Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Experimental Methods in the Study of Neutron Scattering at Small Angles

Small angle scattering (SAS) is the collective name given to the techniques of small angle neutron (SANS) and X-ray (SAXS) scattering. They offer the possibility to analyze particles without disturbing their natural environment. In each of these techniques radiation is elastically scattered by a sample and the resulting scattering pattern is analyzed to provide information about the size, shape and orientation of some component of the sample. Accordingly, a large number of methods and experimental patterns have been developed to ease the investigation of condensed matter by use of these techniques. Some of them are the discussed in this paper.
Shame-prone gamblers and their coping with gambling loss

Applying recent research on self-conscious emotions (e.g., Tangney & Dearing, 2002 ) to the literature of gambling, the proposal that painful self-conscious emotions brought about by chronic awareness of personal inferiority and inadequacy, deemed as a major predisposing factor for problem gambling ( Jacobs, 1986 ), appears to be compatible with the chronic affective trait of shame-proneness but incompatible with guilt-proneness. This premise led to the hypothesis that shame-proneness is strongly associated with problem-gambling severity, whereas guilt-proneness is minimally associated with problem gambling. Further, it was hypothesized that shame-prone gamblers frequently use avoidant coping strategies following gambling loss and chase losses, whereas this tendency is minimal among guilt-prone gamblers. These hypotheses were supported by the data from a retrospective survey of recent gambling loss occasions ( N =284). The findings indicate that shame-proneness is one of the predisposing risk factors for problem gambling, whereas guilt-proneness may mitigate gambling problems.
NEAR END LISTENING ENHANCEMENT WITH STRICT LOUDSPEAKER OUTPUT POWER CONSTRAINING

The concept of near end listening enhancement has recently been proposed for improving the speech intelligibility of telecommunication equipment in the presence of ambient noise. Near end listening enhancement is a signal processing framework that acts on the received signal from the far end speaker to reduce the listening effort of the near end speaker. Since it is often not acceptable/possible to increase the emitted loudspeaker power, this paper investigates the opportunities of listening enhancement under the constraint that the processed loudspeaker signal power is strictly equal to the power of the received signal. We will compare two reasonable processing strategies: a previous one that aims at the amplification of speech at noisy frequencies and a new one which cuts down the speech power at noisy frequencies. The results show that a considerable improvement of speech intelligibility can be achieved by the second approach which can be understood by a simple model of human hearing.
RCFGED: Retrospective Coarse and Fine-Grained Event Detection from Online News

Recently, Retrospective Event Detection attracts much attention. Most researches focus on detecting coarse-grained events or frequent events. However, they neglect to discover fine grained events or important rare events which are significant for human decision making. The important rare events are different from the frequent events revealing common patterns, their features are unnoticed and cannot be effectively extracted from the historical data. To tackle this issue, a systematic approach called RCFGED is proposed to simultaneously detect coarse and fine-grained events by incorporating Chance Discovery theory with topic modeling. The approach employs a Chance Discovery algorithm called Idea Graph, which mines the latent term relations for converting the corpus into a term graph. Then, a semantic-relation extraction approach is proposed based on topic modeling to enrich the graph. Lastly, a graph analytical method is employed to detect the events from the graph. An experiment demonstrates the superiority of RCFGED by comparing with benchmarks.
Missing OH source in a suburban environment near Beijing: observed and modelled OH and HO 2 concentrations in summer 2006

Abstract. Measurements of ambient OH and HO2 radicals were performed by laser induced fluorescence (LIF) during CAREBeijing2006 (Campaigns of Air Quality Research in Beijing and Surrounding Region 2006) at the suburban site Yufa in the south of Beijing in summer 2006. On most days, local air chemistry was influenced by aged air pollution that was advected by a slow, almost stagnant wind from southern regions. Observed daily concentration maxima were in the range of (4–17) × 106 cm−3 for OH and (2–24) × 108 cm−3 for HO2 (including an estimated interference of 25% from RO2). During daytime, OH reactivities were generally high (10–30 s−1) and mainly contributed by observed VOCs and their calculated oxidation products. The comparison of modelled and measured HOx concentrations reveals a systematic underprediction of OH as a function of NO. A large discrepancy of a factor 2.6 is found at the lowest NO concentration encountered (0.1 ppb), whereas the discrepancy becomes insignificant above 1 ppb NO. This study extends similar observations from the Pearl-River Delta (PRD) in South China to a more urban environment. The OH discrepancy at Yufa can be resolved, if NO-independent additional OH recycling is assumed in the model. The postulated Leuven Isoprene Mechanism (LIM) has the potential to explain the gap between modelled and measured OH at Beijing taking into account conservative error estimates, but lacks experimental confirmation. This and the hereby unresolved discrepancy at PRD suggest that other VOCs besides isoprene might be involved in the required, additional OH recycling. Fast primary production of ROx radicals up to 7 ppb h−1 was determined at Beijing which was dominated by the photolysis of O3, HONO, HCHO, and dicarbonyls. For a special case, 20 August, when the plume of Beijing city was encountered, a missing primary HOx source (about 3 ppb h−1) was determined under high NOx conditions similar to other urban areas like Mexico City. CAREBeijing2006 emphasizes the important role of OVOCs as a radical source and sink, and the need for further investigation of the chemical degradation of VOCs in order to better understand radical chemistry in VOC-rich air.
Therapeutic Effects of Natural Antioxidant on Neurodegenerative Disease

The free radical theory of aging hypothesizes that oxygen-derived free radicals are responsible for age-related damage at the cellular and tissue levels. In a normal situation, a balanced equilibrium exists among oxidants, antioxidants and biomolecules. Excess generation of free radicals may overwhelm natural cellular antioxidant defenses, leading to oxidation and further contributing to cellular functional impairment. The identification of free radical reactions as promoters of the neurodegenerative process implies that interventions aimed at limiting or inhibiting them should be able to reduce the rate of formation of degenerative changes with a consequent reduction in the aging rate and disease pathogenesis. Although the human diet is the main source of antioxidants, medicinal plants have received increasing attention in this context. Because antioxidant therapy is vital for the elimination of free radicals and ROS prevent the propagation of tissue damage and neuronal degeneration in the face of oxidative stress, diverse compounds and a broad variety of chemical structures have been investigated as therapeutic agents for acute central nervous system lesions. Indeed, there are currently many research groups working on this theme with the objective of discovering more potent and effective compounds. Here, we provide an overview of the current knowledge of the use of several medicinal plants as antioxidant agents to reduce the cellular damage produced by neurodegenerative diseases, focusing on basic and clinical evidence.
Unravelling Genome Structure and Function through Experimentally Informed Polymer Models

The genome is the primary information storage system of the cell. However, it is not fully established how eukaryotic and prokaryotic genomes are organized and function within cells. To fill this gap I used experimentally informed polymer models to reconstruct the 3D structures of the Schizosaccharomyces pombe and Escherichia coli genomes. I generated 3D models of the E. coli chromosome that were non-specifically compressed within cells. These models have shown that at the scales of several kb the E. coli chromosome organization cannot be described as random chromosome packing, while at scales starting from several tens of kb the E. coli chromosome is highly mixed and entangled. The polymer models of the S. pombe genome provided evidence that chromosomal interactions, detected by conformation capture experiments, play a structural role in S. pombe genome organization. I used ensembles of the S. pombe genome structures to construct 3D maps of genes, epigenetic marks, and replication origins. The 3D maps demonstrated that the S. pombe genome is highly compartmentalized. I found that highly transcribed genes and active epigenetic marks (H3K4me) are preferentially located toward the S. pombe nuclear interior, and inactive epigenetic mark (H3K9me) towards the nuclear periphery. The 3D maps of genetic elements that I generated represent a significant step towards the development of unified models for spatial gene regulation, DNA repair and replication.
Liquid-phase microextraction in a single hollow fibre: determination of mass transfer coefficient

In this study, the mass transfer coefficient of two local anesthetics in liquidphase microextraction (LPME), which is performed in a single hollow fibre, was investigated. Previously developed mathematical model has been applied for the determination of the overall mass transfer coefficient based on the acceptor phase, KA, in an unsteady-state LPME.
Isolation, characterization and salt tolerance activity of Rhizobium sp. from root nodules of some legumes

Nitrogen is one of the most essential nutrients required for growth and development of plants. The nitrogen can be provided for plants in the form of chemical fertilizers and biological fixation. Among these two, biological nitrogen fixation is the less costly and ecofriendly. According to Franche et al., (2009) leguminous plants fix atmospheric nitrogen into soil with the help of nitrogen fixing micro-organisms. Rhizobium acts as primary symbiotic fixer of nitrogen by infecting root of leguminous plants. Kiers et al., (2003) state that, Rhizobium bacteria stimulates the growth of leguminous plants by fixing atmospheric nitrogen into soil by symbiotically interaction. Several environmental stresses may affect the nitrogen fixation in plants. It includes salinity, water stress, soil pH, temperature and heavy metals (Kucuk and Kivanc 2008). Waraporn Payakapong (2006) reported that, nearly 40% of total world land is affect due to salinity. Most of the leguminous plants are more sensitive to salinity and they require slightly acidic ISSN: 2319-7706 Volume 3 Number 5 (2014) pp. 1005-1008 http://www.ijcmas. com
Evaluation of Inhalation Exposure to Carcinogenic PM10-Bound PAHs of People at Night Markets of an Urban Area in a Metropolis in Eastern China

ABSTRACTInhalable particle bounded carcinogenic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) pose high health risks to both food service workers and consumers cooking or purchasing late night snacks, respectively, in night markets because PAHs are generated in abundance during thermal cooking processes such as barbecue grilling. In the present study, sixteen carcinogenic PAHs in PM10 collected during open hours from eight night markets in an urban area of a metropolis in eastern China were determined. The total concentration of PAHs (ΣPAH) ranged from 145 to 1340 ng m–3, with an arithmetic mean of 828 ± 360 ng m–3. Five- and six-ringed PAHs were predominant in the composition, implying a combination of sources including cooking and traffic. Low coefficient of divergence values for individual PAH homologous among all sampling sites indicated similar sources. The occurrence of PM10-bound PAHs appeared to depend on the gas-particle partitioning processes and emission sources according to the results of principal component analysis (PCA). The daily inhalation rate of particle and predicted gaseous benzo[a]pyrene (BaP)-equivalent adjusted PAHs (BaPeq) for the workers due to occupational exposure was 0.451–3.43 µg day–1. Correspondingly, the occupational exposure risk for workers with one year of service was less than the acceptable risk level (10–6). However, the risk for people who had worked for more than 3 years exceeded 10–6 but was less than the priority risk level (10–4). For consumers, the maximum consumption time (tmax) for each time under the acceptable risk level would increase with an increase in age, and the exposure risk for infants, toddlers and children is high when PM10-bound PAHs are inhaled. We recommend that tmax should be less than 1 hour for consumers under 25 years old. Therefore, our results indicate that both workers and consumers in the night markets have high cancer risks due to inhalation of PM10-bound PAHs.
An Evaluation of Holsti’s Concept of Foreign Policy Restructuring: Has FPR Been Sufficiently Covered in the Arab World?

Using Holsti’s pioneer work on the concept of foreign policy restructuring (FPR) as the yardstick theoretical framework, the article critically assesses its impact on the literature with particular emphasis on the Arab World. The article’s aim is to solve the puzzle involving the diffident reference to Hoslti’s work, the extent to which FPR has been covered in the Arab World and, in case of a modest contribution, the factors causing such lack of attention to that particular field of study in the region. It specifically questions the existence of an explicit substantive and geographical literature gap, notwithstanding the efforts of successive scholars, the centrality of the Arab region, and the tremendous changes that hit a number of countries within it since the end of 2010 and on. Such state of affairs, not only amplifies the heavy cost of the current gap but also loudly echoes urgent calls to address it. The hypothesis is that such situation is inherently due to structural limitations within Holsti’s work and the scarcity of subsequent efforts to develop the concept further as well as, as far as the Arab World is concerned, regional inherent methodological factors. The author will follow an analytical and descriptive approach to trace the available literature with emphasis on Holsti’s work and key subsequent efforts. The article concludes by underlining the urgent need for a fresh and continuous work on studying FPR in the Arab World considering the critical role that part occupies in global politics.
Estimation and Mapping of Forest Structure Parameters from Open Access Satellite Images: Development of a Generic Method with a Study Case on Coniferous Plantation

Temperate forests are under climatic and economic pressures. Public bodies, NGOs and the wood industry are looking for accurate, current and affordable data driven solutions to intensify wood production while maintaining or improving long term sustainability of the production, biodiversity, and carbon sequestration. Free tools and open access data have already been exploited to produce accurate quantitative forest parameters maps suitable for policy and operational purposes. These efforts have relied on different data sources, tools, and methods that are tailored for specific forest types and climatic conditions. We hypothesized we could build on these efforts in order to produce a generic method suitable to perform as well or better in a larger range of settings. In this study we focus on building a generic approach to create forest parameters maps and confirm its performance on a test site: a maritime pine (Pinus pinaster) forest located in south west of France. We investigated and assessed options related with the integration of multiple data sources (SAR L- and C-band, optical indexes and spatial texture indexes from Sentinel-1, Sentinel-2 and ALOS-PALSAR-2), feature extraction, feature selection and machine learning techniques. On our test case, we found that the combination of multiple open access data sources has synergistic benefits on the forest parameters estimates. The sensibility analysis shows that all the data participate to the improvements, that reach up to 13.7% when compared to single source estimates. Accuracy of the estimates is as follows: aboveground biomass (AGB) 28% relative RMSE, basal area (BA) 27%, diameter at breast height (DBH) 20%, age 17%, tree density 24%, and height 13%. Forward feature selection and SVR provided the best estimates. Future work will focus on validating this generic approach in different settings. It may prove beneficial to package the method, the tools, and the integration of open access data in order to make spatially accurate and regularly updated forest structure parameters maps effortlessly available to national bodies and forest organizations.
Testing the Ricardian Equivalence Theorem: Time Series Evidence from Greece

The paper explores the long-run relationship between government domestic borrowing and private savings for a small EU country. It represents an attempt to assess the relevance of Ricardian Equivalence in Greece. The empirical findings are that in accordance to the Ricardian Equivalence theorem prediction, government borrowing in Greece leads to an increase in household savings. However, the increased private savings do not completely offset increased government debt. In other words, contrary to the Ricardian Equivalence theorem, households to some extent perceive government bonds as net wealth and consequently increased their consumption. This behaviour can be thought as being the result of liquidity constraints faced by households and also myopic behaviour due to uncertainty regarding the future path of taxes.
Some biological aspects of penaeid shrimps inhabiting Yumurtalık Bight in İskenderun Bay (North-Eastern Mediterranean)

The species composition, size frequency distribution and length/weight relationships for each sex, size at first sexual maturity, and spawning seasons of the commercially important shrimp species inhabiting Yumurtalik Bight of the Nort-eastern Mediterranean were studied. Two penaeid shrimp species, Penaeus semisulcatus and Metapenaeus stebbingi, dominated the catches. Only a few individuals of Metapenaeus monoceros were captured during the study. The minimum size at first maturity was estimated to be 130 mm total length (TL) for P. semisulcatus and 55-60 mm TL for M. stebbingi. The size at which 50% of the population is mature is 36 mm carapace length (CL) for P. semisulcatus and 15.4 mm CL for M. stebbingi. The highest proportion of mature females was encountered between the early spring and summer months when mater temperatures were relatively high. Most mature spawners were captured at a water depth of 5-10 m for M. stebbingi and 20-30 m for P. semisulcatus. The results showed that while P. semisulcatus does not spawn in the bight in winter months, M. stebbingi was not present in the bight from September through the winter months.
Relevance of Qualitative Research in Disability

In order to believe anything around us, we have been asking ‘Is there a scientific evidence for it’. The scientific evidence for natural phenomenon is based on observable and measurable variables. From nineteenth century onwards, the traditional approach to social and behavioral research has been quantitative research. In fact, social research is based on several assumptions and these assumptions are often referred to as positivist and interpretivist (Bryman, 2001).
Bandwidth Selection in Kernel Density Estimation

In kernel density estimation, the most crucial step is to select a proper bandwidth (smoothing parameter). There are two conceptually different approaches to this problem: a subjective and an objective approach. In this report, we only consider the objective approach, which is based upon minimizing an error, defined by an error criterion. The most common objective bandwidth selection method is to minimize some squared error expression, but this method is not without its critics. This approach is said to not perform satisfactory in the tail(s) of the density, and to put too much weight on observations close to the mode(s) of the density. An approach which minimizes an absolute error expression, is thought to be without these drawbacks. We will provide a new explicit formula for the mean integrated absolute error. The optimal mean integrated absolute error bandwidth will be compared to the optimal mean integrated squared error bandwidth. We will argue that these two bandwidths are essentially equal. In addition, we study data-driven bandwidth selection, and we will propose a new data-driven bandwidth selector. Our new bandwidth selector has promising behavior with respect to the visual error criterion, especially in the cases of limited sample sizes.
Bayesian Hypothesis Testing: An Alternative to Null Hypothesis Significance Testing (NHST) in Psychology and Social Sciences

Since the mid-1950s, there has been a clear predominance of the Frequentist approach to hypothesis testing, both in psychology and in social sciences. Despite its popularity in the field of statistics, Bayesian inference is barely known and used in psychology. Frequentist inference, and its null hypothesis significance testing (NHST), has been hegemonic through most of the history of scientific psychology. However, the NHST has not been exempt of criticisms. Therefore, the aim of this chapter is to introduce a Bayesian approach to hypothesis testing that may represent a useful complement, or even an alternative, to the current NHST. The advantages of this Bayesian approach over Frequentist NHST will be presented, providing examples that support its use in psychology and social sciences. Conclusions are outlined.
Species composition, abundance and distribution of phytoplankton in the thermocline layer in the South China Sea, Area IV: Vietnamese waters

One hundred and eighty-five samples of phytoplankton were collected from 58 stations in the Vietnamese waters during 30 April – 29 May 1999 to investigated species composition, abundance and distribution in the thermocline layer compared with those in the surface layer. The samples were taken from surface, thermocline depth and chlorophyll maximum depth. In this study, thermocline depth and chlorophyll maximum depth were included in the thermocline layer. Three hundred and fiftyseven taxa, composed of 2 species of blue green alga, 159 species of diatoms and 161 species of dinoflagellates, were identified. The occurrence of species in each layer were recorded. The cell densities at chlorophyll maximum depth were highest among the sampling depths observed in most stations of the survey. Data obtained from the samples collected from surface to 150 m with 25 m interval to study vertical distribution indicates that maximum cell density of the water column presented between 60 – 110 m. The most abundance was 179,386 cells/l found at chlorophyll maximum depth near the Ca Mau Cape due to the bloom of many diatom species. Oscillatoria ( Trichodesmium ) erythraea, Proboscia alata, Pseudosolenia calcar-avis and Thalassionema frauenfeldii were dominant at all sampling depths. Five species of diatoms presented as dominant species only in the thermocline layer. Alexandrium was frequently found at surface through chlorophyll maximum depth in the south. Diversity and evenness indices of all sampling depths were high in the Gulf of Tonkin and decreased through the south of Vietnam. These indices were high in the thermocline layer.