose une solution de controle d'acces efficace et a granularite fine, basee sur le mecanisme ABE (Attribute Based Encryption) et des chaines de hachage. A l'aide d'outils formels d'analyse de securite, nous avons demontre la securite de notre protocole face aux attaques malveillantes. Dans un deuxieme lieu, nous avons aborde le probleme d'authentification dans les applications IoT base sur le paradigme du fog computing. Nous avons propose un nouveau protocole d'authentification mutuelle efficace qui est base sur la technologie blockchain et la cryptographie a seuil. Dans notre solution, les objets IoT et les serveurs de fog n'ont besoin que de quelques informations a stocker pour verifier l'authenticite de chaque objet du systeme. L’authentification est effectuee seulement sur la bordure du reseau sans passer par des entites externes. Ainsi, la latence et la capacite de stockage sont reduites au minimum. Enfin, dans notre troisieme contribution, nous avons propose un nouveau protocole de gestion de reputation base sur la technologie blockchain et le fog computing, avec la prise en charge de la mobilite des objets connectes. Notre protocole permet aux objets IoT d'evaluer et de partager avec precision la reputation relative aux autres objets de maniere scalable, sans se recourir a une entite de confiance. Nous avons confirme l'efficacite de notre protocole par des analyses theoriques et des simulations approfondies. Nous avons montre que notre protocole surpasse les solutions existantes,notamment en matiere de scalabilite, prise en charge de la mobilite, la communication et le calcul.
Recent progress,existing problems and prospects in biological control of insect pests in China

Biological control of insect pests is an important branch of entomology. With the development of life sciences and biotechnology,and integration of different disciplines and different techniques,China has achieved a great progress in this area. We review the scientific researches and application of insects as natural enemies, entomopathogens,insect pheromones and biopesticides as well as the application of new biotechnologies,such as RNA interference,in pest management in China,and point out the existing problems and the areas that China should give the priority in the future in biological control of insect pests.
Consensus statement for the management of dyslipidemia and hypertension in the Indian population with diabetes

The mortality rate from cardiovascular disease (CVD) in India is higher than the global figures (272 per 100,000 persons vs. 235 per 100,000 persons, respectively). Smoking, obesity, hypertension, diabetes and dyslipidemia are the known risk factors for atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD). The treatment of either condition aims to reduce the risk of ASCVD. This goal is achievable only when a holistic, simultaneous treatment is initiated and is monitored to reduce the blood glucose, blood cholesterol, and BP. India heralds a huge population of nearly 73 million people with diabetes. Diabetes is one of the major contributors of ASCVD, dyslipidemia and hypertension often coexist with diabetes. Patients diagnosed with either condition need risk stratification, followed by defining the treatment target for each risk category and developing appropriate treatment strategies based on the risk category. Unfortunately, there is no clear guideline that defines the treatment targets and subsequent management. This statement has been created based on the vast experience and an extensive literature review conducted by experts from multidisciplinary teams to address several treatment dilemmas that are routinely faced by clinicians when treating their patients with diabetes. An attempt is made to provide well-defined answers to these quandaries. This statement discusses screening, diagnosis, risk stratification, treatment targets, and management of dyslipidemia and/or hypertension in patients with diabetes and provides a roadmap for the treatment of Indian patients to curtail the risk of ASCVD.
Software Architecture and Software Usability: A Comparison of Data Entry Form Designing Configurable Platforms

--- The objective of the research was to discuss how software architecture shapes the usability of configurable software in data entry-form design. The research process was conducted in three stages. The first stage focused on usability studies for DHIS2 custom form editor from which empirical data was collected from 11 participants. The second phase centred on experimentation with Sketch2Code and Commcare. The final stage focused on solution prototyping and evaluation. The research found out that usability is enhanced in configurable platforms through the availability of interface elements for achieving desired goals with the platform without the need for writing code and meta-design. Constraining factors to usability include lack of functionality to advance the appearance of interfaces beyond the basic outlook and having predefined functions with limited room for innovation outside the predefined range. The research also found out that software architecture enables software usability by providing mechanisms for cross-platform compatibility with similar applications, provision of boundary resources for further customisation and through meta-design
Method and Ecology Function of Marine Cyanobacterium (Synechococcus)

Synechcoccus has been thought to be a significant contributor in the primary producition in the ocean. It has a vital significance to the stability and the diversity of the marine ecosystem. Due to its large biomass, rapid circulation rate and the high energy conversion efficiency, more and more attention has been attracted to the study of Synechococcus. This review focuses on recent research developments on the ecologically significant cyanobacteria group-Snyechococcus, including the world-wide distribution pattern, their abundance, grazing pressure from microzooplankton. The techniques that have been widely used in this area are also introduced.