Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
CHANGE DETECTION OF VEGETATION COVER USING REMOTE SENSING AND GIS – A CASE STUDY OF THE WEST COAST REGION OF SOUTH AFRICA

This article investigates the possible permanent vegetation cover (VC) change over an extended time for five municipal regions in South Africa by applying satellite-acquired remote sensed normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) values within a geographic information system (GIS), spatial (West Coast District) and time (1981 to 2019 and 2000 to 2020) context. The NDVI index measures surface reflectance and give a quantitative estimation of vegetation growth and biomass. The study found relevance in its application since VC change detection has taken prominence over the past number of years in terms of sustainable development. Methods of analysis include image mapping, temporal image differencing, Moran I statistic, and the Mann-Kendall trend test. In the main areas that recorded significant changes in their NDVI values (plus or minus 0.4 difference on their original NDVI value) over time, in general, have experienced substantial and permanent VC change. These areas are also spatially clustered and concentrated within specific areas within the wider district. However, these areas constitute only a minority of areas (less than 20%), whereas most of the areas within the district did not experience such significant and permanent change in VC. Instead, the changes that did occur in these majority of areas were related to seasonal variation, i.e., temporal changes.
Bifurcation Phenomena of the Magnetoouid Equations

We report on bifurcation studies for the incompressible magnetohydrodynamic equations in three space dimensions with periodic boundary conditions and a temporally constant external forcing. Fourier representations of velocity, pressure and magnetic eld have been used to transform the original partial diierential equations into systems of ordinary diierential equations (ODE), to which then special numerical methods for the qualitative analysis of systems of ODE have been applied, supplemented by the simulative calculation of solutions for selected initial conditions. In a part of the calculations, in order to reduce the number of modes to be retained, the concept of approximate inertial manifolds has been applied. For varying (increasing from zero) strength of the imposed forcing, or varying Reynolds number, respectively, time-asymptotic states, notably stable stationary solutions, have been traced. A primary non-magnetic steady state loses, in a Hopf bifurcation, stability to a periodic state with a non-vanishing magnetic eld, showing the appearance of a generic dynamo eeect. From now on the magnetic eld is present for all values of the forcing. The Hopf bifurcation is followed by further, symmetry-breaking, bifurcations, leading nally to chaos. We pay particular attention to kinetic and magnetic helicities. The dynamo eeect is observed only if the forcing is chosen such that a mean kinetic helicity is generated; otherwise the magnetic eld diiuses away, and the time-asymptotic states are non-magnetic, in accordance with traditional kinematic dynamo theory.
a post-peer-review, pre-copyedit

A key strategy to increase plant productivity is to improve intrinsic organ growth. Some of the regulatory networks underlying organ growth and development, and interconnections between these networks are highly conserved. An example of such a growth-regulatory module with a highly conserved role in final organ size and shape determination in eudicot species is the PEAPOD (PPD)/KINASE-INDUCIBLE DOMAIN INTERACTING (KIX)/STERILE APETALA (SAP) module. Here, we review the proteins constituting the PPD pathway and their role in different plant developmental processes and explore options for future research. Moreover, we speculate on strategies to exploit the knowledge of the PPD pathway for targeted yield improvement to engineer crop traits of agronomical interest, such as leaf, fruit and seed size.
EDUCATIONAL NEEDS OF EPILEPTOLOGISTS ABOUT PSYCHIATRIC COMORBIDITIES OF THE EPILEPSIES: A DESCRIPTIVE QUANTITATIVE SURVEY

Aim: Psychiatric disorders are relatively frequent comorbidities in epilepsy and they have an impact on morbidity, mortality and quality of life. This is a report from the Task Force on Education of the ILAE Commission on Neuropsychiatry based on a survey about educational needs of epileptologists regarding management of the psychiatric comorbidities of epilepsy. Methods: The Task Force designed a quantitative questionnaire to survey the self-perceived confidence of child and adult epileptologists and psychiatrists in managing major psychiatric comorbidities of epilepsy to identify (1) critical areas of improvement from a list of skills that are usually considered necessary for effective management of these conditions, and (2) the preferred educational format for improving these skills. Results: A total of 211 respondents from 35 different countries participated in the survey. Confidence and usefulness scores suggest that responders would most value education and training in the management of specific clinical scenarios. Child neurologists identified major Axis I disorders like mood and anxiety disorders, while adult neurologists identified attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, intellectual disabilities and autistic spectrum disorder as key areas. Both adult and child neurologists identified screening skills as the priority. Psychiatrists mainly valued specific training in the management of psychiatric complications of epilepsy surgery or psychiatric adverse events of antiepileptic drugs. Sessions during congresses and face-to-face meetings represent the preferred educational format, while e-learning modules and review papers were chosen by a minority of respondents. Conclusions: Results of this survey identify key areas for improvement in managing the psychiatric comorbidities of epilepsy and suggest specific strategies to develop better training for clinicians involved in epilepsy care.
Two-Step Knowledge Distillation for Tiny Speech Enhancement

Tiny, causal models are crucial for embedded audio machine learning applications. Model compression can be achieved via distilling knowledge from a large teacher into a smaller student model. In this work, we propose a novel two-step approach for tiny speech enhancement model distillation. In contrast to the standard approach of a weighted mixture of distillation and supervised losses, we firstly pre-train the student using only the knowledge distillation (KD) objective, after which we switch to a fully supervised training regime. We also propose a novel fine-grained similarity-preserving KD loss, which aims to match the student's intra-activation Gram matrices to that of the teacher. Our method demonstrates broad improvements, but particularly shines in adverse conditions including high compression and low signal to noise ratios (SNR), yielding signal to distortion ratio gains of 0.9 dB and 1.1 dB, respectively, at -5 dB input SNR and 63x compression compared to baseline.
Antibiotic resistance and distribution of SodCI, sopE, sefA genes among Salmonella enteric serotype Enteritidis isolates from poultry

Present work aimed to examine the antibiotic resistance of the Salmonella enterica serotype Enteritidis (SE) iso-lates from poultry, to study the plasmid-mediated ampicillin resistance and to detect and determine the distribution of sodCI , sopE and sefA genes. Thirty-five SE isolates from one-day chicks, layers and broilers were studied for susceptibility/resistance to sixteen antimicrobial agents; 23 (65.7%) of them showed resistance to ampicillin, 5 (14.3%) to ampicillin and tetracycline, 4 (11.45%) to tetracycline and 1 (2.9%) isolate showed multi-drug resistance. Ampicillin (Amp R ) and ampicillin/tetracycline (Amp R Te R ) resistance was easily transferred by conjugation, and all isolates except two possessed a common band. The molecular mass of the plasmid carrying ampicillin resistance was approximately determined at 41kb after DNA digestion with Bam HI , Hind III , Eco RI , Eco RV and Pst I restriction enzymes and ligation of Eco RI fragments to pET29c . For the detection of TEM-1 or/and TEM-2 ß-lactamases, two pairs of primers were used in a polymerase chain reaction (PCR). The PCR products showed the presence of bla TEM-1 gene in all isolates. The presence of SodCI , sopE , sefA genes was also examined by PCR. Twenty-two (62,8%) isolates carried the sodCI gene, thirty-four (97,2%) isolates carried the sopE gene and all isolates carried the sefA fim-brial locus.
A Ce/Ru co-doped SrFeO 3- Perovskite for a Coke-resistant Anode of a Symmetrical Solid Oxide Fuel Cell (SSOFC)

Employment of identical oxides for the cathode and anode in a symmetrical solid oxide fuel cell (SSOFC) is beneficial for decreasing the fabrication costs of a robust cell. Ce doping on the A-site in SrFeO 3 increased the structural stability in a reducing atmosphere, but ceria was found to exsolve from the perovskite during the cooling process in the air if the doping level reached 20 at. %. The additional doping of 5 at. % Ru in Sr 0.8 Ce 0.2 FeO 3 on the Fe site could prevent the ceria segregation in air and induce the surface decomposition under fuel conditions for the formation of nanoscale SrO, CeO 2 and Ru 0 . The SSOFC with Ce/Ru co-doped SrFeO 3 on a Sr-and Mg-doped LaGaO 3 (LSGM) electrolyte showed a small R p value (0.12  cm 2 ) when H 2 and the ambient air were used as fuel and oxidant, respectively. The peak power densities of 846 mW cm -2 and 310 mW cm -2 were achieved at 800 o C using H 2 and C 3 H 8 as fuel, respectively. The excellent coke resistance of the anode could be related to the simultaneous in situ exsolution of CeO 2 , SrO and Ru 0 nanoparticles.
Short-Term Electricity Price Forecasting Using EEMD and GRU-NN

– A vital necessity for the reliable operation of the power system as well as for the financial well-being of the consumers is an accurate forecast of the price of electricity. The price of electricity is highly volatile, nonlinear, and subject to seasonal fluctuations. The price series is also affected by electrical market uncertainty and demand, which is strongly reliant on weather and electricity usage time. This study presents a short-term electricity price forecasting method that follows the similar days approach comprising Ensemble Empirical Mode Decomposition technique. The suggested method utilizes a feature selection methodology that combines the Random Forest Regressor and the Gradient Boosting Regressor to determine which features are most important for the machine learning model. To forecast the electricity price, a Gated Recurrent Unit Neural Network (GRU-NN) is employed as the machine learning model. The GRU-NN has the capability of accurately capturing complicated temporal relationships in electricity price time series, which enables it to make correct predictions. To evaluate the validity of the proposed method, data from the PJM electricity market have been used. The simulation results demonstrate that the suggested method is superior to the existing technique, with significantly improved values achieved for both the mean absolute percentage error (MAPE) and the root mean square error (RMSE).
Are Multilingual LLMs Culturally-Diverse Reasoners? An Investigation into Multicultural Proverbs and Sayings

Large language models (LLMs) are highly adept at question answering and reasoning tasks, but when reasoning in situational context, human expectations vary depending on the relevant cultural common ground. As human languages are associated with diverse cultures, LLMs should also be culturally-diverse reasoners. In this paper, we study the ability of a wide range of state-of-the-art multilingual LLMs (mLLMs) to reason with proverbs and sayings in a conversational context. Our experiments reveal that: (1) mLLMs 'knows' limited proverbs and memorizing proverbs does not mean understanding them within a conversational context; (2) mLLMs struggle to reason with figurative proverbs and sayings, and when asked to select the wrong answer (instead of asking it to select the correct answer); and (3) there is a"culture gap"in mLLMs when reasoning about proverbs and sayings translated from other languages. We construct and release our evaluation dataset MAPS (MulticultrAl Proverbs and Sayings) for proverb understanding with conversational context for six different languages.
A Multi-Companion Method to Periodically Integrated Autoregressive Models

There has been an enormous interest in analysing and modelling periodic time series. The research on periodically integrated autoregressive (PIAR) models which capture the periodic structure and the presence of unit roots is widely applied in environmental, financial and energy areas. In this paper, we propose a multi-companion method which uses the eigen information of the multi-companion matrix in the multi-companion representation of PIAR models. The method enables the estimation and forecasting of PIAR models with a single, two and multiple unit roots. We show that the parameters of PIAR models can be represented in terms of the eigen information of the multi-companion matrix. Consequently, the estimation can be conducted using the eigen information, rather than directly estimating the parameters of PIAR models. A Monte Carlo experiment and an application are provided to illustrate the robustness and effectiveness of the multi-companion method.
This item is the archived peer-reviewed author-version of: Markovian Approximations for a Grid Computing Network with a Ring Structure

Optical Grid networks allow many computing sites to share their resources by connecting them through high-speed links, providing a more eﬃcient use of the resources and a timely response for incoming jobs. These jobs originate from users connected to each of the sites and, in contrast to traditional queueing networks, a particular job does not have to be processed in a predeﬁned site. Furthermore, a job is always processed locally if there is an available local server. In this paper we propose two diﬀerent methods to approximate the performance of an optical Grid network with a ring topology. The ﬁrst method is based on approximating the inter-overﬂow time process, while the second separately characterizes the periods where jobs are overﬂowed and the periods where they are served locally. Both approaches rely on a marked Markovian representation of the overﬂow process at each station and on reducing this representation by moment-matching methods. The results show that the methods accurately approximate the rate of locally processed jobs, one of the main performance measures.
Humanizing information about meaningful activities for people with dementia

Stigma and discrimination regarding dementia are still very impactful on the experience of having dementia and of being a carer. To tackle this issue and uplift the quality of life of people with dementia and their carers, efforts are being made to push forward a change in the societal perception of dementia. These include raising awareness and promoting inclusive initiatives that con-jointly involve people with dementia and their carers, such as engaging in meaningful activities. Meaningful activities have a crucial role in enhancing the well-being of people with dementia, as a means for participation, connection with others, self-expression, and control. This position paper calls attention to the need for improving the design of information so that it is tailored to people with dementia and supports their self-determination, individuality and autonomy, and the feeling of living a meaningful life. Although there is plenty of information about dementia, often this is not targeted to people with dementia, nor designed in a way that facilitates their access and understanding. This is an opportunity for design practice and research to contribute. This position is driven by person-centred, rights-based and participatory design approaches and is anchored in the authors’ previous research on co-de-signing with people with dementia and their families to support their engagement in meaningful activities.
Anthropology of tourism

Gives an overview and critical assessment of the developing field of tourism study in anthropology. This book reviews basic research from 3 theoretical perspectives which are tourist as a form of development or acculturation, as a personal transition, and as a kind of social super structure. It also examines the applied side of this field.
the Sport Brandscape: A Structured Review and Future Direction for Sport Brand

28 Despite consistent interest in sport brands and the multitude of brands in the sport ecosystem, 29 extant knowledge remains fragmented and unstructured. The purpose of this study is to integrate 30 and synthesize extant sport brand research, appraise the current state of knowledge, and suggest 31 future research directions. Following structured literature review guidelines, we coded 179 peer-32 review articles published in four leading sport management journals between 2000-2020. Results 33 reveal increased publications in the area of sport brand research within the four examined 34 journals, as well as opportunities to increase theoretical and methodological rigor. Based on the 35 mapping and critical review of extant literature, we introduce the Sport Brand Ecosystem & 36 Environment and discuss two distinct and complementary areas related to theory and research 37 designs and topical domains to address existent concerns and guide future research directions.
Long-term comparison of the efficacy of manual versus powered tooth brushing in adolescent orthodontic patients: a single-centre, parallel design randomized clinical trial

Abstract Background and objectives To-date, there is no evidence comparing the long-term efficacy of powered and manual toothbrushes in adolescents undergoing fixed appliance treatment. The trial compared the efficacy of manual versus powered toothbrush in controlling plaque and gingival health in patients undergoing fixed treatment in respect of both the short- and long-term. Trial design This was a randomized, parallel, controlled single-blind clinical trial, undertaken in a hospital setting, for which the consolidated standards of reporting trials guidelines were followed. Methods Ninety-two adolescent participants planned to undergo fixed appliance therapy, were randomly assigned to either a manual or powered toothbrush, with allocation concealment. The outcome measures were plaque and gingival indices and bleeding on probing, assessed at baseline (prior to fixed appliance), one-, six- and 12-months. Results The final sample included 84 participants, aged 12-18 (M=14.1, SD=1.93) years, with 40 (47%) were using a manual and 44 (52%) a powered toothbrush. The intervention (powered vs. manual toothbrush) itself appeared insignificant with regards to the gingival index (GI) (95%CI −0.1 – 0.03; P=0.26), plaque index (PI) (95%CI −0.13 – 0.14; P=0.93) and bleeding on probing (BoP) (95%CI −0.03 – 0.03; P=0.98) at any of the time points assessed. However, periodontal health indicators and plaque control significantly worsened (p<0.01), over the 12-month follow-up period, following placement of the fixed appliances placement. Conclusion Whilst no differences were found between manual and powered toothbrushes in controlling plaque and gingival health, in participants undergoing fixed orthodontic treatment, both were suboptimal and highlighted the need for greater patient support and monitoring. Trial registration details https://doi.org/10.1186/ISRCTN74268923 Trial funding: Colgate-Palmolive (USA)
Identification and quantification of potential microplastics in shellfish harvested in Sardinia (Italy) by using transillumination stereomicroscopy

Plastics are non-biodegradable polymers made up of different groups of petrochemical materials. Several biotic and abiotic factors can change the density of plastic fragmenting it and originating microplastics (MPs). MPs have been defined as small pieces of plastic less than 5 mm in size. Due to their small size, they are an emerging concern in the marine environment since they can be ingested by aquatic organisms, especially filter-feeding organisms, such as bivalve mollusks. Impacts of MPs exposure have been shown at various levels of biological organization, from cellular to tissue to individual and population levels. For example, oxidative stress and inflammation have been observed in copepods and mussels, obstruction and physical damage of the digestive tract were found in fish and swimming behavior alterations, disruption of foraging and feeding behavior and overall reduced fitness and survival were observed in fish and oysters. In addition, MPs can act as a vector for the transfer of chemicals to marine biota. The aim of the present study was the identification and quantification of potential MPs in shellfish harvested in Sardinia (Italy) by using transillumination stereomicroscopy. Bivalves were collected from 4 of the main production areas located along the Sardinian coast and selected according to the principles of the risk assessment. The results of the present study demonstrated the presence of potential MPs in 70% of the analyzed samples: the presence of MPs in bivalve mollusks may pose a threat to food safety, and there is an urgent need to evaluate the potential risks of MPs to human health.
Automatically Associating Resources with Tasks based on a Software Developer’s Activity (DRAFT: August 14, 2023)

Developing and maintaining software is a complex process that consists of many different tasks and activities. Despite substantial research into how software developers work, there are few techniques to help track which resources, in particular which parts of source code, a developer needs to complete a task. In this thesis, we explore whether it is possible to associate automatically the resources a software developer works on as part of a task with the appropriate task assigned to a developer based on semantic similarity between the resource content and the description of a task. We explore a design space involving three similarity techniques—Term Frequency Inverse Document Frequency (TF-IDF), Bidirectional Encoder Representation from Transformers (BERT), and word2vec—and three ways of segmenting the work a developer performs—time intervals, a set number of interactions a developer undertakes and a sliding time window. To explore this design space, we undertook three case studies on three developers from the same open source project, focusing on the effectiveness, measured in precision, with which different techniques and segmentation techniques are able to associate resources with tasks. Despite variation by developer, we found that TF-IDF combined with segmenting a developer’s activity by time results in the highest precision score, but with low recall. We found that BERT, combined with segmenting a developer’s activity by a set number of interactions, results in the best balance between the precision and recall. Future research should explore how to personalize the right combination of similarity with a segmentation approach for a developer to best associate resources with a task being worked on by the developer.