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Micro-expression is an expression that reveals one's true feelings and can be potentially applied in various domains such as healthcare, safety interrogation, and business negotiation. The micro-expression recognition is thus far being judged manually by psychologists and trained experts, which consumes a lot of human effort and time. Recently, the development of the deep learning network has proven promising performance in many computer vision-related tasks. Amongst, micro-expression recognition adopts the deep learning methodology to improve the feature learning capability and model generalization. This paper introduces a lightweight apex-based enhanced network that improves by extending one of the state-of-the-art, shallow triple stream three-dimensional CNN. Concretely, the network is first pre-trained with a macro-expression dataset to encounter the small data problem. The features were extracted from CASME II, SMIC, and SAMM datasets. Moreover, thorough recognition results comparison of the datasets are the optical flow-guided features. Besides, an eye masking technique is introduced to reduce noise interference such as eye blinking and glasses reflection issues. The results obtained have an accuracy of 79.19 % and an F1-score of 75.9 % . Comprehensive experimentation had been conducted on the composite dataset that consists of is provided by comparing it with recent methods. Detailed qualitative and quantitative results are reported and discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to reveal more of the hidden secrets of the Cheops Pyramid in terms of the descending rays of the sun during the equinox falling upon the azimuth of the diagonal secant position at the solar successions. The methodology used to complete this investigation project is based on the collection and analysis of data related to the erection principles practiced when the pyramid was constructed during the era of the Fourth Dynasty Egyptian Pharaoh Khufu. These principles are the key for the geometrical representations of the balanced states across the residual depictions of the sun's position relative to the Cheops Pyramid during the equinox. This research has found that the apex is an inevitable predetermined inclusion within the theorem of universal expansion. Moreover, the inclinations of the pyramid were set to predetermine the location of its plumb line, thereby serving as a guiding factor in erecting the blocks of the Cheops Pyramid. The main conclusion is that there is a strong relationship between the Cheops Pyramid geometry, the erection of its steps, and the solar equinox. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Objectives: The world we live in everyday, accompany with enormous numbers of minute variations which affect us and our surroundings in several aspects. These variations, so called micro-changes, are low in intensity and brief in duration which makes them almost invisible to naked eyes. Nonetheless, revealing them could open up a new wide range of applications from security, business, engineering, medical, and seismology to psychology. Methods: In this paper, we adopted a novel autonomous approach comprising Partial Differential Equations (PDE) and Cubic Uniform Local Binary Pattern (Cubic-ULBP) to spot micro-changes. Cubic-ULBP extracts 15 planes containing robust features against noise and illumination variations. Afterwards, PDE pick out single plane out of 15 to reduce time consumption. Results: The proposed method is not only optimized to get the job done perfectly but also provides promising results comparing with most state-of-the-art methods. So that the accuracy is increased about 36% and 40% on the CASME and the CASME II databases, respectively. Conclusion: The combination of the PDE and the Cubic-ULBP creates a strong and optimal method for detecting the apex frame and micro-movement. This method's performance is found to be promising when the training samples are scarce, too. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Oracle Cloud Machine Learning toolkit was used in the work to study time series forecasting methods. The choice of tools was dictated by conducting research at the State Tax University (Irpin) for further use of the results in the work of regional and central divisions of the state tax service, whose information systems are developed on the Oracle platform. Holt-Winters exponential smoothing algorithms, currently represented by the functions of the application programming interface for machine learning models of the PL/SQL package DBMS_DATA_MINING, were investigated. The research used personal income tax data for 2015-2023, obtained from the tax office in the Ivano-Frankivsk region. Higher accuracy (MAE=3.57%) was shown by the algorithm of the Holt-Winters multiplicative exponential smoothing model with a fading multiplicative trend and multiplicative seasonality. Oracle Machine Learning for SQL implements exponential smoothing using a state of the art state space method that incorporates a single source of error (SSOE) assumption which provides theoretical and performance advantages. Access to research results is organized using the APEX web application creation tool. The considered toolkit will help in making decisions when assessing the base of the tax potential of the region and planning tax revenues. The results of the Holt-Winters exponential smoothing model algorithms research are presented and the losses of personal income tax in Ivano-Frankivsk region in 2022 are estimated

Wheat offers winter forage for cattle grazing and is one of the most valuable cash crops in Texas. In this study, we evaluate the impacts of climate change projections on winter wheat grain yields in five major wheat producing counties in Texas (Deaf Smith, Ochiltree, Hansford, Moore, and Parmer). For this purpose, extant soil and climate data were utilized in conjunction with Agricultural Policy Environmental eXtender (APEX) and Coupled Model Intercomparison Project—Phase 5 (CMIP 5) climate projections to determine the most reasonable future trajectory of Texas winter wheat yields. The results indicate that Deaf Smith and Parmer counties are projected to experience the greatest yield decrease, 33.33%, about 696 kg/ha under the CMIP5 RCP4.5 (Texas projected temperature increase between 2.2 and 3.3 °C) 2046–2070 scenario compared to a 1981–2017 baseline. The maximum percentage yield increase was noticed in Ochiltree County under the CMIP5 RCP8.5 2071–2095 scenario, with an 84.2% (about 1857 kg/ha) yield increase compared to the 1981–2017 baseline. Parmer County is projected to experience the greatest yield decrease of 20%, about 348 kg/ha, under the RCP4.5 2046–2070 scenario when compared to the 1981–2005 baseline. The maximum percentage yield increase is projected for Ochiltree County—a 105.9% increase, about 2089 kg/ha—under the RCP8.5 2071–2095 scenario when compared to the 1981–2005 baseline. In general, with few exceptions, winter wheat yields are projected to rise under the projected climate scenarios. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of this study was to determine the impact of combinations of management practices on the sustainability of rangelands in different ecoregions across the Great Plains. Six study sites were selected in Kansas, Nebraska, Wyoming, Montana, and South Dakota, encompassing the Flint Hills, High Plains, and Sandhills ecoregions. Twelve rangeland management scenarios were developed from combinations of stocking density (light, moderate, heavy), grazing management (continuous, rotational), and fire regime (no burn, spring burn) along with a no-management scenario. Each scenario was simulated at each site using established computer models: Agricultural Policy/Environmental eXtender model, Integrated Farm System Model, and Impact Analysis for Planning. Additionally, human-edible nutrient conversion was computed. A sustainability index was developed to encompass the three sustainability pillars (i.e., environmental, economic, and social) into a single value. Unmanaged rangelands generally had less soil (20%), nitrogen (30%), and phosphorus (50%) losses, although this was not consistent across ecoregions, and similar or greater soil carbon deposition than grazed rangelands. There was an interaction among stocking density, grazing management, fire regime, and ecoregion for many indicators of soil health, greenhouse gas emissions, economic activity, and human-edible nutrient conversion. The scenarios with the greatest overall sustainability index value had moderate to high index values for each of the three pillars (people, planet, profit). In conclusion, the ranking of rangeland management practices based on sustainability indicators was inconsistent across ecoregions, indicating that the optimal management system to improve sustainability of rangelands is not the same for all ecoregions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In vitro multiplication of okra is known to be delicate due to its recalcitrant nature. The current study was conducted to investigate the potential applications of thidiazuron (TDZ) on okra's in vitro regeneration. Cotyledonary leaves, hypocotyls and apices were taken from 15-day old in vitro grown seedlings, they were then inoculated on Gamborg (B5) medium containing different plant growth regulators. Maximum callus formation (100%) was obtained from cotyledonary leaves and hypocotyls on B5 without hormones also by adding 0.5 mgL-1 TDZ and 1 mgL-1 BAP for cotyledonary leaves followed by B5 containing 1 mgL-1 TDZ and 1 mgL-1 BAP with 95.83% of calli formed from hypocotyls. B5 supplemented with 1 mgL-1 of TDZ gave the highest rate (100%) of direct regeneration from apices followed by Gamborg medium without PGRs and B5 containing an equimolar concentration of TDZ and BAP with 66.66% of shoot formation. This regeneration system can be used to produce healthy plantlets with a low risk of genetic instability and somaclonal variants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While the ecological benefits of no-till are largely indisputable, the economic impacts are less certain, and the latter may be partly to blame for lower-than-expected adoption of no-till. In this study, we contribute to a better understanding of the ecosystem and farm-level economic impacts of no-till, with Buchanan County in the northeastern region of the U.S. State of Iowa as the backdrop due to previously established data and model validation efforts in that region. Using the Agricultural Policy Environmental eXtender (APEX) and Farm Economic Model (FEM), we simulated two tillage scenarios—a conservation tillage baseline and no-till—for continuous corn and corn–soybean rotations in Buchanan County using gridded historical climate data. We find that no-till provides clear ecosystem benefits, except that soluble nutrient losses might actually rise. We also find that under current commodity prices for corn and soybeans, no-till is not as profitable as the conservation tillage baseline. For no-till to be at least as profitable as the baseline under current commodity prices, the yield penalty associated with no-till cannot be higher than 1.5% for corn and 0.8% for soybeans, or similar combinations that entail a revenue penalty of about $24,000 for an 809-hectare continuous corn or corn–soybean operation. Given the simulated yield penalties associated with no-till, corn and soybean prices would have to be substantially lower in order for no-till to break even. Consequently, incentives for conservation practice implementation may need to be tied to commodity prices and yield penalties in order to elicit greater adoption rates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nonpoint source pollution from cultivated croplands has often been associated with downstream water quality impairment in various watersheds. Given projected changes in global climate patterns, this study contributes to the existing literature by elucidating the impacts of climate projections on edge-of-field surface runoff and sediment and nutrient losses. We apply a well-tested ecohydrological model, Agricultural Policy Environmental eXtender (APEX), to continuous corn and corn–soybean fields in Buchanan County, Iowa, using climate scenarios developed from three well-known representative concentration pathway (RCP) climate projections: RCP 2.6, RCP 4.5, and RCP 8.5. Our results indicate that there will be a moderate to substantial increase in surface runoff, sediment, and nutrient losses depending upon the reference point of comparison (baseline scenario) and upon which climate scenario actually materializes. However, regardless of which climate scenario materializes and regardless of the baseline for comparison, soluble nitrogen losses are bound to increase, the magnitude depending upon the climate scenario. We find also that nutrient losses will be higher from continuous corn fields than from corn–soybean fields, given the tillage practices implemented on corn versus soybeans in the study area. Similarly, we find that nutrient losses may be higher from fields that receive manure than fields that receive only inorganic fertilizer, though this latter finding may be predicated upon the specific nutrient application rates utilized. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Projections of climate patterns through the end of the 21st century indicate varying impacts across the U.S. However, a common thread of these projections calls for increasing atmospheric temperatures in every region, some more pronounced than others. The significance of these projections for corn and soybean production cannot be overestimated. This study contributes to our understanding of climate change impacts on production and farm revenues by projecting their impacts on corn and soybean yields in Buchanan County, Iowa, a county in the center of the Corn Belt. Projections indicate that as atmospheric temperatures rise and precipitation levels vary markedly, the result is a significant decline in corn and soybean yields, the latter to a lesser extent, as compared to long-term yield trends. Depending upon the climate change scenario that will materialize, corn yields are projected to decline by up to 29%, while soybean yields are projected to decline by up to 24% from their normal upward trends by the year 2100. Due to the long-term upward trends in yields, corn and soybean yields will increase in absolute terms by the end of the century. Depending upon the climate change scenario, actual corn and soybean yields will increase by 30 to 57% and 30 to 66%, respectively, by the end of the 21st century, significantly less than they would have in the absence of these climate projections. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tires are one of the most basic and important components of vehicles, including bicycles, cars, trucks, and aircraft. They consist of several layers that provide complex and dynamically changing functions. This work aims to optimize the mounting process of the tire apex to the bead. The bead locks the tire to the rim and helps minimize the risk of rim slip, and the apex provides dynamic stiffness, stress distribution, and driving stability. In mounting the apex onto the bead, air can be trapped between the apex and bead, which is an undesirable and significant problem in tire manufacturing. An FE model was created to simulate and optimize this process. After modifying the apex dimensions, the air was displaced from the space between the apex and the bead. Based on the simulation results, a set of recommendations for producing suitable apex shapes is provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Every university needs some kind of information system that will allow the university to record students, teachers, student results and other elements related to the student's studies. Such software is called an academic information system. This paper describes the analysis, design, implementation and testing of similar system. However, unlike a typical academic information system, this system, which was created as part of a bachelor's thesis on the topic Analytical Tool for the University Data Management, also contains advanced analytical tools that will allow both students and teachers to analyse the course of study of individual students and find the weak points of teaching and educational process. In order to create the analytical tool, it was first necessary to analyse the transition of students through their studies. The Faculty of Management and Informatics of the University of Žilina was used as a source of this analysis. Based on this analysis, we designed a database that uses Oracle SQL language running on the Oracle Cloud technology, and then created a tool in the Oracle Application Express environment. The tool allows registering of students, their exams, teachers, and subjects. At the same time, it also contains functions for searching, sorting, and filtering according to various criteria. Another functionality is the ability of user to display summary and individual statistics for teachers, students, and study groups. Each student and teacher have their own account to access global statistics. The tool offers possibilities for future expansion, such as comparing students and advanced analysis using the functionalities of the Oracle Machine Learning service.

This research paper aims to investigate the current state of process efficiency in Iraqi universities and propose a management information system (MIS) to improve it. A literature review was conducted to identify the challenges faced by universities in Iraq, as well as the solutions proposed in the literature. The findings showed that the main challenges in Iraqi universities include a lack of automation, poor data management, and inadequate communication between departments. A comparison was also made between the challenges faced by Iraqi universities and those faced by universities worldwide. To address these challenges, a survey was conducted to gather data from university staff and students. The survey results were analyzed, and the findings were used to design a MIS based on Oracle Application Express (APEX). The proposed system includes a student records management system, a staff management system, and an automated workflow system to improve communication and collaboration between departments. The proposed system was also found to be in line with the regulations and policies of the Ministry of Higher Education in Iraq. The system architecture and database design were also discussed in detail. The results of this research indicate that implementing a MIS using Oracle APEX can significantly improve the process efficiency in Iraqi universities. This can lead to an increase in the quality of education and a reduction in the administrative burden on staff and students.

Droughts reduce crop yields, which translates to reduced nutrient uptake or removal from the soil. Under such conditions, residual plant nutrients such as nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) can be carried over for subsequent crops. We applied the Agricultural Policy Environmental eXtender (APEX) model to simulate continuous corn (Zea mays L.)/soybean (Glycine max [L.] Merr.) rotations on 3703 farm fields within the Upper Mississippi River Basin (UMRB) over a 47-year timescale: 1960 to 2006. We used the Standardized Precipitation Index (PSI) to identify the drought years between 1960 to 2006, following which we evaluated potential drought-induced carryover N and P nutrients in corn/soybean rotations relative to near normal and very to extremely wet years. Overall, drought reduced N uptake, total N losses, N mineralization and N fixation, the main driver of the soybean carryover N. Given the high cost of fertilizers and concerns over nutrient loss impacts on offsite water quality, farmers are compelled to account for every plant nutrient that is already in the soil. Information from this study could be applied to develop optimal N and P recommendations after droughts, while identification of region-wide potential reductions in N and P applications has implications for conservation efforts aimed at minimizing environmental loading and associated water quality concerns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Agricultural Policy/Environmental eXtender (APEX) model has been used for farm/small watershed management, and the ArcAPEX interface was developed using the ArcGIS extension. However, the interface requires a paid license and limits dynamic applications that reflect various agricultural farming practices. In this study, a novel APEX model interface using Quantum GIS, the QAPEX analysis system, was developed by incorporating open-source-based GIS software for the simulation of water quality impacts of various best management practices reflecting local farming activities. The watershed delineation process running on the QAPEX interface is more flexible than that on the ArcAPEX interface, which renders simulations on hydrology and water quality with considerable precision. The newly developed system can be used to visually interpret simulation results (e.g., flow and load duration curve functions). Therefore, the open-source-based model can be used to derive data for sustainable agricultural policies, with a focus on the field-level application of management practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The extracellular vesicle exosome mediates intercellular communication by transporting macromolecules such as proteins and ribonucleic acids (RNAs). Determining cargo contents with high accuracy will help decipher the biological processes that exosomes mediate in various contexts. Existing methods for probing exosome cargo molecules rely on a prior exosome isolation procedure. Here we report an in situ labelling approach for exosome cargo identification, which bypasses the exosome isolation steps. In this methodology, a variant of the engineered ascorbate peroxidase APEX, fused to an exosome cargo protein such as CD63, is expressed specifically in exosome‐generating vesicles in live cells or in secreted exosomes in the conditioned medium, to induce biotinylation of the proteins in the vicinity of the APEX variant for a short period of time. Mass spectrometry analysis of the proteins biotinylated by this approach in exosomes secreted by kidney proximal tubule‐derived cells reveals that oxidative stress can cause ribosomal proteins to accumulate in an exosome subpopulation that contains the CD63‐fused APEX variant. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

APEX (A gricultural P olicy/ E nvironmental e X tender) is an oft-used agroecosystem model but has limited use in groundwater-driven watersheds due to a simplistic representation of groundwater processes. This paper presents the linkage of APEX and the groundwater flow model MODFLOW into a single modeling code. The mapping of recharge, groundwater head, and groundwater-surface water interactions are handled internally via subroutines. The APEX-MODFLOW model is applied to three watersheds in the United States for testing code accuracy and hydrologic state variables and fluxes: the Animas River Watershed, Colorado and New Mexico (3543 km2); the Price River Watershed, Utah (4886 km2); and the Middle Bosque River Watershed, Texas (470 km2). Whereas the hydrology of the Animas River and Price River watersheds is driven by snowmelt and spring runoff, the hydrology of the Middle Bosque River Watershed is driven by summer thunderstorms. The model can be used for scenario analysis in groundwater-driven watersheds. • New integrated hydrologic model links APEX model to MODFLOW model. • Model passes recharge, water table elevation, and gw-sw flux rates internally. • APEX-MODFLOW applied to three watersheds in Utah, Colorado, and Texas, USA. • Model results show importance of including physically based groundwater flow. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Existing agro-hydrological models to explore the effects of paddy management practices on hydrology and water quality suffer from multiple shortcomings because they were developed using upland characteristics. The Agricultural Policy/Environmental eXtender (APEX)-Paddy model was recently developed to improve the agro-hydrological characteristics of paddy ecosystems. This study explores the hydrology, total nitrogen (T-N) content, and rice yield behaviors of the APEX-Paddy model by simultaneously considering multiple parameters associated with different agricultural activities. Model performances with respect to runoff, T-N, and rice yield were assessed as good level of approved statistical criteria over the calibration and validation periods. Results showed that the APEX-Paddy model can simulate the behavior differences of soil nutrients between different agricultural activities, such as treatment with commercial mineral fertilizer or liquid manure application. Changes in mineral-nitrogen levels in root zones caused by fertilizers can affect T-N load and crop uptake. A high degree of correlation was observed between the amount of nutrients remaining after crop uptake and sediment-transported nitrogen. These findings suggest that the crop-growth parameters of the model can significantly affect biomass, evapotranspiration rate, and T-N load on farmland. The results may help decision makers evaluate water-saving and pollutant-reduction options in paddy fields under future climate scenarios and conservation strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]