Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Chemical and Optical Properties of Atmospheric Aerosols during the Polluted Periods in a Megacity in the Yangtze River Delta, China

ABSTRACT The chemical composition and optical properties of particulate matter (PM) were characterized in an urban-industrial area of Nanjing, China, in January 2015, when heavily polluted periods frequently occurred. Only 30% of the days fulfilled the National Ambient Air Quality Standards of China. The average scattering and absorption coefficients at 532 nm during the polluted periods were 620 ± 320 Mm–1 and 102 ± 57 Mm–1. An increasing relative fraction of the large size PM during the polluted periods can be deduced from the variations of the scattering Angstrom exponent, backscattering ratio, and asymmetry factor. The mean mass concentrations of NO3–, SO42– and NH4+ in PM2.5 during the polluted periods were 32.87 ± 17.76 µg m–3, 23.6 ± 13.2 µg m–3, and 19.4 ± 10.1 µg m–3, respectively. NO3–, SO42– and NH4+ were the dominant water-soluble ions (WSIs) and accounted for 87% of the total ion concentration. Nitrate and organic matter (OM) dominated the aerosol composition during the polluted periods. The averaged organic carbon/elementary carbon ratios during the polluted and the cleaner periods were 3.6 and 4.3, respectively, consistent with a mix of primary emissions and secondary organic aerosol formation. Organic matter and ammonium nitrate (AN) were the dominant species contributing to light extinction during the polluted periods, contributing values of 159 ± 63 Mm–1 and 156 ± 91 Mm–1, respectively.
Pitch accent types and tonal alignment of the accentual rise in Indian English(es)

The paper presents an analysis of pitch accent inventory and tonal alignment of the accentual rise in the speech of university educated Indian English speakers from four L1 backgrounds (Hindi, Bengali, Tamil and Telugu). The results reveal that all speakers produced a high and a rising pitch accent, but with differences in the distribution of H* vs. L*+H among speakers. In addition, L1 speakers of Hindi and Bengali used L*+H in both nuclear and prenuclear contexts, contrary to the speech of L1 Telugu and Tamil speakers, who frequently produced the H* accent on nuclear accented words. An examination of peak alignment provides further evidence that the accentual rise corresponds to a bitonal pitch accent; the alignment of the H tone however shows a large degree of intra- and inter-speaker variation, and earlier timed peaks relative to the accented syllable offset for L1 Tamil speakers.
A game of asymmetric information between a therapist and a mentally ill patient

In this paper, we follow up research of Vatne [23] related to how mentally ill patients could (and perhaps should) be treated. We propose, model, and analyze a simple sequential game of incomplete and asymmetric information where the patient moves first, signaling behavior which is observed by the therapist with lack or limited knowledge of the actual patient type. We assume greatly approximated strategy spaces both for patient and therapist, but will still claim that our results increase knowledge of this important relation. Knowledge that may be critically important in continued improved treatment of patients with mental illness.
Do open star clusters evolve towards energy equipartition

We investigate whether open clusters (OCs) tend to energy equipartition, by means of direct N-body simulations with a broken power-law mass function. We nd that the simulated OCs become strongly mass segregated, but the local velocity dispersion does not depend on the stellar mass for most of the mass range: the curve of the velocity dispersion as a function of mass is nearly at even after several half-mass relaxation times, regardless of the adopted stellar evolution recipes and Galactic tidal eld model. This result holds both if we start from virialized King models and if we use clumpy sub-virial initial conditions. The velocity dispersion of the most massive stars and stellar remnants tends to be higher than the velocity dispersion of the lighter stars. This trend is particularly evident in simulations without stellar evolution. We interpret this result as a consequence of the strong mass segregation, which leads to Spitzer’s instability. Stellar winds delay the onset of the instability. Our simulations strongly support the result that OCs do not attain equipartition, for a wide range of initial conditions.
Polarization microscopy: from the past to assisted reproduction techniques

Embryo viability is a key element for success in assisted reproduction. Since the beginning of the era of assisted reproduction treatment, embryo viability was mostly considered to be a function of developmental progression during the preimplantation phase. In the last decade, several morphological criteria of oocytes and embryos were evaluated with regard to their potential for predicting embryo viability. The introduction of polarization light microscopy systems in assisted reproduction has enabled the detection of structures within oocytes that possess a natural birefringence. Birefringence imaging of the meiotic spindle and the zona pellucida in living animal and human oocytes represents a new approach in the assessment of oocyte and embryo viability. The technique was applied in several studies to select oocytes in order to improve treatment success. This review will summarize the present knowledge of birefringence imaging. The various applications in basic and clinical research as well as in clinical treatment will be presented, especially with regard to their effect on assisted reproduction.
Characterising reproductive barriers between three closely related Heliconius butterfly taxa.

Abstract Debates about the possibility of divergence in the face of gene flow have been an ongoing feature in the field of speciation. However, recent theoretical studies and examples in nature have demonstrated evidence for such a process. Much research now focuses on finding more evidence of reinforcement such as stronger isolation in sympatric populations. Genomic studies have also been investigating the role of gene flow in sympatric speciation and the formation of islands of divergence. Heliconius butterflies offer extensive opportunities to answer such questions. Here, I test whether male colour pattern preference and female host plant preference act as reproductive barriers in three Heliconius taxa with varying degrees of geographic overlap. Further experiments on the F2 hybrids of two of these taxa aimed to identify the underlying genomic architecture of these traits. My results suggest that male colour pattern preference and host preference are acting as reproductive barriers. Stronger differences between the sympatric species were found demonstrating evidence for reinforcement and divergence with gene flow. Initial analyses of the F2 hybrid phenotypes suggest that several loci control these traits and pave the way for future genetic analyses to further understand the role of gene flow in speciation.
Density functional theory with nonlocal correlation: A key to the solution of the CO adsorption puzzle

We study the chemisorption of CO molecule into sites of different coordination on (111) surfaces of late $4d$ and $5d$ transition metals. In an attempt to solve the well-known CO adsorption puzzle, i.e., discrepancies of adsorption site preferences with experiment which appear in the standard density functional theory calculations, we have applied the relatively new van der Waals-density functional of nonlocal correlation. In all considered cases this reduces or completely solves the site preference discrepancies and improves the value of the adsorption energy. By introducing a cutoff distance for nonlocal interaction we can pinpoint the length scale at which the correlation plays a major role in the systems considered.
Mass transfer between eastern Tien Shan and adjacent basins (central Asia): constraints on regional tectonics and topography

SUMMARY Using depths and ages derived from isopachs, drill-holes or cross-sections, it is possible to reconstruct the space-time depositional history of a sedimentary basin. Drill holes and cross-sections give the local sedimentation history, while isopachs allow the definition of the spatial distribution of the sediments. Assuming several simple hypotheses, such as similarity of the strata and regional applicability of results derived from local analyses, one can reconstruct balanced maps of the solid (or grain) volumes, and hence the mass of sediments deposited during several time intervals since the Palaeogene. Applying this method to the Tarim and Dzungar basins (NW China), we estimate the total Cenozoic solid-phase volume and mass of sediments stored to be 1358 f 520 x lo3 km3 (36.7 f 14 x 1017 kg) and 172 f 56 x lo3 km3 (4.6 f 1.5 x 1017 kg) respectively. The reconstruction also enables us to detect two main pulses in the sedimentation. The first, around 17 Ma, affected only the northern part of the Tarim Basin (also known as the Kucha or Kuche Depression) at the foot of the Tien Shan Mountains and supports the idea that the presently active shortening regime in that range started at that time. The second, 5 to 6 Ma, affected most of the depositional areas of the region and may have an even greater geographical extent. Assuming local isostasy, we estimate the volume of shortening induced by the rotation of the Tarim block relative to Siberia and stored in the range and adjacent basins to be between 1.15 x lo6 and 4.23 x lo6 km3. This correspbnds to a clockwise rotation of between 2.5" and 8.7". We use these results in two simple models of self-similar growth of pyramidal topographies that approximately fit the eastern Tien Shan.
Anisotropy and probe-medium interactions in the microrheology of nematic fluids

A theoretical formalism is presented to analyze and interpret microrheology experiments in anisotropic fluids with nematic order. The predictions of that approach are examined in the context of a simple coarse-grained molecular model which is simulated using nonequilibrium molecular dynamics calculations. The proposed formalism is used to study the effect of confinement, the type of anchoring at the probe-particle surface, and the strength of the nematic field on the rheological response functions obtained from probe-particle active microrheology. As expected, a stronger nematic field leads to increased anisotropy in the rheological response of the material. It is also found that the defect structures that arise around the probe particle, which are determined by the type of anchoring and the particle size, have a significant effect on the rheological response observed in microrheology simulations. Independent estimates of the bulk dynamic modulus of the model nematic fluid considered here are obtained from small-amplitude oscillatory shear simulations with Lees–Edwards boundary conditions. The results of simulations indicate that the dynamic modulus extracted from particle-probe microrheology is different from that obtained in the absence of the particle, but that the differences decrease as the size of the defect also decreases. Importantly, the results of the nematic microrheology theory proposed here are in much closer agreement with simulations than those from earlier formalisms conceived for isotropic fluids. As such, it is anticipated that the theoretical framework advanced in this study could provide a useful tool for interpretation of microrheology experiments in systems such as liquid crystals and confined macromolecular solutions or gels.
Survey on Energy Efficient Routing Protocol in Wireless Sensor Network

Wireless Sensor Networks have an expanded length of applications but there are hurdles with many asserting issues and complications that should be addressed. The power exhaustion of the nodes and the broadening of the network life span are the basic challenges. As the sensor nodes are devices with limited energy, limited bandwidth and limited computing power, so the top interest is always about how to minimize the energy depletion to extend its lifetime and thus the lifespan of the WSN. In the past few years WSNs has achieved an appreciable amount of consideration from both the research associations and the real users. The experimenter also proposed various energy optimization routing protocols to acquire the desired network operations. In this paper there is an endeavor to present a wide analogy of the routing protocols in WSNs focusing on the hierarchical or clustering based routing protocols. Moreover, deriving the pros and cons of each protocol, giving a comparison among them on the basis of parameters like scalability, mobility, power usage, robustness etc. to make it comprehensible and easy to select the most suitable one as per the requirement of the network.
RAS Modeling of a Large InfiniBand Switch System

Computer clusters or grids constructed from open and standard commercial off the shelf (COTS) systems now dominate the top 500 supercomputer sites (Top500, 2008), providing an attractive way to rapidly construct high performance computing (HPC) systems of interconnected nodes. The largest of these HPC systems are now driving toward petascale deployments, delivering petaflops of computational capacity and petabytes of storage capacity. However, designing and building these large HPC systems involves significant challenges, including:  Rapidly building and expanding the computational capacity of HPC clusters to meet growing demands  Increasing levels of computational density while staying within constrained envelopes of power and cooling  Reducing complexity and cost for physical infrastructure and management  Implementing interconnect technology that can connect hundreds or thousands of processors without introducing unacceptable levels of latency
The Domany-Kinzel cellular automaton revisited

New analytic and numerical results for the one-dimensional Domany-Kinzel cellular automaton are presented. Analytically we show that the qualitative features of the phase diagram, including the new phase recently found by Martins et al., can be predicted by going one-step beyond the mean field approximation. Numerically we find unusual finite size effects which make the extrapolations to the thermodynamic limit difficult
Recognition and Enhancement of Speech under Noisy Conditions

In this work we can see the influence of stress on speech signal and compare the features such as MFCC, LAR, LPC and recognize the speech using Vector Quantization (VQ) method under stressed or noisy conditions. The main objective of this paper is to robust the speech in diverse conditions and to get a robust speech we have to reduce the noise and enhance the speech. Here we have used Adaptive winner filter with DD,TSNR and HRNR methods for enhancement of noisy speech(car, babble, street noise) by considering SNR of 0 dB,5 dB and 10 dB conditions and compared the method by considering CD (Cepstral Distance) and segmental SNR.
The Impact of Urban Inequalities on Monitoring Progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals: Methodological Considerations

There is much discussion regarding the Sustainable Development Goals’ (SDGs) capacity to promote inclusive development. While some argue that they represent an opportunity for goal-led alignment of stakeholders and evidence-based decision-making, other voices express concerns as they perceive them as a techno-managerial framework that measures development according to quantitatively defined parameters and does not allow for local variation. We argue that the extent to which the positive or negative aspects of the SDGs prevail depends on the monitoring system’s ability to account for multiple and intersecting inequalities. The need for sub-nationally (urban) representative indicators poses an additional methodological challenge—especially in cities with intra-urban inequalities related to socio-spatial variations across neighbourhoods. This paper investigates the extent to which the SDG indicators’ representativeness could be affected by inequalities. It does so by proposing a conceptual framing for understanding the relation between inequalities and SDG monitoring, which is then applied to analyse the current methodological proposals for the indicator framework of the “urban SDG,” Goal 11. The outcome is a call for (1) a more explicit attention to intra-urban inequalities, (2) the development of a methodological approach to “recalibrate” the city-level indicators to account for the degree of intra-urban inequalities, and (3) an alignment between methodologies and data practices applied for monitoring SDG 11 and the extent of the underlying inequalities within the city. This would enable an informed decision regarding the trade-off in indicator representativeness between conventional data sources, such as censuses and household surveys, and emerging methods, such as participatory geospatial methods and citizen-generated data practices.
Role of dopants as a carrier suppressor and strong oxygen binder in amorphous indium-oxide-based field effect transistor

In this review, we discuss the recent developments of high-performance and improved-stability of indium-oxide-based transparent amorphous-oxide semiconductor (TAOS) thin-film transistors (TFTs) properties. TAOSs are widely explored with the aim of producing high-performance semiconductors suitable for the channel layer of TFTs which enable to survive under light and thermal-bias-induced stress conditions. Numerous TAOSs have been invented with some improved performance characteristics of TFTs such as mobility, light and thermal induced bias stress. However, there has been no clear elucidation of the mechanisms driving these improvements. In this review, we discuss the progression of innovations of high performance indium-oxide-based TAOS TFTs from its first reported amorphous indium gallium zinc oxide (a-IGZO) to present, and their properties that are correlated with the Lewis acid strength ( L ) and bonding strength of dopant and oxygen as a carrier suppressor and strong binder. The proposed mechanism can be practical to develop novel TAOS TFTs with high mobility and stability.
Effect of serum triglycerides on LDL estimation by Friedewald formula and direct assay: a laboratory based study

Introduction: A long standing association exists between elevated serum LDL and cardiovascular disease. Studies have suggested that, increased LDL in serum is the major contributor to vascular complications of other diseases like diabetes mellitus, its measurement is recommended in routine clinical practice. Currently, estimation of LDL cholesterol is done in the clinical laboratories using Friedewald equation to make the lipid profile cost effective. However, it has been highlighted that calculated LDL is not reliable when serum triglyceride (TG) levels exceed 400mg/dl. Objective of the study: To compare estimated LDL by homogenous method with calculated LDL by Friedewald equation in lipid profile requests and to compare the same in different groups of triglyceride levels. Materials and Methods: About 260 lipid profile requests of both the genders aged between 25-75 years were considered for the study. Total cholesterol, triglycerides, HDL-cholesterol, LDL -cholesterol was estimated in the serum spectrophotometrically. LDL-C was also calculated using Freidewald formula. The Data thus collected was segregated based on triglycerides into three groups, Group I (TG ≤150mg/dl) Group II (TG 151-399 mg/dl) and Group III (TG ≥400 mg/dl). Results:LDL determined by direct assay correlated highly with calculated LDL in all subjects irrespective of the TG levels. Correlation coefficients being 0.96, 0.95 and 0.81 in group I, II and III respectively. Estimated LDL was significantlyhigher than the calculated LDL in group II and group III, suggestive of the fact that calculated LDL underestimates the true LDL levels in cases with TG levels above the normal range. Further, the differences in the means were significantly higher in hypertriglyceridemic groups (p < 0.001). Conclusion: it can be concluded that estimation of LDL needs a better accurate measurement technique than following calculations, considering the importance of patient care in management of life style disorders, aimed at lowering serum LDL levels.
Spectral analysis of auroral geomagnetic activity during various solar cycles between 1960 and 2014

Abstract. In this paper we use wavelets and Lomb–Scargle spectral analysis techniques to investigate the changing pattern of the different harmonics of the 27-day solar rotation period of the AE (auroral electrojet) index during various phases of different solar cycles between 1960 and 2014. Previous investigations have revealed that the solar minimum of cycles 23–24 exhibited strong 13.5- and 9.0-day recurrence in geomagnetic data in comparison to the usual dominant 27.0-day synodic solar rotation period. Daily mean AE indices are utilized to show how several harmonics of the 27-day recurrent period change during every solar cycle subject to a 95 % confidence rule by performing a wavelet analysis of each individual year's AE indices. Results show that particularly during the solar minimum of 23–24 during 2008 the 27-day period is no longer detectable above the 95 % confidence level. During this interval geomagnetic activity is now dominated by the second (13.5-day) and third (9.0-day) harmonics. A Pearson correlation analysis between AE and various spherical harmonic coefficients describing the solar magnetic field during each Carrington rotation period confirms that the solar dynamo has been dominated by an unusual combination of sectorial harmonic structure during 23–24, which can be responsible for the observed anomalously low solar activity. These findings clearly show that, during the unusual low-activity interval of 2008, auroral geomagnetic activity was predominantly driven by high-speed solar wind streams originating from multiple low-latitude coronal holes distributed at regular solar longitude intervals.
Lineshape Engineering in an All-Pass Ring Resonator with Backreflection Coupled to a Symmetrical Fabry – Perot Resonator

We derive transfer functions for an all-pass ring resonator with internal backreflection coupled to a symmetrical Fabry–Perot resonator and demonstrate electromagnetically induced transparency-like and Fano-like lineshapes tunable by backreflection in the ring resonator. OCIS codes: (230.5750) Resonators; (130.0130) Integrated optics.
Exploring the Connection between Stability and Variability in Language Classrooms and EFL Teachers’ Creativity and Burnout

Burnout and creativity, as two psychological constructs, are considered as variables which may have a considerable impact on the quality of teaching and learning. The present case study aimed at investigating the possible connections between degrees of class stability and variability and levels of creativity and burnout among 6 Iranian EFL teachers. In so doing, degrees of variability and stability, as defined and characterized in the domain of Chaos/Complexity theory, were studied qualitatively in EFL classes in relation to creativity and burnout levels of the teachers. The results suggested a direct relationship between variability and creativity levels of the participants together with a reverse relationship between the variability level and the ‘depersonalization’ aspect of burnout. In other words, class dynamism and creativity have more shared patterns and seem to be analogous.