Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Predicting mangrove forest dynamics across a soil salinity gradient using an individual-based vegetation model linked with plant hydraulics

Abstract. In mangrove forests, soil salinity is one of the most significant environmental factors determining mangrove forest distribution and productivity as it limits plant water uptake and carbon gain. However, salinity control on mangrove productivity through plant hydraulics has not been investigated by existing mangrove models. Thus, we present a new individual-based model linked with plant hydraulics to incorporate physiological characterization of mangrove growth under salt stress. Plant hydraulics was associated with mangroves nutrient uptake and biomass allocation apart from water flux and carbon gain. The developed model was performed for two-coexisting species of Rhizophora stylosa and Bruguiera gymnorrhiza in a subtropical mangrove forest in Japan. The model predicted that the productivity of both species was affected by soil salinity through downregulation of stomatal conductance, while B. gymnorrhiza trees grow faster and suppress the growth of R. stylosa trees by shading that resulted in a B. gymnorrhiza-dominated forest under low soil salinity conditions (< 28 ‰). Alternatively, the increase in soil salinity significantly reduced the productivity of B. gymnorrhiza compared to R. stylosa, leading to an increase in biomass of R. stylosa despite the enhanced salt stress (> 30 ‰). These predicted patterns in forest structures across soil salinity gradient remarkably agreed with field data, highlighting the control of salinity on productivity and tree competition as factors that shape the mangrove forest structures. The model reproducibility of forest structures was also supported by the predicted self-thinning processes, which likewise agreed with field data. In addition, the mangroves morphological adjustment to increasing soil salinity – by decreasing transpiration and increasing hydraulic conductance – was reasonably predicted. Aside from the soil salinity, seasonal dynamics in atmospheric variables (solar radiation and temperature) was highlighted as factors influencing mangrove productivity in a subtropical region. The physiological principle-based improved model has the potential to be extended to other mangrove forests in various environmental settings, thus contributing to a better understanding of mangrove dynamics under future global climate change.
Responses to Transit Information among Car-drivers: Regret-based Models and Simulations

Abstract This article investigates the use and effects of transit information among car drivers that consider transit as a mode-option in their choice set. It does so by first presenting a theoretical model of travel information use and effect, based on the integration of notions of Bayesian updating into a regret-based framework of travel choice. Subsequently, numerical simulation of the model provides insights into the mechanisms behind information use and effect in a mode-choice context where a traveler has both car– as well as transit-options in their choice set, and prefers traveling by car over riding by transit. These simulations show that the perceived value of acquiring transit information is limited by a number of factors. Furthermore they demonstrate that, even in the case where transit information is acquired, and the message is favorable to transit, its impact on mode choices will also be limited. Given these results for non-habitual car-drivers, it is suggested that for car-drivers in general (thus including the large share of habitual drivers), conservative estimates regarding the impact of transit information provision on modal shift would be realistic.
Koala tree selection in a mixed-tenure landscape and post-fire implications

Abstract Context. The more frequent and intense bushfires predicted under climate change are likely to heavily impact koalas living inside protected areas and intact forests, which makes koala habitat in asset protection zones more important. Understanding how koalas use different habitats in a mixed-tenure landscape can inform effective conservation management. Aims. The aims of this study were to determine (1) the species and size of trees used by koalas, (2) whether choice of daytime trees was affected by available proportions of tree species and sizes in koala home ranges, and (3) whether developed land was used as frequently as native forest. Methods. Tree use by koalas was determined by radio-tracking 10 koalas for an average of 12 months and recording the species and diameter of trees they occupied. To compare the proportions of tree species used by koalas with those available, tree availability was measured using random quadrats in the home ranges of five koalas that used forested areas extensively. The habitats used by 10 koalas were classified as native forest or developed land to investigate the importance of human-modified areas. Key results. Eucalyptus punctata was a preferred tree species, but each individual used four to nine species. Tree species were not chosen solely on the basis of available proportions; some species were selected preferentially. Half of the koalas used more developed land than native forest. Koalas preferentially used trees with larger diameters than the mean of available trees, and selected larger trees in developed areas than in native forest and when re-using trees. Conclusions. Despite the higher availability of trees in protected native forest at the site, 70% of the koalas used developed land in and around asset protection zones. Koalas whose home ranges were geographically close, but had different soil types and vegetation communities, were able to utilise different tree species. Implications. Koalas would benefit from protection of remnant native forests containing preferred trees on shale cap soil and conservation of native vegetation corridors along fence lines and in paddocks in developed areas because they are valuable resources and connect patchy landscapes. Protecting koalas on developed land improves their likelihood of surviving bushfires, allowing recolonisation of surrounding protected areas.
Observation of Spin Reorientation Transitions in Lead and Titanium-Modified BiFeO3 Multiferroics

We report the synthesis and basic characterization details of bulk Bi1 − xPbxFe1 − xTixO3 (x = 0.05 and 0.1) polycrystalline samples, which have been synthesized using the conventional solid-state route. We studied the effects of partially doping of Pb and Ti ion on structural, vibrational, and magnetic properties of multiferroic BiFeO3. X-ray diffraction (XRD) was used for crystallographic studies, followed by Rietveld refinement, and phase formation of the compounds was confirmed, which indicates that the sample has rhombohedral (R3c, 100%) symmetry for x = 0.05 and R3c (98%) + P4mm (2%) symmetry for x = 0.1. X-ray absorption spectroscopy has been probed at Fe L2,3 and O K edges to determine the valence (charge) state of Fe in BiFeO3. Interestingly, the magnetic measurement results revealed the existence of spin reorientation transition in Pb and Ti-modified BiFeO3, which indicates that the BiFeO3 samples studied may find promising applications in memory and spintronic devices.
A Systematic Literature Review on Secure Software Development using Feature Driven Development (FDD) Agile Model

Agile 방법론은 시간적 제약하에서도 효율적인 개발 프로세스로 빠르게 제품을 완성할 수 있는 방법으로 알려져 있다. 하지만 scrum, XP, DSDM 등과 같은 여타 Agile 방법들처럼 기능주도개발 (FDD) Agile 방법도 보안요소의 불가용성으로 인해 비판을 받고 있다. 이러한 이슈를 보다 자세히 살펴보기 위해 본 연구는 2001년부터 2012년사이에 나타난 연구들에 대한 체계적인 문헌연구를 수행하였다. 본 연구 결과, 현재 FDD 방법은 안전한 소프트웨어 개발을 부분적으로 지원하고 있는 것으로 나타났다. 하지만 안전한 소프트웨어 사용에 관한 상세한 정보가 문헌에 거의 나타나고 있지 않은 것으로 보아 이 분야에 대한 연구 노력은 거의 없어 보인다. 따라서 현재의 5단계 FDD 방법은 안전한 소프트웨어 개발에 충분하지 않음을 알 수 있고 결국, 본 연구는 FDD 방법에서 보안에 기반을 둔 새로운 수행 단계와 프랙티스가 제안될 필요가 있음을 보여준다.
Money matters: The impact of gender quotas on campaign spending for women candidates

Despite concerns that women candidates are hampered by gender gaps in campaign financing, few scholars have examined how gender quotas impact women candidates’ access to campaign funds. We examine the effect of a party-based gender quota on women candidates’ financing and electoral success in Ireland. Under the gender quota, the number of women candidates increased and parties acted strategically to provide women challengers with increased financial support. However, women challengers spent less candidate funds than men challengers and were less likely to have prior officeholding experiences associated with fundraising. Women challengers’ disadvantage is concerning because candidate expenditures are associated with winning votes. Our findings show that the effectiveness of a gender quota is partly determined by how the quota interacts with the campaign finance system and the political opportunity structure.
The 3-RRS Wrist: A New, Simple and Non-Overconstrained Spherical Parallel Manipulator

Orientating a rigid body without changing its position is required in many technical applications. This manipulation task is accomplished by manipulators (spherical manipulators) that are just able to make the end effector move according to controlled spherical motions. Spherical manipulators can be either serial or parallel. Parallel architectures are usually more stiff and precise than the serial ones, whereas their structures are more complex than the serial ones. This paper presents a new three-equal-legged spherical parallel manipulator named the 3-RRS wrist. The 3-RRS wrist is not overconstrained and exhibits a simple architecture employing just three passive revolute pairs, three passive spherical pairs and three actuated revolute pairs adjacent to the frame. The kinematic analysis of the 3-RRS wrist is addressed and fully solved. Finally, its singularity conditions are written in explicit form and discussed. The results of this analysis lead to the conclusion that the new manipulator has only two types of singularities both easy to be identified with geometric reasoning.
Is Expansion or Regulation More Critical for Existing Protected Areas? A Case Study on China’s Eco-Redline Policy in Chongqing Capital

Protecting areas of important ecological value is one of the main approaches to safeguarding the Earth’s ecosystems. However, the long-term effectiveness of protected areas is often uncertain. Focusing on China’s ecological conservation redline policy (Eco-redline policy) introduced in recent years, this study attempted to examine the effectiveness of alternative policy interventions and their implications on future land-use and land-cover (LULC) patterns. A scenario analysis was employed to elucidate the implications of different policy interventions for Chongqing capital, one of the most representative cities in China. These interventions considered the spatial extent of Eco-redline areas (ERAs) and the management intensity within these areas. LULC data for two different periods from 2000 (first year) to 2010 (end year) were derived from satellite images and then used for future (2050) LULC projections, incorporating the various policy interventions. Furthermore, several landscape indices, including the shape complexity, contrast, and aggregation of forest patches were calculated for each scenario. After comparing the scenarios, our analysis suggests that the current extent of ERAs may not be sufficient, although their management intensity is. Therefore, we suggest that during the optimization of the Eco-redline policy, ERAs are gradually increased while maintaining their current management intensity.
Low-noise Amplifier for Neural Recording

With a combination of engineering approaches and neurophysiological knowledge of the central nervous system, a new generation of medical devices is being developed to link groups of neurons with microelectronic systems. By doing this, researchers are acquiring fundamental knowledge of the mechanisms of disease and innovating treatments for disabilities in patients who have a failure of communication along neural pathways. A low-noise and low-power analog front-end circuit is one of the primary requirements for neural recording. The main function for the front-end amplifier is to provide gain over the bandwidth of neural signals and to reject undesired frequency components. The chip developed in this thesis is a field-programmable analog front-end amplifier consisting of 16 programmable channels with tunable frequency response. A capacitively coupled twostage amplifier is used. The first-stage amplifier is a Low-Noise Amplifier (LNA), as it directly interfaces with the neural recording micro-electrodes; the second stage is a high gain and high swing amplifier. A MOS resistor in the feedback path is used to get tunable low-cut-off frequency and reject the dc offset voltage. Our design builds upon previous recording chips designed by two former graduate students in our lab. In our design, the circuits are optimized for low noise. Our simulations show the recording channel has a gain of 77.9 dB and input-referred noise of 6.95 μVrms (Root-Mean-Square voltage) over 750 Hz to 6.9 kHz. The chip is fabricated in AMS 0.35 μm CMOS technology for a total die area of 3 x 3 mm and Total Power Dissipation (TPD) of 2.9 mW. To verify the functionality and adherence to the design specifications it will be tested on Printed-Circuit-Board.
Analysis and Research on No-Load Air Gap Magnetic Field and System Multiobjective Optimization of Interior PM Motor

In this article, considering the influence of iron core saturation and complex boundary conditions, a novel no-load magnetic field analytical method and system multiobjective optimization model for interior permanent magnet synchronous motor (IPMSM) are proposed. First, an analytical method based on magnetic potential permeance method is proposed. The complex cogging effect and equivalent air gap permeability function are fully considered in this method. Furthermore, on the basis of Taguchi optimization design based on Fuzzy theory, an improved optimization model considering multivariable interaction is proposed. Among them, in order to comprehensively consider the performance of electromagnetic, vibration, and temperature rise, five optimization objectives including torque, pulsation, cogging torque, loss, and flux density are optimized. The sensitivity of design variables and the interaction between variables are not ignored. Finally, a 6-pole 36-slot IPMSM is manufactured for prototype experiments. A large number of prototype experiments, finite element, and computational fluid dynamics simulation analysis including no-load magnetic field, back electromotive force, temperature rise, electromagnetic torque, and so on are carried out. The accuracy and rationality of the proposed no-load magnetic field analysis method and global optimization model are well-verified.
Design and implementation of a robust switching strategy for DC–DC converters

In this study, a novel robust switching rule is designed for DC–DC converters utilising switched systems’ theory. The converter dynamic is described in the form of linear switched affine systems with constant external input and then, sliding-mode switching controller is developed to ensure robust asymptotic stability of the desired equilibrium point for the system. The inherent robustness of the sliding-mode switching rule leads to efficient regulation of the output voltage under load variations. Simulation results of the buck converter are presented to demonstrate the superiority of the proposed method compared with some of existing schemes in the literature. Finally, experimental results from a laboratory buck circuit are reported to confirm the applicability of the introduced scheme.
A structural equation model for big data adoption in the healthcare supply chain

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to examine the barriers to the implementation of big data (BD) in the healthcare supply chain (HSC). Design/methodology/approachFirst, the barriers concerning BD adoption in the HSC were found by conducting a detailed literature survey and with the expert's opinion. Then the exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was employed to categorize the barriers. The obtained results are verified using the confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). Structural equation modeling (SEM) analysis gives the path diagram representing the interrelationship between latent variables and observed variables.FindingsThe segregation of 13 barriers into three categories, namely “data governance perspective,” “technological and expertise perspective,” and “organizational and social perspective,” is performed using EFA. Three hypotheses are tested, and all are accepted. It can be concluded that the “data governance perspective” is positively related to “technological and expertise perspective” and “organizational and social perspective” factors. Also, the “technological and expertise perspective” is positively related to “organizational and social perspective. ”Research limitations/implicationsIn literature, very few studies have been performed on finding the barriers to BD adoption in the HSC. The systematic methodology and statistical verification applied in this study empowers the healthcare organizations and policymakers in further decision-making.Originality/valueThis paper is first of its kind to adopt an approach to classify barriers to BD implementation in the HSC into three distinct perspectives.
Alternative procedures in dependent counting INAR process with application on COVID-19

Abstract Alternative estimation and forecasting procedures for the integer-valued autoregressive process with dependent geometric counting series are investigated. Some nonparametric estimation methods are applied to estimate the parameters of the model. The performance of the estimators is assessed via simulation study. We investigate an application of the process using COVID-19 data set and illustrate the best performance of the proposed model among some competitive INAR(1) models via the residual analysis and model adequacy. Consequently, the selected model is applied to predict the number of cases of COVID-19 based on the classic and Bayesian approaches.
Research on the Spatial Differences and Convergence Mechanism of Urban Land Use Efficiency under the Background of Regional Integration: A Case Study of the Yangtze River Economic Zone, China

Revealing the spatial differences and convergence mechanism of urban land use efficiency (ULUE) under the background of regional integration is of great significance for exploring the coordinated promotion path of ULUE. We attempted to build a theoretical framework to interpret ULUE spatial convergence under the background of regional integration and build a ULUE “green” evaluation system under multi-objective constraints. Based on this, we employed the super efficiency slack-based model (SBM), exploratory spatial data analysis, and spatial convergence model incorporated into the spatial weight matrix to re-examine the true level, spatial differences, and convergence mechanism of ULUE in the Yangtze River Economic Zone from 2003 to 2019 on a city scale. The results show that: (1) during the investigation period, ULUE in the Yangtze River Economic Zone has obvious spatial disequilibrium and spatial correlation characteristics; (2) there are absolute β-space convergence and conditional β-space convergence of ULUE in the whole Yangtze River Economic Zone and its upstream, midstream, and downstream areas; (3) driven by government management, industrial development, and spatial error effects, the convergence time of ULUE in the whole Yangtze River Economic Zone and its upstream, midstream, and downstream areas is obviously shortened.
Finite Element Analyses of Continuous Filament Ties for Masonry Applications: Final Report for The Arquin Corporation

Finite-element analyses were performed to simulate the response of a hypothetical vertical masonry wall subject to different lateral loads with and without continuous horizontal filament ties laid between rows of concrete blocks. A static loading analysis and cost comparison were also performed to evaluate optimal materials and designs for the spacers affixed to the filaments. Results showed that polypropylene, ABS, and polyethylene (high density) were suitable materials for the spacers based on performance and cost, and the short T-spacer design was optimal based on its performance and functionality. Simulations of vertical walls subject to static loads representing 100 mph winds (0.2 psi) and a seismic event (0.66 psi) showed that the simulated walls performed similarly and adequately when subject to these loads with and without the ties. Additional simulations and tests are required to assess the performance of actual walls with and without the ties under greater loads and more realistic conditions (e.g., cracks, non-linear response).
Diversity of site-specific microbes of occlusal and proximal lesions in severe- early childhood caries (S-ECC)

ABSTRACT Background Severe-early childhood caries (S-ECC) a global problem of significant concern, commonly manifest on the occlusal, and proximal surfaces of affected teeth. Despite the major ecological differences between these two niches the compositional differences, if any, in the microbiota of such lesions is unknown. Methods Deep-dentine caries samples from asymptomatic primary molars of children with S-ECC (n 19) belonging to caries-code 5/6, (ICDAS classification) were evaluated. Employing two primer pools, we amplified and compared the bacterial 16S rRNA gene sequences of the seven hypervariable regions (V2—V4 and V6—V9) using NGS-based assay. Results Bray-Curtisevaluation indicated that occlusal lesions (OL) had a more homogeneous community than the proximal lesions (PL) with significant compositional differences at the species level (p = 0.01; R- 0.513). Together, the occlusal and proximal niches harbored 263 species, of which 202 (76.8%) species were common to both , while 49 (18.6%) and 12 (4.6%) disparate species were exclusively isolated from the proximal and occlusal niches, respectively. The most commonl genera at both niches included Streptococcus, Prevotella, and Lactobacillus. S. mutans was predominant in PL (p ≤ 0.05), and Atopobium parvulum (p = 0.01) was predominant in OL. Conclusions Distinct differences exist between the caries microbiota of occlusal and proximal caries in S-ECC.
Effect of Surface Roughness on the Aerodynamic Characteristics of a Symmetrical Airfoil

The objective of this study is to investigate the effect of surface roughness by varying the roughness size and location on the aerodynamic characteristics of the airfoil. Tests were conducted on the symmetrical airfoil models NACA 0012 on which the nature of the surface was varied from smooth to very rough and at a chord Reynolds number of 1.5*105. Different airfoil models with various roughness sizes and roughness locations were tested for different angles of attack. Lift, drag and pressure coefficients were measured and velocity profiles were determined for the smooth and grit 36 roughened models. It is shown that as the surface roughness increases, the minimum drag also increases due to the increase of the skin friction and the lift decreases. Surface roughness is seen to delay the stall angle and also increase the lift in the stall region. The airfoil model with the roughness located at the trailing edge shows minimum drag and maximum lift up to the stall angle compared to the other cases of different roughness locations. It is confirmed that, for the rough surface, a turbulent boundary layer exists where the laminar boundary layer is encountered for the smooth surface at the same Reynolds number. The measured skin friction for the rough surface is larger than that for the smooth surface.