Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Scintillation light from cosmic-ray muons in liquid argon

This paper reports the results of an experiment to directly measure the time-resolved scintillation signal from the passage of cosmic-ray muons through liquid argon. Scintillation light from these muons is of value to studies of weakly-interacting particles in neutrino experiments and dark matter searches. The experiment was carried out at the TallBo dewar facility at Fermilab using prototype light guide detectors and electronics developed for the Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment. Two models are presented for the time structure of the scintillation light, a phenomenological model and a composite model. Both models find τT = 1.52 μs for the decay time constant of the Ar2* triplet state. These models also show that the identification of the ``early'' light fraction in the phenomenological model, FE ≈ 25% of the signal, with the total light from singlet decays is an underestimate. The total fraction of singlet light is FS ≈ 36%, where the increase over FE is from singlet light emitted by the wavelength shifter through processes with long decay constants. The models were further used to compute the experimental particle identification parameter Fprompt, the fraction of light coming in a short time window after the trigger compared with the light in the total recorded waveform. The models reproduce quite well the typical experimental value ∼0.3 found by dark matter and double β-decay experiments, which suggests this parameter provides a robust metric for discriminating electrons and muons from more heavily ionizing particles.
Two Blades of Grass: The Impact of the Green Revolution

We estimate the impact of the Green Revolution in the developing world by exploiting exogenous heterogeneity in the timing and extent of the benefits derived from high-yielding crop varieties (HYVs). We find that HYVs increased yields by 44% between 1965 and 2010, with further gains coming through reallocation of inputs. Higher yields increased income and reduced population growth. A 10-year delay of the Green Revolution would in 2010 have cost 17% of GDP (gross domestic product) per capita and added 223 million people to the developing-world population. The cumulative GDP loss over 45 years would have been US$83 trillion, corresponding to approximately one year of current global GDP.
Ethyl Methanesulphonate (EMS) Induced Mutagenic Disorders in Amaranthus tricolor L

Ethyl Methanesulfonate (EMS) is a common, powerful and one of the most effective chemical mutagen,to induce a large number of functional variations in crops. Present study was to analyze the mutagenic effectof EMS in M1 generation in Amaranthus(Amaranthus tricolor L.). Seeds were treated with different doses (0.5%, 1%, 2% and 3%) of mutagen for 4 hrs and grown in gunny bags along with control. Morphological, anatomical, physiological and biochemical parameters of Amaranthus were analysed for 50 days at definite intervals. All parameters decreased with increase in doses of EMS. A strong deleterious effect on the germination percentage was witnessed in 3% of EMS. There was a negative correlation in length of root, shoot length, number of secondary roots and fresh weight with EMS percentage. Values of growth coefficient, relative growth rate, tolerance index, phytomass and net productivity were gradually decreasing with increasing doses of EMS. Anatomical parameters also showed marked decrease in stem. Leaf area and chlorophyll content were lowest in 3% EMS.
Mass transfer in eccentric binary systems using the binary evolution code BINSTAR

Context. Studies of interacting binary systems typically assume that tidal forces have circularized the orbit by the time Roche l obe overflow (RLOF) commences. However, recent observations of ellipsoidal variables have challenged this assumption. Aims. We present the first calculations of mass transfer via RLOF fo r a binary system with a significant eccentricity using our ne w binary stellar evolution code. The study focuses on a 1.50+1.40 M⊙ main sequence binary with an eccentricity of 0.25, and an orbital period of Porb ≈ 0.7 d. The reaction of the stellar components due to mass transfer is analyzed, and the evolution of mass transfer during the periastron passage is compared to recent smooth particle hydrodynamics (SPH) simulations. The impact of asynchronism and non-zero eccentricity on the Roche lobe radius, and the effects of tidal and rotational deformation on the stars’ struc tures, are also investigated. Methods. Calculations were performed using the state-of-the-art bi nary evolution code BINSTAR, which calculates simultaneously the structure of the two stars and the evolution of the orbita l parameters. Results. The evolution of the mass transfer rate during an orbit has a Gaussian-like shape, with a maximum at periastron, in qualitative agreement with SPH simulations. The Roche lobe radius is modified by the donor star’s spin and the orbital eccentricity. T his has a significant impact on both the duration and the rate of mass tr ansfer. We find that below some critical rotation rate, mass t ransfer never occurs, while above some threshold, mass is transferred over the entire orbit. Tidal and rotational deformation of the d onor star causes it to become over-sized, enhancing the mass transfer rate further by about a factor of ten, leading to non-conservative mass transfer. The modulation of mass transfer rate with orbital phase produces short-term variability in the surface luminosity and r adius of each star. The longer-term behaviour shows, in accordance with studies of circular systems with radiative stars, that the do nor becomes ever small and under-luminous, while the converse is the case for the accretor.
Improving the development of bovine in vitro produced embryos cultured individually

Previous research in bovine embryology has found that embryos cultured individually have limited ability to develop compared to their counterparts cultured in a group of other embryos. This investigation aimed to find if any of three different interventions over two experiments would increase development of individually cultured embryos to that of group cultured embryos. In the first experiment both the addition of serum/serum replacer and a co-culture with bovine granulosa cells were applied to individually cultured embryos in a 3x2 design. None of the interventions was found to be significantly different from the others, and all resulted in significantly lower development than embryos cultured as a group (avg. 4.7 +/1.93% individual vs. 21.7 +/3.76% group). However, a significant difference was found in the hatching rate between blastocysts cultured in media including cells (71.4 +/17.07%) and those cultured without cells (18.1 +/11.63%). In the second experiment, embryos were either cultured in standard droplets or microwells made at the bottom of culture droplets either in groups or individually for a 2x2 design. This experiment experienced poor development in all treatments including the group control, and none of the treatments were found to be significantly different from each other. However, the hatching rate of blastocysts cultured in multiple microwells was significantly higher than those cultured individually in droplets. To summarize, none of the treatments increased the development rate, but embryos cultured with granulosa cell co-cultures and in group microwells showed improvements in hatching rates.
Power Usage Effectiveness Metrics to Measure Efficiency and Performance of Data Centers

Intensifying computation demand from enterprises has driven the growth of large, multifaceted data centers to manage current Internet, financial, commercial, and business applications. A d ata center comprises thousands of servers and other equipment that require substantial amounts of power to operate. This condition resu lts in numerous challenges for the data center industry, such as massive energy consumption, underutilization of installed equipment, emission of greenhouse gases, and effect on global warming. This paper highlights the significance of identifying metrics to determine the pe rformance and efficiency of a data center, which can help such a facility achieve operational cost savings through proper implementation of performance-measuring metrics. This paper discusses the implementation of Power Usage Effectiveness metrics in a tier-level data center in Pakistan. The results show that the overall performance value of the facility is 3.3, which indicates poor and inefficient operations.
ROBOTIC ESOPHAGEAL SURGERY: UP-TO-DATE

ROBOTIC ESOPHAGEAL SURGERY: UP-TO-DATE (Abstract): Esophageal cancer remains an important health problem mainly due to the rising incidence of the adenocarcinoma of the gastro-esophageal junction. Esophagectomy is often performed on a fragile patient with an impaired nutritional status and requires often an open thoracic approach. Minimally invasive techniques were accepted in treatment of esophageal cancer in order to decrease the morbidity and postoperative mortality. However, several limitations of conventional minimally invasive techniques (e.g. two-dimensional view, camera operator fatigue, lack of tactile feedback during the complex maneuvers) imposed the use of surgical robots in esophageal surgery. We review the literature data about the use of robotic assissted surgical techniques in esophageal surgery. The postoperative outcomes, as well technical details and learning curve and training are highlighted.
Monitoring the Changes of Vegetal Cover of Karblaa Province (Iraq) using Target Detection and Classification Techniques

Target detection is the process that helps in determining the changes associated with land use and land cover features with reference to geo-registered multi temporal remote sensing data. This research aimed to utilize change detectionfor investigating the current vegetation cover at(1975-2015) period. The main objectives of this research are collect a number of satellite images in sequence time for the same studied area,these image captured by Landsat (MSS 1975, TM 1985, TM 1995, ETM+ 2005 and Landsat 8 OLI (Operational Land Imager) 2015. Preprocessing such as atmosphere correction and rectification has been done. Gap filling was applied on the defected image (Landsat 2005)to remove slice lines. For monitoring the vegetal changes two classification methods have been used such as support vector machine and K-mean clustering. To detect the target (vegetation) two target detection methods have been applied such as matching filter and Constrained Energy Minimization (CEM). Many histogram and statistical properties were illustrated as well as the pixel count and the target area has been computed.
Foliar Resistance to Fall Armyworm in Corn Germplasm Lines that Confer Resistance to Root- and Ear-Feeding Insects*

ABSTRACT A holistic approach to developing new corn germplasm that confers multiple insect resistance in various plant tissues at different growth stages was examined. Eight corn germplasm lines were examined for their foliar resistance to fall armyworm [Spodoptera frugiperda (J. E. Smith) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae)] and natural enemy attraction at V6–V8 (or 6–8 leaf) stages in 2008 and 2009. Four corn germplasm lines with known levels of resistance to root- and ear-feeding insects [‘CRW3(S1)C6’, ‘B37*H84’, ‘SIM6’ and ‘EPM6’], and four germplasm entries with different levels of S. frugiperda resistance (‘Mp708’, ‘Ab24E’, ‘FAW7061’ and ‘FAW7111’) were evaluated in the study. All plants were manually infested with 15–20 neonate S. frugiperda larvae per plant, and injury was rated 7 and 14 d after infestation. Based on cluster analysis of S. frugiperda injury rating and predator survey data, ‘Mp708’ and ‘FAW7061’ were the most resistant, whereas ‘Ab24E’ and ‘EPM6’ were the most susceptible to fall armyworm feeding. The western corn rootworm-resistant ‘CRW3(S1)C6’ showed resistance to S. frugiperda feeding. Surveys for the diversity and abundance of predators of S. frugiperda in each experimental plot were also conducted 7 d after infestation. ‘CRW3(S1)C6’ and ‘Ab24E’ had the highest and lowest predator abundance, respectively. However, there was no direct correlation between S. frugiperda injury ratings and predator abundance. The current study demonstrated the feasibility of developing foliage-, root-, and ear-feeding insect-resistant germplasm covering multiple corn growth stages. In addition, the possibility of utilizing plant volatiles to attract predators, and reduce pest populations and crop damage is discussed.
Long term variability of the annual hydrological regime and sensitivity to temperature phase shifts in Saxony/Germany

Abstract. Recently, climatological studies report observational evidence of changes in the timing of the seasons, such as earlier timing of the annual cycle of surface temperature, earlier snow melt and earlier onset of the phenological spring season. Also hydrological studies report earlier timing and changes in monthly streamflows. From a water resources management perspective, there is a need to quantitatively describe the variability in the timing of hydrological regimes and to understand how climatic changes control the seasonal water budget of river basins. Here, the timing of hydrological regimes from 1930–2009 was investigated in a network of 27 river gauges in Saxony/Germany through a timing measure derived by harmonic function approximation of annual periods of runoff ratio series. The timing measure proofed to be robust and equally applicable to both mainly pluvial river basins and snow melt dominated regimes. We found that the timing of runoff ratio is highly variable, but markedly coherent across the basins analysed. Differences in average timing are largely explained by basin elevation. Also the magnitude of low frequent changes in the seasonal timing of streamflow and the sensitivity to the changes in the timing of temperature increase with basin elevation. This sensitivity is in turn related to snow storage and release, whereby snow cover dynamics in late winter explain a large part of the low- and high-frequency variability. A trend analysis based on cumulative anomalies revealed a common structural break around the year 1988. While the timing of temperature shifted earlier by 4 days, accompanied by a temperature increase of 1 K, the timing of runoff ratio within higher basins shifted towards occurring earlier about 1 to 3 weeks. This accelerated and distinct change indicates, that impacts of climate change on the water cycle may be strongest in higher, snow melt dominated basins.
Recursive Utility and Jump-Diffusions

We derive the equilibrium interest rate and risk premiums using recursive utility for jump-diffusions. Compared to to the continuous version, including jumps allows for a separate risk aversion related to jump size risk in addition to risk aversion related to the continuous part. We also consider a version that allows marginal utility to depend on past consumption. The models with jumps are shown to have a potential to give better explanation of empirical regularities than the recursive models based on merely continuous dynamics.
Spectral optical monitoring of 3C 390.3 in 1995–2007 - I. Light curves and flux variation in the continuum and broad lines

Context. We present the results of the long-term (1995-2007) spectral monitoring of the broad-line radio galaxy 3C 390.3, a well known AGN with double-peaked broad emission lines, usually assumed to be emitted from an accretion disk. Aims. To explore dimensions and structure of the BLR, we analyze the light curves of the broad Hα and Hβ line fluxes and the continuum flux. To detect variations in the BLR, we analyze the Hα and Hβ line profiles, as well as the change in the line profiles during the monitoring period. Methods. We attempt first to find a periodicity in the continuum and Hβ light curves, finding that there is a high probability of measuring quasi-periodical oscillations. Using the line shapes and their characteristics (such as e.g., peak separation and their intensity ratio, or FWHM) of broad Hβ and Hα lines, we discuss the structure of the BLR. We also cross-correlate the continuum flux with Hβ and Hα lines to determine the dimensions of the BLR. Results. During the monitoring period, we found that the broad emission component of the Hα and Hβ lines, and the continuum flux varied by a factor of ≈4―5. We also detected different structure in the line profiles of Hα and Hβ. An additional central component appears to be present and superimposed on the disk emission. In the period of high activity (after 2002), Hβ became broader than Hα and red wing of Hβ was higher than that of Hα. We detected time lags of ∼95 days between the continuum and Hβ flux, and about 120 days between the continuum and Hα flux. Conclusions. Variations in the line profiles, as well as correlation between the line and continuum flux during the monitoring period, are consistent with a disk origin of the broad lines and the possible contribution of some additional region and/or some kind of perturbation in the disk.
The politics of performance: methodological challenges of researching children’s experiences of childhood through the lens of participatory video

This paper examines the value of participatory video (PV) for exploring childhood and children’s experiences within the context of a larger research project which sought to examine the everyday lives of residents in a neighbourhood identified as ‘disadvantaged’. Participatory methods are often premised on ameliorating the gap between the concepts and models of researchers and those of individuals and communities. However, within PV, there has been much less focus on the process of participation and its implications for research outcomes. This paper addresses this gap in order to explore how the children, researchers and residents co‐produced a visual narrative about life in the neighbourhood, and in particular, how a methodological focus on PV as process makes visible its potential to offer valuable insights not only into children’s social connectivities, relationships and friendships but also into the theorising of children’s identities and childhoods.
Content Based Image Retrieval Using Shape, Color and Texture

: The increased need of content based image retrieval technique can be found in a number of different domains such as data mining, education, medical imaging, crime prevention, weather forecasting, remote sensing and management of earth resources. Here, we present the content based image retrieval, using features like texture, shape and color, using wavelets termed as WBCHIR (Wavelet Based Color Histogram Image Retrieval). The results are found to be satisfactory with retrieval efficiency of 85 % and recall of 76.2%. the feature set used has 72 feature values derived from 4 scale & 6 orientation with mean, standard deviation and energy measures. With increase in image based searching and also increase in volume of image database information on web has been substantially exploited based on visual clues. An effective and computationally efficient algorithm has been topic of internet amongst researches. In this work an image database with more than 1000 images and having at least 10 categories is used and tested with WBCHIR method.
Periodontal Regeneration: A Split-Mouth Controlled Clinically 5-Year Case Study

Guided tissue regeneration (GTR) with biodegradable polylactide/polyglycolide acid (PLA/PGA) membranes was compared to open curettage and scaling and root planing (SRP) and re e v a l u a ted after 6 months and 5 years. Wound healing up to the sixth week postoperatively is considere d to be important for the regenerative effect. The purpose of the study was to determine whether GTR is superior to open curettage and SRP. Thirty-six teeth in 20 patients (8 females/12 males) with an average age of 44.6 years (17-64 years) were treated with GTR, applying re s o r b a b l e PLA/PGA membranes. Either open curettage or SRP was carried out on contralateral teeth. After 2, 4 and 6 weeks, wound healing was assessed. After intraindividual comparison to conventionally treated re f e rence teeth, the diff e rence of the clinical attachment level (� CAL), furc a t i o n involvement, and PPD was measured 6 months and 5 years postoperatively. The statistical significance was tested with the Mann-Whitney U-test. Disturbed wound healing was only seen after the GTR pro c e d u re (8 membrane exposures after 2 weeks, 1 after 4 weeks, none after 6 weeks). After 6 months,� CAL measured 1.5 mm (3.9 mm/2.4 mm) in comparison to open curettage and 0.9 mm (3.3 mm/2.3 mm) compared to SRP. Five years after GTR, there was a mean attachment gain of 3.8 mm. Our study shows that GTR with resorbable membranes is superior to open cure ttage and SRP in the treatment of vertical bone defects.
Household Smoking Bans in Ohio A Study of Interregional Correlates

Background: Clean indoor air ordinances are being rapidly adopted across the United States to protect persons in public places from exposure to environmental tobacco smoke. The private sphere can be partially protected by adopting a household smoking ban. Objective: To analyze the prevalence and adoption patterns of household smoking bans in Ohio. Design: The 2008 Ohio Family Health Survey collected data using random-digit-dialing methodology and cell phone sampling from more than 50,000 Ohio households that provided sociodemographic and health behavior data for analysis. Respondent, household, neighborhood and regional level data were examined to determine the prevalence of adopting a total household smoking ban. Basic descriptive statistics and chi square analyses were used to determine if there were differences in ban adoption by select characteristics. Results: The variables most closely associated with the adoption of household smoking bans included higher respondent education level, and the presence of children and other adults in a household. Being a current smoker was most negatively related to the adoption of a household smoking ban. Conclusions: Public health officials have done an excellent job promoting the adoption of household smoking bans. It may now be necessary to refocus future campaigns to target those populations that have lower household smoking ban adoption rates, namely those in rural Appalachia, blacks, and
Dynamic Extension of ASR Lexicon Using Wikipedia Data

Despite recent progress in developing Large Vocabulary Continuous Speech Recognition Systems (LVCSR), these systems suffer from-Of-Vocabulary words (OOV). In many cases, the OOV words are Proper Nouns (PNs). The correct recognition of PNs is essential for broadcast news, audio indexing, etc. In this article, we address the problem of OOV PN retrieval in the framework of broadcast news LVCSR. We focused on dynamic (document dependent) extension of LVCSR lexicon. To retrieve relevant OOV PNs, we propose to use a very large multipurpose text corpus: Wikipedia. This corpus contains a huge number of PNs. These PNs are grouped in semantically similar classes using word embedding. We use a two-step approach: first, we select OOV PN pertinent classes with a multi-class Deep Neural Network (DNN). Secondly, we rank the OOVs of the selected classes. The experiments on French broadcast news show that the Bi-GRU model outperforms other studied models. Speech recognition experiments demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed methodology.