Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The potential for plasma diagnostics from stellar extreme-ultraviolet observations

A description of the lines from the most abundant ions in the EUV spectrum in the range 50-500 A that have special diagnostic significance is presented. These lines are from plasmas in the temperature range from 10 exp 5 to 10 exp 7 K. Their utility for determining temperature, density, and abundances is demonstrated. An objective grating spectrometer, based on the Skylab slitless spectrograph, for making celestial observations in the EUV spectral region with high spectral resolution is also described. Such an instrument, if equipped with a multilayer grating, can achieve efficiencies over limited EUV wavelength ranges that rival much larger telescope-spectrometer instruments for the observation of stars and other celestial objects.
Improvement of the Reflection Coefficient of Waveguide-Fed Phased-Array Antenna Using Liquid Crystal

Manuscript received 5-Dec.-2014 and revised 28-Feb.-2015, P-ISSN: 2322-4088 Accepted on 10April-2015 E-ISSN: 2322-3936 Abstract— This work investigates the improvement of the active reflection coefficient of waveguide-fed phased-array antenna using liquid crystal layers. The anisotropic properties of liquid crystal layer can be employed to eliminate blind scan angle and improve the wide angle impedance matching of the waveguide-fed phased array antenna. The modal analysis of the waveguide-fed phased-array antenna which is covered with uniaxial anisotropic liquid crystal layers is considered. The analytical method is assumed for infinite arrays and is used to optimize the wide angle impedance matching over broad angular range of the array. The analytical results have been verified using simulation software. In this paper it is proposed to use anisotropic liquid crystal to improve the reflection coefficient of waveguide-fed phased-array antennas. Also it is proposed to employ the reconfigurable properties of liquid crystal to engineering the analytical optimization.
The Large Numbers in a Quantized Universe

The article relates to decades-old problem of the mysterious coincidence of various Large numbers of magnitude ranging from 1040 to 10120 which sometimes appears in cosmology and quantum physics. Using well-known classical relations as well as the ideal Schwarzschild solution the exact relations of various large numbers, fine structure constant α and were found. The new Largest number law is claimed. The hypothetical approximations of the Hubble parameter—68.7457(82) km/s/Mpc, Hubble radius—14.2330(17) Gly, and some others were proposed. The exact formulae supporting P. Diracs Large number hypothesis and H. Weyls proposition were found. It is shown that all major physical constants with length dimension (from Compton wave length of universe through Planck and atomic scale up to Hubble sphere radius) could be derived from each other, and the table of the specific conversion rules has been developed. The model shows that Eddington-Weinberg relation can be transformed to precise identity. It is shown that both Bekenstein universal entropy bound and Hooft-Susskind holographic entropy bound are equal to the Largest number doubled.
Evaluations of Sexual Offenders: How Stereotypical Bias may Affect Assessments of Risk and Treatment Need

Traditional sex role attitudes and gender bias may be affecting not only the identification of female sexual offenders but also the development of gender specific risk assessment tools and treatment interventions. This papers aim is to explore whether stereotypical attitudes exist among trained professionals in Sweden, or if a specialized training is a protective factor concerning discriminative tendencies if existing in society. Treatment providers from the Swedish Correctional Services were asked to asses risk level and treatment need on a vignette character, either male or female, described as having committed a sexual offence against a minor. The test subjects were compared with two control groups; college students and social workers. A total of 161 participants completed the assignment. Results showed that all three groups tended to over rate the risk of the offender and only minor non significant differences between the test group and the control groups were found. The lack of significant differences could be explained by small power but also raises the question about alternative stereotypical beliefs. The study highlights scarcity of knowledge in the field of female sex offending and more research is warranted to reduce sexual harm.
Collusive Tax Evasion by Employers and Employees: Evidence from a Randomized Field Experiment in Norway

Third-party reporting and employers’ tax withholding are powerful compliance mechanisms, as long as the employer and employee do not collude to evade. Using data from randomly assigned on-site audits among 2,462 Norwegian firms, we provide evidence of collusive tax evasion. We find that firms assigned to be audited increased their subsequent wage reporting on behalf of their employees by 18 percent relative to firms assigned to the control group. The effect is more pronounced among small firms with few employees. Our results document the limitations of third-party reporting, but also that these limitations can be counteracted by relatively inexpensive on-site audits.
Stress-related coping styles in myalgic university students: A case control study.

Background: Patients suffering pain-related temporomandibular disorders (TMD) exhibit greater levels of psychological distress, environmental stress, somatic symptoms, anxiety, depression, somatic awareness, pain catastrophizing, and impaired pain coping strategies compared to pain-free controls. However, little is known about psychological factors involved in the different TMD types fulfilling DC/TMD criteria. Furthermore, regardless of severity, the role of general coping strategies and styles in TMD is not yet well understood. The main goal of this study was to investigate stress-related coping styles, anxiety and personality traits in a group of dentistry students suffering from temporomandibular disorder with myalgia. Methods: A cohort of 102 university students was initially recruited for this study. Following clinical evaluation, a myalgia group (24 participants) and a control group (25 participants) were formed. Participants were later assessed in anxiety, stress coping strategies, and personality measures by using the State-trait anxiety inventory (STAI), coping response inventory (CRI), and Neo Five-Factor Inventory (NEO-FFI) questionnaires respectively.Results: The myalgia group presented greater levels of trait anxiety and neuroticism in comparison to the control group. Participants with myalgia also showed higher levels of avoidance coping which was the only reliable predictor of TMD. Conclusions: Avoidance coping strategies are generally considered maladaptive, as they seem to increase perceived stress, a robust predictor of TMD. Interventions aimed at reducing stress and anxiety levels, increase emotional stability, and preventing maladaptive coping styles, might improve temporomandibular health and prevent the myalgia and its chronification.
LIMIT EQUILIBRIUM STABILITY ANALYSES FOR REINFORCED SLOPES

Limit equilibrium slope stability analysis procedures have been successfully adapted and used for analyses of reinforced slopes. A potential source of inaccuracy in these analyses is the limit equilibrium procedure used, specifically the assumptions that are made to satisfy static equilibrium and the equilibrium conditions that are satisfied. A second possible source of inaccuracy is related to the manner in which the reinforcement forces are assumed to be distributed in the soil mass and the direction in which they are assumed to act. Stability computations have been performed using the logarithmic spiral, Bishop simplified, Spencer's, and force equilibrium procedures to evaluate the magnitudes of these inaccuracies. Methods that satisfy complete static equilibrium (logarithmic spiral and Spencer's) were found to result in essentially the same values for the factor of safety. Bishop's simplified procedure also produces very nearly the same values for the factor of safety, although the procedure does not satisfy complete static equilibrium. Force equilibrium procedures produce factors of safety that are sensitive to assumptions made about the inclination of side forces between slices.
Impact of Rossby Wave Breaking on U.S. West Coast Winter Precipitation during ENSO Events

AbstractThis study demonstrates that water vapor transport and precipitation are largely modulated by the intensity of the subtropical jet, transient eddies, and the location of wave breaking events during the different phases of ENSO. Clear differences are found in the potential vorticity (PV), meteorological fields, and trajectory pathways between the two different phases. Rossby wave breaking events have cyclonic and anticyclonic regimes, with associated differences in the frequency of occurrence and the dynamic response. During La Nina, there is a relatively weak subtropical jet allowing PV to intrude into lower latitudes over the western United States. This induces a large amount of moisture transport inland ahead of the PV intrusions, as well as northward transport to the west of a surface anticyclone. During El Nino, the subtropical jet is relatively strong and is associated with an enhanced cyclonic wave breaking. This is accompanied by a time-mean surface cyclone, which brings zonal moisture tran.
March 2019 Fast optimized Monte Carlo phase-space generation and dose prediction for low energy x-ray intraoperative radiation therapy

Low energy x-ray intra-operative radiation therapy (IORT) is used mostly for breast cancer treatment with spherical applicators. X-ray IORT treatment delivered during surgery (ex: INTRABEAM®, Carl Zeiss) can benefit from accurate and fast dose prediction in a patient 3D volume. However, full Monte Carlo (MC) simulations are time-consuming and no commercial treatment planning system (TPS) was available for this treatment delivery technique. Therefore, the aim of this work is to develop a dose computation tool based on MC phase space information, which computes fast and accurate dose distributions for spherical and needle INTRABEAM® applicators. First, a database of monoenergetic phase-space (PHSP) files and depth dose profiles (DDPs) in water for each applicator is generated at factory and stored for on-site use. During commissioning of a given INTRABEAM® unit, the proposed fast and optimized phase-space (FOPS) generation process creates a phase-space at the exit of the applicator considered, by fitting the energy spectrum of the source to a combination of the monoenergetic precomputed phase-spaces, by means of a genetic algorithm, with simple experimental data of DDPs in water provided by the user. An in-house hybrid MC (HMC) algorithm which takes into account condensed history simulations of photoelectric, Rayleigh and Compton interactions for x-rays up to 1 MeV computes the dose from the optimized phase-space file. The whole process has been validated against radiochromic films in water as well as reference MC simulations performed with penEasy in heterogeneous phantoms. From the pre-computed monoenergetic PHSP files and DDPs, building the PHSP file optimized to a particular depth-dose curve in water only takes a few minutes in a single core (i7@2.5 GHz), for all the applicators considered in this work, and this needs to be done only when the x-ray source (XRS) is replaced. Once the phase-space file is ready, the HMC code is able to compute dose distributions within 10 min. For all the applicators, more than 95% of voxels from dose distributions computed with the FOPS+hybrid code agreed within 7%–0.5 mm with both reference MC simulations and measurements. The method proposed has been fully validated and it is now implemented into radiance (GMV SA, Spain), the first commercial IORT TPS. PAPER 2019
Explorer CD 47 associates with alpha 5 integrin and regulates responses of human articular chondrocytes to mechanical stimulation in an in vitro model

Background Recent studies provide evidence of roles for integrins in mechanical signalling in bone and cartilage. Integrin signalling is modulated by various mechanisms, including interaction with other transmembrane proteins. We aimed to identify whether one such protein, integrin-associated protein (CD47/IAP), is expressed by chondrocytes and whether it may regulate integrin-dependent mechanotransduction. Methods Chondrocytes, isolated from macroscopically normal and osteoarthritic articular cartilage of human knee joints, were studied in a resting state or following mechanical stimulation at 0.33 Hz. CD47/IAP expression and associations were confirmed by immunohistology, reverse transcriptionpolymerase chain reaction, Western blotting, and immunoprecipitation. Roles in mechanotransduction were studied by assessing effects of function-blocking antibodies on a range of electrophysiological, cellular, and molecular responses of primary chondrocytes and responses of CD47/ IAP-null cell lines transfected with CD47/IAP. Results Human articular chondrocytes were shown to express CD47/IAP, predominantly the type 2 isoform. Immunoprecipitation showed association of CD47/IAP with α5 integrin and thrombospondin but not SIRPα (signal-regulatory protein-alpha). The function-blocking anti-CD47/IAP antibody Bric 126 inhibited changes in membrane potential, tyrosine phosphorylation, and elevation of relative levels of aggrecan mRNA induced by mechanical stimulation, whereas in the presence of B6H12, an antibody that has partial agonist activity, a membrane depolarisation rather than a membrane hyperpolarisation response was induced by mechanical stimulation. CD47-null cell lines did not show changes in cell membrane potential following mechanical stimulation. Changes in cell membrane potential following mechanical stimulation were seen when CD47-null cells were transfected with CD47/ IAP expression vectors but were not seen following mechanical stimulation of cells transfected with vectors for the extracellular immunoglobulin variable (IgV) domain of CD47/IAP in the absence of the transmembrane and intracellular domains. Conclusion CD47/IAP is necessary for chondrocyte mechanotransduction. Through interactions with α5β1 integrin and thrombospondin, CD47/IAP may modulate chondrocyte responses to mechanical signals. Introduction Structural integrity of articular cartilage is dependent on physical loading and joint movement. Overloading and unloading are associated with proteoglycan depletion leading to osteoarthritis (OA), whereas proteoglycan synthesis and articular cartilage thickness are increased by mechanical stresses
Archaeal and bacterial assemblages in the Oxygen Minimum Zone of the upwelling ecosystem off Central Chile as determined by organic biomarkers

Se utilizaron biomarcadores organicos en para investigar la influencia de cambios estacionales en los niveles de oxigenacion y la quimica del agua sobre la distribucion de arqueas y bacterias en la columna de agua y los sedimentos superficiales de la plataforma continental frente a Chile central, un area influenciada por surgencia estacional asociada al desarrollo de una zona de minimo oxigeno. Nuestro interes es establecer si la ocurrencia de arquea y bacteria responde a la oxigenacion y quimica del agua para lo cual analizamos gliceroles dialquil gliceroles tetra-eteres (GDGTs) isoprenoides arqueanos (i) y ramificados bacterianos (r). Nuestros resultados, combinados con datos moleculares de observaciones durante un ano en el mismo lugar y profundidades del sitio de estudio indican la presencia y dominancia del grupo arqueano marino- pelagico Thaumarchaeota. Los cambios observados en la distribucion de iGDGTs podrian explicarse por (i) la presencia de poblaciones de arqueas marinas en la capa de agua sub-oxica, filogeneticamente diferentes a las de aguas superficiales, (ii) cambio en la contribucion relativa de Euryarchaeota con profundidad, y (iii) una relacion entre Thaumarchaeota y factores ambientales distintos a la temperatura. Los GDGTs ramificados fueron mas abundantes en la capa oxica superior durante el periodo de no-surgencia, tal vez influenciado por la alta descarga de rios, mientras que su diversidad fue mas alta en el agua sub-oxica. Nuestros resultados indican una segregacion vertical de los GDGTs isoprenoides y ramificados, con el predominio de biomarcadores arqueanos durante el periodo de baja productividad.
Decentralized morphological stiffness tunable interface for continuum manipulators

This thesis investigates how the problem of stiffness regulation of continuum manipulators can be simplified by inspiration from morphology of biological fish scales and experimental observation of manipulator geometry deformation. Soft continuum trunk and tentacle manipulators have high inherent dexterity and reconfigurability and have become an attractive candidate for safe manipulation and explorations in surgical and space robotic applications recently. The passive shape adaptation and large reachable configuration space features of this class of manipulators, due to their highly deformable nature, make them a perfect choice for minimally invasive insertion of surgical tools in the confined maze-like space in many robotic surgery sites. However, achieving accuracy in precise tasks is a challenge with these highly flexible structures, for which stiffness variable designs based on jamming, smart material, antagonistic actuation and morphing structures are introduced in the recent years. After a careful review and comparative study of current methods on modeling and stiffness modulation of continuum manipulators, an analytical model is presented based on the geometry deformation of continuum manipulators and the Rivlins work on continuum media and adopted the Ritz and Galerkin methods to solve the dynamics of continuum manipulators based on Cosserat beam theory and principle of virtual work. Our new approach reduces model and control space dimension while preserving the accuracy. This enabled us to solve the stiffness regulation actuation and computation problems in the morphological level which highly simplifies the central control design. Two novel integrable helical interfaces inspired by the shape and special arrangement of fish scales morphology is designed using tendon driven and thermoactive low melting point actuation mechanisms. High stiffness range, very low hysteresis and easy integration to different manipulator designs are the advantages of our design compared to the previous research. An analytical model is derived based on which the performance of the design is optimized. A comparison between the presented robotic interface designs and a real fish skin suggests that natural scales may contribute in stiffness modulation of the fish body through jamming, e.g. due to external stream and steady water pressure. Finally, a novel decentralized morphological approach is implemented to regulate the regional stiffness of the continuum manipulator integrated with the designed jamming interfaces to v reject configuration disturbances and modulate the task space stiffness with possible application in soft tissue palpation.
Climate, Adaptation, and the Value of Forestland: A National Ricardian Analysis of the United States

This study estimates an econometric Ricardian model of the effects of climate on forestry using a novel national data set of county-level net economic returns to forestland. Results show that climate change projections to 2050 will increase forest net returns on the middle latitudes of eastern U.S. timberland. We quantify the value of extensive margin adaptation to climate change by separately estimating climate’s effect on 11 distinct forest types. We find that approximately 69% of the positive climate change effect on eastern U.S. forestry arises from the value of extensive margin adaptation. Climate change impacts in the western United States are inconclusive.
Aspect-oriented challenges in system integration with microservices, SOA and IoT

ABSTRACT The era of system integration through service-oriented architecture is rapidly becoming a legacy. New systems increasingly rely on the successor microservice architecture. However, distributed applications can also play a significant role in the internet-of-things. In this paper, we gather evidence demonstrating cross-cutting issues in these areas and highlight how aspect-oriented programming addresses them. Specifically, the purpose of this paper is to provide a roadmap for using aspect-oriented programming to deal effectively with crosscuts in application design, systems interaction, and integration.
Neural and non-neural approaches to authorship attribution

This thesis explores a range of authorship attribution approaches and proposes new techniques to improve performance. Authorship attribution is the task of identifying the author of a text. It has attracted attention due to its relevance to a wide range of applications including forensic investigation and plagiarism detection. An array of features and approaches have been applied to this task. However, there has been a lack of study which involves multiple datasets or uses a range of different classifiers. Therefore, in this thesis we explore both neural and non-neural network models and use different feature representations on multiple datasets. We begin with a short introduction to authorship attribution in Chapter 1. A more comprehensive review of authorship attribution and its related tasks is given in Chapter 2. In Chapter 3 we introduces a novel analysis using topic modeling to examine the conditions under which each type of authorship attribution feature is useful. Chapter 4 explores the implementation of language modeling for authorship attribution. We describe the feature selection issue in standard authorship attribution approaches and evaluate whether n-gram language modeling can help to address the problem. Furthermore, we implement A Long Short Term Memory (LSTM) language model for authorship attribution and assess its effectiveness for the task. In Chapter 5 we present our work on using continuous representations for authorship attribution. In contrast to previous work, which uses discrete feature representations, our model learns continuous representations for n-gram features via a neural network jointly with the classification layer. The proposed model outperforms the state-of-the-art on two datasets, while producing comparable results on the remaining two. In addition, we describe our novel extension of the proposed models and show how the analysis in Chapter 3 helps to improve the attribution accuracy. Finally, we demonstrate how the authors’ demographic profiles can help improve task performance via Multi Task Learning (MTL). In Chapter 6 we highlight the contributions of this thesis and propose directions for future research in this area.
Investigating SSH Research and Publication Practices in Disciplinary and Institutional Contexts. A Survey-Based Comparative Approach in Two Universities

In this paper, we comparatively analyze, present and discuss the results from a survey on increasing the visibility of research achievements in the social sciences and humanities (SSH) that was carried out at the University of Vienna (Austria) and the University of Navarra (Spain) in 2016 and 2017. Covering four major topics—searching and finding literature, publishing, the visibility of research, and the assessment of research outputs—we ask the following questions: are there disciplinary differences to be identified, and how do they present themselves in the two institutional contexts? Discussing the results, we showcase how disciplinary and institutional traditions and contexts are important factors that influence research and publication practices in the SSH. Our results indicate that the practices of searching and finding literature as well as publication practices and behavior are shaped by disciplinary traditions and epistemic cultures. On the contrary, assessment and valuation of research outputs are influenced by institutional and national contexts in which SSH research is organized and carried out.