Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The palynological response to the Toarcian Oceanic Anoxic Event ( Early Jurassic ) 1 at Peniche , Lusitanian Basin , western Portugal 2 3

18 The uppermost Pliensbachian and lower Toarcian (Lower Jurassic) succession exposed 19 at Peniche in the central part of the Lusitanian Basin, western Portugal, was examined 20 for palynomorphs. The 45 samples span the Emaciaticeras emaciatum, Dactylioceras 21 polymorphum and Hildaites levisoni ammonite biozones (ABs), and the succession 22 includes the Global Stratotype Section and Point (GSSP) for the Toarcian Stage and the 23 Toarcian Oceanic Anoxic Event (T-OAE). A low diversity dinoflagellate cyst flora, 24 typical of the Sub-Boreal Realm, was recovered from the Emaciaticeras emaciatum and 25 Dactylioceras polymorphum ABs. The dominant element is the cold water species 26 Luehndea spinosa, which is an index for the Pliensbachian to earliest Toarcian, and is 27 thought to have migrated from the more northerly Boreal Realm. Prior to the T-OAE, 28 dinoflagellates thrived in the Lusitanian Basin, except during a brief warm period in the 29 earliest Toarcian. Despite the latter, the recovery from this event was relatively rapid 30
The protective role of endogenous nitric oxide donor (L-arginine) in cisplatin-induced nephrotoxicity: Gender related differences in rat model

BACKGROUND: Cisplatin (CP) as a potential drug for solid tumors produces nephrotoxicity and disturbs endothelial function. CP induced nephrotoxicity may be gender related. Nitric oxide plays a pivotal role in endothelial function and L-arginine as endogenous NO donor promotes endothelial function. The role of L-arginine in CP induced nephrotoxicity model and its gender related was investigated in this study. METHODS: Thirty three Wistar rats were randomly assigned to four groups. The groups 1 (male, n = 6) and 2 (female, n = 11) received a single dose of L-arginine (300 mg/kg, ip), and the day after, they received a single dose of CP (7 mg/kg). The group 3 (male, n = 9) and 4 (female, n = 7) were assigned to the same regimen except for saline instead of L-arginine. All animals were sacrificed one week after CP administration. The levels of blood urea nitrogen (BUN), creatinine and nitrite were measured. The kidneys were also removed for pathological investigations. RESULTS: Five animals died. All CP treated animals lost weight. The normalized weigh loss was significantly different between male and female in CP+L-arginine treated animals (p < 0.05). BUN and creatinine were increased significantly in male treated with CP and in female treated with CP+L-arginine (p < 0.05). L-arginine reduced BUN in male (not in female) when compared with control groups (p < 0.05). The level of nitrite was increased significantly in L-arginine treated animals. Kidney tissue damage score and normalized kidney weight were greater in females treated with CP+ L-arginine than female received CP alone (p < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: L-arginine may protect against CP induced nephrotoxicity in male, but it promotes the induced damage in female. The exact mechanism need to be defined.
Public Internet access points (PIAPs) and their social impact: a case study from Turkey

Building public Internet access points (PIAPs) is a significant contribution of governments towards achieving an information society. While many developing countries are investing great amounts to establish PIAPs today, people may not use PIAPs effectively. Yet, the successful implementation of PIAPs is the result of citizens' acceptance to use this opportunity. Hence, based on the Diffusion of Innovation Model, this study aims to detect the determinants of behavioural intention to use PIAPs. Essential data were collected from 3477 users of BELNET PIAPs established by the municipality of Istanbul in Turkey. We found that observability, compatibility and relative advantage all positively impact the intention to use PIAPs. The results reveal academic and practical implications for the future development and implementation of PIAPs.
Leveraging Wisdom of the Crowd for Decision Support

While Decision Support Systems (DSS) have a long history, their usefulness for non-experts outside specific organisations has not lived up to the promise. A key reason for this is the high cost associated with populating the underlying knowledge bases. In this article, we describe how DSSs can leverage crowds and their wisdom in constructing knowledge bases to overcome this challenge. We also demonstrate how to construct DSSs on-the-fly using the collected data. Our user-driven laboratory studies focus on user perceptions of the concept itself, and motives for contributing and using such a DSS. To the best of our knowledge, our approach and implementation are the first to demonstrate such use of crowdsourcing in building DSSs.
Convergence and Consistency of Regularized Boosting Algorithms with Stationary B-Mixing Observations

We study the statistical convergence and consistency of regularized Boosting methods, where the samples are not independent and identically distributed (i.i.d.) but come from empirical processes of stationary β-mixing sequences. Utilizing a technique that constructs a sequence of independent blocks close in distribution to the original samples, we prove the consistency of the composite classifiers resulting from a regularization achieved by restricting the 1-norm of the base classifiers' weights. When compared to the i.i. d. case, the nature of sampling manifests in the consistency result only through generalization of the original condition on the growth of the regularization parameter.
Concepts of Model Verification and Validation

Model verification and validation (VV thus, V&V cannot prove that a model is correct and accurate for all possible scenarios, but, rather, it can provide evidence that the model is sufficiently accurate for its intended use. Model V&V is fundamentally different from software V&V. Code developers developing computer programs perform software V&V to ensure code correctness, reliability, and robustness. In model V&V, the end product is a predictive model based on fundamental physics of the problem being solved. In all applications of practical interest, the calculations involved in obtaining solutions with the model require a computer code, e.g., finite element or finite difference analysis. Therefore, engineers seeking to develop credible predictive models critically need model V&V guidelines and procedures. The expected outcome of the model V&V process is the quantified level of agreement between experimental data and model prediction, as well as the predictive accuracy of the model. This report attempts to describe the general philosophy, definitions, concepts, and processes for conducting a successful V&V program. This objective is motivated by the need for highly accurate numerical models for making predictions to support the SSP, and also by the lack of guidelines, standards and procedures for performing V&V for complex numerical models. « less
Análisis del proceso de solidificación en fundiciones grafíticas esferoidales

The interest about all the physical and chemical phenomena related with ductile iron solidification processes have increased due to the casting requirements of free-porosity. In the present work two main ductile iron chemical compositions, currently used in ordinary industry lines, have been selected in order to analyse their solidification patterns under similar conditions by means of quenching tests. In addition, the influence of metal inoculation on eutectic transformation processes is studied. Taking the obtained results into account, different solidification models are established for each transformation type found in this work, attending mainly to the possibility of contraction defect appearances.
DISTIL: Design and implementation of a scalable synchrophasor data processing system

The introduction and deployment of cheap, high precision, high-sample-rate next-generation synchrophasors en masse in both the transmission and distribution tier - while invaluable for event diagnosis, situational awareness and capacity planning - poses a problem for existing methods of phasor data analysis and storage. Addressing this, we present the design and implementation of a novel architecture for synchrophasor data analysis on distributed commodity hardware. At the core is a new feature-rich timeseries store, BTrDB. Capable of sustained writes and reads in excess of 16 million points per second per cluster node, advanced query functionality and highly efficient storage, this database enables novel analysis and visualization techniques. Leveraging this, a distillate framework has been developed that enables agile development of scalable analysis pipelines with strict guarantees on result integrity despite asynchronous changes in data or out of order arrival. Finally, the system is evaluated in a pilot deployment, archiving more than 216 billion raw datapoints and 515 billion derived datapoints from 13 devices in just 3.9TB. We show that the system is capable of scaling to handle complex analytics and storage for tens of thousands of next-generation synchrophasors on off-the-shelf servers.
Fuzzy-UCS: A Michigan-Style Learning Fuzzy-Classifier System for Supervised Learning

This paper presents Fuzzy-UCS, a Michigan-style learning fuzzy-classifier system specifically designed for supervised learning tasks. Fuzzy-UCS is inspired by UCS, an on-line accuracy-based learning classifier system. Fuzzy-UCS introduces a linguistic representation of the rules with the aim of evolving more readable rule sets, while maintaining similar performance and generalization capabilities to those presented by UCS. The behavior of Fuzzy-UCS is analyzed in detail from several perspectives. The granularity of the linguistic fuzzy representation to define complex decision boundaries is illustrated graphically, and the test performance obtained with different inference schemes is studied. Fuzzy-UCS is also compared with a large set of other fuzzy and nonfuzzy learners, demonstrating the competitiveness of its on-line architecture in terms of performance and interpretability. Finally, the paper shows the advantages obtained when Fuzzy-UCS is applied to learn fuzzy models from large volumes of data.
INSIGHT-1 at SemEval-2016 Task 4: Convolutional Neural Networks for Sentiment Classification and Quantification

This paper describes our deep learning-based approach to sentiment analysis in Twitter as part of SemEval-2016 Task 4. We use a convolutional neural network to determine sentiment and participate in all subtasks, i.e. two-point, three-point, and five-point scale sentiment classification and two-point and five-point scale sentiment quantification. We achieve competitive results for two-point scale sentiment classification and quantification, ranking fifth and a close fourth (third and second by alternative metrics) respectively despite using only pre-trained embeddings that contain no sentiment information. We achieve good performance on three-point scale sentiment classification, ranking eighth out of 35, while performing poorly on five-point scale sentiment classification and quantification. An error analysis reveals that this is due to low expressiveness of the model to capture negative sentiment as well as an inability to take into account ordinal information. We propose improvements in order to address these and other issues.
Influence of the Rotational Alignment of the Femoral and Patellar Components on Patellar Tilt in Total Knee Arthroplasty

Purpose The purpose of this study was to analyze the influence of rotational alignment of the femoral and patellar components on patellar tilt after total knee arthroplasty (TKA). Materials and Methods A total of 56 patients (76 knees) who underwent TKA using Advance Medial Pivot Knee system between May 2009 and April 2011 and were available for minimum 1-year follow-up were enrolled in this study. Whiteside's line and the transepicondylar line were used to determine the rotational alignment of the femoral component. Patella cut was aimed to be parallel to the anterior patellar cortex during surgery. Radiographic evaluation was performed using plain axial radiographs. The rotational alignment of the femoral component was measured as the angle between the anterior condylar axis and the surgical transepicondylar axis. The patellar resection angle was measured between the patellar resection axis and the anterior cortical line of the patella. Patellar tilt was evaluated to investigate the correlation with the rotation of the femoral component and patellar resection angle. Results The mean rotation of the femoral component was 0.42°±3.18° of internal rotation. The mean patellar resection angle was 1.82°±3.44°, indicating medial overresection. The mean patellar tilt was 6.12°±4.31° of lateral tilt. The rotational angle of the femoral component showed a negative correlation with patellar tilt in the linear regression analysis (p=0.749), but the patellar resection angle showed a positive correlation with patellar tilt (p<0.001). Conclusions Accurate patellar resection is recommended for proper patellar tracking in TKA.
How to make words with vectors: Phrase generation in distributional semantics

We introduce the problem of generation in distributional semantics: Given a distributional vector representing some meaning, how can we generate the phrase that best expresses that meaning? We motivate this novel challenge on theoretical and practical grounds and propose a simple data-driven approach to the estimation of generation functions. We test this in a monolingual scenario (paraphrase generation) as well as in a cross-lingual setting (translation by synthesizing adjectivenoun phrase vectors in English and generating the equivalent expressions in Italian).
Solid DynamicModels for Analysis of Stress and Strain in

This paper proposes a solid model based on four-dimensional trivariate B-spline for strain and stress analysis of ventricular myocardium. With a series of processing steps in the four-dimensional medical images, the feature points of ventricular inner and outer wall are obtained. A B-spline surface is then used to build the dynamic deformation model of the myocardial walls. With such a surface model, a hexahedron control mesh can be constructed by sweeping the cloud data, and the ventricular solid model is built by fitting the trivariate B-spline parameters. Based on these models, a method of isogeometric analysis can be applied to calculate the stress and strain continuously distributed in the ventricle. The model is represented smoothly in the cylindrical coordinate system and is easy to measure myocardium dynamics for finding abnormal motion. Experiments are carried out for comparing the stress and strain distribution. It is found that the solid model can determine ventricular dynamics which can well reflect the deformation distribution in the heart and imply early clues of cardiac diseases.
EFFECTIVENESS OF YOUTUBE ADVERTISING 2 The members of the Committee approve the thesis of

5 Introduction . 6 Theoretical Perspective . 8 Literature Review . 12 Social Media Usage . 12 Advertising Effectiveness . 15 Research Questions . 16 Methodology . 17 Results . 20 Demographic Profile . 21 RQ1 . 22 RQ2 . 24 RQ3 . 26 RQ4 . 28 Other Findings . 29 Discussion . 30 Limitations and Directions for Future Research . 33 Conclusion . 33 References . 35 Appendix . 39 EFFECTIVENESS OF YOUTUBE ADVERTISING 5 EFFECTIVENESS OF YOUTUBE ADVERTISING: STUDY OF AUDIENCE ANALYSIS Paula R. Rodriguez School of Communication College of Liberal Arts Master of Science in Communication & Media Technologies Term Degree Awarded: Spring Semester 2017 (2165) Abstract Social media have become an important platform for companies to connect with their target audience and make an impression. With the rise of digital platforms, effectiveness of advertisements has become an important area of study for marketers to determine the most efficient and appropriate medium of communication to place their advertisements. Drawing on the media richness theory framework, this study investigates YouTube advertising effectiveness based on the multiplicity of cues in the videos and the possible feedback channels offered by the platform. Using a cross-sectional survey method, participants from the Dominican Republic (n = 109) and the United States (n = 112) were recruited to fill-out a questionnaire asking for their opinions about how they connect with YouTube advertisements and what cues were crucial for them to understand, relate, or react to the message in the video. A significant relationship was found between race/ethnicity and education of participants and their preferences for cues needed to make a successful advertisement. The results also showed that feedback option on YouTube is not considered important for engagement with the brand.
Differential diagnosis of small polypoid lesions of the gallbladder: the value of endoscopic ultrasonography.

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the accuracy of endoscopic ultrasonography (EUS) in making a differential diagnosis of small (< or =20 mm) polypoid lesions of the gallbladder. SUMMARY BACKGROUND DATA Differential diagnosis of these lesions is often difficult using conventional imaging modalities. METHODS The findings of EUS and transabdominal ultrasonography were retrospectively analyzed in 65 surgical cases of small polypoid lesions (cholesterol polyp in 40, adenomyomatosis in 9, adenoma in 4, and adenocarcinoma in 12). RESULTS Polypoid lesions exceeding 10 mm suggested malignancy. EUS showed a tiny echogenic spot or an aggregation of echogenic spots with or without echopenic areas in 95% of patients with cholesterol polyps. EUS showed multiple microcysts or comet tail artifact in all adenomyomatosis cases. Adenomas and adenocarcinomas were not associated with the echogenic spots, microcysts, or artifacts. Among adenomas and adenocarcinomas, all sessile lesions were adenocarcinomas. EUS differentiated among polypoid lesions more precisely than ultrasonography (97% vs. 71%). CONCLUSIONS A tiny echogenic spot or an aggregation of echogenic spots and multiple microcysts or comet tail artifact is pathognomonic for cholesterol polyp and adenomyomatosis, respectively. Polypoid lesions without these findings indicate adenoma or adenocarcinoma on EUS. Routine use of EUS is recommended for differential diagnosis of polypoid gallbladder lesions when ultrasonography shows no signs indicative of either cholesterol polyp or adenomyomatosis.
Soybean Yield Responses to Micronutrient Fertilizers

The availability of commercial products containing micronutrients for the management of crops has increased in recent years, but there are experimental results showing great variability in response to their application. A literature review was made in 28 scientific articles about the answers in the soybean yield in Brazilian agriculture due to the application of fertilizer containing micronutrients. Then, the aim of this chapter is to approach the efficiency of sources, doses, application methods, time, and yield results achieved in recent years by Brazilian research with the application of micronutrients in soybean. Adequate doses and sources of micronutrient increase Brazilian soybean yield, especially in that soil with low micronutrient content. High yields can be obtained in soils that have micronutrient levels considered adequate or high without their application. To right choice of micronutrients fertilizers, the farmer must know about solubility and other characteristics, including easiness to handling and applying and price. In general, the application method does not result in differences in soybean productivity. Thus, when applying micronutrients in the soil, topdressing or seed furrow, and leaf, and seed treatment, the most important aspects seem to be the time and dose to provide the nutrients in adequate amounts the plant requires.
ICTP Lectures on Large Extra Dimensions

I give a brief and elementary introduction to braneworld models with large extra dimensions. Three conceptually distinct scenarios are outlined: (i) Large compact extra dimensions; (ii) Warped extra dimensions; (iii) Infinite-volume extra dimensions. As an example I discuss in detail an application of (iii) to late-time cosmology and the acceleration problem of the Universe.
Vaginal Cuff Closure: A Comparison between the Vaginal Route and Laparoscopic Suture in Patients Undergoing Total Laparoscopic Hysterectomy

Background: To compare the vaginal route and laparoscopic suture for vaginal cuff closure (VCC) in patients undergoing a total laparoscopic hysterectomy (TLH). Methods: A total of 471 women who required hysterectomy were allocated to two groups. 261 women had TLH via VCC by the vaginal route and 210 women had TLH via VCC by laparoscopic suture. All TLHs were performed by the same laparoscopic surgeon. Results: The cuff-related complications included vaginal disruption (3.4%), dehiscence (1.27%), vaginal vault bleeding (1.91%), vaginal spotting (19.32%), granulation (1.27%), cuff infection (1.49%), and yellowish vaginal discharge (6.16%). No difference in vaginal cuff complications was found between the laparoscopic and vaginal approach. The median operation time was significantly shorter for the laparoscopic suture (76.74 min, range 40–220; 95% CI 74.84–83.45) than the vaginal route for VCC (85.77 min, range 45–290; 95% CI 86.87–95.36) after hysterectomy (p < 0.001). Conclusion: For VCC with TLH, laparoscopic suture was a safe and less time-consuming procedure. The cuff-related complications were similar in the two groups.
Effect of screening mammography on breast-cancer mortality in Norway.

BACKGROUND A challenge in quantifying the effect of screening mammography on breast-cancer mortality is to provide valid comparison groups. The use of historical control subjects does not take into account chronologic trends associated with advances in breast-cancer awareness and treatment. METHODS The Norwegian breast-cancer screening program was started in 1996 and expanded geographically during the subsequent 9 years. Women between the ages of 50 and 69 years were offered screening mammography every 2 years. We compared the incidence-based rates of death from breast cancer in four groups: two groups of women who from 1996 through 2005 were living in counties with screening (screening group) or without screening (nonscreening group); and two historical-comparison groups that from 1986 through 1995 mirrored the current groups. RESULTS We analyzed data from 40,075 women with breast cancer. The rate of death was reduced by 7.2 deaths per 100,000 person-years in the screening group as compared with the historical screening group (rate ratio, 0.72; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.63 to 0.81) and by 4.8 deaths per 100,000 person-years in the nonscreening group as compared with the historical nonscreening group (rate ratio, 0.82; 95% CI, 0.71 to 0.93; P<0.001 for both comparisons), for a relative reduction in mortality of 10% in the screening group (P=0.13). Thus, the difference in the reduction in mortality between the current and historical groups that could be attributed to screening alone was 2.4 deaths per 100,000 person-years, or a third of the total reduction of 7.2 deaths. CONCLUSIONS The availability of screening mammography was associated with a reduction in the rate of death from breast cancer, but the screening itself accounted for only about a third of the total reduction. (Funded by the Cancer Registry of Norway and the Research Council of Norway.)