Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
An Analysis of Car Ownership in Latin American Cities: a Perspective for Future Research

Car dependence must be avoided to achieve sustainable transportation; the diversity of studies available give a better perspective of the situation and how to tackle it. The reasons behind the increasing car use are still unknown in some regions such as Latin America. The gaps in the current literature are not just for location; some topics and methods are also unnecessarily predominant in the related studies. This research does a review of current literature for mobility in Latin America region with a special focus on car dependence. The aim is to detect gaps on the knowledge to further give recommendations on what should be studied. The results show the lack of numerical approaches to solidly taken case studies, especially in some countries of the region such as Central America and some of the states of South America. Disaggregate car ownership models are highly necessary for clarification of the region’s behavioral aspects of car ownership such as personal and household preferences and lifestyles.
Maternal education and child mortality: Evidence from a quasi-experiment in Malawi and Uganda

Since the 1980s the demographic literature has suggested that maternal schooling plays a key role in determining children’s survival chances in low and middle income countries. However, no studies have successfully distinguished between the causal and non-causal relationship between maternal education and child mortality and overcome the endogeneity problems inherent in this relationship. In order to identify the causal effect of maternal education on child mortality we explore exogenous variation in education induced by schooling reforms in the 1990s in Malawi and Uganda. We use a two-stage residual inclusion approach and the Demographic and Health Surveys data to find that in both countries, for each additional year and level of maternal education, children have a lower probability of dying. However, the estimates of the causal negative effect are not statistically significant; the lower quality of the education introduced by the reforms may explain the lack of a significant effect.
Chapter 2 Simple , Efficient CRISPR-Cas 9-Mediated Gene Editing in Mice : Strategies and Methods

Genetic modification of almost any species is now possible using approaches based on targeted nucleases. These novel tools now bypass previous limited species windows, allowing precision nucleotide modification of the genome at high efficiency, rapidly and economically. Here we focus on the modification of the mouse genome; the mouse, with its short generation time and comparatively low maintenance/production costs is the perfect mammal with which to probe the genome to understand its functions and complexities. Further, using targeted nucleases combined with homologous recombination, it is now possible to precisely tailor the genome, creating models of human diseases and conditions directly and efficiently in zygotes derived from any mouse strain. Combined these approaches make it possible to sequentially and progressively refine mouse models to better reflect human disease, test and develop therapeutics. Here, we briefly review the strategies involved in designing targeted nucleases (sgRNAs) providing solutions and outlining in detail the practical processes involved in precision targeting and modification of the mouse genome and the establishing of new precision genetically modified mouse lines.
Multi-parametric quantitative MRI reveals three different white matter subtypes

Introduction Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) shows slight spatial variations in brain white matter (WM). We used quantitative multi-parametric MRI to evaluate in what respect these inhomogeneities could correspond to WM subtypes with specific characteristics and spatial distribution. Materials and methods Twenty-six controls (12 women, 38 ±9 Y) took part in a 60-min session on a 3T scanner measuring 7 parameters: R1 and R2, diffusion tensor imaging which allowed to measure Axial and Radial Diffusivity (AD, RD), magnetization transfer imaging which enabled to compute the Macromolecular Proton Fraction (MPF), and a susceptibility-weighted sequence which permitted to quantify R2* and magnetic susceptibility (χm). Spatial independent component analysis was used to identify WM subtypes with specific combination of quantitative parameters values. Results Three subtypes could be identified. t-WM (track) mostly mapped on well-formed projection and commissural tracts and came with high AD values (all p < 10−18). The two other subtypes were located in subcortical WM and overlapped with association fibers: f-WM (frontal) was mostly anterior in the frontal lobe whereas c-WM (central) was underneath the central cortex. f-WM and c-WM had higher MPF values, indicating a higher myelin content (all p < 1.7 10−6). This was compatible with their larger χm and R2, as iron is essentially stored in oligodendrocytes (all p < 0.01). Although R1 essentially showed the same, its higher value in t-WM relative to c-WM might be related to its higher cholesterol concentration. Conclusions Thus, f- and c-WMs were less structured, but more myelinated and probably more metabolically active regarding to their iron content than WM related to fasciculi (t-WM). As known WM bundles passed though different WM subtypes, myelination might not be uniform along the axons but rather follow a spatially consistent regional variability. Future studies might examine the reproducibility of this decomposition and how development and pathology differently affect each subtype.
Improved SSIM IQA of contrast distortion based on the contrast sensitivity characteristics of HVS

Currently, the structural similarity index metric (SSIM) is recognised generally and applied widely in image quality assessment (IQA). However, using SSIM to evaluate contrast-distorted images from TID2013 and CSIQ databases is low effective. In this study, the authors improve SSIM for contrast-distorted images by combining it with the contrast sensitivity characteristics of human visual system (HVS). In the improved method, first, they combine the visual characteristics to propose a model that HVS perceives the real image. Then, this model is used to eliminate the visual redundancy of real images. Afterwards, the perceived images are evaluated using SSIM. Furthermore, 241 contrast-distorted images from TID2013 and CSIQ databases were used in experiments. The results have shown that in comparison with SSIM scores, the scores obtained by the improved SSIM are more consistent with the subjective assessment scores. Moreover, the Pearson linear correlation coefficient and Spearman rank order correlation coefficient between subjective and objective scores are averagely improved by 12.83 and 22.78%, respectively. In addition, the assessment accuracy of the improved SSIM is better than that of five commonly used IQA metrics. Also, it has an excellent generalisation performance. These results show that the assessment performance of the improved SSIM is effectively enhanced.
The effect of positive and negative feedback on self-efficacy, cognitive trust and affective trust.

A theoretical model of feedback including self-efficacy, affective trust and cognitive trust was developed indicating the importance of these variables to feedback. A cross sectional study then explored the relations between leader positive and negative feedback and self-efficacy, cognitive trust and affective trust of followers using coded video-based observations for feedback durations and questionnaires for measuring self-efficacy, cognitive and affective trust. The degree of consistency within measurements between various items was high, indicated by Cronbach’s alphas between 0.879 and 0.919. The leader sample included 31 leaders and the follower sample included 405 employees of a big Dutch public sector organization and were mostly men (above 70 percent). Regression analysis was conducted. Positive feedback was found to be possibly positively related to affective trust, but other results were in contrast with theoretical expectations, suggesting that negative feedback is negatively related to self-efficacy and cognitive trust. Such results demonstrate the importance of examining the complex cognitive mechanisms relating to feedback. Possible moderating variables and other explanations affecting results are discussed. Examples are locus of control, and the feasibility for followers to match the feedback to the task the feedback was intended on. Outside of the main purpose of the study, there was checked for correlation between cognitive and affective trust. This correlation was indeed found.
Anti-diabetic effects of ethyl acetate and n-butanol fractions of Acacia nilotica leaves methanolic extract on alloxan-induced diabetic wistar rats

Tanko Y. , Muhammad A. , Elaigwu, J Mohammed K.A. , Jimoh, A. , Sada N.M. , M.K Dallatu, Yerima M and Mohammed A Department of Human Physiology, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Kaduna State, Nigeria. Department of Chemical Pathology, Faculty of Medical Laboratory Sciences, Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto State, Nigeria. Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutic, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria,Kaduna State, Nigeria.
Long‐term storage effects in steroid metabolite extracts from baboon (Papio sp.) faeces – a comparison of three commonly applied storage methods

The measurement of steroid hormone metabolites from faeces in wild animal populations is a powerful, noninvasive tool in behavioural endocrinology of all major vertebrate taxa. However, because such research is often done in remote areas with limited infrastructure, storage of samples for hormone analysis over long periods at high temperature is a critical issue in field endocrinology. Previous studies have indicated that storage of alcoholic faecal extracts is more reliable than storage of unprocessed faeces if no freezer is available, but a standard method has not been established yet. We tested the validity of three commonly applied storage conditions – liquid extracts, dried extracts and extracts placed on solid‐phase extraction (SPE) cartridges – to preserve concentrations of glucocorticoid and androgen metabolites from faecal extracts of olive baboons (Papio anubis) at high temperature over 1 year. Temporal variation in concentrations was detected for all metabolites and all storage conditions, including values measured from the control condition, that is, extracts stored at −20°C. This suggested that most variation was due to interassay variability, corroborated by comparisons of variation in ‘quality controls’ and samples. Compared to frozen control samples, liquid extracts were stable for up to 24 weeks, extracts on SPE cartridges were stable for up to 50 weeks, while steroid metabolite concentrations in dried extracts decreased slightly over time. If steroid samples have to be stored at ambient temperature, we suggest storage of liquid extracts for up to 24 weeks in a dark and cool place. For longer periods, SPE cartridges should be applied as evaporation, a potential confound arising with long‐term storage of liquid extracts at higher temperatures, is not a problem in this storage condition. Storage of dried extracts is more cost‐effective, but may result in small time‐dependent changes in steroid concentrations.
Augmenting Knowledge Base with Information Extraction

Occupying Knowledge Base with new knowledge facts from reliable text resources usually contains linking name mentions to entities and identifying relationship between entity pairs. The main goal of KBP is to circulate research in discovering facts about entities and expanding a structured knowledge base with this information . The task often suffers from errors propagating from upstream entity linkers to downstream relation extractors. We get optimal assignment by addressing the coherence among preliminary local predictions: whether the types of entities meet the expectations of relations explicitly or implicitly, and whether the local predictions are globally compatible. There are two new tasks Cross-lingual Entity Linking: Given a set of multi-lingual queries, the system is required to provide the ID of the English KB entry to which each query refers and cluster NIL queries without KB references; and Temporal Slot Filling: given an entity query, the system is required to discover the start and end dates for any identified slot fill. Keywords-personal knowledge graph population, personal assertion detection, relation detection, slot filling, user profiling for content recommendation, rich annotation guided learning, task definition
Online Learning in Weakly Coupled Markov Decision Processes

We consider multiple parallel Markov decision processes (MDPs) coupled by global constraints, where the time varying objective and constraint functions can only be observed after the decision is made. Special attention is given to how well the decision maker can perform in T slots, starting from any state, compared to the best feasible randomized stationary policy in hindsight. We develop a new distributed online algorithm where each MDP makes its own decision each slot after observing a multiplier computed from past information. While the scenario is significantly more challenging than the classical online learning context, the algorithm is shown to have a tight O(√T ) regret and constraint violations simultaneously. To obtain such a bound, we combine several new ingredients including ergodicity and mixing time bound in weakly coupled MDPs, a new regret analysis for online constrained optimization, a drift analysis for queue processes, and a perturbation analysis based on Farkas' Lemma.
1 Properties of ferrite garnet ( Bi , Lu , Y ) 3 ( Fe , Ga ) 5 O 12 thin 2 film materials prepared by RF magnetron sputtering 3 4

This work is devoted to physical vapor deposition synthesis, and characterisation of 12 bismuth and lutetium-substituted ferrite-garnet thin-film materials for magneto-optic (MO) 13 applications. The properties of garnet thin films sputtered using a target of nominal composition 14 type Bi0.9Lu1. 85Y0.25Fe4. 0Ga1O12 are studied. By measuring the optical transmission spectra at room 15 temperature, the optical constants and the accurate film thicknesses can be evaluated using 16 Swanepoel’s envelope method. The refractive index data are found to be matching very closely to 17 these derived from Cauchy’s dispersion formula for the entire spectral range between 300-2500 nm. 18 The optical absorption coefficient and the extinction coefficient data are studied for both the 19 as-deposited and annealed garnet thin-film samples. A new approach is applied for accurately 20 deriving the optical constants data simultaneously with the physical layer thickness, using a 21 combination approach employing custom-built spectrum-fitting software in conjunction with 22 Swanepoel’s envelope method. MO properties, such as specific Faraday rotation, MO figure of 23 merit and MO swing factor are also investigated for several annealed garnet-phase films. 24
Wind chop and ship wakes determine hydrodynamic stresses on larvae settling on different microhabitats in fouling communities

Fouling communities living on hard surfaces in harbors are model systems for studying larval recruitment and ecological succession. Although they live in protected harbors, fouling communities are exposed to waves due to wind chop and ship wakes. We studied how superimposing waves onto unidirectional currents affects hydrodynamic stresses experienced by larvae settling into different microhabitats within rugose fouling communities. We exposed fouled plates in a flume to turbulent water currents and waves mimicking those measured across fouling communities in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, USA, and used laser-Doppler velocimetry to measure water velocities on the scale of larvae (500 µm from surfaces) at specific positions within each community chosen to represent a wide range of microhabitat types. These data were used to determine in stantaneous hydrodynamic stresses encountered by larvae and to calculate larval settlement probabilities. Local topography was more important than successional stage in determining hydro - dynamic stresses on the scale of larvae. Increasing current velocity reduced settlement probabili- ties, with the largest effects on a flat unfouled surface and on microhabitats on the tops of fouling organisms. Wind chop and ship wakes reduced the probability of larval settlement at all current speeds and in all microhabitats, with the most pronounced effects on sites atop fouling organisms. Episodic peak stresses can be orders of magnitude higher than mean stresses, so using instanta- neous stresses to calculate settlement probability yields a lower value than is predicted using mean stress. The factor by which the use of mean stress over-estimates settlement probability depends on both microhabitat and flow conditions.
Total Variation Based Parameter-Free Model for Impulse Noise Removal

We propose a new two-phase method for reconstruction of blurred images corrupted by impulse noise. In the first phase, we use a noise detector to identify the pixels that are contaminated by noise, and then, in the second phase, we reconstruct the noisy pixels by solving an equality constrained total variation minimization problem that preserves the exact values of the noise-free pixels. For images that are only corrupted by impulse noise (i.e., not blurred) we apply the semismooth Newton's method to a reduced problem, and if the images are also blurred, we solve the equality constrained reconstruction problem using a first-order primal-dual algorithm. The proposed model improves the computational efficiency (in the denoising case) and has the advantage of being regularization parameter-free. Our numerical results suggest that the method is competitive in terms of its restoration capabilities with respect to the other two-phase methods.
Chapter 4 Extending the self in space and time : S o cial identificatio n and existential co ncer ns

The concept of social identity is most in ̄uential in modern social psycholog ical theory. A distinctiv e outcome of the E uropean tradition, it has helped the discipline in one of its most important challeng es, namely in modeling the relationship b etw een the indiv idual and the social g roup. The concept orig inated in Taj fel' s ( 1 9 8 1 ) early research on interg roup relations and it thus comes as no surprise that empirical w ork stemming from social identity theory has focused on the conseq uences of social identi® cation and self-categ oriz ation ( Turner, H og g , O ak es, R eicher, & W etherell, 1 9 8 7 ) , especially in terms of interg roup b ehav ior. I nteresting ly, how ev er, w e k now comparativ ely little w hen it comes to understanding the determinants of social identi® cation ( see B rew er & H arasty, 1 9 9 6 ; S tev ens & F isk e, 1 9 9 5 ) . I t is on this issue that w e focus in the present chapter. S peci® cally, w e propose a perspectiv e on the motiv es for social identi® cation and arg ue that social identities may serv e, among other needs, the fundamental need of human b eing s to transcend their mortal fate.
Applicability of statistical learning algorithms in groundwater quality modeling

Four algorithms are outlined, each of which has interesting features for predicting contaminant levels in groundwater. Artificial neural networks (ANN), support vector machines (SVM), locally weighted projection regression (LWPR), and relevance vector machines (RVM) are utilized as surrogates for a relatively complex and time‐consuming mathematical model to simulate nitrate concentration in groundwater at specified receptors. Nitrates in the application reported in this paper are due to on‐ground nitrogen loadings from fertilizers and manures. The practicability of the four learning machines in this work is demonstrated for an agriculture‐dominated watershed where nitrate contamination of groundwater resources exceeds the maximum allowable contaminant level at many locations. Cross‐validation and bootstrapping techniques are used for both training and performance evaluation. Prediction results of the four learning machines are rigorously assessed using different efficiency measures to ensure their generalization ability. Prediction results show the ability of learning machines to build accurate models with strong predictive capabilities and hence constitute a valuable means for saving effort in groundwater contamination modeling and improving model performance.
Performance of Late Sown Wheat in Response to Foliar Application of Moringa oleifera Lam. Leaf Extract

Aumento en temperatura durante inicios de primavera induciendo madurez temprana es un factor clave en la reduccion de rendimiento en siembra tardia de trigo (Triticum aestivum L.). Las hojas de Moringa oleifera Lam. son ricas en zeatina, una citoquinina que tiene rol en retraso de senescencia foliar, ademas de otros compuestos que mejoran crecimiento como ascorbatos, fenoles, y minerales. Este estudio se planeo para optimizar dosis y estado de crecimiento optimo para extracto foliar de moringa (MLE) aplicado foliarmente y su rol en retraso de senescencia foliar en siembra tardia de trigo. El cultivo de trigo se sembro el 16 de septiembre y MLE (diluido 30 veces) se aplico en diferentes estados de crecimiento desde macollamiento hasta espigadura y en espigadura, mientras se asperjo agua destilada como control. En resultados todos los tratamientos MLE fueron mejores que el control. Sin embargo, un aumento de 10,73; 6,00; 10,70 y 4,00% fue evidente en peso de 1000 granos, rendimiento biologico, produccion de grano e indice de cosecha, respectivamente, con aspersion de MLE en macollamiento + encanado + estado de bota + espigadura. Aspersion de MLE solo en espigadura dio 6,84; 3,17 y 3,51% mas de peso 1000 granos, rendimiento biologico, produccion de grano, e indice de cosecha respectivamente, comparado con control. MLE extendio la duracion del area foliar estacional (LAD estacional) en 9,22 y 6,45 d sobre el control cuando se aplico a todos los estados de crecimiento y aspersion a espigadura, respectivamente. Concluimos que posiblemente debido a la presencia de sustancias, la aspersion foliar de MLE puede retrasar la madurez de cultivo, extender LAD estacional y periodo de llenado de grano conduciendo, por lo tanto, a mayores producciones de semilla y biologica en trigo sembrado tardiamente.
Sex-based differences in anti-predator response of crickets to chemical cues of a mammalian predator

Anti-predator behaviors like vigilance or hiding come at the expense of other fitness increasing behaviors such as foraging. To compensate for this trade-off, prey assess predation risk and modify the frequency of anti-predator behaviors according to the likelihood of the threat. In this study, we tested the ability of house crickets (Acheta domesticus) to indirectly assess predation risk via odors from a mammalian predator, Elliot’s short-tailed shrew (Blarina hylophaga). As natural differences in encounter rates and predation risk differs between sexes, we tested if male and female crickets perceive similar rates of predation risk from the presence of shrew odor measured via anti-predator behavioral response. Crickets were placed in enclosed, cardboard-lined chambers either treated with shrew odor or control, along with a food source. Time until foraging was measured for each individual and compared across treatment and sex. We found that in the presence of shrew odor, female crickets delayed foraging while males showed no response. These results suggest adult crickets can use chemical cues to detect mammalian predators. Furthermore, we demonstrate that female crickets associate greater predation risk from shrew predators than do male crickets, which are more stationary yet acoustically conspicuous. As predation risk potentially differs drastically for each sex, changes to the operational sex ratios of wild cricket populations could be influenced by the identity of the predator community.