Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory UNIVERSITY CALIFORNIA ENERGY & ENVIRONMENT A Comprehensive Yardstick for Residential Thermal Distribution Efficiency

This paper describes a framework -for a figure of merit by which the energy perfor mance of thermal energy distribution systems (e.g., duct systems) in residences could be characterized. The proposed figure of merit is designed to be incorporated into design guides, state energy codes and/or utility DSM programs. 2.ABSTRACT Thermal Energy Distribution (TED) systems provide the critical link between heating and cooling equipment and the conditioned areas of buildings. TED systems have also been shown to have a large potential for efficiency improvement, particularly iri residences. This paper discusses the issues associated with characterizing the perfor. mance of TED systems in residential buildings. A possible framework for a universal figure of merit for residential TED systems that takes into account interactions between the TED system and the building envelope, interactions with the heating/cooling equip ment, as well as the weather-dependence of TED efficiencies, is proposed. The proposed efficiency characterization framework incorporates the TED/envelope interactions that have been extensively studied in crawlspace and slab-on-grade houses over the past several years, as well as some of the findings of ASHRAE Special Project 43 (SP43), which focused on air distribution systems in basement houses. This framework is · designed to allow for compatibility with existing equipment and envelope characteriza tions (e.g., Annual Fuel Use Efficiency (AFUE), Seasonal Energy Efficiency Ratio (SEER), Heating Seasonal Performance Factor (HSPF), Effective Leakage Area (ELA)), and to allow for comparison offorced-air, hydronic and refrigerant distribution systems, including the impacts of zoning. The proposed backbone for most of the supporting ana lyses required to develop a practical yardstick is a combined simulation model based upon DOE-2, COMIS (a multi-zone airflow network model) and a combined heat and mass transfer model for duct systems. Efficiency calculations made with this model for a typical attic duct system are included as an example.
Prolonged exposure to ethylene may provide Rhodococcus sp. the ability to delay the effects of ripening in several species of climacteric fruit.

Post-harvest biotechnology is a growing industry. Many farmers are looking for economic and organic methods to preserve crops while effectively decreasing post-harvest losses. Previous studies suggested Rhodococcus rhodochrous DAP 96253 specifically cultured on cofactor enriched media (cofactors, cobalt and urea) enabled the bacteria to delay climacteric ripening in several species of fruit, (Pierce et al., 2008; Pierce et al., 2011). However, Rhodococcus rhodochrous not cultured on enriched media, but induced with hydrocarbons were also enabled to delay fruit ripening. Hydrocarbon induction doubled NHase activity and significantly improved bacteria ability to delay the effects of fruit ripening on a molecular level. Bacteria reduced cyanide concentration released by plant tissue in the atmosphere by half, and decreased glucose concentration within plant tissue by 18g/L. Experimental results suggest that R. rhodochrous may use a novel pathway to that includes an inducible monooxygenase like enzyme that allows Rhodococcus rhodochrous cells the ability to delay ripening in various species of climacteric fruits.
Explaining Executive Compensation: Managerial Power versus the Perceived Cost of Stock Options

The 1990s were a great time to be a top executive in a large U.S. company. Figure 1 shows the median total compensation of chief executive officers in S&P 500 Industrials (that is, the S&P 500 companies excluding utilities and finance firms) from 1992 through 2000. The bar height depicts median total compensation in CPI-adjusted 2001constant dollars, including salaries, realized bonuses, stock options, and other pay. ' Over this period, median total compensation nearly tripled from $2.3 million in 1992 to over $6.5 million in 2000. Figure 1 also depicts how the composition of CEO pay has evolved over time.2 The figure shows that the increase in CEO pay in S&P 500 Industrials during the 1990s primarily reflects a dramatic growth in stock options (valued on date of grant), which swelled from 27 percent to 51 percent of total compensation, representing a five-fold increase in dollar terms. Table 1 shows that the option-driven escalation in CEO pay levels is not limited to S&P 500 Industrials. Panel A shows that median pay in S&P 500 Financial Services companies increased 300 percent, from $2.6 million to almost $11 million from 1992 to 2000, while pay in smaller firms (defined as companies in the S&P MidCap 400 and SmallCap 600) more than doubled, from $823,000 to $1.8 million. Median pay in so-called "New Economy" firms increased 130 percent, from $1.4 million to $3.2 million.3 Panel B shows that the large pay in-
Selection effects in identifying magnetic clouds and the importance of the closest approach parameter

Abstract. This study is motivated by the unusually low number of magnetic clouds (MCs) that are strictly identified within interplanetary coronal mass ejections (ICMEs), as observed at 1 AU; this is usually estimated to be around 30% or lower. But a looser definition of MCs may significantly increase this percentage. Another motivation is the unexpected shape of the occurrence distribution of the observers' "closest approach distances" (measured from a MC's axis, and called CA) which drops off somewhat rapidly as |CA| (in % of MC radius) approaches 100%, based on earlier studies. We suggest, for various geometrical and physical reasons, that the |CA|-distribution should be somewhere between a uniform one and the one actually observed, and therefore the 30% estimate should be higher. So we ask, When there is a failure to identify a MC within an ICME, is it occasionally due to a large |CA| passage, making MC identification more difficult, i.e., is it due to an event selection effect? In attempting to answer this question we examine WIND data to obtain an accurate distribution of the number of MCs vs. |CA| distance, whether the event is ICME-related or not, where initially a large number of cases ( N =98) are considered. This gives a frequence distribution that is far from uniform, confirming earlier studies. This along with the fact that there are many ICME identification-parameters that do not depend on |CA| suggest that, indeed an MC event selection effect may explain at least part of the low ratio of (No. MCs)/(No. ICMEs). We also show that there is an acceptable geometrical and physical consistency in the relationships for both average "normalized" magnetic field intensity change and field direction change vs. |CA| within a MC, suggesting that our estimates of |CA|, B O (magnetic field intensity on the axis), and choice of a proper "cloud coordinate" system (all needed in the analysis) are acceptably accurate. Therefore, the MC fitting model (Lepping et al., 1990) is adequate, on average, for our analysis. However, this selection effect is not likely to completely answer our original question, on the unexpected ratio of MCs to ICMEs, so we must look for other factors, such as peculiarities of CME birth conditions. As a by-product of this analysis, we determine that the first order structural effects within a MC due to its interaction with the solar wind, plus the MC's usual expansion at 1 AU (i.e., the non-force free components of the MC's field) are, on average, weakly dependent on radial distance from the MC's axis; that is, in the outer reaches of a typical MC the non-force free effects show up, but even there they are rather weak. Finally, we show that it is not likely that a MC's size distribution statistically controls the occurrence distribution of the estimated |CA|s.
Habitat and prey availability attributes associated with juvenile and early adult pallid sturgeon occurrence in the Missouri River, USA

The pallid sturgeon Scaphirhynchus albus is a federally endangered species native to the Missouri and lower Mississippi Rivers, USA. As part of recovery efforts, over 360 000 pallid sturgeon have been stocked into the Missouri River since 1994, and a standardized, long-term monitoring program was initiated in 2003. Understanding the distribution and habitat require- ments of juvenile and early adult pallid sturgeon (fork length <720 mm, age <10 yr) is an impor- tant goal of the monitoring and recovery programs. In this study, we collected information on habi- tat characteristics and prey availability from the upper Missouri River along the Nebraska-South Dakota border and compared these attributes between capture (present) and non-capture (absent) locations (N = 59). To evaluate the relative influence of habitat and prey availability on pallid sturgeon occurrence, we examined several candidate models using an information- theoretic approach. A prey availability model had the most support and included site-specific information on Diptera and Ephemeroptera abundance. A habitat-based model showed that juve- niles and early adults were found in relatively deeper water and avoided areas where bottom velocities were greater than 1.2 m s �1 . Although not as well supported as the prey-effects model (evidence ratio = 6.4), habitat features also provided a plausible model for predicting occurrence. The models developed here could be used to evaluate pallid sturgeon habitat potential in the Mis- souri River basin and help guide future monitoring and conservation management of this endan- gered species.
Evaluation of the Probiotic Profile of the Lactobacillus Acidophilus Used in Pharmaceutical and Food Applications

Lactobacillus acidophilus used in three different applications, compounding pharmacies (LA1), fermented dairy (LA2), and allopathic compoundings (LA3) were tested to evaluate the existence of significant differences between them and in different growth conditions. In the evaluation of resistance to different commercial use antibiotics, all strains were sensitive to the antibiotics ampicillin, chloramphenicol, doxycycline, and tetracycline. LA1 was considered moderately sensitive (MS) to erythromycin and LA3 was MS to clindamycin and erythromycin. LA3 was classified between MS to resistant to erythromycin. All three strains were resistant to gentamicin. When evaluating acid pH resistance, the three origins presented similar behavior, with a decrease in cell viability at pH 2, maintaining constant viability at pH 3 and 4. In the test of resistance to the gastrointestinal tract conditions and hydrophobicity, LA2 presented better results. The three strains showed production of inhibitory compounds against pathogenic bacteria and deconjugated tauroconjugated bile salts (TDCA). It was concluded that, depending on the origin, Lactobacillus acidophilus may present different behaviors that will determine its growth and, consequently, its action in vivo . Due to the practicality of access, economy, and the satisfactory results in the tests performed, LA2 can be considered the strain of choice among those studied.
Antimicrobial activity of ethanolic leaf extract of Sida spinosa linn.(Malvaceae)

The present study was carried out to evaluate the antimicrobial property of sida spinosa Linn (malvaceae) leaves against certain bacterial stains causing microbial infection using cup plate method . The test organism were Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus subsitlis, Pseudomonas aeroginosa, Escherichia coli, Candida albicans Aspergillus niger. All the different concentration of ethanolic leaf extracts of sida spinosa exhibited the concentration dependant significant anti microbial activity comparable with ciprofloxacin 5μg/disc and amphotericin B 30μg/disc were used respectively as standard for bacteria and fungi stains.
Study on Voluntary Information Disclosure and Stock Price Synchronicity: Evidence from Chinese Listed Companies

This paper uses Shanghai and Shenzhen 300 index constituent stocks to analyze the effect of the degree of voluntary information disclosure on Chinese stock price synchronicity from two dimensions: quantity and quality. Meanwhile, this paper discusses how the changes in accounting rules influence the relationship between voluntary information disclosure and stock price synchronicity. The result shows that voluntary information disclosure is negatively related to stock price synchronicity. Moreover, the improvement of accounting standards, on the one hand, is likely to decrease stock price synchronicity; and on the other hand, increases the negative relationship between voluntary information disclosure and stock price synchronicity.
The Effect Of Technology Transfer Program Participation On Small Farms In Chile

This research examines the effect of a government sponsored technology transfer program for small holder farms in Chile. The effect of family participation in the technology transfer program is evaluated with respect to a number of 'outcomes' including its effect on farm revenues, total family income, and household poverty status. The empirical examination uses maximum likelihood selection and fixed- and random-effects estimation techniques. By estimating the effect of program participation on crop selection, crop yields, farm use of certified seeds, and the scale of farming activities, the research examines the mechanisms through which the program appears to raise farm revenues. Estimation results show program participation had a positive and significant effect on farm revenues and total family income. The program prompted farmers to adopt nitrogen fixing bean crops, but did not have significant effects on crop yields or the likelihood a farm planted certified seeds or applied fertilizer. The primary mechanism through which the program increased farm income was by increasing the intensive scale of farming pursued by participants.
Prevalence of Perceived Stress and Obesity among Women Before and After Menopause

Background: Menopause is one of the critical periods of a women’s life during which weight gain and onset or worsening of obesity are favored. At this period the prevalence of obesity is the highest. Aim: The present study aims to find out the effect of menopause on perceived stress and obesity among women. Material and Methods: A total of 45 female subjects constituting premenopausal women between the age group of 18–44 years and post-menopausal women between the age group of 45–60 years was included as sample. Participants were categorized into overweight/obese groups based on the body mass index overweight/obese group, BMI ≥ 25 in each group. The Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) the major tool was used for measuring the perception of stress. Chi Square Test was used for comparing the stress and obesity of women before and after menopause. Results: Percentage of women with stress (88.8%) is much greater after menopause compared to those without stress. But the percentage of women with stress before menopause is more or less equal to those without stress. Further, menopause has significant effect on perceived stress (x2 = 6.67, p < 0.01) among women but has no effect on obesity of women (x2 = 1.57, p< 0.05) Conclusion: Healthy lifestyles has to be recommended to prevent postmenopausal stress
Removal of Heterogeneous Candidates Using Positional Accuracy Based on Levenshtein Distance on Isolated n-best Recognition

Many isolated word recognition systems may generate irrelevant words for recognition results because they use only acoustic information or small amount of language information. In this paper, I propose word similarity that is used for selecting (or removing) less common words from candidates by applying Levenshtein distance. Word similarity is obtained by using positional accuracy that reflects the frequency information along to character`s alignment information. This paper also discusses various improving techniques of selection of disparate words. The methods include different loss values, phone accuracy based on confusion information, weights of candidates by ranking order and partial comparisons. Through experiments, I found that the proposed methods are effective for removing heterogeneous words without loss of performance.
Measurement Method of Lesion Area Using Adaptive Seeded Region Growing

In order to measure the lesion area of the medicine images, this study proposes a method of the lesion area measurement which is based on the adaptive seeded region growing algorithm. The method manages optimization treatment of the threshold on the common seeded region growing, so as to avoid the phenomena of the insufficient segmentation or the excessive segmentation of the regional growing as far as possible, and enhance the accuracy of the regional segmentation. On that basis, the analytic method will be used to measure the area of the lesions, which has a good performance in the measurement of irregular region. Therefore, the simulation in this study reveals that it can locate the lesions region rapidly and correctly, and calculate the area of the lesion accurately. Keywords-medical image;adaptive seeded region growing; seeded growing; irregular area; calculation of the area (key words) I. INTRODUCTION In modern medicine, it is doctors' regular work to measure and calculate the lesions area. Doctors have been using the traditional method to measure and identify the regional boundary of the heart and thoracic by using pens, rulers and films. After that they figure the approximate value by hand or with the help of calculator, and then to make the diagnosis. However, this traditional method is time-consuming and it often distains the film, and sometimes it is inaccurate. Fortunately, with the development of computer image processing technology, people find a new means for the accurate calculation of lesions area of medical images (1-3). What's more, this new method improves the work efficiency and quality of the image diagnosis. In this study, we will introduce the measurement of the lesions area based on the adaptive seeded region growing algorithm (4). By using this, the things doctors need to do is click the lesions region they want to measure, and the algorithm can find the regional boundary automatically. Besides, some modification has been made on optimization treatment which can reduce the probability of insufficient segmentation and excessive segmentation, and is better than general region growing method. What's more, it improves the accuracy of lesions region and can measure and calculate the lesions area rapidly and accurately. The biggest advantage of this method is that it greatly improves doctor's work efficiency and avoids contamination of the films at the same time. II. THE PRINCIPLE OF REGIONAL GROWING In this study, we take the method of seeded region growing (SRG). Region growing segmentation is a kind of ancient segmentation method in image segmentation, and it was raised by Adams and Bischof (5). The basic idea is that putting the pixels together to constitute a region, all pixels in region has the similar quality and characteristics. Begin with original region (center on selected seeds' pixel value), and expand region gradually by merging the neighboring pixel with similar quality and characteristics or other constituted regions to the current region. This progress continues until no pixel satisfying the condition is available.
Genomic prediction using multi-trait model with heterogeneous genomic (co)variance

Single-trait and multi-trait GBLUP models were compared with a recently developed Bayesian model, BayesAS, for their accuracy of genomic prediction. For this purpose, a simulation study were performed considering two correlated traits with heritability of 0.4 and 0.1, various numbers of records for the trait with heritability of 0.1, and three scenarios with regard to varying local and genome-wide (co)variances between the traits. In BayesAS analysis, varying SNP bin sizes defined as a genomic region were used. BayesAS models performed better than GBLUP models across the three scenarios for the high heritability trait in both single-trait and multi-trait analysis. For the trait with lower heritability, the advantage of BayesAS models depended on the number of animals with phenotypic records and the SNP bin size. When increasing the SNP bin size up to 200, multi-trait BayesAS model was able to capture the heterogeneous (co)variance and thus allowed better use of information from correlated trait and increased accuracy of prediction for the trait with low heritability and/or small number of records.
THESIS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY

Since 1 of January 2015 ships operating in sulphur emission control areas (SECAs) have to use marine fuels with a fuel sulphur content less than 0.1 %m/m. This regulation forces the ship owners to make a fuel shift and use low-sulphur marine fuel oils, use alternative fuels or use scrubbers on-board their ships. One driving force behind the regulation of the fuel sulphur content was to reduce the emissions to air of harmful particles. This thesis focuses on the two first strategies and evaluate how fuel sulphur content and other fuel characteristics affect the particle emissions. This thesis presents results from particle measurements done in test-bed engine labs and on-board operating ships, with focus on number, mass and sizes of the emitted particles. The on-board measurements considered how a fuel shift from a heavy fuel oil to a low-sulphur residual marine fuel oil and how use of an alternative fuel, in this case liquefied natural gas (LNG) affect the particle emissions. In the test-bed engine measurements the particle emissions from different types of fuels and the effects of fuel sulphur content and other fuel characteristics, primarily the content of aromatics, were investigated. The results highlight that reduced fuel sulphur contents will not be the only solution for reducing particle emissions, and other fuel characteristics need to be considered. The fuel sulphur content influences the emissions of particles with a diameter of 50 nm or less, whereas other fuel characteristics affect particles in all sizes. An increased content of aromatics did not result in increasing particle emissions, which indicate that the content of aromatics may not play a crucial role with respect to particle emissions from ships. Furthermore, the fuel shift strategy and changing from heavy fuel oil to a low-sulphur residual marine fuel oil, did not affect the number of particles emitted significantly: similar amounts of number of particles were emitted and there was an increase in the emissions of smaller particles. In contrast, the strategy of using an alternative fuel, here LNG, resulted in significant reductions of the particle emissions. Furthermore, the results also highlight the importance of conducting measurements of number of particles emitted when studying particle emissions from ships and in any future regulation of these emissions.
Phase- and Polarization-Controlled Two-Photon Rabi Oscillation of the Biexciton State in a Semiconductor Quantum Dot

Under a degenerate two-photon resonant excitation, the Rabi oscillation of the four-level biexciton system in a semiconductor quantum dot is theoretically investigated. The influence of the laser phases on the state manipulation is modeled and numerically calculated. Due to the interference between different excitation paths, the laser phase plays an important role and can be utilized as an alternate control knob to coherently manipulate the biexciton state. The phase control can be facilely implemented by changing the light polarization via a quarter-wave plate.