Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Asteroseismological constraints on the structure of the ZZ Ceti star HL Tau 76

This paper reports the results derived from an asteroseismological study of the cool ZZ Ceti star HL Tau 76. A grid of models has been computed in a parameter space covering the range of log g and T eff , formerly determined by spectroscopy, and a large range of hydrogen mass fraction. The adiabatic non-radial oscillations for all the models have been computed for the modes of degrees l = 1 and l = 2. An algorithm based on a X 2 test was applied to evaluate the quality of the fit between observed and theoretical periods. This method resulted in selecting a best fitting model for which the average relative matching of the periods is 0.7%. Then, a detailed comparison between the observed and the computed periods for the l = 1 and l = 2 modes of the best fitting model was achieved in order to identify as many observed modes as possible. To perform this identification we used the calculated periods for which we applied the rotational splitting as deduced from the observations. Through this process we identify the 36 independent modes observed in HL Tau 76. The best fitting model for HL Tau 76 is well constrained due to the large number of oscillations detected in this ZZ Ceti star. The main stellar parameters of HL Tau 76 derived from this analysis are: the total mass M * = 0.575 ± 0.005 M ○. , the hydrogen mass fraction q H , estimated as thick as 2.35 ± 0.10 x 10 -4 . The helium mass fraction consistent with q H must be q He = 1 x 10 -2 . The method is not sensitive to T eff variations in the narrow domain of temperature derived from spectroscopy for HL Tau 76. The best adjustment is found however for T eff = 11 375 K. The other derived stellar parameters are the luminosity (L/L ○. = 0.00389) and the radius (R/R ○. = 0.0162). We note some trends in the fit of the observed periods with the computed ones which suggest that the rotational splitting could be non-uniform and that the large amplitude modes might contain information on the convection-driven excitation mechanism.
Summative Usability Assessments of STAR-Vote: A Cryptographically Secure e2e Voting System That Has Been Empirically Proven to Be Easy to Use

Background: From the project’s inception, STAR-Vote was intended to be one of the first usable, end-to-end (e2e) voting systems with sophisticated security. To realize STAR-Vote, computer security experts, statistical auditors, human factors (HF)/human-computer interaction (HCI) researchers, and election officials collaborated throughout the project and relied upon a user-centered, iterative design and development process, which included human factors research and usability testing, to make certain the system would be both usable and secure. Objective: While best practices in HF/HCI methods for design were used and all apparent usability problems were identified and fixed, summative system usability assessments were conducted toward the end of the user-centered design process to determine whether STAR-Vote is in fact easy to use. Method and Results: After collecting efficiency, effectiveness, and satisfaction measurements per ISO 9241-11’s system usability criteria, an analysis of the data revealed that there is evidence for STAR-Vote being the most usable, cryptographically secure voting system to date when compared with the previously tested e2e systems: Helios, Prêt à Voter, and Scantegrity. Conclusion and Application: STAR-Vote being one of the first e2e voting systems that is both highly usable and secure is a significant accomplishment, because tamper-resistant voting systems can be used in U.S. elections to ensure the integrity of the electoral process, while still ensuring that voter intent is accurately reflected in the cast ballots. Moreover, this research empirically shows that a complex, secure system can still be usable—meaning that implemented security is not an excuse for poor usability.
Exploring the pre-erythrocytic stage of the malaria parasite for possible target proteins to develop an effective vaccine and looking into available preventive measures against malaria:Can SPECT & SPECT2 act as potential targets for an effective vaccine?

Malaria is most commonly found in tropical and sub-tropical countries of Africa. In a year, 3.2 billion people are at risk of getting malaria of which infection occurs in over 200 million of which one million results in death; hence it is one of the most infectious parasite diseases. 90% of the deaths occur in south of Saharan desert and most of the cases are of children under the age of five. In the year 2012, malaria caused estimated total deaths of 627,000. In the year 2013, malaria caused estimated total deaths of 500,000. 40% of total malaria cases in the world are from Nigeria and the Democratic Republic of Congo (Statistics provided by WHO). These stats strongly suggest the need of a preventive malaria vaccine. Here we analyze the malaria parasite cycle, specifically pre-erythrocytic stage, and present some possible target proteins. We also look at the current options for prevention of malaria.
Rural Poverty Dynamics in Pakistan: Evidence from Three Waves of the Panel Survey

Poverty analysis in developing countries including Pakistan has in general focused on poverty trends based on cross-sectional datasets, with very little attention being paid to dynamics—of transitory or chronic poverty. Transitory poor are those who move out or fall into poverty between two or more points of time whereas the chronic poor remain in the poverty trap for a significant period of their lives. The static measures of households’ standard of living do not necessarily provide a good insight into their likely stability over time. For instance, a high mobility into or out of poverty may suggest that a higher proportion of a population experiences poverty over time than what the cross-sectional data might show. 1 It also implies that a much smaller proportion of the population experiences chronic poverty contrary to the results of cross-sectional datasets in a particular year [Hossain and Bayes (2010)]. Thus, the analysis of poverty dynamics is important to uncover the true nature of wellbeing of population. Both the micro and macro level socio-demographic and economic factors are likely to affect poverty movements and intergenerational poverty transmission [Krishna (2011)].
Molt patterns, age criteria, and molt-breeding dynamics in American Samoan landbirds

ABSTRACT We examined 135 specimens and analyzed 1,735 captures of indigenous American Samoan landbirds, of nine target species in seven families, to document molt patterns, assess the extent of molt-breeding overlap, and present criteria to determine age. Preformative molts varied from absent to complete, and there was no confirmed evidence for prealternate molts. Molt strategies, age-determination criteria, and remigial replacement sequences were largely consistent with those of other temperate and tropical bird species within the same families. Suspended and/or arrested molts were recorded in seven species and staffelmauser or stepwise molt in two species, including the first report in a passerine. Our data suggest that staffelmauser and suspension of molt in passerines may share a common underlying mechanism. Despite broad overlap of breeding and molting seasons at the population level, we observed little evidence of molt-breeding overlap at the individual level. We suggest that molt and accompanying restoration processes may take precedence over breeding, as indicated by well-defined molting seasons despite apparent year-round or bi-modal breeding in some of our species. Tropical landbird species appear to be capable of suspending molt to breed when environmental conditions shift to facilitate successful reproduction.
A Study on Clinical Determinants and one year Follow-Up of Dementia and Mild Cognitive Impairment Following Ischemic Stroke

Cognitive impairment due to cerebrovascular disease is termed “Vascular Cognitive Impairment” and forms a spectrum that includes Vascular Dementia and milder forms of cognitive impairment referred to as Vascular Mild Cognitive Impairment. While Vascular Dementia is the second most common cause of dementia, the milder form Vascular Mild Cognitive Impairment is much more common. Nearly half of individuals with Vascular Mild Cognitive Impairment convert to dementia after five years. Vascular cognitive disorders are poised to become the silent epidemic of the 21st century and contribute significantly to mortality, disability, and decreased quality of life. It is now clear that Vascular Cognitive Impairment is not a single entity, but represents a complex neurological disorder that occurs as a result of interaction between vascular risk factors and brain parenchymal changes such as macro and micro infarcts, haemorrhages, white matter changes, and brain atrophy occurring in an ageing brain. Factors that determine progression of milder form Vascular Mild Cognitive Impairment to dementia are not well understood. Since Vascular Cognitive Impairment is amenable to prevention and treatment, there is a pressing need to identify factors that protect or predispose to it. Dementia is a common sequelae of stroke with a frequency ranging from 16% to 32%. In a more recent epidemiological study, the 10- year risk of dementia after stroke was estimated at 19.3%, compared to 11.0% in non-stroke controls. This twofold increase in dementia following stroke is in contrast with a nine fold increase reported in some previous studies. The large variation in rates is accounted for by variations in the populations studied as well as the criteria used for the diagnosis of dementia. As the definition of vascular dementia is currently being refined, it is timely that these studies be revisited. One aspect of this reassessment is the consideration of vascular mild cognitive impairment in stroke patients, which has thus far received little attention. 1. This study supports the high prevalence of dementia and mild cognitive impairment following stroke, especially in older individuals, and highlights the importance of cognitive reserve. 2. The contribution of cerebrovascular risk factors is not independent of the stroke risk. 3. Subcortical dementia was the most frequent subtype of Vascular Dementia in our hospital-based series. 4. Stroke volume is a significant determinant of post-stroke dementia. 5. This study suggests that cognitive performance in stroke patients may change over time. It also suggests that progression of cognitive impairment is common after stroke. 6. The cognitive impairment is not only frequent with stroke, but also significantly affects functional adaptation after the acute phase. Efforts to modify the course of acute stroke should also take into account "chronic brain failure" as an outcome.
Retrieval of an ice water path over the ocean from ISMAR and MARSS millimeter and submillimeter brightness temperatures

Abstract. A neural-network-based retrieval method to determine the snow ice water path (SIWP), liquid water path (LWP), and integrated water vapor (IWV) from millimeter and submillimeter brightness temperatures, measured by using airborne radiometers (ISMAR and MARSS), is presented. The neural networks were trained by using atmospheric profiles from the ICON numerical weather prediction (NWP) model and by radiative transfer simulations using the Atmospheric Radiative Transfer Simulator (ARTS). The basic performance of the retrieval method was analyzed in terms of offset (bias) and the median fractional error (MFE), and the benefit of using submillimeter channels was studied in comparison to pure microwave retrievals. The retrieval is offset-free for SIWP > 0.01 kg m−2, LWP > 0.1 kg m−2, and IWV > 3 kg m−2. The MFE of SIWP decreases from 100 % at SIWP = 0.01 kg m−2 to 20 % at SIWP = 1 kg m−2 and the MFE of LWP from 100 % at LWP = 0.05 kg m−2 to 30 % at LWP = 1 kg m−2. The MFE of IWV for IWV > 3 kg m−2 is 5 to 8 %. The SIWP retrieval strongly benefits from submillimeter channels, which reduce the MFE by a factor of 2, compared to pure microwave retrievals. The IWV and the LWP retrievals also benefit from submillimeter channels, albeit to a lesser degree. The retrieval was applied to ISMAR and MARSS brightness temperatures from FAAM flight B897 on 18 March 2015 of a precipitating frontal system west of the coast of Iceland. Considering the given uncertainties, the retrieval is in reasonable agreement with the SIWP, LWP, and IWV values simulated by the ICON NWP model for that flight. A comparison of the retrieved IWV with IWV from 12 dropsonde measurements shows an offset of 0.5 kg m−2 and an RMS difference of 0.8 kg m−2, showing that the retrieval of IWV is highly effective even under cloudy conditions.
A Two-Step Approach to Investigate Dividend Policy: Evidence from Vietnamese Stock Market

Dividend policy includes two steps of making decisions, namely dividend payment and dividend magnitude; however, several prior studies focus on only one in two steps. This study investigates dividend policy in Vietnamese stock market with Heckman’s two-step regression approach which fixes the selection bias caused by censored research data. Research findings show that in the first step, likelihood of dividend payment is positively affected by profitability, firm size and earned/contributed capital mix and state control while it is negatively related to investment opportunities, stock liquidity and insider ownership. In the second step, investment opportunities and insider retention have a negative impact on dividend yields while leverage has negative and positive impacts on payout ratio and dividend yield respectively. Contrary to free cash flow hypothesis, free cash flows to total assets ratio is negatively related to payout ratio.
Quantum Monte Carlo and variational approaches to the Holstein model

Based on the canonical Lang-Firsov transformation of the Hamiltonian we develop a very efficient quantum Monte Carlo algorithm for the Holstein model with one electron. Separation of the fermionic degrees of freedom by a reweighting of the probability distribution leads to a dramatic reduction in computational effort. A principal component representation of the phonon degrees of freedom allows to sample completely uncorrelated phonon configurations. The combination of these elements enables us to perform efficient simulations for a wide range of temperature, phonon frequency, and electron-phonon coupling on clusters large enough to avoid finite-size effects. The algorithm is tested in one dimension and the data are compared with exact-diagonalization results and with existing work. Moreover, the ideas presented here can also be applied to the many-electron case. In the one-electron case considered here, the physics of the Holstein model can be described by a simple variational approach.
State of Art of the French Telemedicine Projects in the Field of Chronic HeartFailure

Background: This is a narrative short review of the literature pertaining to telemedicine projects developed in the field of chronic heart failure (CHF), with special attention to the French projects. Results: Numerous telemedicine projects, based on connected objects or information and communication technology (ICT), have emerged over the last five years or are under development in the field of CHF. This is the case of the telemedicine projects: SCAD, OSICAT, PIMS, MEDICA and E-care. The E-care project is a French telemonitoring project of new generation. This project support patients returning home after hospital. It fits perfectly within the framework of telemedicine 2.0 projects, including for the first time artificial intelligence (AI). This project has been specifically designed to automatically detect situations at risk for CHF. The potential contribution of these French projects (OSICAT, Ecare) is currently under study or documentation, especially in terms of mortality or morbidity, in addition to number of hospitalizations avoided, or economic benefits.
Improved performance in a supercapacitor-based energy storage control system with bidirectional DC-DC converter for elevator motor drives

A supercapacitor-based energy storage control scheme for elevator motor drives that exhibits improved performance and maximum exploitation of the storage device is proposed in this paper. The suggested energy storage system is connected to the dc-link of an elevator motor drive through a bidirectional dc-dc converter and the braking energy is stored at the supercapacitor bank. Aim of the control scheme is to ensure power supply to the elevator motor as possible from the temporary stored energy of the supercapacitors, in order to minimize the power consumption from the grid. Also, since the capacitance of the supercapacitor and consequently the energy storage capability reduces with increasing frequency, the proposed control scheme aims to provide smooth charging and discharging performance. This is attained by optimally controlling the dc-dc power converter through a new control technique that takes into account any variations of the ac supply voltage to the elevator motor drive and also on-line adjusting the dc-link voltage Proportional-Integral (PI) controller parameters according to the elevator operating conditions. Several simulation results are presented to demonstrate the resulting improvements of the suggested control scheme.
European Monetary Integration and the Incompatibility of National Varieties of Capitalism

The Varieties of Capitalism literature offers two competing hypotheses on institutional resilience. One argues that globalization promotes convergence towards a neo‐liberal system. Another stipulates that diverse capitalist regimes promote different comparative advantages, enabling diverse political economies to co‐exist. In this article, we argue that the compatibility of diverse models of capitalism is contingent upon monetary regime. We examine how different currency regimes influence the mutual co‐existence of export‐led growth models (euro core) and domestic demand‐led growth models (euro periphery). Under EMU, we find that these two models have become increasing incompatible, as unsustainable divergences in external balances have emerged between them. We hypothesize that external imbalances between these two growth regimes did not emerge prior to EMU because of the presence of two inflation adjustment mechanisms in the real exchange rate; the nominal exchange rate (in soft currency regimes) and national central banks’ promotion of inflation convergence (in hard currency regimes).
Increased Purchases of Locally Grown Ethnic Greens and Herbs due to Concerns about Food Miles

The purpose of this study was to highlight locally grown ethnic greens and herbs purchases due to concern about food miles and associated impact on purchasing these greens and herbs. A telephone survey was conducted in 16 East Coast states and Washington D.C., May through October of 2010, to document ethnic consumers’ behavior and demand for greens and herbs traditionally used in cuisine, important to their cultures. Data collected can be used to assist small and medium-sized farmers with better understanding consumer perceptions and factors that drive ethnic greens and herbs markets.
The administration of high-mobility group box 1 fragment prevents deterioration of cardiac performance by enhancement of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cell homing in the delta-sarcoglycan-deficient hamster

Objectives We hypothesized that systemic administration of high-mobility group box 1 fragment attenuates the progression of myocardial fibrosis and cardiac dysfunction in a hamster model of dilated cardiomyopathy by recruiting bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells thus causing enhancement of a self-regeneration system. Methods Twenty-week-old J2N-k hamsters, which are δ-sarcoglycan-deficient, were treated with systemic injection of high-mobility group box 1 fragment (HMGB1, n=15) or phosphate buffered saline (control, n=11). Echocardiography for left ventricular function, cardiac histology, and molecular biology were analyzed. The life-prolonging effect was assessed separately using the HMGB1 and control groups, in addition to a monthly HMGB1 group which received monthly systemic injections of high-mobility group box 1 fragment, 3 times (HMGB1, n=11, control, n=9, monthly HMGB1, n=9). Results The HMGB1 group showed improved left ventricular ejection fraction, reduced myocardial fibrosis, and increased capillary density. The number of platelet-derived growth factor receptor-alpha and CD106 positive mesenchymal stem cells detected in the myocardium was significantly increased, and intra-myocardial expression of tumor necrosis factor α stimulating gene 6, hepatic growth factor, and vascular endothelial growth factor were significantly upregulated after high-mobility group box 1 fragment administration. Improved survival was observed in the monthly HMGB1 group compared with the control group. Conclusions Systemic high-mobility group box 1 fragment administration attenuates the progression of left ventricular remodeling in a hamster model of dilated cardiomyopathy by enhanced homing of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells into damaged myocardium, suggesting that high-mobility group box 1 fragment could be a new treatment for dilated cardiomyopathy.
Listening for landslides: method, measurements and the Peace River Case Study

Landslides cause many thousands of fatalities each year all over the globe and damage built environment infrastructure costing billions of pounds to repair, resulting in thousands of people being made homeless and the breakdown of basic services such as water supply and transport. There is a clear need for cost effective instrumentation that can provide an early warning of slope instability to enable evacuation of vulnerable people and timely repair and maintenance of critical infrastructure. An approach that uses detection and quantification of acoustic emission (AE) generated as a slope deforms has been developed through research and performance demonstrated in multiple field trials. This paper will describe the measurement system and the approach developed to quantify slope displacement rates. Measurements from long-running field trials in the UK will be shown to demonstrate performance of the method. Finally, the paper will introduce a case study at Peace River, Alberta, where the AE monitoring system is being used to monitor stability of a slope that threatens continued operation of a major highway. Initial AE readings will be presented and compared to surveys of an adjacent inclinometer casing. The influence of precipitation on generated AE and performance of the system during sustained low temperatures will be discussed.
Mechanisms of Summertime Subtropical Southern Indian Ocean Sea Surface Temperature Variability: On the Importance of Humidity Anomalies and the Meridional Advection of Water Vapor*

Abstract It is well known that some austral summertime subtropical Indian Ocean sea surface temperature (SST) variability correlates with rainfall over certain regions of Africa that depend on rainfall for their economic well-being. Recent studies have determined that this SST variability is at least partially driven by latent heat flux variability, but the mechanism has not been fully described. Here, the mechanism that drives this SST variability is reexamined using analyses of operational air–sea fluxes, ocean mixed layer modeling, and simple atmospheric boundary layer physics. The SST variability of interest is confirmed to be mainly driven by latent heat flux variability, which is shown, for the first time, to be mainly caused by near-surface humidity variability. This humidity variability is then shown to be fundamentally driven by the anomalous meridional advection of water vapor. The meridional wind anomalies of interest are subsequently found to occur when the subtropical atmospheric anticyclone .