Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Pathwise solutions and attractors for retarded SPDEs with time smooth diffusion coefficients

In this paper we study the longtime dynamics of mild solutions to retarded stochastic evolution systems driven by a Hilbert-valued Brownian motion. As a preparation for this purpose we have to show the existence and uniqueness of a cocycle solution of such an equation. We do not assume that the noise is given in additive form or that it is a very simple multiplicative noise. However, we need some smoothing property for the coefficient in front of the noise. The main idea of this paper consists of expressing the stochastic integral in terms of non-stochastic integrals and the noisy path by using an integration by parts. This latter term causes that in a first moment only a local mild solution can be obtained, since in order to apply the Banach fixed point theorem it is crucial to have the H\"older norm of the noisy path to be sufficiently small. Later, by using appropriate stopping times, we shall derive the existence and uniqueness of a global mild solution. Furthermore, the asymptotic behavior is investigated by using the {\it Random Dynamical Systems theory}. In particular, we shall show that the global mild solution generates a random dynamical system that, under an appropriate smallness condition for the time lag, have associated a random attractor.
Increased risk of HPV infection, but no increased risk of cervical dysplasia: HIV-negative commercial sex workers in Senegal

Increased risk of HPV infection, but no increased r isk of cervical dysplasia: HIV-negative commercial sex workers in Senegal Angela K. Ulrich Chair of the Supervisory Committee: Stephen E. Hawes Department of Epidemiology Human papillomavirus (HPV) is a causative agent in cervical cancer development and commercial sex workers (CSW) are at high risk for e xposure to STDs, including HPV. From October 1994-January 1998, CSW and non-CSW wer e interviewed, cervical swabs were taken for HPV DNA testing, and cervical cytolo gy was conducted. We found that CSW have a higher prevalence of current HPV infecti on with high-risk HPV-16 (OR: 2.56, 95% CI: 1.46-4.46) and HPV-18 (OR:2.08, 95% C I:1.03-4.20) compared to nonCSW. Likewise, CSW had a higher rate of incident HP V-16 DNA detection (HR: 3.01, 95% CI: 1.20-7.54). However, prevalence of low and high grade squamous intraepithelial lesions (LSIL) and (HSIL) were not significantly hi g er in CSW compared to non-CSW (OR: 0.61, 95% CI: 0.32-1.16 and OR: 0.21, 95% CI: 0.07-0.65, respectively) and neither were incident cases of LSIL or HSIL (HR: 0.95, 95% CI: 0.0.51-1.77 and OR: 0.76, 95% CI: 0.30-1.91, respectively). We hypothesize that u nmeasured immune responses in repeatedly exposed women may be responsible for the lack of association between commercial sex work and cervical dysplasia despite the increased risk of infection with high-risk types of HPV.
How Well is the Demand-Driven, Community Management Model for Rural Water Supply Systems Doing?

This paper reports the main findings from a multi-country research project designed to develop a better understanding of the performance of community-managed rural water supply systems in developing countries. Data was collected from households, village water committees, focus groups of village residents, system operators, and key informants in 400 rural communities in Peru, Bolivia, and Ghana. Our findings suggest that the demand-driven, community management model, coupled with access to spare parts and some technical expertise, has come a long way toward unravelling the puzzle of how to best design and implement rural water supply programs in developing countries. In all three countries, rural water supply projects were "working". Among the households included in our sample in Peru and Bolivia, 95 percent had operational taps at the time of our field visit. In 90 percent of the villages in Ghana, all project boreholes were still working. Not only were the rural water systems not broken down, but almost all the households in these communities were using at least some of their water from the systems. However, some households were also still using water from other sources. In Ghana, 38 percent of households still reported using water from unprotected sources (e.g. springs, rivers and open wells) for drinking and/or cooking. Another troublesome finding is that rural households in the sample villages are paying very little for the improved water services, and, as a result, the finances of many village water committees are in poor shape.
The Theory and Practice of Corporate Risk Management: Evidence from the Field

We survey more than 1,100 risk managers from around the world regarding their risk management policies. We find evidence consistent with some traditional theories of risk management, but not with all. We then study “why” or “why not” firms hedge and find that almost 90% of risk managers in nonfinancial firms hedge to increase expected cash flow. We also find that 70% to 80% of risk managers hedge to smooth earnings or to satisfy shareholders’ expectations. Our analysis also suggests that regulatory changes implemented to increase market stability (e.g., Dodd‐Frank Act) could discourage corporate hedging. Finally, we provide evidence regarding hedging in six areas of risk: interest rate, foreign exchange, commodity, energy, credit, and geopolitical. We find that operational hedging is more common than financial hedging in all risk areas except foreign exchange.
Switched-Capacitor Voltage Boost Converter for Electric and Hybrid Electric Vehicle Drives

This article presents a switched-capacitor (SC) voltage boost converter and its control methods for implementing dc-ac and ac-dc power conversion. The SC converter employs a switched-capacitor circuit augmented with the main converter circuit to the power source, thus providing unique features that cannot be attained by the traditional voltage-source inverter (VSI) or boost VSI. The additional features include doubling the area of the linear modulation region and eliminating both the large inductor in the boost dc-dc stage and the large filtering capacitor, which leads to a higher energy density and lower cost. The SC converter concept can be applied to all dc-ac, ac-dc, ac-ac, and dc-dc power conversions. To describe the operating principle and the control, we focus on one example: a bidirectional SC converter for dc-ac and ac-dc power conversion in electric and hybrid electric vehicles. This paper is accompanied by a video demonstrating the change of the modulation functions with the value of A.
Deep ATCA and VLA Radio Observations of Short-GRB Host Galaxies. Constraints on Star Formation Rates, Afterglow Flux, and Kilonova Radio Flares

We report the results of an extensive radio-continuum observing campaign of host galaxies of short gamma-ray bursts (GRBs). The goal of this survey was to search for optically obscured star formation, possibly indicative of a population of young short-GRB progenitors. Our sample comprises the hosts and host-galaxy candidates of 16 short-GRBs from 2005 to 2015, corresponding to roughly one-third of the presently known ensemble of well-localized short bursts. Eight GRB fields were observed with ATCA (at 5.5 and 9.0 GHz), and eight fields with the VLA (mostly at 5.5 GHz). The observations typically achieved a 1σrms of 5–8 μJy. In most cases, they were performed years after the corresponding burst. No new short-GRB host with optically obscured star formation was found. Only one host galaxy was detected: that of GRB 100206A at z = 0.407. However, its starburst nature was already known from optical/IR data. Its measured radio flux can be interpreted as being due to a star formation rate of about 60 M⊙ yr−1. This is in good agreement with earlier expectations based on the observed broad-band spectral energy distribution of this galaxy. The 15 nondetections constrain the SFRs of the suspected host galaxies and provide upper limits on late-time luminosities of the associated radio afterglows and predicted kilonova radio flares. The nondetection of radio emission from GRB explosion sites confirms the intrinsically low luminosity of short-GRB afterglows and places significant constraints on the parameter space of magnetar-powered radio flares. Luminous radio flares from fiducial massive magnetars have not been found.
MEASURING THE IMPACT OF BRAND POSITIONING ON CONSUMER PURCHASE INTENTION ACROSS DIFFERENT PRODUCTS

This study attempts to determine the combined impact of brand signaling variables: brand prestige, brand image and brand credibility; on consumer purchase intention. It also empirically examines the moderating role of product involvement in this brand positioning framework across high and low involvement product categories. This study targets not only students but also professionals and non-professionals within a wide range of demographic characteristics using random sampling technique. Overall 776 consumers have participated in the questionnaire based survey. Within the brand positioning framework lie four more latent (moderating) variables: perceived value for money, perceived quality, information costs saved and perceived risk. The complete model of overall eight constructs is tested with structural equation modeling (SEM). Results indicate that all the three brand signaling variables (brand prestige, brand image and brand credibility) positively influence consumer purchase intention; through perceived value for money, perceived quality, information costs saved, and perceived risk. The total impact of brand positioning variables is greater in case of high involvement product as compared to the low involvement product category. By extending the sampling frame to consumers from professional and non-professional fields an effort is made to make the results of this study more generalizable in all contexts and markets. This study may prove useful for marketers and advertisers for framing effective policies and enhancing profitability. Limited studies have analyzed the role of brand prestige, brand image and brand credibility as signaling variables in determining consumer purchase intention. The present study add value to existing literature by extending the framework of brand positioning by including and testing the impact of a new signaling construct, brand image, on consumer purchase intention. Furthermore, not much has been previously explored about whether the impact of these signaling variables upon consumer purchase intention may remain same across various product categories. Measuring the Impact of Brand Positioning on Consumer Purchase Intention across different Products 70|
Effect of processing on the protein quality of four popular insects consumed in Southern Nigeria

The effect of processing on the protein quality of four popular insects consumed in Southern Nigeria was carried out in the study. A crude protein content (% wet weight) of 35.18 ± 0.10, 8.38 ± 0.31, 11.76 ± 0.90 and 33.41 ± 0.20 were obtained for IBL (Imbrasia belina), RP (Rhynchophorus pheonicis), OR (Oryctes rhinoceros) and MB (Macrotermes belicosus) respectively. These values on a dry weight basis were higher when compared with most conventional protein sources. Amino acid analysis revealed that the proteins contained all the essential amino acids, especially lysine, threonine and methionine which are the major limiting amino acids in the cereal and legume based diets. Biological assays, using weanling, male albino rats, suggested high nutritional and toxicological safety of the insects. The PER for OR, MB, and RP (% of casein) ranged from 94 -111 while IBL values were lower (51 – 71). The TD and BV for all the insects were not significantly different from the control (P ≥ 0.05), though boiling increased the BV of the proteins with the exception of value for raw IBL. The relative weights (g/kg live weight) of the liver, spleen, heart, kidney and lungs were significantly different for IBL only, but the rat serum enzyme activities for the boiled and fried insects showed no significant difference from the control (P≥ 0.05). Processing generally was observed to improve the biological parameters assayed for in the experiment. These results suggest these insects as good sources of essential nutrients which could go a long way in helping to solve most nutritional problems among the populations that consume them.
Preferred-frame Effects and Probes of Ho\v{r}ava-Lifshitz Gravity

We discuss implications on very-high-energy (VHE) gamma rays, vacuum Cherenkov radiation, and the H 0 tension due to preferred-frame effects in context of Hořava-Lifshitz gravity. Using bounds on parameters of the theory from gravitational-wave observations we derive lower bounds on the threshold energies for these effects, and from the observation of VHE gamma rays and cosmic-ray protons we find constraints on the Hořava-Lifshitz parameter $\beta$. By using a combination of low-redshift data (Sne1a, elliptical and lenticular galaxies, GRB's, and quasars) we discuss the $H_0$ tension and its appearance as a preferred-frame effect. Specifically we find that the constraint on $\beta$ from detections of cosmic-ray protons is $\beta \lesssim 10^{-24}$ , which is a tighter bound than from gravitational waves.
Methods Cases Submission for Consideration Case Title The use of different qualitative methodologies in analysing online sports betting adverts

Over the last decade, the amount of gambling advertising has increased substantially both in the UK and elsewhere in the world. One growing area of research in the gambling studies field concerns the content of gambling advertisements (henceforth ‘adverts’) and how the narrative strategies used by the advertising industry may influence individuals to gamble on their products. This case study examines research we have carried out into the potential psychosocial impact and narratives of online sports betting adverts. This involved the analysis of 135 online sports betting adverts collected over a two-year period. The case study highlights a number of different ways in which the data were analysed to provide new insights in an area with few published studies. The types of data analysis that were employed by the research team included (i) content analysis, (ii) grounded theory analysis, and (iii) conceptual metaphor analysis.
Dipole resonances of nonabsorbing dielectric nanospheres in the optical range: Approximate explicit conditions for high- and moderate-refractive-index materials

In this work, we discuss the way in which electric and magnetic dipole resonances arising in the optical scattering spectrum of non-absorbing dielectric nanospheres can be accurately approximated by means of simple explicit expresions that depend on sphere's radius, incident wavelenght and relative refractive index. We find such expressions to hold not only for high but also for moderate refractive-index values, thus complementing the results reported in previous studies.
The Determinants of Credit Union Failure: Insights from the United Kingdom

We use a proprietary data set on credit unions from the United Kingdom to develop an early-warning model of credit union failure. We find that a small set of financial attributes related to capital adequacy, asset quality, earnings performance, and liquidity, augmented with unemployment rates, reliably identifies failures within one year. Our results support the existing literature which, to date, has largely relied on data from the United States. This work therefore provides further evidence for establishing early-warning criteria for use by international regulators.
Temporal variation of periphyton communities: a 3-year study from northwest Lake Simcoe, Ontario, Canada

Abstract Periphyton composition, density, and diversity (Shannon-Wiener index), as well as thickness of periphyton communities developed on glass coupons, were studied from nearshore areas of northwest Lake Simcoe, Canada, during 2009, 2010, and 2011. The objective of this study was to quantify the temporal (yearly) changes in periphyton occurring in the littoral zone of Lake Simcoe and identify water quality variables that may be driving periphyton community dynamics. Clean glass slides were suspended at 0.5 m below the surface waters and retrieved on multiple days after suspension. The retrieved glass slides were immediately analyzed under a microscope to observe periphyton genera composition, density, diversity, and biofilm thickness. While the number of genera, diversity, and biofilm thickness showed significant variation among years of observation, the density did not. In all 3 years, Bacillariophyta were the dominant group, while Chlorophyta, cyanobacteria, and Chrysophyta were routinely represented in the periphyton community. A periphyton community dominated by Navicula and Gomphonema in 2009 changed to Achnanthidium and Cocconeis in 2010, which subsequently changed to Achnanthidium and Navicula (all belonging to Bacillariophyta) in 2011. The density of periphyton was significantly related to biofilm thickness across all 3 years. Principal component analysis on periphyton genera composition and abundance showed variation among years. Regression analysis suggested the shift in the number of genera was related to the variation in total phosphorus and dissolved oxygen concentrations in the water. Long-term data on periphyton community dynamics will prove useful to devise a periphyton-based water quality index for northwest Lake Simcoe.
Adaptive Image Thresholding Based on the Peak Signal-to-noise Ratio

The aim of this research is to enhance a Peak signal Noise Ratio based thresholding algorithm. Thresholding is a critical step in pattern recognition and has a significant effect on the subsequent steps in imaging applications. Thresholding is used to separate objects from the background and decreases the amount of data and increases the computational speed. Recently, there has been an increased interest in multilevel thresholding. However, as the number of levels increases, the computation time increases. In addition, single threshold methods are faster than multilevel methods. Moreover, for each new application, new methods must be developed. In this study, a new algorithm that applies the peak signal-to-noise ratio method as an indicator to segment the image is proposed. The algorithm was tested using the license plate recognition system, DIBCO, 2009 and standard images. The proposed algorithm is comparable to existing methods when applied to Malaysian vehicle images. The proposed method performs better than earlier methods, such as Kittler and Illingworth's Minimum Error Thresholding, potential difference and Otsu. In general, the proposed algorithm yields better results for standard images. In the license plate recognition application, the new method yielded an average performance.
Families of Abelian Varieties and Large Galois Images

Associated with an abelian variety $A$ of dimension $g$ over a number field $K$ is a Galois representation $\rho _A\colon \operatorname {Gal}({\overline {K}}/K)\to \operatorname {GL}_{2g}(\widehat {{\mathbb {Z}}})$. The representation $\rho _A$ encodes the Galois action on the torsion points of $A$ and its image is an interesting invariant of $A$ that contains a lot of arithmetic information. We consider abelian varieties over $K$ parametrized by the $K$-points of a non-empty open subvariety $U\subseteq {\mathbb {P}}^n_K$. We show that away from a set of density $0$, the image of $\rho _A$ will be very large; more precisely, it will have uniformly bounded index in a group obtained from the family of abelian varieties. This generalizes earlier results that assumed that the family of abelian varieties has “big monodromy”. We also give a version for families of abelian varieties with a more general base.
Epigenetic Programming of Cardiovascular Disease by Perinatal Hypoxia and Fetal Growth Restriction

Most of the worldwide deaths in patients with non-communicable diseases are due to cardiovascular and metabolic diseases, which are determined by a mix of environmental, genetic and epigenetic factors, and by their interactions. The aetiology of most cardio- vascular diseases has been partially linked with in utero adverse conditions that may increase the risk of developing diseases later in life, known as Developmental Origins of Health and Disease (DOHaD). Perinatal hypoxia can program the fetal and postnatal developmental patterns, resulting in permanent modifications of cells, organs and sys - tems function. In spite of the vast evidence obtained from human and animal studies linking development under adverse intrauterine conditions with increased cardiovas- cular risk, still few is known about the specific effects of intrauterine oxygen deficiency and the related pathogenic mechanisms. Currently, the most accepted processes that pro- gram cellular function are epigenetic mechanisms which determine gene expression in a cell-specific fashion. In this chapter we will review the current literature regarding the perinatal exposure to chronic hypoxia and Fetal Growth Restriction (FGR) in humans and animals and how this impinges the cardiovascular physiology through epigenetic, biochemical, morphologic and pathophysiologic modifications that translate into dis eases blasting at postnatal life.
The Dragonfly Wide Field Survey. I. Telescope, Survey Design, and Data Characterization

We present a description of the Dragonfly Wide Field Survey (DWFS), a deep photometric survey of a wide area of sky. The DWFS covers 330 deg2 in the equatorial GAMA fields and the Stripe 82 fields in the SDSS g and r bands. It is carried out with the 48-lens Dragonfly Telephoto Array, a telescope that is optimized for the detection of low surface brightness emission. The main goal of the survey is to study the dwarf galaxy population beyond the Local Group. In this paper, we describe the survey design and show early results. We reach 1σ depths of μg ≈ 31 mag arcsec−2 on arcminute scales and show that Milky Way satellites such as Sextans, Bootes, and Ursa Major should be detectable out to D ≳ 10 Mpc. We also provide an overview of the elements and operation of the 48-lens Dragonfly telescope and a detailed description of its data reduction pipeline. The pipeline is fully automated, with individual frames subjected to a rigorous series of quality tests. The sky subtraction is performed in two stages, ensuring that emission features with spatial scales up to ∼0. °9 × 0. °6 are preserved. The DWFS provides unparalleled sensitivity to low surface brightness features on arcminute scales.
Magnetic Polymer Models for Epigenomic Organisation and Phase Separation

The genetic instructions stored in the genome require an additional layer of information to robustly determine cell fate. This additional regulation is provided by the interplay between chromosome-patterning biochemical (“epigenetic”) marks and threedimensional genome folding. Yet, the physical principles underlying the dynamical coupling between three-dimensional genomic organisation and one-dimensional epigenetic patterns remain elusive. To shed light on this issue, here we study by mean field theory and Brownian dynamics simulations a magnetic polymer model for chromosomes, where each monomer carries a dynamic epigenetic mark. At the single chromosome level, we show that a first order transition describes the unlimited spreading of epigenetic marks, a phenomenon that is often observed in vivo. At the level of the whole nucleus, experiments suggest chromosomes form micro-phase separated compartments with distinct epigenetic marks. We here discover that for a melt of magnetic polymers such a morphology is thermodynamically unstable, but can be stabilised by a nonequilibrium and ATP-mediated epigenetic switch between different monomer states.