Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Climate for Change An Actuarial Perspective on Global Warming and its Potential Impact on Insurers

As the debate over global warming rages, actuaries may be able to play a greater role in evaluating the merits of the opposing views and contributing to climate research itself. Since hurricanes Hugo and Andrew, insurance companies have had to fundamentally rethink pricing, underwriting and financing for catastrophic weather-related coverage. Insurers also have had to consider whether these events were just a harbinger of things to come. If these storms presaged a changing climate, what could insurers do to prepare themselves for future catastrophes and improve their assessment of future risks? At the Conference on Climate Change and the Insurance Industry in 1993. Frank Nutter, president of the Reinsurance Association of America, drew much attention in the insurance and environmental press. In 1995, Nutter joined officials from six other major U.S. insurance organizations to discuss climate-related threats with Vice President Gore and experts on climate change. (The other organizations included: Companies.) Following their inquiries, they pledged to explore mitigation and sustainable energy strategies. While these U.S. insurance groups began discussing the issue of climate change, an international coalition of major insurance and reinsurance companies was forming to address climate and environmental issues. Since late 1995, more than 81 companies from 25 countries have signed the United Nations Environmental Programme's (UNEP) Statement of Environmental Commitment for the Insurance Industry, and have publicly endorsed the necessity for action to reverse the causes of climate change. These insurers have been involved in each of the "Conferences of the Parties" meetings on climate change (Berlin, Geneva and Kyoto). Some of these insurers participated in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) process, and authored an extensive chapter in its "Second Assessment Report. " The IPCC, organized by the World Meteorological Organization and UNEP, includes over 2,500 scientists and experts from 55 countries. Among these IPCC participants, Munich Re was the first to publicly show its concern about the climate change issue with its 1990 Windstorm report. Gerhard Berz, Munich Re's climate scientist, later warned that the insurance industry should not adopt the attitude that it can adjust to a changing climate. Rather, according to Berz, "it is to be feared that climate change will produce in nearly all regions of the world new extreme values of many insurance-relevant parameters that will lead to natural disasters of unprecedented severity and frequency. " Berz concludes that "the insurance industry. must demand that political decisions are taken on
Evaluating Tissue-Specific Recombination in a Pdgfrα-CreERT2 Transgenic Mouse Line

In the central nervous system (CNS) platelet derived growth factor receptor alpha (PDGFRα) is expressed exclusively by oligodendrocyte progenitor cells (OPCs), making the Pdgfrα promoter an ideal tool for directing transgene expression in this cell type. Two Pdgfrα-CreERT2 mouse lines have been generated for this purpose which, when crossed with cre-sensitive reporter mice, allow the temporally restricted labelling of OPCs for lineage-tracing studies. These mice have also been used to achieve the deletion of CNS-specific genes from OPCs. However the ability of Pdgfrα-CreERT2 mice to induce cre-mediated recombination in PDGFRα+ cell populations located outside of the CNS has not been examined. Herein we quantify the proportion of PDGFRα+ cells that become YFP-labelled following Tamoxifen administration to adult Pdgfrα-CreERT2::Rosa26-YFP transgenic mice. We report that the vast majority (>90%) of PDGFRα+ OPCs in the CNS, and a significant proportion of PDGFRα+ stromal cells within the bone marrow (~38%) undergo recombination and become YFP-labelled. However, only a small proportion of the PDGFRα+ cell populations found in the sciatic nerve, adrenal gland, pituitary gland, heart, gastrocnemius muscle, kidney, lung, liver or intestine become YFP-labelled. These data suggest that Pdgfrα-CreERT2 transgenic mice can be used to achieve robust recombination in OPCs, while having a minimal effect on most PDGFRα+ cell populations outside of the CNS.
Smart Mobile Poultry Farming Systems in Tmote Sky WSNs

Advances in technology have a great impact on human society not only in education and entertainment, but even medical and agriculture sectors. Smart farming amalgamates this in order to enhance productivity and cut the operation cost. Thus, in this paper, we propose a novel smart system based on poultry farming over EVAP systems by utilizing mobile and wireless sensor networks with a well–known sensor mote, Tmote Sky, towards a WCF web service interaction. This system assists mobile users/ administrators to observe, and especially control an environmental behavior including an additional alert feature when there is a sudden environmental change with configured thresholds. The paper describes instruments and components of the key design of the system. For performance evaluation, we also practically investigated transmitted power consumption characteristics of sensor nodes using CTP and Dissemination multi–hop routing protocols.
Model and Placement Optimization of a Sky Surveillance Visual Sensor Network

Visual Sensor Networks (VSNs) are networks which generate two dimensional data. The major difference between VSN and ordinary sensor network is the large amount of data. In VSN, a large number of camera nodes form a distributed system which can be deployed in many potential applications. In this paper we present a model of the physical parameters of a visual sensor network to track large birds, such as Golden Eagle, in the sky. The developed model is used to optimize the placement of the camera nodes in the VSN. A camera node is modeled as a function of its field of view, which is derived by the combination of the lens focal length and camera sensor. From the field of view and resolution of the sensor, a model for full coverage between two altitude limits has been developed. We show that the model can be used to minimize the number of sensor nodes for any given camera sensor, by exploring the focal lengths that both give full coverage and meet the minimum object size requirement. For the case of large bird surveillance we achieve 100% coverage for relevant altitudes using 20 camera nodes per km2 for the investigated camera sensors.
The robust control mixer module method for control reconfiguration

The control mixer method proposed in Huber and McCulloch (1984) and Rattan (1985) is efficient in improving an ordinary control system into a fault tolerant one, especially for these control systems of which the real-time and online redesign of the control laws is very difficult. In order to consider the stability, performance and robustness of the reconfigured system simultaneously, and to deal with a more general controller configuration than the static feedback mechanism considered by the conventional control mixer method, the robust control mixer module method is proposed in this paper. The form of the control mixer module extends from a static gain matrix into an LTI dynamical system. Furthermore, multiple dynamical control mixer modules can be employed in our consideration. The H/sub /spl infin// control theory is used for the analysis and design of the robust control mixer modules. Finally, one robotic arm (ERA) system is used to test the proposed method.
— A NEW METHOD FOR MAPPING POPULATION AND UNDERSTANDING THE SPATIAL DYNAMICS OF DISEASE IN URBAN AREAS : ASTHMA IN THE BRONX , NEW

Determining an accurate depiction of population distribution for urban areas in order to develop an improved “denominator” is important for the calculation of higher-precision rates in GIS analyses, particularly when exploring the spatial dynamics of disease. Rather than using data aggregated by arbitrary administrative boundaries such as census tracts, we developed the Cadastral-Based Expert Dasymetric System (CEDS), an interpolation method using ancillary information to delineate areas of homogeneous values. This method uses cadastral data, land-use filters, modeling by expert system routines, and validation against various census enumeration units and other data. The CEDS method is presented through a case study of asthma hospitalizations in the borough of the Bronx in New York City, in relation to proximity buffers constructed around major sources of air pollution. The analysis using CEDS shows that asthma hospitalization risk due to proximity to pollution sources is greater than previously calculated using traditional disaggregation methods. [
Calcium pump activities in the kidneys of Oreochromis mossambicus

The mechanism that underlies transcellular Ca2+ reabsorption in the kidney of the euryhaline teleost Oreochromis mossambicus was studied. Preparations of membrane vesicles made from the kidneys of freshwater- and seawater-adapted fish were more than sevenfold enriched in the basolateral plasma membrane marker Na+/K+-ATPase. Significant recovery of NADH­ cytochrome c reductase enzyme activity and of oxalate-stimulated Ca2+ pump activities in the membrane preparations indicated that the membrane fraction was of endoplasmic reticular origin. Indeed, thapsigargin specifically inhibited Ca2+ pump activity that could be attributed to oxalate-permeable endoplasmic reticular fragments. Kinetic analysis of thapsigargin-insensitive Ca2+ pump activity indicated the existence of a homogeneous, high-affinity, ATP-driven Ca2+ pump. No Na+-driven Ca2+ transport mechanism could be demonstrated. Plasma membrane Ca2+ pump activity was 56 % lower in preparations from seawater-adapted fish than in preparations from freshwater-adapted fish, suggesting a physiological role for this Ca2+ pump activity in renal Ca2+ handling by euryhaline species, with an involvement in the regulation of Ca2+ reabsorption.
N‐3 Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids to Prevent Atrial Fibrillation: Updated Systematic Review and Meta‐Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials

Background Previous studies have suggested that n‐3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (n‐3 PUFAs) have antiarrhythmic effects on atrial fibrillation (AF). We aimed to assess the effects of therapy with n‐3 PUFAs on the incidence of recurrent AF and on postoperative AF. Methods and Results Electronic searches were conducted in Web of Science, Medline, Biological Abstracts, Journal Citation Reports, and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials databases. In addition, data from the recently completed FORωARD and OPERA trials were included. We included randomized controlled trials comparing treatment with n‐3 PUFAs versus control to (1) prevent recurrent AF in patients who underwent reversion of AF or (2) prevent incident postoperative AF after cardiac surgery. Of identified studies, 12.9% (16 of 124) were included, providing data on 4677 patients. Eight studies (1990 patients) evaluated n‐3 PUFA effects on AF recurrence among patients with reverted AF and 8 trials (2687 patients) on postoperative AF. Pooled risk ratios through random‐effects models showed no significant effects on AF recurrence (RR, 0.95; 95% CI, 0.79 to 1.13; I2, 72%) or on postoperative AF (0.86; 95% CI, 0.71 to 1.04; I2, 53.1%). A funnel plot suggested publication bias among postoperative trials but not among persistent AF trials. Meta‐regression analysis did not find any relationship between doses and effects (P=0.887 and 0.833 for recurrent and postoperative AF, respectively). Conclusions Published clinical trials do not support n‐3 PUFAs as agents aimed at preventing either postoperative or recurrent AF. Clinical Trial Registration URL: http://www.crd. york.ac. uk/PROSPERO. Unique Identifier: CRD42012002199.
Elastic Grid Reservations with User-Defined Optimization Policies

We present an algorithm for reserving compute resources in a Grid, that allows users to define an optimization strategy, if multiple candidates match the specified requirements. Reservations need not to be exact, but can be elastic in some properties like start-, end-time, duration or the number of requested CPUs. Our algorithm takes the speedup of applications into account to accordingly adjust the duration of the reservation when changing the number of CPUs. This new reservation approach allows users to more accurately specify their requirements and gives the computer system more flexibility to find appropriate resources than existing solutions. Caused by the enhanced flexibility, a single request can have many solutions to select from. To perform this selection efficiently in both cases, successful and failed requests, was one of our goals and we show performance results in Section 4. This work can also build as a basic block for flexible co-reservations – the allocation of multiple independent resources. Due to the elasticity of our reservation requests, the probability to find a common time-slot on all requested resources is higher with elastic requests than with fixed requests.
Generalized Probabilistic Flooding in Unstructured Peer-to-Peer Networks

In this paper, we propose a generalization of the basic flooding search strategy for decentralized unstructured peer-to-peer (P2P) networks. In our algorithm a peer forwards a query to one of its neighbors using a probability that is a function of the number of connections in the overlay network of both. Moreover, this probability may also depend on the distance from the query originator. To analyze the performance of the proposed search strategy in heterogeneous decentralized unstructured P2P networks, we develop a generalized random graph (GRG)-based model that takes into account the high variability in the number of application level connections that each peer establishes, and the nonuniform distribution of resources among peers. Furthermore, the model includes an analysis of peer availability, i.e., the capability of relaying queries of other peers, as a function of the query generation rate of each peer. Validation of the proposed model is carried out comparing the model predictions with simulations conducted on real overlay topologies obtained from crawling the popular file sharing application Gnutella.
Real Time Hand Gesture Recognition Using Sift

The objective of the gesture recognition is to identify and distinguish the human gestures and utilizes these identified gestures for applications in specific domain. In this paper we propose a new approach to build a real time system to identify the standard gesture given by American Sign Language, or ASL, the dominant sign language of Deaf Americans, including deaf communities in the United States, in the English-speaking parts of Canada, and in some regions of Mexico. We propose a new method of improvised scale invariant feature transform (SIFT) and use the same to extract the features. The objective of the paper is to decode a gesture video into the appropriate alphabets.
A-BLAST: a novel approach to adaptive layered space-time processing

Multiple-Input Multiple-Output (MIMO) space-time processing (STP) enable wireless systems to operate with improved reliably and higher spectral efficiency than could previously be achieved through traditional means. The well known Bell Labs Layered Space-Time (BLAST) processing methods V-BLAST and D-BLAST are each designed to maximize link spectral efficiency and reliability respectively [11]. However, the simultaneous maximization of link reliability and link spectral efficiency are competing performance objectives. In addition, the performance of either of these methods is highly dependent on the MIMO channel environment that exists. The high signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) environment with spatially uncorrelated fading is known to be well conditioned to achieving spatial multiplexing gain through V-BLAST. In contrast, when fading is spatially correlated or at low SNR levels, the MIMO channel is much less able to support spatial multiplexing and performance may be improved through the additional diversity order provided by D-BLAST. This paper provides an overview of a novel adaptive layered space-time (LST) processing method, called Adaptive BLAST (A-BLAST). The A-BLAST approach is shown to be able to adapt to a broad range of MIMO channel environments, providing a significant performance improvement over the conventional non-adaptive BLAST methods.
Knowledge Management Technology as a Stage for Strategic Self-Presentation: Implications for Knowledge Sharing in Organizations

This article explores why it is often difficult for organizations to capture, store, and share employees' individually held expertise. Drawing on studies of the social construction of expertise and theories of transactive memory systems and self-presentation in computer-mediated environments, we argue that knowledge management technologies are not simple containers for the storage of expertise, but that they are stages upon which individuals enact performances of expertise. Through a longitudinal study of the work of IT technicians we show that users of a knowledge management technology strategically craft their own information entries to position themselves as experts vis-a-vis their coworkers. The data suggest that proactive self-presentations enacted by a few actors early on may spur reactive behaviors of strategic self-presentation across the organization. We explore implications of these findings for theories of transactive memory systems and technology use in organizations.
Evolutionary testing as both a testing and redesign tool: a study of a shipboard firemain's valve and pump controls

Given the large number of possible fault scenarios, complex control systems are usually impossible to test exhaustively. One promising approach, however, is evolutionary testing (ET) in which a genetic algorithm (GA) evolves critical test situations. We evolved challenges (pipe rupture and water demand) to the valve and pump controls of a shipboard firemain system. ET found minor events that collectively produced significant system failure, and also identified a modification to the ship design that improved system performance. ET can also be used to map the boundary of search space for a given, user-defined criterion. The potential of this powerful, generic technique not just for testing but also for system redesign is thus emphasized.
Fast Shape Matching of Height Functions with Heuristic Search Strategy

In this paper, we propose a fast computational framework based on height functions descriptor for handling shape matching. To improve the efficiency, we utilize the strategy of heuristic search to reduce the large search space of dynamic programming (DP) algorithm between sample points of every two shapes during shape matching. Experiments on several public shape benchmarks(such as, MPEG-7 dataset, Kimia's dataset and ETH-80 dataset) demonstrate superior efficiency and competitive retrieval performance over previous methods.
Hierarchical Shape-Adaptive Quantization for Geometry Compression

The compression of polygonal mesh geometry is still an active field of research as in 3d no theoretical bounds are known. This work proposes a geometry coding method based on predictive coding. Instead of using the vertex to vertex distance as distortion measurement, an approximation to the Hausdorffdistance is used resulting in additional degrees of freedom. These are exploited by a new adaptive quantization approach, which is independent of the encoding order. The achieved compression rates are similar to those of entropy based optimization but with a significantly faster compression performance.
Optimisation of solar power intake for wireless sensor networks at temperate latitudes

Abstract In many outdoor locations solar power provides the greatest power densities for energy harvesting to power wireless sensor networks in comparison to other practical alternative such as wind, vibrations or temperature gradients. Since solar power is highly variable with location and time, it is necessary to optimise the sensor nodes for individual locations. Presented here, is an assessment of the solar power availability in Manchester, UK (53°28′N, 2°14′W). Wireless sensor nodes are typically low power devices with intended perpetual operation and thus the temporal distribution of available power is important together with the total amount of energy drawn over a given time period. Here we examine direct and diffuse solar radiation data over a period of three years and present methods for the deployment of solar cells for sensor nodes to optimise sensing and communication scenarios. As local weather conditions are highly variable and stochastic in the medium term, we base the future node performance on the weather from a previous year. From analysis of the weather data, the hardware requirements for the sensor node are then made from the power consumption of the sensor node for sensing, sleep and data transmission. It was found that to maximise the time over which the solar irradiance exceeds that required to power our demonstration sensor node, the solar cell should be positioned horizontally.
Gravitational instability and star formation in disc galaxies

We present a general star formation law in which the star formation rate depends upon the efficiency α and the time-scale τ of star formation, and the gas component σg of the surface mass density. The current nominal Schmidt exponent nS for our model is 2<nS<3. Based on a gravitational instability parameter QA and another dimensionless parameter fP=(P/Gcσ2)1/2, where P = pressure and σc = column density of molecular clouds, we suggest a general equation for the star formation rate which depends upon the relative contributions of the two parameters for various physical circumstances. We find that QA turns out to be a better parameter for the star formation scenario than does the Toomre Q-parameter. The star formation rate in the solar neighbourhood is found to be in good agreement with values inferred from previous studies. In the closed box approximation model, we obtain a relationship between the metallicity of the gas and the efficiency of star formation. Our model calculations of metallicity in the solar neighbourhood agree with earlier estimates. We conclude that the metallicity dispersion for stars of the same age may result from a change in the efficiency with which different stars in the sample were processed. For no significant change of metallicity with age, we suggest that all stars in the sample were born with similar efficiencies.
Binding of plasma fibronectin to cell layers of human skin fibroblasts

Human plasma fibronectin bound to confluent cell layers of cultured human-skin fibroblasts in two distinct pools. Initial binding of fibronectin occurred in a deoxycholate-soluble pool (Pool I). Binding in Pool I was reversible and reached a steady state after 3 h. After longer periods of incubation, fibronectin became bound in a deoxycholate-insoluble pool (Pool II). Binding in Pool II was irreversible and proceeded at a linear rate for 30 h. After 30 h of incubation, a significant proportion of fibronectin bound in Pool II was present as disulfide-bonded multimers. HT1080 cells, a human sarcoma cell line, did not bind fibronectin in either pool. Also, isolated cell matrices prepared by deoxycholate extraction did not bind fibronection. Binding of fibronectin in Pool I of normal fibroblasts occurred via specific, saturable receptors. There were 128,000 binding sites per cell, and KDiss was 3.6 X 10(-8) M. Fluorescence microscopic localization of fibronectin bound in Pool I and Pool II was performed using fluorescein-conjugated fibronectin. Fluorescent staining in Pool I was present in a punctate pattern and in short, fine fibrils. Pool II fluorescence was exclusively in coarse, dense fibrils. These data indicate that plasma fibronectin may become incorporated into the tissue extracellular matrix via specific cell-surface receptors.