Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Tree Injury and Mortality in Fires: Developing Process-Based Models

Wildland fire managers are often required to predict tree injury and mortality when planning a prescribed burn or when considering wildfire management options; and, currently, statistical models based on post-fire observations are the only tools available for this purpose. Implicit in the derivation of statistical models is the assumption that they are strictly applicable only for the species or conditions for which they were developed. The result has been a profusion of separate models of uncertain generality. A parallel research effort, the process approach, has been directed at modeling tree injury and mortality by directly simulating the energy-transfer process from the fire to the exterior surface of the plant, and thence into roots, stems, and foliage. Process models can currently predict stem or tree death if certain injury thresholds are reached. We present a brief review of the current understanding of the biophysical processes causing fire-induced plant injury, and focus on the challenges associated with defining boundary conditions, initial conditions, and thermal and physical properties required for modeling plant heating and tissue necrosis. We argue for integration of statistical and process approaches to predicting tree injury and mortality wherein process models provide inputs for statistical models. Research gaps that hinder the application of process-based tree injury and mortality models include linkage of fire effects models with combustion models (especially coupled fire-atmosphere models) through the boundary conditions required for simulating tissue heating, descriptions of live tree thermal and physical characteristics, and better understanding of the physiological basis for delayed fire-caused mortality and the interactions between fire injury and second-order causes of mortality such as diseases and insects.
Atmospheric Hydrology of the Anomalous 2002 Indian Summer Monsoon

Abstract The 2002 Indian summer monsoon season is unique because of its exceptional weakness, its association with a relatively weak El Nino, and its precedence by over a decade in which ENSO events fail to be associated with significant monsoon anomalies. In this study, atmospheric hydrology during the 2002 summer monsoon and its relationship to monsoon seasons accompanying El Nino events since 1948 are assessed using reanalysis and satellite fields. Strong hydrologic deficits are identified for July and September 2002. During July, the impact of the disturbed Hadley and Walker circulations in the African and Indian Ocean region on vertically integrated moisture transport (VIMT) in the Arabian Sea and India is found to be key to the Indian drought. Interhemispheric coherence in satellite-derived surface wind anomalies is also identified. During September, VIMT and surface wind anomalies, both to the east and west of India, contribute to anomalous moisture divergence in India. Bay of Bengal SST and Indian.
Kenderaan autonomi merupakan kenderaan yang memandukan sendiri, tanpa melibatkan pengendali dalam pelaksanaan tugas-tugas yang ditetapkan untuk kenderaan. Ia direkakan untuk membantu manusia dalam tugas-tugas harian, mengurangkan kesilapan dan keperluan pemerhatian dari manusia. Untuk kenderaan auto

An autonomous vehicle is a self-driving vehicle, that requires no operator to be involve in performing the set tasks. It is developed to assist humans in everyday tasks with the advantages of eliminating errors and reducing the need for human observation. For an autonomous vehicle to move with flexibility or to adapt to a new road environment, it needs to have human-like perception and intelligence. This project proposes an intelligent visual perception system for an autonomous vehicle. It consists of a camera vision system that captures the road image. The image features are extracted using simple image processing algorithms and are trained using artificial neural network (ANN). The trained system is able to recognize some predetermined road patterns. Further experimental tests are designed to justify the performance of the system settings. An optimized set of image quality and the ANN network structures are chosen.
The Empirical Analysis of the System of Risk Management on Small and Medium-Size Enterprises

Risk management is an important element among the activities of small and medium-sized enterprises. It is necessary for SMEs to be able to effectively manage risks to survive in highly competitive conditions. Although there are positive dynamics of growth in the number of SMEs in Kazakhstan, statistics show unprofitability in their activities. The article shows an empirical method of analysis where 82 representatives of small and medium-size enterprises where interviewed. This article addresses the problems of SMEs in the sphere of trade, manufacturing, construction and services, which have been studied by the author in recent years and considers the role of external consultants in the risk management activities of SMEs.
The Pathogenesis of a New Variant Genotype and QX-like Infectious Bronchitis Virus Isolated from Chickens in Thailand

This study was designed to investigate the pathogenesis of infectious bronchitis virus (IBV), a new variant genotype and QX-like IBV, isolated in Thailand. Sixty, 28-day-old, female broiler chickens were divided into 3 groups of 20 chickens each (groups 1-3) and sixty, 1-day-old, female broiler chickens were divided into 3 groups of 20 chickens each (groups 4-6). The chickens in groups 2 and 5 were inoculated with QX-like IBV (isolate THA80151) whereas the chickens in groups 3 and 6 were inoculated with a new variant genotype IBV (isolate THA90151). The chickens in groups 1 and 4 served as negative control groups. Clinical signs and mortality rates were observed for 14 days post-inoculation (dpi). The chickens were weighed at 0, 7 and 14 dpi. At 7 and 14 dpi, five chickens per group were humanely killed. The tracheas and kidneys were collected for IBV detection and histopathological lesion score evaluation. The results revealed that at 7 dpi, the average body weight of the chickens in groups 2 and 6 was significantly lower than that of the negative control groups (groups 1 and 4, respectively) (p 0.05) at 7 dpi but the score for group 5 was significantly higher than that for group 2 at 14 dpi (p 0.05). This study indicates that both of the Thai IBV isolates have an affinity to cause respiratory and kidney lesions and an effect on growth rate was found over 7 dpi.
THE DEMAND FOR ORGANIC FRUIT AND VEGETABLE PRODUCTS IN EU COUNTRIES: A SURVEY OF THE EXPECTATIONS OF MARKET AGENTS

This study investigates the reasons for the relatively modest increase in the consumption of organic products in recent years. A survey has been carried out to explore the role of marketing issues in the con­ sumption of organic fruit and vegetables in various EU countries. The results indicate that the demand for organic products is likely to re­ main small unless there will be a significant change in the marketing strategy of these products. Specifically, the results of our survey indi­ cate that their consumption is unlikely to increase much unless prices for organic fruit and vegetables are reduced significantly and an effort is made to increase consumers' understanding of organic products and their certification. In addition, an improvement in the regularity of supplies is needed to expand of the role of large retailers in the mar­ keting of these products.
La controversia sobre el contraste de hipótesis: Situación actual en psicología y recomendaciones didácticas

The significance tests controversy in psychology was very wide in the past 30 years and associations such as the American Psychological Association published recommendations to improve the statistics practice in this field. In this paper we analyse recent research that study the statistical methods in psychology and show some advance that is still not enough to solve the problem. We finish with some recommendations to improve the teaching of inference in psychology.
SELF-ASSESSMENT OF FINITE ELEMENT SOLUTIONS APPLIED TO TRANSIENT PHENOMENA IN SOLID CONTINUUM MECHANICS

The presented study evolved from authors' considerations devoted to expected cre- dibility of results obtained by finite element methods especially in cases when com- parisons with those of experiment are not available. Thus, assessing the validity of numerical results one has to rely on the employed method of the solution itself. Out of many situations which might be of importance, we paid our attention to com- parison of results obtained by different element types, two different time integration operators, mesh refinements and finally to frequency analysis of the loading pulse and that of output signals expressed in displacements and strains obtained by solving a well defined transient task in solid continuum mechanics. Statistical tools for the quantitative assessment of 'close' solutions are discussed as well. Motivation The presented paper is a part of the study dedicated to the assessment of the energy flux through a drilling bar with four spiral slots subjected to an axial impact. The problem, initially suggested by people from Sandvik Company in Sweden, is fully treated in (10) and in another paper just being prepared. The question was to find out what part of input energy, due to the axial impact, could be transferred into the energy associated with torsional displacements, which was thought to improve the rock drilling efficiency. Authors solved the presented problem by means of FE analysis and by experiment. The FE analysis was fully three dimensional, while the experimental one relied on the surface strain measurement complemented by evaluation of measured data based on 1D wave theory for axial and torsional waves. Before assessing the final goal, i.e. the evaluation of the energy flux at each cross section of the tube as a function of time and assessing its dependence on four different geometries of spiral slots and on the 'time length' of the input pulse, authors deemed necessary to analyze the credibility of both numerical and experimental approaches. The analysis of FE and experimental results presented in this paper is based on the rather simple and expectable pattern of stress waves propagation through the first part of the tube for small times, i.e. before the incoming wave reaches the spiral slot. The details about the solved case and about the experiment are in (10) and will be published later. In this paper the main attention is devoted to particulars of self-assessment of finite element technology.
Alternative Indicators of Population Ageing: An Inventory

The extent, speed and impact of population ageing have often been exaggerated because standard indicators such as the Old-Age Dependency Ratio or Support Ratio do not take proper account of falling mortality, the changing relationship between age and employment, or (usually) both. Neither do such ratios consider the changing composition in terms of educational attainment, human capital or other population characteristics. Not surprisingly, over the last decade or so demographers have developed alternatives. This paper provides an overview of such alternatives and briefly discusses their utility.
Saturation number of nanotubes

In the present paper we are interested in the saturation number of closed benzenoid chains and certain families of nanotubes. The saturation number of a graph is the cardinality of a smallest maximal matching in the graph. The problem of determining the saturation number is related to the edge dominating sets and efficient edge dominating sets in a graph. We establish the saturation number of some closed benzenoid chains and C 4 C 6 -tubes. Further, upper and lower bounds for the saturation number of armchair, zig-zag, T U C 4 C 8 ( S ) and T U C 4 C 8 ( R ) nanotubes are calculated.
Actividad física durante el tiempo libre y su relación con algunos indicadores de salud mental en España

Introduccion La practica de actividad fisica a lo largo de la vida favorece el mantenimiento de las funciones cognitivas y se asocia habitualmente a una mejor salud mental. Invertir tiempo en realizar deporte o hacer ejercicio fisico se asocia con una mejor calidad de vida en las personas que realizan regularmente estas actividades, y participar en programas de ejercicio fisico dirigidos puede mejorar diferentes dimensiones del bienestar psicologico y emocional. Un estilo de vida activo otorga un aparente efecto protector ante la incidencia de trastornos como la ansiedad o la depresion; no obstante, la relacion dosis respuesta en terminos de que tipo, cantidad, duracion e intensidad de la actividad fisica es necesaria para lograr mejorias en este sentido, no ha sido muy bien establecida en estudios con grandes muestras, y aun menos en los que se describa la relacion con la actividad fisica durante el tiempo libre. Objetivo El objetivo del presente trabajo es aportar datos que desde un punto de vista descriptivo permitan contrastar la asociacion entre diferentes indicadores de salud mental en la poblacion espanola y la practica de actividad fisica durante el tiempo libre, valorando tambien el nivel de actividad fisica realizado habitualmente. Metodos Los datos empleados en este articulo forman parte de un estudio transversal llevado a cabo por el Ministerio de Sanidad y Politica Social-Instituto de Informacion Sanitaria de Espana, comenzado en el ano 2006. La muestra estaba compuesta por sujetos mayores de 16 anos, siendo la poblacion de referencia el ultimo censo oficial disponible. Fue entrevistado un total de 29 478 personas (11 645 hombres y 17 833 mujeres mayores de 16 anos) con el Cuestionario Nacional de Salud del ano 2006. Se evaluo la practica de actividad fisica durante el tiempo libre y el nivel de practica, de acuerdo a las recomendaciones existentes para mantener la salud, y se obtuvo un indice de salud mental por medio de un cuestionario de 12 items (General Health Questionnaire, GHQ-12), ademas de otras variables relacionadas con la salud mental. Resultados Se puede observar tanto en hombres como en mujeres de los diferentes grupos de edad, que realizar actividad fisica se asocia con una mejor valoracion en la escala GHQ-12. En funcion del nivel de practica, cualquier cantidad de ejercicio fisico durante el tiempo libre se relaciona con una mayor probabilidad de mostrar mejor estado de salud percibida (p<0,001) y mejor puntuacion en el cuestionario GHQ-12 (p<0,001) en ambos sexos, aunque el grado de asociacion estimado (OR) crece proporcionalmente al nivel de practica de actividad fisica alcanzado. Conclusiones Practicar actividad fisica durante el tiempo libre se asocia con una menor prevalencia de indicadores negativos de salud mental. Por medio de los diferentes indicadores estudiados se observa una mejor salud mental en las personas de ambos sexos que realizan practica de actividad fisica vigorosa.
Single-qubit-gate error below 10 -4 in a trapped ion

With a {sup 9}Be{sup +} trapped-ion hyperfine-state qubit, we demonstrate an error probability per randomized single-qubit gate of 2.0(2)x10{sup -5}, below the threshold estimate of 10{sup -4} commonly considered sufficient for fault-tolerant quantum computing. The {sup 9}Be{sup +} ion is trapped above a microfabricated surface-electrode ion trap and is manipulated with microwaves applied to a trap electrode. The achievement of low single-qubit-gate errors is an essential step toward the construction of a scalable quantum computer.
In situ measurements of cloud microphysical and aerosol properties during the break-up of stratocumulus cloud layers in cold air outbreaks over the North Atlantic

Abstract. A key challenge for numerical weather prediction models is representing boundary layer clouds in cold air outbreaks (CAOs). One important aspect is the evolution of microphysical properties as stratocumulus transitions to open cellular convection. Abel et al. (2017) have shown, for the first time from in situ field observations, that the break-up in CAOs over the eastern Atlantic may be controlled by the development of precipitation in the cloud system while the boundary layer becomes decoupled. This paper describes that case and examines in situ measurements from three more CAOs. Flights were conducted using the UK Facility for Airborne Atmospheric Measurements (FAAM) British Aerospace-146 (BAe-146) aircraft in the North Atlantic region around the UK, making detailed microphysical measurements in the stratiform boundary layer. As the cloudy boundary layer evolves prior to break-up, increasing liquid water paths (LWPs) and drop sizes and the formation of liquid precipitation are observed. Small numbers of ice particles, typically a few per litre, are also observed. Eventually LWPs reduce significantly due to loss of water from the stratocumulus cloud (SC) layer. In three of the cases, aerosols are removed from the boundary layer across the transition. This process appears to be similar to those observed in warm clouds and pockets of open cells (POCs) in the subtropics. After break-up, deeper convective clouds form with bases warm enough for secondary ice production (SIP), leading to rapid glaciation. It is concluded that the precipitation is strongly associated with the break-up, with both weakening of the capping inversion and boundary layer decoupling also observed.
Ultrafast Pump-Push Photocurrent Spectroscopy of Organic Photoconversion Systems

Novel optical pump-push – photocurrent probe ultrafast spectroscopy experiments on organic photoconversion systems show that excessive excitation energy in such systems is not lost but used to reach delocalised states that act as the gateway for long-range charge separation. We also show that the developed experimental approach can be generalised to inorganic and hybrid photoconversion systems.
Estimation of carbon stocks under different soil uses in the central highlands of Mexico

The loss of organic carbon stocks from the soil and their expulsion into the atmosphere due to the effect of anthropogenic activities must be understood as a problem that goes beyond the environmental to the social and economic context, with the soil degradation being just one of its many impacts. While the accumulation of carbon in the soil depends naturally on the interaction among a series of biotic and abiotic factors, management practices often cause the deterioration of its physical, chemical and biological properties, and, thus, increase the levels of mineralization and a reduction in carbon stocks. This research was undertaken in the municipality of San Jose del Rincon, State of Mexico, in volcanic soils under different conditions of soil use and disturbation time periods. Samples were obtained at 11 plots, on which physical and chemical analyses were undertaken, obtaining soil organic carbon stocks at 20 cm top soil. The results indicated that, for the soils used for agriculture and induced pasture, there were significant increases in the bulk density, greater acidity and a decrease in carbon concentration compared to forest soils. The organic carbon stocks taken from soils used in forestry, agriculture and induced pasture at a depth of 20 cm were 131, 53 and 63 Mg C ha-1 respectively, results which suggest the timing and intensity of management are determinants in the loss of soil organic carbon stocks from the soil, as well as the alteration of some of their physical and chemical properties.
Assessing Goodness of Fit of Exponential Random Graph Models

Exponential Random Graph Models (ERGMs) have been developed for fitting social network data on both static and dynamic levels. However, lack of methods with large sample asymptotic properties makes it inadequate to assess the goodness of fit of these ERGMs. Simulation-based goodness of fit plots proposed by Hunter et al. (2006) compare structured statistics of observed network with those of corresponding simulated networks. In this paper, we propose a new approach to assessing the goodness of fit of ERGMs. We demonstrate how to improve the existing graphical techniques via simulation studies. We also propose a simulation-based test statistic that will assist in model comparisons.
The Food quality labels: awareness and willingness to pay in the context of the Czech Republic

The paper deals with quality labels utilization in the food products sector from consumer point of view and presents the results of research study which was conducted in the Czech Republic by interviewing a sample of 250 respondents selected by quota sampling methods. The study was aimed at analysing the consumers’ awareness and perceived credibility of food quality labels, at revealing their willingness to pay a higher price for certified products, and at determining whether significant differences do exist in the way consumers perceive the food quality labels based on their socio-demographic characteristics. The findings revealed a low awareness of food quality labels. A higher level of recognition as well as perceived credibility was proven for national quality labels. As the main problem were identified a poor information about quality labels and lack of confidence that certified products have declared characteristics. Consumers show an interest in getting information about the topic, they also express a willingness to pay a slightly higher price for certified products if they trust them. Our findings confirmed that significant differences do exist between socio-demographic characteristics of respondents (gender, age, education, and responsibility for food purchases) and their attitudes toward the labels; no significant difference was found based on income.
Couple Implicit Rules for Facilitating Disclosure and Relationship Quality with Romantic Relational Aggression as a Mediator

Couple Implicit Rules for Facilitating Disclosure and Relationship Quality with Romantic Relational Aggression as a Mediator K. Nathan Meng School of Family Life, BYU Doctor of Philosophy This study examines the association between couple implicit rules related to facilitating disclosure and marital quality with husband and wife romantic relational aggression as potential mediators. Couples (N-353 couples) who participated in the Flourishing Families Project, reported on their use of couple implicit rules related to disclosure. Results indicated that implicit rules for couple disclosure were positively related to marital quality for both husbands and wives. Those couples who reported more use of implicit rules related to disclosure were also likely to use less romantic relational aggression. In turn, both husband and wife romantic relational aggression was negatively related to their own as well as their partner’s marital quality. Romantic relational aggression was a significant mediator between couple implicit rules for disclosure and marital quality for both husbands and wives. Implications for marital therapy are discussed.
Method for the Generation of Broadband Acoustic Signals

Conventional active sonar systems use narrowband pulsed waveforms. It is suggested that using broadband acoustic pulses will exploit more details of the acoustic scattering from the target target, medium and the environment that will assist in the development of improved target detection and classification algorithms. Problems of generating broadband signals such as resonances, distortion and ripples have been studied by several researchers. In this paper, we explore several aspects of the problem including methods for equalisation of the amplifier and transducer used to transmit the pulses. Several approaches for equalising the received pulses are also examined.