Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Representing shapes as graphs : a feasible approach for the computer implementation of parametric visual calculating

Computational design tools in architecture currently fall into two broad categories: Tools for representation and tools for generative design, including scripting. However, both categories address only relatively methodical aspects of designing, and do little to support the design freedom and serendipitous creativity that, for example, is afforded by iterative sketching. Calculating with visual rules provides an explicit notation for such artistic processes of seeing and drawing. Shape grammars have validated this approach by formalizing many existing designs and styles as visual rule-sets. In this way, visual rules store and transfer design knowledge. Visual calculating in a more general sense supports creativity by allowing a designer to apply any rule she wants, and to capriciously see and re-see the design. In contrast to other explicit design methodologies, visual calculating defines a decomposition into parts only after the design is calculated, thus allowing formalization without impeding design freedom. Located at the intersection between design and computation, the computer implementation of visual calculating presents an opportunity for more designerly computational design tools. Since parametric visual calculating affords the largest set of design possibilities, the computer implementation of parametric visual calculating will allow flexible, rule-based design tools that intelligently combine design freedom with computational processing power. In order to compute with shapes, a symbolic representation for shapes is necessary. This thesis examines several symbolic representations for shapes, including graphs. Especially close attention is given to graph-based representations, since graphs are well suited to represent parametric shapes. Based on this analysis, this thesis proposes a new graph for parametric shapes that is clearer, more compact and closer the original formulation of visual calculating than existing approaches, while also strongly supporting design freedom. The thesis provides algorithms and heuristics to construct this “inverted” graph, for connected and unconnected shapes. Thesis Advisor: George Stiny Title: Professor of Design and Computation Representing Shapes as Graphs
Growth and Sustainability in Brazil, China, India, Indonesia and South Africa

Growth and Sustainability in Brazil, China, India, Indonesia and South Africa is based on the proceedings of a conference, organised by the OECD, on the growth performance of these large emerging-market economies. The book brings together contributions from distinguished policy makers and scholars. It discusses the growth experiences of these countries, including how they have fared in the wake of the recent global financial crisis. It also examines these countries’ prospects for sustaining strong growth over the long term.
An N-ethylmaleimide-sensitive cytosolic factor necessary for nuclear protein import: requirement in signal-mediated binding to the nuclear pore

We described previously an assay for authentic nuclear protein import in vitro. In this assay, exogenous nuclei are placed in an extract of Xenopus eggs; a rhodamine-labeled protein possessing a nuclear localization signal is added, and fluorescence microscopy is used to measure nuclear uptake. The requirement in this system for a cytosolic extract suggests that nuclear import is dependent on at least one cytosolic factor. We now confirm this hypothesis. Treatment of the cytosol with N-ethylmaleimide (NEM) abolishes nuclear protein import; readdition of a cytosolic fraction to the NEM-inactivated extract rescues transport. Thus, at least one NEM-sensitive factor required for transport is supplied by the cytosol. This activity, called nuclear import factor-1, or NIF-1, is ammonium-sulfate-precipitable, protease- sensitive, and heat-labile; it is therefore at least partly proteinaceous. NIF-1 stimulates, in a concentration-dependent manner, the rate at which individual nuclei accumulate protein. The effect of NIF-1 is enhanced by a second cytosolic NEM-sensitive factor, NIF-2. Earlier we identified two steps in the nuclear import reaction: (a) ATP- independent binding of a signal-sequence-bearing protein to the nuclear pore; and (b) ATP-dependent translocation of that protein through the pore. We now show that NEM inhibits signal-mediated binding, and that readdition of NIF-1 restores binding. Thus, NIF-1 is required for at least the binding step and does not require ATP for its activity. NIF-1 may act as a cytoplasmic signal receptor that escorts signal-bearing proteins to the pore, or may instead promote signal-mediated binding to the pore in another manner, as discussed.
A 1,000‐year, annually‐resolved record of hurricane activity from Boston, Massachusetts

The annually‐laminated (i.e., varved) sediment record from the Lower Mystic Lake (near Boston, MA), contains a series of anomalous graded beds deposited by strong flooding events that have affected the basin over the last millennium. From the historic portion of the record, 10 out of 11 of the most prominent graded beds correspond with years in which category 2–3 hurricanes are known to have struck the Boston area. Thus, we conclude that the graded beds represent deposition related to intense hurricane precipitation combined with wind‐driven vegetation disturbance that exposes fresh, loose sediment. The hurricane signal shows strong, centennial‐scale variations in frequency with a period of increased activity between the 12th–16th centuries, and decreased activity during the 11th and 17th–19th centuries. These frequency changes are consistent with other paleoclimate indicators from the tropical North Atlantic, in particular, sea surface temperature variations.
Application of Multivariate Analysis for Identification of Pollution Sources in the Densu Delta Wetland in the Vicinity of a Landfill Site in Ghana

Surface water samples collected from various sites in the Densu delta wetland, Ghana, were analyzed for pH, temperature, TDS, EC, turbidity, TSS, alkalinity, HCO3-, BOD, COD, Na, K, Mg, Ca, Cl, SO42-, PO4-P, NO3-N, Cr, Pb, Cd, Cu, Co and Fe using titration and Atomic Absorption Spectrometer (AAS). Multivariate statistical analyses such as cluster analysis (CA) and principal component analysis (PCA) were used to identify heavy metal pollution in the wetland area. Results from CA and PCA suggest positive relationships between the two analyses. Linear correlation analysis done also suggests similar relationships. Heavy metals were identified as originating from a common source in all the analyses. The hydrochemistry of the area appears to have been influenced, to a large extent, by dissolution/precipitation as well as numerous but subsistence small-scale agricultural activities that take place in the wetland environment.
Textile Electrodes in ECG Measurement

Textile electrodes are a new, potential choice for biopotential measurements. In this research different kinds of textile electrodes were compared and good measurement positions were searched. In the first part the properties of four structurally different textile electrodes were compared. Three of the electrodes were industrially manufactured and one was hand-made by embroidering conductive yarn on fabric. Four test persons were used for testing the electrodes. The measurements were made three times with all the four electrode types so that in each measurement the skin was prepared in a different way. Three of the test persons performed a predefined set of motions for five minutes. The purpose of this test was to examine how well the textile electrodes stay put in different positions during movements. The best results were achieved with the embroidered electrodes, which have a large contact area with the skin. According to the measurement results, undisturbed electrode positions are difficult to find. Good positions for one person might not fit for another, because of the different shapes of bodies. In addition, different properties of skin and direction of the axis of the heart may affect the results.
Early black holes in cosmological simulations: luminosity functions and clustering behaviour

We examine predictions for the quasar luminosity functions (QLFs) and quasar clustering at high redshift (z ≥ 4.75) using MassiveBlack, our new hydrodynamic cosmological simulation which includes a self-consistent model for black hole (BH) growth and feedback. We show that the model reproduces the Sloan QLF within observational constraints at z ≥ 5. We find that the high-z QLF is consistent with a redshift-independent occupation distribution of BHs among dark matter haloes (which we provide) such that the evolution of the QLF follows that of the halo mass function. The sole exception is the bright end at z = 6 and 7, where BHs in high-mass haloes tend to be unusually bright due to extended periods of Eddington growth caused by high-density cold flows into the halo centre. We further use these luminosity functions to make predictions for the number density of quasars in upcoming surveys, predicting that there should be ∼119 ± 28 (∼87 ± 28) quasars detectable in the F125W band of the WIDE (DEEP) fields of the Cosmic Assembly Near-infrared Deep Extragalactic Legacy Survey (CANDELS) from z = 5 to 6, ∼19 ± 7 (∼18 ± 9) from z = 6 to 7 and ∼1.7 ± 1.5 (∼1.5 ± 1.5) from z = 7 to 8. We also investigate quasar clustering, finding that the correlation length is fully consistent with current constraints for Sloan quasars (r0 ∼ 17 h−1 Mpc at z = 4 for quasars above mi = 20.2) and grows slowly with redshift up to z = 6 (r0 ∼ 22 h−1 Mpc). Finally, we note that the quasar clustering strength depends weakly on luminosity for low LBH, but gets stronger at higher LBH as the BHs are found in higher mass haloes.
Morphological Disambiguation and Text Normalization for Southern Quechua Varieties

We built a pipeline to normalize Quechua texts through morphological analysis and disambiguation. Word forms are analyzed by a set of cascaded finite state transducers which split the words and rewrite the morphemes to a normalized form. However, some of these morphemes, or rather morpheme combinations, are ambiguous, which may affect the normalization. For this reason, we disambiguate the morpheme sequences with conditional random fields. Once we know the individual morphemes of a word, we can generate the normalized word form from the disambiguated morphemes.
The brain as target organ for sevoflurane anaesthesia : Structure of a physiological model

Previously we presented a physiologically-based pharmacokinetic multi-gas model for the administration of inhalation anaesthesia. Model predictions agreed well with clinical data, but we tested only arterial and end-expired concentrations and total uptake. The model predicts tensions of inhaled anaesthetics in a number of organs, including the brain where anaesthetic effects occur. It is unknown how realistic predicted brain tensions are because direct measurements are difficult. However, direct relationships exist between brain tensions and anaesthetic effects. The latter are described with surrogate measures derived from the processed electroencephalogram (EEG), e.g. bispectral index (BIS). The model used a single brain compartment, which is inadequate for modelling the relationship between anaesthetic levels and the effects on the brain. In this on-line document we modify our existing model, focusing our interest on factors determining the kinetics of sevoflurane in those parts of the brain where anaesthetic effects occur. Furthermore, we explore the credibility of pharmacokinetic predictions of the new version of the model. In the published article, the new version of the model is our tool to judge the ‘effect-site equilibration rate constant’ (ke0) we found for BIS earlier and to quantify the impact of sources of error on estimations of ke0.
Nature in engineering for monitoring the oceans: comparison of the energetic costs of marine animals and AUVs

The range of physiological adaptations possessed by marine animals allowing them to successfully operate in the marine environment is a plentiful source of inspiration for the designers of Autonomous Underwater Vehicles. This chapter compares the total energetic cost of straight line swimming for both marine animals and AUVs, using cost of transport (COT) as a comparative metric. COT is a normalised measure of the energetic cost of transporting the animal’s or vehicle’s mass over a unit distance. It includes non propulsion power requirements as well as considering the energy lost by actuators and mechanical couplings and energy lost in the wake. Comparisons presented in this chapter show that marine animals typically have higher optimum COT than engineered systems of equivalent size. However parallels may be drawn, for example, to increase range both marine animals and AUVs appear to favour reducing non-propulsion power costs and travelling slowly to ensure operating at the minimum COT.
Financial Development, Economic Growth and Crises

The importance of financial markets in a globalised economy cannot be overstated. An obvious example is the 2008 collapse of Lehman Brothers, the consequences of which were not just confined to the United States but spread to almost all developed economies in the world. On a daily basis movement in the world's stock, bond, commodity and currency markets can be affected by as diverse factors as a revision to the inflation rate in China, an unexpected European Union meeting on the Euro or the announcement of company earnings in the U. S. The link between financial markets and the real economy, the increased volatility in financial markets, and the repercussions of financial crises are issues of great interest to economic agents (policymakers, firms, households) around the world. However, they are of even greater significance to developing nations, as they try to raise their living standards. The research presented in this thesis aims to inform the discussion on the pertinence of financial development for economic growth. Following a brief introduction, Chapter 2 sets the scene by reviewing the neoclassical growth models and endogenous growth theory. The rationale for focusing
NGC 300: An Extremely Faint, Outer Stellar Disk Observed to 10 Scale Lengths

We have used the Gemini Multi-Object Spectrograph (GMOS) on the Gemini South 8 m telescope in exceptional conditions (0.″6 FWHM seeing) to observe the outer stellar disk of the Sculptor Group galaxy NGC 300 at two locations. At our point-source detection threshold of r′ = 27.0 (3 σ) mag, we trace the stellar disk out to a radius of 24', or 2.2R25, where R25 is the 25 mag arcsec-2 isophotal radius. This corresponds to about 10 scale lengths in this low-luminosity spiral galaxy (MB = -18.6), or about 14.4 kpc at a Cepheid distance of 2.0 ± 0.07 Mpc. The background galaxy counts are derived in the outermost field, and these are within 10% of the mean survey counts from both Hubble Deep Fields. The luminosity profile is well described by a nucleus plus a simple exponential profile out to 10 optical scale lengths. We reach an effective surface brightness of μ = 30.5 mag arcsec-2 (2 σ) at 55% completeness, which doubles the known radial extent of the optical disk. These levels are exceedingly faint in the sense that the equivalent surface brightness in B or V is about 32 mag arcsec-2. We find no evidence for truncation of the stellar disk. Only star counts can be used to reliably trace the disk to such faint levels, since surface photometry is ultimately limited by nonstellar sources of radiation. In the Appendix, we derive the expected surface brightness of one such source: dust scattering of starlight in the outer disk.
Functional specialization and dynamic resource allocation in visual cortex

We studied the spatiotemporal characteristics of cortical activity in early visual areas and the fusiform gyri (FG) by means of magnetoencephalography (MEG). Subjects performed a visual classification task, in which letters and visually similar pseudoletters were presented in different surrounds and under different task demands. The stimuli appeared in a cued half of the visual field (VF). We observed prestimulus effects on amplitudes in V1 and Cuneus relating to VF and task demands, suggesting a combination of active anticipation and specialized routing of activity in visual processing. Amplitudes in the right FG between 150 and 350 ms after stimulus onset reflected task demands, while those in the left FG between 300 and 400 ms showed selectivity for graphemes. The contrasting stimulus‐evoked effects in the right and left FG show that the former area is sensitive to task demands irrespective of stimulus content, whereas the left FG is sensitive to stimulus content irrespectively of task demand. Hum Brain Mapp, 2010. © 2009 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Topography of Striate-Extrastriate Connections in Neonatally Enucleated Rats

It is known that retinal input is necessary for the normal development of striate cortex and its corticocortical connections, but there is little information on the role that retinal input plays in the development of retinotopically organized connections between V1 and surrounding visual areas. In nearly all lateral extrastriate areas, the anatomical and physiological representation of the nasotemporal axis of the visual field mirrors the representation of this axis in V1. To determine whether the mediolateral topography of striate-extrastriate projections is preserved in neonatally enucleated rats, we analyzed the patterns of projections resulting from tracer injections placed at different sites along the mediolateral axis of V1. We found that the correlation between the distance from injection sites to the lateral border of V1 and the distance of the labeling patterns in area 18a was strong in controls and much weaker in enucleates. Data from pairs of injections in the same animal revealed that the separation of area 18a projection fields for a given separation of injection sites was more variable in enucleated than in control rats. Our analysis of single and double tracer injections suggests that neonatal bilateral enucleation weakens, but not completely abolishes, the mediolateral topography in area 18a.
Green Expectations: Current Effects of Anticipated Carbon Pricing

Abstract I report evidence that an anticipated strengthening of environmental policy increased emissions. I find that the breakdown of the U.S. Senate's 2010 climate effort generated positive excess returns in coal futures markets. This response appears to be driven by an increase in coal storage. The proposed legislation aimed to reduce U.S. greenhouse gas emissions after 2013, but the legislative process itself may have increased emissions by over 12 million tons of carbon dioxide leading up to April 2010.
Common Cell Shape Evolution of Two Nasopharyngeal Pathogens

Respiratory infectious diseases are the third cause of worldwide death. The nasopharynx is the portal of entry and the ecological niche of many microorganisms, of which some are pathogenic to humans, such as Neisseria meningitidis and Moraxella catarrhalis. These microbes possess several surface structures that interact with the actors of the innate immune system. In our attempt to understand the past evolution of these bacteria and their adaption to the nasopharynx, we first studied differences in cell wall structure, one of the strongest immune-modulators. We were able to show that a modification of peptidoglycan (PG) composition (increased proportion of pentapeptides) and a cell shape change from rod to cocci had been selected for along the past evolution of N. meningitidis. Using genomic comparison across species, we correlated the emergence of the new cell shape (cocci) with the deletion, from the genome of N. meningitidis ancestor, of only one gene: yacF. Moreover, the reconstruction of this genetic deletion in a bacterium harboring the ancestral version of the locus together with the analysis of the PG structure, suggest that this gene is coordinating the transition from cell elongation to cell division. Accompanying the loss of yacF, the elongation machinery was also lost by several of the descendants leading to the change in the PG structure observed in N. meningitidis. Finally, the same evolution was observed for the ancestor of M. catarrhalis. This suggests a strong selection of these genetic events during the colonization of the nasopharynx. This selection may have been forced by the requirement of evolving permissive interaction with the immune system, the need to reduce the cellular surface exposed to immune attacks without reducing the intracellular storage capacity, or the necessity to better compete for adhesion to target cells.
Transcriptome Profile of the Response of Paracoccidioides spp. to a Camphene Thiosemicarbazide Derivative

Paracoccidioidomycosis (PCM) is a systemic granulomatous human mycosis caused by fungi of the genus Paracoccidioides, which is geographically restricted to Latin America. Inhalation of spores, the infectious particles of the fungus, is a common route of infection. The PCM treatment of choice is azoles such as itraconazole, but sulfonamides and amphotericin B are used in some cases despite their toxicity to mammalian cells. The current availability of treatments highlights the need to identify and characterize novel targets for antifungal treatment of PCM as well as the need to search for new antifungal compounds obtained from natural sources or by chemical synthesis. To this end, we evaluated the antifungal activity of a camphene thiosemicarbazide derivative (TSC-C) compound on Paracoccidioides yeast. To determine the response of Paracoccidioides spp. to TSC-C, we analyzed the transcriptional profile of the fungus after 8 h of contact with the compound. The results demonstrate that Paracoccidioides lutzii induced the expression of genes related to metabolism; cell cycle and DNA processing; biogenesis of cellular components; cell transduction/signal; cell rescue, defense and virulence; cellular transport, transport facilities and transport routes; energy; protein synthesis; protein fate; transcription; and other proteins without classification. Additionally, we observed intensely inhibited genes related to protein synthesis. Analysis by fluorescence microscopy and flow cytometry revealed that the compound induced the production of reactive oxygen species. Using an isolate with down-regulated SOD1 gene expression (SOD1-aRNA), we sought to determine the function of this gene in the defense of Paracoccidioides yeast cells against the compound. Mutant cells were more susceptible to TSC-C, demonstrating the importance of this gene in response to the compound. The results presented herein suggest that TSC-C is a promising candidate for PCM treatment.
Number skills and knowledge in children with specific language impairment

The number skills of groups of 7- to 9-year-old children with specific language impairment (SLI) attending mainstream or special schools were compared with an age and nonverbal reasoning matched group (age control [AC]) and with a younger group matched on oral language comprehension. The SLI groups performed below the AC group on every skill. They also showed lower working memory functioning and had received lower levels of instruction. Nonverbal reasoning, working memory functioning, language comprehension, and instruction accounted for individual variation in number skills to differing extents depending on the skill. These factors did not explain the differences between SLI and AC groups on most skills.