Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Temporal and Spatial Patterns of Biomass Burning Fire Counts and Carbon Emissions in the Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei (BTH) Region during 2003–2020 Based on GFED4

Biomass burning (BB) plays an important role in the formation of heavy pollution events during harvest seasons in the Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei (BTH) region by releasing trace gases and particulate matter into the atmosphere. A better understanding of spatial-temporal variations of BB in BTH is required to assess its impacts on air quality, especially on heavy haze pollution. The fourth version of the Global Fire Emissions Database (GFED4)’s fire counts and carbon emissions data were used in this research, which shows the varying number of fire counts in China from 2003 to 2020 demonstrated a fluctuating but generally rising trend, with a peak in 2013. Most fire counts were concentrated in three key periods: March (11%), June–July (33%), and October (9.68%). The increase in fire counts will inevitably lead to the growth of carbon emissions. The four major vegetation types of the fires were agriculture (58.1%), followed by grassland (35.5%), and forest (4.1%), with the fewest in peat. In addition, a separate study for the year 2020 found that the fire counts and carbon emissions were different for this year, with the overall average trend in the study time. For example, the monthly peak fire counts changed from June to March. The cumulative emissions of carbon, CO, CO2, CH4, dry matter, and particulate matter from BB in BTH reached 201 Gg, 39 Gg, 670 Gg, 2 Gg, 417 Gg, and 3 Gg in 2020, respectively.
Biopackaging Potential Alternatives: Bioplastic Composites of Polyhydroxyalkanoates and Vegetal Fibers

Initiatives to reduce plastic waste are currently under development worldwide. As a part of it, the European Union and private and public organizations in several countries are designing and implementing regulations for single-use plastics. For example, by 2030, plastic packaging and food containers must be reusable or recyclable. In another approach, researchers are developing biopolymers using biodegradable thermoplastics, such as polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs), to replace fossil derivatives. However, their production capacity, high production costs, and poor mechanical properties hinder the usability of these biopolymers. To overcome these limitations, biomaterials reinforced with natural fibers are acquiring more relevance as the world of bioplastics production is increasing. This review presents an overview of PHA–vegetal fiber composites, the effects of the fiber type, and the production method’s impact on the mechanical, thermal, barrier properties, and biodegradability, all relevant for biopackaging. To acknowledge the behaviors and trends of the biomaterials reinforcement field, we searched for granted patents focusing on bio-packaging applications and gained insight into current industry developments and contributions.
‘Enough’ of What? An Analysis of Chega’s Populist Radical Right Agenda

ABSTRACT In 2019, for the first time in Portugal, a populist radical right party (PRR) made it to parliament. Since then voting intentions for Chega (Enough) have grown with the party leader finishing third in the 2021 presidential race. This article provides an empirical-based account of the party’s agenda and ideological profile. It asks to what extent Chega shares the core ideological characteristics of the PRR family, i.e. nativism, populism and authoritarianism. Relying on a battery of primary data (party documents, legislative proposals, official party posts on Facebook), the article combines qualitative and quantitative text analysis. It shows that Chega’s agenda falls well into the radical right profile, not only in positional terms but also in terms of issue salience.
The Portable Art Gallery: Fostering Student Ownership and Meaningful Artmaking through Exhibiting Student Artwork

Teaching in an art classroom, I have found that an environment can mean something as simple as a physical space, or a complex system of experiences and relationships—which, in a classroom, can be a space for the development of student voice and allow student ownership for their own projects. The portable art gallery started as a simple kind of environment, and then grew to become a catalyst for a more complex and meaningful kind of environment with my AP Studio Art students. At the beginning of the school year, I built a portable art gallery for my students—essentially an 8-foot cube made from plywood and lightweight boards that can be assembled with bolts and taken apart in sections. The ceiling pieces of the gallery have track lights, the interior walls have been painted gray, and the exterior walls have been painted black with chalkboard paint. The whole gallery can fit in the back of a pickup truck and can be assembled or disassembled in less than 30 minutes. This article focuses on how my AP Studio Art students used the portable art gallery to exhibit their artwork. Specifically, my students were able to dovetail having their own art show with the Concentration portion of their AP exam, which asks students to create a “body of related works that demonstrate a student’s commitment to the thoughtful investigation of a specific visual idea” (AP Studio Art course description, p. 22). 1 Students’ experiences with the gallery helped them each to conceptualize, develop, and display a body of their artwork, which then culminated in an artist reception event.
Service Routing Analysis in Optical Network with Algebraic Decision Diagram

The existing research results show that in the network configuration section WC can get close to the performance of the whole wavelength conversion network. The design of optical network backbone should not only satisfy the existing service, but also consider further involved service in the electric power system. Partial wavelength conversion capability of sparse wavelength is temporarily an intermediate form during the evolution of power system communication system. This paper mainly studied the WC in the sparse wavelength conversion network configuration and routing algorithm and wavelength assignment, and we have proposed a new multi-layer wavelength assignment algorithm by using multi-layer wavelength division. The results show that in the sparse wavelength conversion network, the network performance and routing wavelength assignment algorithm, the number of wavelength converter and the position of the wavelength converter has a direct relationship.
Semilinear parabolic equations in Herz spaces

In this paper, we will study local and global Cauchy problems for the semilinear parabolic equations with initial data in Herz spaces. These spaces unify and generalize many classical function spaces such as Lebesgue spaces of power weights. Our results cover the results obtained with initial data in Lebesgue spaces. Moreover, the results in Herz spaces are a little different from the results in Lebesgue spaces.
Application of Ceres-Millet model of DSSAT for simulating millet varieties under different sowing windows in Niger

ABSTRACT Choosing an appropriate variety and planting date could help farmers increase the recurrent low pearl millet (Pennisetum glaucum (L.) R. Br. ) yields recorded in Niger. Field experiments were conducted at the National Agricultural Research Institute of Niger (N’Dounga) during the 2016 and 2017 rainy seasons to evaluate the performance of the CERES-Millet model in simulating the growth and yield of pearl millet varieties. Treatments consisted of two sowing windows (late June and mid-July) and four varieties (HKP, ZATIB, CIVT, and H80-10 GR) arranged in a split-plot design with three replications. Sowing dates were allocated to the main plots, whereas varieties were assigned to the subplots. The data collected on days to 50% flowering, days to physiological maturity, grain yield, and above-ground biomass during 2016 and 2017 were used to calibrate and evaluate the CERES-Millet model for simulating sowing windows. The model was used to simulate the long-term effects of different sowing windows using long-term historical weather data from 1983 to 2017 in Kollo. The results for model calibration showed that simulated growth and yield of millet were in good agreement with their corresponding observed values. The d-index was 0.99 for days to anthesis, 0.97 for days to physiological maturity, 0.93 for grain yield, and 0.79 for above-ground biomass. The results for both calibration and evaluation showed that normalized root mean square errors were less than 10%. The values of the d-index were also within the acceptable range for all the parameters. Therefore, the CERES-Millet model was robust enough to successfully simulate millet growth and yield in Niger. Seasonal analysis revealed that sowing should be done from early June to mid-June for ZATIB and H80-10 GR varieties. However, it should be done from early June to late June for CIVT and from mid-June to early July for HKP.
Merging Super Resolution and Attribute Learning for Low-Resolution Person Attribute Recognition

In video surveillance, visual person attributes such as gender, backpack, type of clothing are crucial for person search or re-identification. For detecting and retrieving these attributes with high accuracy, the availability of high-quality videos is a necessity in general. However, this cannot be guaranteed in general surveillance videos or images; beside improving hardware technology, improving inference algorithms on low-resolution data is valuable. This paper attempts to propose two solutions in this direction: designing a combined neural network architecture from existing architectures, and a novel combination approach toward re-identification on low-resolution videos. The proposed architecture introduces a combined Neural Network architecture, called SRMAR, that jointly trains Super Resolution and Multi Attribute Recognition models for more effective recognition. Experiments on two benchmark datasets demonstrate the effectiveness and applicability of the proposed neural network architecture for low-resolution multi-attribute recognition. Furthermore, a higher-level linear combination scheme that optimally combines the proposed SRMAR architecture and multi-attribute recognition network is presented, yielding superior results in low-resolution person attribute recognition.
State minimum wage increases delay marriage and reduce divorce among low‐wage households

Abstract Objective To estimate the effects of state‐level changes in the minimum wage on marriage and divorce among low‐wage earners. Background Proponents of raising the minimum wage highlight the potential benefits of increased earnings for low‐income families, yet to date research on the effects of raising the minimum wage has focused almost exclusively on economic outcomes. No research has yet documented whether these changes actually affect marriage and divorce. Method Using the Current Population Survey and the American Community Survey, this project applied a quasi‐experimental difference‐in‐difference method to exploit similarities between states that have, and have not, raised their minimum wage. Results Across data sources, among men and women earning low wages, a one‐dollar increase in the state minimum wage predicts a 3%–6% decline in marriage entry and a 7%–15% decline in divorce one and 2 years later. Conclusion Both changes are likely to strengthen low‐income families, and are substantially larger effects than those obtained by federal policies directly targeting interpersonal dynamics within low‐income couples. Implications Government policies that reduce stress on couples and facilitate their access to resources may improve family outcomes, invisibly and without making additional demands on the time of couples who are already strained.
Development of Active Artificial Hair Cell Sensors

The cochlea is known to exhibit a nonlinear, mechanical amplification which allows the ear to detect faint sounds, improves frequency discrimination, and broadens the range of sound pressure levels that can be detected. In this work, active artificial hair cells (AHC) are proposed and developed which mimic the nonlinear cochlear amplifier. Active AHCs can be used to transduce sound pressures, fluid flow, accelerations, or another form of dynamic input. These nonlinear sensors consist of piezoelectric cantilever beams which utilize various feedback control laws inspired by the living cochlea. A phenomenological control law is first examined which exhibits similar behavior as the living cochlea. Two sets of physiological models are also examined: one set based on outer hair cell somatic motility and the other set inspired by active hair bundle motility. Compared to passive AHCs, simulation and experimental results for active AHCs show an amplified response due to small stimuli, a sharpened resonance peak, and a compressive nonlinearity between response amplitude and input level. These bio-inspired devices could lead to new sensors with lower thresholds of sound or vibration detection, improved frequency sensitivities, and the ability to detect a wider range of input levels. These bio-inspired, active sensors lay the foundation for a new generation of sensors for acoustic, fluid flow, or vibration sensing.
Personal Voice Assistant Security and Privacy—A Survey

Personal voice assistants (PVAs) are increasingly used as interfaces to digital environments. Voice commands are used to interact with phones, smart homes, or cars. In the United States alone, the number of smart speakers, such as Amazon’s Echo and Google Home, has grown by 78% to 118.5 million, and 21% of the U.S. population own at least one device. Given the increasing dependency of society on PVAs, security and privacy of these have become a major concern of users, manufacturers, and policy makers. Consequently, a steep increase in research efforts addressing security and privacy of PVAs can be observed in recent years. While some security and privacy research applicable to the PVA domain predates their recent increase in popularity, many new research strands have emerged. This article provides a survey of the state of the art in PVA security and privacy. The focus of this work is on the security and privacy challenges arising from the use of the acoustic channel. Work that describes both attacks and countermeasures is discussed. We highlight established areas such as voice authentication (VA) and new areas such as acoustic Denial of Service (DoS) that deserve more attention. This survey describes research areas where the threat is relatively well understood but where countermeasures are lacking, for example, in the area of hidden voice commands. We also discuss work that looks at privacy implications; for example, work on management of recording consent. This survey is intended to provide a comprehensive research map for PVA security and privacy.
Strategy for improving cell-mediated vascularized soft tissue formation in a hydrogen peroxide-triggered chemically-crosslinked hydrogel

The physically-crosslinked collagen hydrogels can provide suitable microenvironments for cell-based functional vascular network formation due to their biodegradability, biocompatibility, and good diffusion properties. However, encapsulation of cells into collagen hydrogels results in extensive contraction and rapid degradation of hydrogels, an effect known from their utilization as a pre-vascularized graft in vivo. Various types of chemically-crosslinked collagen-based hydrogels have been successfully synthesized to decrease volume contraction, retard the degradation rate, and increase mechanical tunability. However, these hydrogels failed to form vascularized tissues with uniformly distributed microvessels in vivo. Here, the enzymatically chemically-crosslinked collagen-Phenolic hydrogel was used as a model to determine and overcome the difficulties in engineering vascular networks. Results showed that a longer duration of inflammation and excessive levels of hydrogen peroxide limited the capability for blood vessel forming cells-mediated vasculature formation in vivo. Lowering the unreacted amount of crosslinkers reduced the densities of infiltrating host myeloid cells by half on days 2–4 after implantation, but blood vessels remained at low density and were mainly located on the edge of the implanted constructs. Co-implantation of a designed spacer with cell-laden hydrogel maintained the structural integrity of the hydrogel and increased the degree of hypoxia in embedded cells. These effects resulted in a two-fold increase in the density of perfused blood vessels in the hydrogel. Results agreed with computer-based simulations. Collectively, our findings suggest that simultaneous reduction of the crosslinker-induced host immune response and increase in hypoxia in hydrogen peroxide-triggered chemically-crosslinked hydrogels can effectively improve the formation of cell-mediated functional vascular networks.
ZWERM: stimulating urban neighborhood self-organization through gamification

This paper investigates how self-organization can be supported at the level of the urban neighborhood, based on the interactions of neighborhood inhabitants using a prototyped and implemented social computing application called ZWERM1. According to Vasileva (2012), “Social Computing Applications” (SCA) allow users to discuss various topics in online forums, share their thoughts in blogs, share photos, videos, bookmarks, and connect with friends through social networks. ” (Vasileva, 2012, p178). From the description, we can infer that SCA is a very similar concept to what is often called social media. Many initiatives exist that try to get people to know each other and do things together at the local level, but the number of digital systems that aim for this is limited. Even fewer are the systems that try to support selforganization. Heylighen et al (in presss) introduces the concept of the “mobilization system”, which can be defined as: “a socio-technological system that motivates and coordinates people to work towards a given objective” (Heylighen et al in press, p2). In this definition, the elements of coordination and motivation are important. Heylighen (2012) mentions amongst others gamification as an approach to create mobilization systems. From a societal point of view, such a system should act under the principle of libertarian paternalism, inciting people to do what is good for the collective, without law enforcement The focus of this paper is on how to support local self-organization in urban neighborhoods through a SCA mobilization system that uses gamification. To achieve this, two main objectives were put forward. Firstly, people should get to know each other. This is what we refer to as consolidating social capital. Secondly, this social capital should be made to act as the basis on which action can be undertaken. This is what we mean when we refer to the activation of social capital. Combining the above, the paper addresses the following central research question: “How can both the activation and the consolidation of social capital be achieved through the coordination and motivation elements that are typically found in mobilization systems built as social computing applications, in order to stimulate self-organization in urban neighborhoods? ”
Surgeons' Perspective, Learning Curve, Motivation, and Obstacles of Full-Endoscopic Spine Surgery in Thailand: Results From A Nationwide Survey

Objective To report a nationwide survey of the endoscopic spine surgeons across Thailand. Furthermore, the survey will be focused on the perspective of experience, learning curve, motivations, and obstacles at the beginning of their practices. Materials and Methods The online survey consisting of 16 items was distributed to spine surgeons who are performing endoscopic spine surgery in Thailand via the Google forms web-based questionnaire to investigate participants' demographics, backgrounds, experience in endoscopic spine surgery, motivations, obstacles, and future perspectives. The data was recorded from January 7, 2020 to January 21, 2022. Descriptive statistics were used for analysis. Results A total of 42 surveys were submitted by 6 neurosurgeons (14.3%) and 36 orthopedic surgeons (85.7%). From the surgeons' perspective, the average number of cases that should be performed until one feels confident, consistently good outcomes, and has minimal complications was 27.44 ± 32.46 cases. For surgeons who starting the endoscopic spine practice, at least 3 workshop participation is needed. Personal interest (39 selected responses) and trending marketing or business purpose (25 selected responses) were the primary motivators for endoscopic spine surgery implementation. Lack of support (18 selected responses) and afraid of complications (16 selected responses) were pertinent obstacles to endoscopic spine surgery implementation. Conclusions The trend of endoscopic spine surgery has continued to grow in Thailand, shown by the rate of implementation of endoscopic spine surgery reported by Thai spine surgeons. The number of appropriate cases until one feels confident was around 28 cases. The primary motivator and obstacles were personal interest and lack of support.
Acrylated Biopolymers Derived via Epoxidation and Subsequent Acrylation of Vegetable Oils

Chemically modified vegetable oils have become commercially attractive nowadays because they can be utilized as specialized components for the production of bioplasticizers and biopolymers due to their characteristics as being inexpensive, nontoxic, biodegradable, and renewable products. Due to the presence of unsaturation sites in the vegetable oils, they can be chemically modified and transformed into polymeric monomers such as acrylated epoxidized vegetable oils through well-known processes like epoxidation and acrylation processes. Acrylated epoxidized vegetable oil is a biopolymer that has a multitude of applications and is used mainly as a coating material for plastic, paper, and wood. There is an enormous demand for this biopolymer, and the market growth prospects are huge in some regions of the world. However, there are some challenges in the synthesis of acrylated epoxidized vegetable oils in achieving the performance of similar acrylated polymer derived from petroleum sources. In this paper, the chemical structure, properties, and chemical modifications of different types of vegetable oils were reviewed where the emphasis was given on epoxidation and its subsequent acrylation processes. This paper also highlights four types of epoxidation and their subsequent acrylation processes involving five different vegetable oils.
Traveling to feel connected: origins and outcomes of potential faith-based tourists’ emotional solidarity

ABSTRACT Focusing on potential faith-based tourists, this study investigated how their shared belief, shared behavior, and propensity to interact contributed to their emotional solidarity toward other tourists and how the feeling predicted their intention to travel. To reflect the dual identities of faith-based tourists, further distinctions were made between shared belief and shared behavior related to their trip and religion. Shared touristic belief, shared touristic behavior, and propensity to interact deviated in their influences on communality and fairness that constitute tourist-to-tourist emotional solidarity. Communality and fairness also showed different impacts on travel intention. Shared religious belief and shared religious behavior did not translate into communality or fairness, but they still predicted travel intention on their own.