Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A questionnaire

Comments from the editors To determine the current status of some of the work being done by our readers I have put together a questionnaire. The questionnaire itself will be found following this short note. I would appreciate hearing from all persons currently doing some work in the area of computer graphics, or from anyone wishing to contribute information on a system in use. I will try to put all responses together (assuming someone out there responds) and summarize what is being done, as indicated by the returned questionnaires.
The Catalytic Activities of Carbocyclic Fused Pyridineimine Nickel Complexes Analogues in Ethylene Polymerization by Modeling Study

In this work, two carbocyclic fused pyridineimine nickel analogue systems (Ni1 and Ni2) with different fused member rings were investigated to reveal the relationship between catalyst structure and reaction activity. Multiple linear regression analysis was performed by means of five electronic descriptors and two steric descriptors, including the Hammett constant (F), effective net charge (Qeff), energy difference (ΔE), HOMO–LUMO energy gap (Δε1, Δε2), open cone angle (θ), and bite angle (β). Very good values of correlation coefficient (R2) over 0.938 were obtained by using a combination of effective net charge (Qeff) and open cone angle (θ) for both individual analysis and comparisons between analogue systems. By analyzing the contribution of descriptors, it indicates that the dominant descriptor is effective net charge (Qeff) in the Ni1 system and open cone angle (θ) in Ni2 systems, respectively. This may explain the different variation trends of catalytic activities in two Ni complexes systems as a function of substituents.
Structural and optical properties of Ba(Co1−xZnx)SiO4 (x = 0.2, 0.4, 0.6, 0.8)

Structural characterization and X-ray reference powder pattern determination have been conducted for the Co- and Zn-containing tridymite derivatives Ba(Co1−xZnx)SiO4 (x = 0.2, 0.4, 0.6, 0.8). The bright blue series of Ba(Co1−xZnx)SiO4 crystallized in the hexagonal P63 space group (No. 173), with Z = 6. While the lattice parameter “a” decreases from 9.126 (2) Å to 9.10374(6) Å from x = 0.2 to 0.8, the lattice parameter “c” increases from 8.69477(12) Å to 8.72200(10) Å, respectively. Apparently, despite the similarity of ionic sizes of Zn2+ and Co2+, these opposing trends are due to the framework tetrahedral tilting of (ZnCo)O4. The lattice volume, V, remains comparable between 626.27 Å3 and 626.017 (7) Å3 from x = 0 to x = 0.8. UV-visible absorption spectrum measurements indicate the band gap of these two materials to be ≈3.3 and ≈3.5 eV, respectively, therefore potential UV photocatalytic materials. Reference powder X-ray diffraction patterns of these compounds have been submitted to be included in the Powder Diffraction File (PDF).
A Convenient Catalyst for Aqueous and Protein Suzuki—Miyaura Cross‐Coupling.

A phosphine-free palladium catalyst for aqueous Suzuki−Miyaura cross-coupling is presented. The catalyst is active enough to mediate hindered, ortho-substituted biaryl couplings but mild enough for use on peptides and proteins. The Suzuki−Miyaura couplings on protein substrates are the first to proceed in useful conversions. Notably, hydrophobic aryl and vinyl groups can be transferred to the protein surface without the aid of organic solvent since the aryl- and vinylboronic acids used in the coupling are water-soluble as borate salts. The convenience and activity of this catalyst prompts use in both general synthesis and bioconjugation.
International business machines

POSITION DESCRIPTION: This intern position is for a mechanical engineering candidate for summer 2015 in the Shock/Vibration Development Compliance Department in IBM, Poughkeepsie, NY. The state of the art shock and vibration engineering laboratory in IBM Poughkeepsie supports the design, manufacture and failure analysis of computer hardware. The summer intern will have the opportunity to work on a range of mechanical analysis, mechanical test. Currently the laboratory is active in the area of mainframe hardware development and testing, with focus on Modal analysis. HOW TO APPLY: Interested students should send their résumé to careers@engr.unr. edu to be collected and sent to IBM.
Bandwidth-reduced Linear Models of Non-continuous Power System Components

This thesis is focused in modelling of power system components and their representation in simulations of power systems. The thesis compares different linearization techniques. These techniques are both numerical as well as analytical and are utilized when linearization of a dynamic system is desired. After a linearization it is possible to calculate the eigenvalues of the linearized system as well as to perform other applicable activities on a linear system. In the thesis it is shown how the linearization techniques influence the calculation of eigenvalues of the linear system. In the thesis bandwidth-reduced linear models of a power system component are developed using two techniques. The simulations with the linear models are done with an introduced interface system. The studied power system component is a Thyristor-Controlled Series Capacitor (TCSC). One advantage with using a linear representation of a power system component is that it simplifies the simulations. The size of the complexity of a simulation when solving the equations decreases and the consumed physical time to simulate becomes shorter. A disadvantage of a linear model is that its validity might be limited. The need of building linear models of power systems will continue to attract interest in the future. With the horizon of today (year 2006) there is a need of among other models to build linear models of detailed models of High Voltage Direct Current-links (HVDC-links), Static Var Compensators (SVCs), as well as Thyristor-Controlled Series Capacitors (TCSCs). How should these be represented when we want to study the dynamics of a whole power system and it is necessary to reduce their complexity? This question rises when we want to perform time-domain simulations with a not too detailed level of complexity of each individual power system component or if we want to linearize the power system and study it within small-signal stability analysis.
Synthesis of 2-Substituted Indoles via Pd/C-Catalyzed Reaction in Water

A general and one-pot synthesis of 2-alkyl/aryl substituted indoles via a tandem Pd/C mediated coupling/5-endo-dig cyclization of terminal alkynes (including acetylenic carbinols) with o-iodoanilides in water is reported.The reaction is carried out using PPh 3 and Cul as co-catalysts and 2-aminoethanol as a base. The reaction appears to tolerate a variety of functional groups present in the alkynes and does not require the use of any organic co-solvent.
Specific features of solvent extraction of REM from phosphoric acid solutions with DEHPA

The mechanism of rare earth metal (REM) extraction with the organic solvent called di-2-ethylhexyl phosphoric acid (DEHPA) has been studied in this paper. Using the physicochemical method for the investigation of the composition of organic REM complexes with the extractant, the solvation numbers of the lanthanides were determined. The growth of solvation numbers from neodymium (2) to ytterbium (5) is explained by an increase in the effective charge of the REM atom and, as a result, an increase in the relative stability of the chelating REM complexes with the extractant. The composition of the organic complexes of REM with DEHPA was confirmed by infrared and Raman spectroscopy. The values of the effective thermodynamic constants and standard Gibbs energies of the extraction process are calculated. The increase in the relative stability of lanthanide complexes with DEHPA correlates with a decrease in the ionic radius of the REM.
A First Step Towards Parsing of Assamese Text

Assamese is a relatively free word order, morphologically rich and agglutinative language and has a strong case marking system stronger than other Indic languages such as Hindi and Bengali. Parsing a free word order language is still an open problem, though many different approaches have been proposed for this. This paper presents an introduction to the practical analysis of Assamese sentences from a computational perspective rather than from linguistics perspective. We discuss some salient features of Assamese syntax and the issues that simple syntactic frameworks cannot tackle. Keywords-Assamese, Indic, Parsing, Free word order. I. INTRODUCTION Like some other Indo-Iranian languages (a branch of Indo- European language group) such as Hindi, Bengali (from Indic group), Tamil (from Dardic group), Assamese is a morphologically rich, free word order language. Apart from possessing all characteristics of a free word order language, Assamese has some additional characteristics which make parsing a more difficult job. For example one or more than one suffixes are added with all relational constituents. Research on parsing model for Assamese language is purely a new field. Our literature survey reveals that there is no annotated work on Assamese till now. In the next section we will present a brief overview of different parsing techniques. In section III we discuss related works. Section IV contains a brief relevant linguistic background of Assamese language. In section V we discuss our approach we want to report in this paper. Section VI conclude this paper.
Application of Organolithium and Related Reagents in Synthesis. Part 221. Synthetic Strategies Based on Ortho-Aromatic Metallation. A Concise Regiospecific Conversion of Benzoic Acids into the 4-Pyridyl-2H-Phthalazin-1-Ones

Abstract The synthesis of phthalazin-1-ones 6, 7, 8 via the reaction of 3-hydroxyisoindolin-l-ones 3, 4, 5 with hydrazine hydrate is described. Starting compounds 3, 4, 5 were regiospecifically prepared upon the lithiation (n-BuLi) of the benzanilides 1 and subsequently the reaction of the dilithiated anilides 2 with methyl pyridinecarboxylates.
Quantile treatment e ¤ ects in the regression discontinuity design

This paper shows nonparametric identi cation of quantile treatment e¤ects (QTE) in the regression discontinuity design. The distributional impacts of social programs such as welfare, education, training programs and unemployment insurance are of large interest to economists. QTE are an intuitive tool to characterize the e¤ects of these interventions on the outcome distribution. We propose uniformly consistent estimators for both potential outcome distributions (treated and non-treated) for the population of interest as well as other function-valued e¤ects of the policy including in particular the QTE process. The estimators are straightforward to implement and attain the optimal rate of convergence for one-dimensional nonparametric regression. We apply the proposed estimators to estimate the e¤ects of summer school on the distribution of school grades, complementing the results of Jacob and Lefgren (2004). Keywords: Quantile treatment e¤ect, causal e¤ect, endogeneity, regression discontinuity JEL classi cation: C13, C14, C21 This paper completes and replaces the earlier IZA working paper 3638 that was circulated under the same title. We would like to thank Josh Angrist, Marine Carrasco, Ulrich Müller, Bernd Fitzenberger and seminar participants at Bonn IZA, Brown University, Freiburg, Georgetown, IFPRI Washington, Maryland, Montréal, Ohio State, Paris INSEE-Crest Malinvaud, Princeton, St.Gallen, Uppsala IFAU, Zürich, ESEM 2009 in Barcelona, the Cemmap Workshop on Quantile Regression 2009 and the Labor Economics Workshop at Engelberg for very useful comments that helped improve the paper. Markus Frölich, Universität Mannheim, IZA Bonn and ZEW Mannheim, froelich@uni-mannheim.de; Blaise Melly, Brown University, Department of Economics, Providence, RI, USA, blaise_melly@brown.edu.
Scaling-Up Exemplary Interventions

Scale-up is the practice of introducing proven interventions into new settings with the goal of producing similarly positive effects in larger, more diverse populations. Scale-up research examines factors that influence the effectiveness of interventions as they are brought to scale across settings. This article has three objectives. First, it defines the goals of scale-up research with respect to broader efforts to enhance the quality of educational research and promote evidence-based education. Second, it clarifies the importance of context, conceptually and methodologically, in conducting scale-up research. Finally, it suggests practical guidelines that can assist researchers in developing designs that can be implemented in field settings to produce robust, generalizable findings.
The use of Restriction Landmark Genome Scanning (RLGS) for assessment of NotI-site methylation in maize

Epigenetic phenomena and particularly DNA methylation play a significant role in regulating gene expression in eukaryotes. Restriction Landmark Genomic Scanning (RLGS), which in a single assay displays the methylation status of more than a thousand genomic re- gions containing Not Ir ecognition sites, was used to evalu- ate the status of global methylation in maize parental in- bred lines and hybrids, and the effects of density induced stress on the methylation status of a hybrid selected for its stability of performance. Examining the RLGS patterns of two S 5 inbreds it was determined that they differed in to- tal DNA methylation by 20%. Their F 1 hybrid displayed methylation patterns similar to its parents for the majority of the detected spots, although some NotI landmarks were genotype-specific. Comparison of the RLGS profile of a stable F 1 hybrid grown under low and high planting density (density induced stress) showed that its methyla- tion pattern was influenced by conditions of growth. However, density induced stress caused only a slight in- crease in the copy number of methylated fragments, indi- cating that the stable hybrid could be resistant to stress- induced methylation changes. Our results suggest that dif- ferent levels of global genomic DNA methylation might be related to the field performance potential of specific maize inbred lines and hybrids, and resistance of the hy- brids to methylation changes induced by density stress could be part of hybrid superiority and stability of perfor- mance facing different stress conditions.
Efficacy of different extraction methods of phycocy anin from Spirulina platensis

Phycocyanin is a major light harvesting pigment of cyanobacteria, it has gained importance in many biotechnological applications in food sciences, the rapy, immunodiagnostics, cosmetics and pharmacological processes. Screening of cyanobacterial strain showe d maximum phycobiliprotein in Spirulina platensis . A number of drying methods studied for the processing of Spirulina (oven dried and sun dried) resulted in loss of phycocyanin. Therefore phycocyanin extraction from fresh biomass was studied. Of the extraction method s tested, homogenisation using a mortar and pestle yi elded 18.11% phycocyanin while freezing and thawing extraction yielded 17.68%. Acid treatment also resu lted in phycocyanin leaching. Effective phycocyanin extraction was achieved only with 8‐10 N hydrochloric acid and yielded phycocyanin ranging from 5% to 46%. Phycocyanin sample was analysed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy.
SOURCE CONTAMINATION IN X-RAY STUDIES OF STAR-FORMING REGIONS: APPLICATION TO THE CHANDRA CARINA COMPLEX PROJECT

We describe detailed simulations of X-ray-emitting populations to evaluate the levels of contamination by both Galactic and extragalactic X-ray sources unrelated to a star-forming region under study. For Galactic contaminations, we consider contribution from main-sequence stars and giants (not including cataclysmic variables and other classes of accretion-driven X-ray binary systems), as they make the dominant contribution at the position of the Carina Nebula. The simulations take into consideration a variety of technical factors involving a Galactic population synthesis model, stellar X-ray luminosity functions, Chandra telescope response, source detection methodology, and possible spatial variations in the X-ray background and absorption through molecular clouds. When applied to the 1.42 deg2 field of the Chandra Carina Complex Project (CCCP), the simulations predict ∼5000 contaminating sources (1 source arcmin−2 of the survey), evenly distributed across the field. The results of the simulations are further employed in a companion CCCP study to assign membership probabilities to individual sources.
Human tumor-associated monocytes/macrophages and their regulation of T cell responses in early-stage lung cancer

PD-L1+ tumor cells, but not macrophages, are likely responsible for inhibiting tumor-specific T cells in early-stage human lung tumors. In defense of tumor-associated macrophages Although preclinical models using implanted tumors in mice are valuable, they cannot completely recapitulate the early stages of natural tumor development in humans. To better understand how monocytes and macrophages influence developing tumor immunity, Singhal et al. studied samples from patients with early-stage lung cancer. They phenotyped monocytes and macrophages in tumors and adjacent tissue, as well as samples from control subjects without cancer. The authors found that, although tumor-associated macrophages expressed PD-L1, these cells did not generally suppress T cell responses. Their results suggest that tumor-associated macrophages should not be assumed to be protumorigenic, especially during early stages of cancer. Data from mouse tumor models suggest that tumor-associated monocyte/macrophage lineage cells (MMLCs) dampen antitumor immune responses. However, given the fundamental differences between mice and humans in tumor evolution, genetic heterogeneity, and immunity, the function of MMLCs might be different in human tumors, especially during early stages of disease. Here, we studied MMLCs in early-stage human lung tumors and found that they consist of a mixture of classical tissue monocytes and tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs). The TAMs coexpressed M1/M2 markers, as well as T cell coinhibitory and costimulatory receptors. Functionally, TAMs did not primarily suppress tumor-specific effector T cell responses, whereas tumor monocytes tended to be more T cell inhibitory. TAMs expressing relevant MHC class I/tumor peptide complexes were able to activate cognate effector T cells. Mechanistically, programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) expressed on bystander TAMs, as opposed to PD-L1 expressed on tumor cells, did not inhibit interactions between tumor-specific T cells and tumor targets. TAM-derived PD-L1 exerted a regulatory role only during the interaction of TAMs presenting relevant peptides with cognate effector T cells and thus may limit excessive activation of T cells and protect TAMs from killing by these T cells. These results suggest that the function of TAMs as primarily immunosuppressive cells might not fully apply to early-stage human lung cancer and might explain why some patients with strong PD-L1 positivity fail to respond to PD-L1 therapy.
Viscous characterization of soursop (Annona muricata) jam with blend of hydrocolloids

Jam is one of the most popular fruit preserves, prepared by boiling fruit pulp with sugar and hydrocolloid. In the formulation the effect the blend of different hydrocolloids (carrageenan, guar and xanthan guar) and the concentration of sugar (45, 55 and 55 %wt) on the standardization of soursop (Annona muricata) jam and viscous properties were investigated. The samples tested by steady shear flow tests were carried out to characterize the viscous behavior of jam. All samples presented a non-Newtonian behavior type with shear thinning and flow curves that could be described by the Cross model. The interaction of mixtures of hydrocolloids with different concentrations of sugar in the interface plays a decisive role for the process of gelling and stability of the jams. The use of soursop (Annona muricata) in the formulation of products such as jams are an alternative for its exploitation and exploitation at an industrial level.
Financial Distress and Bank Failure: Lessons from Closure of Ihlas Finans in Turkey

Islamic banks are expected to be more stable. In practice, however, some Islamic banks have shown signs of financial distress and few were forced to close their operations. What are the causes of financial distress for Islamic banks? To what extent these are unique or similar to those identified for the conventional banks? What lessons can be learned by the stakeholders of Islamic banking from the episodes of financial distress? These and other related questions are important academic and policy concerns for Islamic banking. The banking and financial crisis of 2000-2001 in Turkey provides a natural experiment to gauge the stability of Islamic banks and to analyze the channels and factors that can contribute to the their financial distress during a crisis. This paper utilizes this natural experiment by studying the factors that lead to the closure of one Islamic finance house in Turkey during which more than twenty conventional banks collapsed. The study draws some lessons for Islamic banks, their regulators, and other stakeholders in such institutions.
Corruption as a response to regulation

Previous research has found a negative effect of corruption on growth in the United States. However, some theory suggests corruption might have a positive impact in places with dysfunctional political institutions. This paper investigates whether the corruption-growth link is conditional on the extent of government involvement across U.S. states. Even though no state approaches the level of government intervention found in many developing countries, we still find evidence that corruption’s harmful effects on growth are smaller when regulation is greater.
Broadband spectroscopy of Bi(Mn0.33Nb0.67)O3.1 ceramics

Abstract Results of broadband dielectric/electric investigations of Bi(Mn0.33Nb0.67)O3.1 ceramics are presented in wide frequency range 20 Hz–3 GHz. The electric properties of Bi(Mn0.33Nb0.67)O3.1 ceramics are mainly governed by high conductivity. The relaxation process, related to electrical conductivity, was detected. No polar phase transition was detected in Bi(Mn0.33Nb0.67)O3.1 ceramics by broadband spectroscopy. Bi(Mn0.33Nb0.67)O3.1 ceramics also not exhibit ferroelectric relaxor behavior.
Yb14MgSb11 and Ca14MgSb11 — New Mg-Containing Zintl Compounds and Their Structures, Bonding, and Thermoelectric Properties.

The Zintl phases Yb14MgSb11 (I) and Ca14MgSb11 (II) are prepared by annealing mixtures of the elements in the molar ratio Yb(Ca):Mg:Sb of 14:2:11 (Nb tube in evacuated silica tubes, 1275 K for (I) and 1225 K for (II)).
An Effective Sialylation Method Using N‐Troc‐ and N‐Fmoc‐Protected β‐Thiophenyl Sialosides and Application to the One‐Pot Two‐Step Synthesis of 2,6‐Sialyl‐T Antigen.

We describe an efficient sialylation method using β-thiosialosides with various N-protecting groups. Modification of the C-5 amino group of β-thiosialosides into N-Fmoc and N-Troc derivatives enhanced their reactivity in glycosidation. In addition, a minimum amount of MS-3 A was effective to improve the yield of α-linked sialoside. Branched type one-pot glycosylation initiating glycosidation of the N-Troc-protected β-thiophenyl sialoside at a primary alcohol provided the protected 2,6-sialyl-T antigen in good yield, which was converted to the fully deprotected glycosyl amino acid.
A novel and practical preparation of .alpha.,.alpha.-difluoro functionalized phosphonates from iododifluoromethylphosphonate

The addition reaction of iododifluoromethylphosphonate 1 with alkenes is catalyzed by tetrakis(triphenylphosphine) palladium or copper metal under mild conditions. A variety of functional groups, including alkyl, trimethylsilyl, hydrory, epoxy, acetory, ketone, and ester, in the alkenescould be tolerated under the reaction conditions. Reaction of 2 equiv of 1 with dienes gives the corresponding biphosphonates. Although the palladium complex fails to induce addition of 1 to cycloherene, the addition reaction proceeds readily with copper at 85 o C. With diallyl ether, a tetrahydrofuran derivative is obtained