Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Chemical Characterization of Dew Water Collected in Different Geographic Regions of Poland

The results of a dew monitoring program performed in Poland with the aim to outline the chemical composition of dew water in meteorological context are presented. Dew samples were collected from eight measurement stations from August 2004 to November 2006. Taking into account the type of land use and characteristics of pollutant emission, sampling sites were divided into the following categories: rural, coastal urban and inland urban stations. Selected anions and cations as well as formaldehyde and sum of phenols were determined. The average TIC (Total Inorganic Ionic Content) values in dew samples ranged from 0.83 to 3.93 between individual stations with 10.9 meq/L as the highest daily value of TIC measured. The average TIC values observed in dew at all stations were at a similar level (2.46 meq/L) when compared with hoarfrost (2.86 meq/L). However, these values were much higher in comparison with other kinds of atmospheric water like precipitation (wet only; 0.37 meq/L) or fog/cloud (1.01 meq/L). The pH values of dew water ranged from 5.22 to 7.35 for urban coastal stations, from 5.67 to 8.02 for urban inland stations and from 4.16 to 8.76 for dew samples collected in the rural area. HCHO was found in 97 % of dew samples, with concentrations ranging from 0.010 to 5.40 meq/L. Excluding stations near the seashore, where the contribution of Na+ and Cl- increased, the most important ions were sulphates. A very low contribution of NO3- and noticeable increase of Ca2+ which were not observed in the case of precipitation and fog water, were typical in all stations. The contribution of ammonium ion was two times higher at rural stations as a result of agricultural ammonia emissions. The strongest correlations were noticed between the sum of acidifying anions SO42- + NO3- and Ca2+ ion for all urban and rural stations. A very strong correlation was also observed for Na+ and Cl- ions in urban coastal stations, as a natural consequence of the location of these stations close to the sea. It was proved that thermal stratification, direction of circulation and local breeze circulation control the atmospheric chemistry at ground level, where dew is formed. The highest TIC values at urban stations were associated with anticyclonic weather, while at rural sites with cyclonic weather situations. The chemistry of dew water in urban coastal stations was closely related to local breeze circulation in the warm season, mainly in the form of diurnal breeze causing a significant increase of the concentration of Na+ and Cl-ions. Thus, dew can be a good indicator of the atmospheric pollution level at a given site. Taking into account both high TIC values and the annual water equivalent estimated at around 50 mm, dew is a considerable factor of wet deposition, responsible for an additional 60 % of pollutant input into the ground when compared with precipitation.
Backchannel Prediction for Mandarin Human-Computer Interaction

SUMMARY In recent years, researchers have tried to create unhindered human-computer interaction by giving virtual agents human-like conversational skills. Predicting backchannel feedback for agent listeners has become a novel research hot-spot. The main goal of this paper is to identify appropriate features and methods for backchannel prediction in Mandarin conversations. Firstly, multimodal Mandarin conversations are recorded for the analysis of backchannel behaviors. In order to eliminate individual difference in the original face-to-face conversations, more backchannels from di ﬀ erent listeners are gathered together. These data conﬁrm that back-channels occurring in the speakers’ pauses form a vast majority in Mandarin conversations. Both prosodic and visual features are used in back-channel prediction. Four types of models based on the speakers’ pauses are built by using support vector machine classiﬁers. An evaluation of the pause-based prediction model has shown relatively high accuracy in consideration of the optional nature of backchannel feedback. Finally, the re-sults of the subjective evaluation validate that the conversations performed between humans and virtual listeners using backchannels predicted by the proposed models is more unhindered compared to other backchannel prediction methods
A Low Phase Noise 100MHz Silicon BAW Reference Oscillator

The paper presents a temperature compensated 100MHz reference oscillator based on a capacitive silicon bulk acoustic wave (BAW) resonator interfaced with a CMOS amplifier. The resonator is optimized for high quality factor (92000) and low impedance. The CMOS IC comprises of a transimpedance amplifier to sustain oscillations and an oven control mechanism for temperature control. A phase noise floor of -136dBc/Hz was measured for the oscillator and the temperature drift of frequency was measured to be 56ppm over 100degC
Optimal online assignment with forecasts

Motivated by the allocation problem facing publishers in display advertising we formulate the online assignment with forecast problem, a version of the online allocation problem where the algorithm has access to random samples from the future set of arriving vertices. We provide a solution that allows us to serve Internet users in an online manner that is provably nearly optimal. Our technique applies to the forecast version of a large class of online assignment problems, such as online bipartite matching, allocation, and budgeted bidders, in which we wish to minimize the value of some convex objective function subject to a set of linear supply and demand constraints. Our solution utilizes a particular subspace of the dual space, allowing us to describe the optimal primal solution implicitly in space proportional to the demand side of the input graph. More importantly, it allows us to prove that representing the primal solution using such a compact allocation plan yields a robust online algorithm which makes near-optimal online decisions. Furthermore, unlike the primal solution, we show that the compact allocation plan produced by considering only a sampled version of the original problem generalizes to produce a near optimal solution on the full problem instance.
Safety and efficacy of bleomycin/pingyangmycin-containing chemotherapy regimens for malignant germ cell tumor patients in the female genital system

Objectives To comprehensively evaluate the safety and effectiveness of bleomycin/pingyangmycin-containing chemotherapy for female patients with malignant germ cell tumors in their genital system; to assess the diagnostic value of pulmonary function tests for bleomycin-induced pulmonary toxicity. Methods Data from a cohort of 120 patients, collected across 25 years, was reviewed. Chemotherapy-related adverse events were routinely monitored. Pulmonary toxicity was diagnosed and graded according to serial pulmonary function testing results, and potential impact factors were explored. Short-term remission probability and long-term prognosis were evaluated. Results Overall, 49.2% of the patients had pulmonary dysfunction, and the majority manifested as diffusion function impairment. A moderate reduction of carbon monoxide diffusion capacity was detected in 45.0% of all patients, and was severe in 3 patients. Thrombocytopenia, renal dysfunction, and accumulating dose of bleomycin/pingyangmycin significantly increased the risk of lung injury (P<0.05). Thorough surgical removal of tumors enhanced both remission and survival rate. Full-dose delivery of bleomycin/pingyangmycin and patients sensitivity to chemotherapy also improved long-term survival (P<0.05). Conclusions BPT could be sensitively detected and elaborately graded by PFTs, but the appropriate cut-off value for diagnosis needs further investigations. Timely recognition and control of renal dysfunction and thrombocytopenia could avail the patients of the opportunity to complete curative antineopalstic treatment. Prescriptive bleomycin/pingyangmycin-containing chemotherapy after optimal surgical resection could benefit MGCT patients maximally by improving both remission and survival rate.
How Effective Are Geometric Morphometric Techniques for Assessing Functional Shape Variation? An Example From the Great Ape Temporomandibular Joint

Functional shape analyses have long relied on the use of shape ratios to test biomechanical hypotheses. This method is powerful because of the ease with which results are interpreted, but these techniques fall short in quantifying complex morphologies that may not have a strong biomechanical foundation but may still be functionally informative. In contrast, geometric morphometric methods are continually being adopted for quantifying complex shapes, but they tend to prove inadequate in functional analyses because they have little foundation in an explicit biomechanical framework. The goal of this study was to evaluate the intersection of these two methods using the great ape temporomandibular joint as a case study. Three‐dimensional coordinates of glenoid fossa and mandibular condyle shape were collected using a Microscribe digitizer. Linear distances extracted from these landmarks were analyzed using a series of one‐way ANOVAs; further, the landmark configurations were analyzed using geometric morphometric techniques. Results suggest that the two methods are broadly similar, although the geometric morphometric data allow for the identification of shape differences among taxa that were not immediately apparent in the univariate analyses. Furthermore, this study suggests several new approaches for translating these shape data into a biomechanical context by adjusting the data using a biomechanically relevant variable. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Mutations in HADHB, which encodes the β‐subunit of mitochondrial trifunctional protein, cause infantile onset hypoparathyroidism and peripheral polyneuropathy

Mitochondrial trifunctional protein (MTP) is a hetero‐octamer composed of four α‐ and four β‐subunits that catalyzes the final three steps of mitochondrial β‐oxidation of long chain fatty acids. HADHA and HADHB encode the α‐subunit and the β‐subunit of MTP, respectively. To date, only two cases with MTP deficiency have been reported to be associated with hypoparathyroidism and peripheral polyneuropathy. Here, we report on two siblings with autosomal recessive infantile onset hypoparathyroidism, peripheral polyneuropathy, and rhabdomyolysis. Sequence analysis of HADHA and HADHB in both siblings shows that they were homozygous for a mutation in exon 14 of HADHB (c.1175C>T, [p.A392V]) and the parents were heterozygous for the mutation. Biochemical analysis revealed that the patients had MTP deficiency. Structural analysis indicated that the A392V mutation identified in this study and the N389D mutation previously reported to be associated with hypoparathyroidism are both located near the active site of MTP and affect the conformation of the β‐subunit. Thus, the present patients are the second and third cases of MTP deficiency associated with missense HADHB mutation and infantile onset hypoparathyroidism. Since MTP deficiency is a treatable disease, MTP deficiency should be considered when patients have hypoparathyroidism as the initial presenting feature in infancy. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Networked Cows : Virtual fences for controlling cows

Our goal is to develop computational approaches for studying groups of agents with natural mobility and social interactions. Such systems differ in many ways from engineered mobile systems because their agents can move on their own due to complex natural behaviors as well as under the control of the environment (for example drifting to follow wind patterns). We wish to model such systems using physical data and to use the models for controlling the movement of the mobile agents and the information propagation between them using virtual fences, implemented on smart networked collars attached to the animals. Our main motivation and application is in the agricultural domain. Herds of animals such as cattle are complex systems. There are interesting interactions between individuals, such as friendship, kinship, group formation, leading and following. There are complex interactions with the environment, such as looking for a water source in a new paddock by perimeter tracing along the fence and random walking within the perimeter. Such behaviors are well known to farmers but not so well documented. Furthermore, limited control can be exerted whose effect is to move the animals around. This could be greatly beneficial in terms of reducing the amount of expensive fence maintenance and mustering required by ranchers. In this work we combine robotics, networking and animal behavior to create a fence-less approach to herding cows called control by virtual fences. The cow society can be viewed metaphorically as well as physically as a network. By endowing each animal with the computation, sensing, and networking capabilities needed to drive virtual fencing we will obtain a networked system that can function as an information backbone for the group. Information can flow across this group to update individual parameters and programs (for example the motion plans for the virtual fences), coordinate tasks,
Global economic potential for reducing carbon dioxide emissions from mangrove loss

Mangroves are among the most threatened and rapidly disappearing natural environments worldwide. In addition to supporting a wide range of other ecological and economic functions, mangroves store considerable carbon. Here, we consider the global economic potential for protecting mangroves based exclusively on their carbon. We develop unique high-resolution global estimates (5′ grid, about 9 × 9 km) of the projected carbon emissions from mangrove loss and the cost of avoiding the emissions. Using these spatial estimates, we derive global and regional supply curves (marginal cost curves) for avoided emissions. Under a broad range of assumptions, we find that the majority of potential emissions from mangroves could be avoided at less than $10 per ton of CO2. Given the recent range of market price for carbon offsets and the cost of reducing emissions from other sources, this finding suggests that protecting mangroves for their carbon is an economically viable proposition. Political-economy considerations related to the ability of doing business in developing countries, however, can severely limit the supply of offsets and increases their price per ton. We also find that although a carbon-focused conservation strategy does not automatically target areas most valuable for biodiversity, implementing a biodiversity-focused strategy would only slightly increase the costs.
Security in e-Governance using Biometric

Governance is refers to the use of Information and communication technology to provide the improvement in government services, transactions, interaction with citizens, business and other arm of government. In this paper we identify the requirements of biometrics in e-governance and what are the possible attacks on biometric systems. We also provide some scheme to reduce the vulnerabilities in the system. We suggest implementing multibiometric system and methods for template protection to make system more robust.
Genetic Diversity of Salp15 in the Ixodes ricinus Complex (Acari: Ixodidae)

Salp15, a 15-kDa tick salivary gland protein, is both essential for ticks to successfully obtain host blood and also facilitates transmission of Lyme borreliosis. To determine whether the Salp15 gene is expressed in Ixodes persulcatus and Ixodes sinensis, principle vectors of Lyme borreliosis in China, we studied transcriptions of this gene in semi-engorged larvae, nymph and adults of these two species. A total of eight Salp15 homologues, five in I. persulcatus and three in I. sinensis, were identified by reverse transcriptase–polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). Interestingly, the intra-species similarity of Salp15 is approximately equal to its interspecies similarity and more than one Salp15 protein is expressed in a certain tick developmental stage. Comparison of DNA and proteins with other available tick Salp15 homologues suggests that the Salp15 superfamily is genetically conserved and diverse in the Ixodes ricinus complex. These findings indicate that Salp15 proteins in the I. ricinus complex may play an essential role in interacting with the host immune system and transmission of Borrelia genospecies.
Popular Culture: Schooling and Everyday Life

Pedagogy, Popular Culture, and Public Life: An Introduction by Paulo Freire and Henry A. Giroux Popular Culture as a Pedagogy of Pleasure and Meaning by Henry A. Giroux and Roger I. Simon Pedagogy and the Popular-Cultural-Commodity-Text by Paul Smith Educational Media, Ideology, and the Presentation of Knowledge through Popular Cultural Forms by Elizabeth Ellsworth Playing . Contra/Dictions, Empowerment, and Embodiment: Punk, Pedagogy, and Popular Cultural Forms by Philip Corrigan Pedagogy in the Present: Politics, Postmodernity, and the Popular by Lawrence Grossberg Curriculum Politics, Hegemony, and Strategies of Social Change by R.W. Connell Art or Culture? An Inquiry by Paul Willis Televangelism as Pedagogy and Cultural Politics by Peter McLaren and Richard Smith Engendering Couples: The Subject of Daytime Television by Mimi White Working-Class Identity and Celluloid Fantasies in the Electronic Age by Stanley Aronowitz Schooling, Popular Culture, and A Pedagogy of Possibility by Henry A. Giroux and Roger I. Simon Index
Community Hospitals in Selected High Income Countries: A Scoping Review of Approaches and Models

Background: There is no single definition of a community hospital in the UK, despite its long history. We sought to understand the nature and scope of service provision in community hospitals, within the UK and other high-income countries. Methods: We undertook a scoping review of literature on community hospitals published from 2005 to 2014. Data were extracted on features of the hospital model and the services provided, with results presented as a narrative synthesis. Results: 75 studies were included from ten countries. Community hospitals provide a wide range of services, with wide diversity of provision appearing to reflect local needs. Community hospitals are staffed by a mixture of general practitioners (GPs), nurses, allied health professionals and healthcare assistants. We found many examples of collaborative working arrangements between community hospitals and other health care organisations, including colocation of services, shared workforce with primary care and close collaboration with acute specialists. Conclusions: Community hospitals are able to provide a diverse range of services, responding to geographical and health system contexts. Their collaborative nature may be particularly important in the design of future models of care delivery, where emphasis is placed on integration of care with a key focus on patient-centred care.
Heat shock of rabbit synovial fibroblasts increases expression of mRNAs for two metalloproteinases, collagenase and stromelysin

Two metalloproteinases, collagenase and stromelysin, are produced in large quantities by synovial fibroblasts in individuals with rheumatoid arthritis. These enzymes play a major role in the extensive destruction of connective tissue seen in this disease. In this study, we show that heat shock of monolayer cultures of rabbit synovial fibroblasts increases expression of mRNA for heat shock protein 70 (HSP-70), and for collagenase and stromelysin. We found that after heat shock for 1 h at 45 degrees C, the mRNA expression for HSP-70 peaks at 1 h and returns to control levels by 3 h. Collagenase and stromelysin mRNA expression is coordinate, reaching peak levels at 3 h and returning to control levels by 10 h. The increase in mRNA is paralleled by an increase in the corresponding protein in the culture medium. 3 h of heat shock at a lower temperature (42 degrees C) is also effective in inducing collagenase and stromelysin mRNAs. Concomitant treatment with phorbol myristate acetate (PMA; 10(-8) or 10(-9) M) and heat shock is not additive or synergistic. In addition, all-trans-retinoic acid, added just before heat shock, prevents the increase in mRNAs for collagenase and stromelysin. Our data suggest that heat shock may be an additional mechanism whereby collagenase and stromelysin are increased during rheumatoid arthritis and perhaps in other chronic inflammatory stress conditions.
Mixed LEGO-EFIE approach for the analysis of radiating elements and anisotropic media

We describe a domain decomposition strategy based on the combination of linear embedding via Green's operators (LEGO) and an electric-field integral equation (EFIE) for solving radiating conducting elements in the presence of anisotropic media. Furthermore, in order to facilitate the inversion of the LEGO surface integral equation we employ the eigencurrents expansion method (EEM) to generate local entire-domain basis functions on the boundary of each LEGO sub-domain. Through a few selected numerical examples we discuss the accuracy of the overall approach and the convergence properties of the EEM.
Anonymizing Social Graphs via Uncertainty Semantics

Rather than anonymizing social graphs by generalizing them to super nodes/edges or adding/removing nodes and edges to satisfy given privacy parameters, recent methods exploit the semantics of uncertain graphs to achieve privacy protection of participating entities and their relationships. These techniques anonymize a deterministic graph by converting it into an uncertain form. In this paper, we propose a general obfuscation model based on uncertain adjacency matrices that keep expected node degrees equal to those in the unanonymized graph. We analyze two recently proposed schemes and their fitting into the model. We also point out disadvantages in each method and present several elegant techniques to fill the gap between them. Finally, to support fair comparisons, we develop a new tradeoff quantifying framework by leveraging the concept of incorrectness. Experiments on large social graphs demonstrate the effectiveness of our schemes.
Optimal Generalized Inverses for Zero Forcing Precoding

We consider the problem of linear zero forcing precoding design, and discuss its relation to the theory of generalized inverses in linear algebra. Special attention is given to a specific generalized inverse known as the pseudo-inverse. We begin with the standard design under the assumption of a total power constraint and prove that precoders based on the pseudo-inverse are optimal in this setting. Then, we proceed to examine individual per-antenna power constraints. In this case, the pseudo-inverse is not necessarily the optimal generalized inverse. In fact, finding the optimal inverse is non-trivial and depends on the specific performance measure. We address two common criteria, fairness and throughput, and show that the optimal matrices may be found using standard convex optimization methods. We demonstrate the improved performance offered by our approach using computer simulations.
High accuracy digitally controlled active radar ground calibrator system for TerraSAR-X

April 2006, the TerraSAR-X satellite was launched. This paper describes the development of a novel and highly integrated, digitally controlled active SAR system calibrator (DARC). It consists of both an active transponder path for absolute radiometric calibration and a calibrated receiver chain for antenna pattern evaluation of the satellite antenna. A total of 16 active transponder and receiver systems and 17 receiver only systems were fabricated for a calibration campaign in 2006.