Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Effects of the environment on galaxies in the Catalogue of Isolated Galaxies: physical satellites and large scale structure ?

Context. We present a study of the 3D environment for a sample of 386 galaxies in the Catalogue of Isolated Galaxies (CIG, Karachentseva 1973) using the Ninth Data Release of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS-DR9). Aims. We aim to identify and quantify the e ects of the satellite distribution around a sample of galaxies in the CIG, as well as the e ects of the large-scale structure (LSS). Methods. To recover the physically bound galaxies we first focused on the satellites that are within the escape speed of each CIG galaxy. We also propose a more conservative method using the stacked Gaussian distribution of the velocity di erence of the neighbours. The tidal strengths a ecting the primary galaxy were estimated to quantify the e ects of the local and LSS environments. We also defined the projected number density parameter at the fifth nearest neighbour to characterise the LSS around the CIG galaxies. Results. Out of the 386 CIG galaxies considered in this study, at least 340 (88% of the sample) have no physically linked satellite. Following the more conservative Gaussian distribution of physical satellites around the CIG galaxies leads to upper limits. Out of the 386 CIG galaxies, 327 (85% of the sample) have no physical companion within a projected distance of 0.3 Mpc. The CIG galaxies are distributed following the LSS of the local Universe, although presenting a large heterogeneity in their degree of connection with it. When present around a CIG galaxy, the e ect of physically bound galaxies largely dominates (typically by more than 90%) the tidal strengths generated by the LSS. Conclusions. The CIG samples a variety of environments, from galaxies with physical satellites to galaxies without neighbours within 3 Mpc. A clear segregation appears between early-type CIG galaxies with companions and isolated late-type CIG galaxies. Isolated galaxies are in general bluer, with probably younger stellar populations and very high star formation compared with older, redder CIG galaxies with companions. Reciprocally, the satellites are redder and with an older stellar populations around massive early-type CIG galaxies, while they have a younger stellar content around massive late-type CIG galaxies. This suggests that the CIG is composed of a heterogeneous population of galaxies, sampling from old to more recent, dynamical systems of galaxies. CIG galaxies with companions might have a mild tendency (0.3 0.4 dex) to be more massive, and may indicate a higher frequency of having su ered a merger in the past.
Atmospheric budget of primary biological aerosol particles from fungal spores

The contribution of primary biological aerosol particles (PBAP) to the global budget of organic aerosol is poorly understood. Concentrations of mannitol, a biotracer for fungal spores, are used here to constrain the first global model (GEOS‐Chem) simulation of PBAP from fungi. Emissions are driven by leaf area index and atmospheric water vapor concentrations and are empirically optimized based on the geographical and seasonal variability of observed mannitol concentrations. Optimized global emissions total 28 Tg yr−1, with 25% of that total emitted as fine mode (PM2.5) aerosol. Fungal spores contribute 23% of total primary emissions of organic aerosol, or 7% of the fine‐mode source. Annual mean simulated surface concentrations of PBAP over vegetated regions range from 0.1–0.7 μgm−3 (PM2.5) and 0.4–3.0 μgm−3 (PM10), with the highest concentrations in the tropics, where PBAP may be the dominant source of organic aerosol. Further validation is required to reduce the substantial uncertainties on this budget.
Visualising and animating visual information foraging in context

Optimal information foraging provides a potentially useful framework for modelling, analysing, and interpreting search strategies of users through a spatial-semantic interface. Improving the understanding of behavioural patterns of users in such environments has implications for the design and refinement of a range of user interfaces. In this article, we outline the role of optimal information foraging in the study of visual information retrieval and how one may use visualisation and animation techniques to put behavioural patterns in context. Behavioural patterns of information foraging in an information space are visualised and animated to aid further in-depth analysis of search strategies.
FEEDBACK ON A PUBLICLY DISTRIBUTED IMAGE DATABASE: THE MESSIDOR DATABASE

The Messidor database, which contains hundreds of eye fundus images, has been publicly distributed since 2008. It was created by the Messidor project in order to evaluate automatic lesion segmentation and diabetic retinopathy grading methods. Designing, producing and maintaining such a database entails significant costs. By publicly sharing it, one hopes to bring a valuable resource to the public research community. However, the real interest and benefit of the research community is not easy to quantify. We analyse here the feedback on the Messidor database, after more than 6 years of diffusion. This analysis should apply to other similar research databases.
A variation on arithmetic continuity

A sequence $(x_{k})$ of points in $\R$, the set of real numbers, is called \textit{arithmetically convergent} if for each $\varepsilon > 0$ there is an integer $n$ such that for every integer $m$ we have $|x_{m} - x_{ }| $ denotes the greatest common divisor of the integers $m$ and $n$. We prove that a subset of $\R$ is bounded if and only if it is arithmetically compact, where a subset $E$ of $\R$ is arithmetically compact if any sequence of point in $E$ has an arithmetically convergent subsequence. It turns out that the set of arithmetically continuous functions on an arithmetically compact subset of $\R$ coincides with the set of uniformly continuous functions where a function $f$ defined on a subset $E$ of $\R$ is arithmetically continuous if it preserves arithmetically convergent sequences, i.e., $(f(x_{n})$ is arithmetically convergent whenever $(x_{n})$ is an arithmetic convergent sequence of points in $E$.
Hydraulic Properties of Smectite Clays from Iraq with Special Respect to Landfills of DU-contaminated Waste

Landfills of material contaminated by depleted uranium and other low-level radioactive waste must be isolated from the biosphere for a sufficiently long time. This can be effectively made in desert climate by collecting contaminated waste in suitable areas confined by tight embankments and covering them with very tight clay liners protected from desiccation and erosion by suitably composed filters and coarse rock fill. Examples of design principles and construction are described in the paper. The clay liners are made of air-dry expanding clay that can be found in sufficient quantities in Iraq and that provide very good tightness at low cost. The construction technique is well known from various projects.
EFFICIENT RANGE ALIGNMENT ALGORITHM FOR REAL-TIME RANGE-DOPPLER ALGORITHM

When deriving a range-Doppler image or a time-frequency image of a fast-maneuvering target at long range, existing range alignment methods yield poor results due to the large numbers of range profiles (RPs) and range bins that are required for this task. This paper proposes a threestep range alignment method to overcome the problems of these existing methods and to yield focused images: (1) coarse alignment using the interpolated center of mass of each RP, (2) fine alignment with an integer step using an entropy cost function, and (3) fine-tuning using particle swarm optimization. Compared to existing methods, the proposed method is computationally more efficient and provides better image focus.
The Innovation Policy and Performance of Innovation in Taiwan's Technology- Intensive Industries

: Much greater emphasis is now being placed upon innovation following recog-nition that it plays an increasingly important role in enhancing industrial technology. Thus the governments of many countries are currently adopting specific strategies aimed at stimulating innovation within firms. Taiwan is no exception; however, since the industrial structure of Taiwan comprises predominantly small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), their willingness to engage in innovative activities is rather low. Furthermore, smaller firms are usually deterred from innovat-ing because of scale barriers in some industries, particularly in the high-tech industries. In recent decades the government in Taiwan has implemented a number of policy measures aimed at enhancing firms’ innovative investment, with notable policy measures focusing on speeding up the development of the high-tech sector including: (i) establishing the Hsin-chu Sci-ence-based Industrial Park to provide an environment conducive to the high-tech industry; (ii) or-ganizing innovation alliances to spread out firms’ R&D risks and to secure first mover advantages; (iii) expanding the government-sponsored research institutes to serve as a technology transfer channel for the private sector; (iv) providing tax incentives to absorb some of the costs of firms’ R&D activities; and (v) providing access to sources of venture capital. Since these policy measures on innovation are closely tied to the development of Taiwan’s high-tech industry, the purpose of this paper is therefore to discuss these measures and to examine R&D performance, since innovative capacity is invariably measured by R&D expenditure. Based on time series data (1983-2000) and a random coefficient model derived from Cobb-Douglas production function, several results have been obtained. (1) The impacts of R&D on productivity (R&D output elasticity) in chemicals, general machinery, electrical machinery, and transportation equipment are 0.039, 0.049, 0.046, and 0.012, respectively. (2) The rates of return to R&D in chemicals, general machinery, electrical machinery, and transportation equipment are around 7%, 43%, 26%, and 12%, respectively.
The basal stress distribution of Ice Stream E, Antarctica, inferred by control methods

The irregular spatial distribution and velocity independence of basal friction derived from Landsat measured surface velocity suggests that ice stream flow is not controlled by the properties of a deformable basal till alone. Rigid bedrock substrata may contact the base of the ice stream in small (<100 km2) areas where the velocity field displays strong vorticity and where the ice stream surface appears rumpled in Landsat images.
A Polarization Diversity PIFA on Portable Telephone and the Human Body Effects on Its Performance

A polarization diversity planar inverted-F antenna (PIFA) on portable telephone in the practical use near the operator’s body is investigated at 1,800MHz under multipath urban environment. The antenna structure comprises a center-fed square patch with one permanent short-pin and two RF-switches on three corners. The RF-switches perform as the polarization branch switches for dominantly vertical polarization (VP) or dominantly horizontal polarization (HP) modes. The radiation efficiency of the polarization diversity PIFA is 58% and 53% for VP and HP modes, respectively, which is higher than the 52% efficiency of the reference λ/4 monopole antenna under the same condition. The mean effective gain (MEG) of VP and HP modes decrease with respect to the increasing cross-polarization power ratio (XPR). The correlation coefficient of two diversity branches is between 0.66 through all the possible XPR ranging from −10 dB to +10dB. The diversity gain is computed from the MEG and correlation coefficient to determine the diversity antenna gain (DAG). The diversity gain, based on 10−3 BER for selective combining, is 7.5 dB over non-diversity reception. The DAG is −1.2 · · ·+2.8 dBi which is approximately 4 dB lower than the case without human body. In other words, the presence of the human body degrades the communication performance by a half. key words: polarization diversity, PIFA, mean e ective gain,
Mobile Banking Adoption: A Study of Customers in India

The present paper has made an attempt to analyze the adoption pattern of mobile banking services among the banking customers in India. In order to serve the purpose of the study, primary research focusing on banking customers in India has been conducted. The results have depicted that the mobile banking services are being underutilized by the users. Further, it has been found that the mobile banking services are used for the purpose, namely, balance inquiry, shopping, etc. While exploring factors affecting the usage pattern of mobile banking, personal disposition towards technology adoption, perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use and effectiveness of mobile banking services are found to play a significant role. On the basis of the findings of the study, various suggestions have been made to the banks for enhancing the usage of mobile banking services.
A novel approach of ship wakes target classification based on the LBP-IBPANN algorithm

The detection of ship wakes image can demonstrate substantial information regarding on a ship, such as its tonnage, type, direction, and speed of movement. Consequently, the wake target recognition is a favorable way for ship identification. This paper proposes a Local Binary Pattern (LBP) approach to extract image features (wakes) for training an Improved Back Propagation Artificial Neural Network (IBPANN) to identify ship speed. This method is applied to sort and recognize the ship wakes of five different speeds images, the result shows that the detection accuracy is satisfied as expected, the average correctness rates of wakes target recognition at the five speeds may be achieved over 80%. Specifically, the lower ship's speed, the better accurate rate, sometimes it's accuracy could be close to 100%. In addition, one significant feature of this method is that it can receive a higher recognition rate than the nearest neighbor classification method.
Dual Band Microstrip Antenna using Shorted Metallic Patches

A compact monopole antenna having dual band characteristics using shorted metallic patches is presented. To get impedance matching for the SMA conductor, the antenna is fed up by probe feeding technique. The shorted metallic patches are made by square patches which are connected to the ground plane by the shorting pins. SMPs are used to improve the gain of the antenna. The dimensions and position of the SMPs and the position and dimension of the slot with respect to the patch are important and studied in this paper.
Production of Flavonoid Compounds and Anti-inflammatory Property of Fermented Licorice Extract with the Basidiomycete Grifola frondosa HB0071

리퀴리티게닌과 이소리퀴리티게닌은 감초의 주요 플라보노이드 성분이다. 이들 플라보노이드는 수용성 감초 추출물과 ${\beta}$ -glucosidase를 생성하는 잎새버섯 HB0071 균사체 발효배양을 통하여 생산하였다. 감초추출물 내 리퀴리티게닌과 이소리퀴리티게닌은 잎새버섯 발효배양 동안 현저히 증가하였다. 이 균주의 ${\beta}$ -glucosidase의 활성은 배양 96시간을 기준으로 최고 91.5 mU/mL로 확인되었으며, 감초추출발효물로부터 생성된 리퀴리티게닌과 이소리퀴리티게닌의 함량은 HPLC 분석을 통하여 최대 $568.5{\mu}g/mL$ 과 $89.6{\mu}g/mL$ 로 확인되었다. 본 연구에서는 감초추출물의 잎새버섯 발효 전 후의 시료가 처리된 각질형성세포를 이용하여 자외선 UVB에 조사로 발현된 염증유발인자(COX-2)와 사이토카인(IL- $1{\beta}$ , IL-6) 모두 감초추출발효물(FLEx)에서 농도의존적으로 발현이 억제되는 것을 확인하였다. 결론적으로 리퀴리티게닌과 이소리퀴리티게닌의 함량이 증가된 감초추출발효물은 자외선으로부터 손상된 피부 염증반응을 완화시켜줄 것으로 사료된다. 【Liquiritigenin and isoliquiritigenin are the major flavonoids present in licorice. These flavonoid compounds were prepared by submerged culture of Grifola frondosa (G. frondosa) HB0071 mycelia producing ${\beta}$ -glucosidase in the aqueous extract of licorice. The contents of liquiritigenin and isoliquiritigenin were increased during the fermentation. This fungus produced a high ${\beta}$ -glucosidase (activity of 91.5 mU/mL), thereby achieving high amounts of liquiritigenin and isoliquiritigenin ( $568.5{\mu}g/mL$ and $89.6{\mu}g/mL$ ), respectively at 96 h. A reversed- phase high-performance liquid chromatography method was established for simultaneous determination of liquiritigenin and isoliquiritigenin in fermented licorice extract (FLEx). The anti-inflammatory activities were investigated by licorice extract (LEx) before and after fermentation with G. frondosa HB0071. The treatment of UVB-irradiated HaCaT keratinocytes with FLEx resulted in a dose-dependent decrease in the expression level of cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) mRNA. Furthermore, FLEx dose-dependently decreased mRNA of the pro-inflammatory cytokines of IL- $1{\beta}$ and IL-6 in UVB-irradiated HaCaT cells. These results suggest that FLEx may mitigate the effects of skin inflammation by reducing UVB-induced adverse skin reactions. 】
Soot on snow experiments: light-absorbing impurities effect on the natural snowpack

Abstract. Light-absorbing impurities affect snow and ice via a decrease in albedo and a consequent disturbance to the radiative energy balance. Experimentally, these matters have only been examined in a few studies. Here we present results from a series of experiments in which we deposited different soot concentrations onto natural snow in different regions of Finland, and thereafter monitored the changes of the snowpack through the melting season. Measurements of the particulates in the snow indicated concentrations in the range of thousands of ppb to have clear effects on the snow properties, including the albedo, the physical snow characteristics, and an increased melt rate. For soot concentrations in the hundreds of ppb range, the effects were not as clearly visible, and it was more difficult to attribute the effects solely to the soot on the snow. Comparisons between our experimental data and the widely used Snow, Ice and Aerosol Radiation (SNICAR) model showed a general agreement when the model was specifically tuned to our measurements. This study highlights the importance of additional experimental studies, to further articulate and quantify the effects of light-absorbing impurities on snow.
Beliefs about Classroom Practice: A Study of Primary Teacher Trainees in Trinidad and Tobago

This qualitative study sought to gain insights into teacher trainees’ beliefs about teaching and learning, and the relationship between their beliefs and classroom practice. A case study methodology was used to examine the beliefs and classroom practice of three primary teacher trainees who were enrolled at a teachers’ training college in Trinidad and Tobago. Findings suggest that the trainees seemed to hold well established beliefs about teaching and learning, which were apparently influenced by their experiences in school, in the home, and as teachers in primary schools. There were variations in the extent to which the trainees’ beliefs influenced their classroom practice. A number of situational and personal factors seemed to impact the trainees’ ability to enact their beliefs about teaching and learning in the classroom. The study underscores the importance of giving teacher trainees opportunities to interrogate their beliefs and the manner in which these beliefs impact teaching practice.
THE FLOUTING OF COOPERATIVE PRINCIPLE MAXIMS: IMPLICATIONS FOR TEACHING OF PRAGMATICS IN EFL CLASSROOM

This research reports on the flouting of cooperative principle maxims in a comedy movie. The data were taken from conversational exchanges of a comedy movie entitled Meet the Parents, and were collected by transcribing the exchanges exposing humor occurred in the movie. The exchanges potentially flouting the maxims were analyzed in the light of Grice’s CP maxims, elaborated further in Thomas (1995), to look into the types of maxims flouted and the ways the maxims were flouted. The exchanges were then further analyzed as to find whether the types of verbal humor are particular to each maxim flout. The analysis revealed that the four types of maxims, i.e. Quantity, Quality, Relevance, and Manner, occurred to have been flouted so as to create humor. The Quality maxim was the most commonly flouted (55.6%), whereas the least commonly flouted was the Relevance maxim (6.3%). The speakers flouted the maxims in a number of different ways particular to each maxim. Moreover, the analysis found that maxim flouts were relevant to the types of verbal humor. Therefore, given the importance of pragmatic competence that the foreign language (FL) learners should acquire, it is suggested that pragmatics should be explicitly taught and integrated into the teaching of English.
Predictability of growth performance in feedlot cattle using fecal near-infrared spectroscopy

Abstract: Near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) was used to predict nutrients and apparent total tract digestibility (aTTD) of nutrients and gross energy (GE) using 282 dried ground fecal samples collected monthly over 13 mo from the pen floor of six feedlots in southern Alberta. Mixed-model regression was used to examine relationships among fecal composition, digestibility, dry matter intake (DMI), average daily gain (ADG), and gain to feed ratio (G:F). Lower (P < 0.01) fecal starch, greater (P ≤ 0.04) fecal neutral detergent fiber, and greater (P ≤ 0.01) aTTD of dry matter (DM), organic matter (OM), starch, and GE were observed in cattle fed tempered versus dry-rolled barley, with no differences in DMI, ADG, or G:F. Compared with cattle fed barley, those fed a wheat–barley grain mixture had greater (P ≤ 0.02) fecal starch and aTTD of DM, OM, as well as greater ADG, and G:F. Heifers had a lower (P ≥ 0.05) aTTD of DM and GE than steers. A quadratic relationship was observed between fecal starch and G:F, with sex and average body weight (BW) at time of sampling as additional variables (ρ = 0.75, P < 0.01). Our data indicate that NIRS predictions using the feces of feedlot cattle have potential in predicting G:F when variables such as BW and sex are included in the equation.
Anti-cryptococcus Activity and Mechanism of Essential Oil from Coreopsis tinctoria Flowering on Cryptococcus

The essential oil (EO) extracted from the flower of Coreopsis tinctoria Nutt. is a kind of plant-derived natural therapeutics against Cryptococcus neoformans. In our study, the anti-cryptococcal effects of the EO were observed from various aspects, such as minimal inhibitory concentration, minimum fungicidal concentration, germ tube formation, and biomass. The results indicated that the EO had potent antifungal activities on C. neoformans and that it was more effective than the commonly used antifungal agents fluconazole and amphotericin B. To further elucidate the mechanism of the antifungal action, the effect of the EO on the plasma membrane and the mitochondria of C. neoformans were investigated. The lesion in the plasma membrane was detected through flow cytometry and was further verified through the inhibition of ergosterol synthesis. The essential oil caused morphological changes in the cells of C. neoformans and a reduction in the ergosterol quantity. Moreover, mitochondrial membrane potential, mitochondrial ATPase, succinate dehydrogenase (SDH), and malate dehydrogenase (MDH) were detected. The reactive oxygen species (ROS) accumulation was examined through fluorometric assay. Decreased SDH, MDH, and ATPase in C. neoformans cells were also observed in a dose-dependent manner. The above dysfunctions of the mitochondria caused ROS accumulation in C. neoformans. A reduction in cell viability was prevented through the addition of L-cysteine, and this reduction indicates that ROS is an important mediator of the antifungal action of the EO. In summary, EO from C. tinctoria flower showed anti-cryptococcus activity. Its mechanism of action is to disrupt the permeability barrier of the plasma membrane and the mitochondrial dysfunction-induced ROS accumulation in C. neoformans. With better antifungal activity than the commonly used antifungal agents and less possibility to induce drug resistance, the EO can be used as a potential anti-cryptococcal agent.