Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Contrastive distortion‐level learning‐based no‐reference image‐quality assessment

A contrastive distortion‐level learning‐based no‐reference image‐quality assessment (NR‐IQA) framework is proposed in this study to further effectively model various distortion types with the same or different distortion levels. The proposed method aims to improve the prediction accuracy of NR‐IQA. The proposed method consists of three parts: multiscale distortion‐level representation learning, single‐image NR‐IQA, and a representation affinity module, which can reduce NR‐IQA computational complexity while maintaining a low‐distortion representation of high‐distortion inputs. The proposed NR‐IQA method aims to extract distributional features of samples in real distorted images and predict ambiguity based on distortion‐level learning. Experimental results show that by comparing on many NR‐IQA data sets the proposed method can outperform state‐of‐the‐art methods.
The Positive State and Positive Mindset in Building a Positive Relationship: A Review Paper

Romantic relationships have become one of the strongest predictors of life satisfaction and well-being as couples provide social and emotional support to one another. However, the level of intimacy between couples might decline due to increasing commitment over the years of marriage. When the level of intimacy decreases, negative consequences might happen which includes separation, divorce, as well as physical or mental health problems. It is common for individuals to get involved in romantic relationships; therefore, individuals need to understand the components that facilitate a positive relationship to minimize negative consequences from happening. Besides, having good romantic relationships enables individuals to be more satisfied with their life and improve their well-being. This paper discusses about the different factors that contribute to relationship satisfaction such as socioeconomic status, breadwinner arrangement in family, attachment styles, communication skills, physical appearance, cultural differences, duration of marriage and presence of children in marriage. This paper also specifically analyse and discuss how a positive state and mindset can contribute to positive relationships.
Stress Management Health Education and Relaxation Therapy Training for Children and Adolescents in Saint Beatrix Orphanage Sidoarjo

The Covid-19 pandemic has become a stressful situation for teenagers and children, thus affecting their health and immune system. Prolonged stress (chronic stress) impacts the body's immune system. Stress has an emotional, cognitive, physiological, and behavioural impact. Individuals with high-stress levels will have more difficulty manifesting positive thoughts, emotions, and behaviours. Good mental health is essential for a person to deal with stress in life and is vital in the physique health of adults and children. Therefore, community service was carried out to help with stress management and relaxation therapy. This community service aims to reduce stress among children and adolescents in Saint Beatrix orphanage Sidoarjo. This program involved thirty female children and adolescents in Saint Beatrix orphanage Sidoarjo. They took a pre-test, which indicated a low knowledge of stress management. The results showed that the participants had poor knowledge about stress management. Methods used for stress management education were lectures and discussions. Evaluation of the program successfully before and after the activity was measured after the participants filled out a questionnaire that measured their knowledge about stress management. Meanwhile, the evaluation of relaxation therapy training was carried out through demonstration. After conducting the program, it showed that the number of participants with a high level of knowledge went up to 77%. Based on the Wilcoxon Sign Rank Test result, it's known that the p-value = 0,000 with (ɑ<0.05), which means this program may enhance participants’ knowledge.
Interchangeability of floral volatiles in ternary lure combinations for catching three cetoniin chafer species (Coleoptera, Scarabaeidae)

In behavioural field experiments, we aimed to study the interchangeability of molecular structures, which only differ by single hydrogen, hydroxyl or methyl group from components of a known attractant blend of the flower damaging Epicometis hirta (Coleoptera, Scarabaeidae), and two other cetoniin occasional pests Cetonia aurata aurata and Potosia cuprea, typical to the fauna of Central and Southern Europe. Rac. 1‐phenethyl alcohol or methyl eugenol (of the known attractant blend of rac. 1‐phenethyl alcohol, (E)‐anethol and methyl eugenol) were replaced with structurally similar floral compounds widespread among plant families in general. All baited treatments caught significantly more of the three species compared with the unbaited control. The ternary blend containing 2‐phenethyl alcohol caught numerically the most of the three species and gave a significant increase compared with the basic blend with rac. 1‐phenethyl alcohol for C. a. aurata and E. hirta. Benzyl alcohol performed similarly well to 2‐phenethyl alcohol in catching C. a. aurata and P. cuprea, and it was superior to the blend with phenylacetaldehyde. On the contrary, for E. hirta, the treatment containing phenylacetaldehyde was better than the combination with benzyl alcohol, resulting in a similar effect to the blend with 2‐phenethyl alcohol. In another experiment, the known ternary blend including methyl eugenol performed numerically the best in attracting E. hirta compared with the blends with eugenol or isoeugenol, which results are congruent with the earlier findings on C. a. aurata and P. cuprea. Our work resulted in a single optimized attractant combination for all three cetoniin species that includes 2‐phenethyl alcohol, methyl eugenol and (E)‐anethol.
Combining degrees of impairment: the case of the index of Balthazard.

Using techniques for modeling indices by means of functional equations and resources from fuzzy set theory, the classical Balthazard index used in order to combine several degrees of impairment is characterized in two natural ways and its use is criticized. In addition some hints are given on how to study better solutions than Balthazard's one for the problem of com-bining impairment's degrees.
Transmission through correlated CunCoCun heterostructures

Over the years electronic structure theory has proven to be a powerful method with which one can probe the behaviour of materials, making it possible to describe and predict material properties. The numerical tools needed for these methods are always in need of development, since the desire to calculate more complex materials pushes this field forward. This thesis contains work on both this implementational and developmental aspects.It begins by reviewing density functional theory and dynamical mean field theory, with the aim of merging these two methods. We point out theoretical and technical issues that may occur while doing this. One issue is the Pade approximant, which is used for analytical continuation. We assess the approximant and point out difficulties that can occur, and propose and evaluate methods for their solution.The virial theorem is assessed within the framework of density functional theory merged with many-body methods. We find that the virial theorem is extended from its usual form, and confirm this by performing practical calculations.The unified theory of crystal structure for transition metals has been established a long time ago using early electronic structure calculations. Here we implement the first- principles exact muffin-tin orbitals method to investigate the structural properties of the 6d transition metals. The goal of our study is to verify the existing theory for the mostly unknown 6d series and the performance of the current state-of-the art in the case of heavy d metals. It is found that these elements behave similarly to their lighter counterparts, except for a few deviations. In these cases we argue that it is relativistic effects that cause this anomalous behaviour. Palladium is then studied, taking many-body effects into account. We find that we can reproduce experimental photoemission spectra by these methods, as well as the Fermi surface.The thesis ends with an investigation of the stacking fault energies of the strongly correlated metal cerium. In addition to providing the first ab-initio stacking fault data for the two cubic phases of Ce, we discuss how these results could have an impact on the interpretation of the phase diagram of cerium
Is Banking Concentration in CEMAC Socially Optimal?

The objective of this paper is to verify whether the structure of the CEMAC banking market tends towards a socially optimal concentration. The theoretical basis of this study is built around the debate between structuralists and Chicago School advocates. In order to carry out this work, we draw on the models of Chauveau and Saidane (1991) and Mirzaei and Moore (2014). The study covers all CEMAC countries over the period 2002-2019. The selected model is estimated by the lagged OLS of its explanatory variables and the 2SLS. We obtain the robust result that the structure of the CEMAC banking market does not tend towards a socially optimal concentration. In fact, banking concentration and control of corruption hinder competition among banks and hence, reduce satisfaction of customers. This occurs because CEMAC banking concentration was achieved through external growth, it is’nt result of banks. To this end, economic policy recommendations for further bank restructuring in CEMAC are proposed.
Deconstructing Hermann Hesse’s Narcissus and Goldmund with a cross-cultural lens

This paper is a qualitative thematic analysis of Hermann Hesse’s novel Narcissus and Goldmund with a cross-cultural theory framework, buttressed with concepts from Jungian psychology. The novel narrates the story of two medieval priests who are the exact opposite of but emotionally attached to each other. The paper demonstrates how various cultural themes that Hesse has engaged can shed light on the ways Western and Eastern societies make sense of the Self, the Other, and the everyday existential dilemmas. Based on Jungian psychology, we argue that Narcissus and Goldmund are not two distinct characters; instead, they are two aspects of the Self. The social construction of these two characters is the symbolic representation of the struggle to attain the deeper meanings of the Self. This struggle, what Jung called individuation, is the journey of the human soul into its own deepest spheres. Moreover, we note that the matrix of Hesse’s thought is the European interest in the Orient. Narcissus and Goldmund represent the anima and animus or the Yin and Yang of the conflict of self-realization. We conclude that a synthesis of Eastern and Western philosophies can offer both a fertile avenue and a rich toolkit for seeking deeper self-knowledge.
Analyzing Operational Flexibility of Power Systems

Operational flexibility is an important property of electric power systems and plays a crucial role for the transition of today's power systems, many of them based on fossil fuels, towards power systems that can efficiently accommodate high shares of variable Renewable Energy Sources (RES). The availability of sufficient operational flexibility in a given power system is a necessary prerequisite for the effective grid integration of large shares of fluctuating power in-feed from variable RES, especially wind power and Photovoltaics (PV). This paper establishes the necessary framework for quantifying and visualizing the technically available operational flexibility of individual power system units and ensembles thereof. Necessary metrics for defining power system operational flexibility, namely the power ramp-rate, power and energy capability of generators, loads and storage devices, are presented. The flexibility properties of different power system unit types, e.g. load, generation and storage units that are non-controllable, curtailable or fully controllable are qualitatively analyzed and compared to each other. Quantitative results and flexibility visualizations are presented for intuitive power system examples.
Soil microbiota explain differences in herbivore resistance between native and invasive populations of a perennial herb

Soil microbiota can either slow down or facilitate plant invasions through their effects on plant performance. Associations with soil microbiota can also modify other plant traits such as herbivore resistance, which can indirectly affect the outcome of plant introductions. We studied the effects of soil microbiota on the perennial herbaceous legume Lupinus polyphyllus that hosts nitrogen‐fixing mutualistic bacteria. We compared the plant performance, herbivore resistance and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) of plants from native (North American) and invasive (Finnish) populations of the species that were inoculated with intact or autoclaved soil from an invasive population. We found that plants of both origins greatly benefited from the intact soil inoculum with respect to all performance measures considered, suggesting that beneficial nitrogen‐fixing rhizobia in the soil play a major role in shaping plant phenotypes. For three traits, effects of the intact soil inoculum were stronger in plants of native origin than in plants of invasive origin (number of leaves, herbivore resistance and total biomass). With the intact soil inoculum, plants of invasive origin were more resistant to snails than plants of native origin. Strikingly, differences in resistance to snails between plants of different origins disappeared entirely when soil microbes were reduced. Soil inoculum treatment altered the composition of the leaf VOC bouquet similarly regardless of plant origin. Synthesis. These results demonstrate the ability of Lupinus polyphyllus to associate with and benefit from putatively novel soil microbiota including rhizobia, which has likely contributed to its invasion success. Furthermore, it appears that the invasive populations have adapted to be less reliant on their symbionts, which further facilitates species spread. To our knowledge, this is the first study to demonstrate that differences in herbivore resistance between native and invasive plant populations of the same species can depend entirely on soil microbiota.
Abordagem Fuzzy Valorada Intervalarmente para Classificação de Tráfego de Streaming de Vídeo

Este artigo contribui para a classificação do tráfego de streaming de vídeo explorando conceitos de Lógica Fuzzy Intervalar. Essa abordagem estende os trabalhos relacionados ao considerar as incertezas geradas pelas variações nas condições da rede e a imprecisão dos parâmetros que afetam o comportamento do fluxo da rede, o que aumenta a complexidade para alcançar maior acurácia na identificação do tráfego da rede. Algumas avaliações usando a abordagem de lógica intervalar para classificação de tráfego de streaming de vídeo são apresentadas com o uso de aplicações e datasets para validar a proposta.
Employees’ Perspectives on the Costs and Benefits of Organizations’ Environmental Initiatives

Employee participation is essential to organizations’ corporate social responsibility (CSR)-related environmental initiatives (EIs). Employees’ attitudes to participating in pro-environmental behaviors are addressed in workplace literature drawing upon the theory of planned behavior. However, antecedents to employees’ attitude formation, including perceptions of the costs and benefits of participating in EIs, have not been adequately researched. Greater understanding of EI attitude formation can support efforts to foster EI participation. This study explores employees’ perceptions of EI costs and benefits to employees personally, to their organization, and to society by applying goal framing theory. A sample of 120 survey participants described 150 initiatives and identified personal, organizational, and societal costs and benefits of the EIs. Cost and benefit categories are presented along with a taxonomy and themes. The findings of this study provide a reference point for researchers and managers in understanding how employees view EIs and how employees might be encouraged to participate.
Frequency-weighted 𝓛∞ norm and optimal Hankel norm model reduction

A new relative error model reduction method is proposed using frequency-weighted balanced realization, and explicit /spl Lscr//sub /spl infin// norm error bounds are also derived for the relative error and multiplicative error. The method only needs to solve two Lyapunov equations. It is further shown that this method is equivalent to the balanced stochastic truncation if the plant is square and minimum phase. This paper also gives a complete solution to the frequency-weighted Hankel norm approximation with antistable weighting. These results are then applied to /spl Lscr//sub /spl infin// norm model reduction, and several numerically effective algorithms are proposed. It is shown through many numerical examples that these algorithms work very well and in many cases produce almost optimal solutions. >
Distributed fusion of multitarget densities and consensus PHD/CPHD filters

The paper presents a theoretical approach to the multiagent fusion of multitarget densities based on the information-theoretic concept of Kullback-Leibler Average (KLA). In particular, it is shown how the KLA paradigm is inherently immune to double counting of data. Further, it is shown how consensus can effectively be adopted in order to perform in a scalable way the KLA fusion of multitarget densities over a peer-to-peer (i.e. without coordination center) sensor network. When the multitarget information available in each node can be expressed as a (possibly Cardinalized) Probability Hypothesis Density (PHD), application of the proposed KLA fusion rule leads to a consensus (C)PHD filter which can be successfully exploited for distributed multitarget tracking over a peer-to-peer sensor network.
Thermodynamic anomalies and structural fluctuations in aqueous solutions of tertiary butyl alcohol

In this work, we discuss the connection between the anomalies of the thermodynamic properties, experimentally observed in tertiary butyl alcohol (TBA) and water solutions, and the molecular clustering in these solutions, as revealed by molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. These anomalies are observed in relatively dilute solutions of about 0.03 to 0.08 mole fraction of TBA and become more pronounced at low temperatures. MD simulations show that these solutions exhibit shortranged (order of 1 nm), shortlived (tens of picoseconds) "micelle-like" structural fluctuations in the same concentration range. We attribute the anomalies in the thermodynamic properties of aqueous TBA solutions to these structural fluctuations on the molecular scale.
Search for Gluino-Mediated Supersymmetry in Events With Bottom-Quark Jets and Missing Transverse Energy With the Compact Muon Solenoid Detector at the Large Hadron Collider With Proton-Proton Collisions at 8 TeV

A search is presented for physics beyond the standard model based on events with significant missing transverse energy, at least three jets, and at least one identified bottom-quark jet. The study is based on a sample of19 fb-1 collected at 8 TeV with the CMS detector at the Large Hadron Collider in 2012.The background from standard model processes is evaluated using data control samples, and a global likelihood fit isperformed. The data are found to be consistent with standard model processes,and the results are interpreted in the context of simplified models (SMS). Upper limits on the production cross sections of the T1bbbb and T1ttttSMS new physics scenarios are determined. Gluino masses up to 1170 GeV are excluded for the T1bbbb scenario and up to 1020 GeV for the T1tttt scenario, at 95% confidence level.
Interaction between occupational radon exposure and tobacco smoke: a systematic review

ABSTRACT Introduction The risk of lung cancer from radon exposure was small compared to tobacco smoking (BEIR VI), but the relationship between these two carcinogenic agents has yet to be quantitatively estimated. The objective of this systematic review was to evaluate the last evidences on the role of radon occupational exposures and tobacco smoke on lung cancer risk. Areas covered Thirteen articles were selected using two different databases, PubMed and Scifinder, and were limited to those published from 2010 to 2021. The reference list of selected studies was reviewed to identify other relevant papers. Expert opinion Seven papers included in this systematic review did not deal with the multiplicative or the additive type of interaction between radon exposure and smoking habit. Six papers discussed the nature of this interaction with a prevalence of the sub-multiplicative model compared to the additive one. Altogether, smoking adjustment did not significantly change lung cancer risk. The included studies might constitute a starting point for updating the models for risk assessment in occupational and residential scenarios, promoting concomitantly the exposure reduction to radon and other cofactors, as recently introduced by Italian Legislative Decree number 101 of 31 July 2020, an application of Euratom Directive 59/2013. Plain Language Summary This paper offers an updated overview on lung cancer risk due to occupational exposure to radon together with tobacco smoking habits. It evidences the quantitative role of smoking on radon exposure and discusses their interaction. The results show that smoking adjustments do not significantly modify lung cancer risk at both high and low radon concentrations.
Elevated homocysteine and depression outcomes in patients with comorbid medical conditions in rural primary care

We examined the association of elevated concentration of total homocysteine (tHcy) with the severity of depression in patients diagnosed with depression and comorbid chronic medical conditions in rural primary care settings in Karnataka. Participants were included from the control arm of a cluster-randomized controlled trial designed to evaluate the effects of using a collaborative care model to integrate screening and treatment of primary health center patients. tHcy was assayed at baseline, and depression severity scores were assessed using the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) 6 months later. There was no difference in the mean PHQ-9 score between those with (mean PHQ = 7.4) and without (mean PHQ = 7.6) elevated tHcy levels (P = 0.67).
DE NOVO ASSEMBLY OF TUNG TREE SEEDS TRANSCRIPTOME

INTRODUCTION Tung oil, the major product of tung tree (Vernicia fordii) seeds, is considered one of the highest quality oils. The tung seeds accumulate high levels of α-eleostearic acid (approximately 80 %), a trienoic fatty acid with conjugated double bonds (9cis, 11trans, 13trans octadecatrienoic acid), that is widely used in paints, high quality printing, plasticizers, medicine, and in chemical reagents. Moreover, because tung seeds accumulate high content of oil (approximately 50 %), it has being recently considered for use in biodiesel production. However, large-scale production of tung oil through traditional farming is hampered because of the poor agronomic traits of this plant species (PARK et al., 2008; SHANG et al., 2010). Therefore, increasing the yield and adjusting characters of tung oil are the major challenges for industry. Over the past several years, we have greatly improved our understanding of a plethora of biological processes. Transcriptome sequencing is an efficient methodology for large scale gene discovery, molecular markers development, genomic and transcriptomic assembly, and microarray development (VENTURINI et al., 2013). To provide a comprehensive and accurate foundation for molecular studies of tung tree, herein we present the reference transcriptome dataset of V. fordii mature seeds, assembled and annotated from deep RNA-Seq data. This study represents the first large-scale transcriptome annotation of tung tree.