Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Theological Mediation of the Current Alterity in Western Naturalisation Policy, Immigration Control and Global Diaspora

This paper explores how theological exegesis of Genesis 20 vs. 1-18 texts, and the book of Ruth can be applied in the context of mediating the harsh western citizenship and naturalisation policy, immigration rules and the global diaspora, bearing in mind the key prospects of theological reflection and how they find expressions in addressing problems within the complex human society. The primacy of Biblical texts and narratives as a tool for interrogating and addressing issues of concern within the diverse human, political, economic and socio-cultural contexts is incontrovertible. The overriding intention of hermeneutics in relation to theological pedagogy and dialectics has in fact been to determine how the reading and interpretation of literary works in general and Biblical texts and narratives in particular, have shaped and transformed patterns and outcomes of human behaviours. This is in terms of actions and responsibility – how human beings understand their world, the diversities and dimensions of their experiences, how they express interpersonal, intertribal, interreligious, interregional and international relationships, and how they are able to resolve conflicts and crises that are part and parcel of their experiences and interactions. Thus, it is believed that theological framing of ideas, and logical postulations especially in synthesising knowledge and transforming critical understanding of concepts, paradigms and theories from a synergy of interdisciplinary discourse can be useful in addressing global ethnographic alterity. Indeed, interdisciplinary discourses that couple environmental sciences, theology and law have established a long presence as an academic discourse. However, the increasing manifestations of alterity in immigration and naturalisation policies within the western world raises key question in relation to how to bring to bear the cultural, political, legal, environmental and moral significance of the meanings that are being derived from the texts and narratives that make up the Bible.
Hybrid Methods for Reducing Database Schema Test Suites: Experimental Insights from Computational and Human Studies

Given that a relational database is a critical component of many software applications, it is important to thoroughly test the integrity constraints of a database’s schema, because they protect the data. Although automated test data generation techniques ameliorate the otherwise manual task of database schema testing, they often create test suites that contain many, sometimes redundant, tests. Since prior work presented a hybridized test suite reduction technique, called STICCER, that beneficially combined Greedy test suite reduction with a test merging method customized for database schemas, this paper experimentally evaluates a different hybridization. Motivated by prior results showing that test suite reduction with the Harrold-Gupta-Soffa (HGS) method can be more effective than Greedy at reducing database schema test suites, this paper evaluates an HGS-driven STICCER variant with both a computational and a human study. Using 34 database schemas and tests created by two test data generators, the results from the computational study reveal that, while STICCER is equally efficient and effective when combined with either Greedy or HGS, it is always better than the isolated use of either Greedy or HGS. Involving 27 participants, the human study shows that, when compared to test suites reduced by HGS, those reduced by a STICCER-HGS hybrid allow humans to inspect test cases faster, but not always more accurately.
Preliminary CANREB Beamline Commissioning Results

Commissioning of the CANREB (CANadian Rare isotope facility with Electron Beam ion source) at TRIUMF has recently begun through the EBIS (Electron Beam Ion Source) injection/extraction beamline. Throughout commissioning it is essential to have a means of verifying beam quality and ensuring that the required beam parameters along the beamline are met. This is accomplished using Tomography reconstruction, which consists of taking one-dimensional (1-D) scans at different projections and reconstructing an image of the beam in two-dimensions (2-D) using the MENT (Maximum ENTropy) algorithm. Tomography enables the visualization of the shape of the beam as well as the investigation into the possible presence of aberrations. The Tomography studies performed throughout this project focus primarily on the properties of the Test Ion source, the emittance through the RFQ (Radio Frequency Quadrupole) and the beam intensity measured by the Faraday Cups, all in order to ensure that the elements in the beamline function properly.
Additional microsatellite DNA markers for varietal identification and detection of adulteration in Basmati rice

Availability of markers that distinguish commercially important premium Basmati rice varieties from cheaper Basmati or non-Basmati indica rice varieties is of interest to exporters, commercial suppliers and consumers to ensure the varietal purity of Basmati rice supplies. In this study, a fingerprint database of 27 rice varieties including commercially important traditional Basmati (TB), cross-bred (evolved) Basmati and some non-Basmati indica rice varieties has been prepared using 50 microsatellite markers. A total of 271 electromorphs (alleles) were detected at 50 SSR (simple sequence repeat) loci, 92 of which were observed only in 2–10 of the 16 Basmati rice varieties. Notably, 7–10 of the sixteen Basmati rice varieties had the same Basmati specific electromorphs at RM562, RM551 and RM547 loci. Alarge number of unique (22) and null (16) electromorphs were noticed in Basmati rice varieties. A combination of four SSR markers (RM224, RM248, RM547 and RM594) can be used to differentiate all the 27 rice varieties. Specific SSR markers have been identified for the authentication of Premium Basmati rice cultivars such as Taraori Basmati (RM547, RM594 and RM511), Basmati 370 (RM252, RM426 and RM527), Karnal Local (RM248, RM423 and RM488) and Pusa 1121 (RM252, RM400 and RM410), and for the detection of adulterant like Sharbati (RM215, RM423 and RM259). SSR database reported here, shall broaden the list of SSR markers already recommended for varietal identification and detection of adulteration in Basmati rice supplies.
TaqI B1/B2 and -629A/C cholesteryl ester transfer protein (CETP) gene polymorphisms and their association with CETP activity and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels in a Tehranian population. Part of the Tehran Lipid and Glucose Study (TLGS)

We examined the cholesteryl ester transfer protein (CETP) gene TaqI intron 1 B1/B2 polymorphism and the -629A/C CETP promoter polymorphism in respect to high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) in a healthy Iranian population taken from the Tehran Lipid and Glucose Study (TLGS). The relationship between CETP activity and HDL-C level was also determined along with body mass index, blood pressure and tobacco smoking status. PCR-RFLP used to amplify a segment of the CETP intron 1 TaqI (B2/B1) polymorphism from 1021 individuals and we selected 345 individuals from the lowest, middle and highest HDL-C deciles and investigated the -629A/C polymorphism. We also evaluated the CETP activity of 103 of these individuals, each with at least one homozygous allele. The presence of the TaqI B2 and -629A/C A alleles were significantly associated with increased HDL-C levels (B2B2 = 1.19 ± 0.31 mmolL-1 vs. B1B1 = 1.01 ± 0.2 mmol L-1 for p < 0.001; AA = 1.15 ± 0.41 mmol L-1 vs. CC = 0.95 ± 0.28 mmol L-1 for p < 0.001) and decreased the CETP activity (B1B1 = 67.8 ± 8.9 pmol L-1 vs. B2B2 = 62.6 ± 9.6 pmol L-1 for p < 0.01; CC = 68.6 ± 8.4 pmol L-1 vs. AA = 62.7 ± 9.7 pmol L-1 for p < 0.002). The frequencies were 0.382 for the TaqI B2 allele and 0.462 for the -629A/C A allele, with linkage disequilibrium analysis giving D = 0.0965 and D' = 0.4695. We demonstrated that the TaqI B1 and B2 alleles and the -629A/C A and C alleles were in linkage disequilibrium in our population and that there was a significant association between the B2 and A alleles and high HDL-C levels and low CETP activity. Linkage disequilibrium between the TaqI A and B2 alleles also detected.
Identifying barriers and inconsistencies in laws affecting pain management in Georgia

Background: While there is a wide dispute in developed countries regarding long-term treatment of the different conditions or diseases with opioids, countless incurable patients in terminal stages of the disease lack access to essential medicines and suffer from unrelieved pain in other parts of the world. Whereas it is possible to manage pain effectively by available medications and evidence-based knowledge, where opioids are considered as most effective drugs to treat moderate to severe pain, access to pain medications still remains undefeated problem in many countries due to unclear country policies and strict regulations. Efforts to improve availability and accessibility of opioid analgesics (OAs), critical for severe pain relief, started a decade ago in Georgia. Despite some liberalization of the legislation, the situation hasn’t improved much and the morphine consumption rates, remain critically low. Aim: To highlight the impediments and discrepancies in Georgian legislation influencing pain management. Methodology: The opioid regulating legislation (Law, orders and Governmental decisions) for pain treatment was analyzed in regard with barriers to opioid availability and accessibility: 1. Guided by and compared to internationally recognized indicators, to check the compliance of the national policy with the 1961 single convention on narcotic substances and the principle of balanced policy. Regulations which can impede opioid availability and accessibility 2. And through the prism of inconsistencies within the Georgian legislation itself. Results: We identified numerous examples of potential barriers to OAs availability in the Georgian legislation. Georgian policies regarding pain management are mostly bent to benefit the preventative measures. The barriers include limits to the duration of therapy per prescription; place of therapy; authority to prescribe OAs, prescription form availability; patient eligibility and so on. We also found several conflicting inconsistencies, impeding opioid accessibility, in current legislation governing OA use for medical purposes. Conclusion: The Georgian legislation do not correspondence to the Single Convention and do not reflect the principle of balance. The regulations are over restrictive and unclear, containing contradictory standards. The Government should take responsibility to address the legislative issues, make adequate pain management available for incurable patients and stop unnecessary suffering from intolerable pain. (TCM-GMJ October 2018; 3(2):P19-P30)
Ileal digestibility of amino acids in feed ingredients for broilers

To more precisely formulate feed and predict animal performance, it is important to base both the recommendations and feed formulations on digestible rather than total amino acid contents. Most published data on the digestibility of amino acids in feed ingredients for poultry are based on excreta digestibility. Ileal digestibility is an alternative and preferred approach to estimate amino acid availability in feed ingredients. Both methodologies are described and assessed. In addition, the differences between apparent and standardised (in which corrections are made for basal endogenous losses) digestible amino acid systems are discussed. The concept of a standardised digestibility system as a mean of overcoming the limitations of apparent digestibility estimates is proposed. In this context, different methodologies for the determination of basal endogenous amino acid losses are discussed. Although each methodology suffers from some limitations and published data on endogenous losses at the ileal level in growing poultry are limited, averaged data from repeated experiments using the ‘enzymatically hydrolysed casein’ method are considered as the best measure of basal losses. Standardised ileal amino acid digestibility values of 17 feed ingredients commonly used in broiler nutrition are presented including grains (barley, corn, sorghum, triticale, wheat), grain by-products (wheat middlings, rice pollard), plant protein sources (soybean meal, canola meal, corn gluten meal, cottonseed meal, lupins, peas/beans, sunflower meal), and animal by-products (feather meal, fish meal, meat and bone meal). This comprehensive set of the ileal amino acid digestibility of feed ingredients in broiler nutrition may serve as a basis for the establishment of the system in broiler feeding and for further research.
Viral vs. Effective: Utility Based Influence Maximization

The computational problem of Influence maximization concerns the selection of an initial set of nodes in a social network such that, by sending this set a certain message, its exposure through the network will be the highest. We propose to study this problem from a utilitarian point of view. That is, we study a model where there are two types of messages; one that is more likely to be propagated but gives a lower utility per user obtaining this message, and another that is less likely to be propagated but gives a higher utility. In our model the utility from a user that receives both messages is not necessarily the sum of the two utilities. The goal is to maximize the overall utility. Using an analysis based on bisubmodular functions, we show a greedy algorithm with a tight approximation ratio of 12 . We develop a dynamic programming based algorithm that is more suitable to our setting and show through extensive simulations that it outperforms the greedy algorithm.
WP.41 ENGLISH ONLY UNITED NATIONS STATISTICAL COMMISSION and ECONOMIC COMMISSION FOR EUROPE CONFERENCE OF EUROPEAN STATISTICIANS

1. Compositional data analysis has been the subject of a number of papers, pioneered by J. Aitchison [1] over the past twenty years. As a methodology of statistical investigation, compositional analysis finds application in all cases where the main object of interest is an n-dimensional variate x, whose components are strictly positive continuous real variables, to be regarded as portions of a total amount κ, i.e. they belong to the n-dimensional simplex
Formal Models of Bank Cards for Free

Learning techniques allow the automatic inference of the behaviour of a system as a finite state machine. We demonstrate that learning techniques can be used to extract such formal models from software on banking smartcards which - as most bank cards do - implement variants of the EMV protocol suite. Such automated reverse-engineering, which only observes the smartcard as a black box, takes little effort and is fast. The finite state machine models obtained provide a useful insight into decisions (or indeed mistakes) made in the design and implementation, and would be useful as part of security evaluations - not just for bank cards but for smartcard applications in general - as they can show unexpected additional functionality that is easily missed in conformance tests.
COMMUTATOR OF THE QUARK MASS MATRICES IN THE STANDARD ELECTROWEAK MODEL AND A MEASURE OF MAXIMAL CP-VIOLATION

The structure of the quark mass matrices in the Standard Electroweak Model is investigated. The commutator of the quark mass matrices is found to provide a convention independent measure of CP-violation. The question of maximal CP-violation is discussed. The present experimental data indicate that CP is nowhere maximally violated. One of the outstanding problems in physics is that of "explaining" the quark masses and mixings. The standard Electroweak Model, in spite of its dazzlina empirical successes, provides only a partial solution to this problem by predicting that the quark mixing matrix is unitary. However, the values of the mixing parameters or the quark masses cannot be predicted. For example, if there are three families the mass matrices m and m (referring respective, to charge 2/3 and -1/3 quarks) are arbitrary three by th: natrices. A gedanken diagonalization of these matrices is •-. ;r posed to yield the quark masses, i.e.,
A 6- W Chip-Area-Efficient Output-Capacitorless LDO in 90-nm CMOS Technology

An output-capacitorless low-dropout regulator (LDO) compensated by a single Miller capacitor is implemented in a commercial 90-nm CMOS technology. The proposed LDO makes use of the small transistors realized in nano-scale technology to achieve high stability, fast transient performance and small voltage spikes under rapid load-current changes without the need of an off-chip capacitor connected at the LDO output. Experimental result verifies that the proposed LDO is stable for a capacitive load from 0 to 50 pF (estimated equivalent parasitic capacitance from load circuits) and with load capability of 100 mA. Moreover, the gain-enhanced structure provides sufficient loop gain to improve line regulation to 3.78 mV/V and load regulation to 0.1 mV/mA, respectively. The embedded voltage-spike detection circuit enables pseudo Class-AB operation to drive the embedded power transistor promptly. The measured power consumption is only 6 W under a 0.75-V supply. The maximum overshoot and undershoot under a 1.2-V supply are less than 66 mV for full load current changes within 100-ns edge time, and the recovery time is less than 5 s.
ECPR General Conference

This paper analyses the evolution and determinants of transparency in the 100 largest Spanish municipalities for the period of 2008-2012. The study employed two statistical models; the pooled Ordinary Least Squares regression (OLS) and Least Squares Dummy Variables estimator (LSDV) or panel data fixed time effect regression. The analysis indicates that transparency is associated both with certain socio-economic and political factors. Considering the time effect, the size of the population, the unemployment rate, political ideology, political strength and political rivalry has a significant effect on the level of transparency. For other variables like investment, fiscal pressure and budget balance we do not find significant evidence of its effect on the level of transparency, in the period under analysis. The variables that best explain the variation in the level of transparency, in the period of economic and financial crisis, are those mainly associated with political factors.
A boundary optimal control identification problem

Optimal control methods are applied in various problems and can be efficient also for solving inverse problems, such as parameter identification and boundary control which arise in many important applications. For boundary optimal control methods one can identify conditions on an inaccessible part of the boundary by letting them play the role of a control variable function and by overimposing boundary conditions at another part of the boundary of the given domain. The paper shows a mathematical formulation of the problem, the arising (regularized) Karush-Kuhn-Tucker (KKT) system and introduces a preconditioner for this system. The spectral analysis of the preconditioner and numerical tests with preconditioning are included. 1 Parameter identification problems An important type of optimal control problems are problems where one must identify some unknown boundary conditions on a part of the boundary, for instance where a part of some equipment is not accessible for measurements. Another important class of problems arise if one needs to identify some material dependent coefficients in a differential equation. For various types of corresponding inverse problems, see [9]. To identify the unknown boundary conditions, one can overimpose boundary values at an accessible part of the domain and introduce a control variable to represent the missing boundary data. For an example of such a problem in connection with heat flow, see [10, 11, 8, 9]. For some earlier uses of optimal control methods for differential equation constraints and related preconditioners, see [3, 2]. The arising first order necessary optimality condition can be reduced to a two-by-two block operator system of equations, the discretized form of which is solved by an iterative method. Thereby a very efficient preconditioning method is used, each application of which involves the solution of two systems consisting of the discretized second order differential equation operator added to a
Extraction and Characterization of Chitin and Chitosan from Parapenaeus longirostris from Moroccan Local Sources

The contents of the exoskeleton of Parapenaeus longirostris from Moroccan local sources were analyzed and the percentages of inorganic salt, protein, lipid, and chitin were determined. Chitin in the α form was extracted from Parapenaeus longirostris shells by 0.25 M HCl and 1 M NaOH treatment for demineralization and deproteinization, respectively. The obtained chitin was converted into the more useful soluble chitosan. The chemical structure and physico-chemical properties of chitin and chitosan were characterized using Fourier transform-infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy, X-ray diffractometry (XRD), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The molecular weight (MW) of chitosan was determined by viscometric methods. The degree of acetylation (DA) of chitin and chitosan was determined by the 1H NMR technique. To the best of our knowledge this is the first report on the extraction and characterization of chitin and chitosan from Parapenaeus longirostris.