Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Deep 15 $\mu$m AKARI Observations in the CDFS: Estimating Dust Luminosities for a MIR-Selected Sample and for Lyman Break Galaxies and the Evolution of LdustLUV with the Redshift

Deep observations of the CDFS have been secured at 15um with AKARI/IRC infrared space telescope (ESA open time). From these observations, we define a sample of MIR-selected galaxies at 15um and we also obtain 15um flux densities for a sample of LBGs at z=1 already observed at 24um with Spitzer/MIPS. Number counts for the MIR-selected sample show a bump around a 15um flux density of 0.2mJy that can be attributed to galaxies at z>0.4 and at z>0.8 for the fainter part of the bump. This bump seems to be shifted as compared to other works and a possible origin can be the Cosmic variance. Thanks to this dataset, we have tested, on the two above samples at z=1, the validity of the conversions from monochromatic luminosities nu.f(nu) at a rest-frame wavelength of 8um by a comparison with total dust luminosities estimated from Spitzer rest-frame 12um data that we use as a reference. We find that the 8um dust luminosities are not all consistent and that some of them are better when compared to L(dust) evaluated from longer wavelength luminosities. We also find that the rest-frame 8um luminosities provide globally good estimates of L(dust). By comparing our data for the two samples to several libraries of SEDs, we find that models can explain the diversity of the observed f(24)/f(15) ratio quite reasonably for the MIR-selected sample and better for the LBG sample which are less dispersed than the MIR selection. However, when we analyse the luminosity dependence of this ratio, we find important discrepancies. Finally, we revisit the evolution of L(dust)/L(UV) ratio with the redshift z by re-calibrating previous L(dust) at z=2 based on our results and added new data points at higher redshifts. The decreasing trend is amplified as compared to the previous estimate.
Friction analysis based on integral quadratic constraints

One of the most important nonlinearities in mechanical control systems is friction. Friction may cause steady state errors, as well as unwanted oscillations. The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate how recently developed tools for nonlinear system analysis can give us a better understanding of these effects. One of the most common approaches to analysis friction systems is passivity theory. The main theoretical contribution of this paper is to prove a new set of integral quadratic constraints for a so called "stiction". As an application, we consider stiction induced oscillations in a servo system with a PID controller. The phenomenon is analysed using integral quadratic constraints, and the quantitative relationship between the stiction level and the necessary amount of leakage is computed. The response to periodic inputs is also studied.
Environmental Efficiency Analysis of China＇s Vegetable Production

Objective To analyze and estimate the environmental efficiency of China's vegetable production. Methods The stochastic translog frontier model was used to estimate the technical efficiency of vegetable production. Based on the estimated frontier and technical inefficiency levels, we used the method developed by Reinhard, et al.[1] to estimate the environmental efficiency. Pesticide and chemical fertilizer inputs were treated as environmentally detrimental inputs. Results From estimated results, the mean environmental efficiency for pesticide input was 69.7%, indicating a great potential for reducing pesticide use in China's vegetable production. In addition, substitution and output elasticities for vegetable farms were estimated to provide farmers with helpful information on how to reallocate input resources and improve efficiency. Conclusion There exists a great potential for reducing pesticide use in China's vegetable production.
An Economic Model of Learning Styles

Much of the economic literature on education treats the actual process of learning as a `black box'. While these `black box' models have many interesting uses, they are of little use when a college seeks advice about reallocating resources from one input to another (e.g. from lecture hours to tutorials). Commenting on such questions requires us to `open up' the black box. In this paper, we show what one such model would look like by explicitly modelling how students vary in their `learning styles'. This model allows us to simulate how reforms to higher education would affect students with different learning styles. We consider alternative tuition fee structures and the technological change that has led to the introduction of massive open online courses (MOOCs).
Pairs trading using cointegration approach

Pairs trading strategy works by taking the arbitrage opportunity of temporary anomalies between prices of related assets which have long-run equilibrium. When such an event occurs, one asset will be overvalued relative to the other asset. We can then invest in a two-assets portfolio (a pair) where the overvalued asset is sold (short position) and the undervalued asset is bought (long position). The trade is closed out by taking the opposite positions of these assets after the asset prices have settled back into their long-run relationship. The profit is captured from this short-term discrepancies in the two asset prices. Since the profit does not depend on the movement of the market, pairs trading can be said as a market-neutral investment strategy. There are four main approaches used to implement pairs trading: distance approach, combine forecasts approach, stochastic approach and cointegration approach. This thesis focuses on cointegration approach. It uses cointegration analysis in long/short investment strategy involving more than two assets. Cointegration incorporates mean reversion into pairs trading framework which is the single most important statistical relationship required for success. If the value of the portfolio is known to fluctuate around its equilibrium value then any deviations from this value can be traded against. Especially in this thesis, a pairs trading strategy is developed based on the cointegration coefficients weighted (CCW) rule. The CCW rule works by trading the number of unit in two assets based on their cointegration coefficients to achieve a guaranteed minimum profit per trade. The minimum profit per trade corresponds to the pre-set boundaries upper-bound U and lower-bound L chosen to open trades. The optimal pre-set boundary value is determined by maximising the minimum total profit (MTP) over a specified trading horizon. The MTP is a function of the minimum profit per trade and the number of trades during the trading horizon. This thesis provides the estimated number of trades. The number of trades is also influenced by the distance of the pre-set boundaries from the long-run cointegration equilibrium. The higher the pre-set boundaries for opening trades, the higher the minimum profit per trade but the trade numbers will be lower. The opposite applies for lowering the boundary values. The number of trades over a specified trading horizon is estimated jointly by the average trade duration and the average inter-trade interval. For any pre-set boundaries, both
Lessons learned from the implementation of reduced-impact logging in hilly terrain in Sabah, Malaysia

Between 1992 and 1997, about 2400 ha of old growth dipterocarp forest in southeastern Sabah was logged to reduced-impact logging (RIL) guidelines as part of a pilot carbon offset project. Harvesting planning, vine cutting, directional felling and skidding restrictions contributed to a reduction in stand damage from 50% to 28% of the original stems; damage to soil was reduced from 13% to 9% of total area in RIL relative to conventional logging areas. Residual stands in RIL areas had greater vertical structure and better stocking of commercial timber species than stands in conventionally logged areas, with positive gains for conservation of biodiversity and sustainability of timber production. Steep terrain and the lack of predictable dry periods were constraints on the ground-based skidding system, and resulted in large volumes of timber being inaccessible, and in production delays caused by wet weather. Introduction of an aerial yarding system in this region would allow a greater proportion of the areas to be harvested in an environmentally acceptable way.
THE LEVEL OF READINESS TO CHANGE AMONG STAFFS IN COMMUNITY COLLEGE OF SUNGAI PETANI

The study aims to examine the factors that influence the readiness to change among the staffs in Community College of Sungai Petani. In addition, this study also examines the relationship between management and administration, organizational commitment, and co-workers’ relationships with readiness to change. This study also examines the differences between readiness to change among staffs in Community College of Sungai Petani based on demographic factors (age and academic achievement level). The results show that the level of readiness to change, management and administration, organizational commitment is at a high level and co-workers’ relationships are at moderate level. The Pearson Colleration Test also found that there was a significant relationship between management and administration with the readiness to change among staffs in Community College of Sungai Petani (r = . 666, p . 05. Overall, the findings show that the readiness to change among staffs Community College of Sungai Petani is at a high level.
Cross-Sectional Determinants of Expected Returns

We analyze the relation between equity returns, risk, and a rich set of security characteristics that includes institutional ownership, S&P 500 index membership, analyst following, and dispersion in analyst forecasts, in addition to previously examined variables such as the book-to-market ratio, firm size, the bid-ask spread, and lagged returns. Our primary objective is to determine whether these characteristics have marginal explanatory power relative to the Connor and Korajczyk (1988) risk factors. We also compare the different approaches that have been used to test asset pricing models against specific alternatives. We find that inferences are extremely sensitive to the sorting criteria used for portfolio formation, so that results based on regressions using portfolio returns should be interpreted with caution. Fama-MacBeth type regressions for individual securities suggest some new findings: risk-adjusted stock returns show a puzzling negative (and strongly significant) relation to the bid-ask spread, a negative relation with both size and share turnover, and a positive relation with both S&P 500 membership and analyst following. However, previously noted book-to-market and size effects are eliminated once account is taken of the above characteristics.
Methane emission, digestive characteristics and faecal archaeol in heifers fed diets based on silage from brown midrib maize as compared to conventional maize

The aim of the present experiment was to compare silage prepared from maize having a brown midrib (BMR) mutation with control (CTR) maize to identify their effects on enteric methane emission, digesta mean retention time (MRT), ruminal fermentation and digestibility. In addition, the utility of archaeol present in faecal samples was validated as a proxy for methane production. Seven German Holstein heifers were fed total mixed rations with a maize-silage proportion (either BMR or CTR) of 920 g/kg dry matter (DM) in a change-over design. Heifers were fed boluses with markers to measure MRT; faeces were collected for 7 days and rumen fluid was collected on the penultimate day. Methane emission was measured in respiration chambers on one day. Data were analysed by t-test and regression analysis. DM intake did not differ between the two diets. The apparent digestibility of DM and most nutrients was unaffected by diet type, but apparent digestibility of neutral and acid detergent-fibre was higher in those heifers fed BMR than in those fed CTR. Comparisons between diets revealed no difference in particle or solute MRT in the gastro-intestinal tract and the reticulorumen. Concentrations of short-chain fatty acid and ammonia in rumen fluid and its pH were not affected by silage type. Independent of the mode of expression [l/d, l/kg DM intake, l/kg digested organic matter], methane emissions were not affected by maize-silage type, but with BMR, there was a trend towards lower methane production per unit of digested neutral detergent fibre than there was with CTR silage. Results of the present study show that feeding heifers BMR silage does not increase methane emissions despite a higher fibre digestibility as compared to CTR silage. Therefore, it is assumed that improvements in animal productivity achieved by feeding BMR silage, as some studies have reported, can be obtained without extra environmental cost per unit of milk or meat. Neither faecal archaeol content [µg/g] nor daily amount excreted [mg/d] is suitable to predict methane production in absolute terms [l per day]. However, faecal archaeol content has a certain potential for predicting the methane yield [l per kg DM intake] of individual animals.
Integrated Analysis of Copy Number Variation and Genome-Wide Expression Profiling in Colorectal Cancer Tissues

Integrative analyses of multiple genomic datasets for selected samples can provide better insight into the overall data and can enhance our knowledge of cancer. The objective of this study was to elucidate the association between copy number variation (CNV) and gene expression in colorectal cancer (CRC) samples and their corresponding non-cancerous tissues. Sixty-four paired CRC samples from the same patients were subjected to CNV profiling using the Illumina HumanOmni1-Quad assay, and validation was performed using multiplex ligation probe amplification method. Genome-wide expression profiling was performed on 15 paired samples from the same group of patients using the Affymetrix Human Gene 1.0 ST array. Significant genes obtained from both array results were then overlapped. To identify molecular pathways, the data were mapped to the KEGG database. Whole genome CNV analysis that compared primary tumor and non-cancerous epithelium revealed gains in 1638 genes and losses in 36 genes. Significant gains were mostly found in chromosome 20 at position 20q12 with a frequency of 45.31% in tumor samples. Examples of genes that were associated at this cytoband were PTPRT, EMILIN3 and CHD6. The highest number of losses was detected at chromosome 8, position 8p23.2 with 17.19% occurrence in all tumor samples. Among the genes found at this cytoband were CSMD1 and DLC1. Genome-wide expression profiling showed 709 genes to be up-regulated and 699 genes to be down-regulated in CRC compared to non-cancerous samples. Integration of these two datasets identified 56 overlapping genes, which were located in chromosomes 8, 20 and 22. MLPA confirmed that the CRC samples had the highest gains in chromosome 20 compared to the reference samples. Interpretation of the CNV data in the context of the transcriptome via integrative analyses may provide more in-depth knowledge of the genomic landscape of CRC.
A performance study of job management systems

Job Management Systems (JMSs) efficiently schedule and monitor jobs in parallel and distributed computing environments. Therefore, they are critical for improving the utilization of expensive resources in high‐performance computing systems and centers, and an important component of Grid software infrastructure. With many JMSs available commercially and in the public domain, it is difficult to choose an optimum JMS for a given computing environment. In this paper, we present the results of the first empirical study of JMSs reported in the literature. Four commonly used systems, LSF, PBS Pro, Sun Grid Engine/CODINE, and Condor were considered. The study has revealed important strengths and weaknesses of these JMSs under different operational conditions. For example, LSF was shown to exhibit excellent throughput for a wide range of job types and submission rates. Alternatively, CODINE appeared to outperform other systems in terms of the average turn‐around time for small jobs, and PBS appeared to excel in terms of turn‐around time for relatively larger jobs. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Improving image-based visual servoing with reference features filtering

In this paper, Image-Based Visual Servoing (IBVS) is addressed via a new control structure where reference features are previously filtered based on an estimation of these reference features using standard filters such as Kalman Filter (KF) or a combination of a Kalman Filter and a Smoother (KFS). In this sense, one of the key aspects of the paper is to predict feasible reference features for the low-level IBVS controller. Along the paper, we discuss and analyze the improvements introduced with the new control structure in terms of convergence time and reachability, that is, the ability to converge in complex scenarios such as rotations around the camera axis and large displacements. Validations are also provided through real experimentation with an industrial robot of 6 DOF in eye-in-hand configuration.
Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation in the treatment of patients with poststroke urinary incontinence

Purpose To investigate the therapeutic effect of transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) on poststroke urinary incontinence (UI). Patients and methods Sixty-one patients with poststroke UI were enrolled at the Neurology Department in the Shanghai Tenth People’s Hospital of Tongji University between January 2010–January 2011 and were divided into treatment and control groups (n=32 and n=29, respectively). TENS was applied to the treatment group, while the control group received basic therapy. The therapeutic group completed the whole set of TENS therapy with a treatment frequency of 30 minutes once a day for 60 days. The positive electrode was placed on the second lumbar spinous process, and the negative electrodes were inside the middle and lower third of the junction between the posterior superior iliac spine and ischia node. The overactive bladder symptom score, Barthel Index, and urodynamics examination were estimated before and after therapy in both groups. Results The daily micturition, nocturia, urgent urination, and urge UI in the treatment group significantly improved compared to the control group (P<0.05). The patients in the treatment group were superior in the self-care ability of daily living and also had an advantage over the indexes on maximum cystometry volume, flow rate, and the pressure of detrusor in the end of the filling phase. Conclusion TENS improved incontinence symptoms, enhanced the quality of life, and decreased adverse effects; hence, it is recommended in treating poststroke UI.
Power efficient scalable hybrid processor architecture

This paper presents a general-purpose power efficient scalable hybrid architecture, that integrates scalar and vector processor architectures together to achieve better performance for both vectorizable and non-vectorizable portions of a program. As many applications require different cost and performance constraints, the scalability of the proposed design offers numerous variants in order to provide the required performance-cost ratios. Scalability is further investigated in terms of size of data elements, length of vector registers and addressing capability. The hybrid approach of integrating a fully capable scalar processor with a vector processor removes the need for inter-processor communication, thereby decreasing the delay associated with it. The goal is not only to reduce the power consumption but also to increase the power efficiency. The proposed architecture adopts several techniques to improve power efficiency, such as limited multithreading capability, compiler based techniques as well as dynamic power management.
Clinical Determinants of Response to Irinotecan-Based Therapy Derived from Cell Line Models

Purpose: In an attempt to identify genes that are involved in resistance to SN38, the active metabolite of irinotecan (also known as CPT-11), we carried out DNA microarray profiling of matched HCT116 human colon cancer parental cell lines and SN38-resistant cell lines following treatment with SN38 over time. Experimental Design: Data analysis identified a list of genes that were acutely altered in the parental cells following SN38 treatment as well as constitutively altered in the SN38-resistant cells. Results: Independent validation of 20% of these genes by quantitative reverse transcription-PCR revealed a strong correlation with the microarray results: Pearson's correlation was 0.781 (r2 = 0.61, P < 0.000001) for those genes that were acutely altered in the parental setting following SN38 treatment and 0.795 (r2 = 0.63, P < 0.000002) for those genes that were constitutively altered in the SN38-resistant cells. We then assessed the ability of our in vitro-derived gene list to predict clinical response to 5-fluorouracil/irinotecan using pretreatment metastatic biopsies from responding and nonresponding colorectal cancer patients using both unsupervised and supervised approaches. When principal components analysis was used with our in vitro classifier gene list, a good separation between responding and nonresponding patients was obtained, with only one nonresponding and two responding patients separating with the incorrect groups. Supervised class prediction using support vector machines algorithm identified a 16-gene classifier with 75% overall accuracy, 81.8% sensitivity, and 66.6% specificity. Conclusions: These results suggest that in vitro-derived gene lists can be used to predict clinical response to chemotherapy in colorectal cancer.
Making Voters Count: Evidence from Field Experiments about the Efficacy of Domestic Election Observation

Elections are important because they hold the promise of empowering voters to hold leaders accountable. The sad reality, however, is that voters in less than democratic states often are marginalized because of widespread election fraud. Field experiments in three different countries are here used to show that high-quality civil society ob- servers can reduce fraud on election day. The results also confirm that all regimes are not equally sensitive to such interventions. For the first time new fraud forensics techniques are used to examine observer effects. I argue that a reduction in detectable fraud forces authorities to engage with the electorate more directly, instead of focusing their efforts on bureaucratically manipulating the outcome. It is suggested that when faced with monitoring, autocrats substitute election fraud with other forms of manipulation, in the form of vote buying and intimidation. This in itself constitutes a perverse form of empowerment of voters, perverse since the process continues to be both un-free and unfair.