Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Poverty alleviation through agricultural development: A case study of date palm and vegetable farmers in Panjgoor District of Balochistan

Agriculture is the main source of earning for human beings and livelihood of 86% of the rural population in developing countries including Pakistan. Studies showed that agricultural development has significantly helped in reducing poverty. The objective of this study was to understand the impacts of agriculture in alleviating poverty in the Panjgoor district of Balochistan. The information was collected from 100 traditional and modern date palm and vegetable farmers. The Data was collected through household survey questionnaires, group discussions and, key informant interviews. Quantitative data was analyzed through Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS), using descriptive statistics such as, frequency distribution, percentages, ANOVA and mean. Out of six major verities of date, Mozati, Kahraba and among vegetable, okra and soybean played a significant role in improving the socioeconomic conditions (annual income, education and farm inputs such as, water, pesticides, fertilizer and labor charges) in the study area. Overall, modern farmers produced better production and income compared to the farmers engaged in traditional farming. In modern farming practices almost all varieties of date palm and vegetable produced better yield and income compared to traditional farming practices. Findings reflected that the decreasing water volume of kariz and farmers’ poor economic conditions significantly affected the agricultural development which eventually influenced the farming practices, household income and livelihood. Insufficient inputs and common extension services could not do much in improving the agricultural practices to improve the socioeconomic conditions of small-scale farmers. There is an emerging need to rehabilitate the karizes, provide farmers with the required inputs such as, seed, technologies (trickle irrigation, pollination) grants and modern skills for agricultural development.
The Effect of Sling Exercise on Muscular Strength and Range of Motion in Female Patients who Received Total Knee Replacement

본 연구의 목적은 무릎관절 전치환술을 시행한 여성 환자에게 슬링 운동을 적용하여 무릎관절의 근력과 관절가동범위에 미치는 영향을 비교하기 위해 실시하였다. 참여자는 2그룹 나누어 슬링 운동군 15명, 대조군 15명으로 무작위로 배정하였다. 대상자들은 근력 검사를 위해 Biodex system를, 관절가동범위 검사를 위해 각도기를 사용하여 평가하였다. 데이터의 분석은 통계적 유의 수준을 결정하기 위해서 대응표본 t-검정과 독립 t-검정을 이용하였다. 본 연구의 결과 슬링 운동군은 중재 전후 굽힘 각, 넙다리네갈래근, 뒤넙다리근 근력이 통계학적으로 유의한 증가를 보였고, 대조군은 중재 전후 굽힘 각, 폄 각, 넙다리네갈래근, 뒤넙다리근 근력이 통계학적으로 유의한 증가를 보였다. 무릎관절 근력과 굴곡 관절 가동범위는 슬링 운동군이 대조군에 비해 통계학적으로 유의하게 증가하였다. 슬링 운동법이 무릎관절 전치환술 환자의 근력과 관절 가동범위에서 긍정적인 영향이 있음을 알 수 있었다. 【The purpose of study was to compare the effectiveness of sling exercise on the muscle strength and range of motion in female patients who received a total knee replacement. The participants were allocated randomly into 2 groups: sling exercise group (n=15) and control group (n=15). The subjects were evaluated using the Biodex system for the muscle strength test and a goniometer for the range of motion test. The data was analyzed using a paired t-test and independent t-test to determine the statistical significance. As a result, the sling exercise group before and after intervention showed a statistical significance difference in the flexion angle, quadriceps femoris, and hamstring muscle strength. The control group before and after the intervention revealed a statistically significant increase in the flexion & extension angle, quadriceps femoris, and hamstring muscle strength. Muscle strength test and flexion range of motion test in the sling exercise group showed statistical significance differences compared to the control group (p】
Design of an electrically small circularly polarised turnstile antenna and its application to near-field wireless power transfer

An electrically small circularly polarised antenna is designed and applied to near-field wireless power transfer as a means of alleviating orientation dependence. The antenna is miniaturised from a λ/2-turnstile antenna by utilising the top loading and multiple folding techniques. A local numerical search is used to determine the optimal antenna dimensions to achieve good axial ratio and impedance matching. The resulting design has a kr of 0.67 and shows good circular polarisation characteristic with a 3% axial ratio bandwidth. The designed antenna is fabricated and its circular polarisation performance is verified in the far field. The power transfer efficiency is then examined in the near field via simulation and measurement. It is shown that the designed circularly polarised antenna is effective in mitigating orientation dependence down to a distance of 0. 2λ.
Near‐fault spatial variation in strong ground motion due to rupture directivity and hanging wall effects from the Chi‐Chi, Taiwan earthquake

Damaging earthquakes feature large variations in the spatial ground motion distribution mainly due to source complexity, radiation pattern, and site conditions. In this study, we tried to capture the hanging wall and rupture directivity effects from the 1999 Chi‐Chi, Taiwan earthquake (Mw=7.6), which provides the largest acceleration data set since the strong‐motion seismology studies began. First, the event‐specific attenuation relations of strong‐motion parameters for the near‐field, hanging wall and footwall sites were developed. Then an empirical hanging wall model for peak ground acceleration (PGA) was introduced to get the residuals from the obtained attenuation relationships. The new empirical model for the PGA on the hanging wall indicates 46% to 50% higher values than the predicted means over the near‐field distance ranges. Finally, a period‐dependent empirical spectral amplitude factor model representing the directivity effects for the dip‐slip faulting system was developed using the Somerville et al. directivity model. The proposed model shows a larger spectral amplification factor than the result of the previous study. During the Chi‐Chi earthquake, the maximum spectral directivity factors have been registered in the up‐dip region, located around the surface exposure of the Chelungpu fault, in the range of 1.1 to 1.3 for the structural periods from 0.6s to 5.0s. Since the proposed spectral directivity factor was derived from the residual function of the single event without any influence of inter‐event variability, the model is magnitude‐ and distance‐independent. Hence the result can be easily implemented into attenuation relations, seismic hazard assessment, and building code revision studies for the regions with a dip‐slip faulting. Copyright 2003 © John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Processing trade in Chinese interregional input–output tables: construction and application

We construct new interregional input–output tables for China, which can be used to analyze changes in the interindustry linkages within and between eight Chinese regions, and their consequences. We claim that analyses based on these tables yield more accurate results than analyses using existing interregional input–output tables for China, because our tables explicitly account for a typical feature of the Chinse economy: the importance of processing exports activities. These activities rely heavily on imported inputs and much less on inputs sourced from domestic regions. Accounting for such differences between processing exports and other production activities reduces aggregation biases. We illustrate the usefulness of the tables by computing supply chain fragmentation indices for China and quantifying the biases that are avoided by using our input–output tables instead of conventional ones. We make our tables (for 2002, 2007 and 2012) publicly available.
RESEARCH ON SERVICE PLATFORM OF INTERNET OF THINGS FOR SMART CITY

The application of Internet of Things in surveying and mapping industry basically is at the exploration stage, has not formed a unified standard. Chongqing Institute of Surveying and Mapping (CQISM) launched the research p roject "Research on the Technology of Internet of Things for Smart City". The project focuses on the key technologies of information transmission and exchange on the Internet of Things platform. The data standards of Internet of Things are designed. The real-time acquisition, mass storage and distributed data service of mass sensors are realized. On this basis, CQISM deploys the prototype platform of Internet of Things. The simulation application in Connected Car proves that the platform design is scientific and practical.
Energy-Efficient Software

The energy consumption of ICT is growing at an unprecedented pace. The main drivers for this growth are the widespread diffusion of mobile devices and the proliferation of datacenters, the most power-hungry IT facilities. In addition, it is predicted that the demand for ICT technologies and services will increase in the coming years. Finding solutions to decrease ICT energy footprint is and will be a top priority for researchers and professionals in the field. As a matter of fact, hardware technology has substantially improved throughout the years: modern ICT devices are definitely more energy efficient than their predecessors, in terms of performance per watt. However, as recent studies show, these improvements are not effectively reducing the growth rate of ICT energy consumption. This suggests that these devices are not used in an energy-efficient way. Hence, we have to look at software. Modern software applications are not designed and implemented with energy efficiency in mind. As hardware became more and more powerful (and cheaper), software developers were not concerned anymore with optimizing resource usage. Rather, they focused on providing additional features, adding layers of abstraction and complexity to their products. This ultimately resulted in bloated, slow software applications that waste hardware resources -- and consequently, energy. In this dissertation, the relationship between software behavior and hardware energy consumption is explored in detail. For this purpose, the abstraction levels of software are traversed upwards, from source code to architectural components. Empirical research methods and evidence-based software engineering approaches serve as a basis. First of all, this dissertation shows the relevance of software over energy consumption. Secondly, it gives examples of best practices and tactics that can be adopted to improve software energy efficiency, or design energy-efficient software from scratch. Finally, this knowledge is synthesized in a conceptual framework that gives the reader an overview of possible strategies for software energy efficiency, along with examples and suggestions for future research
Emotion regulation strategy correlates with discrete state emotion in major depression

ABSTRACT Background and Objectives Research has shown that state emotion can affect emotion regulation strategies in healthy samples. Emotion regulation plays an important role in depression. We hypothesized that for depressed individuals, experiencing anxiety or anger affects emotion regulation strategy use differently than experiencing sadness. Design and Methods Individuals diagnosed with chronic or recurrent depression (N = 386) responded to vignettes of hypothetical stressors and reported their state emotions and emotion regulation strategies in a thought-listing procedure. We modeled the effect of reporting anger or anxiety compared to sadness on the use of seven emotion regulation strategies: avoidance, distraction, other-blame, problem-solving, rumination, self-blame, and social support. Results Compared to sadness, anger was associated with a greater likelihood of using other-blame, and a lower likelihood of using avoidance, rumination, or self-blame. Compared to sadness, anxiety was associated with a greater likelihood of using self-blame. Responses with anger or anxiety did not significantly differ from sadness in coder-rated adaptiveness. Conclusions Differences in observed emotion regulation strategy use were correlated with the discrete emotions experienced, and not overall adaptiveness of a response. These results highlight the importance of assessing for emotion type when studying emotion regulation strategy use in depression.
Radio Frequency Identification of Katrina Hurricane Victims

RFID is a non-line-of-sight (capable of communicating remotely even when obscured) and contact-less (without direct contact between the transacting elements) automatic identification technology. The identification data is stored on chips that can be attached or embedded into products, animals or even humans. The tag can be active (with on-board power source) or passive (with no power source). An RFID chip consists of an integrated circuit of about 0.4x0. 4mm, and an antenna. The ID or user data is written / retrieved to/from the tag by a reader using the energy generated by induction or radiation. The block diagram of an RFID system is illustrated in Figure 1. Several RFID technologies are currently available, with characteristics such as read-only, read/write, encryption, passive, active, semi-active, etc., and they are suitable for different applications. The inherent strength of RFID chips is that they can provide spatial and temporal context to the tagged subject in addition to a unique identity. This adds substantial value to the decision making for various applications, most prominent of which include tracking and tracing livestock and wildlife, hospital patients, inmates, pharmaceuticals and drugs, consignments in a supply chain, engineering parts in aerospace, hazardous material, and perishable food. Many new applications are also being explored, such as how to exploit the RFID potential for tracking locations of indoor users for personalized, contextual information delivery and sharing, as well as numerous healthcare tasks: pharmaceutical anti-counterfeiting and authenticity testing, accountability and reliability in clinical trials, medical device, and asset and patient tracking. Pilot studies in US and Europe have shown that RFID reduced medical procedural errors, improved location and availability of medical equipment, care delivery to invalids, and provided better management of wounded US soldiers in the Iraq war theatre. Last but not least, recent disaster aftermath has shown that RFID technology can be useful to improve record acquisition and tracking
The burden and characteristics of nosocomial infections in an intensive care unit: A cross-sectional study of clinical and nonclinical samples at a tertiary hospital of Nepal

Background: Patients at intensive care units (ICUs) are vulnerable to acquiring nosocomial infections. The main objective of this study was to explore and characterize the burden of nosocomial infections from an ICU of National Medical College and Teaching Hospital (NMCTH), Birgunj, Nepal. Methods: A prospective hospital-based study was conducted between April and December 2018 at NMCTH, Birgunj, Province 2, of Nepal. A total of 374 specimens including clinical specimens (n = 190) from patients admitted in an ICU and animate and inanimate environmental samples (n = 184) from the ICU were collected. Collected specimens were cultured in specific microbiological media, and microbial isolates were identified and subjected to antibiotic susceptibility test. Results: Altogether, 374 specimens (190 clinical specimens and 184 nonclinical) of an ICU were analyzed. Out of 190 clinical specimens, 51% (97/190) showed bacterial growth. Isolated bacteria were Staphylococcus aureus (33%; 32/97), Escherichia coli (20.6%; 20/97), Klebsiella spp. (15.5%; 15/97), Pseudomonas spp. (11.3%; 11/97), and Acinetobacter spp. (11.3%; 11/97). Out of 184 nonclinical specimens, 51.6% (95/184) of the samples showed microbial growth. Among the isolates, Klebsiella spp. predominated (30.6%; 26/85) the growth, followed by S. aureus (22.4%; 19/85), Acinetobacter spp. (21.2%; 18/85), and Pseudomonas spp. (17.6%; 15/85). Among all clinical and nonclinical isolates, 61.9% (60/97) of the clinical specimens and 65.9% (56/85) of the nonclinical specimens showed multidrug resistance (MDR). Conclusion: Two-thirds of the specimens from both clinical and nonclinical specimens showed MDR. Urgent actions are required to address the augmented rate of nosocomial infections and MDR bacteria among ICUs in Nepal.
The connectance model revisited: a tool for manufacturing objective deployment

Much has been written about manufacturing strategy and its role in supporting firms in achieving competitive advantage in the marketplace. However, little is available on the process of manufacturing objective deployment, that is, on how to translate a given objective into the choice of action plans. There is a lack of methods to assist managers in identifying the range of alternative actions prior to arriving at a final decision. To address this gap, this paper revisits Burbidge’s connectance model and explains how the concept could be utilised as a tool for manufacturing improvement action plan selection. A software tool, tool for action plan selection was developed based on the concept and tested in a number of industrial case studies. This paper concludes by discussing the implication of this work for managers and academics.
Kanban in Action

SummaryKanban in Action is a down-to-earth, no-frills, get-to-know-the-ropes introduction to kanban. It's based on the real-world experience and observations from two kanban coaches who have introduced this process to dozens of teams. You'll learn the principles of why kanban works, as well as nitty-gritty details like how to use different color stickies on a kanban board to help you organize and track your work items.About the BookToo much work and too little time? If this is daily life for your team, you need kanban, a lean knowledge-management method designed to involve all team members in continuous improvement of your process.Kanban in Action is a practical introduction to kanban. Written by two kanban coaches who have taught the method to dozens of teams, the book covers techniques for planning and forecasting, establishing meaningful metrics, visualizing queues and bottlenecks, and constructing and using a kanban board.Written for all members of the development team, including leaders, coders, and business stakeholders. No experience with kanban is required.Purchase of the print book includes a free eBook in PDF, Kindle, and ePub formats from Manning Publications.What's InsideHow to focus on work in process and finish fasterExamples of successful implementationsHow team members can make informed decisionsAbout the AuthorsMarcus Hammarberg is a kanban coach and software developer with experience in BDD, TDD, Specification by Example, Scrum, and XP. Joakim Sundn is an agile coach at Spotify who cofounded the first kanban user groups in Europe.Table of ContentsPART 1 LEARNING KANBANTeam Kanbaneros gets startedPART 2 UNDERSTANDING KANBANKanban principlesVisualizing your work Work itemsWork in processLimiting work in processManaging flowPART 3 ADVANCED KANBANClasses of servicePlanning and estimatingProcess improvement Using metrics to guide improvementsKanban pitfallsTeaching kanban through games
COVID‐19 detection using hybrid deep learning model in chest x‐rays images

The novel‐corona‐virus is presently accountable for 547,782 deaths worldwide. It was first observed in China in late 2019 and, the increase in number of its affected cases seriously disturbed almost every nation in terms of its economical, structural, educational growth. Furthermore, with the advancement of data‐analytics and machine learning towards enhanced diagnostic tools for the infection, the growth rate in the affected patients has reduced considerably, thereby making it critical for AI researchers and experts from medical radiology to put more efforts in this side. In this regard, we present a controlled study which provides analysis of various potential possibilities in terms of detection models/algorithms for COVID‐19 detection from radiology‐based images like chest x‐rays. We provide a rigorous comparison between the VGG16, VGG19, Residual Network, Dark‐Net as the foundational network with the Single Shot MultiBox Detector (SSD) for predictions. With some preprocessing techniques specific to the task like CLAHE, this study shows the potential of the methodology relative to the existing techniques. The highest of all precision and recall were achieved with DenseNet201 + SSD512 as 93.01 and 94.98 respectively.
Performance study of a static low-concentration evacuated tube solar collector for medium-temperature applications

With the development of the energy demands, solar energy medium-temperature applications (>80°C) for refrigeration, building heating, seawater desalination, thermal power generation etc. has become popular research fields. The article presents an investigation on a static low-concentration evacuated tube (LCET) solar collector for medium-temperature applications. Ray trace outcome at the incident angles between 0 and 60° shows that the average optical efficiency can reach 76.9%. The experimental testing was conducted in the medium temperature range of 80 and 140°C which indicates the instantaneous thermal efficiency is still larger than about 30.0%, and the instantaneous exergetic efficiency is >5.92%. The results comprehensively indicate the good performance of LCET solar collector for medium-temperature applications.
The development of an enterprise resource planning system (ERP) for a research and technology institute: the case of the Nuclear and energy research institute - IPEN

This paper reports the history of the development of an enterprise resource planning (ERP) dedicated to managing the technical activities of the Nuclear and Energy Research Institute, a governmental research and technology institute in Brazil. After the implementation of the new planning process, the development of a new management information system named SIGEPI was immediately initiated. The implementation of this system followed a strategy of integrating databases already available and developing new ones in order to facilitate the data collecting process and to improve the quality and the reliability of these data. This paper describes the evolution of SIGEPI, its main features and it also reports the difficulties faced for almost ten years of developments. The success factors of the case were classified into three groups: strategic, technical and behavioral ones. The impact of these factors and recommendation for future similar developments are presented.
ON THE DIMINISHING RETURNS OF THERMAL CAMERA RESOLUTION FOR PBF TEMPERATURE ESTIMATION

Powder Bed Fusion (PBF) faces ongoing challenges in the areas of process monitoring and control. Standard methods for alleviating these issues rely on machine learning, which requires costly and time-consuming training data. Expense is compounded by the perceived necessity of using sensors with extremely high resolutions. This research avoids this cost by employing an Ensemble Kalman Filter (EnKF), which uses measured data to correct physics-based model predictions of the process, to monitor part internal temperature fields during building. This work tests EnKF performance, in simulation, for two model architectures, using simulated cameras of varying resolution as our measuring instruments. Crucially, we show that increasing camera resolution produces diminishing returns in EnKF accuracy, relative to the model predictions, with up to 81% error reduction. This result shows that current AM quality control practices with expensive sensors may be inefficient; with appropriate algorithms, cheaper setups may be used with little additional error.