Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Fusion of terrasar-x and rapideye data: a quality analysis

This research compares and evaluates image fusion algorithms to achieve spatially improved images while preserving the spectral information. In order to compare the performance of fusion techniques both active and passive images were used. As an active image a high resolution, X-band, VV polarized TerraSAR-X data and as a multispectral image RapidEye data were used. RapidEye provides five optical bands in the 400–850 nm range and it is the first space-borne sensor which operationally gathers the red edge spectrum (690–730 nm) besides the standard channels of multi-spectral satellite sensors. The selected study area is in the low lands of Menemen (Izmir) Plain on the west of Gediz Basin covering both agricultural fields and residential areas. For the quality analysis, Adjustable SAR-MS Fusion (ASMF), Ehlers fusion and High Pass Filtering (HPF) approaches were investigated. In this study preliminary results of selected image fusion methods were given. The quality of the fused images was assessed with qualitative and quantitative analyses. For the qualitative analysis visual comparison was applied using different band combinations of fused image and original multispectral Rapid-Eye image. In the merged images color distortions regarding to SAR-optical synergy were investigated. Statistical analysis was carried out as quantitative analyses. In this respect Correlation Coefficient (CC), Standard Deviation Difference (SDD), Universal Image Quality Index (UIQI) and Root Mean Square Error (RMSE) were performed for quality assessments. In general HPF was performed best while ASMF was performed the worst in all results.
The Role of Long Memory in Hedging Strategies for Canadian Commodity Futures

This paper investigates whether InterContenental Exchange (ICE) futures contracts are an effective and affordable method of managing price risk for Canadian commodity producers. Long memory in volatility is found to be present in cash and futures prices for canola and western barley. Long memory is incorporated into the hedging strategy by estimating hedge ratios using a FIAPARCH model. Findings indicate that ICE futures contracts for canola are an effective and affordable means of reducing price risk while western barley producers should consider alternative means of managing price risk.
Midlatitude cirrus classification at Rome Tor Vergata through a multichannel Raman-Mie-Rayleigh lidar

A methodology to identify and characterize cirrus clouds has been developed and applied to the multichannel- multiwavelength Rayleigh-Mie-Raman (RMR) lidar in Rome Tor Vergata (RTV). A set of 167 cirrus cases, defined on the basis of quasi-stationary temporal period conditions, has been selected in a data set consisting of about 500 h of nighttime lidar sessions acquired between February 2007 and April 2010. The derived lidar parameters (effective height, geometrical and optical thickness and mean back-scattering ratio) and the cirrus mid-height temperature (estimated from the radiosonde data of Pratica di Mare, WMO, World Mete- orological Organization, site no. 16245) of this sample have been analyzed by the means of a clustering multivariate anal- ysis. This approach identified four cirrus classes above the RTV site: two thin cirrus clusters in mid- and upper tro- posphere and two thick cirrus clusters in mid-upper tropo- sphere. These results, which are very similar to those derived through the same approach at the lidar site of the Observa- toire de Haute-Provence (OHP), allows characterization of cirrus clouds over the RTV site and attests to the robustness of such classification. To acquire some indications about the cirrus generation methods for the different classes, analyses of the extinction- to-backscatter ratio (lidar ratio, LR eff), in terms of frequency distribution functions and dependencies on the mid-height cirrus temperature, have been performed. A preliminary study relating some meteorological parameters (e.g., relative humidity, wind components) to cirrus clusters has also been conducted. The RTV cirrus results, recomputed through the cirrus classification by Sassen and Cho (1992), show good agree- ment with other midlatitude lidar cirrus observations for the relative occurrence of subvisible (SVC), thin and opaque cir- rus classes (10 %, 49 % and 41 %, respectively). The overall mean value of cirrus optical depth is 0.37 ± 0.18, while most retrieved LReff values range between 10-60 sr, and the esti- mated mean value is 31± 15 sr, similar to LR values of lower latitude cirrus measurements. The obtained results are consistent with previous stud- ies conducted with different systems and confirm that cirrus classification based on a statistical approach seems to be a good tool both to validate the height-resolved cirrus fields calculated by models and to investigate the key processes governing cirrus formation and evolution. However, the li- dar ratio and optical depth analyses are affected by some un- certainties (e.g., lidar error noise, multiple scattering effects, supercooled water clouds) that reduce the confidence of the results. Future studies are needed to improve the characteri- zation of the cirrus optical properties and, thus, the determi- nation of their radiative impact.
Promising eco-physiological traits for genetic improvement of cereal yields in Mediterranean environments

Summary Breeding for improved productivity has been tremendously successful in the last half-century, but needs to be even more efficient in the future. Hope based on contributions from molecular biology for improved yield potential seems to depend upon an improved knowledge of yield physiology. This knowledge may assist breeding either directly, recommending selection criteria, or indirectly identifying simpler traits that could be reliably mapped and selected for through marker-assisted selection. Physiological traits associated with improved performance under water-limited conditions, include phenology (that allows the crop to escape stresses) and those associated with improved water use, water use efficiency and partitioning. Undoubtedly, earliness has been the predominant trait improved for under Mediterranean conditions, and may not be a prospective trait for future breeding. Different traits that may confer the ability to the crop for capturing more water, such as deeper root systems or osmotic adjustment, may be unworkable in terms of their direct use in selection and surrogates would be needed. For instance, canopy temperature depression and discrimination against 13 C may be used to assess improved ability to capture water (in these cases yield is positively related to discrimination against 13 C in grains). Early vigour, which allows faster ground coverage, also increases the amount of water actually transpired by the canopy by reducing direct evaporation and presents substantial intraspecific variation, and selection for this trait may be successfully carried out either directly or through the use of vegetation indexes. Improved water use efficiency based on transpiration efficiency is largely restricted to conditions where additional water is not available. A constitutively low stomatal conductance or a high stomatal sensitivity may optimise the transpiration efficiency. In this context, discrimination against 13 C is also a simple and reliable measure of water use efficiency, and in cases in which no major differences in capturing water is possible discrimination against 13 C correlates negatively with yield. Substantial further improvements in partitioning may be limited in most cereals.
Tourist Destination Image in the New Technological Environments: Dialogism under the Public Relations Gaze

The dependence and influence of new media on social and organizational life have led to a new orientation of the communicational practices of organizations and to a research paradigm shift to a cocriational model within public relations theory. This model is based on dialogic rhetoric and dialogue that requires a joint production of content and meanings by organizations and publics, which have a central role in shaping image. The new social and communicational paradigms have also an impact on tourism research, implying the need to understand the role of new technologies, particularly websites, in image formation. The purpose of this study is to investigate the role of website in the formation of a tourist destination image (Portugal) through the understanding of the degree of adoption of dialogical principles on websites by official and unofficial tourist organizations and the identifying of denotative and connotative elements that are represented on published and shared photographs in these websites. The research corpus consisted of websites of entities and photographs published and shared on these websites. The methodology used is quantitative and qualitative, based on content analysis of data of websites and photographs. Results indicate that official tourist entities adopted the dialogic principles in a higher degree than unofficials. There is also a higher adoption of the principles related to technical dimension than dialogical dimension. Results confirm a relation between the adoption of dialogical link and an increased openness by entities to the possibility of photo sharing. The analysis of denotative and connotative elements of photography reflects a similarity in representations of entities and tourists. This study contributes to both theoretical perspectives, because it provides a conceptual scheme of destination image formation online and to a practical perspective, because it also suggests guidelines of dialogical practices to incorporate in websites of tourism entities.
DESIGN ENGINEERING PROCESS FROM CONTENT-BASED POINT OF VIEW

The paper introduces an empirical case of content-based approach to a real design engineering process in paper machine design. Content-based analysis is established by Saariluoma in 1990s. The design process is explained by analyzing the contents of thinking of individual engineers. Functional logic of the organizational culture guides the thinking processes of individual engineers. A new notion of a task definition window is introduced. We claim that approaching the total process through individual mental sceneries gives a positive contribution to the traditional design engineering research methodologies, to the methods of organizational management and even better understanding of the real nature of design engineering creativity.
Improving the Quality of Measurements through the Implementation of Customised Reference Artefacts

Three–dimensional scanning technology has made great advances over the last decade and the range of applications is continually growing. However, performance of 3D scanning systems and the quality of measurement data can vary greatly with application. This paper discusses the need for customised measurement standards and describes three calibrated freeform artefacts – one related to generic freeform shapes, one related to body scanning, and one relating to dental scanning. The design, manufacture, calibration and implementation of these artefacts will be discussed, together with examples of how they are used to add value to the measurement process.
The Financial Crisis and Diverging House Prices: Evidence from the Copenhagen Metropolitan Area: 2017-084/VIII

This paper investigates the development of house prices in Copenhagen in the period 1994-2013, while paying special attention to the heterogeneous impact of the boom and bust periods along the dimensions of housing type (single vs multifamily housing), geography and quality. To allow for price developments that can differ by quality, we use a recently developed generalization of the conventional Muth model that assumes a constant unit price across the quality spectrum. It allows us to separately consider the development of house prices and quality in Copenhagen neighbourhoods. Moreover, we investigate the validity of the common assumption of a constant unit price and reject it decisively. We use detailed housing transaction data for the greater Copenhagen area. We show that the housing boom of the 2000’s and the bust that followed hit the lowest quality segments significantly harder than the high quality segments of the housing market.
On the mechanics of ice-stream shear margins

We investigate the mechanics of ice-stream shear margins based on the assumption that the underlying bed behaves plastically. Sliding is assumed to occur if a prescribed, locally defined yield stress is attained, while no sliding is assumed possible if basal shear stress is lower than the yield stress. Mathematically, the ice-flow problem takes the form of a contact problem, in which the zones of sliding are part of the solution and cannot be prescribed arbitrarily. Simplistic assumptions about the location of till failure, or about mechanical conditions at the bed, predict stress singularities at the margins which lead to corresponding singularities in the basal melt rate. The ice-flow problem is solved using a complex variable method, and an associated quasi-static thermal problem is also solved using a Green's function. High stress concentrations, which coincide with high rates of strain heating, are found on the ice-stream side of the margins, where basal melting is also greatest. Our results further indicate that a temperate zone may form over time above the bed in the margins. These findings differ from earlier studies based on dif- ferent sliding laws, suggesting a high sensitivity of margin behaviour to basal conditions.
System-size convergence of point defect properties: The case of the silicon vacancy

We present a comprehensive study of the vacancy in bulk silicon in all its charge states from 2+ to 2-, using a supercell approach within plane-wave density-functional theory, and systematically quantify the various contributions to the well-known finite size errors associated with calculating formation energies and stable charge state transition levels of isolated defects with periodic boundary conditions. Furthermore, we find that transition levels converge faster with respect to supercell size when only the Gamma-point is sampled in the Brillouin zone, as opposed to a dense k-point sampling. This arises from the fact that defect level at the Gamma-point quickly converges to a fixed value which correctly describes the bonding at the defect centre. Our calculated transition levels with 1000-atom supercells and Gamma-point only sampling are in good agreement with available experimental results. We also demonstrate two simple and accurate approaches for calculating the valence band offsets that are required for computing formation energies of charged defects, one based on a potential averaging scheme and the other using maximally-localized Wannier functions (MLWFs). Finally, we show that MLWFs provide a clear description of the nature of the electronic bonding at the defect centre that verifies the canonical Watkins model.
An Improved Flexible Neutron Detector For Powder Diffraction Experiments

AN IMPROVED FLEXIBLE NEUTRON DETECTOR FOR POWDER DIFFRACTION EXPERIMENTS Thomas K. McKnight Department of Physics and Astronomy Master of Science Large amounts of money are being applied to the construction of the next generation of spallation sources for neutron scattering. Neutron powder diffraction instruments will be an important element of these facilities and the incorporation of detectors into these instruments with a high neutron capture efficiency is desirable. A new detector design named the Flexible Embedded Fiber Detector (FEFD) has been developed and tested for this thesis. This detector is based on wavelength shifting fibers embedded in a zinc-sulfide lithium-fluoride based scintillator. The virtue of this design is that the detecting surface can be curved around the Debye-Scherrer rings. This virtue is lacking in other detector designs, making them more complex and poorer in performance than our FEFD detectors. Monte Carlo calculations were performed to determine the neutron capture efficiencies of our FEFD detectors, which proved to be much higher than those of the proposed powder diffractometer design for the Spallation Neutron Source and about equal with the efficiency for the ISIS powder diffractometer design. Four FEFD detector prototypes were then fabricated and tested at the Intense Pulsed Neutron Source at Argonne National Laboratory. We find that our measured and calculated relative efficiencies are in good agreement.
An 'interpretation opportunity spectrum': A new approach to the planning and provision of interpretation in protected areas

This paper presents a management model within which the development, delivery and continuing appraisal of interpretation programs might be framed. The model is based on and incorporates elements from the Recreation Opportunity Spectrum (Clark & Stankey, 1979) and provides a management framework for specifically addressing interpretation. Termed the Interpretation Opportunity Spectrum (IOS), it comprises six factors: audience; cultural values; physical setting; existing and desired infrastructure and services; resource-related activities; and management parameters. The six factors of the IOS model give consideration to both supply and demand side elements, and when integrated with each other, allows park managers to identify, develop and manage the range of opportunities for interpretation within a regional context as well as in individual settings.
The Challenge of Early Crossover in Oncology Trials

This paper provides preparatory reading, to facilitate discussion during the meeting on “The Challenge of Early Crossover in Oncology Trials” to be held in Adelaide, Australia, in October 2014. The paper is not exhaustive, and does not cover every issue associated with treatment crossover (also called treatment switching) in detail. However it aims to provide an overview of the key issues associated with treatment crossover in the context of oncology randomised controlled trials (RCTs). In Section 2 of this paper we will define what we mean by treatment switching. In Section 3 we will describe why treatment switching causes a problem for the analysis of trials, from the perspective of a range of stakeholders. This will take into account clinical development programmes and the challenges of designing these in the face of international variations in clinical, regulatory and coverage practice with respect to evidence requirements and expectations. In Section 4 we will introduce approaches that may be taken to adjust for treatment switching and in Section 5 we will summarise the performance of these methods in simulation studies. This paper is supplemented by five additional papers: Background Paper 2 provides details on case studies submitted by Workshop participants; Background Papers 3-5 provide relevant guidance and recommendations on the use of switching adjustment methods made by regulatory and reimbursement agencies from around the world. Brief background and introduction to these papers are provided in Sections 6 and 7 of this paper. Background Paper 6 presents the proposed confidentiality rules for the Workshop. In the final section of the current paper, we highlight areas that have not been addressed by currently available guidance documents.
An Analysis of Learning Outcomes within Formal Mentoring Relationships

This study is an investigation into what mentees and mentors perceive they are learning and what factors contribute to this learning, within formal mentoring relationships. A qualitative case study approach was taken to review mentors‟ and mentees‟ learning at regular intervals throughout a pilot formal mentoring programme, within a West Midlands Healthcare Trust. The results are presented within four categories of learning: cognitive, skill-based, affective-related learning and social networks. They demonstrate the changing scope of learning as process and product, and the impact of moderating factors on the mentoring relationships. These findings have practical implications for the development and design of formal mentoring programmes elsewhere.
Adoption and Impact of Conservation Agriculture on Smallholder Farmers’ Crop Productivity and Income in Luapula Province, Zambia

Despite efforts to systemically disseminate Conservation Agriculture (CA) technology in Luapula Province of Zambia, the adoption rate remains limited. Furthermore, no empirical evidence has been presented on the factors influencing adoption of the technology or the extent to which farmers’ livelihood has been influenced due to uptake of the technology. This study therefore examined the adoption and impact of CA on crop productivity and income on farming households in the Province. Using the 2012 Rural Agricultural Livelihood Survey (RALS) data, the study employed a probit regression model to identify factors influencing adoption of CA among the smallholder farmers in the Province. The probit regression analysis showed that advice on CA and access to wetlands/dambos by households increased the probability to adopt CA. The study also adopted the Propensity Score Matching (PSM) approach to help match the adopters and non-adopters based on observable covariates in order to assess technology impact by providing consistent estimates of the Average Treatment Effect on the Treated (ATT). The results showed a small but insignificant positive impact of CA on crop productivity and income. This suggests that adoption of CA has the potential to generate an improvement in farming households’ livelihood in Luapula Province, Zambia. Therefore, adoption of CA in Luapula Province should be explicitly encouraged. This can be further enhanced by increased access to quality extension services that incorporates promotion of CA practices among the smallholder farming households in the area.
Characterization of Regolith Salt Storage in a Small Catchment of the Berg River Basin

Dryland salinity recharge from agricultural land has been identified as the main source of salinization in the Berg river basin (Western Cape, South Africa), which represents a challenge to water users and water quality managers. The aim of this study was to characterize and quantify regolith salt storage in a small catchment (~ 20 ha) representative of the saline environment and drier bio-climatic conditions of the mid- and lower reaches of the Berg river basin, where storage and potential discharge of salts are likely to be the greatest. Electromagnetic induction measurements with an EM-38 meter indicated that salinity in the landscape is driven by the topo-sequence, anti-erosion contours act as barriers to water and salt fluxes, highly saline scalds are associated with convex hillslopes, and soil salinity is lower at the end of the rainy winter season compared to that at the dry summer. Resistivity tomography measurements taken with an ABEM Terrameter SAS1000 ground imaging apparatus down to approximately 70 m depth indicated that subsurface drainage features are often associated with salinity and topographic flow pathways, as a result of shale weathering. Analyses of core samples collected during borehole drilling indicated that the regolith contains about 400 tons of salts per hectare, stored mainly as a bulge in the unsaturated vadose zone (between about 5 and 10 m depth), above the water table and below the soil zone, discharging mainly through lateral leaching by groundwater from the phreatic zone. Groundwater quality becomes increasingly saline from the recharge area (0.68 dS m-1) towards the bottom end of the catchment (3.75 dS m-1), and it is a mixed cation-chloride-type. The effects of different climates, hydrogeological characteristics and land uses on the salt discharge into the mid- and lower reaches of the Berg river need to be investigated.