Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Memoirs on Differential Equations and Mathematical Physics

The purpose of this paper is to investigate basic transmission and interface crack problems for the differential equations of the theory of elasticity of hemitropic materials with regard to thermal effects. We consider the so called pseudo-oscillation equations corresponding to the time harmonic dependent case. Applying the potential method and the theory of pseudodifferential equations first we prove uniqueness and existence theorems of solutions to the Dirichlet and Neumann type transmission-boundary value problems for piecewise homogeneous hemitropic composite bodies. Afterwards we investigate the interface crack problems and study regularity properties of solution. 2010 Mathematics Subject Classification. 31B10, 35J57, 47G30, 47G40, 74A60, 74G30, 74G40, 74M15.
Rural-urban differences in educational outcomes: Evidence for Colombia using PISA microdata

Although there are hundreds of works using PISA microdata to analyse the determinants of educational outcomes, only a few of them have considered the relevance of geography. In this paper, we focus on the analysis of differences in educational outcomes between students in rural and urban schools. Previous studies on this topic started in the United States during the eighties and they have not arrived to a sound conclusion yet. Some authors do not find significant differences between rural and urban students while others find better outcomes for urban ones. It is not clear if this gap is explained by family characteristics or it is related to lower spending in rural schools. The policy debate on how public spending in education should be distributed between rural and urban areas in developing countries is very intense, although academic studies are scarce. However, during the last decades some studies have focused on some Latinamerican countries (Argentina, Peru, Brazil, Chile and Colombia), but again, there is no consensus on the factors behind the rural-urban gap in educational outcomes. Taking into account this background, we use microdata from the 2006 and 2009 PISA waves for Colombia. The Colombian case is particularly interesting from this perspective due to the structural changes suffered by this country during the last years, both in terms of political stability and educational reforms. The descriptive analysis of the data shows that the educational outcomes of urban students are higher than the rural ones in the three subjects covered by the PISA study: Mathematics, Reading and Science in both samples. In order to identify the factors behind this differential, we apply decomposition techniques that have been extensively in Labour Economics but not so much in the context of Economics of Education. In particular, in a first step we use the Oaxaca-Blinder decomposition and, next, we exploit the time variation of the data using the methodology proposed by Juhn-Murphy-Pierce. The results show that most part of the differential is related to family characteristics more than to school characteristics. From a policy perspective, the obtained evidence support actions addressed to improve family conditions and not so much to positive discrimination of rural schools. Keywords: educational outcomes, PISA, urban-rural differences JEL codes:J24, I25, R58
AN ABSTRACT OF THE DISSERTATION OF

approved: Liang Huang Most tasks in natural language processing (NLP) try to map structured input (e.g., sentence or word sequence) to some form of structured output (tag sequence, parse tree, semantic graph, translated/paraphrased/compressed sentence), a problem known as “structured prediction”. While various learning algorithms such as the perceptron, maximum entropy, and expectation-maximization have been extended to the structured setting (and thus applicable to NLP problems), directly applying them as is to NLP tasks remains challenging for the following reasons. First, the prohibitively large search space in NLP makes exact search intractable, and in practice inexact search methods like beam search are routinely used instead. Second, the output structures are usually partially, rather than completely, annotated, which requires structured latent variables. However, the introduction of inexact search and latent components violates some key theoretical properties (such as convergence) of conventional structured learning algorithms, and requires us to develop new algorithms suitable for scalable structured learning with latent variables. In this thesis, we first investigate new theoretical properties for these structured learning algorithms with inexact search and latent variables, and then also demonstrate that structured learning with latent variables is a powerful modeling tool for many NLP tasks with less strict annotation requirements, and can be generalized to neural models. ©Copyright by Kai Zhao May 30, 2017 All Rights Reserved Structured Learning with Latent Variables: Theory and Algorithms
Designing Telemedicine for Older Adults With Multimorbidity: Content Analysis Study

Background Telemedicine is a potential option for caring for older adults with multimorbidity. There is a need to explore the perceptions about telemedicine among older adults with multimorbidity to tailor it to the needs of older adults with multiple chronic conditions. Objective This study aims to explore the perceptions about telemedicine among older patients with multimorbidity. Methods A qualitative study was conducted using semistructured interviews. The interview questions examined older adults’ perspectives about telemedicine, including their expectations regarding telemedicine services and the factors that affect its use. Thematic analysis was performed using NVivo (version 12; Lumivero). The study was reported using the Standards for Reporting Qualitative Research guidelines. Results In total, 29 patients with multimorbidity—21 (72%) female patients and 8 (28%) male patients with a mean age of 69 (SD 10.39) years—were included. Overall, 4 themes and 7 subthemes emerged: theme 1—perceived benefit of telemedicine among older adults with multimorbidities, theme 2—appropriate use of telemedicine for multimorbid care, theme 3—telemedicine system catering to the needs of older patients, and theme 4—respect patients’ decision to decline to use telemedicine. Conclusions Telemedicine for older adults with multimorbidity should focus on those with stable conditions. This can help increase access to care for those requiring continuous condition monitoring. A structured telemedicine program and patient-centered services can help increase patient acceptance of telemedicine. However, health care providers must accept the limitations of older patients that may prevent them from receiving telemedicine services.
Investigation of non‐stationarity of extreme rainfalls and spatial variability of rainfall intensity–frequency–duration relationships: a case study of Victoria, Australia

Water infrastructure and flood mitigation projects are currently designed assuming a stationary climate. However, increased frequency and magnitude of extreme rainfall events questions the stationary climate assumption. The reality of non‐stationary rainfall extremes should be properly considered in the design of water infrastructure and flood mitigation projects, because the extreme value distribution models with constant parameters may no longer be valid under non‐stationary climate conditions. In this study, first extreme rainfall frequency analysis in Victoria (Australia) was conducted through generalized extreme value (GEV) models under non‐stationary and stationary climate conditions, and superiority of non‐stationary GEV models over stationary models was investigated. High quality extreme rainfall data (i.e. annual maximums) from 23 stations in Victoria for storm durations ranging from 10 min to 48 h were used for frequency analysis. In developing the non‐stationary extreme rainfall models, both the time dependency and the dependency to indices of climate oscillations affecting Australian rainfall variability were investigated. It was found that none of the non‐stationary GEV models was superior to stationary GEV models. Therefore, the stationary GEV models were used to determine the spatial variability of rainfall intensity–frequency–duration relationships in Victoria. In general, low rainfall intensity estimates in the Western Region (except southern portion for long storm durations) were found in Victoria, whereas high rainfall intensity estimates were detected mostly in the Central and Northern Regions for short storm durations and in the Gippsland Region for long storm durations. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Per-and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS)

PFAS 95% confidence intervals stratified by demographic or exposure characteristics for the five PFAS with detection frequencies above 60% (i.e., PFHxS, PFOS, PFOA, PFNA, and PFDA). Also included are univariate regressions, multivariate regressions, and boxplots. For each regression, the outputs shown are coefficient estimates, p-values, and marginal effects. The coefficient represents the increase in PFAS blood levels (in units of log 10 [µg/L]) per unit increase of the independent variable shown on the left side of the table for continuous variables, or when comparing to the reference category for categorical variables. The p-value indicates the significance of the results. Generally, p-values less than 0.05 indicate significant results. The marginal effect is the percent change in PFAS blood levels (in units of µg/L) per unit increase of the continuous variables, or in comparison to the reference category for categorical variables.
Understanding muon diffusion in perovskite oxides below room temperature based on harmonic transition state theory

In positive muon spin rotation and relaxation ($\mu^+$SR) spectroscopy, positive muons ($\mu^+$) implanted into solid oxides are conventionally treated as immobile spin-probes at interstitial sites below room temperature. This is because each $\mu^+$ is thought to be tightly bound to an oxygen atom in the host lattice to form a muonic analogue of the hydroxy group. On the basis of this concept, anomalies in $\mu^+$SR spectra observed in oxides have been attributed in most cases to the intrinsic properties of host materials. On the other hand, global $\mu^+$ diffusion with an activation energy of $\sim$0.1~eV has been reported in some chemically-substituted perovskite oxides at cryogenic temperatures, although the reason for the small activation energy despite the formation of the strong O$\mu$ bond has not yet been quantitatively understood. In this study, we investigated interstitial $\mu^+$ diffusion in the perovskite oxide lattice using KTaO$_3$ cubic perovskite as a model system. We used the $\mu^+$SR method and density functional theory calculations along with the harmonic transition state theory to study this phenomenon both experimentally and theoretically. Experimental activation energies for global $\mu^+$ diffusion obtained below room temperature were less than a quarter of the calculated classical potential barrier height for a bottleneck $\mu^+$ transfer path. The reduction in the effective barrier height could be explained by the harmonic transition state theory with a zero-point energy correction; a significant difference in zero-point energies for $\mu^+$ at the positions in the O$\mu$ bonding equilibrium state and a bond-breaking transition state was the primary cause of the reduction. This suggests that the assumption of immobile $\mu^+$ in solid oxides is not always satisfied since such a significant decrease in diffusion barrier height can also occur in other oxides.
Public Perception of Water Quality Risks-Influencing Factors and Enhancement Opportunities

Public perceptions of the human health risks associated with water quality deterioration have been increasing in recent years, and a better understanding of the determinants of such perceptions and the communication of these perceptions to the policy community will facilitate water quality manage­ ment. The objective of this study was to conduct a state-of-the-art literature review on factors affecting public perception of risk and levels of acceptable risk in relation to water quality, and to delineate research opportunities for such perceptions in relation to their usage in water quality management. Extensive literature searches yielded approximately 150 papers or other pub­ lished items related to water quality risk concerns. Although there have been few comprehensive studies of factors that influ­ ence water quality risk perception and the delineation of acceptable risk, many individual and combinations of factors have been identified as affecting perceptions held by different publics. Examples of such factors include whether or not pollution is visible, personal usage of the water resource, historical changes from emphases on bacteriological quality to the occurrence of toxic chemicals, education level, age, proximity to the problem, familiarity with the contaminant and source, trust in local public officials, involvement in decision processes, and poor risk communication efforts. Outrage factors such as whether the risk is voluntary or involuntary, familiar or unfamiliar, •This article is based on the results of a research project at the University of Oklahoma sponsored by the National Geographic Society (Grant 4783 W-92). The authors gratefully acknowledge the support of the National Geographic Society. This study was conducted by an interdisciplinary team at the University of Oklahoma.
Planting the future: opportunities and challenges for using crop genetic improvement technologies for sustainable agriculture

Academia Europaea All European Academies (ALLEA) The Austrian Academy of Sciences The Royal Academies for Science and the Arts of Belgium The Bulgarian Academy of Sciences The Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic The Royal Danish Academy of Sciences and Letters The Estonian Academy of Sciences The Council of Finnish Academies The Académie des Sciences The German Academy of Sciences Leopoldina The Academy of Athens The Hungarian Academy of Sciences The Royal Irish Academy The Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei The Latvian Academy of Sciences The Lithuanian Academy of Sciences The Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences The Polish Academy of Sciences The Academy of Sciences of Lisbon The Romanian Academy The Slovakian Academy of Sciences The Slovenian Academy of Arts and Science The Spanish Royal Academy of Sciences The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences The Royal Society
Impact of Reservoir Operation Policies on Spatiotemporal Dynamics of Sediment Methane Production and Release in a Large Reservoir

Reservoir operation policies affect sediment methane (CH4) production and pathways through complex influence on hydrodynamic and biogeochemical processes in reservoir water and sediment. However, the underlying influencing mechanisms, especially the impact of operations on sediment CH4 production and pathways, remain poorly understood. This study combines a physical‐biogeochemical model with a reservoir operation model to evaluate operation impacts on spatiotemporal sediment CH4 production and release dynamics and to analyze affiliated processes and driving factors. Three typical operation policies (i.e., standard, hedging, eco‐friendly) are selected to create the operation scenarios, and a coupled physical‐biogeochemical model is adopted to simulate and compare sediment CH4 production, consumption, diffusion, and ebullition under these scenarios. The methods are applied in the second largest reservoir in China (i.e., Danjiangkou Reservoir) as a case study. Results show that annual total sediment CH4 production among the scenarios ranges from 285.9 to 298.3 Gg C year−1, while operation scenario outcomes significantly differ. Specifically, a significant CH4 percentage (34%–39%) is oxidized in surface sediment while the remaining escapes sediment through diffusion and ebullition. Although diffusion accounts for >60% of the annual sediment CH4 release, sediment ebullition ultimately dominates atmospheric CH4 emissions. Annual total atmospheric CH4 emissions range from 42.8 to 71.1 Gg C year−1 and account for 14%–25% of the annual total sediment production among the three scenarios. The differences demonstrate that reservoir operations significantly impact CH4 pathways and atmospheric emissions. This study provides implications for reservoir managers to coordinate socioeconomic and ecological protection while mitigating CH4 emission targets.
Transionospheric signal modelling for epop and Superdarn

In 2011, the Canadian enhanced Polar Outflow Probe (ePOP) satellite will be launched. The ePOP satellite is equipped with several scientific Earth observation instruments, including a Radio Receiver Instrument (RRI) which will be used to detect High Frequency (HF) radio waves transmitted from a ground-based transmitter. The ground-based instrument will be one of the Super Dual Auroral Radar Network (SuperDARN) array of radars. A radio wave transmitted from the SuperDARN radar will propagate through the ionosphere and be detected by the RRI on ePOP. Analysis of the characteristics of the signal received by the RRI will provide information about the plasma density in the ionosphere between the transmitter and receiver. As the ePOP satellite is not yet operational, extensive ray path modelling has been performed to simulate the expected signal at the RRI for various ionospheric conditions. The other major objective of this research was to examine the effect of the variable refractive index in the ionosphere on SuperDARN drift velocity measurements. Past comparisons between velocities measured by SuperDARN and other instruments have found that velocities measured by SuperDARN typically were about 20–30% lower. This research has shown that underestimation of drift velocities by SuperDARN is a consequence of not including the refractive index when these velocities are calculated. As refractive index measurements are not readily available, this research has involved developing and implementing various methods to estimate the refractive index in the ionosphere. These methods have demonstrated that plasma density values within the SuperDARN scattering volume are appreciably higher than background plasma densities in the ionosphere. Application of these methods, which has resulted in a much better understanding of the physics of the coherent scattering process, has resulted in agreement between velocities measured by SuperDARN and other instruments.
A Comparative Study of Various Parameters Influencing Biocalcification via Ureolysis Mediated by Enzyme and Microbe: A Comprehensive Review

Abstract The biocalcification process in soil via urea hydrolysis is mediated by bacterial urease enzyme (microbially induced carbonate precipitation, MICP) or free urease (enzyme induced carbonate precipitation, EICP). MICP and EICP are nascent and potentially sustainable soil improvement techniques that can possibly be more environment friendly than conventional chemical and mechanical methods. It is felt that the guidelines for employing either of these techniques for a target application are not fully explored in the literature. Keeping this in view, a comprehensive review of various parameters influencing the carbonate precipitation reaction and improvement in strength via MICP and EICP has been presented. Further, an attempt has been made to enable the reader to choose between MICP and EICP for the target application based on biological, environmental, chemical, and geotechnical constraints that need to be adhered to in their study. It is felt that such a review would be handy in selecting the process and thereby improve the viability of the mechanism to head to large-scale field applications.
Importance of road proximity for the nest site selection of the Red-backed shrike (Lanius collurio) in an agricultural environment in central Italy

The effect of road proximity on the breeding habits of the Red-backed Shrike (Lanius collurio) was investigated in a farmland landscape of the Marche Region (Central Italy). Surface and the density of shrubs, distance from buildings, distance from roads and type of roads, and elevation of the terrain around nesting sites were the factors considered. The results indicate that this species prefers to nest in shrubs near to countryside roads (76% of the nests were constructed less than 25 meters from roads). It ignores shrubs with apparently similar characteristics which are located away from roads. It is reasonable to argue that suitable shrubs for nesting and the contemporary presence of bare soil for hunting, both of which exist close to countryside roads, might represent the favourable components of the breeding habitat selections made by the Red-backed Shrike.
Variation in Detection Among Passive Infrared Triggered-cameras Used in Wildlife Research

Precise and accurate estimates of demographics such as age structure, productivity, and density are necessary in determining habitat and harvest management strategies for wildlife populations. Surveys using automated cameras are becoming an increasingly popular tool for estimating these parameters. However, most camera studies fail to incorporate detection probabilities, leading to parameter underestimation. The objective of this study was to determine the sources of heterogeneity in detection for trail cameras that incorporate a passive infrared (PIR) triggering system sensitive to heat and motion. Images were collected at four baited sites within the Conecuh National Forest, Alabama, using three cameras at each site operat- ing continuously over the same seven-day period. Detection was estimated for four groups of animals based on taxonomic group and body size. Our hypotheses of detection considered variation among bait sites and cameras. The best model (w = 0.99) estimated different rates of detection for each camera in addition to different detection rates for four animal groupings. Factors that explain this variability might include poor manufacturing toler - ances, variation in PIR sensitivity, animal behavior, and species-specific infrared radiation. Population surveys using trail cameras with PIR systems must incorporate detection rates for individual cameras. Incorporating time-lapse triggering systems into survey designs should eliminate issues associ- ated with PIR systems.
Please Scroll down for Article Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science a Combination of Behavioral and Physiological Indicators for Assessing Pig Welfare on the Farm

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Health-Related Quality of Life Among Patients Receiving Home Dialysis Therapies

Little is known about the health-related quality of life (HRQOL) of patients receiving daily home hemodialysis (DHHD) or peritoneal dialysis (PD). The purposes of this study are to describe the HRQOL of these patients and examine the effect of some demographic and illness characteristics on HRQOL. A total of 114 patients from a single Midwestern unit were included. Average physical component summary (PCS) scores were lower than the general population. Both DHHD and PD patients perceived themselves as having good mental health with mental component summary (MCS) scores at or above those of the general population. These results suggest that the control and independence provided by home therapies have a positive effect on patients’ outlook on life.