Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Uniform Scaling of Physical Units and the Principle of Rationality of Measurement

One of the most basic principles in science is the objectivity of measurement of physical properties. According to the special theory of relativity (STR), this ancient principle is violated for observers in relative motion since it predicts that they generally will disagree on the ratios of the lengths of two objects and also on whose clock is running slower at any given time. Both predictions stem from the Lorentz transformation (LT), which is the centerpiece of Einstein's STR. It has recently been pointed out that two of the claims of this theory are mutually contradictory; it is impossible that the rates of two clocks in motion are strictly proportional to one another (time dilation) while one of them finds that two events are simultaneous whereas the other does not (remote non-simultaneity). This recognition proves that the LT is not a valid component of the relativistic theory of motion, including its well-known thesis that space and time are not distinct quantities. Instead, it has always been found experimentally that the rates of clocks in motion are governed by a Universal Time-dilation Law (UTDL), whereby the speed of the clock relative to a specific rest system is the sole determining factor. A simple way of describing this state of affairs is to say that the standard unit of time in each rest frame is different and increases with its relative speed to the above rest system by a definite factor. The measurement process is thereby rendered to be completely objective in nature. A key goal of relativity theory is therefore to develop a quantitatively valid method for determining this factor. It will be shown that the same factor appears in the true relativistic space-time transformation and that it also plays a key role in the uniform scaling of all other physical properties.
Verification of a seeder–feeder orographic precipitation enhancement scheme accounting for low‐level blocking

A subgrid parametrization scheme representing the enhancement of precipitation due to subgrid orography via the seeder–feeder (SF) effect has been modified to account for flow blocking in small Froude number situations. The scheme was validated in a set of limited‐area model simulations with a 1.5 km grid spacing, in which the orography was degraded by varying amounts. For simulations in which the largest orographic scales are still fairly well represented, the SF scheme was able to reduce the precipitation deficit by 30 to 70%. For simulations where the hills were completely subgrid, the SF scheme was still able to reduce the precipitation deficit by 10 to 30%. As well as increasing the integrated precipitation in global simulations with various grid spacings, some of the precipitation production was shifted from the convection scheme, with its very simple microphysical representation, to the microphysics scheme. In a long‐duration climate simulation, the SF scheme enhancements of orographic precipitation perturb the large‐scale hydrological cycle, as evidenced by the far‐field changes in both microphysical and convective precipitation. Changes over major mountain ranges were similar to those described for the case‐studies, so long as the upstream precipitation impinging on the mountains was not reduced by these changes in the global hydrological cycle. Increased atmospheric drying reduces column‐integrated resolved cloud water mixing ratios over mountains, reducing a positive bias in the amount of optically thick cloud with low‐ to mid‐level tops compared to ISCCP satellite observations. The associated reductions in cloud albedo slightly reduced the RMS error in the top‐of‐atmosphere outgoing short‐wave radiative fluxes over mountains compared to CERES satellite observations.
Logical leases: scalable hardware and software systems through time traveling

Parallelism is the key to performance in modern computer systems. However, parallel systems are hard to design and to use. Challenges of parallelism exist across the whole system stack in both hardware and software. In this thesis, we improve the scalability and performance of shared-memory parallel systems in both hardware and software. We propose a simple technique, called logical leases, to achieve this goal. Logical leases allow a parallel system to dynamically reorder operations to minimize conflicts, leading to high performance and scalability. The power of logical leases comes from its novel way of combining physical and logical time. The new notion of time, called physiological time, is more flexible and efficient than pure physical or logical time alone. We implemented three systems based on logical leases. Tardis leverages logical leases to implement a scalable cache coherence protocol for multicore shared-memory processors. Compared to the widely-adopted directory-based cache coherence protocol, and its variants, Tardis avoids multicasting and broadcasting and only requires Θ(logN) storage per cache block for an N-core system rather than Θ(N) sharer information. Compared to directory-based counterparts, Tardis has lower storage overheads, lower network traffic, higher performance, and yet is simpler to reason about. We present the basic protocol, its extensions and optimizations, and a formal proof of correctness of Tardis. TicToc leverages logical leases to implement a high-performance concurrency control algorithm for on-line transaction processing (OLTP) database management systems (DBMSs). Based on logical leases, TicToc provides a simple way of serializing transactions logically at runtime. TicToc has no centralized bottleneck, and commits transactions that would be aborted by conventional concurrency control algorithms. TicToc outperforms its state-of-the-art counterparts by up to 92% while reducing aborts by up to 3.3×. Sundial is a distributed concurrency control protocol, also based on logical leases. Sundial has two salient features. First, it uses a logical-lease-based distributed concurrency control algorithm to achieve high performance and low abort rate for distributed transactions. Second, it allows a server to cache data from remote servers at runtime while maintaining strong correctness guarantees (i.e., serializability). Sundial seamlessly integrates both features into a unified protocol which has low complexity. Evaluation shows that the distributed concurrency control algorithm in Sundial improves system performance by up to 57%, compared to the best baseline protocol we evaluate. Caching further improves performance by up to 3× when hotspot read-intensive tables exist. Thesis Supervisor: Srinivas Devadas Title: Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
An efficient algorithm for bounded spectral matching with affine constraint

Graph matching problem appears frequently in the applications of computer vision and machine learning. In this work, based on the spectral matching with affine constraint (SMAC) formulation, we present a new formulation, named bounded SMAC (BSMAC), for the graph matching problem by adding an upper‐bound constraint on the solution norm. We demonstrate the existence of a unique solution with BSMAC, whereas SMAC needs not to have any meaningful solution in general. We develop an effective numerical method to solve the BSMAC formulation as an optimization problem. Numerical experiments are presented to verify feasibility and to show the performance of the proposed numerical method.
Optical and X-ray properties of galaxy clusters

Galaxy clusters are very useful astronomical tools; they are used as a means to study galaxy formation and evolution, large scale structure, but also as probes to constrain cosmological parameters. This work aims to explore some of the uses of galaxy clusters in cosmology by constructing an optically confirmed X-ray selected galaxy cluster catalogue and studying various aspects of galaxy clusters and their effect on cosmology. I introduce the theoretical background of this work, describing the current cosmological model, the properties, dynamics and use of galaxy clusters. I describe the main tools that were used to create the XMM Cluster Survey (XCS) DR2 cluster catalogue in the SDSS region and proceed with a thorough outline of the construction and properties of the clusters in the catalogue. The properties of these clusters, along with clusters from optical catalogues and clusters from simulations were studied further as a function of their environment. Possible differences in the properties, mass functions and luminosity–temperature relation of clusters in different environments show the influence of the latter on the formation and growth of galaxy clusters. Moreover, those differences can affect the results of cosmological studies that do not take into account this environmental selection effect. Finally, I study the rotation of the constituents of the galaxy clusters. Rotating cluster galaxy members can change the result of the calculation of the virial mass of the galaxy clusters that is used in many types of studies, amongst which is cosmology.
Global Cloud Detection for CERES Edition 4 Using Terra and Aqua MODIS Data

The Clouds and Earth’s Radiant Energy System (CERES) has been monitoring clouds and radiation since 2000 using algorithms developed before 2002 for CERES Edition 2 (Ed2) products. To improve cloud amount accuracy, CERES Edition 4 (Ed4) applies revised algorithms and input data to Terra and Aqua MODerate-resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) radiances. The Ed4 cloud mask uses 5–7 additional channels, new models for clear-sky ocean and snow/ice-surface radiances, and revised Terra MODIS calibrations. Mean Ed4 daytime and nighttime cloud amounts exceed their Ed2 counterparts by 0.035 and 0.068. Excellent consistency between average Aqua and Terra cloud fraction is found over nonpolar regions. Differences over polar regions are likely due to unresolved calibration discrepancies. Relative to Ed2, Ed4 cloud amounts agree better with those from the Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observations (CALIPSO). CALIPSO comparisons indicate that Ed4 cloud amounts are more than or as accurate as other available cloud mask systems. The Ed4 mask correctly identifies cloudy or clear areas 90%–96% of the time during daytime over nonpolar areas depending on the CALIPSO–MODIS averaging criteria. At night, the range is 88%–95%. Accuracy decreases over land. The polar day and night accuracy ranges are 90%–91% and 80%–81%, respectively. The mean Ed4 cloud fractions slightly exceed the average for seven other imager cloud masks. Remaining biases and uncertainties are mainly attributed to errors in Ed4 predicted clear-sky radiances. The resulting cloud fractions should help CERES produce a more accurate radiation budget and serve as part of a cloud property climate data record.
The Educational Consequences of Mobility for California Students and Schools. Research Series.

Although all students change schools when they are promoted from one school level to another, some students also move from one school to another for reasons other than promotion. The practice of students making non-promotional school changes is referred to as student mobility. Past research has documented that student mobility is widespread in the United States and often detrimental to the educational achievement of students. Yet little of this research has focused on the secondary level or examined mobility from the school perspective.
Evaluation de l’écotoxicité des rejets urbains par temps de pluie : Développement d’une batterie de bioessais et application à la conception de biocapteurs

Les Rejets Urbains par Temps de Pluie (RUTP) representent une pollution tres complexe et variable de par la diversite des evenements pluvieux et des bassins versants lessives. Les RUTP sont, dans la majorite des cas, rejetes dans des milieux recepteurs aquatiques peri-urbains tels que les lacs, rivieres ou eaux souterraines, sans traitement d’epuration. La pollution deversee, qui peut etre tres diluee, est le plus souvent liee a des evenements relativement courts et difficiles a prevoir. L’impact ecotoxique des RUTP peut donc s’averer difficile a evaluer, en particulier par des mesures directes in situ. Parmi les organismes utilises en ecotoxicologie, les microalgues sont extremement interessantes. En effet, elles constituent la base des reseaux trophiques, sont sensibles a une large gamme de polluants et sont tres sensibles a la presence de substances exogenes. C’est la raison pour laquelle nous avons developpe dans un premier temps une batterie de biomarqueurs cellulaires sur microalgue (perturbation de la physiologie (comme la photosynthese) de Chlorella vulgaris), afin de montrer leur interet pour detecter rapidement et sensiblement l’impact toxique d’echantillons de RUTP collectes sur la region Lyonnaise. La reponse de ces biomarqueurs a ete comparee en laboratoire a une batterie de bioessais ecotoxicologiques monospecifiques classiques sur microalgues et microcrustaces (e.g. essais de croissance, reproduction). Dans un second temps, nous avons travaille a l’adaptation de ces biomarqueurs afin de creer des outils de detection in situ. Des biocapteurs a cellules entieres, bases sur une mesure de la perturbation de la photosynthese (fluorescence chlorophyllienne) de microalgues, ont ete developpes. Pour leur creation, deux techniques de mise en contact bio-recepteur/transducteur ont ete testees : (i) la double encapsulation des microalgues dans des hydrogels alginate/silice utilisant un procede sol-gel, et (ii) l’inclusion des microalgues dans des puces microfluidiques fabriquees par xurographie. Une station portative autonome de terrain a ete elaboree et testee avec efficacite pour effectuer des mesures in situ de la toxicite des RUTP, et des milieux aquatiques urbains contamines. Ce travail de these presente de nombreuses perspectives concernant une meilleure connaissance de l’impact des RUTP sur les organismes aquatiques. Il apporte egalement des reponses a la problematique du developpement des biocapteurs a cellules algales entieres pour la surveillance environnementale.
EFMCDM: Evidential Fuzzy Multicriteria Decision Making Based on Belief Entropy

Multicriteria decision making (MCDM) has become one of the most frequently applied decision making methodologies in various fields. However, uncertainty is inevitably involved in the process of MCDM due to the subjectivity of humans. To address this issue, a novel evidential fuzzy MCDM method, called EFMCDM, is proposed by integrating Dempster–Shafer theory with belief entropy. In particular, each criterion can be modeled as evidence, and all the alternatives compose the frame of discernment in the framework of Dempster–Shafer theory. To generate more appropriate basic probability assignments (BPAs) of the criteria, the EFMCDM method considers both the subjective and objective weighting of the criteria that are leveraged in MCDM problems. Thereafter, the classic Dempster's rule of combination is leveraged to fuse the multiple pieces of evidence into composite evidence. On this basis, the alternatives are ranked to determine the optimal alternative. In addition, the EFMCDM method can quantitatively model uncertainty and help to decrease the uncertainty caused by subjective human cognition to improve decision making. Finally, the rationality, effectiveness, and robustness of the EFMCDM method are demonstrated through experimental evaluations.
Design of a PI Control using Operator Theory for Infinite Dimensional Hyperbolic Systems

This paper considers the control design of a nonlinear distributed parameter system in infinite dimension, described by the hyperbolic Partial Differential Equations (PDEs) of de Saint-Venant. The nonlinear system dynamic is formulated by a Multi-Models approach over a wide operating range, where each local model is defined around a set of operating regimes. A new Proportional Integral (PI) feedback is designed and performed through Bilinear Operator Inequality (BOI) and Linear Operator Inequality (LOI) techniques for infinite dimensional systems. The new results have been simulated and also compared to previous results in finite and infinite dimension, in order to illustrate the new theoretical contribution.
Impact of Group Medical Visits for Adult Patients with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus

Diabetes is a condition that is primarily self-managed and lifestyle modifications such as diet, exercise, and weight management are necessary to reduce morbidity and mortality. Motivation to implement lifestyle modifications through self management is an integral part of disease management and studies have shown group medical visits are more effective than individual appointments in this patient population. The purpose of this project was to develop, implement and evaluate an evidencebased group medical visit program for up to a maximum of 8 adult patients with type 2 diabetes in a family practice setting for six months. Seven participants with abnormal A1C results accepted the invitation to attend group medical visits. Here surrounded by peers with the same diagnosis, they were able to learn and discuss methods to self manage their type 2 diabetes. At the conclusion post survey results indicate positive change in some lifestyle behaviors and improvement with hemoglobin A1C. However there was no improvement in weight management. A cost analysis reveals group medical visits may generate a small profit when compared to individual visits. Group medical visits may offer an effective means to motivate patients to make lifestyle change to reduce risk. Chapter One: Introduction The number of patients diagnosed with diabetes is climbing at an alarming rate and is considered to be epidemic by some experts. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC, 2008) estimated the prevalence rate for diabetes in the United States at nearly 24 million or 8 percent of the population. This figure is up from the 2002 estimates of 18.1 million or 6.3% of the population. At first glance this increase may not seem so alarming but the overall incidence of type 2 diabetes tripled from 1980 to 2006 with greater than one third of the patients being 65 years or older (CDC, 2007a). Type 2 diabetes accounts for 90 to 95 percent of all diabetes cases and approximately one-third of patients are unaware they even have the disease. The National Diabetes Information Clearinghouse (NDIC, 2005) estimates that approximately 54 million individuals have a pre-diabetic condition (impaired glucose tolerance or impaired fasting glucose) that if left untreated will likely develop into diabetes within 10 years. Health care costs associated with diabetes are quite significant. Medical expenditures for diabetic patients are 2.3 times greater than non diabetics (American Diabetes Association [ADA], 2007). The ADA (2007) estimated expenditures of $174 billion in 2007, of which $116 billion was spent on direct medical care. Hospitalizations for diabetes related problems totaled 24.3 million days with $58.3 billion spent. Outpatient care rates were the highest for diabetic patients and totaled $9.9 billion. There were 15 million work absences and 120 million reduced performance workdays. Approximately 107 million work days lost due to disability attributed to diabetes related
Evaluation and Comparison of Two Different Mouthwashes on Frictional Resistance Between Orthodontic Bracket and Archwire: An in Vitro Study

Abstract Aims: This study aimed to evaluate and compare the effect of tea tree oil (TTO) mouthwash and chlorhexidine (CHX) mouthwash on frictional resistance. Settings and Design: In vitro. Materials and Methods: In total, 60 extracted premolars were mounted on a custom-made acrylic fixture. These 60 premolars were randomly divided into 3 groups of 20 each, on which 0.022″ × 0.028″ slot MBT stainless steel brackets were bonded and 0.019″ × 0.025″ rectangular stainless steel wire was ligated with an elastomeric module. The 3 groups included a control group where the samples were immersed in artificial saliva and 2 experimental groups immersed in 0.2% CHX and TTO mouthwash, respectively, for 1.5 hours. Postimmersion static frictional resistance was evaluated on a universal testing machine at crosshead speed of 0.5 mm/min. Statistical Analysis Used: Tukey’s post hoc procedure. Results: This study showed a statistically significant difference in the frictional resistance between saliva and CHX groups and CHX and TTO groups (P < .05). No statistically significant difference was observed between saliva and TTO groups (P > .05). The frictional resistance was more in the CHX mouthwash group than in the TTO mouthwash group. Conclusions: Frictional resistance was lesser in the TTO mouthwash than in the CHX mouthwash. Based on this result, TTO mouthwash can be used instead of CHX mouthwash as an oral hygiene aid in patients with orthodontic treatments.
Numerical hydrodynamic analysis of wave energy converter arrays with inter-body mooring connections, with the spar-buoy OWC as a case study

This PhD thesis explores the hydrodynamics and the performance of a moored array of Wave Energy Converters (WECs). A comparison is made between the performance of an array with bottom mooring lines and the performance of an array that uses shared mooring lines (i.e. inter-body mooring connections). The fundamental equations for arrays with shared moorings are developed in the frequency-domain where simple spherical devices moving in the three translational modes are considered. The numerical model uses linear hydrodynamic and hydrostatic forces, while the mooring connections are linearised using perturbation theory. This is further elaborated upon by considering cylindrical devices, so that the three rotational modes may be considered, as well as their hydrodynamic coupling with the three translational modes. This moored array of cylindrical devices moving in all six Degrees-of-Freedom (DoF) is used as a foundation to explore the hydrodynamics and the performance of an array of floating Oscillating Water Column (OWC) devices known as spar-buoy OWC. Real fluid viscous effects are accounted for by using a linear approximation. The frequency-domain numerical model of the moored array of spar-buoy OWCs is used as a basis for a stochastic model, where the array's performance for a Portuguese wave climate is assessed. The performance of arrays with shared mooring connections VS arrays with bottom mooring connections is explored in both the frequency and stochastic domain models for the spar-buoy OWC array. Both models have confirmed that there is minimal difference in performance between the two mooring systems, which is desirable because the one has been suggested as a more economically viable solution than the other due to drastic reductions in the amount of mooring cables and anchors.
Volatile Organic Compound Emissions from Prescribed Burning in Tallgrass Prairie Ecosystems

Prescribed pasture burning plays a critical role in ecosystem maintenance in tallgrass prairie ecosystems and may contribute to agricultural productivity but can also have negative impacts on air quality. Volatile organic compound (VOC) concentrations were measured immediately downwind of prescribed tallgrass prairie fires in the Flint Hills region of Kansas, United States. The VOC mixture is dominated by alkenes and oxygenated VOCs, which are highly reactive and can drive photochemical production of ozone downwind of the fires. The computed emission factors are comparable to those previous measured from pasture maintenance fires in Brazil. In addition to the emission of large amounts of particulate matter, hazardous air pollutants such as benzene and acrolein are emitted in significant amounts and could contribute to adverse health effects in exposed populations.