Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Public activities preceding the onset of acute respiratory infection syndromes in adults in England - implications for the use of social distancing to control pandemic respiratory infections.

Background: Social distancing measures may reduce the spread of emerging respiratory infections however, there is little empirical data on how exposure to crowded places affects risk of acute respiratory infection. Methods: We used a case-crossover design nested in a community cohort to compare self-reported measures of activities during the week before infection onset and baseline periods. The design eliminates the effect of non-time-varying confounders. Time-varying confounders were addressed by exclusion of illnesses around the Christmas period and seasonal adjustment. Results: 626 participants had paired data from the week before 1005 illnesses and the week before baseline. Each additional day of undertaking the following activities in the prior week was associated with illness onset: Spending more than five minutes in a room with someone (other than a household member) who has a cold (Seasonally adjusted OR 1·15, p=0·003); use of underground trains (1·31, p=0·036); use of supermarkets (1·32, p<0·001); attending a theatre, cinema or concert (1·26, p=0·032); eating out at a café, restaurant or canteen (1·25, p=0·003); and attending parties (1·47, p<0·001). Undertaking the following activities at least once in the previous week was associated with illness onset: using a bus, (aOR 1.48, p=0.049), shopping at small shops (1.9, p<0.002) attending a place of worship (1.81, p=0.005). Conclusions: Exposure to potentially crowded places, public transport and to individuals with a cold increases risk of acquiring circulating acute respiratory infections. This suggests social distancing measures can have an important impact on slowing transmission of emerging respiratory infections.
Predict Individual Retweet Behavior Based on Multi-feature

With the rapid development of social media, more and more people get information from social media. The retweet prediction task helps to study the process of information dissemination on social media. Previous methods take into account text features and ignore user’s sentiments and interests. The history tweets tweeted by the user not only reflect the user’s sentiments that the user tends to express on social media, but also shows the user’s interests. In this work, we used a deep learning method to extract features from user profiles, user history, user network, target tweet, then we used these features to predict whether a tweet will be retweeted by a user. Experimental results on dataset show that the proposed model can effectively predict the retweet behavior of users.
Multitaper Spectral Granger Causality with Application to Ssvep

The traditional parametric approach to Granger causality (GC), based on linear vector autoregressive modeling, suffers from difficulties related to the inaccurate modeling of the generative process. These limits can be solved by using nonparametric spectral estimates in the frequency-domain formulation of GC, also known as spectral GC. In a simulation study, we compare the mean square error of the estimated spectral GC using different multitaper spectral estimators, finding that the Peak Matched multitapers are preferable for estimating spectral GC characterized by peaks. As an illustrative example, we apply the non-parametric approach to the analysis of brain functional connectivity in steady-state visually evoked potentials.
Q-Learning Based Predictive Relay Selection for Optimal Relay Beamforming

Wireless Autonomous Networks are expected to support communication between a source and a receiver, by constantly self-adapting to changes in their communication environment. This paper considers a scenario of relay beamforming, in which relays collaboratively retransmit the source signal so that they maximize the average signal-to-interference+noise ratio (SINR) at the destination. The relays are grouped into clusters, with each cluster having a single active relay at a time. The system evolves in time slots; in each time slot the clusters beamform to the destination, and at the same time, each cluster selects the relay to be active in the subsequent time slot. Relay selection is performed locally within each cluster, using a reinforcement learning approach, namely Q-learning. Compared to prior methods, the proposed scheme does not require any statistical knowledge on the channels, and achieves similar average SINR performance while involving lower complexity.
We’re All in This Together: Understanding How Tourism Advocates Build Relationships across the Tourism Industry

The tourism industry has long been concerned with gaining political influence to ensure supportive policies and governance. Tourism advocates are leaders who seek political influence by creating a unified industry voice and setting a prioritized legislative agenda. This requires tourism advocates to have strong relationships with members of the tourism industry. We use a political advocacy framework to explore how tourism advocates develop as leaders and the behaviors they utilize to build relationships within the tourism industry in the context of a state tourism advocacy association in the United States. The findings suggest that there are many paths to becoming a tourism advocate, but all require supportive organizational resources, industry knowledge, and social capital as these attributes are vital in efforts to build the relationships with tourism industry members.
Theory of Spinors in Curved Space-Time

The interaction between spinors and gravity is the most complicated and subtle interaction in the universe, which involves the basic problem to unified quantum theory and general relativity. By means of Clifford Algebra, a unified language and tool to describe the rules of nature, this paper systematically discusses the dynamics and properties of spinor fields in curved space-time, such as the decomposition of the spinor connection, the classical approximation of Dirac equation, the energy momentum tensor of spinors and so on. To split spinor connection into Keller connection $\Upsilon_\mu\in\Lambda^1$ and pseudo-vector potential $\Omega_\mu\in\Lambda^3$ by Clifford algebra not only makes the calculation simpler, but also highlights their different physical meanings. The representation of the new spinor connection is dependent only on the metric, but not on the Dirac matrix. Keller connection only corresponds to geometric calculations, but the potential $\Omega_\mu$ has dynamical effects, which couples with the spin of a spinor and may be the origin of the celestial magnetic field. Only in the new form of connection can we clearly define the classical concepts for the spinor field and then derive its complete classical dynamics, that is, Newton's second law of particles. To study the interaction between space-time and fermion, we need an explicit form of the energy-momentum tensor of spinor fields. However, the energy-momentum tensor is closely related to the tetrad, and the tetrad cannot be uniquely determined by the metric. This uncertainty increases the difficulty of deriving rigorous expression. In this paper, through a specific representation of tetrad, we derive the concrete energy-momentum tensor and its classical approximation. In the derivation of energy-momentum tensor, we obtain a spinor coefficient table $S^{\mu\nu}_{ab}$, which plays an important role in the interaction between spinor and gravity. From this paper we find that, Clifford algebra has irreplaceable advantages in the study of geometry and physics.
Realising local food policies: a comparison between Toronto and the Brussels-Capital Region’s stories through the lenses of reflexivity and co-learning

ABSTRACT This paper revisits the development of Toronto and Brussels’ local food policies by analysing reflexivity and co-learning as important dimensions within a Hybrid Governance Approach (HGA); it approaches the interaction between four forms of governance (bottom-up, networked, state, market-led) and the tensions between them as hybrid dynamics. Within this approach, reflexivity refers to the positionality of agents, i.e. to the ways local food actors embody as well as reflect on and reconsider their principles and practices through time. Closely related to reflexivity, co-learning involves agential interactions to co-construct enabling food policy delivery systems. The HGA is mobilised to understand the ways in which reflexive capacities, as well as co-learning, take place in the two cases and how they lay the basis of particular modes of (de)institutionalisation. Learning from the two cases’ trajectories, this paper highlights: (a) the role of key governance tensions as triggers as well as breeding grounds for reflexivity and co-learning outcomes; (b) the challenges of food movement actors to surmount or valorise key tensions in order to build accountable modes of food policy delivery through time; (c) the struggles to build legitimacy and accountability in local food movements through the development of bottom-linked organisations and governance modes.
Silicon‐mediated multiple interactions: Simultaneous induction of rice defense and inhibition of larval performance and insecticide tolerance of Chilo suppressalis by sodium silicate

Abstract The rice striped stem borer (SSB, Chilo suppressalis) is one of the most destructive pests of rice plants. Si‐mediated rice defense against various pests has been widely reported, and sodium silicate (SS) has been used as an effective source of silicon for application to plants. However, there is quite limited information about the direct effects of Si application on herbivorous insects. SSB larval performance and their insecticide tolerance were examined after they had been reared either on rice plants cultivated in nutrient solution containing 0.5 and 2.0 mM SS or on artificial diets with 0.1% and 0.5% SS. SS amendment in either rice culture medium or artificial diets significantly suppressed the enzymatic activities of acetylcholinesterase, glutathione S‐transferases, and levels of cytochrome P450 protein in the midgut of C. suppressalis larvae. Larvae fed on diets containing SS showed lower insecticide tolerance. Additionally, RNA‐seq analysis showed that SS‐mediated larval insecticide tolerance was closely associated with fatty acid biosynthesis and pyruvate metabolism pathways. Our results suggest that Si not only enhances plant resistance against insect herbivore, but also impairs the insect's capacity to detoxify the insecticides. This should be considered as another important aspect in Si‐mediated plant–insect interaction and may provide a novel approach of pest management.
Arsenic exposure on bovine health and environmental pollution with special emphasis on groundwater system in Manipur.

There was high arsenic content in soil, drinking water and grass in Manipur suggestive of environmental pollution by the arsenic contaminant, which was due to groundwater containing arsenic more than the permissible limit. The cattle of 2 zones in Manipur were selected for the present study, i.e. Kakching block in Thoubal district as exposed zone and Kamjong block in Ukhrul district as control zone. The arsenic content in faeces, urine, milk, hair and serum in cattle of exposed zone were higher compared to control zone. High concentration of arsenic in milk indicated the presence of arsenic in food-chain. It suggests the testing of milk and hair for arsenic concentration that could be considered as biomarker to assess the arsenic exposure.
A Novel Framework to Study Trace Gas Transport in Deep Convective Clouds

Deep convective clouds reach the upper troposphere (8–15 km height). In addition to moisture and aerosol particles, they can bring aerosol precursor gases and other reactive trace gases from the planetary boundary layer to the cloud top. In this paper, we present a method to estimate trace gas transport based on the analysis of individual air parcel trajectories. Large eddy simulation of an idealized deep convective cloud was used to provide realistic environmental input to a parcel model. For a buoyant parcel, we found that the trace gas transport approximately follows one out of three scenarios, determined by a combination of the equilibrium vapor pressure (containing information about water‐solubility and pure component saturation vapor pressure) and the enthalpy of vaporization. In one extreme, the trace gas will eventually be completely removed by precipitation. In the other extreme, there is almost no vapor condensation on hydrometeors and most of the gas is transported to the top of the cloud. The scenario in between these two extremes is also characterized by strong gas condensation, but a small fraction of the trace gas may still be transported aloft. This approach confirms previously suggested patterns of inert trace gas behavior in deep convective clouds, agrees with observational data, and allows estimating transport in analytically simple and computationally efficient way compared to explicit cloud‐resolving model calculations.
N-Acylethanolamine (NAE) Profiles Change During Arabidopsis Thaliana Seed Germination and Seedling Growth

An understanding of the potential roles as lipid mediators of a family of bioactive metabolites called N-acylethanolamines (NAEs) depends on their accurate identification and quantification. The levels of 18C unsaturated NAEs (e.g. NAE18:2, NAE 18:3, etc.) in wild-type seeds (about 2000 ng/g fw) generally decreased by about 80% during germination and post-germinative growth. In addition, results suggest NAE-degradative fatty acid amide hydrolase (FAAH) expression does not play a major role in normal NAE metabolism as previously thought. Seedlings germinated and grown in the presence of abscisic acid (ABA), an endogenous plant hormone, exhibited growth arrest and secondary dormancy, similar to the treatment of seedlings with exogenous N­lauroylethanolamine (NAE12:0). ABA-mediated growth arrest was associated with higher levels of unsaturated NAEs. Overall, these results are consistent with the concept that NAE metabolism is activated during seed germination and suggest that the reduction in unsaturated NAE levels is under strict temporal control and may be a requirement for normal seed germination and post-germinative growth.
Everyday sentiment among unionists and nationalists in a Northern Irish town

ABSTRACT Unionists and nationalists remain polarized in their political choices, increasingly so since Brexit. Does this signal increasing and dangerous division? Or have the decades of peace and agreed institutions changed the tenor of discussion in Northern Ireland? In this article, we examine the ways community relations, political division and contention are discussed by focusing on the expression of everyday sentiment among unionists and nationalists in a mixed Northern Irish town. Theoretically, it has been argued that positive sentiment raises hopes for compromise and leaves room for discussion, while negative sentiment closes off deliberation and compromise. Based on interviews, we first conduct a sentiment analysis that identifies positive versus negative sentiment expressed by the respondents, focusing on themes addressing Irish unity, unionism, Brexit, as well as personal and community life. The analysis shows that, on average, interviewees talk more positively than negatively about each theme. We then conduct a qualitative discourse analysis to investigate how positive and negative sentiment are expressed by unionist and nationalist respondents. We find that respondents name and elaborate on the political issues in contention while lowering the emotional valence of discussion. This suggests much more room for deliberation and compromise than is usually assumed.
Role of Customer Loyalty on Employee Performance and Productivity in Pharmacy Business in Thailand

With the entrance of discount pharmacies in Thailand the competitiveness of traditional community pharmacies has declined. Owing to this, the traditional selling methods to attract the consumers have become obsolete. Therefore, this study is conducted to find a new way i.e. enhanced employee performance to increase customer loyalty. Furthermore, the mediating role of perceived value and trust has also been taken into account pertinent to pharmacy business in Thailand. The respondents of the study were the customers of franchises of community pharmacies in Thailand. Survey questionnaire technique was used to collect the required data from the pharmacies which were selected through random sampling technique. Additionally, PLS-SEM technique was utilized for data analysis. The results show that customer loyalty  attitudinal loyalty (AL) and behavioral loyalty (BL)  is increased with augmented employee performance (EP) apropos the demands of the customers. Furthermore, trust (TR) and perceived value (PV) positively mediates between the both. The research also enlightens the decision makers to best design the employee training sessions to enhance the profitability and compete with discount pharmacies.
Improving perceptions of STEM careers through informal learning environments

PurposeThis paper investigated the impact a camp on informal science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) had on students' perceptions of STEM fields and careers.Design/methodology/approachA quasiexperimental design was used to assess students' perceptions toward STEM fields and careers. Secondary students (n = 57) who participated in the STEM summer camp completed STEM projects, went on lab tours and attended panels during the one- or two-week residential camps. Students completed a STEM Semantics survey to assess their perceptions prior to and after attending the camp. Descriptive statistics, Cohen's d effect sizes, paired sample t-tests and Pearson's correlation were conducted to analyze the data.FindingsResults suggested that although there was no significant change in students' dispositions toward each individual STEM field, there was a statistically significant improvement of students' perceptions of STEM careers (p = 0.04; d = 0.25). Furthermore, the results of the Pearson's correlation indicated that there was a statistically significant positive association between perceptions of a STEM career and perceptions in science, mathematics and engineering.Research limitations/implicationsThis suggests that various components of the informal learning environment positively contributed to students' perceptions toward STEM careers. Implications from the study indicate that when students are engaged in hands-on science or STEM PBL activities and have opportunities to be exposed to various STEM careers, their perceptions of STEM pathways will improve.Originality/valueThese results may influence future curriculum and the organization of future STEM camps by encouraging teachers and camp directors to integrate practical hands-on STEM projects and expose students to potential STEM pathways through lab tours and panels of STEM professionals.
Dynamic simulation study of the steam temperature in a ultra-supercritical circulating fluidized bed boiler system

A dynamic simulation of a modern ultra-supercritical circulating fluidized bed (USC-CFB) boiler system was performed using a physics-based model, where the boiler system was composed of an integrated system of heat exchanger (HEX) blocks. In each of the discretized elements of the HEX blocks, supercritical steam flow interacted with the solid–gas flow via heat transfer, and conservation laws, and physical phenomena of the CFB, and the supercritical steam flow was modeled to obtain the flow properties of each material side. By utilizing this model, the dynamic behavior of the main steam temperature, which was selected as the representative performance parameter for achieving safe and fast load changes, was simulated in response to changes applied to the main operating parameters such as the feedwater and fuel flow rates. The dynamic characteristics of the USC-CFB boiler were demonstrated by presenting the temperature responses of the steam and the circulating solid–gas after a step change in the feedwater and fuel flow rates. In the case of a load change, the dynamic response of the steam temperature was quantitatively presented by showing the transient overshoot and undershoot behavior, depending on the selection of the ramp speed when changing the feedwater and fuel flow rates. The steam temperature was also shown to be controlled by manipulating the inlet solid mass flow rate into the final superheater section of the external HEX. The comprehensive set of plant performance data that was generated from the model simulation can be utilized in setting up the operation strategies and/or in determining the control parameters for achieving stable steam temperature behavior during a load change.
An Integrated Boost Active Bridge Based Secondary Inductive Power Transfer Converter

Due to its inherent safety, robustness, and high efficiency, inductive power transfer (IPT) technology is highly suitable for the implementation of wireless electric vehicle (EV) chargers. In addition, IPT-based EV chargers can provide consistent vehicle-to-grid services, opportunistic charging, and in-motion/dynamic charging. However, designing such systems to adhere to applicable standards, while ensuring constant power transfer, and high efficiency, remains a challenge. For example, to meet the requirements outlined by SAE J2954, a wireless charger should tolerate a coupling change from 10% to 30% and a battery voltage variation from 280 to 420 V. A boost active bridge (BAB) converter presented in previous work was shown as a suitable solution; however, this system utilized two additional dc inductors. As such, this article presents a BAB converter, which integrates the current splitting functionality previously achieved using two dc inductors into a Double D magnetic coupler. This achieves a reduction in the magnetic volume of approximately 70%. Analysis of the proposed converter together with detailed design guidelines to maximize power transfer efficiency for a system designed to meet the SAEJ2954 specifications is also presented. Experimentally obtained efficiencies from a 7-kW prototype system showed minimal variation over the full range of loading conditions, ranging between 94.2% and 92%.
Selection for high [beta]-glucan content in oat grain

High serum cholesterol level is a major risk factor of premature heart disease in humans. Oat (A. sativa L.) p-glucan lowers serum cholesterol in humans when is consumed in the daily diet. Development of oat cultivars with greater groat p-glucan content would increase the nutritional and economical value of the crop. The first objective of this study was to determine the progress from phenotypic selection of individual So plants for high Pglucan content in two oat (Avena sativa L.) populations. The second objective was to determine the predominant gene action for P-glucan content and to estimate changes in genetic variances and broad sense heritability in those populations. The third objective was to estimate the correlated response of unselected agronomic and grain quality traits and genetic covariances and correlations between these traits and P-glucan content in the same populations. The initial (CO) and selected (CI) generations of two genetically broad-based oat populations, lABGl and IABG2, were evaluated in a field experiment in 1996 and 1997 at two Iowa locations. Mean P-glucan content increased 5.9 g kg"' and 2.6 g kg"', and the genetic variance decreased 9.3% and 21.8 %, following selection in lABGl and IABG2. Heritability estimates ranged from 0.49 to 0.65 on a sample-basis and from 0.80 to 0.88 on a line-mean basis. Additive variance was the only substantial component of genetic variance. Genotype-by-environment interaction was significant. However, ranking of So:i lines for pglucan content across environments was generally consistent, with correlations of genotypic P-glucan contents ranging fi-om 0.63 to 0.82 across pairs of environments. Some experimental lines had significantly greater P-glucan content than the best checks.