Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Deciphering the Prokaryotic Community and Metabolisms in South African Deep-Mine Biofilms through Antibody Microarrays and Graph Theory

In the South African deep mines, a variety of biofilms growing in mine corridor walls as water seeps from intersections or from fractures represents excellent proxies for deep-subsurface environments. However, they may be greatly affected by the oxygen inputs through the galleries of mining activities. As a consequence, the interaction between the anaerobic water coming out from the walls with the oxygen inputs creates new conditions that support rich microbial communities. The inherent difficulties for sampling these delicate habitats, together with transport and storage conditions may alter the community features and composition. Therefore, the development of in situ monitoring methods would be desirable for quick evaluation of the microbial community. In this work, we report the usefulness of an antibody-microarray (EMChip66) immunoassay for a quick check of the microbial diversity of biofilms located at 1.3 km below surface within the Beatrix deep gold mine (South Africa). In addition, a deconvolution method, previously described and used for environmental monitoring, based on graph theory and applied on antibody cross-reactivity was used to interpret the immunoassay results. The results were corroborated and further expanded by 16S rRNA gene sequencing analysis. Both culture-independent techniques coincided in detecting features related to aerobic sulfur-oxidizers, aerobic chemoorganotrophic Alphaproteobacteria and metanotrophic Gammaproteobacteria. 16S rRNA gene sequencing detected phylotypes related to nitrate-reducers and anaerobic sulfur-oxidizers, whereas the EMChip66 detected immunological features from methanogens and sulfate-reducers. The results reveal a diverse microbial community with syntrophic metabolisms both anaerobic (fermentation, methanogenesis, sulphate and nitrate reduction) and aerobic (methanotrophy, sulphur oxidation). The presence of oxygen-scavenging microbes might indicate that the system is modified by the artificial oxygen inputs from the mine galleries.
Digital platform development: A service-oriented perspective

The traditional view of value is largely rooted in the material properties of physical goods. However, service-dominant logic tells us that value is not imbued in goods, but derived in its judicious application. A contextually bounded nature of value is highly relevant for the study of digital platforms given the reprogrammable nature of digital technology coupled with a necessity to serve several different stakeholders and applications. This paper applies servitization as a theoretical framework for illustrating the subjective and transitory value propositions that influence platform development. Based on a case study of a firm that has transitioned from product supplier to provider of a platform for digital services, it is evident that value propositions are ambivalent, yet vital components in the evolution of platforms. Furthermore, we may discern that platform providers are faced with value propositions that are multidirectional, multidimensional, and offered from a variety of sources.
Dark Baryons and Rotation Curves

The best measured rotation curve for any galaxy is that of the dwarf spiral DDO 154, which extends out to about 20 disk scale lengths. It provides an ideal laboratory for testing the universal density profile prediction from high-resolution numerical simulations of hierarchical clustering in cold dark matter-dominated cosmological models. We find that the observed rotation curve cannot be fitted either at small radii, as previously noted, or at large radii. We advocate a resolution of this dilemma by postulating the existence of a dark spheroid of baryons amounting to several times the mass of the observed disk component and comparable to that of the cold dark matter halo component. Such an additional mass component provides an excellent fit to the rotation curve provided that the outer halo is still cold dark matter-dominated with a density profile and mass-radius scaling relation as predicted by standard CDM-dominated models. The universal existence of such dark baryonic spheroidal components provides a natural explanation of the universal rotation curves observed in spiral galaxies, may have a similar origin and composition to the local counterpart that has been detected as MACHOs in our own Galactic halo via gravitational microlensing, and is consistent with, and even motivated by, primordial nucleosynthesis estimates of the baryon fraction.
Environmental Policy in the European Union

This text presents a comprehensive and systematic investigation of the effectiveness of environmental policy within the European Union at the dawn of the 21st century. The development of environmental policy, including the policy-making process, is analyzed from an historical perspective. The authors then examine implemantation and enforcement, and present a critical appraisal of the impact of environmental policy throughout Europe. Key issues discussed include: trade and the environment; environmental protection and the maintainance of industrial competitiveness; agriculture and the environment; energy and environmental policy; transport and the environment; and tourism and the environment. The authors provide insight into the problems of reconciling differing national interests and present a number of proposals for environmental policy in the future. They conclude that what is required for effective environmental policy is not more radical measures, but the opportunity for the measures already in place to be effectively implemented.
Engineering Bacillus thuringiensis bioinsecticides with an indigenous site-specific recombination system

The cry genes of Bacillus thuringiensis encode a diverse group of crystal-forming proteins that exhibit insecticidal activity, particularly against the larvae of lepidopteran, coleopteran, and dipteran insects. The efficacy of B. thuringiensis-based biopesticides may be improved through the genetic manipulation of these genes. A gene transfer system has been developed for the introduction and maintenance of cloned insecticidal cry genes on small plasmids in B. thuringiensis. This vector system combines a B. thuringiensis plasmid replicon and an indigenous site-specific recombination system that allows for the selective removal of ancillary or foreign DNA from the recombinant bacterium after introduction of the Cry-encoding plasmid. The site-specific recombination system is useful for engineering strains with unique combinations of cry genes, resulting in new active ingredients with improved insecticidal properties.
Hough transform based correction of mobile robot orientation

In most applications, a mobile robot must be able to determine its position and orientation in the environment using only own sensors. The problem of pose tracking can be seen as a constituent part of the more general navigation problem. Our proposed approach is able to track the mobile robot pose without environment model. It is based on combining histograms and Hough transform (HHT). While histograms for position tracking (x and y histograms) are extracted directly from local occupancy grid maps, angle histogram is obtained indirectly via Hough transformation combined with a non-iterative algorithm for determination of end points and length of straight-line parts contained in obtained histograms. Histograms obtained at the actual mobile robot pose are compared to histograms saved at previous mobile robot poses to compute position displacement and orientation correction. Orientation estimation accuracy greatly influences the position estimation accuracy and is crucial for a reliable mobile robot pose tracking. Sensors used for local occupancy grid generation are sonars but other exteroceptive sensors like a laser range finder can also be used. Test results with mobile robot Pioneer 2DX simulator show the capacity of this method.
CoZo+ - A Content Zoning Engine for textual documents

Content zoning can be understood as a segmentation of textual documents into zones. This is inspired by [6] who initially proposed an approach for the argumentative zoning of textual documents. With the prototypical CoZo+ engine, we focus on content zoning towards an automatic processing of textual streams while considering only the actors as the zones. We gain information that can be used to realize an automatic recognition of content for pre-defined actors. We understand CoZo+ as a necessary pre-step towards an automatic generation of summaries and to make intellectual ownership of documents detectable.
Legisprudence: Practical Reason in Legislation

Current legal theory is premised on the central role of the judge in contemporary legal systems. This book takes a different view on law and legislation and establishes 'legisprudence', by contrast to jurisprudence, as a legal theory of political law making. By shifting the attention to the position of the legislator and legislation, this book opens a number of new insights into the relationship between legislative problems and legal theory. © Luc J. Wintgens 2012. All rights reserved.
Using HTML5 visualizations in software fault localization

Testing and debugging is the most expensive, error-prone phase in the software development life cycle. Automated software fault localization can drastically improve the efficiency of this phase, thus improving the overall quality of the software. Amongst the most well-known techniques, due to its efficiency and effectiveness, is spectrum-based fault localization. In this paper, we propose three dynamic graphical forms using HTML5 to display the diagnostic reports yielded by spectrum-based fault localization. The visualizations proposed, namely Sunburst, Vertical Partition, and Bubble Hierarchy, have been implemented within the GZOLTAR toolset, replacing previous and less-intuitive OpenGL-based visualizations. The GZOLTAR toolset is a plug-and-play plugin for the Eclipse IDE to ease world-wide adoption. Finally, we performed an user study with GZOLTAR and confirmed that the visualizations help to drastically reduce the time needed in debugging (e.g., all participants using the visualizations were able to pinpoint the fault, whereas of those using traditional methods only 35% found the fault). The group that used the visualizations took on average 9 minutes and 17 seconds less than the group that did not use them.
High-frequency wavepackets in turbulent jets

Wavepackets obtained as solutions of the flow equations linearised around the mean flow have been shown in recent work to yield good agreement, in terms of amplitude and phase, with those educed from turbulent jets. Compelling agreement has been demonstrated, for the axisymmetric and first helical mode, up to Strouhal numbers close to unity. We here extend the range of validity of wavepacket models to Strouhal number $St=4.0$ and azimuthal wavenumber $m=4$ by comparing solutions of the parabolised stability equations with a well-validated large-eddy simulation of a Mach 0.9 turbulent jet. The results show that the near-nozzle dynamics can be correctly described by the homogeneous linear model, the initial growth rates being accurately predicted for the entire range of frequencies and azimuthal wavenumbers considered. Similarly to the lower-frequency wavepackets reported prior to this work, the high-frequency linear waves deviate from the data downstream of their stabilisation locations, which move progressively upstream as the frequency increases.
Individual pitch control using LIDAR measurements

In this work the problem of individual pitch control of a variable-speed variable-pitch wind turbine in the full load region is considered. Model predictive control (MPC) is used to solve the problem. However as the plant is nonlinear and time varying, a new approach is proposed to simplify the optimization problem. Nonlinear dynamics of the wind turbine is derived by combining blade element momentum (BEM) theory and first principle modeling of the flexible structure. Then the nonlinear model of the system is linearized using Taylor series expansion around its operating points and a family of linear models are obtained. The operating points are determined by LIDAR measurements both for the current and predicted future operating points. The obtained controller is applied on a full complexity, high fidelity wind turbine model. Finally simulation results show improved load reduction on out-of-plane blade root bending moments and a better transient response compared to a benchmark PI individual pitch controller.
Implementation of a Handheld Compute Engine for Personal Health Devices

In this paper, we propose a handheld Compute Engine (CE) for personal health devices (PHDs). The CE is a device that receives measurements from more than one PHD, and collects, analyzes and displays the received measurements. It also transfers the collected measurements to a remote monitoring server for more informative analysis. We implement the CE on a handheld device (i.e., smartphone) to provide seamless health monitoring services for patients or users. On the basis of the proposed CE, we construct a u-healthcare system comprising two PHDs: a medication dispenser and a pulse oximeter. The PHDs transfer their measurements to the CE, and the CE displays the received measurements. The application results show that the proposed CE operates properly.
Low Mass X-ray Binaries and Globular Clusters in Early-Type Galaxies

Chandra observations have allowed the detection of a large number of low mass X-ray binaries (LMXBs) in early-type galaxies. Comparison to catalogs of globular clusters (GCs) from Hubble Space Telescope observations have shown that a high fraction of the LMXBs in early-type galaxies are associated with GCs. The fraction of LMXBs associated with globular clusters increases along the Hubble sequence from spiral bulges to S0s to Es to cDs. On the other hand, the fraction of globular clusters which contain X-ray sources appears to be roughly constant ($\sim$4% for $L_X \gtrsim 10^{38}$ ergs/s, $\sim$10% for $L_X \gtrsim 10^{37}$ ergs/s). There is a strong tendency for the X-ray sources to be associated with the optically more luminous GCs. There is a trend for the X-ray sources to be found preferentially in redder, more metal-rich GCs, which is independent of optical luminosity correlation. The relative role of formation of LMXBs in GCs and in situ formation in the field is uncertain. One of the best ways to study this is to compare the spatial distribution of GC-LMXBs, field LMXBs, GCs, and optical light in the galaxies. Theoretical models and results of fits to the observed distributions are presented.
Gender Differences in Purchase Intention on Mobile Data Services

Using the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) and the revised TAM, this research investigates the effects of gender differences on purchase intention of mobile data services (MDS). The hypotheses are tested on a sample of 1141 individuals, using the data-processing tools AMOS 6.0 and SPSS 15.0. The results indicate that women and men evidently differ in their perceptions of ease of use and security. In addition, either for men or women, "perceived usefulness" (PU), "perceived ease of use" (PEU), "perceived enjoyment" (PE) and "perceived security" (PS) all have effects on purchase intention (PI), but their impacts are different related to different genders.
Metabotropic Glutamate Subtype 5 Receptors Are Quantified in the Human Brain with a Novel Radioligand for PET

We developed a radioligand, 3-fluoro-5-(2-(2-18F-(fluoromethyl)thiazol-4-yl)ethynyl)benzonitrile (18F-SP203), for metabotropic glutamate subtype 5 (mGluR5) receptors that showed both promising (high specific binding) and problematic (defluorination) imaging characteristics in animals. The purposes of this initial evaluation in human subjects were to determine whether 18F-SP203 is defluorinated in vivo (as measured by uptake of radioactivity in the skull) and to determine whether the uptake in the brain can be quantified as distribution volume relative to concentrations of 18F-SP203 in plasma. Methods: Seven healthy subjects were injected with 18F-SP203 (323 ± 87 MBq) and scanned over 5 h, with rest periods outside the camera. The concentrations of 18F-SP203, separated from radiometabolites, were measured in arterial plasma. Results: The skull was difficult to visualize on PET images in the initial 2 h, because of high radioactivity in the brain. Although radioactivity in the skull and adjacent cortex showed some cross-contamination, the concentration of radioactivity in the skull was less than half of that in the adjacent cortex during the initial 2 h. Modeling of regional brain and plasma data showed that a 2-tissue-compartment model was superior to a 1-tissue-compartment model, consistent with measurable amounts of both receptor-specific and nonspecific binding. The concentrations of activity in the brain measured with PET were consistently greater than the modeled values at late but not early time points and may well have been caused by the slow accumulation of radiometabolites in the brain. To determine an adequate time for more accurate measurement of distribution volume, we selected a scan duration (i.e., 2 h) associated with maximal or near-maximal identifiability. Distribution volume was well identified (∼2%) by only 2 h (and even just 1) of image acquisition. Conclusion: This initial evaluation of 18F-SP203 in healthy human subjects showed that defluorination is relatively small and that brain uptake can be robustly calculated as distribution volume. The values of distribution volume were well identified and had relatively small variation in this group of 7 subjects. These results suggest that 18F-SP203 will have good sensitivity to measure mGluR5 receptors for both within-subject studies (e.g., receptor occupancy) and between-subject studies (e.g., patients vs. healthy subjects).
Assessment and comparison of different neutral current compensation techniques in three-phase four-wire distribution system

There were many harmonic and neutral current mitigation methods evolved earlier to address the power quality problem but each solution has its own limitation. A brief investigation is made into different neutral current compensation techniques available in literature and a detailed performance comparison of the techniques is made in this paper. The most common load in the distribution side of RL load is considered here. The different neutral current compensating techniques are compared through extensive simulations using MATLAB /SIMULINK power system block set with load as unbalanced RL controlled by an AC voltage regulator. An experimental verification for one of the technique under the mentioned load is taken and presented in this paper.
Commodity prices, aid and debt : implications for LDCs, small vulnerable states and HIPCs

Executive Summary 1. Introduction 1.1 Background 1.2 Objectives of the Study 1.3 Structure of the Study 2. Secular Decline in Relative Commodity Prices: A Brief Review of the Literature 2.1 The Genesis of the Debate 2.2 Empirical Findings to the mid-1980s 2.3 The Grilli-Yang Study and Subsequent Empirical Investigations 2.4 Structural Models 2.5 Concluding Observations 3. Long-run Trend in the Relative Price: Empirical Estimation for Individual Commodities 3.1 Methodology 3.2 Estimation Results 3.2.1 Trend Growth Rates of Relative Prices for Commodities in the Grilli-Yang Data Set 3.2.2 Estimation for Commodities in the UNCTAD Database 3.3 Conclusion 4. Estimating Foreign Exchange Loss Due to Declining Commodity Prices 4.1 Foreign Exchange Loss Based on the Trend Decline Rate 4.2 Foreign Exchange Loss Based on Actual Prices 4.2.1 Foreign Exchange Losses from Primary Commodity Exports 4.2.2 Foreign Exchange Losses by Commodities 4.3 Increased Supply and Depressed Prices 4.4 Conclusion 5. Instruments for Addressing Commodity Price Behaviour 5.1 International Commodity Agreements 5.2 External Compensatory Finance 5.2.1 Compensatory (and Contingency) Financing Facility 5.2.2 EC-ACP Programmes: STABEX, SYSMIN and COMPEX 5.3 Preferential Trade Agreements 5.4 Market-based Instruments for Commodity Risk Management and Insurance Schemes 5.5 Conclusion 6. Aid Flows and Commodity Prices 6.1 Aid Flows and Declining Commodity Prices 6.2 A Proposal for the Establishment of an Aid-financed Diversification Fund 6.2.1 Principles of Scheme Design 6.2.2 Hypothetical Costs to Developed Countries of the Diversification Fund 6.3 Conclusion 7. Commodity Prices and the Debt Relief Initiative 7.1 Commodity Prices and Debt 7.2 Debt Relief Initiatives 7.3 Commodity Prices and the HIPC Initiative 7.4 Incorporating a Real Price Adjustment Mechanism in the HIPC Initiative to Address the Problem of Weakness in Commodity Prices 7.4.1 Hypothetical Cost of a Real Commodity Price Adjustment Mechanism under the HIPC Initiative 7.5 Conclusion 8. Conclusion Appendices References Tables Figures
The Impact of Information Technology Spending on Future Performance

In this study, we investigate the association between information technology (IT) spending and future firm performance. Critics contend that greater expenditures on IT rarely lead to superior financial results, citing studies that compare firm performance to current IT spending. But valuation and stock-return studies have found a positive association between the market value of firms and their current IT spending or announcements of new IT initiatives. These observed relations are interpreted to mean that expected future earnings increased with new IT spending, consistent with a delayed impact of new IT on earnings. If actual future earnings increased with IT spending in a period, then a positive association between IT spending and future earnings should be directly observable. We describe a methodology for studying the association between IT spending in period t and earnings in future periods and evaluate this association for a sample of firms based on their IT spending during the years 1990 through 1996. We divide our sample into firms according to the business role IT played in their industries during this time period. For firms in industries where IT played an informating role (improved information flows throughout organizations), we find a strong positive association between future earnings and IT spending. The magnitude of the association increased during the first three years after the IT spending occurred and then began to taper off. For firms in industries where IT played an automating role (facilitated automation of business processes), we find a smaller but significantly positive association between future earnings and IT spending that lasted at least four years after the year the IT spending occurred.
Simulation and Real Time Implementation of Spectral Subtraction and Wavelet DeNoising Embedded Algorithms for Speech Enhancement

The purpose of speech enhancement techniques is to improve quality and intelligibility of speech without producing any artifact. It is required either for the human listener or as a pre-processor in other speech processing systems. These algorithms are designed to suppress additive background noise. The spectral subtraction and wavelet denoising algorithms are commonly used in practice for background noise suppression. The spectral subtraction uses short time discrete Fourier transform (STDFT) and wavelet de-noising method uses discrete wavelet transform (DWT). In this paper simulation and real time implementation of these two algorithms are considered. In simulation the objective evaluation based on perceptual estimation of speech quality (PESQ) score is also performed. The real time implementation is done using Texas Instrument’s code composer studio integrated development environment (CCS IDE) version2.21 software tool and Spectrum Digital Inc. DSK 6713 target board. It uses the most popular TI TMS320C6713 digital signal processor. These two algorithms are found fit to be used as embedded algorithms in any speech communication system.