Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Non-Markovianity of photon dynamics in a birefringent crystal

The way a principle system and its environment interact characterizes the non-Markovianity of the dynamics. Herein, we investigate the non-Markovian dynamics of photon polarization in a birefringent crystal. We consider the so-called `quantity of quantum-mechanical process' first defined by Hsieh et al. [Sci. Rep. 7, 13588 (2017)]. The non-Markovianity of the photon dynamics is evaluated by examining the quantity of quantum-mechanical process varying with time, and the difference between the quantity of quantum-mechanical process in a complete dynamics and that in a process composed of two subprocesses. We show that all of the processes identified as Markovian in the seminal study of Liu et al. [Nat. Phys. 7, 931 (2011)] can actually be identified as non-Markovian. The presented method enables us to classify non-Markovianity in the dynamical processes that are classified as Markovian by existing verification criteria. Overall, the results confirm the feasibility of performing the experimental characterization of photon dynamics using an all-optical setup and provide a useful insight into enhancing the accuracy and control of quantum system designs for quantum engineering applications.
Life Cycle Assessment of Two Vineyards after the Application of Precision Viticulture Techniques: A Case Study

Precision viticulture is the application of site-specific techniques to vineyard production to improve grape quality and yield and minimize the negative effects on the environment. While there are various studies on the inherent spatial and temporal variability of vineyards, the assessment of the environmental impact of variable rate applications has attracted limited attention. In this study, two vineyards planted with different grapevine cultivars (Sauvignon Blanc and Syrah) were examined for four consecutive growing seasons (2013–2016). The first year, the two vineyards were only studied in terms of soil properties and crop characteristics, which resulted in the delineation of two distinct management zones for each field. For the following three years, variable rate nutrient application was applied to each management zone based on leaf canopy reflectance, where variable rate irrigation was based on soil moisture sensors, meteorological data, evapotranspiration calculation, and leaf canopy reflectance. Life cycle assessment was carried out to identify the effect of variable rate applications on vineyard agro-ecosystems. The results of variable rate nutrients and water application in the selected management zones as an average value of three growing seasons were compared to the conventional practice. It was found that the reduction of product carbon footprint (PCF) of grapes in Sauvignon Blanc between the two periods was 25% in total. Fertilizer production and distribution (direct) and application (indirect) was the most important sector of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reduction, accounting for 17.2%, and the within-farm energy use was the second ranked sector with 8.8% (crop residue management increase GHG emissions by 1.1%, while 0.1% GHG reduction is obtained by pesticide use). For the Syrah vineyard, where the production was less intensive, precision viticulture led to a PCF reduction of 28.3% compared to conventional production. Fertilizers contributed to this decrease by 27.6%, while within-farm energy use had an impact of 2.2% that was positive even though irrigation was increased, due to yield rise. Our results suggest that nutrient status management offers the greatest potential for reducing GHG emissions in both vineyard types. Variable rate irrigation also showed differences in comparison to conventional treatment, but to a lesser degree than variable rate fertilization. This difference between conventional practices and precision viticulture is noteworthy, and shows the potential of precision techniques to reduce the effect of viticulture on GHG emissions.
Effects of Time-Scale Modification on the Performance of Speech Recognition

In this paper, we describe the effects of time-scale modification on the performance of speech recognition. Speaking rate normalization is achieved by selecting a scaling factor of time-scale modification. In addition, we describe how speech data are classified depending on speaking rate, and then discuss the variations of the ASR performance for each class.
Sonication of seeds increase germination performance of sesame under low temperature stress

A laboratory experiment was conducted to determine the effect of ultrasound (US) exposure time on germination behavior of sesame seeds. All tests were carried out at 20 kHz in a water bath ultrasonic device varying two factors, treatment duration (10, 20 and 30 min) and germination temperature (15, 20 and 25 oC). Parallel tests were run in which seeds were soaked in water without sonication in order to eliminate the effect of water from US test results. US treatments enhanced seeds water uptake. At mild exposure time it improved sesame seed germination performance and seedling growth at suboptimal temperatures as indicated by higher germination percentage and germination rate. US applying for 20 min had relatively high superoxide dismutase activity; however, had not significant differences with control and US duration for 10 min. The catalase activity was strongly increased by applying the US for a 10 and 20 min. Among the treatments, application of US vibration for 10 and 20 min reduced both of malondialdehyde and H 2 O 2 contents, however high US duration (30 min) increased both of the traits. In general, ultrasonic priming technique can be useful for early planting the sesame seeds, and lead to higher yields.
The Novel Patterned Retarder 3 D Display with Wideband and Wide-view Circular Polarizer

We present a novel patterned retarder configuration of stereoscopic 3D display which can show the wideband and wide-viewing angle to reduce the crosstalk in the vertical direction. We calculated the retardation of each film on a Poincaré sphere. We confirmed the reduced crosstalk of the proposed configuration in vertical direction.
Field Theory Design of Ferrite-Loaded Waveguide Nonreciprocal Phase Shifters with Multisection Ferrite Or Dielectric Slab Impedance Transformers

Impedance-matched ferrite-loaded waveguide nonreciprocal phase shifters are designed using the method of field expansion into eigenmodes, which includes higher order mode interaction between the step discontinuities. Computer-optimized Ku -band ferrite stepped design examples, of 45° and 90° nonreciprocal differential phase shifts, attain typically about 2° phase error and less than -25 dB input reflection within a bandwidth of about 5 percent. Compact designs are achieved by thicker uniform ferrite slabs with dielectric transformer sections at each end. The theory is verified by comparison with available results from measurements and other methods.
The Advantages and the Challenges of Adopting IFRS into UAE Stock Market

This paper aims to assess the benefits gained and the challenges experienced by companies listed on the UAE stock market following the introduction of IFRS. Since the announcement by the European Union to adopt IFRS by listed companies, many countries have followed suit, hoping to gain competitive edge in attracting the Foreign Direct Investment to boost their economic growth. This study focuses on examining the advantages and challenges faced by companies listed on the UAE stock market listed companies as a result of adopting IFRS. The framework used in this analysis will be based on the identification and assessment of key drivers influencing companies listed on the UAE stock market. To what extent are these factors internal or external to the financial sector, but which have a direct bearing on the overall economic environment? The views and perceptions of the Chief Financial Officers’ (CFOs) for Dubai and Abu Dhabi listed companies, financial analysts of the financial statements in the two listed companies and auditors will be analysed. Methodology: Questionnaires were used as the main method of data collection. Questionnaire were distributed in both Dubai and Abu Dhabi markets, The data obtained through the questionnaires have been imported into software for analysis, namely, the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS). Findings: The results clearly show that the benefits of adopting IFRSs in UAE inevitably far outweigh the difficulties and costs. The findings also reveal that adoption of IFRSs in UAE stock markets has improved the overall standard of the quality of financial reporting, which help in attracting investors to invest in the UAE stock markets. However, many respondents were still apprehensive that effective and professional financial reporting decisions will be affected by the level of education of accounting users, the methods provided by some IFRSs, and the inadequate enforcement mechanisms.
Hypolipidemic Effect of Beer Proteins in Experiment on Rats

Amino acid analysis, electrophoretic separation and Fourier transform-infrared spectra (FT-IR) were used to determine and characterize proteins and amino acids in two types of beer: with a high content of proteins (Beer 1) and with a low content of proteins (Beer 2). The concentration of total proteins, albumin and of most studied amino acids in Beer 1 were significantly higher than in Beer 2 (P<0.05–0.0005). Thirty-six rats were divided in three groups, each 12. The rats of the control group were fed basal diet (BD) only and the BD of the two experimental groups (Beer 1 and Beer 2) was supplemented with lyophilized, polyphenol-free Beer 1 and Beer 2, respectively. Before and after completion of the 4 w feeding period the total cholesterol (TC), LDL-cholesterol (LDL-C), HDL-cholesterol, triglycerides (TG), lipid peroxides (LP) and total radical-trapping antioxidative potential (TRAP) in all three groups were examined. In Beer1 group a significant decrease in the level of TC, LDL-C and TG was registered (P<0.05, 0.05 and 0.005, respectively). No differences in the level of LP and TRAP in all three groups were found. This investigation proves that beer with high protein and essential amino acid concentrations does affect the plasma lipids level in rats.
Adaptive Control for Optimizing Microalgae Production

In this paper, we propose a nonlinear adaptive controller for light-limited microalgae culture. This controller regulates the light absorption factor, defined by the ratio between the incident light and the light at the bottom of the reactor. Then, we propose a set-point for the light absorption factor which allows to optimize biomass productivity under constant illumination. Finally, we show by numerical simulation that the adaptive controller can be used to obtain near optimal productivity under day-night cycles.
Conflict or cooperation? Social capital as a power resource and conflict mitigation strategy in timber operations in Ghana’s off-reserve forest areas

Conflicts over forests and trees threaten the sustainability of the resource base. The nature and causes of such conflicts have been documented, but little is known about factors that determine whether interactions result in conflict or cooperation. Particularly, the role of social capital has been underexposed, with existing studies focusing mainly on networks, and less on the role of norms, trust, and reciprocity in conflict mitigation. Our case study addresses these gaps, asking what factors determine whether interactions about timber resources in Ghana’s off-reserve forest areas result in conflict or cooperation. Off-reserve areas, which are mosaics of forest, fallow, and farmland patches, contribute significantly to timber for domestic and export markets, despite a rapidly declining resource base since the 2000s. Conflicts over legally required social responsibility agreements and inadequate compensation for crop damage abound, but, in rare cases, peaceful cooperation exists. Based on a literature review, document analysis, key respondent interviews, semistructured interviews, and focus groups, we found that interactions between actors are shaped by a complex mix of socioeconomic, social, orientational, and institutional power resources that actors mobilize to negotiate access to increasingly scarce timber resources and their benefits. Socioeconomic power resources initially determine whether a cooperative relationship between timber operators and communities can be established, but elements of social capital (connectedness, norms, trustworthiness, and reciprocity) determine the further course of the interaction patterns. Communities thereby rely primarily on bonding social capital because their bridging capital is practically absent and their linking capital is limited to people who are potential conflict partners. We conclude that conflicts in forested landscapes go beyond competing claims and benefit sharing, and that norms, trustworthiness, and reciprocity are at least as important dimensions of social capital as networks. This finding implies that more attention is needed toward the cultural context in which interactions are embedded.
DECOMPOSITION OF 14C-LABELLED PLANT MATERIAL UNDER FIELD CONDITIONS

Mature, uniformly labelled (14C, 15N), chopped, wheat straw incorporated in the plow layer of a Brown Chernozemic soil and a Gray Wooded soil was allowed to decompose in the field. Labelled grass material (14C) was added to the surface of an adjacent virgin Brown Chernozemic soil. After 4 yr of normal cropping practices, one-fifth of the C of added straw remained in the Brown soil and one-sixth in the Gray Wooded. The initial decomposition rate of straw was retarded in plots under wheat as compared with those under fallow. Decomposition of labelled grass was initially dependent on sufficient rainfall to compress it to the soil surface. When winter periods are excluded from the time scale, the half-life of resistant straw components or soil organic matter derived from the straw was equivalent to 24 mo in Gray Wooded soil and 48 mo in Brown soil. Resistant grass material decomposed more slowly with a half-life of 96 growing mo. Distribution of labelled C among the various fractions of soil organic matter af.
An efficient wave extrapolation method for anisotropic media with tilt

Wavefield extrapolation operators for elliptically anisotropic media offer significant cost reduction compared with that for the transversely isotropic case, particularly when the axis of symmetry exhibits tilt (from the vertical). However, elliptical anisotropy does not provide accurate wavefield representation or imaging for transversely isotropic media. Therefore, we propose effective elliptically anisotropic models that correctly capture the kinematic behaviour of wavefields for transversely isotropic media. Specifically, we compute source‐dependent effective velocities for the elliptic medium using kinematic high‐frequency representation of the transversely isotropic wavefield. The effective model allows us to use cheaper elliptic wave extrapolation operators. Despite the fact that the effective models are obtained by matching kinematics using high‐frequency asymptotic, the resulting wavefield contains most of the critical wavefield components, including frequency dependency and caustics, if present, with reasonable accuracy. The methodology developed here offers a much better cost versus accuracy trade‐off for wavefield computations in transversely isotropic media, particularly for media of low to moderate complexity. In addition, the wavefield solution is free from shear‐wave artefacts as opposed to the conventional finite‐difference‐based transversely isotropic wave extrapolation scheme. We demonstrate these assertions through numerical tests on synthetic tilted transversely isotropic models.
Dependable Routing Approach for In-Network Aggregation in Wireless Sensor Network

Wireless sensor networks create a lot of information that needs to be proceeds, delivered, and evaluated as per the application goals. The way this information is controlled by the sensor nodes is a key issue. Data fusion emerges as a reaction to process information accumulated by sensor nodes and profits from their preparing capacity. Data-centric technologies are needed that perform in-network aggregation of data to yield energy-efficient dissemination. For precise monitoring, extensive scale dense Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) will be progressively deployed in diverse classes of uses. It is likely that redundant data will be identified by adjacent nodes when sensing an event, because of the high thickness of nodes in these systems. Since energy preservation is a key issue in WSNs, in order to save energy data fusion and aggregation ought to be abused. In this case, redundant data can be aggregated at intermediate nodes reducing the size and number of exchanged messages and, thus, decreasing communication costs and energy consumption. There is requirement of novel Routing for In-Network Aggregation which have some features like high aggregation rate, and reliable data aggregation and transmission, reduced number of messages for setting up a routing tree, maximized number of overlapping routes and best aggregation quality.
Meeting US biofuel goals with less land: the potential of Miscanthus

Biofuels from crops are emerging as a Jekyll & Hyde – promoted by some as a means to offset fossil fuel emissions, denigrated by others as lacking sustainability and taking land from food crops. It is frequently asserted that plants convert only 0.1% of solar energy into biomass, therefore requiring unacceptable amounts of land for production of fuel feedstocks. The C4 perennial grass Miscanthus×giganteus has proved a promising biomass crop in Europe, while switchgrass (Panicum virgatum) has been tested at several locations in N. America. Here, replicated side‐by‐side trials of these two crops were established for the first time along a latitudinal gradient in Illinois. Over 3 years of trials, Miscanthus×giganteus achieved average annual conversion efficiencies into harvestable biomass of 1.0% (30 t ha−1) and a maximum of 2.0% (61 t ha−1), with minimal agricultural inputs. The regionally adapted switchgrass variety Cave‐in‐Rock achieved somewhat lower yields, averaging 10 t ha−1. Given that there has been little attempt to improve the agronomy and genetics of these grasses compared with the major grain crops, these efficiencies are the minimum of what may be achieved. At this 1.0% efficiency, 12 million hectares, or 9.3% of current US cropland, would be sufficient to provide 133 × 109 L of ethanol, enough to offset one‐fifth of the current US gasoline use. In contrast, maize grain from the same area of land would only provide 49 × 109 L, while requiring much higher nitrogen and fossil energy inputs in its cultivation.
PREDICTING IRANIAN COMPANIES BANKRUPTCY BY THE USE OF ARTIFICIAL NEURAL NETWORK AND ART MAP FUZZY NEURAL NETWORK

Investors, creditors and other users of financial information always cope with the risk of losing actual or potential financial resources in their decision makings, thus everything which could eliminate the above mentioned risk or even reduce it has high importance for them and it has a special place. One of the mechanisms that could help the investors and others in reducing the investment risk is paying attention to the accounting information and patterns of predicting bankruptcy. Therefore the current research studies the ability of two models of predicting bankruptcy in Iran Stock Market during t, t-1 and t-2 years. The t year is considered as the bankruptcy year for the bankrupt companies and it is considered as the year of being placed in the sample for the non-bankrupt companies. The current research sample includes 110 accepted companies in Stock Exchange which had the determined conditions. The sampling interval is from 2003 to 2006 and the required data extraction interval includes years 2001 to 2006. The research result shows that each of the two models have the skill of predicting the bankruptcy of companies that are members of Stock Exchange but the performance of ART MAP fuzzy neural network is better.
Effectiveness of kidney bean lectin preparation in improving pig performance - field study

Most of the strategies developed to reduce weaning problems in pigs are targeted at the post-weaning period and concern modifications of feed composition and feed supplementation with a variety of additives (acidifiers, preand probiotics, enzymes, herb blends, etc). Their aim is to reduce negative consequences of early and abrupt weaning, such as lowered performance and weaning diarrhea. Studies on the postnatal development of the gastrointestinal (GI) tract in pigs, however, revealed a number of essential conflicts between early weaning and gut mucosa function, and a relative immaturity of the gut epithelium is considered to be a major problem (11). In order to solve it, a novel approach, involving a provoked stimulation of gut development before weaning, was proposed (8). As a stimulus, the oral administration of a single dose of a kidney bean lectin extract (Suilectin, Biolek, Poland) was developed within Eureka Initiative nr E! 2675 (10). Suilectin is a natural product containing standardized lectin isolated from the red kidney bean (Phaseolus vulgaris) which contains five lectin isoforms, PHA-E 4 , PHA-E 3 L, PHA-E 2 L 2 , PHA-EL 3 , and PHA-L 4 of phytohaemagglutinin (PHA) activity i.e., erythroand leucoagglutinating. Red kidney bean lectin is relatively well researched, since kidney beans are one of the most commonly used leguminous plants in human and farm animal nutrition. Problems of poisoning by the consumption of high amounts of kidney bean lectin present in raw or improperly cooked kidney beans were recognized well over half a century ago and prompted a number of extensive studies on animals (6, 9). In contrast, low doses of kidney bean lectin extracts are not poisonous and show a number of physiological effects in the gastrointestinal tract, in particular in the small intestine and the pancreas (1, 4, 5, 7, 8). The effects can be mediated by cholecystokinin released from the intestinal endocrine I-cells (3). The tissues behind the gastrointestinal tract are much less affected and seem to be influenced indirectly, since kidney bean lectin is not absorbed from the gut (4, 5). Kidney bean lectin readily binds with the gut epithelium, enhances enterocyte turnover Effectiveness of kidney bean lectin preparation in improving pig performance  field study
Driven polymer translocation through a nanopore: A manifestation of anomalous diffusion

We study the translocation dynamics of a polymer chain threaded through a nanopore by an external force. By means of diverse methods (scaling arguments, fractional calculus and Monte Carlo simulation) we show that the relevant dynamic variable, the translocated number of segments s(t), displays an anomalous diffusive behavior even in the presence of an external force. The anomalous dynamics of the translocation process is governed by the same universal exponent α=2/(2ν+2−γ1), where ν is the Flory exponent and γ1 the surface exponent, which was established recently for the case of non-driven polymer chain threading through a nanopore. A closed analytic expression for the probability distribution function W(s, t), which follows from the relevant fractional Fokker-Planck equation, is derived in terms of the polymer chain length N and the applied drag force f. It is found that the average translocation time scales as . Also the corresponding time-dependent statistical moments, and reveal unambiguously the anomalous nature of the translocation dynamics and permit direct measurement of α in experiments. These findings are tested and found to be in perfect agreement with extensive Monte Carlo (MC) simulations.