Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
HLX-1 may be an SS433 system

We show that the hyperluminous source HLX-1 may be a stellar-mass binary system like SS433, but seen along its X-ray beams. The precession of these beams gives the ∼1 yr characteristic time-scale of the light curve, while the significant X-ray duty cycle means that the precession angle must be comparable with the beam opening angle, which is of the order of 1 ∘. 6. The X-ray light curve appears to result from geometric collimation and scattering as the beam moves through the line of sight. Encouragingly, the distance ∼95 Mpc suggested for HLX-1 is only a few times larger than the minimum distance at which we can expect to view such a highly beamed system along its axis. This picture allows a simple interpretation of HLX-1 as the most extreme known member of the ultraluminous X-ray source population.
Extended Rational Addiction: Endogenous Discounting and Heterogenous Habits

This study extends the Rational Addiction theory with endogenous discounting and heterogeneity in the habit formation process. The model describes how heterogenous habits affect consumption paths via a subjective rate of time preference varying the rate of habit adjustment and the patience-dependence trade off. The intertemporal structure of preferences explains how an increase in the rate of habits depreciation implies a decrease in the rate of time preference. This makes a forward-looking agent more patient than a myopic one. We suggest a possibly estimable Euler equation and further extensions for a further generalization to dynamic demand systems.
Thermo-Oxidation and Biodegradation Study of Low-Density Polyethylene /Starch Films by IR Spectroscopy

This article reports a study of the thermo-oxidation and biodegradation in the soil of low-density polyethylene/starch films (LDPE/starch) by infrared spectroscopy: Films of LDPE/Starch blends of different composition (starch content range from 0 to 15% w/w), were prepared and exposed to thermo-oxidation at different temperatures at 80, 90 and 100°C, and buried in the soil of public dump during 300 days. The oxidation, for films subjected to thermal oxidation, was revealed by the appearance of absorption bands of carbonyl groups centered at 1715 cm -1 . After the induction period, which varies from 12 to 14 days according to the concentration of starch incorporated in the films, the indication of carbonyl croup increases with time and temperature of exposition. During the first 30 days, the rate of oxidization is the weaker, the larger percentage of starch in the film of LDPE. The biodegradation of films buried in the soil for 300 days, was followed by infrared spectroscopy. The carbonyl index calculated at 1715 cm -1 and at 1744 cm -1 showed the oxidation of films LDPE/starch. This index increases with time of burial and starch percentage incorporated into LDPE films during the first 180 days in soil burial, then decreases.
A Family of Bloom Filter Based A* Algorithms for Large-Scale Web Services Composition Problem

As web services become more popular, the number of available web services proliferates. As such, when there are a large number of web services available (e.g., in the range of 1,000 - 10,000), it is non-trivial to quickly find web services satisfying the given request. Furthermore, when no single web service satisfies the given request fully, one needs to “compose” multiple web services to fulfill the goal. Finding an optimal solution in such a setting is generally known as NP-complete, and thus can be doable only for a small number of web services. However, in dealing with large-scale web services composition, since the search space exponentially increases as the number of web services grows, it is important to make a wise decision on the underlying data structures and approximation algorithms. Toward this problem, in this paper, we present a family of solutions, named as BF* (BF-Star), that adopts the competitive A* graph search algorithm of AI community while utilizing the Bloom Filter as a succinct data structure. Experimental results verify the efficiency of our BF* algorithms and their suggested heuristic functions.
Comparison on the Analysis on PM10 Data based on Average and Extreme Series

The main concern in environmental issue is on extreme phenomena (catastrophic) instead of common events. However, most statistical approaches are concerned primarily with the centre of a distribution or on the average value rather than the tail of the distribution which contains the extreme observations. The concept of extreme value theory affords attention to the tails of distribution where standard models are proved unreliable to analyse extreme series. High level of particulate matter (PM10) is a common environmental problem which causes various impacts to human health and material damages. If the main concern is on extreme events, then extreme value analysis provides the best result with significant evidence. The monthly average and monthly maxima PM 10 data for Perlis from 2003 to 2014 were analysed. Forecasting for average data is made by Holt-Winters method while return level determine the predicted value of extreme events that occur on average once in a certain period. The forecasting from January 2015 to December 2016 for average data found that the highest forecasted value is 58.18 (standard deviation 18.45) on February 2016 while return level achieved 253.76 units for 24 months (2015-2016) return periods.
Water Productivity Modeling by Remote Sensing in the Semiarid Region of Minas Gerais State, Brazil

This chapter aimed to demonstrate the potential of monitoring water and vegetation parameters by combining weather and satellite measurements in mixed agroecosystems in the semiarid region of the northern Minas Gerais state, Southeast Brazil. Soil moisture indices and water productivity components were quantified with Landsat 8 images under different hydrological conditions along the year 2015. The surface resistance to the water fluxes (r s ) performed better than the ratio of actual to the reference evapotranspiration (ET r ) to detect soil moisture conditions. The mean pixel values for actual evapotranspira- tion (ET), biomass production (BIO), and water productivity based on evapotranspiration (WP), for irrigated crops (IC), ranged respectively from 2.5 ± 1.3 to 4.1 ± 1.6 mm d −1 ; 78 ± 62 to 132 ± 64 kg ha −1 d −1 ; and from 2.2 ± 0.8 to 3.3 ± 0.9 kg m −3 . The corresponding ranges for natural vegetation (NV) were 0.1 ± 0.2 to 1.9 ± 1.3 mm d −1 ; 1 ± 1 to 44 ± 42 kg ha −1 d −1 , and 0.6 ± 0.3 to 1.8 ± 0.8 kg m −3 . The incremental values, resulting from the replacement of natural species by agricultural crops, were respectively 2.7 mm d −1 and 83 kg ha d −1 . However, this replacement increased water productivity based on evapotranspiration (WP) by 264% during the studied year, what should be considered in land use and climate change studies in the Brazilian semiarid region.
Chern slopes of simply connected complex surfaces of general type are dense in [2,3]

We prove that for any number $r$ in $[2,3]$, there are spin (resp. non-spin minimal) simply connected complex surfaces of general type $X$ with $c_1^2(X)/c_2(X)$ arbitrarily close to $r$. In particular, this shows the existence of simply connected surfaces of general type arbitrarily close to the Bogomolov-Miyaoka-Yau line. In addition, we prove that for any $r \in [1,3]$ and any integer $q\geq 0$, there are minimal complex surfaces of general type $X$ with $c_1^2(X)/c_2(X)$ arbitrarily close to $r$, and $\pi_1(X)$ isomorphic to the fundamental group of a compact Riemann surface of genus $q$.
Heat Treatment Effects on the Mechanical Properties and Morphologies of Poly (Lactic Acid)/Poly (Butylene Adipate-co-terephthalate) Blends

In this study the relationships between mechanicals properties and morphology of the poly (lactic acid) (PLA)/poly (butylene adipate-co-terephthalate) (PBAT) blends with or without heat treatment were investigated. The differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) analysis showed that blends have a two-phase structure indicating that they are immiscible. On the other hand, the PLA/PBAT (30/70) blend achieved the best tensile and impact strength because of its sea-island morphology, except for high PBAT content. The PLA/PBAT (70/30) and PLA/PBAT (50/50) blends showed irregular and directive-layer morphologies, in scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis, producing a break cross-section with various fiber shapes. Both blends showed lower tensile strength and impact strength than the PLA/PBAT (30/70). After heat treatment, the PLA/PBAT blends showed high modulus of tensile and HDT because of a high degree of crystallization. The high degree of crystallization in the blends, which originated in the heat treatment, reduced their impact strength and elongation. However, the effect of high degree of crystallization on the PLA/PBAT (30/70) blend was small because of its sea-island morphology.
The explicit solution to a sequential switching problem with non-smooth data

We consider the problem faced by a decision maker who can switch between two random payoff flows. Each of these payoff flows is an additive functional of a general 1D Itô diffusion. There are no bounds on the number or on the frequency of the times at which the decision maker can switch, but each switching incurs a cost, which may depend on the underlying diffusion. The objective of the decision maker is to select a sequence of switching times that maximizes the associated expected discounted payoff flow. In this context, we develop and study a model in the presence of assumptions that involve minimal smoothness requirements from the running payoff and switching cost functions, but which guarantee that the optimal strategies have relatively simple forms. In particular, we derive a complete and explicit characterization of the decision maker's optimal tactics, which can take qualitatively different forms, depending on the problem data.
Optimum Currency Area Criteria and Volatility in ASEAN

The goal of regional integration is to promote greater macroeconomic coordination, and reduce the degree of macroeconomic volatility, in particular exchange rate fluctuations. This paper investigates how well optimum currency area (OCA) variables will work in the context of the ASEAN region when the Singapore Dollar, given its relative stability, is used as an anchor currency. The results indicate that OCA variables play an important role in explaining bilateral exchange rate volatility. In addition, exchange rate volatility exerts a negative impact on bilateral trade and gross domestic product (GDP). It is also a source of divergence among ASEAN members.
Analysis of Multiple Structural Changes in Financial Contagion Based on the Largest Lyapunov Exponents

A modified multiple structural changes model is built to test structural breaks of the financial system based on calculating the largest Lyapunov exponents of the financial time series. Afterwards, the Lorenz system is used as a simulation example to inspect the new model. As the Lorenz system has strong nonlinearity, the verification results show that the new model has good capability in both finding the breakpoint and revealing the changes in nonlinear characteristics of the time series. The empirical study based on the model used daily data from the S&P 500 stock index during the global financial crisis from 2005 to 2012. The results provide four breakpoints of the period, which divide the contagion into four stages: stationary, local outbreak, global outbreak, and recovery period. An additional significant result is the obvious chaos characteristic difference in the largest Lyapunov exponents and the standard deviation at various stages, particularly at the local outbreak stage.
The Quality of Information about Hip Fractures in Turkish Internet Sites

DOI: 10.4328/JCAM.1004 Received: 10.04. 2012 Accepted: 07.05. 2012 Printed: 01.05. 2013 J Clin Anal Med 2013;4(3): 200-3 Corresponding Author: Hasan Hüseyin Ceylan, Bezmialem Vakıf Üniversitesi Tıp Fakültesi, Ortopedi ve Travmatoloji A.D. Adnan Menderes Bulvarı Vatan Caddesi 34093 Fatih, İstanbul, Türkiye. T. : +9
Socio-Economic Impacts of Superstitions among Pakhtoon Women

Superstition is an irrational belief about the relation between certain actions. Many superstitions emerged from the notion of good luck and bad luck; some superstition emerged from old traditions which are transmitted from generation to generation. People performed different practices to protect themselves from troubles. The present paper aim to analyse the social and psychological and economic impacts of superstitious believe among women in the form of negative attitude towards food products and spending much money to visit peer, faqeer and ziarat etc. social impacts like change in behaviour, less interaction, weak decision making and psychological impacts in the form of lack of confident, belief in many God, stress, anxiety, tension and depression. In this paper an attempt has been made to identify different types of superstitions like amulet, magic touching wood, unlucky Friday, black cat crossing the path, spilling salt because in past salt were consider as highly valued and purifying substance and capable of driving away evils, walking under a ladder personality etc. Usually these types of beliefs are arising from the misperception and lack of religious knowledge, and people become stuck with these beliefs and practices. People associate things with others things and events like in Pakhtoon society, the women are going to the Shrines for various purposes, like for good and Bad luck, for the desire of male
The Dynamic Behavior of Chinese Housing Prices

The objective of this paper is to investigate the dynamic effects of fundamental factors on housing prices in China. We examine how quickly and strongly housing prices react to changes in these factors. We especially want to test whether these reactions change after China adopted a new system for granting land use rights in 2002. We find that the main fundamental explanatory factors explaining Chinese housing price variations are household disposable income, new-build supply, housing units sold, unemployment, and land prices. Among these factors, the most important one is land price. The effect of land prices on housing prices is especially enhanced after adoption of the new system for granting land use rights in 2002.
Greek and the phylum Porifera: a living language for living organisms

This paper gives a detailed analysis of Greek language elements in sponge terminology and nomenclature, thus contributing to its comprehension by the scientists working on sponge biology and enlightening the extensive contribution of the Greek language to zoological terminology. The contemporary terminology of sponge morphology and the taxa names of the three living classes of the phylum Porifera, down to the genus level, were recorded and examined for their possible Greek origin. The analysis of the recorded material showed that 67% of the morphological terms and 78% of the taxa names were formed from Greek elements. Different patterns of term and name formation were revealed. Detailed etymological analysis is presented for all morphological terms and suprageneric taxa names built of Greek elements. The Greek words used for the formation of terms and names are listed and their English translation is given. More than 70% of the Greek words found were used only once to form terms or taxa names. The contribution of the Greek element in sponge nomenclature in all decades from 1759 up to the present was > 65%, with a slightly decreasing trend during the last two decades.
Land–Ocean Asymmetry of Tropical Precipitation Changes in the Mid-Holocene

Abstract A series of model experiments were conducted using an intermediate ocean–atmosphere–land model for a better understanding of a distinct land–sea asymmetry in tropical precipitation differences between the mid-Holocene and preindustrial climates. In austral (boreal) summer, most reduced (enhanced) precipitation occurs over continental convective regions, while most enhanced (reduced) precipitation occurs over oceanic convection zones. This land–sea asymmetry of tropical precipitation is particularly clear in austral summer. During the mid-Holocene, the solar forcing presents both spatial and seasonal asymmetric patterns. While the boreal summer insolation is stronger at high latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere in the mid-Holocene than at present, the austral summer insolation is weaker with a more spatially symmetric distribution about the equator. Because of the slow response time of the ocean to forcing, the direct insolation forcing of the current season is cancelled by the ocean memory of an .
Patterns in 3D Vertically Oscillated Granular Layers: Simulation and Experiment

Numerical simulations and laboratory experiments are conducted for thin layers of particles in a vertically oscillated container as a function of the frequency f , amplitude A, and depth H . The same standing wave patterns (stripes, squares, or hexagons oscillating at fy2 or fy4) and wavelengths are obtained in the simulations and experiments for a wide range of s f , Ad and two layer depths. Two model parameters are determined by fits at just two points s f , A, Hd. Simulation results lead to heuristic arguments for the onset of patterns and the crossover from squares to stripes. [S0031-9007(97)04971-5]
The Effects of Goal Setting and Relapse Prevention on Training Transfer of Leadership Skills in Six Thai Companies

This research attempted to test the impact of interventions affecting training transfer. The two post-training interventions – goal setting and relapse prevention – were tested and compared for their effects on training transfer of the leadership skills. The leadership behaviors served as the dependent variables. Participants (n = 80) included managers from various departments within six manufacturing and trading organizations in Thailand. According to the research findings, the two interventions impacted on the training transfer of leadership skills. Relapse prevention was found to have a higher level of effectiveness than goal setting on training transfer of leadership skills. Discussions include the implications of the findings for training practices using combined goal setting and relapse prevention in the post-training process.
Restricted Boltzmann Machines and Their Extensions for Face Modeling

Restricted Boltzmann Machines, Deep Boltzmann Machines, and their extensions have brought much attention and become powerful tools for many machine learning tasks. The increased popularity of these techniques is not only limited in modelling static data but also time-series data. In this paper, we aim to give a review of recent developments of such models for sequential data modelling. Their structures, energy functions, learning algorithm as well as applications are also provided with systematic discussions
Integrated Circuit Techniques and Architectures for Beamforming Radio Transmitters

This thesis deals with circuit techniques and architectures for beamforming radio transmitters. A short introduction to the concept of beamforming is firstly given with the purpose of highlighting it as a technology for reducing the output power specification of the power amplifier in a wireless transmitter, facilitating its integrability and increasing the system capacity. An overview of the 802.11a Wireless LAN standard as a target application is also made. Various architectures for a beamforming transmitter are studied with the aim of reducing the overall complexity and the hardware overhead. A direct conversion architecture with a frequency offset in the local oscillator path and phase shifting at one third of the carrier frequency is proposed for the subsequent implementation. Methods and circuit techniques for phase shifting are researched with respect to phase accuracy and resolution, control linearity and overall complexity. A vector modulator is found to be most suitable for the already proposed architecture. An 802.11a WLAN transmitter with adaptive beamforming capability is designed. An efficient beamforming architecture with a linearly controlled 360◦ phase shifting range is proposed for linear transmitters. The design of key circuit blocks is discussed. The circuit implemented in 0.25 μm CMOS technology has a -1dB OCP of -7.1 dBm and it consumes 65 mA. It has a phase shifting resolution of 10◦. During the design of the transmitter a resonator loaded LO buffer is found to be potentially common mode unstable, when it is connected to drive a double balanced current steering mixer. The stability margin is shown to be inversely proportional to the quality factor of the resonator load and, therefore, to the power consumed by the LO buffer. A known solution to the problem is compared with two proposed ones. The approaches differ in terms of current consumption, occupied voltage headroom and area. Some coupling effects in an integrated beamforming transmitter are studied. Analysis shows that with realistic component values the produced beam shape becomes distorted due to coupling. Assuming that the coupling effects are known, predistortion is proposed as a mean to compensate for them.