Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Common pitfalls when testing additivity of treatment mixtures with χ 2

Studying interactions of multiple pesticides applied simultaneously in a mixture is a common task in phytopathology. Statistical methods are employed to test whether the treatment components influence each other’s efficacy in a promotive or inhibitory way (synergistic or antagonistic interaction) or rather act independent of one another (additivity). The trouble is that widely used procedures based on χ tests are often seriously flawed, either because people apply them in a preposterous way or because the method simply does not fit the problem at hand. Browsing recent volumes of entomological journals, we found that numerous researchers have (in all likelihood unwittingly) analyzed their data as if they had had a sample size of 100 or, equally bad, a sample size of one! We show how to avoid such poor practices and further argue that χ testing is, even if applied correctly (meaning that no technical errors are made), a limited-purpose tool for assessing treatment interactions.
Assessing patterns of geographic dispersal of Gelidium sesquipedale (Rhodophyta) through RAPD differentiation of populations

Randomly amplified polymorphic DNAs (RAPDs) of bulked genomic DNA samples were used to analyse the genetic differentiation of Gelidium sesquipedale populations. They reflect the patterns of gene flow, which in turn depend on the dispersal mechanisms of the species and on near-shore ocean currents. Fourteen populations were sampled from northern France to Morocco, covering the geographical distribution of the species. A single bulk DNA sample (from 15 individuals) was used in each population, under the assumption that the resulting patterns represent the populations' most common genetic features. To test this, we investigated the genetic variability among 5 bulk samples within a single population. Genetic distances among bulks were very low (average = 0.065) and were significantly lower than those observed between geographically separated populations (average = 0.241). Neighbour-joining analysis of the distance matrix of populations separated a well-supported group including populations of northern Spain and of northern France, and a less-supported group containing populations of northern Portugal. Multidimensional scaling of the genetic distance matrix revealed 2 isolated populations, Silo Rafael in southern Portugal and Algeciras in southern Spain. These patterns of genetic differentiation are discussed under the available data on the near-shore ocean currents. Results suggest that the genetic differentiation of G. sesquipedale populations may be used as a biological tracer of prevailing flows and barriers of the near-shore currents. A positive correlation between geographical and genetic distances of G. sesquipedale populations along the species geographical distribution was found, suggesting that a continuous transport of detached fronds and their reattachment to new substrate must be an effective dispersal mechanism of the species, sustaining the gene flow among populations.
Emotional and Behavioural Reaction 1 In Press : Assessment Emotional and behavioural reaction to intrusive thoughts

A self-report measure of the emotional and behavioural reactions to intrusive thoughts was developed. The paper presents data that confirm the stability, reliability and validity of the new 7-item measure. Emotional and behavioural reactions to intrusions emerged as separate factors on the Emotional and Behavioural Reactions to Intrusions Questionnaire (EBRIQ), a finding confirmed by an independent stress study. Test-retest reliability over 30-70 days was good. Expected relationships with other constructs were significant. Stronger negative responses to intrusions were associated with lower mindfulness scores and higher ratings of experiential avoidance, thought suppression and intensity and frequency of craving. The EBRIQ will help explore differences in reactions to intrusive thoughts in clinical and non-clinical populations, and across different emotional and behavioural states. It will also be useful in assessing the effects of therapeutic approaches such as mindfulness.
An NCME Instructional Module on Comparison-of 1-, 2-, and 3-Parameter IKT Models

This module discusses the 1-, 2-, and 3-parameter logistic item response theory models. Mathematicalformulas are given for each model, and comparisons among the three models are made. Figures are included to illustrate the effects of changing the a, b, or c parameter, and a single data set is used to illustrate the effects of estimating parameter values (as opposed to the true parameter values) and to compare parameter esti'YYUJtes achieved though applying the d'ifferent models. The estimation procedure itself is discussed briefly. Discussions of model assumptions, such as dimensionality and local independence, can be found in many of the annotated references (e.g., Hambleton, 1988).
BRUSH-LIKE SURFACE USING HEPARIN / CHITOSAN BASED NANOPARTICLES FOR BLOOD-CONTACTING APPLICATIONS Submitted by Rajvir

ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS . iii CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION . 1 1.1 Motivation . 1 1.2 Thrombosis . 2 1.2.1 Mechanism of thrombosis . 2 1.3 Endothelial glycocalyx and its composition . 4 1.4 Heparin and anti-thrombosis . 8 1.5 Blood compatible surfaces . 10 1.5. 1 Heparin-based surfaces . 11 1.5. 2 Glycocalyx-mimetic surfaces . 12 1.6 Glycocalyx-mimetic surfaces using polyelectrolyte complex nanoparticles . 16 CHAPTER 2: EXPERIMENTAL SECTION . 20 2.1 Materials . 20 2.2 Construction of heparin/chitosan polyelectrolyte complex nanoparticles . 20 2.3 Preparing the Hep, Tmc, Chi, and fibrinogen solutions for construction of PEM . 21 2.4 PEM assembly and in situ Fourier-transform surface plasmon resonance . 22 2.5 Scanning electron microscopy . 24 2.6 Atomic force microscopy . 24 2.7 Multilayer assembly using quartz crystal microbalance . 24 2.7. 1 Kelvin-Voigt viscoelastic modeling for PCN-coated surface . 25 2.8 Polarization modulation-infrared reflection adsorption spectroscopy . 28 CHAPTER 3: RESULTS AND DISCUSSION . 30 3.1 Background . 30 3.2 Formation of PEMs and PCN-coated surface using surface plasmon resonance . 30 3.3 Surface morphology . 34 3.4 Surface chemistry . 36 3.5 Formation of PEMs and PCN-coated surface using quartz crystal microbalance . 39 CHAPTER 4: CONCLUSION . 46
American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics 1 Modeling Complex Cross-Systems Software Interfaces using SysML

The complex flight and ground systems for NASA human space exploration are designed, built, operated and managed as separate programs and projects. However, each system relies on one or more of the other systems in order to accomplish specific mission objectives, creating a complex, tightly coupled architecture. Thus, there is a fundamental need to understand how each system interacts with the other. To determine if a model-based system engineering approach could be utilized to assist with understanding the complex system interactions, the NASA Engineering and Safety Center (NESC) sponsored a task to develop an approach for performing cross-system behavior modeling. This paper presents the results of applying Model Based Systems Engineering (MBSE) principles using the System Modeling Language (SysML) to define cross-system behaviors and how they map to crosssystem software interfaces documented in system-level Interface Control Documents (ICDs).
THE VALUATION OF GOVERNMENT GUARANTEES PROVIDED FOR MUNICIPALITIES A

v ÖZ . vii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS . x TABLE OF CONTENTS . xi LIST OF TABLES . xiii LIST OF FIGURES . xiv LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS . xv CHAPTERS 1: INTRODUCTION . 1 2: LITERATURE REVIEW . 5 3: MOTIVATION . 11 3.1. Turkish Treasury and Providing Foreign Finance . 13 3.1. 1. Related Legislation . 13 3.1. 2. Process of Providing Foreign Finance with Treasury Guarantee or Onlending . 17 3.2. Basel Accord . 20 3.3. Study Background . 22 4: PROPOSED METHODS . 25 4.1. Methods for Estimating Default Probabilities . 25 4.1. 1. Logistic Regression (LR) . 25 4.1. 2. Artificial Neural Networks (ANNs) . 27 4.2. Methods for Calculating Guarantee Premium . 30 4.2. 1. Credit Default Swaps (CDS) . 30 4.2. 2. Interest Rate Difference (IRD) . 38 4.2. 3. Expected Loss (EL) . 38 4.2. 4. Basel Accord Capital Requirements . 39 5: COMPUTATIONAL STUDY . 41
Partial-Response Signaling

This paper presents a unified study of partial-response signaling (PRS) systems and extends previous work on the comparison of PRS schemes. A PRS system model is introduced which enables the investigation of PRS schemes from the viewpoint of spectral properties such as bandwidth, nulls, and continuity of derivatives. Several desirable properties of PRS systems and their relation to system functions are indicated and a number of useful schemes, some of them not previously analyzed, are presented. These systems are then compared using as figures of merit speed tolerance, minimum eye width, and signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) degradation over ideal binary transmission. A new definition of speed tolerance, which takes into account multilevel outputs and the effect of sampling time, is introduced and used in the calculation of speedtolerance figures. It is shown that eye width, a performance measure that has not been used previously in comparing PRS systems, can be calculated analytically in many cases. Exact values as well as bounds on the SNR degradation for the systems under consideration are presented. The effect of precoding on system performance is also analyzed.
Irreversible reactions in metabolic simulations : how reversible is irreversible ?

Mathematically and thermodynamically there are no irreversible reactions in chemistry, and all enzymes catalyse reversible reactions. All reactions have finite standard Gibbs energies, which is just another way of saying that they all have finite equilibrium constants. Nonetheless, for an enzyme like pyruvate kinase, with an equilibrium constant of the order of 105, one may feel that this is just a mathematical nicety and that the thermodynamic necessity for the reverse reaction to be possible has no practical consequences for cell physiology, and in practice many metabolic reactions are conventionally regarded as irreversible. This typically means that they have equilibrium constants of the order of 1000 or more, though when the mass action ratio in the cell also strongly favours the forward direction a reaction with a substantially smaller equilibrium constant than this can be regarded as irreversible. For example, the hexokinase reaction has an equilibrium constant that is less than 250 at pH 6.5 (Gregoriou et al., 1981), but the reaction is still considered irreversible because in normal physiological conditions the concentration of glucose is always much greater than that of glucose 6-phosphate and the concentration of ATP is usually greater than that of ADP. In metabolic simulations the difficulty and inconvenience of using complete reversible rate equations for all the enzymes is aggravated by the fact that for nearly all “irreversible” enzymes virtually no kinetic measurements of the rates of the reverse reactions, or even of the effects of products on the rates of the forward reactions, have ever been reported. In the absence of any data, therefore, one is forced to choose between ignoring the reverse reaction altogether or guessing what its kinetic parameters might be on the basis of the values of the equilibrium constant and of the kinetic parameters for the forward direction. It would hardly be surprising if many simulators faced with such an unappealing choice preferred the easier option of ignoring reverse reactions, apparently safe and no worse than just guessing the parameter values. Our view is that it is always best to use reversible equations in metabolic sim-
Unpacking the People-Biodiversity Paradox: A Conceptual 1 Framework

Global phenomena, including urbanization, agricultural intensification and biotic homogenization, have led to extensive ecosystem degradation and species extinctions, and, 28 consequently, a reduction in biodiversity. Yet, while it is now widely asserted in the research, 29 policy and practice arenas that interacting with nature is fundamental to human health/well- 30 being, there is a paucity of nuanced evidence characterizing how the living components of 31 nature, biodiversity, play a role in this accepted truth. Understanding these human- 32 biodiversity relationships is essential if the conservation agenda is to be aligned successfully 33 with that of public health by policy-makers and practitioners. Here we show that an apparent 34 ‘people - biodiversity paradox’ is emerging from the literature, comprising a mismatch 35 between: (a) people’s biodiversity preferences and how these inclinations relate to personal 36 subjective well-being; and, (b) the limited ability of individuals to accurately perceive the 37 biodiversity surrounding them. Additionally, we present a conceptual framework for 38 understanding the complexity underpinning human-biodiversity interactions.
Fluorescence spectroscopy and multi-way techniques. PARAFAC

PARAllel FACtor analysis (PARAFAC) is increasingly used to decompose fluorescence excitation emission matrices (EEMs) into their underlying chemical components. In the ideal case where fluorescence conforms to Beers Law, this process can lead to the mathematical identification and quantification of independently varying fluorophores. However, many practical and analytical hurdles stand between EEM datasets and their chemical interpretation. This article provides a tutorial in the practical application of PARAFAC to fluorescence datasets, demonstrated using a dissolved organic matter (DOM) fluorescence dataset. A new toolbox for MATLAB is presented to support improved visualisation and sensitivity analyses of PARAFAC models in fluorescence spectroscopy.
1 1 2 3 4 The functional role of serial dependence 5

The functional role of serial dependence 5 Guido Marco Cicchini1, Kyriaki Mikellidou, & David C. Burr 6 Institute of Neuroscience, National Research Council (CNR), Pisa, Italy; Department of Translational Research on 7 New Technologies in Medicine and Surgery, University of Pisa, Italy; Department of Psychology, University of 8 Cyprus, Cyprus; Department of Neuroscience, University of Florence, Italy; School of Psychology, University of 9
For more info, recommended reading includes: "Is This Really Science? The Semantic Webber's Guide to Evaluating Research Contributions"

The Semantic Web is an extremely diverse research area. Unlike scientists in other research fields, we investigate a diverse set questions using a plethora of methods. The goal of this primer is to provide context for scientists in the Semantic Web and Linked Data domain about the purpose of research questions and their associated hypotheses, the tension between rigor and relevance thereof, possible evaluation approaches typically used, and pitfalls in terms of reliability and validity. For example, where is the scientific problem in developing a system or a tool? How do we frame the discussion of generating linked data from a given corpus such that others will actually care about our work? When is it a good idea to use our (Semantic Web) technology when the problem has already been successfully attacked by other means? We strive to make this primer as practical as possible. Hence, after a short more theoretical introduction we will pick up a series of examples from our research domain and use them to exemplify the implications of our introductory theoretical treatment. We hope that this text will help the reader to explore the scientific basis of their research more systematically. ∗bernstein@ifi.uzh. ch, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland †natashafn@acm.org, Stanford University, Palo Alto, CA, USA
Determining the 7 Li(n, γ) cross section via Coulomb dissociation of 8 Li

The applicability of Coulomb dissociation reactions to determine the cross section for the inverse neutron capture reaction was explored using the reaction 8Li(gamma,n)7Li. A 69.5 MeV/nucleon 8Li beam was incident on a Pb target, and the outgoing neutron and 7Li nucleus were measured in coincidence. The deduced (n,gamma) excitation function is consistent with data for the direct capture reaction 7Li(n,gamma)8Li and with low-energy effective field theory calculations.
Markers for the molecular diagnosis of brucellosis in animals.

Received: Revised: Accepted: 2014–02–01 2014–02–27 2014–02–28 Brucellosis is a reemerging zoonotic disease, which acquire high significance because it’s worldwide prevalence and threat to human health. So far, isolation of the organism is the gold standard for the confirmation of the disease. However, the biosafety concern limits the isolation without costly equipment and skilled technical staff. Under such scenario diagnosis is to be performed by the best available methods with minimum possibility of biohazards. These methods involved serological and molecular detection of antigens/ antibodies and nucleic acids. Serological methods are not so prompt for species specific identification and need differentiation of vaccinated to infected animals. Whereas molecular methods are less time consuming and more sensitive and specific for genus and species identification in the same reaction. Hence present review discusses all the possible molecular targets with antigenic signatures presently being used for the genus and species identification of the Brucella. These molecular targets are the base for the confirmatory diagnosis at species and biovars levels directly from the samples without going for the isolation of the organism. All copyrights reserved to Nexus® academic publishers
Construction for Research Paper Selection Ontology using Protégé

Nowadays the information retrieval system mainly based on topic based classification or text matching keywords. These keywords may return a vast amount of irrelevant information, and it does not successfully meet the user’s exact requirements. To overcome this problem, semantic environment is developed, and a technique named ontology is used. This paper constructs the ontology for selecting the research papers in both ‘computer science’ and ‘others’ domain which is named as research paper selection ontology(RSO) using the tool protégé 4.3.
Security Analysis and Enhanced Construction on ECDLP-Based Proxy Blind Signature Scheme

 Abstract—Nowadays, the proxy blind signature is an important issue in E-commerce system. In the proxy blind signature scheme, the delegation relationship can be established between the original signer and the proxy signer. That means an original signer, due to the special reasons, delegates his signing capability to a proxy signer who can thus sign a message on behalf of the original signer. The blindness property indicates that the proxy signer does not know the content of his signing message. In the past years, many researchers have proposed proxy blind signature schemes based on DLP (Discrete Logarithm Problem) and ECDLP (Elliptic Curve DLP). This paper demonstrates that Alghazzawi et al.'s and Pradhan-Mohapatra's proxy blind signature schemes based on ECDLP are insecure because both of them do not meet the unlinkability property. Therefore, we present an enhanced construction based on the ECDLP which can satisfy all security requirements of the proxy blind signature.
Nontaxable income and necessary consumption: the Rousseau’s paradox of fiscal egalitarianism

This article compares a tax method featuring flat rates and fixed allowances equal for all taxpayers (Surplus Income Tax Method (SITM) procedure) with a tax method featuring also flat rates and increasing personal allowances (IPAs) to meet the amounts of necessary consumption required by the different living standards (Discretionary Income Tax Method (DITM) procedure). Our results show that the DITM procedure generates an after-tax income distribution less unequal and superior in terms of social welfare. Moreover, the assumption (for comparison purposes) of identical total tax revenues leads to the corollary that the flat tax rate under the DITM is necessarily larger than the one under the SITM; being thus, the former taxmethod is more progressive than the latter. These results imply an obvious paradox considering the commonly accepted principle that basic necessities are the same for everyone (Rousseau, 1755). Based on the results obtained in this article, we have labelled this paradox as the Rousseau’s paradox of fiscal egalitarianism.
Portrait of the String as a Random Walk

In this paper we analyze a Rutherford type experiment where light probes are inelastically scattered by an ensemble of excited closed strings, and use the corresponding cross section to extract density-density correlators between different pieces of the target string. We find a wide dynamical range where the space-time evolution of typical highly excited closed strings is accurately described as a convolution of brownian motions. Moreover, we show that if we want to obtain the same cross section by coherently scattering probes off a classical background, then this background has to be time-dependent and singular. This provides an example where singularities arise, not as a result of strong gravitational self-interactions, but as a byproduct of the decoherence implicit in effectively describing the string degrees of freedom as a classical background.
Discovery of anomalous oxygen isotopic ratios in HR 4049

We report the discovery in the ISO/SWS spectrum of the post-AGB star HR 4049 of emission bands due to 17 O and 18 O isotopes locked up in CO 2 molecules. It is the first time these isotopomers are detected outside the solar system. Isotopic ratios derived in the optically thin limit are as low as 16 O/ 17 O $= 8.3\pm 2.3$ and 16 O/$^{18}{\rm O} = 6.9 \pm 0.9$. These values are at least one order of magnitude lower than any previously determined isotopic ratio in any type of evolved star.
Discovery and Analysis of Public Opinions on Controversial Topics in the Educational Domain

Argumentation is used by everybody in their daily lives as well as work. People frequently need to identify arguments in favor or against a specific topic in order to present some information or make a decision. The educational domain serves as good example. Bachelor graduates often find themselves wondering if they should pursue a Master’s degree or start working in the industry. Finding pros and cons of each possibility is crucial for them in order to make up their mind. The Web is overloaded with data and it is growing constantly. It includes many arguments for topics in various fields but people are not satisfied anymore with traditional search engines that are supposed to find these arguments. Therefore, they look for more intelligent solutions and this is where argumentation mining comes in play. In this work we present a conceptual design of a system with the task to simplify the access to argumentation information concerning a specific topic. We propose to implement such a system as a search engine which looks for the arguments in the Web given a topic as a query. Because of the computation limitations we decide to concentrate only on topics from the educational domain and arguments in german language. We also implement and evaluate the critical parts of the system such as: a focused crawler, argument extraction and classification module as well as the front-end interface. For the extraction and classification part we decide to use supervised machine learning techniques. Therefore, first we collect the documents which contain the arguments. Secondly, we define the annotation scheme and perform the annotation study. As a result we create a labeled corpus, which is used for training models for the argument extraction and classification experiments. Finally, we evaluate the influence of different classification algorithms as well as the combination of different features and perform the error analysis.