Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Reasons for Guardian-Relinquishment of Dogs to Shelters: Animal and Regional Predictors in British Columbia, Canada

Dogs are relinquished to animal shelters for animal-related or guardian-related reasons. Understanding what drives relinquishment patterns is essential for informing intervention opportunities to keep animals with their guardians. Whereas, overall reasons for relinquishment in a given shelter system have been well explored, analysis of human and animal predictors of relinquishing for a specific reason has not been previously attempted. We used characteristics of relinquishment including year, population of the relinquishing guardian's region, health status of the dog, breed, age group, weight, and sex to predict reasons for dog relinquishment to British Columbia (BC) Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) shelters across BC between 2008 and 2019 (n = 32,081). Relinquishment trends for puppies and adult dogs were also viewed and described. From 2008–2019, the proportion of dogs relinquished relative to total intake remained consistent (range: 31–35%). Primary reasons reported by guardians were having too many dogs (19%), housing issues (17%), personal issues (15%), financial issues (10%), dog behavior (10%), and guardian health (8%). Over years, an increasing proportion of dogs were relinquished for the reason “too many” (OR = 1.16, 95% CI, 1.10–1.23, p < 0.001) and “behavior” (OR = 1.34, 95% CI, 1.26–1.43, p < 0.001), while a decreasing proportion were relinquished due to financial problems (OR = 0.94, 95% CI, 0.88–1.00, p = 0.047). Being a puppy, mixed breed, small, and from a small or medium population center predicted the reason “too many. ” Being a senior, Healthy, or from a medium or large population center predicted the reason “housing issues. ” Being a non-puppy, Healthy dog in a large population center predicted the reason “personal issues. ” Being a puppy, non-Healthy, female, and from a large population center predicted the reason “financial issues. ” Being a larger young adult or adult and Healthy predicted the reason “dog behavior. ” Being an adult or senior small dog from a small population center predicted the reason “guardian health. ” Particularly promising region-specific intervention opportunities include efforts to prevent too many animals in small population centers, improvement of pet-inclusive housing in large population centers, and providing animal care support in large population centers. Accessible veterinary services, including low-cost or subsidized care, likely benefit dog retention across BC.
Agricultural Teaching Approaches Employed in Secondary Schools for Food Security : a case of Embu County , Kenya

The purpose of the study was to establish the agricultural teaching approaches employed in secondary schools for food security. The research findings revealed that the agricultural teaching approaches employed in Kenyan secondary schools are the lecture method, discussions, demonstrations, class experiment/projects, problem solving/guided discovery, and rarely field trips and tours. The commonly used methods are the lecture method and class discussions which have little contribution to skills development for food security. The study concludes that there is a lot of theory through lectures which need to be discouraged in agriculture classes. This is to enhance relevant skills development for food security in the country. Practical based approaches need to be incorporated and beefed up with discussions to enhance acquisition of knowledge and its transfer to the food industry.
Active Faults and Their Implications for Regional Development at the Southern Part of West Java , Indonesia

Territory of the southern part of West Java has limited accessibility. Landforms with a steep slope and limited access roads make this area remains largely isolated. Various constraints occur this area so that their role in national development has not been optimal. Based on physiographic, this area was included in the Southern Mountains Zone (Van Bemmelen, 1949). This area is known to be controlled by tectonic based on a review of the literature already available. Fault is one tectonic product, which phenomena are found in the southern part of West Java. Fault is defined as a fracture plane followed by the relative displacement of a block of rock against rock block other. Distance shift is a few millimeters to tens of kilometers, while the size of the fault plane from a few centimeters to tens of kilometers (Billing, 1959). Levels of the active fault need to be known as a guide to develop the region. The methods that can be used are morphotectonic and geospatial analysis. Various parameters are used to determine the level of the active fault, including the type of fault, age of fault, fault intensity, seismicity, rock, and morphotectonic. The data used came from the results of previous studies which are already available, satellite imagery and topographic maps. Geographic Information System (GIS) software used to facilitate the analysis process. The quantitative and qualitative approaches used in data analysis. Morphotectonic analysis results support the interpretation that the units morphographic associated with tectonic referable early to determine the existence of a fault in the southern part of West Java. Empirical data related to the presence of active faults are found along the track landslides, especially in the southern Garut. Meanwhile, in the southern Cianjur and Sukabumi, landslides potential associated with the presence of the fault is still being studied further. The results showed that the activity of the fault in the southern part of West Java can be classified as inactive fault, potentially active fault, and active fault. Spatial distribution is also uneven, but forming zones in certain locations. Geological maps that exist need to be corrected to inform the public that many potentially active to active faults that have not been mapped in detail in the southern part of West Java.
Chapter 718 Conditional Power of Superiority by a Margin Logrank Tests

In sequential designs, one or more intermediate analyses of the emerging data are conducted to evaluate whether the experiment should be continued. This may be done to conserve resources or to allow a data monitoring board to evaluate safety and efficacy when subjects are entered in a staggered fashion over a long period of time. Conditional power (a frequentist concept) is the probability that the final result will be significant, given the data obtained up to the time of the interim look. Predictive power (a Bayesian concept) is the result of averaging the conditional power over the posterior distribution of effect size. Both of these methods fall under the heading of stochastic curtailment techniques. Further reading about the theory of these methods can be found in Jennison and Turnbull (2000), Chow and Chang (2007), Chang (2008), Proschan et. al (2006), and Dmitrienko et. al (2005).
HEN1 encodes a 20-kilodalton phosphoprotein that binds an extended E-box motif as a homodimer

HEN1 and HEN2 encode neuron-specific polypeptides that contain the basic helix-loop-helix (bHLH) motif, a protein dimerization and DNA-binding domain common to several known transcription factors. We now describe characteristics of the HEN1 gene product that are consistent with its postulated role as a transcription factor that functions during development of the mammalian nervous system. Thus, transcription of the HEN1 gene is activated upon the induction of neural differentiation in PC12 cells by nerve growth factor. HEN1 encodes a 20-kDa polypeptide (pp20HEN1) that is phosphorylated exclusively at serine residues and forms dimeric bHLH complexes either by self-association or by heterologous interaction with the E2A gene products (E12 or E47). The resultant HEN1/HEN1 homodimers and HEN1/E2A heterodimers bind DNA in a sequence-specific manner. Moreover, a binding site selection procedure revealed that HEN1-HEN1 homodimers preferentially recognize E-box motifs represented by an 18-bp consensus sequence (GGGNCG CAGCTGCGNCCC). The E-box half-site recognized by HEN1 polypeptides (GGGNCGCAG) is distinct from those of other known bHLH proteins, suggesting that HEN1 binds, an regulates the transcription of, a unique subset of target genes during neural development.
GPR124, an orphan G protein-coupled receptor, is required for CNS-specific vascularization and establishment of the blood–brain barrier

Every organ in the body requires blood vessels for efficient delivery of oxygen and nutrients, but independent vascular beds are highly specialized to meet the individual needs of specific organs. The vasculature of the brain is tightly sealed, with blood–brain barrier (BBB) properties developing coincident with neural vascularization. G protein-coupled receptor 124 (GPR124) (tumor endothelial marker 5, TEM5), an orphan member of the adhesion family of G protein-coupled receptors, was previously identified on the basis of its overexpression in tumor vasculature. Here, we show that global deletion or endothelial-specific deletion of GPR124 in mice results in embryonic lethality associated with abnormal angiogenesis of the forebrain and spinal cord. Expression of GPR124 was found to be required for invasion and migration of blood vessels into neuroepithelium, establishment of BBB properties, and expansion of the cerebral cortex. Thus, GPR124 is an important regulator of neurovasculature development and a potential drug target for cerebrovascular diseases.
Spectroscopic and provenance studies of archaeological artifacts recently excavated from Tamilnadu

The ancient materials characterization will bring back the more evidence of the ancient people life styles. In this study, the archaeological pottery shards recently excavated from Kodumanal, Erode district in Tamilnadu, were investigated. A thorough scientific study of SEMEDX with the help of statistical approach done to find the provenance of the selected pot shards has not yet been performed. The experimental results enlighten us to the elemental and the mineral composition of the pottery shards. SEM-EDX results revealed that the investigated samples have the elements O, Si, Al, Fe, Mn, Mg, Ca, Ti, K and Na are in different compositions. For establishing the provenance (same or different origin) of pottery samples, Al and Si concentration ratio as well as hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA) was used and the results are correlated.
nthropogenic stressors and riverine fish extinctions

Human activities are often implicated in the contemporary extinction of contemporary species. Concerning riverine fishes, the major biotic and abiotic threats widely cited include introduction of non-native species, habitat fragmentation and homogenization in stream flow dynamics due to the damming of rivers, dumping of organic loadings, degradation of the riverine habitat by agricultural practices and water abstraction for human and agricultural consumption. However, few studies have evaluated the role of each of these threats on fish extinction at large spatial scales. Focusing on Western Europe and the USA, two of the most heavily impacted regions on Earth, we quantify fish species loss per river basin and evaluate for the first time to what extent, if any, these threats have been promoting fish extinctions. We show that mean fish extinction rates during the last 110 years in both continents is ∼112 times higher than calculated natural extinction rates. However, we identified only weak effects of our selected anthropogenic stressors on fish extinctions. Only river fragmentation by dams and percentage of nonnative species seem to be significant, although weak, drivers of fish species extinction. In our opinion, the most probable explanation for the weak effects found here comes from limitations of both biological and threats datasets currently available. Obtaining realistic estimates on both extinctions and anthropogenic threats in individual river basins is thus urgently needed. © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Seminars in medicine of the Beth Israel Hospital, Boston. The RET proto-oncogene in multiple endocrine neoplasia type 2 and Hirschsprung's disease.

Recent years have brought major advances in our understanding of the molecular genetic basis of both types of multiple endocrine neoplasia (MEN), an autosomal dominant cancer syndrome. MEN type 1 (MEN-1 [designated “MEN 1” by the Second International MEN Workshop]) is the triad of parathyroid, pancreatic islet-cell, and anterior pituitary tumors.1 Carcinoid, adrenal cortical, and lipoid tumors may also occur in MEN-1. Its susceptibility gene has been mapped but not isolated, and in some kindreds polymorphic markers that flank the gene can be used for predictive DNA testing.2 MEN type 2 (MEN-2) is a syndrome of medullary thyroid carcinoma, pheochromocytoma, .
How field data can influence design outcomes

Thermal comfort research has shown that natural ventilation can reduce energy consumption while increasing comfort. However, giving occupants control over their environment introduces uncertainty into building performance which is challenging to emulate using current simulation techniques. Traditionally, window operation is modelled deterministically, for instance by assuming windows to be opened at a predefined temperature. Studies have shown this to be inaccurate, often causing large discrepancies between simulated and actual performance; instead, probabilistic models have emerged based on field study data. The literature on this topic is currently limited to building science and lacks an analysis of how these insights may affect architecture. In a design study, we used evolutionary computation to determine comfort-optimized housing designs for various climates, each time comparing the results of both window operation models. The resulting designs varied considerably; most notably, using the stochastic approach resulted in more shading elements, especially in warmer climates.
A Novel Approach to γ-Hadron Separation for H.E.S.S. Based on Convolutional Neural Networks Anwendung Neuronaler Faltungsnetzwerke zur γ-Hadron-Separation bei H.E.S.S

H.E. S.S. is an astroparticle experiment using imaging atmospheric Cherenkov telescopes to study cosmic γ-radiation in the GeV to TeV energy range. The vital task, as in most particle physics experiments, is an efficient discrimination of signal and background events in order to draw accurate conclusions from the performed observations. In the case of Cherenkov telescopes, the separation relies on significant differences in the recorded air-shower images. Computer vision techniques based on convolutional neural networks (CNNs) have shown to reach state-of-the-art performance in image classification tasks, promoting them to be explored as alternative γ-hadron separation technique for H.E. S.S. The results of a pilot study on this topic are presented in this thesis, for which a deep CNN with four convolution layers and in total ∼ 1.6 · 106 tunable parameters was trained to separate images of Monte Carlo simulated γand hadron-showers. The developed CNN-classifier reaches a total classification accuracy of 97.41% on test images, where the application of the classifier on real H.E. S.S. data gives results in accordance with published H.E. S.S. findings. The general performance of the developed analysis shows significances and excess counts compatible with results obtained with standard H.E. S.S. analyses, thus suggesting CNNs to be applicable as γ-hadron separation method in H.E. S.S. data analysis.
The Impact of Health Literacy and Socioeconomic Status on Asthma Disparities

Objective. Racial/ethnic disparities have been well documented in asthma. While socioeconomic status (SES) has been repeatedly implicated as a root cause, the role of limited health literacy has not been extensively studied. The purpose of this study was to examine the independent contributions of SES and health literacy in explaining asthma disparities. Methods. A cohort study was conducted in a Chicago-based sample of 353 adults aged 18–40 years with persistent asthma from 2004 to 2007. Health literacy, SES, and asthma outcomes including disease control, quality of life, emergency department visits, and hospitalizations were assessed in person at baseline, and asthma outcomes were measured every 3 months for 2 years by phone. Multivariate models were used to assess racial/ethnic disparities in asthma outcomes and the effect of health literacy and SES on these estimates. Results. Compared with White participants, African American adults fared significantly worse in all asthma outcomes (p < .05) and Latino participants had lower quality of life (β = −0.47; 95% confidence interval [CI] = −0.79, −0.14; p = .01) and worse asthma control (risk ratio [RR] = 0.63; 95% CI = 0.41, 0.98; p = .04). Differences in SES partially explained these disparities. Health literacy explained an additional 20.2% of differences in quality of life between Latinos and Whites, but differences in hospitalization rates between African American and White adults remained (RR = 2.97; 95% CI = 1.09, 8.12, p = .03). Conclusions. Health literacy appears to be an overlooked factor explaining racial and ethnic disparities in asthma. Evidence-based low literacy strategies for patient education and counseling should be included in comprehensive interventions.
NUMERICAL SIMULATION OF AN OSCILLATING AND FLEXIBLE AIRFOIL FOR FLAPPING WING PROPULSION WITH FLUID-STRUCTURE INTERACTION

To investigate the aeroelastic effects of a flexible and oscillating airfoil, the numerical analysis of such lightweight structures is described in this contribution. Due to the interaction of the fluid flow with the structural system, a multiphysical approach is employed here, were the jig-shape of the airfoil needs to be calculated. Further, the analysis of low-Reynolds-number flows past this flexible and flapping airfoil is presented where transition from laminar to turbulent flow takes place along a laminar separation bubble. To predict the point of transition, a linear stability solver fully coupled to an unsteady Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes flow analysis code is utilized. Results of the simulation of the airfoil’s flapping motion in air are presented for specific parameters and discussed in detail.
Bias-variance Decomposition in Machine Learning-based Side-channel Analysis

Machine learning techniques represent a powerful option in profiling sidechannel analysis. Still, there are many settings where their performance is far from expected. In such occasions, it is very important to understand the difficulty of the problem and the behavior of the machine learning algorithm. To that end, one needs to investigate not only the performance of machine learning but also to provide insights into its explainability. One tool enabling us to do this is the bias–variance decomposition where we are able to decompose the predictive error into bias, variance, and noise. With this technique, we can analyze various scenarios and recognize what are the sources of problem difficulty and how additional measurements/features or more complex machine learning models can alleviate the problem. While such results are promising, there are still drawbacks since often it is not easy to connect the performance of side-channel attack and performance of a machine learning classifier as given by the bias-variance decomposition. In this paper, we propose a new tool for analyzing the performance of machine learning-based side-channel attacks – the Guessing Entropy Bias–Variance Decomposition. With it, we are able to better understand the performance of various machine learning techniques and understand how a change in a setting influences the performance of an attack. To validate our claims, we give extensive experimental results for a number of different settings.
Modeling and Predicting Sky-Noise Temperature of Clear, Cloudy, and Rainy Atmosphere From X- to W-Band

A physically-based parametric model (PPM) to predict the sky-noise temperature in all weather conditions is proposed. The proposed prediction model is based on the non-linear regression fit of numerical simulations derived from the sky-noise eddington radiative-transfer model (SNEM) in an absorbing and scattering medium such as gaseous, cloudy and rainy atmosphere. The PPM prediction method, dependent on measured path attenuation, beacon frequency, and antenna-pointing elevation angle, describes the statistical behavior of the atmospheric mean radiative temperature, which in its turn relates sky-noise temperature to slant-path attenuation. PPM validity ranges from X-to W- band and from 10 to 90 in terms of elevation angle. A comparison of the estimated PPM radio-propagation variables with corresponding ITALSAT satellite data, collected at the Spino d'Adda receiving station (Italy), is also carried out and discussed. The PPM prediction technique provides a root-mean-square retrieval error generally less than 8 K for all frequencies. Results show an improvement with respect to the current International Telecommunication Union (ITU) recommendations, especially at Q- and V-band and above, where the atmospheric multiple scattering effects cannot be disregarded.
Spray Deposition Modeling of Carbon Nano-Inks 2015

ii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS . iii TABLE OF CONTENTS . iv LIST OF FIGURES . vii LIST OF TABLES . ix CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION . 1 1.1 Motivation . 1 1.2 Research on Continuous Deposition of Nanoparticles . 3 1.3 Research on Spray Deposition Modeling . 3 1.4 Objectives . 5 1.5 Thesis Outline . 5 CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW . 7 2.1 Carbon Nanotubes . 7 2.2 Carbon Nanopaper . 8 2.3 Digital Fabrication Techniques of CNT-Inks . 12 CHAPTER THREE: METHODOLOGY . 15 3.
A tabu search heuristic for periodic and multi-depot vehicle routing problems

We propose a tabu search heuristic capable of solving three well-known routing problems: the periodic vehicle routing problem, the periodic traveling salesman problem, and the multi-depot vehicle routing problem. Computational experiments carried out on instances taken from the literature indicate that the proposed method outperforms existing heuristics for all three problems. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Networks 30: 105–119, 1997
Isolation of Mycobacterium avium subspecies paratuberculosis from patients with Crohn ’ s disease , ulcerative colitis and healthy controls : preliminary results

Crohn’s disease (CD) is a gastro-intestinal inflammatory disease with uncertain origin. Autoimmune and/or infectious etiologies have been proposed as possible causes. A role for Mycobacterium avium subspecies paratuberculosis (MAP) in CD has been hypothesized. However, the role of MAP in causing this disease is subject to debate. The aim of the present study is to compare the rate of MAP isolation from patients living in an area of Northern Italy characterized by the presence of high prevalence of MAP infected cattle herds. In the region of concern, a mean annual incidence rate of 3.4 CD patients per 100,000 inhabitants has been reported. This study enrolled 186 patients: 23 patients with CD, 26 patients with ulcerative colitis (UC), 6 patients with not specific inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and 131 healthy patients. For each patient, six biopsy tissue specimens from ileo-colon region were collected and processed for MAP isolation. Culture was performed with BacT/ALERT 3D system (bioMérieux) using a Middlebrook 7H9-based liquid medium. All samples were culture-negative for MAP after three months of incubation. An acid-fast, IS900 negative organism was recovered from an healthy control patient. The isolate was able to grow in the absence of mycobactin J. At present, our findings do not support a role for MAP as a microbial causal agent of CD. A larger number of CD patients and an extension of incubation times of cultures are needed to make clear the pathogenic relationship between MAP and CD in this region.