Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Evaluating the e ffi cacy of predator removal in a con fl ict-prone world

Predators shape ecosystem structure and function through their direct and indirect effects on prey, which permeate through ecological communities. Predators are often perceived as competitors or threats to human values or well-being. This conflict has persisted for centuries, often resulting in predator removal (i.e. killing) via targeted culling, trapping, poisoning, and/or public hunts. Predator removal persists as a management strategy but requires scientific evaluation to assess the impacts of these actions, and to develop a way forward in a world where human-predator conflict may intensify due to predator reintroduction and rewilding, alongside an expanding human population. We reviewed literature investigating predator removal and focused on identifying instances of successes and failures. We found that predator removal was generally intended to protect domestic animals from depredation, to preserve prey species, or to mitigate risks of direct human conflict, corresponding to being conducted in farmland, wild land, or urban areas. Because of the different motivations for predator removal, there was no consistent definition of what success entailed so we developed one with which to assess studies we reviewed. Research tended to be retrospective and correlative and there were few controlled experimental approaches that evaluated whether predator removal met our definition of success, making formal meta-analysis impossible. Predator removal appeared to only be effective for the short-term, failing in the absence of sustained predator suppression. This means predator removal was typically an ineffective and costly approach to conflicts between humans and predators. Management must consider the role of the predator within the ecosystem and the potential consequences of removal on competitors and prey. Simulations or models can be generated to predict responses prior to removing predators. We also suggest that alternatives to predator removal be further developed and researched. Ultimately, humans must coexist with predators and learning how best to do so may resolve many conflicts.
TEACHER SELF-EFFICACY WITH TEACHING STUDENTS TO LEAD IEP MEETINGS : A CORRELATION STUDY ON ADMINISTRATOR

Self-efficacy has been closely linked to teacher performance of instructional tasks. Previous studies on teacher selfefficacy focused on general activities and were less specific regarding special education teachers' perceived ability to perform a given task. The purpose of this quantitative correlation study was to evaluate high school special education teachers' self-efficacy with teaching students with disabilities the skills they need to lead their IEP meetings. The research question addressed the relationship between a high school special education teacher's support from administration, and the level of the teacher's self-efficacy with respect to teaching students with disabilities the skills they need to lead their IEP meetings. A sample of 84 high school special education teachers completed the Teacher Survey of Student Involvement in IEP Meetings Questionnaire (TSSIIMQ). A two-sample t-test, was performed on the participant's responses. The results showed that special education teachers' support from administration was statistically significantly correlated with their levels of self-efficacy. This study had significant implications for social change by suggesting that a higher level of teacher self-efficacy may lead to an increase in preparing students who are self-determined advocates involved in leading their IEP meetings.
Desombere, I. et al. (2016) Monoclonal anti-envelope antibody AP33 protects humanized mice against a patient-derived hepatitis C virus

End-stage liver disease caused by hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is a major indication for liver transplantation. However, immediately after transplantation the liver graft of viremic patients universally becomes infected by circulating virus, resulting in accelerated liver disease progression. Currently available direct-acting antiviral therapies have reduced efficacy in patients with end-stage liver disease and prophylactic strategies to prevent HCV recurrence are still highly needed. In this study we compared the ability of two broadly reactive monoclonal antibodies (mAbs), designated 3/11 and AP33, recognizing a distinct but overlapping epitope in the viral E2 glycoprotein to protect humanized mice from a patient-derived HCV challenge. Their neutralizing activity was assessed using the HCVpp and HCVcc systems expressing multiple patient-derived envelopes and a human-liver chimeric mouse model. HCV RNA was readily detected in all control mice challenged with a patient-derived HCV genotype 1b isolate, while three out of four AP33-treated mice were completely protected. In contrast, only one out of four 3/11-treated mice remained HCV RNA negative throughout the observation period, while the other three had a viral load that was indistinguishable from that in the control group. The increased in vivo efficacy of AP33 was in line with its higher affinity and neutralizing capacity observed in vitro. Conclusion: Although mAbs AP33 and 3/11 target the same region in E2, only mAb AP33 can efficiently protect from challenge with a heterologous HCV population in vivo. Since mAb AP33 efficiently neutralizes viral variants that escaped the humoral immune response and re-infected the liver graft of transplant patients, it may be a valuable candidate to prevent HCV recurrence. In addition our data is valuable for the design of a prophylactic vaccine. Page 3 of 37 Hepatology Hepatology This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
Attention Module Spatial Attention Module Spatial Attention Module Task Attention Module Task Attention Module Task Attention Module Concat Linear Layer Softmax Meta Prediction Softmax Linear Layer Semantic Prediction Semantic Branch Average Pooling Label Label Label Meta-Training Stage

Despite recent success of deep neural networks, it remains challenging to efficiently learn new visual concepts from limited training data. To address this problem, a prevailing strategy is to build a meta-learner that learns prior knowledge on learning from a small set of annotated data. However, most of existing meta-learning approaches rely on a global representation of images and a meta-learner with complex model structures, which are sensitive to background clutter and difficult to interpret. We propose a novel meta-learning method for few-shot classification based on two simple attention mechanisms: one is a spatial attention to localize relevant object regions and the other is a task attention to select similar training data for label prediction. We implement our method via a dual-attention network and design a semantic-aware meta-learning loss to train the meta-learner network in an end-to-end manner. We validate our model on three few-shot image classification datasets with extensive ablative study, and our approach shows competitive performances over these datasets with fewer parameters. For facilitating the future research, code and data split are available: https://github.com/tonysy/STANet-PyTorch
UvA-DARE ( Digital Academic Repository ) Star formation history written in spectra

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Call Options and Accruals Quality 1

We analyze the link between financial reporting choices that affect accruals quality and firms’ use of call options. Call options used in compensation arrangements (employee stock options or ESOs) create countervailing incentives for managers to affect accruals quality: while poorer accruals quality is associated with greater returns volatility (which leads to an increase in ESO value), better accruals quality is associated with a lower cost of capital (and, therefore, higher share price, which leads to an increase in ESO value). We confirm both effects on accruals quality, and we show that the net effect is for ESOs to worsen accruals quality. However, when the returns volatility incentive to worsen accruals quality is muted or absent (as when managers hold employer shares and call options are used for financing purposes), the overall incentive is for managers to increase accruals quality.
DESIGN AND ANALYSIS OF A SEPIC CONVERTER FOR PV APPLICATIONS

This paper presents analysis and design of a SEPIC Converter. Operation of the single ended primary inductor converter (SEPIC) is analyzed, leading to mathematical expressions that can be used to design the converter. The SEPIC converter allows a range of dc voltage to be adjusted to maintain a constant voltage output. SEPIC converter is used to overcome the limitation of conventional buck boost converter like inverted output, pulsating input current, high voltage stress make it unreliable for wide range of operation. MATLAB simulation is being used to validate the method and show the effectiveness of the design.
AERODYNAMICS OF A SWIRLING FLUIDIZED BED MOHD AL-HAFIZ BIN MOHD NAWI A thesis submitted in fulfillment of the requirement for the award of the Degree of Master of Mechanical Engineering Faculty of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering

Swirling Fluidized Bed (SFB) is one of the fluidized bed systems that have potential to be widely used in the mineral processing, power generation and chemical industries. By using an annular bed and inclined injection of gas through the distributor in SFB it will archive a high performance in fluidization. A numerical simulation Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) and experimental work with Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) has been used to investigate physical parameters that influence the type of plenum chamber, the distributor pressure drop and the uniformity of tangential velocity distribution. The study focused on the 60 blades distributor whereby the effect of two horizontal inclinations (12° and 15°) and tangential entry plenum chamber (single, double and triple). Three velocities component were analyzed; tangential velocity, radial velocity and axial velocity. In actual industrial applications, the axial velocity will create fluidization while the tangential velocity provides swirling effect. The presence of radial velocity can be explained as a consequence of centrifugal force generated by the swirling gas. The tangential velocity is the major velocity component in this study and it represents the velocity of the swirling air in the annular region of the bed. The uniformity of tangential velocity distribution and pressure drop is set as performance criteria and has been analyzed with statistical method; mean value, standard deviation & root mean square of difference (RMSD). The most significant finding in simulation configuration is the pressure drop of the distributor blade increased when a triple tangential entry plenum chamber along with horizontal inclination 15° has been applied which then create high tangential velocity. Only parameter for double tangential entry plenum chamber consists with horizontal inclination, 12° has been selected to validate with the PIV result. Comparison of the simulation result (CFD) and experimental data (PIV) are presented, and it is confirmed that good agreement is obtained.
Multipartite-Entanglement Tomography of a Quantum Simulator 3 functions

Multipartite-entanglement tomography, namely the quantum Fisher information (QFI) calculated with respect to different collective operators, allows to fully characterize the phase diagram of the quantum Ising chain in a transverse field with variable-range coupling. In particular, it recognizes the phase stemming from long-range antiferromagnetic coupling, a capability also shared by the spin squeezing. Furthermore, the QFI locates the quantum critical points, both with vanishing and nonvanishing mass gap. In this case, we also relate the finite-size power-law exponent of the QFI to the critical exponents of the model, finding a signal for the breakdown of conformal invariance in the deep long-range regime. Finally, the effect of a finite temperature on the multipartite entanglement, and ultimately on the phase stability, is considered. In light of the current realizations of the model with trapped ions and of the potential measurability of the QFI, our approach yields a promising strategy to probe long-range physics in controllable quantum systems.
Influence of Familial Renal Glycosuria Due to Mutations in the SLC 5 A 2 Gene on Changes in Glucose Tolerance over Time Ottosson-Laakso , Emilia 2016-01-06

Familial renal glycosuria is an inherited disorder resulting in glucose excretion in the urine despite normal blood glucose concentrations. It is most commonly due to mutations in the SLC5A2 gene coding for the glucose transporter SGLT2 in the proximal tubule. Several drugs have been introduced as means to lower glucose in patients with type 2 diabetes targeting SGLT2 resulting in renal glycosuria, but no studies have addressed the potential effects of decreased renal glucose reabsorption and chronic glycosuria on the prevention of glucose intolerance. Here we present data on a large pedigree with renal glycosuria due to two mutations (c.300-303+2del and p.A343V) in the SLC5A2 gene. The mutations, which in vitro affected glucose transport in a cell line model, and the ensuing glycosuria were not associated with better glycemic control during a follow-up period of more than 10 years. One individual, who was compound heterozygous for mutations in the SLC5A2 gene suffered from severe urogenital candida infections and postprandial hypoglycemia. In conclusion, in this family with familial glycosuria we did not find any evidence that chronic loss of glucose in the urine would protect from deterioration of the glucose tolerance over time.
Use of 3000 Bragg grating strain sensors distributed on four eight-meter optical fibers during static load tests of a composite structure

This paper describes the use of a fiber optic system to measure strain at thousands of locations along optical fibers where weakly reflecting Bragg gratings have been photoetched. The optical fibers were applied to an advanced composite transport wing along with conventional foil strain gages. A comparison of the fiber optic and foil gage systems used for this test will b e presented including: a brief description of both strain data systems; a discussion of the process used for installation of the optical fiber; comparative data from the composite wing test; the processes used for the location and display of the high density fiber optic data. Calibration data demonstrating the potential accuracy of the fiber optic system will also be presente d. The opportunities for industrial and commercial applications will be discussed. The fiber optic technique is shown to be a valuable augmentation to foil strain gages providing insight to structural behavior previously requiring reliance on modeling.
The peculiarities of cognitive impairment and their association with structural changes in the carotid artery of the patients after ischemic stroke

This article represents and analyzes data from a study of the state of cognitive function and the role of structural changes of an internal carotid artery wall. The results of the study indicate a significant prevalence of post-stroke cognitive impairment (CI) with the advantage of moderate CI of the patients with the late recovery period of ischemic stroke. The most sensitive diagnostic tool was the MoCA scale, which allowed to detect CI in 90.5% of patients, whereas according to the MMSE and FAB scale there were 83.7% and 72.1% patients accordingly. Stenotic pathology of carotid and vertebral arteries of different localization and degree, deformation of the anatomical move, bending and their sinuation were revealed by duplex scanning of extracranial vessels. Correlation between markers of atherosclerosis and CI manifestation was determined. Early diagnosis of these disorders when choosing drug therapy could increase the effectiveness of preventive strategies аnd rehabilitation of the patients in this condition and improve their quality of life.
Deep Cue Learning : A Reinforcement Learning Agent for Playing Pool

In this project, four different Reinforcement Learning (RL) methods are implemented on the game of pool, including Q-Table-based Q-Learning (Q-Table), Deep Q-Networks (DQN), and Asynchronous Advantage Actor-Critic (A3C) with continuous or discrete values. With two balls on the table, Q-Table performs the best in terms of average reward received per episode, but A3C with discrete action is found to be a more suitable method on this problem considering trade-offs between model performance, training time, and model size.
Acceptability of Intelligent Speed Adaptation Conceptual framework and first results RA-MOW-2010-005

A key success factor in the future implementation of new in-vehicle technologies is in understanding how users will experience and respond to these devices. Although it is recognized that acceptance, acceptability and/or support is important, consistency in the definition of acceptability, and how it can be measured, is absent. In this report we conceptualize acceptance as the attitudes towards a new device after its introduction and acceptability as the attitudes to it before its introduction. It is our goal to describe and conceptualize the most common and relevant socio-psychological factors that can influence acceptance and acceptability of Intelligent Speed Adaptation (ISA). Several trials with different types of ISA have shown that ISA can be an efficient and effective way to reduce speed and speeding. By analysing the different theories and methods used in ISA trials we arrived at the 14 most potential indicators that could influence the definition of acceptability and acceptance. In our research we asked the question will there be acceptability of ISA by the public? 6370 individuals responded in Belgium (Flanders region) and 1158 persons in The Netherlands on a web-survey. In our survey the respondents indicated that their own driving behaviour is of great influence on accidents and traffic safety, instead of environmental issues like infrastructure or even other drivers. Even more, the respondents indicated that ITS could be beneficial to support their driving behaviour. It was noted that there is a high market potential for Advanced Driving Assistance Systems (ADAS). 95% of the respondents are in favour of ISA. Seven out of then drivers want to have an informative or warning system. Three out of ten drivers wanted to go even further and choose to have a supportive or even a restricting type of ISA. Drivers would only choose for more restricting systems if the penetration level is high enough.
Loughborough University Institutional Repository The cultural impact of workflow management systems in the financial services sector

The implementation of information systems is increasingly resulting in significant changes to the host organisation’s culture. In particular, the workflow management system (WFMS) is one new technology that, because of its tendency to have a direct impact on the organisation and execution of work, has the potential to significantly modify an organisation’s culture. This qualitative research investigates the nature of the relationship between WFMS and organisational culture, in the UK financial services sector The research concludes that WFMS have the potential to modify culture in a positive way by improving the organisations customer orientation, flexibility and quality focus.
REPORT NO PUB DATE NOTE AVAILABLE FROM PUB TYPE EDRS PRICE DESCRIPTORS IDENTIFIERS DOCUMENT RESUME TM 840 763

The purpose of this paper is to document.existing research on the test performance of handicapped people with respect to admissions and other similar tests. In addition, the psychometric characteristics of these tests when used with handicapped people are reported. Though much more data needs to be collected, several observations are made. Handicapped students as a general group perform appreciably lower than national norms on the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) and ACT Assessment. Of the four specific disability groups discussed, the admissions test performance of physically handicapped and of visually impaired examinees is most similar to the nondisabled population. The performance of learning disabled individuals ranks third among the specific disability groups, and is appreciably lower than national norms. Hearing impaired students perform the least well of all disabled groups on admissions tests. The limited data on the reliability of cognitive tests for handicapped examinees show no trustworthy diff,rences An measurement precision between disabled and nondisabled populations. The results of the small number of validity investigations that have been conducted also show no dependable differences across popuulations. Data on the ACT Assessment and the SAT generally support the validity of these measures as equivalent predictors of college performance. (Author/SW) *********************************************************************** Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document. *********************************************************************** THE TEST PERFORMANCE OF HANDICAPPED PEOPLE Randy Elliot Bennett Marjorie Ragosta and Lawrence J. Stricker
Citation: Perényi, Áron and Yukhanaev, Andrey (2016) Testing relationships between firm size and perceptions of growth and profitability: An investigation into the practices of Australian ICT

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議事録生成技術に関するサーベイ Survey on Minutes Generating Technique 三浦 寛也

The purpose of this research is to consider the flow of the research and its problems by surveying the previous research on the minutes generation technology. Discuss how to proceed research on minutes generation techniques by clarifying the systematization of these conventional research and the position of each research. As a specific effort, we focused on the following four items and conducted a survey on minutes generation technology; summary generation, discourse structure analysis, structuring and visualization of discussion, and conversation analysis using multimodal corpus.