Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Automatic Identification of Faults in Power Systems Using Neural Network Technique

The main objective involved with this paper consists of presenting the results obtained from the application of artificial neural networks and statistical tools in the automatic identification and classification process of faults in electric power distribution systems. The developed techniques to treat the proposed problem have used, in an integrated way, several approaches that can contribute to the successful detection process of faults, aiming that it is carried out in a reliable and safe way. The compilations of the results obtained from practical experiments accomplished in a pilot radial distribution feeder have demonstrated that the developed techniques provide accurate results, identifying and classifying efficiently the several occurrences of faults observed in the feeder.
The effect of laser pan-retinal photocoagulation with or without intravitreal bevacizumab injections on the OCT-measured macular choroidal thickness of eyes with proliferative diabetic retinopathy

OBJECTIVES: To investigate the effect of laser pan-retinal photocoagulation with or without intravitreal bevacizumab injections on macular choroidal thickness parameters in eyes with high-risk proliferative diabetic retinopathy. METHODS: High-risk proliferative diabetic retinopathy patients undergoing laser treatment were prospectively enrolled in this study. One eye was randomly selected for laser treatment combined with bevacizumab injections, study group, whereas the corresponding eye was subjected to laser treatment alone, control group. Spectral-domain optical coherence tomography with enhanced depth imaging was used to measure the macular choroidal thickness prior to and 1 month after treatment. Measurements in both groups were compared. Clinicaltrials.gov: NCT01389505. RESULTS: Nineteen patients (38 eyes) with a mean±standard deviation age of 53.4±9.3 years were evaluated, and choroidal thickness measurements for 15 patients were used for comparison. The greatest measurement before treatment was the subfoveal choroidal thickness (341.68±67.66 μm and 345.79±83.66 μm for the study and control groups, respectively). No significant difference between groups was found in terms of macular choroidal thickness measurements at baseline or after treatment. However, within-group comparisons revealed a significant increase in choroidal thickness parameters in 10 measurements in the study group and in only 5 temporal measurements in the control group when 1-month follow-up measurements were compared to baseline values. CONCLUSIONS: The macular choroidal thickness does not appear to be significantly influenced by laser treatment alone but increases significantly when associated with bevacizumab injections in patients with proliferative diabetic retinopathy and macular edema. Because bevacizumab injections reduce short-term laser pan-retinal photocoagulation-induced macular edema, our findings suggest that the choroid participates in its pathogenesis.
Anti-Caching: A New Approach to Database Management System Architecture

The traditional wisdom for building disk-based relational database management systems (DBMS) is to organize data in heavily-encoded blocks stored on disk, with a main memory block cache. In order to improve performance given high disk latency, these systems use a multi-threaded architecture with dynamic record-level locking that allows multiple transactions to access the database at the same time. Previous research has shown that this results in substantial overhead for on-line transaction processing (OLTP) applications [15]. The next generation DBMSs seek to overcome these limitations with architecture based on main memory resident data. To overcome the restriction that all data fit in main memory, we propose a new technique, called anti-caching, where cold data is moved to disk in a transactionally-safe manner as the database grows in size. Because data initially resides in memory, an anti-caching architecture reverses the traditional storage hierarchy of disk-based systems. Main memory is now the primary storage device. We implemented a prototype of our anti-caching proposal in a high-performance, main memory OLTP DBMS and performed a series of experiments across a range of database sizes, workload skews, and read/write mixes. We compared its performance with an open-source, disk-based DBMS optionally fronted by a distributed main memory cache. Our results show that for higher skewed workloads the anti-caching architecture has a performance advantage over either of the other architectures tested of up to 9× for a data size 8× larger than memory.
The Bipolar Association Case–Control Study (BACCS) and meta‐analysis: No association with the 5,10‐Methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase gene and bipolar disorder

Bipolar disorder (BD) is a complex genetic disease for which the underlying pathophysiology has yet to be fully explained. 5,10‐Methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) is a crucial enzyme in folate‐mediated one‐carbon metabolism and folate deficiency can be associated with psychiatric symptoms. A single base variant in MTHFR gene (C677T) results in the production of a mildly dysfunctional thermolabile enzyme and has recently been implicated in BD. We conducted an association study of this polymorphism in 897 patients with bipolar I or bipolar II disorder, and 1,687 healthy control subjects. We found no evidence for genotypic or allelic association in this sample. We also performed a meta‐analysis of our own, and all published data, and report no evidence for association. Our findings suggest that the MTHFR C677T polymorphism is not involved in the genetic etiology of clinically significant BD. © 2010 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Pre-and post-calving forage systems and reproductive performance of primiparous cows 1

During pre and post calving periods, it was evaluated the influence of the following forage systems on reproductive performance of primiparous cows: natural pasture during pre and post-calving periods; natural pastures during pre-calving period and improved pastures during post-calving period; improved pastures during pre-calving and natural pasture during post-calving; improved pasture during preand post-calving periods. The lowest body weights and body condition scores were observed on cows kept on natural pastures pre-calving (384.3 kg and 3.31; 391.4 kg and 3.60), followed by those on improved pastures during pre-calving and on natural pasture during post-calving period (424.4 kg and 3.60), finally, cows on improved pasture during preand post-calving period (421.2 kg and 3.59). Cows on improved pastures pre and post-calving showed higher body weight and body condition score in the beginning of the breeding season (442.1 kg and 3.76), higher pregnancy rate (82.3%) and they conceived earlier. Natural system during pre-calving and improved on post-calving and that with improved pasture in pre-calving and natural in post-calving did not differ on weight at the beginning of breeding season (417.2 and 409.8 kg) and on pregnancy rate (65.8 and 62.8%), respectively. However, cows on natural pasture in pre-calving and on improved pasture in post-calving conceived earlier. Cows on natural pastures showed lower weight in the beginning of breeding season (391.2 kg), the lowest pregnancy rate (52.7%), and they conceived later. Cows maintained on improved pastures preand post-calving improved weight and body condition score at calving and beginning of the breeding season making high reproductive performance possible.
Willingness to Pay for Insecticide-Treated Nets in Berehet District, Amhara Region, Northern Ethiopia: Implication of Social Marketing

Background Understanding the feasibility of achieving widespread coverage with Insecticide-Treated Nets has to be preceded by learning how people value the Insecticide-Treated Nets and estimating the potential demand and willingness to pay so that sustainability of the intervention can be assured. The objective of this study was to determine willingness to pay for Insecticide-Treated Nets among households in Berehet District, Northern Ethiopia. Methods A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted using both quantitative and qualitative methods in five randomly selected Kebeles from January-February 2012. Open ended contingent valuation technique with follow-up method was used. Qualitative data were collected through focus group discussions and observation methods. Binary logistic regression was used to determine the association between dependent and independent variables. Results The average number of individuals per Insecticide-Treated Nets was 3.83. Nearly 68.5% persons had willingness to buy Insecticide-Treated Nets if they have access to these Nets. The median maximum price a person is willingness to pay for blue rectangular Insecticide-Treated Net was 20 ETB. People had willingness to pay 30 ETB for blue and white conical insecticide-treated nets. Working on knowledge of malaria (OR=0.68, CI (0.47, 0.98; p<0.05), perceived benefit of Insecticide-Treated Nets (OR=0.28, CI (0.2–0.4; p<0.05), perceived susceptibility (OR=0.64(0.44–0.93; p<0.05) and perceived severity of malaria (OR=0.65(0.47–0.91, p<0.05) had significant association with a willingness to pay Insecticide-Treated Nets. Respondents who prefer kebele/place/ to buy Insecticide-Treated Net for rectangular shape had a significant association with a willingness to pay for Insecticide-Treated Nets (OR=1.92, CI= 1.07–3.92). Conclusions Promotions, products, price and place had significant association with willingness to pay for Insecticide-Treated Nets. Designing a social marketing strategy helps ensure sustainable supply of Insecticide-Treated Nets and proper use of Insecticide-Treated Nets.
Superwind Model of Extended Lyα Emitters at High Redshift

We propose a new model for the extended Lyα blobs found recently at high redshift (z ~ 3). The observational properties of these blobs are as follows: (1) the observed Lyα luminosities are ~1043 h-2 ergs s-1, (2) they appear elongated morphologically, (3) their sizes amount to ~100 kpc, (4) the observed line widths amount to ~1000 km s-1, and (5) they are not associated with strong radio continuum sources. All these observational properties seem to be explained in terms of galactic winds driven by successive supernova explosions shortly after the initial burst of massive star formation in the galactic centers. The observed number density of Lyα blobs (~3.4 × 10-5 h3 Mpc-3) may be explained if their present-day counterparts are elliptical galaxies with a luminosity above ~1L*.
Phylogenetics and biogeography of the two‐wing flyingfish (Exocoetidae: Exocoetus)

Abstract Two‐wing flyingfish (Exocoetus spp.) are widely distributed, epipelagic, mid‐trophic organisms that feed on zooplankton and are preyed upon by numerous predators (e.g., tunas, dolphinfish, tropical seabirds), yet an understanding of their speciation and systematics is lacking. As a model of epipelagic fish speciation and to investigate mechanisms that increase biodiversity, we studied the phylogeny and biogeography of Exocoetus, a highly abundant holoepipelagic fish taxon of the tropical open ocean. Morphological and molecular data were used to evaluate the phylogenetic relationships, species boundaries, and biogeographic patterns of the five putative Exocoetus species. We show that the most widespread species (E. volitans) is sister to all other species, and we find no evidence for cryptic species in this taxon. Sister relationship between E. monocirrhus (Indo‐Pacific) and E. obtusirostris (Atlantic) indicates the Isthmus of Panama and/or Benguela Barrier may have played a role in their divergence via allopatric speciation. The sister species E. peruvianus and E. gibbosus are found in different regions of the Pacific Ocean; however, our molecular results do not show a clear distinction between these species, indicating recent divergence or ongoing gene flow. Overall, our phylogeny reveals that the most spatially restricted species are more recently derived, suggesting that allopatric barriers may drive speciation, but subsequent dispersal and range expansion may affect the distributions of species.
The Integrated Usage of LBP and HOG Transformations and Machine Learning Algorithms for Age Range Prediction from Facial Images

: Age prediction is an active study field that can be used in many computer vision problems due to its importance and effectiveness. In this paper, we present extensive experiments and provide an efficient and accurate approach for age range prediction of people from facial images. First, we apply image resizing to unify all images’ size, and Histogram Equalization technique to reduce the illumination effects on all facial images taken from FG-NET and UTD aging databases. Second, Histogram of Oriented Gradient (HOG) and Local Binary Pattern (LBP) are used to extract the features of these images, and then we combined both HOG and LBP features in order to attain better prediction. Finally, Support Vector Machine (SVM) and k-Nearest Neighbour (k-NN) are used for the classification processes. In addition, k-fold, Leave-One-Out (LOO) and Confusion Matrix (CM) are used to evaluate the performance of proposed methods. The extensive and intensified experiments show that combining HOG and LBP features improved the age range predicting performance up to 99.87%.
Efficient Allocations with Hidden Income and Hidden Storage

We consider an environment in which individuals receive income shocks that are unobservable to others and can privately store resources. We provide a simple characterization of the unique efficient allocation of consumption in cases in which the rate of return on storage is sufficiently high or, alternatively, in which the worst possible outcome is sufficiently dire. We show that, unlike in environments without unobservable storage, the symmetric efficient allocation of consumption is decentralizable through a competitive asset market in which individuals trade riskfree bonds among themselves.
Theoretical Frameworks for Neuroeconomics of Intertemporal Choice

Intertemporal choice has drawn attention in behavioral economics, econophysics, and neuroeconomics. Recent studies in mainstream economics have mainly focused on inconsistency in intertemporal choice (dynamic inconsistency); while impulsivity/impatience in intertemporal choice has been extensively studied in behavioral economics of addiction. However, recent advances in neuroeconomic and econophysical studies on intertemporal choice have made it possible to study both impulsivity and inconsistency in intertemporal choice within a unified framework. In this paper I propose the new frameworks for investigations into neuroeconomics of intertemporal choice. The importance of studying neurochemical and neuroendocrinological modulations of intertemporal choice and time-perception (e.g. serotonin, dopamine, cortisol, testosterone, and epinephrine) is emphasized.
The replacement of silica fume with hemp flour in shotcrete applications

In order to determine the effectiveness of hemp flour in shotcrete, six different shotcrete mixtures containing hemp were created and underwent initial testing. A control mixture containing silica fume was used for comparison purposes. Two different hemp flours of different particle size distributions were utilized. Three different hemp flour doses were used for each hemp flour type (six total doses). Testing was performed to determine the density, air content, slump, and compressive strength (three, seven, and 28-days) of each mixture. Following initial testing, the optimal hemp dosage and type was selected by comparing the results with that of the control mixture. Both the control and optimal hemp mixtures were then shot using conventional shotcrete technique, and final compressive strengths of the both mixtures were then found. Tests revealed that the hemp-shotcrete had significantly higher air content than the control silica fume-containing shotcrete. The hemp mixtures also had lower densities. The air content increased with the hemp dosage, while the compressive strength decreased with the hemp content. The optimal hemp mixture contained 0.25 kg of hemp per 50-kilogram mixture, with a compressive strength of 15.65 MPa after 28 days compared to the control mixture strength of 43.70 MPa. The final compressive strength of the hemp mixture after 28 days was 36.25 MPa, while the final compressive strength of the silica fume shotcrete was 48.70 MPa. However, the hempshotcrete had a higher continuous strength, increasing 76.4% over 21 days. The hemp-shotcrete required a longer curing time than the silica fume shotcrete.
THE THIRD CATALOG OF ACTIVE GALACTIC NUCLEI DETECTED BY THE FERMI LARGE AREA TELESCOPE

The third catalog of active galactic nuclei (AGNs) detected by the Fermi-LAT (3LAC) is presented. It is based on the third Fermi-LAT catalog (3FGL) of sources detected between 100 MeV and 300 GeV with a Test Statistic greater than 25, between 2008 August 4 and 2012 July 31. The 3LAC includes 1591 AGNs located at high Galactic latitudes ( ∣ b ∣ > 10 ° ? > ), a 71% increase over the second catalog based on 2 years of data. There are 28 duplicate associations, thus 1563 of the 2192 high-latitude gamma-ray sources of the 3FGL catalog are AGNs. Most of them (98%) are blazars. About half of the newly detected blazars are of unknown type, i.e., they lack spectroscopic information of sufficient quality to determine the strength of their emission lines. Based on their gamma-ray spectral properties, these sources are evenly split between flat-spectrum radio quasars (FSRQs) and BL Lacs. The most abundant detected BL Lacs are of the high-synchrotron-peaked (HSP) type. About 50% of the BL Lacs have no measured redshifts. A few new rare outliers (HSP-FSRQs and high-luminosity HSP BL Lacs) are reported. The general properties of the 3LAC sample confirm previous findings from earlier catalogs. The fraction of 3LAC blazars in the total population of blazars listed in BZCAT remains non-negligible even at the faint ends of the BZCAT-blazar radio, optical, and X-ray flux distributions, which hints that even the faintest known blazars could eventually shine in gamma-rays at LAT-detection levels. The energy-flux distributions of the different blazar populations are in good agreement with extrapolation from earlier catalogs.
Simulation of a “Giannini True Reverber” vacuum-tube guitar amplifier by using wave digital filters

The objective of this work is to simulate a tube guitar amplifier, the Giannini True Reverber designed by Carlos Alberto Lopes in the nineteen sixties. The nonlinear “overdrive” characteristics of these devices make them attractive for guitarists since odd harmonics are added into the guitar sound as well as sound compression. The shortcomings of these amplifiers led to the development of DSP simulation techniques over the last few years. Many past DSP simulations of tube amplifiers were implemented using Static Digital Waveshappers for the task of replicating the tube transfer characteristics. Since the physical behavior of such systems is quite complex, physically informed models are necessary for more precision in the simulation, requiring more computer power. A Wave Digital Filter (WDF) simulation of the Giannini True Reverber double 12AX7 preamp is accomplished in this work using Koren’s triode equations and Block Compiler, where each parameter was acquired in the original electronic schematic or by measurement of the real amplifier. The real preamp is compared to the WDF model using the following test signals: single tone, logsweep and transient signal analysis. The results suggest that the current triode models do not cover all circuit topologies, so that further research is required.
Test of IL28B Polymorphisms in Chronic Hepatitis C Patients Treated with PegIFN and Ribavirin Depends on HCV Genotypes: Results from a Meta-Analysis

Background Many studies have been published on the association between single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) near the IL28B gene and response to the combined treatments of pegylated-interferon (PegIFN) and ribavirin (RBV) in chronic HCV-infected patients, but without identical conclusions. The aim of this study was to assess impact of the IL28B polymorphisms on the effect of HCV standard treatment using meta-analysis based method. Methods Association studies between polymorphisms of rs12979860 or rs8099917 and response to PegIFN/RBV treatment in chronic HCV patients were retrieved from PubMed. Data of qualified studies on sustained virological response (SVR) in different genotypes were extracted and analyzed using meta-analysis method in Stata 10 software. Results Thirty-four papers, containing 46 independent studies, were included in the analysis. In the HCV G1/4 patients without treatment history, individuals carrying rs12979860 CC genotype were more likely to achieve SVR (OR 3.97, 95%CI 3.29–4.80) compared to those carrying CT/TT genotypes. Similar results were observed in the HCV G1/4 patients with unsuccessful or unknown treatment history (OR 3.76, 95%CI 2.67–5.28) or in the patients co-infected with human immunodeficiency virus (OR 5.20, 95%CI 3.04–8.90). However, associations could not be observed in HCV G2/3 patients. For rs8099917, similar results were obtained for genotype TT compared to genotypes TG/GG, indicating that TT genotype was significantly associated with better treatment response in patients infected with genotype 1 or 4 HCV, but not genotype 2 or 3 HCV. Conclusion Polymorphisms of rs12979860 and rs8099917 near IL28B only associate with the treatment response to PegIFN/RBV in patients infected with HCV genotype 1 or 4 but not with genotype 2 or 3, irrespective of the previous treatment history or HIV co-infected status. Therefore, identification of IL28B genotypes is necessary only in patients infected with relatively difficult-to-treat genotype 1 or 4 HCV.
INFLUENCE OF THE PARTICLE SIZE DISTRIBUTION AND MORPHOLOGY OF NI AND CU POWDERS ON THE DIMENSIONAL CHANGE OF SINTERED PARTS

Dimensional change is one of the most important properties of PM structural parts and part producers are demanding tight tolerances. Copper and nickel elemental powders are commonly used as admixed additives to tailor targeted properties but both result in a significant dimensional change. Both elements generally increase the mechanical properties but copper is known to promote growth while the use of nickel leads to shrinkage. This paper focuses on the impact of characteristics of copper and nickel additives on the properties of the resulting PM parts and particularly on dimensional change. The particle size distribution (PSD) and the morphology of different types of Cu and Ni additives were characterized and the link between these characteristics and the dimensional change was investigated under slow cooling rates.
Submitted to the Annals of Applied Probability OPTIMISTIC BAYESIAN SAMPLING IN CONTEXTUAL-BANDIT PROBLEMS ∗ By

In every sequential decision problem in an unknown environment, the decision maker faces a dilemma over whether to explore to discover more about the environment, or to exploit current knowledge. We address the exploration/exploitation dilemma in a general setting encompassing both standard and contextualised bandit problems. In this article we extend an approach of Thompson [13] which makes use of samples from the posterior distributions for the instantaneous value of each action. We also extend the approach by introducing a new algorithm, Optimistic Bayesian Sampling (OBS) in which the probability of playing an action increases with the uncertainty in the estimate of the action value. This results in better directed exploratory behaviour. We prove that, under unrestrictive assumptions, both approaches result in optimal behaviour with respect to the average reward criterion of Yang and Zhu [15].