Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Capacity competition in electricity markets

We analyze a two-stage game where capacity-constrained electricity generators first choose how much capacity they make available and then compete in a uniform-price auction. We study how capacity withholding can be used strategically to enforce market power and how uniform auctions in the price game change the results of capacity constrained competition models. The uniform auction procedure gives strong incentives to capacity restriction. At equilibrium, however, power shortage never occurs.
Fast and Secure Linear Regression and Biometric Authentication with Security Update

We explicitly present a homomorphic encryption scheme with a flexible encoding of plaintexts. We prove its security under the LWE assumption, and innovatively show how the scheme can be used to handle computations over both binary strings and real numbers. In addition, using the scheme and its features, we build fast and secure systems of • linear regression using gradient descent, namely finding a reasonable linear relation between data items which remain encrypted. Compared to the best previous work over a simulated dataset of 10 records each with 20 features, our system dramatically reduces the server running time from about 8.75 hours (of the previous work) to only about 10 minutes. • biometric authentication, in which we show how to reduce ciphertext sizes by half and to do the computation at the server very fast, compared with the state-of-the-art. Moreover, as key rotation is a vital task in practice and is recommended by many authorized organizations for key management, • we show how to do key rotation over encrypted data, without any decryption involved, and yet homomorphic properties of ciphertexts remain unchanged. In addition, our method of doing key rotation handles keys of different security levels (e.g., 80and 128-bit securities), so that the security of ciphertexts and keys in our scheme can be “updated”, namely can be changed into a higher security level.
Estimating and Evaluating the Statistics of Gapped Local-Alignment Scores

We present a novel maximum-likelihood-based algorithm for estimating the distribution of alignment scores from the scores of unrelated sequences in a database search. Using a new method for measuring the accuracy of p-values, we show that our maximum-likelihood-based algorithm is more accurate than existing regression-based and lookup table methods. We explore a more sophisticated way of modeling and estimating the score distributions (using a two-component mixture model and expectation maximization), but conclude that this does not improve significantly over simply ignoring scores with small E-values during estimation. Finally, we measure the classification accuracy of p-values estimated in different ways and observe that inaccurate p-values can, somewhat paradoxically, lead to higher classification accuracy. We explain this paradox and argue that statistical accuracy, not classification accuracy, should be the primary criterion in comparisons of similarity search methods that return p-values that adjust for target sequence length.
Social Capital and Weather Shocks in Ethiopia : Climate Change and Culturally-Induced Poverty Traps

One implication of climate change is that farmers in the horn of Africa will be more frequently exposed to droughts and floods. While adoption of certain farm management strategies reduces exposure to such shocks, the uptake of risk mitigating measures is far from complete. We explore how social capital in the form of kinship networks, characterized by the moral imperative of within-group sharing and redistribution, affects the adoption of risk mitigating activities. We find robust evidence that (i) compulsory sharing invites free riding and attenuates incentives for self-protection against weather shocks, and (ii) formal insurance mechanisms can substitute for informal insurance within the kin network. Expansion of the financial system thus allows individuals to escape a culturally-induced poverty trap.
Forms of support for and challenges to fostering international-mindedness: perspectives about the International Baccalaureate Diploma Program from different school contexts

Forms of Support for and Challenges to Fostering International-Mindedness: Perspectives about the International Baccalaureate Diploma Program from Different School Contexts Akın Metli Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction Supervisor: Asst. Prof. Dr. Jennie Farber Lane June, 2018 This study investigates students’, teachers’ and the International Baccalaureate Diploma Program coordinators’ perceptions of forms of support for and challenges to international-mindedness. It specifically investigates how the International Baccalaureate Diploma Program core components: Creativity, Activity, Service, Theory of Knowledge, and Extended Essay foster the pillars of internationalmindedness (multilingualism, intercultural understanding and global engagement). The research used mixed methods to explore perceptions of international-mindedness within three schools in Istanbul, Turkey. The qualitative phase used semi-structured interviews, focus groups, lesson observations, and document review. The quantitative phase applied a pre and post-test design to measure intercultural understanding and the global engagement. The quantitative portion of the study compared data from schools with a Turkish (national) student body to a school that had more international staff and students and found no significant difference between and among students’ pre and post levels of intercultural understanding and global engagement in terms of improvement after one year of International Baccalaureate Diploma Program education. The study identified ways intercultural understanding and global engagement are fostered as well as various factors that undermined the implementation of international-mindedness. Regarding the three pillars of international-mindedness, the study revealed examples of the core components (especially about global knowledge, intercultural issues and community service) work to foster intercultural understanding and global engagement. The role of multilingualism and its relation to the other pillars was less clear, resulting in a reinterpretation of the international-mindedness conceptual framework used to guide the study. The revised framework illustrates that intercultural competence and global engagement should be the main components, supported by knowledge, skills, dispositions, and agency related to international-mindedness. Other researchers and educators can use this framework and associated methods to examine how international mindedness is implemented in different schools and to develop strategies to support global citizenship pedagogy in other regions of the world.
Variability in the extreme helium star LSS 5121

We report a photometric and spectroscopic study of the hot extreme helium star LSS 5121. We found photometric variability, but no period was evident in its periodogram. This is consistent with the previous proposal, based on spectral line variations, that LSS 5121 is a non-radial pulsator similar to other hot extreme helium stars.
Variable Selection in High-dimensional Varying-coefficient Models with Global Optimality

The varying-coefficient model is flexible and powerful for modeling the dynamic changes of regression coefficients. It is important to identify significant covariates associated with response variables, especially for high-dimensional settings where the number of covariates can be larger than the sample size. We consider model selection in the high-dimensional setting and adopt difference convex programming to approximate the L0 penalty, and we investigate the global optimality properties of the varying-coefficient estimator. The challenge of the variable selection problem here is that the dimension of the nonparametric form for the varying-coefficient modeling could be infinite, in addition to dealing with the high-dimensional linear covariates. We show that the proposed varying-coefficient estimator is consistent, enjoys the oracle property and achieves an optimal convergence rate for the non-zero nonparametric components for high-dimensional data. Our simulations and numerical examples indicate that the difference convex algorithm is efficient using the coordinate decent algorithm, and is able to select the true model at a higher frequency than the least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO), the adaptive LASSO and the smoothly clipped absolute deviation (SCAD) approaches.
Preparation and Determination of Drug-Polymer Interaction and In-vitro Release of Mefenamic Acid Microspheres Made of CelluloseAcetate Phthalate and/or Ethylcellulose Polymers

The objective of this study was to formulate and evaluate the drug-polymer interaction of mefenamic acid (MA) using two polymers with different characteristics as ethylcellulose (EC) and/or cellulose acetate phthalate (CAP). Microspheres were prepared by the modified emulsion solvent evaporation (MESE). The effect of drug-polymer interaction was studied for each of microspheres. Important parameters in the evaluation of a microencapsulation technique are encapsulation efficiency, yield production, particle size, surface characteristics of microspheres, scanning electronic microscopy (SEM), powder X-ray diffraction analysis (XRD), and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The in-vitro release studies are performed in Tris buffer (pH 9) with Sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS). Microspheres containing CAP and EC showed 68-97% and 63-76% of entrapment efficiency, respectively. The thermogram X-ray and DSC showed stable character of MA in the microspheres and revealed an absence of drug polymer interaction. The prepared microspheres were spherical in shape and had a size range of 235-436 μm for CAP-microspheres and 358-442 μm for EC-microspheres. The results suggest that MA was successfully and efficiently encapsulated; the release rates of matrix microspheres are related to the type of polymer, only when polymers (EC and CAP combine with 1 : 1 ratio) were used to get prolonged drug release with reducing the polymers content in the microspheres. Data obtained from in-vitro release for microspheres and commercial capsule were fitted to various kinetic models and the high correlation was obtained in the peppas model. Mefenamic acid, Ethylcellulose, Cellulose acetate phthalate, Microparticles, Modified emulsion-solvent evaporation.
Alternation of up and down states at a dynamical phase-transition of a neural network with spatiotemporal attractors

Complex collective activity emerges spontaneously in cortical circuits in vivo and in vitro, such as alternation of up and down states, precise spatiotemporal patterns replay, and power law scaling of neural avalanches. We focus on such critical features observed in cortical slices. We study spontaneous dynamics emerging in noisy recurrent networks of spiking neurons with sparse structured connectivity. The emerging spontaneous dynamics is studied, in presence of noise, with fixed connections. Note that no short-term synaptic depression is used. Two different regimes of spontaneous activity emerge changing the connection strength or noise intensity: a low activity regime, characterized by a nearly exponential distribution of firing rates with a maximum at rate zero, and a high activity regime, characterized by a nearly Gaussian distribution peaked at a high rate for high activity, with long-lasting replay of stored patterns. Between this two regimes, a transition region is observed, where firing rates show a bimodal distribution, with alternation of up and down states. In this region, one observes neuronal avalanches exhibiting power laws in size and duration, and a waiting time distribution between successive avalanches which shows a non-monotonic behavior. During periods of high activity (up states) consecutive avalanches are correlated, since they are part of a short transient replay initiated by noise focusing, and waiting times show a power law distribution. One can think at this critical dynamics as a reservoire of dynamical patterns for memory functions.
Exploring the function of genetic variants in the non-coding genomic regions: approaches for identifying human regulatory variants affecting gene expression

Understanding the genetic basis of human traits/diseases and the underlying mechanisms of how these traits/diseases are affected by genetic variations is critical for public health. Current genome-wide functional genomics data uncovered a large number of functional elements in the noncoding regions of human genome, providing new opportunities to study regulatory variants (RVs). RVs play important roles in transcription factor bindings, chromatin states and epigenetic modifications. Here, we systematically review an array of methods currently used to map RVs as well as the computational approaches in annotating and interpreting their regulatory effects, with emphasis on regulatory single-nucleotide polymorphism. We also briefly introduce experimental methods to validate these functional RVs.
Isolation of H5N6, H7N9 and H9N2 avian influenza A viruses from air sampled at live poultry markets in China, 2014 and 2015

Zoonotic infections by avian influenza viruses occur at the human–poultry interface, but the modes of transmission have not been fully investigated. We assessed the potential for airborne and fomite transmission at live poultry markets in Guangzhou city and in Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR), China, during 2014 and 2015. Viral genome and infectious avian influenza A viruses of H5N6, H7N9, and H9N2 subtypes were detected predominantly from particles larger or equal to 1 μm in diameter in the air sampled with cyclone-based bioaerosol samplers at the live poultry markets in Guangzhou. Influenza A(H9N2) viruses were ubiquitously isolated every month during the study period from air and environmental swabs, and different lineages of H9N2 virus were isolated from markets where chickens and minor land-based poultry were sold. The use of de-feathering devices increased the quantity of virus-laden airborne particles while market closure reduced the amount of such particles. The results highlight the possibility of airborne transmission of avian influenza viruses among poultry or from poultry to humans within such settings. This may explain epidemiological observations in which some patients with H7N9 infection reported being in markets but no direct contact with live poultry or poultry stalls.
The contribution of human cortical area V3A to the perception of chromatic motion: a transcranial magnetic stimulation study

Area V3A was identified in five human subjects on both a functional and retinotopic basis using functional magnetic resonance imaging techniques. V3A, along with other visual areas responsive to motion, was then targeted for disruption by repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) whilst the participants performed a delayed speed matching task. The stimuli used for this task included chromatic, isoluminant motion stimuli that activated either the L−M or S−(L+M) cone‐opponent mechanisms, in addition to moving stimuli that contained only luminance contrast (L+M). The speed matching task was performed for chromatic and luminance stimuli that moved at slow (2°/s) or faster (8°/s) speeds. The application of rTMS to area V3A produced a perceived slowing of all chromatic and luminance stimuli at both slow and fast speeds. Similar deficits were found when rTMS was applied to V5/MT+. No deficits in performance were found when areas V3B and V3d were targeted by rTMS. These results provide evidence of a causal link between neural activity in human area V3A and the perception of chromatic isoluminant motion. They establish area V3A, alongside V5/MT+, as a key area in a cortical network that underpins the analysis of not only luminance but also chromatically‐defined motion.
A Prospective Cohort Study Examining the Associations of Dietary Calcium Intake with All-Cause and Cardiovascular Mortality in Older Chinese Community-Dwelling People

Background Most epidemiological studies of calcium intake and mortality risk have been conducted in populations with moderate to high calcium intake, and limited studies have focused on populations with low habitual calcium intake (i.e., mean dietary calcium intake <700 mg/d). Objective This study investigated the association between dietary calcium intake and death from all causes and cardiovascular disease in Chinese population with low habitual calcium intake. Design Data from 3,139 Chinese men and women in a population-based prospective cohort study, aged >=65 years and free of heart diseases or stroke at baseline, were analyzed. Primary outcome measures, identified from the death registry, were death from all causes and cardiovascular disease. Dietary calcium intake assessed using a validated food frequency questionnaire was categorized into sex-specific quartiles. Data on use of supplemental calcium (yes or no) including individual calcium supplements and other calcium containing supplement were collected. Cox regression models adjusted for demographic and lifestyle variables were used to estimate hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CI). Results During a median of 9.1 years of follow-up, 529 all-cause deaths (344 men, 185 women) and 114 (74 men, 40 women) deaths from cardiovascular disease were identified. An inverse trend between dietary calcium intake and mortality was observed. Compared with the lowest quartile (<458 mg/d for men, <417 mg/d for women), the highest quartile of dietary calcium intake (>762 mg/d for men, >688 mg/d for women) had a significantly reduced risk of all-cause mortality (multivariate HR=0.63, 95% CI=0.49-0.81, P trend<0.001) but an insignificant decreased risk of cardiovascular mortality (multivariate HR=0.70, 95% CI=0.41-1.21, P trend=0.228). Similar inverse association was observed when the analyses were stratified on calcium supplemental use. Conclusions Higher intake of dietary calcium was associated with reduced risk of all-cause mortality and possibly cardiovascular mortality in Chinese older people with low habitual calcium intake.
Who Did What and When? Using Word- and Clause-Level ERPs to Monitor Working Memory Usage in Reading

Abstract ERPs were recorded from 24 undergraduates as they read sentences known to differ in syntactic complexity and working memory requirements, namely Object and Subject Relative sentences. Both the single-word and multiword analyses revealed significant differences due to sentence type, while multiword ERPs also showed that sentence type effects differed for Good and Poor comprehenders. At the single-word level, ERPs to both verbs in Object Relative sentences showed a left anterior negativity between 300 and 500 msec postword-onset relative to those to Subject Relative verbs. At the multiword level, a slow frontal positivity characterized Subject Relative sentences, but was absent for Object Relatives. This slow positivity appears to index ease of processing or integration. and was more robust in Good than in Poor comprehenders.
VELOCITY CHARACTERISTICS OF EVAPORATED PLASMA USING HINODE/EUV IMAGING SPECTROMETER

This paper presents a detailed study of chromospheric evaporation using the EUV Imaging Spectrometer (EIS) onboard Hinode in conjunction with hard X-ray (HXR) observations from Reuven Ramaty High-Energy Solar Spectroscopic Imager (RHESSI). The advanced capabilities of EIS were used to measure Doppler shifts in 15 emission lines covering the temperature range T = 0.05–16 MK during the impulsive phase of a C-class flare on 2007 December 14. Blueshifts indicative of the evaporated material were observed in six emission lines from Fe xiv–xxiv (2–16 MK). Upflow velocity (vup) was found to scale with temperature as vup (km s−1) ≈ 8–18T(MK). Although the hottest emission lines, Fe xxiii and Fe xxiv, exhibited upflows of >200 km s−1, their line profiles were found to be dominated by a stationary component in contrast to the predictions of the standard flare model. Emission from O vi–Fe xiii lines (0.5–1.5 MK) was found to be redshifted by vdown (km s−1) ≈ 60–17T (MK) and was interpreted as the downward-moving “plug” characteristic of explosive evaporation. These downflows occur at temperatures significantly higher than previously expected. Both upflows and downflows were spatially and temporally correlated with HXR emission observed by RHESSI that provided the properties of the electron beam deemed to be the driver of the evaporation. The energy flux of the electron beam was found to be ≳5 × 1010 erg cm−2 s−1, consistent with the value required to drive explosive chromospheric evaporation from hydrodynamic simulations.
Finite Element Analysis Within Component Design Process of Hydraulic Quadruped Robot

The lightweight constructions and components stiffness play an important role in mechanics and in particular in high performance robots. In this paper the Virtual Prototyping Design (VPD) approach for addressing the robot design to this goal is shown. The VPD is applied to three mechanical problems of Walking Hydraulic Robots (WHRs): the first one deals with the leg joint sensitivity analysis; the second one concerns a force sensor optimization while the third one presents the torso structural verification. In all the aforementioned studies the experimental tests and the fitting analyses for model validation were carried out reaching satisfactory results.Copyright © 2014 by ASME