Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Orthotopic liver transplantation in the making: key pioneers and events relevant to current practice

Within the field of liver transplantation the concepts of warm liver transplants and hepatocyte transplantation are currently under investigation. Although such novel research efforts are intricate and complex, the concept of human liver transplantation posed quite a challenge itself in the not so distant past. The development of the orthotopic liver transplant relied on numerous individuals and novel approaches of the time. Success resulted following cumulative developments in early experiments when Thomas Earl Starzl performed the first human liver transplantation 50 years ago in 1963. This article highlights key developments in the lead up to such an attempt, details of the procedure itself and biographies of three key leaders; Alexis Carrel, Peter Medawar, and Thomas Starzl.
Estimating moss growth in arctic conditions: a comparison of three methods

Abstract Except for Sphagnum mosses of peatland habitats, reliable methods to assess moss productivity in arctic or boreal biomes give usually highly variable results. Therefore, ecosystem processes are poorly understood in these biomes where mosses are an important component of the system. The aim of this study was to compare three methods to estimate moss growth in polygon patterned fens: cranked wires, natural markers and artificial white marks (an alternative to the spray method). Precision of estimates was significantly higher when natural markers were used (coefficients of variation, CV, between 17 and 27%), compared to cranked wires (CV = 37%) or white marks (CV = 56%). Natural markers also provided estimates for growth of moss stems 32 to 113% higher than the other methods. Although cranked wires were calibrated shortly after snowmelt, some moss growth is still missed and consequently moss growth is underestimated. Accuracy of cranked wires was poor, mainly caused by frost heaving or permafrost activities that can affect wire position. Thus, this method should be avoided in arctic ecosystems. Even if white marks were painted on moss stems at the end of the growing season prior to the sampling year, lower estimates of moss growth were still found. We suspect some interference with moss growth processes during the marking process, at least when used with brown mosses. The natural marker method, which provides increment for an entire growing season, appears to be the most accurate method of the three. Additionally, it is also the easiest and the least time consuming method to use. Its main drawback is that relatively few species have natural growth marks and these species may not always be present among the targeted species under study. Also, measurements of stem growth on the same sample did not differ between observers, even if the second measurement was done 12 years later. In conclusion, when species with natural markers are present, this method should be used to assess moss growth. For arctic/sub-arctic studies where such species are lacking, the artificial white marks method should be refined further.
Parental Income and School Attendance in a Low-Income Country: A semi-parametric analysis

Using data covering three successive generations of Malagasy people, we construct a new semiparametric estimator of the effect of parental income on the decision to send children to school. We propose new tests of simultaneity and hereditary biases affecting the usual estimates of this effect. We reveal the importance of the first type of bias. Our estimates show that the existing literature underestimates the real effect of family resources on decisions as to whether or not to send children to school by not taking enough account of the simultaneity of income formation processes and schooling decisions. _________________________________ Utilisant des donnees sur trois generations successives de Malgaches, nous construisons un nouvel estimateur semi-parametrique de l’effet du revenu parental sur la decision de scolariser les enfants. Nous proposons de nouveaux tests de biais de simultaneite et d’heredite affectant les estimations usuelles de cet effet. Nous revelons l’importance du premier type de biais : selon nos estimations, en prenant insuffisamment en compte la simultaneite des processus de formation de revenu et des decisions de scolarisation, la litterature existante sous-estime l’effet reel des ressources familiales sur les decisions d’envoyer ou non les enfants a l’ecole.
Real-Time Data Preprocessing for High-Resolution MIMO Radar Sensors

The progress in resolution of automotive radar sensors involves a considerable increase in data-rate and computational throughput. Dedicated processing architectures have to be investigated in order to manage the tremendous amount of data. Even for early prototype development platforms, the performance of existing PC-based frameworks and tools is no longer sufficient to cope with the data processing of many parallel radar receiver channels at very high sampling rates. This chapter presents a FPGA-based signal processing architecture capable of handling 16 parallel MIMO radar receiving channels with a sampling frequency of 250 MHz each. Raw data is transferred from the AD-Converters to the FPGAwhere subsequent processing steps are performed, involving FIRfiltering and decimation, two-dimensional FFT transform, local noise level estimation and subsequent target detection. An external DRAM is used for storing multiple radar measurements which are finally evaluated altogether (so-called chirp-sequence modulation). Data post-processing is outsourced onto a PC running with ADTF, an automotive framework for graph-based real-time data processing. The combination of a fast, FPGA-based preprocessing unit with a more flexible, PC-based development platform maximizes processing performance and minimizes
Impact of ISO 9001 Certification on the Projects' Success of Large-scale (AAA) Construction Firms in the Philippines

The general purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of ISO 9001 certification on project success, and its main criteria into large-scale construction companies in Metro Manila, Philippines. For this aim, the research was conducted an in-depth literature review for identifying the main variables first. Subsequently, a survey questionnaire was designed, and distributed randomly among 67 managers working in ISO 9001:2008-certified projects of large-scale construction firms. Then the descriptive and inferential statistics analysis employed, in order to find the results and conclusions. Finally, the findings revealed that ISO 9001 certification can significatly affect the construction project success and its main criteria, except time lenght of projects in Metro Manila, Philippines .
Option-implied objective measures of market risk Working paper

Foster and Hart (2009) introduce an objective measure of the riskiness of an asset that implies a bound on how much of one’s wealth is ‘safe’ to invest in the asset while (a.s.) guaranteeing no-bankruptcy in the long run. In this study, we translate the Foster-Hart measure from static and abstract gambles to dynamic and applied finance using nonparametric estimation of risk-neutral densities from S&P 500 call and put option prices covering 2003 to 2013. This exercise results in an option-implied market view of objective riskiness. The dynamics of the resulting ‘option-implied Foster-Hart bound’ are analyzed and assessed in light of well-known risk measures including value at risk, expected shortfall and risk-neutral volatility. The new measure is shown to be a significant predictor of ahead-return downturns. Furthermore, it is able to grasp more characteristics of the risk-neutral probability distributions than other measures, furthermore exhibiting predictive consistency. The robustness of the risk-neutral density estimation method is analyzed via a bootstrap.
Optimization of PID Parameters Utilizing Variable Weight Grey-Taguchi Method and Particle Swarm Optimization

Controller that uses PID parameters requires a good tuning method in order to improve the control system performance. Tuning PID control method is divided into two namely the classical methods and the methods of artificial intelligence. Particle swarm optimization algorithm (PSO) is one of the artificial intelligence methods. Previously, researchers had integrated PSO algorithms in the PID parameter tuning process. This research aims to improve the PSO-PID tuning algorithms by integrating the tuning process with the Variable Weight Grey- Taguchi Design of Experiment (DOE) method. This is done by conducting the DOE on the two PSO optimizing parameters: the particle velocity limit and the weight distribution factor. Computer simulations and physical experiments were conducted by using the proposed PSO- PID with the Variable Weight Grey-Taguchi DOE and the classical Ziegler-Nichols methods. They are implemented on the hydraulic positioning system. Simulation results show that the proposed PSO-PID with the Variable Weight Grey-Taguchi DOE has reduced the rise time by 48.13% and settling time by 48.57% compared to the Ziegler-Nichols method. Furthermore, the physical experiment results also show that the proposed PSO-PID with the Variable Weight Grey-Taguchi DOE tuning method responds better than Ziegler-Nichols tuning. In conclusion, this research has improved the PSO-PID parameter by applying the PSO-PID algorithm together with the Variable Weight Grey-Taguchi DOE method as a tuning method in the hydraulic positioning system.
The Canarias Einstein Ring: a Newly Discovered Optical Einstein Ring

We report the discovery of an optical Einstein Ring in the Sculptor constellation, IAC J010127-334319, in the vicinity of the Sculptor Dwarf Spheroidal Galaxy. It is an almost complete ring ($\sim 300^{\circ}$) with a diameter of $\sim 4.5\, {\rm arcsec}$. The discovery was made serendipitously from inspecting Dark Energy Camera (DECam) archive imaging data. Confirmation of the object nature has been obtained by deriving spectroscopic redshifts for both components, lens and source, from observations at the $10.4$ m Gran Telescopio CANARIAS (GTC) with the spectrograph OSIRIS. The lens, a massive early-type galaxy, has a redshift of ${\rm z}=0.581$ while the source is a starburst galaxy with redshift of ${\rm z}=1.165$. The total enclosed mass that produces the lensing effect has been estimated to be ${\rm M_{tot}=(1.86 \pm 0.23) \,\cdot 10^{12}\, {\rm M_{\odot}}}$.
Speciation, Species Delineation, and Electrophoretic Isoenzyme Patterns of the Type Strains of Kluyveromyces van der Walt emend. van der Walt

The type strains of the 20 species of the yeast genus Kluyveromyces sensu van der Walt 1970 were studied by gel electrophoresis of 11 isofunctional enzymes. These enzymes included five oxidoreductases (alcohol dehydrogenase [EC 1.1.1.1], lactate dehydrogenase [EC 1.1.1.27], malate dehydrogenase [EC 1.1.1.37], catalase [EC 1.11.1.6], and superoxide dismutase [EC 1.15.1.1]), five hydrolases (esterase [EC 3.1.1.1], alkaline phosphatase [EC 3.1.3.1], α-glucosidase [EC 3.2.1.20], β-glucosidase [EC 3.2.1.21], and exo-β-glucanase [EC 3.2.1.58]), and one lyase (aldolase [EC 4.1.2.12]). Polymorphism was evident in most of the enzymes studied. Each type strain had a unique pattern when all enzymes were considered. The results of a multivariate analysis of the electrophoretic patterns supported the division of the genus into 13 species, 2 of which comprised four and five taxa, respectively, which were recognized in 1970. Enzyme electrophoresis provided evidence that widespread gene flow does not necessarily occur between yeasts which are able to hybridize in the laboratory.
A study of clinical profile and management of perforation peritonitis in a tertiary health centre located in Central India

Background: Perforation peritonitis is the most common surgical emergency in India. The spectrum of etiology of perforation in tropical countries continues to be different from its Western counterpart. The objective of the study was to highlight the spectrum of perforation peritonitis as encountered by us at RKDF medical college and research centre, Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, India. Methods: Our prospective observational study was conducted at Department of General Surgery, R.K. D.F. Medical College and Research Centre, Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, India during period of August 2013 to August 2015. Total 110 cases of perforation peritonitis were included. Patient detailed history, symptoms, sign, blood investigation finding, cause of perforation, site of perforation, type of surgery, post-operative complications and mortality were assessed and result were compared with other studies. Results: The most common cause of perforation in our series was perforated peptic ulcer (52 cases) followed by typhoid fever perforation (21 cases), appendicular (16 cases) and tuberculosis (11 cases). Despite delay in seeking medical treatment, the overall mortality (16.36%) was comparable with other published series though the overall morbidity (63%) was unusually high. Conclusions: In contrast to western literature, where lower gastrointestinal tract perforations predominate, upper gastrointestinal tract perforations constitute the majority of cases in Central India.
The Dynamics of Spacing and Timing of Births in Ghana

Studying the dynamics of timing and spacing of births is important for several reasons including an understanding of completed family size as well as maternal and child mortality differentials. Using the 1998 DHS data, this paper examines whether there are intrinsic socio-cultural factors that affect the duration of birth intervals in Ghana. The results suggest that while most socio-cultural differences are mediated through socio-economic and demographic factors, there is the persistence of ethnicspecific norms and practices that affect the timing of births. At all durations, Ewes and MoleDagbanis were consistently found to have longer intervals between successive births than Akans. This has been explained through to ethnic differences in unobservable norms and observable practices such as lineage patterns, duration of the period of post-partum sexual abstinence and amenorrhoea. Besides the socio-economic and socio-cultural factors, other consistently significant covariates were age at first birth, birth cohorts and the survival status of the index. Age at first marriage was found to associate only with the timing of the first two children.
Comparative analyses of micro-particle impact between transonic and subsonic axial compressors

Solid micro-particle ingestion is one of the principal degradation mechanisms in compressor sections. In particular, in industrial applications, micro-particles not captured by the air filtration system cause fouling and, consequently, a performance drop. This paper presents three-dimensional numerical simulations of micro-particle ingestion (0.15 – 2.00) µm on axial transonic and subsonic compressor rotors. The mass flow rate swallowed by the two rotors is comparable and represents the basis for the fouling comparison. The results show that particles tend to follow the flow by impacting on blade tips with a higher concentration on the pressure side. The suction side is affected only by smaller particle impact (up to 1 µm). Fluid-dynamic phenomena such as separation, stagnation point and tip leakage vortex strongly influence the impact location. Guidelines for proper management in terms of air filtration systems and washing strategies of the power plant in which the compressor could be installed are proposed.
Aerodynamic Noise Computation of the Flow Field around NACA 0012 Airfoil Using Large Eddy Simulation and Acoustic Analogy

The current study presents the results of the aerodynamic noise prediction of the flow field around a NACA 0012 airfoil at a chord-based Reynolds number of 100,000 and at 8.4 degree angle of attack. An incompressible Large Eddy Simulation (LES) turbulence model is applied to obtain the instantaneous turbulent flow field. The noise prediction is performed by the Ffowcs Williams and Hawkings (FW-H) acoustic analogy. Both mean flow quantities and fluctuation statistics are studied. The behaviour of the turbulent vortical structures in the flow field from the perspective of the turbulent boundary layer development is visualized. Power spectral density of the lift coefficient is presented. The computed non-dimensional mean velocity profiles in the boundary layer compared reasonably well with the theoretical predictions. The boundary layer transition from a laminar state to a turbulent state is also brought into focus. The skin friction coefficient and the urms streamwise velocity fluctuations predicted a transition zone from x/c=0.23 to x/c=0.45. Then, the research focuses on the broadband noises of the turbulent boundary layers and the tonal noises that arise from the vortex shedding generated by the laminar boundary layers. The spectra computed from the acoustic pressure are compared with the experimental data. The effect of observer location on the overall sound pressure level (OASPL) is investigated and the results indicate that the OASPL varies logarithmically with the receiver distance, as was expected.
Robust Head Pose Estimation Using a 3D Morphable Model

Head pose estimation from single 2D images has been considered as an important and challenging research task in computer vision. This paper presents a novel head pose estimation method which utilizes the shape model of the Basel face model and five fiducial points in faces. It adjusts shape deformation according to Laplace distribution to afford the shape variation across different persons. A new matching method based on PSO (particle swarm optimization) algorithm is applied both to reduce the time cost of shape reconstruction and to achieve higher accuracy than traditional optimization methods. In order to objectively evaluate accuracy, we proposed a new way to compute the pose estimation errors. Experiments on the BFM-synthetic database, the BU-3DFE database, the CUbiC FacePix database, the CMU PIE face database, and the CAS-PEAL-R1 database show that the proposed method is robust, accurate, and computationally efficient.
Scientific Measure of Africa's Connectivity

Data on Internet performance and the analysis of its trend can be useful for decision makers and scientists alike. Such performance measurements are possible using the PingER methodology. We use the data thus obtained to quantify the difference in performance between developed and developing countries, sometimes referred to as the “digital divide. ” Motivated by the recent interest of G8 countries in African development, we particularly focus on the African countries.
INTERACTIVE VISUALIZATION FOR THE COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF LIFE CYCLES IN COMPLEX PRODUCT DESIGN

A trend in engineering design is, that product models have significantly increased in detail in the past and this trend is likely to continue at even a higher rate in the future. This trend also includes data on the life cycle of a product, such as the direct and indirect inventory, costing data, production process data, consumer behavior data and others. If the available product data is to be used effectively to understand interconnection, consequences of decisions across many levels, then this data needs to be processed in a manner which supports humans cognitive abilities. It is therefore proposed to integrate visualization methods into a systematic LC data acquisition environment. This will be used for the comparative analysis based on (old or optimal) reference products or on thresholds checking the compliance to legal limits. A special class of interactive, three-dimensional geometrical objects, namely OM-Glyphs has been developed together with appropriate functions and mappings to represent LCI parameters and LC data of complex products within an interactive rendered three-dimensional information space. With this novel approach, newly introduced to LC related design analysis, activities such as evaluation of design parameter variations and their impact on the LCI and search for and analysis of patterns being either stable or affected, could be performed much easier, faster and efficient than with any traditional methods in this field currently available
Simulated winter browsing may lead to induced susceptibility of willows to beavers in spring

Browsing may lead to an induced resistance or susceptibility of the plant to the herbivore. We tested the effect of winter browsing by Eurasian beavers (Castor fiber L., 1758) on food quality of holme willows (Salix dasyclados Wimm.) in and after the following growth season. Shrubs were pruned in February, and new shoots from these (cut) shrubs were compared with those of untreated (uncut) ones in May and November. The shoots were analysed for dry matter, nitrogen, acid detergent fibre, and total phenolics. In May, the leaves from the cut treatment had a better food quality (more water, more nitrogen, and less phenolics) than those from the uncut one. There was in part also a systemic response, with lower total phenolics in both the cut and untreated parts of pruned shrubs (uncut–cut) than in the uncut shrubs. In November, we did not find significant differences in biochemistry of bark among cut, uncut, or uncut–cut treatments. These results are in accordance with a cafeteria experiment in the field: in M.
Tackling the problem of flight integration

The work described here is an attempt to improve an electronic stripping for terminal sectors, VertiDigi, in order to design a version dedicated to the Planning Controller (PC). A brief description of the existing tool is done, as well as its design principles. Past experiments are then evoked. They confirm the good acceptability of the tool for clearance input, but also show the emergence of a specific issue: the Flight Integration Process (FIP). This process includes all the mental, physical and manipulation processes that take place between the announcement of a flight and the actual call from the pilot on the radio frequency. A field observation survey was conducted in summer 2006 in the three Paris Terminal Area centers (Orly, Roissy, and Athis-Mons). The method and tool used to conduct this survey are explained. The data gathered permits a better understanding of this FIP. From there, an iterative design is started, to redesign the tool specifically to meet this FIP issue. The method involves operators as early as possible, and uses paper or low-fidelity mock-ups to capture their needs. The different steps are listed, and the convergence towards a final new design. After a brief description of the new design functionalities, the advantages of this design method are discussed, and future experiments are envisaged to validate the HMI.
Phylogenetic analysis as a means of species identification within Myrmecolacidae (Strepsiptera)

are curious entomophagous parasitoids of cosmopolitan distribution. They are curious not only for their biology but also for their host-parasitoid relationships. Kathirithamby (1989) reports that Strepsiptera are parasitic in members of seven insect orders (Thysanura, Blattodea, Mantodea, Orthoptera, Hemiptera, Hymenoptera and Diptera). The order Strepsiptera is divided into two suborders: Mengenillidia and Stylopidia (Kinzelbach 1971). Strepsiptera have only two free-living stages: the small, active adult winged male and the 1 instar larva. The adult males have prominent compound eyes, elegantly branched antennae, ‘haltere-like’ forewings, and fan-shaped hind wings. They are shortlived (some live for only two hours), they do not feed, and a breeding flight is their sole mission. With the exception of the family Mengenillidae, the bizarre adult females are neotenic. Female Mengenillidae pupate outside their host, while female Stylopidia remain permanently endoparasitic; therefore, one must look for the host to find Stylopidia females. Strepsipteran females produce viviparous 1 instar larvae, which emerge via the brood canal opening/opening of the apron (Kathirithamby 2000) in the cephalothorax of the endoparasitic female. In endopterygote