Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Low effect of young afforestations on bird communities inhabiting heterogeneous Mediterranean cropland

Afforestation programs such as the one promoted by the EU Common Agricultural Policy have spread tree plantations on former cropland. These afforestations attract generalist forest and ubiquitous species but may cause severe damage to open habitat species, especially birds of high conservation value. We investigated the effects of young (<20 yr) tree plantations dominated by pine P. halepensis on bird communities inhabiting the adjacent open farmland habitat in central Spain. We hypothesize that pine plantations located at shorter distances from open fields and with larger surface would affect species richness and conservation value of bird communities. Regression models controlling for the influence of land use types around plantations revealed positive effects of higher distance to pine plantation edge on community species richness in winter, and negative effects on an index of conservation concern (SPEC) during the breeding season. However, plantation area did not have any effect on species richness or community conservation value. Our results indicate that the effects of pine afforestation on bird communities inhabiting Mediterranean cropland are diluted by heterogeneous agricultural landscapes.
Sliding mode control: Concepts ideas and impressions

Variable structure control systems are known to be computationally efficient and robust with respect to matched uncertainty and external disturbance. Therefore, they have indisputably become an exciting research topic and also a significant application area. Moreover, recently sliding modes have become increasingly important for observer design, fault detection and fault tolerant control. Motivated by the growing interest in these topics, in this paper we acquaint the reader with basic notions, discuss selected concepts and present some milestone developments which appeared in this field over the last half a century. In particular we briefly present some issues in discrete time sliding mode control, shed light on continuous time terminal sliding mode control, demonstrate the reaching law based approach, comment on variable structure control without the reaching phase, and consider selected sliding surface design methods.
Visual depth guided image rain streaks removal via sparse coding

Rain removal from an image is a challenging problem since no motion information can be obtained from successive images. In this work, an input image is first decomposed into low-frequency part and high-frequency part by using guided image filter. So that the rain streaks would be in the high-frequency part with non-rain textures, and then the high-frequency part is decomposed into a “rain component” and a “non-rain component” by performing dictionary learning and sparse coding. To separate rain streaks from high-frequency part, a hybrid feature set is exploited which includes histogram of gradient (HoG) and difference of depth (DoD). With the hybrid feature set applied, most rain streaks can be removed; meanwhile, non-rain components can be enhanced. Compared with the state-of-the-art method [12], our proposed approach shows that not only the rain components can be removed more effectively, but also the visual quality of restored images can be improved.
Bi-Modal DRAM Cache: Improving Hit Rate, Hit Latency and Bandwidth

In this paper, we present Bi-Modal Cache - a flexible stacked DRAM cache organization which simultaneously achieves several objectives: (i) improved cache hit ratio, (ii) moving the tag storage overhead to DRAM, (iii) lower cache hit latency than tags-in-SRAM, and (iv) reduction in off-chip bandwidth wastage. The Bi-Modal Cache addresses the miss rate versus off-chip bandwidth dilemma by organizing the data in a bi-modal fashion - blocks with high spatial locality a reorganized as large blocks and those with little spatial locality as small blocks. By adaptively selecting the right granularity of storage for individual blocks at run-time, the proposed DRAM cache organization is able to make judicious use of the available DRAM cache capacity as well as reduce the off chip memory bandwidth consumption. The Bi-Modal Cache improves cache hit latency despite moving the metadata to DRAM by means of a small SRAM based Way Locator. Further by leveraging the tremendous internal bandwidth and capacity that stacked DRAM organizations provide, the Bi-Modal Cache enables efficient concurrent accesses to tags and data to reduce hit time. Through detailed simulations, we demonstrate that the Bi-Modal Cache achieves overall performance improvement (in terms of Average Normalized Turnaround Time (ANTT)) of 10.8%, 13.8% and 14.0% in 4-core, 8-core and 16-coreworkloads respectively.
Evaluation of Preoperative Hematologic Markers as Prognostic Factors and Establishment of Novel Risk Stratification in Resected pN0 Non-Small-Cell Lung Cancer

Background The aims of this study were to investigate whether the preoperative hematologic markers, the neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) or the platelet-lymphocyte ratio (PLR) were prognostic indicators and to develop a novel risk stratification model in pN0 non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Methods We performed a retrospective analysis of 400 consecutive pN0 NSCLC patients. Prognostic values were evaluated by Cox proportional hazard model analyses and patients were stratified according to relative risks for patients’ survival. Results During the follow-up, 117 patients had cancer recurrence, and 86 patients died. In univariate analysis, age, gender, smoke status and tumor size as well as WBC, NEU, LYM, PLR and NLR were significantly associated with patients’ prognosis. In multivariate analysis, age, tumor size and NLR were independent predictors for patients’ overall survival (P = 0.024, 0.001, and 0.002 respectively). PLR didn’t associated with patients’ survival in multivariate analysis. Patients were stratified into 3 risk groups and the differences among the groups were significant according to disease free survival and overall survival (P = 0.000 and 0.000 respectively). Conclusions We confirmed that NLR other than PLR was an independent prognostic factor. Combination of NLR, age and tumor size could stratify pN0 NSCLC patients into 3 risk groups and enabled us to develop a novel risk stratification model.
Effects of aging on changing arterial compliance and left ventricular load in a northern Chinese urban community.

Pulse wave velocity (PWV) was measured by means of transcutaneous Doppler techniques in the aorta, right arm, and right leg of 480 normal subjects of both sexes in urban Beijing, China (age range 3 to 89 years, mean age 41 +/- 20.8 SD); supine blood pressure was recorded in the brachial artery of each subject with standard sphygmomanometric procedures. Serum cholesterol was determined in a subgroup of 79 subjects (age 17 to 85 years, mean 47 +/- 26 SD). PWV (y in cm/sec) was found to vary with age (x, years) at each of the three locations according to the following regression equations: aorta, y = 9.2x + 615, r = . 673 (p less than .001); right arm, y = 4.8x + 998, r = . 453 (p less than .001); right leg, y = 5.6x + 791, r = . 630 (p less than .001). Systolic, diastolic, mean, and pulse pressures were found to increase with age. PWV also increased with mean supine blood pressure but was not related to serum cholesterol (average 4.49 +/- 0.11 [SEM], mmol/l). Compared with that of Western populations, serum cholesterol tended to be lower at all age groups, systolic pressure higher at ages over 35 years, and PWV higher at all ages. Because change in PWV is directly related to change in arterial compliance, these results indicate that aging and not concomitant atherosclerosis (known to be rare in Asian populations) is the dominant factor associated with reduced arterial compliance and increased left ventricular load in these subjects.
ICT, R&D and Productivity Growth: Evidence from Italian Manufacturing Firms

Despite the large body of firm-level analyses devoted to the impact of technological capital on productivity, a robust evidence for countries other than US is still needed. Early studies focused on RD in this case, moreover, the estimated rate of return is higher than that of R&D. Thus, concerning ICT investment, the results are consistent with the “delay hypothesis”, calling for the need of further and complementary outlays in intangible assets and organisational changes. Our findings legitimate a moderate optimism. Since both R&D and ICT investments are found rewarding at the micro level, there is room for policy interventions aimed at increasing the technological capital of Italian firms which is still behind that recorded in other developed economies.
Corporatism and Change: Austria, Switzerland, and the Politics of Industry . By Peter J. Katzenstein (Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 1984. 331p. $35.00).

Sartre transcended the difficulties of the moment—the unappealing features of the real French Communist Party (PCF)—by placing faith in the cunning of history and structures. His point was grasped and further developed by Louis Althusser—who remained at all times a party member. Considering the shallowness and duplicity of party leaders Maurice Thorez, Jacques Duclos, and the egregious Georges Marchais, it made sense to abstract the role of human agents from a history determined by the interplay of impersonal structures and practices. Judt's critique of Sartre and Althusser is highly recommended for anyone who still entertains the idea that they were independent spirits.
Interventions for Test Anxiety in Undergraduate Nursing Students: An Integrative Review

AIM An integrative review was conducted to identify and evaluate interventions for test anxiety (TA) in undergraduate nursing students. BACKGROUND Test performance has a major impact on the academic success of nursing students. Therefore, testing is a source of stress and anxiety, which may impair academic performance. METHOD A systematic search was conducted to locate peer-reviewed literature about interventions for TA in undergraduate nursing students. RESULTS Review of 33 publications dated 1973 to 2014 identified 19 interventions for TA in undergraduate nursing students. Findings included experimental evidence supporting aromatherapy, music therapy, and various cognitive or behavioral interventions. Nonexperimental evidence supporting collaborative testing, crib sheets, and humorous exam items was also found. CONCLUSION Many interventions for mitigating TA in nursing students have been evaluated since the 1970s. Current research is needed to corroborate and strengthen the evidentiary support for existing interventions and to evaluate new interventions.
Elicitation and Identification of Properties

Properties of distributions are real-valued functionals such as the mean, quantile or conditional value at risk. A property is elicitable if there exists a scoring function such that minimization of the associated risks recovers the property. We extend existing results to characterize the elicitability of properties in a general setting. We further relate elicitability to identifiability (a notion introduced by Osband) and provide a general formula describing all scoring functions for an elicitable property. Finally, we draw some connections to the theory of coherent risk measures.
UDP: Usage-Based Dynamic Pricing With Privacy Preservation for Smart Grid

Smart sensing and wireless communication technologies enable the electric power grid system to deliver electricity more efficiently through the dynamic analysis of the electricity demand and supply. The current solution is to extend the traditional static electricity pricing strategy to a time-based one where peak-time prices are defined to influence electricity usage behavior of customers. However, the time-based pricing strategy is not truly dynamic and the electricity resource cannot be optimally utilized in real time. In this paper, we propose a usage-based dynamic pricing (UDP) scheme for smart grid in a community environment, which enables the electricity price to correspond to the electricity usage in real time. In the UDP scheme, to simplify price management and reduce communication overhead, we introduce distributed community gateways as proxies of the utility company to timely respond to the price enquiries from the community customers. We consider both community-wide electricity usage and individual electricity usage as factors into price management: a customer gets higher electricity unit price if its own electricity usage becomes larger under certain conditions of the community-wide collective electricity usage. Additionally, we protect the privacy of the customers by restricting the disclosure of the individual electricity usage to the community gateways. Lastly, we provide privacy and performance analysis to demonstrate that the UDP scheme supports real-time dynamic pricing in an efficient and privacy-preserving manner.
Till Death, Purchase of Another House, or Occurrence of Other Events Do Us Part: Interests-Oriented Fake Divorce Cases in China

ABSTRACT Little is known about the perceptions of Chinese couples who resort to fake divorce. This study represents the results of a qualitative research on the triggers for fake divorce in China. Couples were purposefully sampled and data were collected through semi-structured, in-depth interviews. Couples dictated their own versions of causes for fake divorce, which partly corresponded with previous studies. Given that fake divorce entailed negative effects, certain suggestions were proposed. By enriching the explanations of the triggers for fake divorce and the negative effects, this study compels us to rethink the relationship between the state, policy or law, and the society in contemporary China.
Urban School Leadership and Community Violence: Principal Perspectives and Proactive Responses to Student Mental Health Needs

Abstract This article examines how urban principals can proactively respond to neighborhood violence through a community-oriented leadership framework. We analyzed principal interviews to understand the important and multifaceted roles of urban secondary school principals in creating safe and responsive schools that meet the diverse needs of grieving students and families. Findings suggest the importance of tapping into community assets, developing partnerships with community organizations, relying on pre-established routines, and modeling an ethic of care.
Metaheuristic for Word Sense Disambiguation: a Review

Word Sense Disambiguation (WSD) is the process of determining the exact sense of a particular word in accordance to the context in a computational manner. Such task plays an essential role in multiple fields of study such as Information Retrieval and Information Extraction. With the complexity of human language, WSD came up to solve the problem behind the ambiguity between senses in which a single word would yield different meaning. In this vein, determining the exact meaning of the certain word would facilitate the process of identifying the category of such text, accurate corresponding search results and providing an accurately summarized portion. Several approaches have been proposed for the WSD including statistical, semantic and machine learning techniques. This paper aims to provide a review of such approaches by tackling and categorizing the related works in accordance to the main types.
The impact of successful cross-competencies on a career in tourism in Italy: the meeting point between the students’ perceptions and the requirements for professionals

ABSTRACT The paper aims to understand how the changes occurring in the tourism sector are affecting the labor market in Italy, with a special focus on the relevance of successful cross competences (SCC). It focuses on comparing the relevance of these competencies in the perception of both students preparing to enter the tourism field and tour operators. The two-step study combined qualitative analysis that put forth specific characteristics of the tourism labor market in Italy through interviews with experts, and quantitative analysis that correlated the requirements of the tour operators to the ideas students have of what competencies tour operators entering the field should have. The results evinced differing perceptions of SCC and their relative importance in professional fields. Students manifest to miss awareness of the importance of SCC for their future careers. Furthermore, organizational ability, self-control and self-esteem were perceived by tour operators as the most important competencies to be acquired.
Learning from Peers' Stock Prices and Corporate Investment

Peers' valuation matters for firms' investment: a one standard deviation increase in peers' valuation is associated with a 5.9% increase in corporate investment. This association is stronger when a firm's stock price informativeness is lower or when its managers appear less informed. Also, the sensitivity of a firm's investment to its stock price is lower when its peers' stock price informativeness is higher or when demands for its products and its peers' products are more correlated. Furthermore, the sensitivity of firms' investment to their peers' valuation drops significantly after going public. These findings are uniquely predicted by a model in which managers learn information from their peers' valuation.
Prevalence, patterns, and correlates of equestrian injuries in Malaysia: A cross-sectional study

Background: Equestrian sport carries with it an implicit risk of injury. Despite the frequency of injuries in equestrian sports, there is no published study on injuries of equestrian athletes in Malaysia. Objective: The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of injuries and its correlates among horseback riders. Subjects And Methods: A web-based standardized questionnaire was used to collect data for this cross-sectional survey. Horseback riders aged 18 years and above were included in the study. Out of 169 participants, 93 were females and 76 were males. The correlation of injuries to gender, age, level of experience, exercise habits, use of safety measures, and type of equestrian sport were determined. Chi-square test was performed to test for statistical significance. Results: The prevalence was high with 85.8% of the participants reporting symptoms and characteristics of injuries in the past 12 months. The most frequently perceived symptoms reported were in the upper extremities (43.4%) followed by lower extremities (40.7%), head injury (8.3%) and injuries of upper and lower back (3.4%). There was a higher prevalence of injury among female participants (55.03%) than males (42.60%). A significant correlation was found between gender and prevalence of injuries. About 70% of the riders sustained soft tissue injuries. Fifty-five percent of the injured were involved in recreational riding. The most common mechanism of injury was a fall from a horse. Sixty percent of the injured riders did not seek medical attention after being injured, and physiotherapy consultation was even lower with 10.3%. Conclusions: The high prevalence of injuries and low rate of medical consultation emphasize the need for education programs on safety in Malaysia. Sessions should be held to improve coaching for riders and instructors, and their knowledge of the nature of the horse, mechanisms of injuries, horse handling, and riding skills to help them host safe equestrian activities.
Low hemoglobin A(1c) in nondiabetic adults: an elevated risk state?

OBJECTIVE To identify predictors of low hemoglobin A(1c) (HbA(1c)) (<5.0%) and to investigate the association of low HbA(1c) with cause-specific mortality and risk of liver disease hospitalization. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS Prospective cohort study of 13,288 participants in the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities Study. Logistic regression was used to identify cross-sectional correlates of low HbA(1c), and Cox proportional hazards models were used to estimate the association of low HbA(1c) with cause-specific mortality. RESULTS Compared with participants with HbA(1c) in the normal range (5.0 to <5.7%), participants with low HbA(1c) were younger, less likely to smoke, had lower BMI, lower white cell count and fibrinogen levels, and lower prevalence of hypercholesterolemia and history of coronary heart disease. However, this group was more likely to have anemia and had a higher mean corpuscular volume. In adjusted Cox models with HbA(1c) of 5.0 to <5.7% as the reference group, HbA(1c) <5.0% was associated with a significantly increased risk of all-cause mortality (hazard ratio [HR]: 1.32, 95% CI: 1.13-1.55) and of cancer death (1.47, 95% CI: 1.16-1.84). We also noted nonsignificant trends toward increased risk of death from cardiovascular causes (1.27, 95% CI: 0.93-1.75) and respiratory causes (1.42, 95% CI: 0.78-2.56). There was a J-shaped association between HbA(1c) and risk of liver disease hospitalization. CONCLUSIONS No single cause of death appeared to drive the association between low HbA(1c) and total mortality. These results add to evidence that low HbA(1c) values may be a generalized marker of mortality risk in the general population.
Lifestyle mobility: shifting conception of home in modern China

This article examines new practices of mobility that are situated in-between tourism and domestic migration. The modern consumer society allows urban middle class in China to move around the country in search of alternative lifestyles and employment. Illustrating the step-by-step transformation where initial tourism leads to relocation, dwelling and new business in Lijiang, this study investigates the reasons and consequences of the relocations, and how such practices shape their cultural conception of home. Phrased here as 'lifestyle mobility', such form of movement allows people to consume an instant satisfaction of their new chosen home while using professional skills to pursue alternative entrepreneurship in the local tourism industry. This article shows how the traditional Chinese notion of home has shifted from a lineage-bounded, fixed-place unit to an individual enterprise for happiness and simultaneous connections to multiple places. However, lifestyle mobility is not only associated with individual agencies, but also closely influenced by external factors and structural conditions, such as class, ethnicity and life stages. These relocation and home-making practices are never a single act, but an on-going process of searching and strategising to meet their multiple needs at various stages of one's life.
Personality Traits of Effective Teachers Represented in the Narratives of American and Chinese Preservice Teachers : A Cross-Cultural Comparison

This study explored personality traits of effective teachers represented in the narratives of American and Chinese preservice teachers. Narrative data were collected from 80 American and 75 Chinese teacher candidates. Coding and content analysis of the data generated twelve salient personality traits of effective teachers in America and China, including: adaptability, enthusiasm, fairness, high expectations, good humor, patience, responsibility, agreeableness, caring, friendliness, honesty, and respectfulness. MANOVAs and ANOVAs revealed that American preservice teachers attached greater importance to teachers’ adaptability, sense of humor, and responsibility while the Chinese attached greater importance to teachers’ patience, agreeableness, caring, and friendliness. Cross-culturally, females show greater concern than males about teacher expectations, while within each culture, American females are more concerned than males about teacher honesty, and Chinese females are more concerned than males about teacher adaptability and respectfulness. Findings were discussed by referring to American and Chinese cultures.
Single-dose new insulin glargine 300 U/ml provides prolonged, stable glycaemic control in Japanese and European people with type 1 diabetes

Two single‐dose studies were conducted in Japan and Europe to compare the pharmacokinetic (PK) and pharmacodynamic (PD) profiles of new insulin glargine 300 U/ml (Gla‐300) and insulin glargine 100 U/ml (Gla‐100) in people with type 1 diabetes mellitus.