Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A varying-gain ZNN model with fixed-time convergence and noise-tolerant performance for time-varying linear equation and inequality systems

In this paper, a varying-gain zeroing (or Zhang) neural network (VG-ZNN) is proposed to obtain the online solution of the time-varying linear equation and inequality system. Distinguished from the fixed-value design parameter inthe original zeroing (or Zhang) neural network (ZNN) models, the design parameter of the VG-ZNN model is a nonlinear function that changes with time. The VG-ZNN model composed of the new time-varying design parameter we proposed can achieve fixed-time convergence and tolerate time-varying bounded noise and time-varying derivable noise. The theoretical detailed analysis of the convergence and robustness of the VG-ZNN model are given.
Characteristics of Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) Composition of Two Different Cities in Taiwan

The characteristics of physical and chemical composition of municipal solid waste (MSW) of two different cities in Taiwan were examined. Population in Kaohsiung City way higher (12.2 folds) than Taitung County population, waste generation is also higher (13.08 folds) than in Taitung County. Nonetheless, there is no significant difference (8% difference) between Kaohsiung City and Taitung County for waste generation rate. It is found that food wastes account for the most proportion of the reusable waste of Kaohsiung City (36.88%) and Taitung County (6.43%), and moreover, the proportion of reusable waste of Taitung County is much less than that of Kaohsiung City. It is because Taitung County is an agricultural area, reusable waste can be reused by residents and not released to the garbage collection system. Furthermore, there was no significant difference of MSW composition between the Kaohsiung City and Taitung City (an administrative region of Taitung County). Paper, food wastes, and plastic accounted for a higher proportion. Food wastes were the major content in both cities because food wastes not included in the disposal system until ten years ago. These results show that organic waste such as food wastes remained significant, with room for more promotion as a resource recycling task.
Maternal Effects of Immediate versus Delayed Umbilical Cord Clamping: A Randomized Clinical Trial

OBJECTIVE: To compare maternal preoperative and postoperative hemoglobin variation after cord clamping. METHODS: Randomized clinical trial performed in Porto Alegre, RS from January to December 2012. It was included 356 women with habitual risk gestations. In the immediate cord clamping group, the umbilical cord section was realized between 0 and 60 s (group 1) while in the delayed cord clamping group it was realized >60 s (group 2). RESULTS: The mean (±standard deviation [SD]) preoperative hemoglobin was 12.13 ± 1.06 in the group 1 and 12.13 ± 1.11 in the group 2. The mean (±SD) postoperative day 2 hemoglobin level was 10.19 ± 1.46 in the group 1 and 10.24 ± 1.42 in the group 2. CONCLUSIONS: Delayed umbilical cord clamping resulted in a similar maternal hemoglobin level reduction at postoperative day 2.
Stock Investors' Returns are Exaggerated

The stock market generates less wealth than it appears. We show that total shareholder return (TSR), the standard measure of stock investor performance, substantially exaggerates returns earned by these investors in aggregate, and thus by most investors. The main reason: from investors’ collective perspective, dividends cannot be reinvested in public equity, as TSR assumes, but only in other lower-yielding assets. In addition, TSR is inflated by well-timed repurchases and equity issuances that merely transfer value among investors. We put forward another measure—“all-shareholder return” (ASR)—which better captures the wealth generated by the stock market for investors. We estimate that the ASR equity premium is 17 to 73% lower than the TSR-implied equity premium, depending on the investment alternative. We also estimate that the wedge between ASR and TSR is primarily driven by the reinvestment effect. However, over time, the reinvestment effect declines while the timing effect of cash flows increases, consistent with rising stock issuances and buybacks.
National Culture and the Stream Analogy of Lethal Violence

This is the first study to explore the relationship between Inglehart and Baker’s national cultural measures and the stream analogy of lethal violence. Using data for 70 developed and developing countries, the regression analysis indicates that a country with self-expressionism or secularism is likely to have a high suicide rate relative to its homicide rate. In contrast, a country with a survivalism or traditionalism orientation is likely to have a high homicide rate relative to its suicide rate. This study suggests that national culture is related to the direction of lethal violence (i.e., suicide vs. homicide).
BOD as a Measure of Fluvial Organic Matter Lability—The Decoupling of O2 Consumption From CO2 Production

Biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) has been taken as a measure of the lability of the fluvial organic matter (both dissolved and particulate organic matter—DOM and POM), but such a link is based on a number of assumptions. First, the oxidation state of the organic carbon is zero and the molar stoichiometry of the reaction between organic C and O2 is 1. Second, the consumption of O2, as measured by BOD, is a first‐order reaction with respect to DOM or POM. Third, that POM and DOM are correlated. Applying a Bayesian hierarchical analysis to an extensive river monitoring records for 236 sites across Great Britain from 1974 to 2019, it is possible to test the nature of the link between BOD and fluvial organic matter. The study shows that: (a) The inclusion of both DOC and SS concentrations improved the modeling. (b) When a first‐order reaction was assumed there was no significant linear relationship with BOD and DOC and suspended solids (SS) in at least 98% of cases. (c) 53% of sites showed a zero‐order reaction; when there was a significant order of reaction, the median was 0.28 and was never larger than 0.93, that is, a first‐order reaction rate was never observed. The lack of significant relationship means that the supply of organic matter exceeds the capacity to turn over that organic matter; and that given the range of oxidation states of fluvial organic carbon, it is possible to completely decouple O2 consumption from fluvial organic matter concentration in rivers.
Toxicity Evaluation of Arsenic Nanoparticles on Growth, Biochemical, Hematological, and Physiological Parameters of Labeo rohita Juveniles

The present study aims to assess the induced nanotoxicity of arsenic nanoparticles (AsNPs) on different organs of fresh water fish Labeo rohita. AsNPs were synthesized by chemical reduction method using sodium arsenite as precursor, ice-cold sodium borohydride as reducing agent, and sodium hydroxide to adjust the solution pH. The synthesized AsNPs were characterized by UV-Vis spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) for optical, structural, and morphological investigations. The UV-Vis absorption peaks occurring at around 300 nm indicated the presence of AsNPs in colloidal sample. The rhombohedral crystalline nature and metallic purity of AsNPs with crystallite size of 30 ± 1 nm were confirmed by characteristic peaks of XRD pattern. The SEM micrograph revealed the almost spherical shape and 40 ± 10 nm average size prepared AsNPs. For assessment of induced nanotoxicity, juveniles of Labeo rohita (L. rohita) were exposed to three different concentrations of AsNPs (namely, 1, 10, and 20 mg/L) for 30 days (n = 15 per group), and the control fish was kept untreated. It was observed that the routine behavior activities (such as swimming, mutual interactions, and feed intake) were affected by AsNPs. The growth of AsNPs treated fish was found retarded as compared to the control fish. Total erythrocyte count, total leukocyte count, and hemoglobin and hematocrit values were low in the AsNPs treated fish. Immunobiochemical assays revealed that protein level was altered in the AsNPs treated fish. The levels of antioxidant enzymes catalase and superoxide dismutase were low in the treated fish. The histological alteration induced by AsNPs in liver, gills, and kidneys demonstrated the damage in form of glomerulus shrinkage, vacuolation, inflammation, necrosis, lamellar disorganization, and hemorrhage in comparison with untreated fish. The results of the present study indicate that AsNPs exposure causes behavior, growth, hematology, immunobiochemical, and histological shortcomings in L. rohita.
Changes of Dynamics in Local Productive Systems Based on the Iberian Pig Transformation Industry in Western Sierra Morena (Spain)

Local Productive Systems (hereinafter LPS) based on agro-food industries constitute alternative models of development in peripheral rural areas that are subject to internal and external dynamics and processes. The main objective of the research is to investigate the processes and their consequences on four SPLs based on the Iberian Pig Transformation Industry (hereinafter LPS-IPTI) in SW Spain: Fregenal de la Sierra, Higuera la Real, Cumbres Mayores and Jabugo. Using secondary data, a comparison is made between 2002 and 2020 to establish the changes, causes and consequences on the LPS-IPTI studied. The results obtained indicate (1) business and territorial concentration of LPS-IPTI; (2) productive and territorial specialisation in standardised products and quality products; (3) simplification of industrial processes; (4) loss of employment, especially female; (5) external control of companies in the sector which, accordingly, results in the loss of prominence of local actors in favour of foreign companies, reduced social capital and the progressive loss of ownership of the LPS.
PSPICE simulation of three-phase inverters by means of switching functions

Macromodels are proposed for simulating three-phase power converters for use in circuit simulation software packages. The macromodels are based on converter functions rather than actual circuit configuration, and they are suited for steady-state and large-signal transient analysis at system level. Voltage source inverters (VSIs), current source inverters (CSIs), and controlled rectifiers (CRs) are simulated as multiport networks avoiding the physical nonlinear micromodels of the power switches. The computer memory and run time required for the simulation are thereby minimized. Complete examples of VSIs, CSIs, and CRs with different pulsewidth-modulation (PWM) techniques are given to illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed models. <<ETX>>
Travel Time Prediction Using k Nearest Neighbor Method with Combined Data from Vehicle Detector System and Automatic Toll Collection System

Because of the development of scientific technology, drivers now have access to a variety of information to assist their decision making. In particular, an accurate prediction of travel time is valuable to drivers, who can use it to choose a route or decide on departure time. Although many researchers have sought to enhance their accuracy, such predictions are often limited by errors that result from the lagged pattern of predicted travel time, the use of nonrepresentative samples for making predictions, and the use of inefficient and nontransferable models. The proposed model predicts travel times on the basis of the k nearest neighbor method and uses data provided by the vehicle detector system and the automatic toll collection system. By combining these two sets of data, the model minimizes the limitations of each set and enhances the prediction's accuracy. Criteria for traffic conditions allow the direct use of data acquired from the automatic toll collection system as predicted travel time. The proposed model's predictions are compared with the predictions of other models by using actual data to show that the proposed model predicts travel times much more accurately. The proposed model's predictions of travel time are expected to be free from the problems associated with an insufficient number of samples. Further, unlike the widely used artificial neural network and Kalman filter methods, the proposed model does not require long training programs, so the model is easily transferable.
Selected Predictors of Consumer Ethnocentrism in the Food Market (Gender Differences)

This paper aims to identify predictors of consumer ethnocentrism in the food market. An online survey was conducted in a sample of 1000 Polish consumers, which was representative by sex, age, education level, urban–rural divide, and region. The 10-item CETSCALE was applied. In a retrograde stepwise regression model, consumer ethnocentrism in the food market was positively related to tradition and conformity Schwartz values, to the pride of being Polish, and to such product characteristics as the country of origin, distance from the producer, and natural content. It was negatively related to the universalism value and to being a student. To gain further insights into the predictors of consumer ethnocentrism in the food market for either gender, separate regressions were conducted among men and women. Three predictors affected positively and significantly consumer ethnocentrism in the food market both among men and among women, namely the tradition Schwartz value, pride of being Polish, and importance attached to distance covered by the food product from the producer to the shop, which is related to the preference for local food. Moreover, consumer ethnocentrism among men was dependent on their food choice motive–environmental friendliness, whereas consumer ethnocentrism among women was affected by the importance attached to the product’s country of origin, and it was negatively related to women’s younger age.
Fire Drivers Affecting Forest Fire Occurrences in the Tropical Mixed Broad-leaved Forests of Nepal

Forest fires triggered by various natural and anthropogenic drivers are increasing and threatening forest ecosystems across the globe. In Nepal, the high value Tropical Mixed Broad-leaved Forests are prone to fire caused by both natural and anthropogenic drivers. Thus, understanding fire drivers and their effect is important for the sustainable forest fire management. However, the preceding studies on forest specific fire drivers and their effect are limited. This research has identified the fire drivers and assessed their effect to fire occurrences in the Tropical Mixed Broad-leaved Forests of Nawalparasi District, Nepal. Fire drivers were identified and prioritized by participatory approaches. The fire incidences and burnt areas were obtained from the MODIS fire data (2001–2017). The results revealed altogether 20 drivers including eight natural and 12 anthropogenic. Based on the public perception and magnitude of forest fire, among the natural drivers, temperature, precipitation, forest fuel, aspect, elevation and slope were the major drivers. Likewise, among the anthropogenic drivers, forest distance from roads and settlements showed significant effect. The natural drivers, ambient temperature >30ºC and annual precipitation <2400 mm, revealed signi-ficant impacts on forest fire. Likewise, forests situated at lower elevation (<500 m), and southern and eastern aspects were highly vulnerable to fire. Considering anthropogenic drivers, forest lying within 500 m from the roads and settlements were highly vulnerable to fire. Among the forest types, the Hill Sal Forest was more affected. Future strategies should address the major fire drivers, construction of adequate fire lines and conservation ponds for the sustainable forest management.
Bond behavior of high strength concrete under reversed pull-out cyclic loading

Structures located in seismic zones require significant ductility. It is necessary to examine the bond slip characteristics of high strength concrete under cyclic loading. The cyclic bond of high strength concrete is investigated under different parameters, including load history, confining reinforcement, bar diameter, concrete strength, and the rate of pull out. The bond strength, cracking, and deformation are highly dependent on the bond slip behavior between the rebar and the concrete under cyclic loading. The results of cyclic testing indicate that an increase in cyclic displace - ment will lead to more severe bond damage. The slope of the bond stress - displacement curve can describe the influ- ence of the rate of loading on the bond strength in a cyclic test. Specimens with steel confinement sustained a greater number of cycles than the specimens without steel confinement. It has been found that the maximum bond strength in- creases with an increase in concrete strength. Cyclic loading does not affect the bond strength of high strength concrete as long as the cyclic slip is less than the maximum slip for monotonic loading. The behavior of high strength concrete under a cyclic load is slightly different from that of normal strength concrete.
Appraising The Quality of Malaysian Union Catalog

This study attempted to highlights issues relating to authoritativeness and quality of Malaysian Union Catalog, known as Katalog Induk Kebangsaan (KIK). The development of KIK records involved participation of 101 “participating libraries” in Malaysia. The study adopted document analysis methodology where 500 bibliographic data have been selected from the database. The bibliographic data were analyzed based on its compliance with International Standards like MARC21 and AACR2R. Each data were screened before going through the analysis process. Only qualified data were analyzed in this study. The finding indicates that 90% of the qualified records analyzed in the study are developed according to the established standards like AACR2R and MARC21. As assessing the authoritativeness of the records in KIK consume so much time. Hence, random data are selected and evaluate by benchmarking with AACR2R and MARC21. The findings and discovery of the study are significant in highlighting the authoritativeness and quality of the Malaysian Union Catalog bibliographic.
Association of Melanoma-Risk Variants with Primary Melanoma Tumor Prognostic Characteristics and Melanoma-Specific Survival in the GEM Study

Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) and candidate pathway studies have identified low-penetrant genetic variants associated with cutaneous melanoma. We investigated the association of melanoma-risk variants with primary melanoma tumor prognostic characteristics and melanoma-specific survival. The Genes, Environment, and Melanoma Study enrolled 3285 European origin participants with incident invasive primary melanoma. For each of 47 melanoma-risk single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), we used linear and logistic regression modeling to estimate, respectively, the per allele mean changes in log of Breslow thickness and odds ratios for presence of ulceration, mitoses, and tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs). We also used Cox proportional hazards regression modeling to estimate the per allele hazard ratios for melanoma-specific survival. Passing the false discovery threshold (p = 0.0026) were associations of IRF4 rs12203592 and CCND1 rs1485993 with log of Breslow thickness, and association of TERT rs2242652 with presence of mitoses. IRF4 rs12203592 also had nominal associations (p < 0.05) with presence of mitoses and melanoma-specific survival, as well as a borderline association (p = 0.07) with ulceration. CCND1 rs1485993 also had a borderline association with presence of mitoses (p = 0.06). MX2 rs45430 had nominal associations with log of Breslow thickness, presence of mitoses, and melanoma-specific survival. Our study indicates that further research investigating the associations of these genetic variants with underlying biologic pathways related to tumor progression is warranted.
The diatom flora of the Tonle Sap Lake in Cambodia: Centrobacillariophycidae – inventory and description of five new taxa including Praecyclostephanos gen. nov.

We provide an update to our knowledge of the centric diatoms in the Tonle Sap Lake (Cambodia) by providing a new and highly detailed iconography of all observed taxa based on light and scanning electron microscopy. We highlight a distinctive flora, including a new genus Praecyclostephanos gen. nov. and five taxa new to science: Aulacoseira micropunctata sp. nov., A. spiralorimoportula sp. nov., Praecyclostephanos boengchhmariensis sp. nov., Stephanodiscus tonlesapensis sp. nov. and Urosolenia anlongreangensis sp. nov. The flora is mainly dominated by several species of the genus Aulacoseira. Within the Aulacoseira populations forming the background of the diatom community, taxa that reveal the change in environmental conditions appear sporadically, often as blooms. The wide range of life-forms related to their ability to float is another remarkable aspect of the centric diatom flora. This variability appears at several taxonomic scales. At the genus level, colonial and solitary life-forms are very well represented in their diversity. At the sub-genus level, mainly among the Aulacoseira species, communities present a wide range of buoyancy metrics. Accordingly, in addition to the taxonomic review, we provide additional information related to their potential as bioindicators to monitor the hydrodynamic aspects of the lake in both space and time.
Peer-to-Peer Carsharing

Peer-to-peer carsharing is an innovative approach to vehicle sharing in which vehicle owners temporarily rent their personal automobiles to others in their surrounding area. Peer-to-peer carsharing belongs to the larger sharing economy, an economic model premised on the notion of collaborative consumption as opposed to ownership. This study examined public perception of peer-to-peer carsharing and potential market characteristics through an intercept survey conducted in the San Francisco Bay Area, California. Three hundred respondents from 14 locations in San Francisco (n = 150) and Oakland (n = 150), California, were polled on their existing attitudes toward and perceptions of classic carsharing, peer-to-peer carsharing, and the sharing economy. The survey results indicate that there remains a low awareness of peer-to-peer carsharing, with fewer than 50% of San Francisco respondents and 25% of Oakland respondents having heard of the term. Approximately 25% of surveyed vehicle owners would be willing to share their personal vehicles through peer-to-peer carsharing, citing liability and trust concerns as primary deterrents. Those who drove almost every day were less open to renting through peer-to-peer, while those who used public transit at least once per week expressed a greater interest in it. Overall, the results of this study indicate considerable interest in peer-to-peer carsharing: 60% of San Francisco respondents and 75% of Oakland respondents without vehicle access would consider renting a peer-to-peer vehicle. The top three reasons for using peer-to-peer carsharing are convenience and availability, monetary savings, and expanded mobility options. Further outreach and education are needed to raise awareness of this mobility innovation.
Q‐switched thulium‐doped fiber laser operating at 1920 nm region with multiwalled carbon nanotubes embedded in polyvinyl alcohol

We demonstrate a Q‐switched Thulium‐doped fiber laser operating at approximately 1912 nm region using multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNT) embedded in polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) as the passive saturable absorber (SA). The SA is fabricated by mixing the dispersed MWCNTs suspension into a PVA solution MWCNT and let the precursor to dry in the room temperature to form the film. The film is sandwiched between two FC/PC fiber connectors before it is incorporated in a ring laser cavity to produce self‐started pulse train with repetition rate that can tuned from 13.07 to 21.67 kHz as the 1552 nm pump power is increased from 302 to 382 mW. At 382 mW pump, the Q‐switched laser has a pulse width of 7.93 µs and pulse energy of 103.37 nJ. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Microwave Opt Technol Lett 56:2817–2820, 2014