Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
ALTERNATIF PENENTUAN BATAS CAIR DAN BATAS PLASTIS DENGAN TIGA VARIASI BERAT KONUS MENGGUNAKAN METODE LEE DAN FREEMAN (2009)

For fine soils, the most common laboratory tests are Atterberg limits, i.e. plastic and liquid limits. This paper presents two standards for determining liquid limit: ASTM and British Standards. Both standards use Casagrande cup and fall cone penetrometer tests. In spite of the fact from its a dvantage and shortcoming, fall cone penetrometer tends the minimum operator mistakes comparing to Casagrande cup. Moreover, a lack for determining plastic limit using by rolling soil samples with three mm in diameter also is caused by operator error. To reduce that human error, Lee and Freeman recommend using fall cone penetrometer to obtain plastic and liquid limits by a combination of two distinct weight of cones. In this research, tests were conducted using two combinations of two different weight of cones. There are 12 remolded samples taken from Java and Madura islands. A combination using cones with single and double standard weight gives a better result that a combination with single and triple standard weight. The contribution of this research at least gives an alternative way to determine plastic and liquid limits using fall cone penetrometer test. Abstrak: Untuk penyelidikan tanah geoteknik, umumnya pada tanah butir halus diuji batas-batas Atterberg yaitu berupa batas cair dan batas plastis. Makalah ini menyajikan dua standar pengujian untuk batas cair yaitu standar ASTM dan British. Kedua standar tersebut masing-masing menggunakan Casagrande cup dan fall cone penetrometer. Di balik kelebihan dan kekurangannya, fall cone penetrometer cenderung memberikan nilai kesalahan operator yang lebih rendah dibandingkan dengan Casagrande cup. Selain itu, dengan standar untuk menentukan batas plastis juga memiliki kekurangakuratan karena proses penggulungan tanah dengan diameter 3 mm tergantung kepada pengalaman operator. Dengan tujuan untuk mengurangi kesalahan manusia tersebut, Lee dan Freeman mengusulkan penggunaan fall cone penetrometer test untuk menentukan batas plastis selain batas cair dengan menggunakan kombinasi dari dua berat konus yang berbeda. Di dalam penelitian ini, pengujian dilakukan dengan menggunakan dua macam kombinasi dua berat konus yang berbeda. Sampel tanah yang diuji adalah sampel remolded sebanyak 12 buah yang tersebar lokasi pengambilan sampelnya di Pulau Jawa dan Madura. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa penggunaan kombinasi konus standar dan konus dengan berat dua kali berat konus standar memberikan hasil yang lebih baik dibandingkan dengan kombinasi konus standar dan konus dengan tiga kali berat konus standar. Kontribusi penelitian ini sekurang-kurangnya memberikan alternatif lain penentuan batas plastis dan batas cair dengan menggunakan fall cone penetrometer test. Kata kunci: batas cair, batas plastis, metode Lee dan Freeman, fall cone penetrometer, variasi konus
Monoclonal gammopathy of renal significance (MGRS): Real‐world data on outcomes and prognostic factors

Monoclonal gammopathy of renal significance (MGRS) is a recognized clinical entity. Literature regarding treatment and its outcomes in MGRS is sparse due to the rarity and misdiagnosis of MGRS. We retrospectively analyzed 280 adults with an MGRS diagnosis from 2003 to 2020 across 19 clinical centers from 12 countries. All cases required renal biopsy for the pathological diagnosis of MGRS. Amyloidosis‐related to MGRS (MGRS‐A) was present in 180 patients; nonamyloidosis MGRS (MGRS‐NA), including a broad spectrum of renal pathologies, was diagnosed in 100 patients. The median overall survival in the studied cohort was 121.0 months (95% CI: 105.0–121.0). Patients with MGRS‐A had a shorter overall survival than patients with MGRS‐NA (HR = 0.41, 95%CI: 0.25–0.69; p = 0.0007). Both hematologic and renal responses were associated with longer survival. Achievement of ≥VGPR was generally predictive of a renal response (OR = 8.03 95%CI: 4.04–115.96; p < 0.0001), one‐fourth of patients with ≥VGPR were renal nonresponders. In MGRS‐A, factors associated with poor prognosis included elevated levels of creatinine, beta‐2‐microglobulin, and hemodialysis at diagnosis. In MGRS‐NA, only age >65 years was associated with increased risk of death. Treatments provided similar hematologic response rates in both types of MGRS. Autologous stem cell transplantation led to better response than other treatments. This multicenter and international effort is currently the largest report on MGRS.
A preliminary analysis of the secondary sex ratio decline after the COVID‐19 pandemic in Japan

The secondary sex ratio (SSR, i.e., the number of male births per 100 female births) has long been proposed as a sentinel health indicator. Studies have suggested that exogenous environmental stressors reduce SSR after 3 to 6 months (via disproportionate male fetus deaths) and after 9 months (via reduced male conception). We aimed to examine whether SSR declined after the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) pandemic in Japan.
Resultados econômicos de um sistema de produção de leite no município de Itutinga - MG

It was aimed to study the return of a milk-production system situated in the town of Itutinga – MG, identify the components which exercised the greatest influence upon the final costs of the operation and the proportion of each of them related to the total income. The data were colected from January of 2007 and December of 2008. The data processing and the return analysis were performed by the software Cu$to Bovino Leite®, considerating gross margin, net margin and result (profit or loss) as economic efficiency indicators. The farm presented, per kg of milk, positive gross margin of US$ 0.03, negative net margin of US$ 0.01 and loss of US$ 0.15, its having, therefore, negative return of 9.29%. It follows that, under these conditions the business will survive only in the short run. With the exploitation of the production system, the business undergoes economic losses leading the dairy farmer to decapitilization.
Using eDNA to confirm the identity of raptors that cast pellets

ABSTRACT Raptor pellets are regularly encountered in the field in a variety of habitats. Where multiple species of similar-sized raptors are sympatric, there can be uncertainty about which species produced a pellet based on visual assessments alone. We developed a DNA barcoding protocol that used environmental DNA (eDNA) to identify birds of prey that had produced pellets. Two different PCR primer pairs were required to successfully ascribe a pellet to the source bird species. Troubleshooting different suspension temperatures and applying multiple primer sets to the same eDNA sample provided sequences that successfully identified Red-tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis) and Great Horned Owl (Bubo virginianus) pellets. Because eDNA degrades, this protocol will only work on pellets that have been in the environment for a limited time, probably <6 months.
Egg cannibalism as a foraging tactic by less fit Glaucous-winged Gulls (Larus glaucescens)

ABSTRACT Cannibalism, the killing and eating of conspecifics of any life stage, leads to a variety of behavioral and ecological consequences and is influenced by a range of environmental circumstances among numerous taxa. In birds, cannibalism is particularly well known among gulls. Although multiple studies have linked cannibalism to egg and chick failure in gull populations, gull cannibal behavior is poorly understood. During the 2014 and 2015 breeding seasons, we observed the behavior of Glaucous-winged Gulls (Larus glaucescens) that used conspecific egg predation, a form of cannibalism, as a feeding tactic on Protection Island, Washington, USA. Most egg stealing by egg cannibals occurred during colony disturbances, especially by Bald Eagles (Haliaeetus leucocephalus), but egg stealing often occurred without concurrent disturbances. Among other findings, our data showed that egg cannibals were always males, the number of eggs stolen each day correlated with the daily number of eggs laid, egg cannibals ate fewer fish than non-cannibals, and the reproductive success of egg cannibals was lower than that of non-cannibals. This study provides the most comprehensive evaluation to date of how larid cannibals find, capture, and eat conspecific eggs, and it includes the first assessment of reproductive success of egg cannibals in comparison with non-cannibals.
Ameroseiid mites (Acari: Mesostigmata) from Egypt, with a complementary description of six species, and a key to the species recorded from the country

Abstract A total of 12 mite species of the family Ameroseiidae have been reported from Egypt. The objectives of this paper are to report an additional species, Kleemannia pavida (Koch), from that country and to present complementary descriptions of seven of those species, namely Ameroseius aegypticus El-Badry, Nasr & Hafez, Kleemannia kosi El-Badry, Nasr & Hafez, K. nova Nasr & Abou-Awad, K. wahabi Ibrahim & Abdel-Samed, K. pavida, K. plumosa (Oudemans) and Sertitympanum zaheri (El-Badry, Nasr & Hafez), based on the examination of specimens from Egypt. Within this context, the males of K. nova, K. wahabi and S. zaheri are described for the first time. A key to all the ameroseiid species recorded from Egypt is provided.
Image DePO: Towards Gradual Decentralization of Online Social Networks using Decentralized Privacy Overlays

Centralized online social networks --- e.g., Facebook, Twitter and TikTok --- help drive social connection on the Internet, but have nigh unfettered access to monitor and monetize the personal data of their users. This centralization can especially undermine the use of the social internet by minority populations, who disproportionately bear the costs of institutional surveillance. We introduce a new class of privacy-enhancing technology --- decentralized privacy overlays (DePOs) --- that helps cOSN users regain some control over their personal data by allowing them to selectively share secret content on cOSNs through decentralized content distribution networks. As a first step, we present an implementation and user evaluation of Image DePO, a proof-of-concept design probe that allows users to upload and share secret photos on Facebook through the Interplanetary File System peer-to-peer protocol. We qualitatively evaluated Image DePO in a controlled, test environment with 19 queer and Black, Indigenous, (and) Person of Color (BIPOC) participants. We found that while Image DePO could help address the institutional threats with which our participants expressed concern, interpersonal threats were the more salient concern in their decisions to share content. Accordingly, we argue that in order to see widespread use, DePOs must align protection against abstract institutional threats with protection against the more salient interpersonal threats users consider when making specific sharing decisions.
Others Are to Blame: Whom People Consider Responsible for Online Misinformation

Determining who is responsible for online misinformation is an important problem. This research offers a multifaceted view of the public's perception of who is responsible for online misinformation. Via two studies, we surveyed how people attribute responsibility separately for creating, disseminating, and failing to prevent the dissemination of false information online. Study 1 (N=99) employed a mixed-methods approach to identify a series of actors deemed responsible for each aspect of misinformation. Its open-ended methodology suggested that participants tended to externalize responsibility, which we explored further in the subsequent study. Study 2 (N=496) found that the responsible entities differed for the three distinct aspects of misinformation: online users, news media, and interest groups were associated with creating falsehoods, whereas social media platforms were predominantly seen as accountable for failing to prevent them. Our data shows that blame was directed towards those on the opposite side of the political spectrum, indicating substantial polarization. Most critically, people did not seem to associate themselves with online misinformation and externalized responsibility towards "other users. " We discuss implications, including the need to promote personal accountability among users and the social demand for accountable social media platforms and news media.
Opening the Gate to Urban Repair: A Tool for Citizen-Led Design

City planning in the United States suffers from opaque and unresponsive processes---egalitarian in name but in reality controlled and mediated by city officials and powerful interests, not residents. We explore methods for placing city planning directly in the hands of the people. For inspiration, we look to the democratization of knowledge production through citizen science, and examine how this trend can be paralleled in urban design. To that end, we give ordinary people pattern-based planning tools to help them redesign (and repair) urban areas. We describe a prototype for such a tool that leverages classic patterns to enable city planning by residents, and show through a series of Mechanical Turk experiments that this prototype allows ordinary people to create designs and communicate their intentions without design training or expert intervention.
Numerical Modeling of Metal-Based Additive Manufacturing Using Level Set Methods

The advance in computational science and engineering allows people to simulate the additive manufacturing (AM) process at high fidelity, which has turned out to be a valid way to model, predict, and even design the AM processes. In this paper, we propose a new method to simulate the melting process of metal powder-based AM. The governing physics is described using partial differential equations for heat transfer and Laminar flow. Level set methods are applied to track the free surface motion of the molten metal flow. Some fundamental issues in the metal-based AM process, including free surface evolution, phase transitions, and velocity field calculation, are explored, which help us gain insight into the metal-based AM process. The convergence problem is also examined to improve the efficiency in solving this multiphysics problem. [DOI: 10.1115/1.4036290]
Theoretical Modelling of Sound Radiation from Plate

Recently the development of aerospace, automotive and building industries demands the use of lightweight materials such as thin plates. However, the plates can possibly add to significant vibration and sound radiation, which eventually lead to increased noise in the community. So, in this study, the fundamental concept of sound pressure radiated from a simply-supported thin plate (SSP) was analyzed using the derivation of mathematical equations and numerical simulation of ANSYS®. The solution to mathematical equations of sound radiated from a SSP was visualized using MATLAB®. The responses of sound pressure level were measured at far field as well as near field in the frequency range of 0–200 Hz. Result shows that there are four resonance frequencies; 12 Hz, 60 Hz, 106 Hz and 158 Hz were identified which represented by the total number of the peaks in the frequency response function graph. The outcome also indicates that the mathematical derivation correlated well with the simulation model of ANSYS® in which the error found is less than 10%. It can be concluded that the obtained model is reliable and can be applied for further analysis such as to reduce noise emitted from a vibrating thin plate.
Cigarettes for the dead: effects of sorcery beliefs on parochial prosociality in Mauritius

ABSTRACT Research testing evolutionary models of religious morality shows that supernatural beliefs in moralizing gods positively affect prosociality. However, the effects of beliefs related to local supernatural agents have not been extensively explored. Drawing from a Mauritian Hindu sample, we investigated the effects of beliefs and practices related to two different types of local supernatural agents (spirits of the deceased unconcerned with morality) on preferential resources allocation to receivers differing in geographical and social closeness to participants. These spirits are ambiguously linked to either ancestor worship or sorcery practice. Previous studies suggested that sorcery beliefs erode social bonds and trust, but such research is often limited by social stigma and missing relevant comparison with other beliefs. To overcome these limitations, we used nuanced free-list data to discriminate between the two modes of spirit beliefs and tested how each contributes to decision-making in economic games (Random Allocation, Dictator). Expressing sorcery beliefs together with performing rituals addressed to the spirits was associated with greater probability of rule-breaking for selfish/parochial outcomes in the Random Allocation Game (compared to ancestor worship). No difference in money allocations was found in the Dictator Game.
Comparison of Driver Navigation at Turbo Roundabouts and Modern Two-Lane Roundabouts: Simulation Study

Roundabouts can be a solution to safety concerns common to conventional intersections. Recently in the United States, there has been an increase in the conversion of problematic intersections to roundabouts to improve their safety. However, there are some important considerations and challenges to make roundabouts safe for all users, especially multilane roundabouts. There may also be challenges for drivers to navigate a newly built or a new type of roundabout. Roundabout features such as pavement markings and signage play an important role in driver navigational performance. This research was an effort to evaluate new roundabout design and existing roundabout safety and operational features such as signs and pavement markings. The focus was on how such features influenced the performance of drivers, specifically at multilane roundabouts. Two-lane roundabouts and rotor turbo roundabouts were evaluated. A driving simulator was employed to test various simulation scenarios in a virtual world. The results indicate that lane keeping and higher navigation speeds are still problems at multilane roundabouts. The rotor turbo roundabout outperforms the two-lane roundabout in enabling correct lane choice and navigation speed control by drivers. Furthermore, it was found that roundabout signs and pavement markings used in the United States can be adopted for turbo roundabouts.
The religiosity gender gap in 14 diverse societies

ABSTRACT Scholars of religion have long sought to explain the persistent finding that women tend to report greater religiosity than men. However, the size of this “gender gap” may depend on the measure of religiosity employed, the religious tradition being sampled, and socio-demographic factors. Here, we conduct a systematic cross-cultural investigation into the prevalence of, and explanations for, the religiosity gender gap in 2,002 individuals from 14 diverse societies. While variation exists across societies, women in general indicate greater mental commitment (i.e., thinking and worrying more about) to their community’s moralistic god, more frequent participation in rituals for their community’s moralistic god, and more frequent prayer. While we find that the gender gap extends beyond the Christian world, no such difference was seen in religious commitment towards more local gods, to which men tend to show greater commitment. Tentative support is provided for explanations relating gender differences in religiosity to lower formal education and greater mentalizing among women, however an explanation for greater religious commitment to local gods among men remains elusive. Nevertheless, our data suggest that the moralizing gods of some contemporary world religions, unlike local deities and traditions, have evolved in ways that make them more appealing to women.
First-Order Algorithms for Communication Efficient Distributed Learning

Technological developments in devices and storages have made large volumes of data collections more accessible than ever. This transformation leads to optimization problems with massive data in both volume and dimension. In response to this trend, the popularity of optimization on high performance computing architectures has increased unprecedentedly. These scalable optimization solvers can achieve high efficiency by splitting computational loads among multiple machines. However, these methods also incur large communication overhead. To solve optimization problems with millions of parameters, communication between machines has been reported to consume up to 80% of the training time. To alleviate this communication bottleneck, many optimization algorithms with data compression techniques have been studied. In practice, they have been reported to significantly save communication costs while exhibiting almost comparable convergence as the full-precision algorithms. To understand this intuition, we develop theory and techniques in this thesis to design communication-efficient optimization algorithms. In the first part, we analyze the convergence of optimization algorithms with direct compression. First, we outline definitions of compression techniques which cover many compressors of practical interest. Then, we provide the unified analysis framework of optimization algorithms with compressors which can be either deterministic or randomized. In particular, we show how the tuning parameters of compressed optimization algorithms must be chosen to guarantee performance. Our results show explicit dependency on compression accuracy and delay effect due to asynchrony of algorithms. This allows us to characterize the trade-off between iteration and communication complexity under gradient compression. In the second part, we study how error compensation schemes can improve the performance of compressed optimization algorithms. Even though convergence guarantees of optimization algorithms with error compensation have been established, there is very limited theoretical support which guarantees improved solution accuracy. We therefore develop theoretical explanations, which show that error compensation guarantees arbitrarily high solution accuracy from compressed information. In particular, error compensation helps remove accumulated compression errors, thus improving solution accuracy especially for ill-conditioned problems. We also provide strong convergence analysis of error compensation on parallel stochastic gradient descent across multiple machines. In particular, the error-compensated algorithms, unlike direct compression, result in significant reduction in the compression error. Applications of the algorithms in this thesis to real-world problems with benchmark data sets validate our theoretical results.
Predicting the helpfulness of product reviews: a sentence classification approach

12 Declaration . 13 Copyright . 14 Dedication . 15 Acknowledgment . 16 Publications . 17 Acronyms and Abbreviations . 18 1 Chapter 1: Introduction . 20 1.1 Motivation and Research Problem . 21 1.2 Domain . 26 1.3 Research Aim, Questions, Hypotheses and Objectives . 27 1.3. 1 Research Aim . 27 1.3. 2 Research Questions . 29 1.3. 3 Research Hypothesis . 29 1.3. 4 Research Objectives . 30 1.4 Contribution of the Thesis . 30 1.5 Thesis Structure . 31 2 Chapter 2: Literature Review . 35 2.1 Sentiment Analysis . 35 2.2 Introducing Sentiment Analysis . 37 2.3 Opinion Definition in the Context of Sentiment Analysis . 38 2.4 Main Tasks of Sentiment Analysis . 38 2.5 Sentiment Analysis Research . 42 2.5. 1 Levels of Analysis . 42 2.5. 2 Supervised and Unsupervised Sentiment Classification . 44 2.5. 3 Summarization . 49 2.5. 4 Types of Opinion . 50 2.6 Sentiment Analysis Applications Domains . 52 2.7 Challenges of Sentiment Analysis . 55 2.8 Quality of Reviews . 58 2.8. 1 Motivation for Helpfulness Prediction . 58 2.8. 2 Helpfulness as a Regression Problem . 61