Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Characterizing Leaf Nutrients of Wetland Plants and Agricultural Crops with Nonparametric Approach Using Sentinel-2 Imagery Data

In arid environments of the world, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa and Asia, floodplain wetlands are a valuable agricultural resource. However, the water reticulation role by wetlands and crop production can negatively impact wetland plants. Knowledge on the foliar biochemical elements of wetland plants enhances understanding of the impacts of agricultural practices in wetlands. This study thus used Sentinel-2 multispectral data to predict seasonal variations in the concentrations of nine foliar biochemical elements in plant leaves of key floodplain wetland vegetation types and crops in the uMfolozi floodplain system (UFS). Nutrient concentrations in different floodplain plant species were estimated using Sentinel-2 multispectral data derived vegetation indices in concert with the random forest regression. The results showed a mean R2 of 0.87 and 0.86 for the dry winter and wet summer seasons, respectively. However, copper, sulphur, and magnesium were poorly correlated (R2 ≤ 0.5) with vegetation indices during the summer season. The average % relative root mean square errors (RMSE’s) for seasonal nutrient estimation accuracies for crops and wetland vegetation were 15.2 % and 26.8%, respectively. There was a significant difference in nutrient concentrations between the two plant types, (R2 = 0.94 (crops), R2 = 0.84 (vegetation). The red-edge position 1 (REP1) and the normalised difference vegetation index (NDVI) were the best nutrient predictors. These results demonstrate the usefulness of Sentinel-2 imagery and random forests regression in predicting seasonal, nutrient concentrations as well as the accumulation of chemicals in wetland vegetation and crops.
O impacto no desconto de licitação com a adoção de menor preço ou maior desconto em obras e serviços de engenharia

Através deste estudo analisou-se se há significância estatística entre desconto proveniente do critério de julgamento por menor preço ou por maior desconto nas amostras coletadas de licitações realizadas com amparo do Regime Diferenciado de Contratações. Há autores que defendem adoção de maior desconto ao invés de menor preço para obras e serviços de engenharia para evitar o jogo de planilha e o jogo de cronograma. Como método de pesquisa, coletou-se dados do Departamento Nacional de Infraestrutura de Transportes de 2017 a 2020, sendo 40 licitações com critério de julgamento menor preço e outras 40 licitações com critério de julgamento maior desconto. Através do teste de Shapiro Walk, observou-se que o teste é significativo (p<0,05), de forma que os dados tanto de menor preço quanto de maior desconto diferem significativamente de uma distribuição normal. Assim, optou-se por utilizar o teste não-paramétrico de Mann-Whitney. O teste mostrou que a escolha do critério de julgamento (maior desconto ou menor preço) não tem efeito sobre o valor do desconto (U=640, p>0,05, r=-0,17). A maior contribuição do trabalho é sobre a necessidade de ampliar a discussão sobre a adoção de maior desconto como preferência em licitações de obras e serviços de engenharia regidas pelo RDC.
Plataforma PGuide: um modelo de recomendação para usuários móveis

Dispositivos móveis tais como smartphones e tablets PC têm se tornado uma importante plataforma de comunicação e acesso à informação. Isto implica no surgimento de novas formas de interação com estas tecnologias, que incluem a utilização de dispositivos móveis como recurso no apoio à tomada de decisão. Considerar o contexto do usuário enquanto o mesmo busca informações deve maximizar seu grau de satisfação junto ao sistema, uma vez que a informação espaço/tempo pode proporcionar maiores detalhes nos processos de filtragem de informação. Nesta perspectiva, é apresentado um sistema de recomendação capaz de personalizar ofertas de produtos e serviços com base na localização geográfica, bem como nas estimativas de padrões de consumo dos usuários móveis
Blob Tree

 Which Blob do you feel like today?  Why do you feel like that?  Which Blob would you like to feel like?  Which Blob do you feel like when you come to church?  Which Blob do you feel like when you are with your mum or dad in church?  Which Blob do you feel like when you are with your friends?  Which Blob do you feel like when you are with all ages in church?  Which Blob do you feel like when you are in your Sunday school/youth group/Bible study?  Which Blob do you feel like when someone talks about God?  Which Blob does God feel like in church?
Combatting Respiratory Pathogens in Cystic Fibrosis: Novel Approaches in Bacterial Targeting, Biofilm Disruption and Sugar Purification

Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Staphylococcus aureus, Burkholderia cepacia and Stenotrophomonas maltophilia frequently establish chronic lung infections in Cystic Fibrosis (CF) patients and engender significant morbidity and, in some cases, death. Partially owing to adaptive mechanisms, including the production of biofilms and virulence factors, these pathogens have developed resistance to conventional antimicrobials. To combat these pathogens, novel interventions are required. This pre-clinical study explores three such approaches. The first approach investigated a novel carbon monoxide releasing molecule (CORM) that had been designed to target the pseudomonal virulence factor, pyocyanin. In vitro testing of this drug, termed pyo-CORM, showed non-specific pyocyanin activation and reduced bacterial growth and biofilm formation in P. aeruginosa, S. aureus and S. maltophilia. The second strategy explored the disruptive capacity of sugar fragments (alginate) against pseudomonal biofilms. We generated and tested alginate fragments, with average degrees of polymerisation within the range of 1-28, against P. aeruginosa PA01 in vitro. Our study found that the fragments were able to perturb growth and disrupt biofilms in PA01 at concentrations exceeding 5 wt% and that smaller fragments were more effective at biofilm disruption than larger fragments. Lastly, this project explored novel purification strategies for the synthesis of sugar-based vaccines using the polysaccharide, and virulence factor, poly-N-acetylglucosamine (PNAG) as a reference. With the aim of improving purity and efficiency in sugar synthesis, this study investigated a photochemical solid phase cleavage method and a selective bead-mediated recovery strategy. These methods, and the design of a continuous UV flow reactor, achieved successful photocleavage and selective recovery of a tagged N-acetylglucosamine (NAG) building block. The results presented in this project highlight the need for ongoing work in these areas. With new treatments will come new adaptations and therefore it is likely that a combination of novel approaches will be key in combatting CF pathogens in the future.
Soft Sensing Methods for the Generation of Plausible Traffic Data in Sensor-less Locations

The deployment of sensors in urban and interurban roads is an eminently important aspect of traffic supervision and management. However, the decision to deploy a new sensor is often subject to budgetary and operational constraints. For this reason, several alternatives to sensing are emerging aimed at reducing costs or simplifying the traffic data collection process. Among them, techniques to generate artificial data departing from a known distribution are already in use in the traffic context, allowing practitioners to augment available data, estimate future behaviors of a complete traffic network, or impute missing data. Nonetheless, the idea of generating new data from non-sensorized locations has been scarcely investigated to date, as it poses considerable challenges such as the lack of an explicit distribution to be learned, and the inherently multimodal nature of traffic data. This paper finely pulses the extent of such challenges, and proposes a selection of data generation approaches based on Generative Adversarial Networks and deep learning regression that could be used in practical traffic scenarios. To do so, we propose taking advantage of well-known spatial-temporal relations of nodes of a traffic network. With the limitations dictated by the lack of previous data, generative models are expected to obtain plausible data, with yet coarse performance metrics. Above all, performance is not the main goal of this work, but to identify and understand the main data-engineering characteristics that are critical for synthetic traffic data generation.
Phase transformation, ionic diffusion, and charge transfer mechanisms of KVOPO4 in potassium ion batteries: first-principles calculations

First-principles calculations based on density functional theory were performed to investigate the electrochemical properties of K1−xVOPO4 in potassium-ion batteries (KIBs). The material showed multiple phase transitions during K ion extraction, which began with a two-phase transition (0 ≤ x ≤ 0.5), followed by a solid-solution transition (0.5 < x ≤ 0.625), another two-phase transition (0.625 < x ≤ 0.75), and finally a solid-solution transition (0.75 < x ≤ 1). These processes resulted in a small total unit cell volume variation of 6.6%, which was beneficial for the cycle stability of KIBs. Density of states and Bader charge analysis revealed that both V and O participated in the charge transfer process, where V acted as the redox center of KVOPO4 contributing to the K storage capacity, and O acted as a charge transfer medium between V and K. The stepwise increased repulsion between V cations caused three voltage plateaus for K1−xVOPO4. In addition, the one-dimensional diffusion pathway for K ions with low energy barriers of 0.214–0.491 eV ensured high K ion mobility resulting in superior high rate capability.
Trait Meta-Mood Scale-24: estructura factorial, validez y confiabilidad en estudiantes universitarios argentinos

INTRODUCCIÓN. Una de las herramientas más utilizadas para la evaluación de la inteligencia emocional autopercibida (IEA) es el Trait Meta-Mood Scale (TMMS). Sin embargo, existen escasos estudios que den cuenta de cómo funciona en estudiantes universitarios argentinos. Sumado a ello, recientemente se ha propuesto una revisión de la estructura factorial del TMMS-24, por lo que se requiere de nuevas investigaciones a los fines de examinar cuál es la estructura factorial que representa más adecuadamente a la IEA. El objetivo del presente estudio fue analizar la estructura factorial del TMMS-24 (probando el modelo bifactor y utilizando coeficientes adicionales), como así también su validez y confiabilidad, con el fin de aportar evidencias que garanticen la calidad de la medida en su adaptación al contexto local para su aplicación a estudiantes universitarios de Buenos Aires, Argentina. MÉTODO. La muestra estuvo comprendida por 374 estudiantes, quienes respondieron un cuestionario sociodemográfico, el TMMS-24, y las versiones argentinas del Cuestionario de regulación emocional y el Inventario de cociente emocional. RESULTADOS. El análisis factorial confirmatorio dio cuenta de un adecuado ajuste del modelo a los datos al modelo oblicuo (tres factores correlacionados con sus respectivos indicadores: atención, claridad y reparación; X2 = 803.354, GL = 249, CFI .9384, TLI .931, RMSEA [90% IC] = .0778; [.071, .083], WRMR 1.5273). Si bien el modelo bifactor evidenció índices de ajuste satisfactorios, los indicadores adicionales no fueron adecuados. La consistencia interna fue adecuada para cada subescala (atención emocional ω = .90; claridad emocional ω = .90; reparación emocional ω = .88). Se encontraron diferencias según sexo y edad para ciertas subescalas y correlaciones esperadas con las subescalas del ERQ-A y del EQ-i. DISCUSIÓN. El TMMS-24 mostró propiedades psicométricas adecuadas para la medición de IEA en población universitaria de Buenos Aires.
‘Own your narrative’: teenagers as producers and consumers of porn in Netflix’s Sex Education

ABSTRACT Netflix’s Sex Education both represents sex education and educates viewers about sex. From the opening scene of the first episode, viewers are positioned to see this series as one that is not afraid to represent explicitly the details of a range of sexual experiences. The series’ frank depiction of sexual relationships between characters, and its exploration of characters’ hopes, fears, and choices regarding ways to express their sexual desire is, arguably, ground-breaking. This paper focuses upon the ways in which the series represents young people as producers and consumers of pornographic/erotic narratives, harnessing the communication options within their social settings to develop understandings of, and share, information that is often structured as ‘inappropriate’ for under-18 year-olds. Sex Education sits at the intersection of information (seeking), communication, and society, as young people explore issues of crucial interest and importance to them, which have been all but ignored in most of their school curriculum offerings. Challenging a dominant social perception of sexually-explicit materials as harmful to young people, and suggesting instead that such materials may be beneficial, the series demonstrates how young people may come together to learn about themselves and each other, even as they confront the double standards of a hypersexualised society that offers no legitimate speaking position to under-18s. In this environment, with adults absent from authentic discussion, young people co-construct their future adult selves through producing, consuming, and discussing sexual content (and activities) in conversation with other young people.
Pyrroline-5-Carboxylate Reductase-2 as a Potential Prognostic Biomarker of Colorectal Cancer: A Study Based on Bioinformatics Approaches

Background: Colorectal cancer (CRC) is associated with high mortality rates. Some studies have attempted to elucidate the molecular mechanisms underlying CRC, and few CRC biomarkers are now used in clinical practice. Methods: Herein our aim was to identify a new potential prognostic biomarker of CRC, while providing further theoretical basis for studying the pathogenesis of CRC. Results: PYCR2 expression was to be much higher in CRC tissues than in corresponding non-cancerous tissues, and the prognosis of patients with high PYCR2 expression was significantly poorer than that of those with low PYCR2 expression. Further, PYCR2 showed a high correlation with TRMT61B and CDC23 expression. We found that gene mutations had a significant influence on the prognosis of CRC. PYCR2 siRNA transfection decreased and inhibited the ability of migration and invasion in CRC cells. Conclusions: To summarize, our findings provide novel insights to facilitate better diagnosis as well as treatment of CRC.
Associations between Neighborhood Deprivation Index, Parent Perceptions and Preschooler Lifestyle Behaviors

Parental perceptions and use of neighborhood facilities are important factors that are related to children’s dietary intake and physical activity. The aim of this study was to examine the association between neighborhood deprivation index, parents’ perceptions of their neighborhood environment, and healthy/unhealthy markers of child dietary intake, physical activity, and TV screen time. This cross-sectional study was conducted in Dublin, Ireland. The lifestyle behaviors among children and parental perceptions of their neighborhood environment were reported by the parents of 276 children aged 3–5 years by using parent-completed questionnaires. Deprivation index was assessed using the geographic information system (GIS). Data were analyzed using binary logistic regression, adjusting for socio-demographic confounders. In adjusted models, high deprivation index was associated with parental perception of the neighborhood as unsafe for walking and cycling due to crime (OR 1.59, 95% CI 1.04–2.43, p = 0.031) and children’s low engagement in structured physical activity (OR 0.35, 95% CI 0.17–0.72, p = 0.004). Parental perceptions of an unsafe neighborhood due to heavy traffic were negatively correlated with children’s active play (OR 0.73, 95% CI 0.55–0.95, p = 0.022). Children whose parents reported high satisfaction with the number of local sit-in and takeaway restaurants were 41% more likely to consume confectionary/sugar sweetened beverages (SSBs) weekly. In this age group, parents play an important role in children’s lifestyle behaviors; therefore, a better understanding of parents’ perceptions and their use of neighborhood facilities could contribute to creating a healthy environment for this age group.
Insect Protein Content Analysis in Handcrafted Fitness Bars by NIR Spectroscopy. Gaussian Process Regression and Data Fusion for Performance Enhancement of Miniaturized Cost-Effective Consumer-Grade Sensors

Future food supply will become increasingly dependent on edible material extracted from insects. The growing popularity of artisanal food products enhanced by insect proteins creates particular needs for establishing effective methods for quality control. This study focuses on developing rapid and efficient on-site quantitative analysis of protein content in handcrafted insect bars by miniaturized near-infrared (NIR) spectrometers. Benchtop (Büchi NIRFlex N-500) and three miniaturized (MicroNIR 1700 ES, Tellspec Enterprise Sensor and SCiO Sensor) in hyphenation to partial least squares regression (PLSR) and Gaussian process regression (GPR) calibration methods and data fusion concept were evaluated via test-set validation in performance of protein content analysis. These NIR spectrometers markedly differ by technical principles, operational characteristics and cost-effectiveness. In the non-destructive analysis of intact bars, the root mean square error of cross prediction (RMSEP) values were 0.611% (benchtop) and 0.545–0.659% (miniaturized) with PLSR, and 0.506% (benchtop) and 0.482–0.580% (miniaturized) with GPR calibration, while the analyzed total protein content was 19.3–23.0%. For milled samples, with PLSR the RMSEP values improved to 0.210% for benchtop spectrometer but remained in the inferior range of 0.525–0.571% for the miniaturized ones. GPR calibration improved the predictive performance of the miniaturized spectrometers, with RMSEP values of 0.230% (MicroNIR 1700 ES), 0.326% (Tellspec) and 0.338% (SCiO). Furthermore, Tellspec and SCiO sensors are consumer-oriented devices, and their combined use for enhanced performance remains a viable economical choice. With GPR calibration and test-set validation performed for fused (Tellspec + SCiO) data, the RMSEP values were improved to 0.517% (in the analysis of intact samples) and 0.295% (for milled samples).
Backhaul-aware Decoupled Uplink and Downlink User Association, and Power Control in Fi-Wi HetNets

: Decoupling the uplink and downlink user association improves the throughput of heterogeneous networks (HetNets) and balances the traffic load of macro-and small-base stations. Recently, fiber-wireless HetNets (FiWi-HetNets) have been considered as viable solutions for access networks. To improve the accuracy of user association and resource allocation algorithms in FiWi-HetNets, the capacity limitation of various backhaul technologies must be considered. In this paper, we investigate the backhaul-aware decoupled uplink/downlink (UL/DL) user association, subcarrier allocation, and power control optimization problem in FiWi-HetNets. In our system model, fiber and millimeter wave (mmWave) links are used as backhaul of base stations, and the backhaul capacity limitation and minimum required transmission rate (R_min) are modeled in the optimization problem. As the formulated optimization problem is non-convex, we present a heuristic algorithm to divide the main problem into two sub-problems that are solved iteratively. The proposed algorithms are evaluated through exhaustive simulations. The results indicate that decoupling UL/DL user association improves the sum rate of FiWi-HetNets. Besides, we evaluate the effect of backhaul capacity limitation and R_min on the sum rate of FiWi-HetNets. The effect of upgrading fiber backhaul technology is also investigated to evaluate the role of fiber backhaul on the sum rate of the radio access network.
Evaluation of brown rice to replace corn in weanling pig diet

Abstract This study was conducted to evaluate the effects of brown rice (Japonica) on growth performance, nutrient digestibility, and blood parameters of weanling pigs. A total of 60 weanling pigs (28-day-old, 30 barrows and 30 gilts, 6.73 ± 0.77 kg body weight [BW]) were randomly allotted to 2 dietary treatments (6 pigs per pen; 5 replicates per treatment) in a randomized complete block design with the initial BW and sex as blocks. The dietary treatments were a typical nursery diet based on corn and soybean meal (CON) and the CON replaced 50% of corn with brown rice (BR). Pigs were fed respective dietary treatments for 5 weeks. For the last week of experiment period, pigs were fed respective dietary treatments containing 0.2% chromic oxide as an indigestible marker. Fecal samples were collected from randomly selected 1 pig in each pen daily for the last 3 d after the 4-d adjustment period. Blood was collected from randomly selected 1 pig in each pen on d 0, 3, 7, and 14 after weaning. Compared with pig fed CON diet, pigs fed the BR diet were found to have higher (p < 0.05) final BW, overall average daily gain, and apparent ileal digestibility (AID) and apparent total tract digestibility (ATTD) of dry matter and energy. However, there were no significant differences between the groups with respect to average daily feed intake, gain to feed ratio, frequency of diarrhea, and the AID and ATTD of crude protein during overall experimental period. Similarly, there were no significant differences on blood parameters between the groups. Thus, the findings of this study indicate that brown rice (Japonica) can be used to replace 50% of corn in the diet of pigs during the nursery period without negatively affecting growth performance, nutrient digestibility, or blood parameters.
Analysis of the human resource management role in hospitals using Ulrich model

Human resource (HR) management is regarded as a vital factor in organizations. Nowadays, the human factor is considered a unique strategic resource and key executive system designers of organizational processes. Based on progressive organizational thinking, the human resource is assumed as a major asset among company’s production factors. The research goal for this paper is to evaluate human resource’s role in specialized and sub specialized medical training hospitals of Iran, using Ulrich model. Research results indicated that the studies hospitals revealed an average quality in providing human resource services and none of the hospitals could close to 160 which is the high quality standard of human resources based on the Ulrich model. Besides, the results showed that there is a significant positive correlations between the service qualities and human resources; and "strategic partner role" considered as the strength and "staff support role" regarded as a resilient point in human resource management. Considering positive impact of strengthening the planning, management and training of health workers on the performance of this section, it would be possible to improve the capacity of human resource managers and the quality of healthcare services in the society. Key words: Human resource management, excellence, role of human resources, health services.