Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
On the attribution of black and brown carbon light absorption using the Ångström exponent

Abstract. The absorption Angstrom exponent (AAE) of externally mixed black carbon (BCExt), or BC internally mixed with non-absorbing material (BCInt), is often used to determine the contribution of brown carbon (BrC) light absorption at short visible wavelengths. This attribution method contains assumptions with uncertainties that have not been formally assessed. We show that the potential range of AAE for BCExt (or BCInt) in the atmosphere can reasonably lead to +7% to −22% uncertainty in BCExt (or BCInt) absorption at short wavelengths derived from measurements made at longer wavelengths, where BrC is assumed not to absorb light. These uncertainties propagate to errors in the attributed absorption of BrC. For uncertainty in attributed BrC absorption to be ≤ ± 33%, 23% to 41% of total absorption must be sourced from BrC. These uncertainties would be larger if absorption by dust were also to be considered due to additional AAE assumptions. For data collected during a biomass-burning event, the mean difference between measured and AAE attributed BrC absorption was found to be 34% – an additional uncertainty in addition to the theoretical uncertainties presented. In light of the potential for introducing significant and poorly constrained errors, we caution against the universal application of the AAE method for attributing BrC absorption.
Like Father, Like Son? The Effect of Political Dynasties on Economic DevelopmentSiddharth Eapen George, siddharthgeorge@fas.harvard.edu, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA; Dominic Ponattu, dominic.ponattu@bertelsmann-stiftung.de, University of Mannheim, Germany. We are indebted to our advisors 

This paper studies how dynastic politics affects economic development in India, using variation from three distinct natural experiments. Dynastic politics has theoretically ambiguous effects: bequest motives may lengthen politicians’ time horizons (founder effects), but heritable political capital may make elections less effective at holding dynastic heirs accountable (descendant effects). We compile detailed biographical data on all Indian legislators since 1862, and present three empirical findings. First, we identify descendant effects using a close elections regression discontinuity design, and find that descendants worsen poverty and public good provision in villages they represent. Descendants underperform partly due to moral hazard: they inherit voters loyal to their family, which dampens their performance incentives. Second, we estimate founder effects by examining constituency boundary changes. Founders have positive effects on economic development, and this is partly driven by bequest motives: politicians with a son are twice as likely to establish a dynasty and exert more effort while in office. Third, we identify the overall effects of a dynastic political environment using an instrumental variables strategy based on the gender composition of past incumbents’ children. Dynastic politics generates a “reversal of fortune” development pattern, where places develop faster in the short run (because of positive founder effects), but are poorer in the long run (because negative descendant effects outweigh positive founder effects). A simple overlapping generations model with heritable human and political capital explains these empirical facts. ∗Siddharth Eapen George, siddharthgeorge@fas.harvard. edu, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA; Dominic Ponattu, dominic.ponattu@bertelsmann-stiftung.de, University of Mannheim, Germany. We are indebted to our advisors Rohini Pande, Michael Kremer, Abhijit Banerjee, Emily Breza and Andrei Shleifer for advice and encouragement. We thank Sreevidya Gowda, Anjali R and Zubayer Rahman for research assistance. We are grateful to Alberto Alesina, Tim Besley, Kirill Borusyak, Laurent Bouton, Moya Chin, Cesi Cruz, Jishnu Das, Oliver Hart, Abraham Holland, Asim Khwaja, Gabriel Kreindler, Asad Liaqat, Eric Maskin, Nathan Nunn, Dev Patel, Tzachi Raz, Henrik Sigstad, Daniel Smith, Arvind Subramanian, Edoardo Teso, Sophie Wang and Chenzi Xu for helpful conversations. This paper also benefitted from comments during seminars at Harvard, MIT, Mannheim, the World Bank and at the MPSA, APSA, NEUDC and EBE conferences. Siddharth gratefully acknowledges financial support from LEAP, the Warburg Fund and the IGC State Capacity Programme.
Standards-compliant HTTP adaptive streaming of static light fields

Static light fields are an effective technology to precisely visualize complex inanimate objects or scenes, synthetic and real-world alike, in Augmented, Mixed and Virtual Reality contexts. Such light fields are commonly sampled as a collection of 2D images. This sampling methodology inevitably gives rise to large data volumes, which in turn hampers real-time light field streaming over best effort networks, particularly the Internet. This paper advocates the packaging of the source images of a static light field as a segmented video sequence so that the light field can then be interactively network streamed in a quality-variant fashion using MPEG-DASH, the standardized HTTP Adaptive Streaming scheme adopted by leading video streaming services like YouTube and Netflix. We explain how we appropriate MPEG-DASH for the purpose of adaptive static light field streaming and present experimental results that prove the feasibility of our approach, not only from a networking but also a rendering perspective. In particular, real-time rendering performance is achieved by leveraging video decoding hardware included in contemporary consumer-grade GPUs. Important trade-offs are investigated and reported on that impact performance, both network-wise (e.g., applied sequencing order and segmentation scheme for the source images of the static light field) and rendering-wise (e.g., disk-versus-GPU caching of source images). By adopting a standardized transmission scheme and by exclusively relying on commodity graphics hardware, the net result of our work is an interoperable and broadly deployable network streaming solution for static light fields.
An integrated and modular model for simulating and evaluating how canopy architecture can help reduce fungicide applications

An integrated model coupling architectural canopy development, disease dynamics, pesticide application, pesticide decay and effect of pesticide on disease dynamics has been developed. It allows simulation of the dynamics of epidemics overall a growth season, together with the evaluation of impacts on environment, yield reduction and erosion of pesticide efficiency. This tool allows for a multi-criteria evaluation of different fungicide applications strategies and for designing new strategies that reduce pesticide applications by increasing natural resistance linked to canopy architecture.
Water Properties of Soft Contact Lenses: A Comparative Near-Infrared Study of Two Hydrogel Materials

The functionality of soft contact lenses depends strongly on the water content and their water-transport ability. This study was conducted in order to examine the state of water in two sets of soft contact lenses: VSO38, pHEMA Filcon I 1, and VSO50, copolymer of HEMA and VP Filcon II 1 (HEMA = 2-hydroxy-ethyl methacrylate; VP = vinyl pyrrolidone). Hydrogel lenses were studied using near-infrared spectroscopy and the novel Aquaphotomics approach in order to determine the state of water in materials based on their near-infrared spectra. Aquaphotomics approach investigates absorption at specific vibrational bands of water’s covalent and hydrogen bonds which can provide information on how the water structure changes with the structural change of the polymer network. Principal component analysis and specific star-chart “aquagram” were used to analyse water spectral pattern in hydrogel materials. The findings show that material VSO38 has water predominantly organized in bound state, while material with higher water content, VSO50, has more free and weakly hydrogen bonded water. Our findings define in detail exact water species existing and interacting with the polymer network. The results show qualitative and quantitative possibilities of Aquaphotomics for better modelling and understanding water behaviour in hydrogel materials.
Extracting allelic read counts from 250,000 human sequencing runs in Sequence Read Archive

The Sequence Read Archive (SRA) contains over one million publicly available sequencing runs from various studies using a variety of sequencing library strategies. These data inherently contain information about underlying genomic sequence variants which we exploit to extract allelic read counts on an unprecedented scale. We reprocessed over 250,000 human sequencing runs (>1000 TB data worth of raw sequence data) into a single unified dataset of allelic read counts for nearly 300,000 variants of biomedical relevance curated by NCBI dbSNP, where germline variants were detected in a median of 912 sequencing runs, and somatic variants were detected in a median of 4,876 sequencing runs, suggesting that this dataset facilitates identification of sequencing runs that harbor variants of interest. Allelic read counts obtained using a targeted alignment were very similar to read counts obtained from whole genome alignment. Analyzing allelic read count data for matched DNA and RNA samples from tumors, we find that RNA-seq can also recover variants identified by WXS, suggesting that reprocessed allelic read counts can support variant detection across different library strategies in SRA. This study provides a rich database of known human variants across SRA samples that can support future meta-analyses of human sequence variation.
GENERATION OF ARABIDOPSIS THALIANA LINES WITH SUPPRESSED ATNDA1 UTILIZING RNA INTERFERENCE

Atnda1 is one of matrix NAD(P)H dehydrogenase genes in Arabidopsis thaliana . Its function is still unclear. This is an encouragement to study the gene by disrupting the expression of the gene. This study was aimed to generate Arabidopsis thaliana possessing suppressed Atnda1 utilizing RNA interference. Double stranded nda1 -RNAi silencing was chosen for this project. The generation of the lines was started by creating specific primer for Atnda1 . The creation of nda1 - RNAi cassette used the Gateway cloning. We utilized Agrobacterium strain GV3101 as a mediator to transfer the cassette into the plants. Dipping the flower into Agrobactrium solution was done to transfer the nda1-RNAi cassette into wild type Arabidopsis . The seeds collected from the mutant plants were checked in selective media. Contamination was the daunting problem in the process of checking the plants. This was crucial to ensure that the insertion has been done successfully. However, selection of the mutants must be done before analysis of the function is carried on the mutants.
DUAL-TREE COMPLEX WAVELET TRANSFORM APPLIED TO FAULT MONITORING AND IDENTIFICATION IN AERONAUTICAL STRUCTURES

This paper proposes the application of the dual-tree complex wavelet transform on fault monitoring and identification in aeronautical struc- tures. For this purpose, a multiscale analysis from phase of the complex wavelet coefficients is proposed. Phase is very sensitive to variations of the signal cap- turing small flaws. Furthermore, magnitude provides information about the intensity of failure. Simulation results from a beam model showed that the proposed method achieved good performance in small flaws identification.
Organizational Learning Culture, Transfer Climate and Perceived Innovation in Jordan.

This paper examined the relationship between organizational learning culture, learning transfer climate, and organizational innovation. The objective was to test the ability of learning organization culture to account for variance in learning transfer climate and subsequent organizational innovation, and to examine the role of learning transfer climate as a mediator between learning organization culture and innovation. Results showed that organizational learning culture predicted learning transfer climate, and both these factors accounted for significant variance in organizational innovation
Understanding Middle School Students’ Motivation in Math Class: The Expectancy-Value Model Perspective

One of the most important variables affecting middle school students’ mathematics performance is motivation. Motivation is closely related with expectancy belief regarding the task and value attached to the task. Identification of which one or ones of the factors constituting motivation is more closely related to mathematics performance may help more effective mathematics planning process. In this context, the purpose of this study was to investigate the relationships among middle school students’ task values concerning the math class, their expectancy perceptions and mathematics performance via a structural equation model. The study was conducted on 200 middle school students receiving their education in Konya provincial center. Fifty point five percent of the students (n=101) were female whereas 49.5 %. (n=99) were male. Twenty-nine percent of the students (n=58) were sixth graders, 35 % (n=70) were seventh graders and 36 % (n=72) were eighth graders. The Self and Task Perception Inventory in mathematics was used to identify the students’ task values and expectancy perceptions concerning mathematics, while end-of-the-term math class scores were used to determine their mathematics performances. The data obtained were analyzed using the structural equation modeling. According to the results that were obtained, it was understood that expectancy beliefs, task difficulty and intrinsic interest value were the most effective variables on mathematics performance. Moreover, findings of this study show that students with high expectancy perceptions in mathematics who derived pleasure from dealing with mathematics and had less difficulty in mathematics had higher mathematics achievements. The findings that were obtained were discussed in light of theoretical explanations.
Shock chemistry in star forming environments

Molecules are abundant in many astrophysical environments. The observation of these molecules and the modelling of the chemistry that leads to their formation is a powerful tool for improving our understanding of the regions in which they are found. In this thesis, a chemical model is developed and applied to astrophysical shocks to understand a number of processes in star forming regions. Shocks often result in discontinuous changes in the temperature and density of the gases they affect. The turbulent fragmentation theory of star formation suggests that such shocks are responsible for the over-densities that lead to the formation and collapse of prestellar cores from molecular clouds. Focusing on low mass objects, a chemical model of prestellar cores formed through shocks is developed and compared to models of similarly dense gas formed through gravitational freefall. Observational predictions of shock induced differences in the chemistry of these cores are reported and compared to the literature. Not only are molecules abundant in the gas phase but they are also observed in solid state, frozen onto the surfaces of interstellar dust grains. This freeze out process is efficient in molecular clouds but the composition of these ices is poorly constrained for all but the most abundant molecules. Shocks represent a powerful tool to study these ices as they not only change the gas properties but can also sputter and shatter dust grains releasing frozen molecules into the gas phase. Observations of sulfur-bearing molecules in a protostellar outflow, L1157-B1, are presented and analysed, giving an overview of the sulfur content of the recently shocked gas. The abundances of important sulfur molecules are then compared to chemical models of C-type shocks in an attempt to constrain the main solid state form of sulfur before the shock and the shock properties of the observed outflow.
Parapapillary Choriorefinal Atrophy in Normal and Glaucoma Eyes

Glaucomatous optic nerve damage is associated with alterations of the intra- and parapapillary optic disc area. We measured and compared the parapapillary region in 582 eyes of 321 patients suffering from chronic primary open-angle glaucoma and in 390 eyes of 231 normal subjects. Only one randomly assessed eye per patient and subject was taken for statistical analysis. Highly mopic eyes with a myopic refractive error of more than -8.00 diopters had been excluded. The parapapillary chorioretinal atrophy was divided into a peripheral zone "Alpha" with irregular hyper- and hypopigmentation, and a more central zone "Beta" characterized by whitish colour, visible large choroidal vessels and visible sclera. In the normal eyes both zones were significantly (P < 0.001) largest and most common in the temporal horizontal sector, followed by the inferior temporal sector, the superior temporal sector and finally the nasal sector. In the glaucoma group both zones were significantly larger (P < 0.0001; Mann-Whitney test) and more frequent than in the normal eyes (0.40 ± 0.32 mm 2 versus 0.65 ± 0.49 mm 2 for zone Alpha, 0.13 ± 0.42 mm 2 versus 0.79 ± 1.17 mm 2 for zone Beta). The differences were significant also for the earliest glaucoma stage of this study. They were most marked for the nasal parapapillary sector. Significant differences (P < 0.001) between the normal group and the earliest glaucoma stage were: zone Alpha larger than 0.20 mm 2 or broader than 0.20 mm in the temporal horizontal sector, total area of zone Alpha larger than 0.30 mm 2 , occurrence of zone Alpha in
Molecular responses to Heterobasidion annosum s.l. in Picea abies

Norway spruce [Picea abies (L.) Karst. ] is a main tree species in European forests and is important both ecologically and economically. The root rot fungus Heterobasidion annosum sensu lato (s.l.) is the main P. abies pathogen. Including resistance in breeding programs would help mitigating the impact of the pathogen but knowledge regarding defense mechanisms in P. abies needs a better understanding. The work within this thesis intended to expand the existing knowledge on P. abies resistance mechanisms focusing on hormone signaling, flavonoid biosynthesis and its transcriptional regulation. I found that jasmonic acid is the major hormone controlling defense signaling pathways in P. abies. Furthermore, we validated a candidate gene, PaLAR3, as a resistance marker for H. annosum s.l. in P. abies. PaLAR3 encodes an enzyme responsible for the synthesis of (+) catechin, which showed a fungistatic effect on H. parviporum. Analysis of genetic diversity revealed two allelic lineages of PaLAR3 that showed significant differences in fungal resistance and (+) catechin content that were explained by dissimilarities in inducibility. We studied the role of PaNAC03, a transcription factor that is associated with H. annosum s.l. infection. PaNAC03 not only showed repression of multiple genes including PaLAR3, but bound only to the promoter of one of the PaLAR3 allelic lineages explaining at least partly the differences in allelic expression that were observed. Finally, we identified a full repertoire of members of a MYB/bHLH/WDR transcription factor complex in Norway spruce, which showed differences in protein interactions and expression patterns, and also in ability to control the expression of genes in the flavonoid biosynthetic pathway including PaLAR3.
ANALYSIS OF THE INFLUENCE OF STATIC STRETCHING AND ECCENTRIC TRAINING ON FLEXIBILITY OF HAMSTRING MUSCLES

Previous studies have investigated the efficacy of stretching exercises and eccentric training in hamstring flexibility. The objective of this study was to comparatively investigate the efficacy of eccentric training and static stretching in flexibility gain, using a different eccentric training protocol. This study included 13 individuals having on average 23.15±1.72 years of age. The subjects were trained 3 times a week for 6 weeks and a pre- post- comparative analysis was conducted. It was observed that both static stretching and eccentric training resulted in the same non-significant gains in hamstring muscle flexibility. Probably eccentric training is a better training strategy for being able not only to increasing flexibility but for being able to increase strength and protect against muscle damage.
Opinion Formation and Targeting When Persuaders Have Extreme and Centrist Opinions

We consider a model of competitive opinion formation in which three persuaders characterized by (possibly unequal) persuasion impacts try to influence opinions in a society of individuals embedded in a social network. Two of the persuaders have the extreme and opposite opinions, and the third one has the centrist opinion. Each persuader chooses one individual to target, i.e., he forms a link with the chosen individual in order to spread his own “point of view” in the society and to get the average long run opinion as close as possible to his own opinion. We examine the opinion convergence and consensus reaching in the society. We study the existence and characterization of pure strategy Nash equilibria in the game played by the persuaders with equal impacts. This characterization depends on influenceability and centrality (intermediacy) of the targets. We discuss the effect of the centrist persuader on the consensus and symmetric equilibria, compared to the framework with only two persuaders having the extreme opinions. When the persuasion impacts are unequal with one persuader having a sufficiently large impact, the game has only equilibria in mixed strategies.
Implementation and Evaluation of Multiprocessor Resource Synchronization Protocol (MrsP) on LITMUS RT

—Preventing race conditions or data corruptions for concurrent shared resource accesses of real-time tasks is a challenging problem. By adopting the resource synchronization protocols, such a problem has been studied in the literature, but there are not enough evaluations that consider the overhead from the implementations of different protocols. In this paper, we discuss our implementation of the Multiprocessor Resource Sharing Protocol (MrsP) and the Distributed Non-Preemptive Protocol (DNPP) on LITMUS RT . Both of them are released in open source under GNU General Public License (GPL2). To study the impact of the implementation overhead, we deploy different synchronization scenarios with generated task sets and measure the performance with respect to the worst-case response time. The results illustrate that generally the implementation overhead is acceptable, whereas some unexpected system overhead may happen under distributed synchronization protocols on LITMUS RT .