Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Decisions from Experience and from Description: Beliefs and Probability Weighting

markdownabstractDecisions from description typically concern risk in the literature on decision making. It is identified as a case where outcome probabilities are objectively known. Decisions from experience, on the other hand, represent a case of ambiguity. Here, the outcome probabilities are not known objectively but they are subjectively inferred based on observations. As in many real life situations, probabilistic inference and information search are integral parts of decisions from experience. This dissertation explores behavioral differences between decisions from experience and from description by focusing on the role of (1) probability weighting, and (2) subjective beliefs. _Chapter 2_ investigates the impact of experience on probability weighting. _Chapter 3_ points out the role of prior beliefs in accounting for decisions from experience. _Chapter 4_ introduces a non-Bayesian model of updating which accommodates common biases in probabilistic inference. _Chapter 5_ reports results of a laboratory experiment testing Prelec’s (1998) theory of probability weighting
Effect of microwave (2.45 GHz) treatment of soil on yield components of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.)

ABSTRACT Pre-sowing microwave (MW) irradiation (2.45 GHz) of soil for 120 s was investigated for sustainably enhancing wheat yield. A two-factor factorial glasshouse experiment was conducted to explore the bio-stimulation effect of MW energy on wheat crop growth and yield. The 175% increase in dry biomass and 96% incremental increase in grain yield of wheat were obtained through the application of 2.45 GHz MW energy to soil at N1 (0 mg N pot –1) compared to non-microwave treated soil. The MW irradiation of soil holds potential to significantly enhance wheat productivity.
A Force-Directed Algorithm for Drawing Directed Graphs Symmetrically

Symmetry is one of the most important aesthetic criteria on graph drawing. It is quite necessary to measure the extent to which the drawings can be considered symmetric. For this purpose, a symmetric metric based on vertex coordinate calculation is proposed in this paper. It is proven theoretically and experimentally that the proposed metric is robust to contraction, expansion, and rotation of drawings. This robustness conforms to human perception of symmetry. Star-subgraphs and cycles are two common structures in digraphs. Both of them have inherent symmetry which should be displayed in drawings. For this purpose, a force-directed algorithm named FDS is proposed which can draw star-subgraphs and cycles as symmetrically as possible. FDS algorithm draws cycles as circles whose positions are fixed to provide a scaffolding for overall layout, renders non-leaf vertices by a standard force-directed layout, and places leaf vertices on concentric circles via a deterministic strategy. A series of experiments are carried out to test FDS algorithm. The results show that FDS algorithm draws digraphs more symmetrically than the existing state-of-the-art algorithms and performs efficiency comparable to O(nlog⁡n) YFHu algorithm.
The General Trends of Genetic Diversity Change in Alien Plants’ Invasion

Genetic diversity is associated with invasion dynamics during establishment and expansion stages by affecting the viability and adaptive potential of exotics. There have been many reports on the comparison between the genetic diversity of invasive alien species (IAS) in and out of their native habitats, but the conclusions were usually inconsistent. In this work, a standard meta-analysis of the genetic diversity of 19 invasive plants based on 26 previous studies was carried out to investigate the general trend for the change of IASs’ genetic diversity during their invasion process and its real correlation with the invasion fate. Those 26 studies were screened from a total of 3557 peer-reviewed publications from the ISI Web of Science database during the period of January 2000 to May 2022. Based on the selected studies in this work, a general reduction of IASs’ genetic diversity was found in non-native populations compared to that in native ones, while the difference was not significant. This finding suggested that regardless of the change in genetic diversity, it had no substantial effect on the outcome of the invasion process. Therefore, genetic diversity might not serve as a reliable indicator for risk assessment and prediction of invasion dynamic prediction in the case of IASs.
Association between Leukocyte Telomere Length and Atrial Fibrillation: A Mendelian Randomization Study

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common cardiac arrhythmia worldwide. The prevalence of AF increases significantly associated with increasing age, ranging from less than 0.5% of the population younger than 40 to 5% of those aged 65 and older and more than 10% of those surviving to the eighth decade of life. Therefore, AF is thought to be closely related to biological ageing. Telomeres (TL), repetitive DNA elements located at the ends of chromosomes, have been implicated as potential mediators of biological aging. TL is generally measured in leucocytes due to the easy accessibility of these cells in peripheral blood. Whether a causal effect of leucocytes TL (LTL) on AF is not clear. We used two-sample MR analysis model to evaluate the causal effect of LTL on AF. The summary statistics data for AF and LTL were derived from the recently published largest GWAS. Twenty SNPs at 17 genomic loci were discovered as genetic instruments for LTL. The MR analysis in the fixed-effect inverse-variance weighted models and MR Egger (bootstrap) method showed that LTL was associated with an increased risk of AF (odds ratio [OR], 1.145; 95% CI, 1.065-1.230, P<0.001; OR, 1.158; 95% CI, 1.007-1.331, P=0.021) based on 20 SNPs as the instrument variables. However, the opposite results were observed in other MR methods, which revealed LTL has no strong causal effect on AF at current evidence.
Modeling Geoelectric Fields and Geomagnetically Induced Currents Around New Zealand to Explore GIC in the South Island's Electrical Transmission Network

Transformers in New Zealand's South Island electrical transmission network have been impacted by geomagnetically induced currents (GIC) during geomagnetic storms. We explore the impact of GIC on this network by developing a thin‐sheet conductance (TSC) model for the region, a geoelectric field model, and a GIC network model. (The TSC is composed of a thin‐sheet conductance map with underlying layered resistivity structure.) Using modeling approaches that have been successfully used in the United Kingdom and Ireland, we applied a thin‐sheet model to calculate the electric field as a function of magnetic field and ground conductance. We developed a TSC model based on magnetotelluric surveys, geology, and bathymetry, modified to account for offshore sediments. Using this representation, the thin sheet model gave good agreement with measured impedance vectors. Driven by a spatially uniform magnetic field variation, the thin‐sheet model results in electric fields dominated by the ocean‐land boundary with effects due to the deep ocean and steep terrain. There is a strong tendency for the electric field to align northwest‐southeast, irrespective of the direction of the magnetic field. Applying this electric field to a GIC network model, we show that modeled GIC are dominated by northwest‐southeast transmission lines rather than east‐west lines usually assumed to dominate.
Detection of endogenous NPY release determined by novel GRAB sensor in cultured cortical neurons

Neuropeptide Y (NPY) is an abundantly expressed peptide in the nervous system. Its widespread distribution along with its receptors, both centrally and peripherally, indicates its broad functions in numerous biological processes. However, the low endogenous concentration and diffuse distribution of NPY make it challenging to study its actions and dynamics directly and comprehensively. Studies on the role of NPY have primarily been limited to exogenous application, transgene expression, or knock-out in biological systems, which are often combined with pharmacological probes to delineate the involvement of specific NPY receptors. Therefore, to better understand the function of NPY in time and space, direct visualization of the real-time dynamics of endogenous NPY is a valuable and desired tool. Using the first-generation and newly developed intensiometric green fluorescent G-protein-coupled NPY sensor (GRAB NPY1.0), we, for the first time, demonstrate and characterize the direct detection of endogenously released NPY in cultured cortical neurons. A dose-dependent fluorescent signal was observed upon exogenous NPY application in nearly all recorded neurons. Pharmacologically evoked neuronal activity induced a significant increase in fluorescent signal in 32% of neurons, reflecting the release of NPY, despite only 3% of all neurons containing NPY. The remaining pool of neurons expressing the sensor were either non-responsive or displayed a notable decline in the fluorescent signal. Such decline in fluorescent signal was not rescued in cortical cultures transduced with an NPY overexpression vector, where 88% of the neurons were NPY-positive. Overexpression of NPY did, however, result in sensor signals that were more readily distinguishable. This may suggest that biological factors, such as subtle changes in intracellular pH, could interfere with the fluorescent signal, and thereby underestimate the release of endogenous NPY when using this new sensor in its present configuration. However, the development of next-generation NPY GRAB sensor technology is expected soon, and will eventually enable much-wanted studies on endogenous NPY release dynamics in both cultured and intact biological systems.
STUDY AND COMPARISON OF THE METHOD OF MOMENTS AND THE SINGLE LEVEL FAST MULTIPOLE METHOD FOR 2D SPACE CHARGE TRACKING

Strong space charge is a significant impediment in charged particle beam physics, particularly at the high intensity frontier. For future applications, where particles must occupy the smallest region possible, quickly and accurately and efficient modeling space charge modeling is essential, for instance, to minimize the space charge contribution to beam dispersion. In this paper, we study and compare the performance for the method of moments (MoM) and the single-level fast multipole method (SLFMM) in 2D. The method of moments has been widely used to solve computational electromagnetic problems but assumes a series-expandable smooth distribution function, limiting its reliability in some cases. The fast multipole method was more recently developed and shows remarkable accuracy with difficult beam distributions. We demonstrate these methods using a simplified version of the University of Maryland electron ring (UMER). We present some multi-particle tracking results obtained using these methods. Future work will study the space charge inclusive transfer maps calculated from these methods.
Application of Chromatographic and Spectroscopic-Based Methods for Analysis of Omega-3 (ω-3 FAs) and Omega-6 (ω-6 FAs) Fatty Acids in Marine Natural Products

Omega-3 fatty acids v(ω-3 FAs) such as EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid) and DHA (docosahexaenoic acid) and omega-6 fatty acids (ω-6 FAs) such as linoleic acid and arachidonic acid are important fatty acids responsible for positive effects on human health. The main sources of ω-3 FAs and ω-6 FAs are marine-based products, especially fish oils. Some food, supplements, and pharmaceutical products would include fish oils as a source of ω-3 FAs and ω-6 FAs; therefore, the quality assurance of these products is highly required. Some analytical methods mainly based on spectroscopic and chromatographic techniques have been reported. Molecular spectroscopy such as Infrared and Raman parallel to chemometrics has been successfully applied for quantitative analysis of individual and total ω-3 FAs and ω-6 FAs. This spectroscopic technique is typically applied as the alternative method to official methods applying chromatographic methods. Due to the capability to provide the separation of ω-3 FAs and ω-6 FAs from other components in the products, gas and liquid chromatography along with sophisticated detectors such as mass spectrometers are ideal analytical methods offering sensitive and specific results that are suitable for routine quality control.
Influence of Innovative Post-Weld Finishing Method on Bead Surface Quality

The article describes an innovative post-weld surface finishing method, which is characterized by moving a specialized cutting tool along a butt weld. The aforementioned method is unique for the machining allowance, which is treated as the weld bead height and is removed in one step with one pass of the cutting tool. The tool is equipped on one side with linearly arranged tooth-shaped cutting elements, with the adjacent teeth height changing and increasing according to the direction of the feed. The non-standard geometry of the cutting tool enables the finishing of a heterogeneous post-weld surface with increased hardness. The results of studying the 2D profile parameters and the 3D stereometric characteristics of the surface roughness using the optical method are presented in the article. Test samples were made of S235JR steel and butt welded with the MMA, MIG, and TIG methods. Subsequently, the welding bead was ground and finished in accordance with the innovative method to flush the bead and the base metal’s surface. Additionally, residual stress analyses were performed using the X-ray diffraction method in the surface layers of the test samples. Based on the conducted research, the influence of the innovative finishing method on the surface quality is described.
Ultrathin metasurface with high absorptance for waterborne sound

We present a design for an acoustic metasurface which can efficiently absorb low-frequency sound energy in water. The metasurface has a simple structure and consists of only two common materials: i.e., water and silicone rubber. The optimized material and geometrical parameters of the designed metasurface are determined by an analytic formula in conjunction with an iterative process based on the retrieval method. Although the metasurface is as thin as 0.15 of the wavelength, it can absorb 99.7% of the normally incident sound wave energy. Furthermore, the metasurface maintains a substantially high absorptance over a relatively broad bandwidth, and also works well for oblique incidence with an incident angle of up to 50°. Potential applications in the field of underwater sound isolation are expected.
An investigation of Renyi entropy in high-energy nucleus–nucleus collisions

A study of Renyi entropy of shower particles has been carried out using 16O, 28Si, and 32S projectiles in interaction with AgBr and CNO target present in nuclear emulsion at an incident momentum of 4.5 AGeV/c. The analysis reveals interesting experimental observations for both groups of targets. A comparison of the experimental results with the results obtained from analyzing the event sample generated by the UrQMD code is also presented. Renyi entropy values increase with the increase of projectile mass. This increase is weaker in case of CNO target. The calculated values of second-order Renyi entropy H2 are shown to vary linearly with the logarithm of average particle multiplicity ln⟨n⟩ for both targets. The dependence of Renyi entropy on the logarithm of average particle multiplicity ln⟨n⟩ indicates the presence of long-range correlation in high-energy nucleus–nucleus interactions. The variation is found to be stronger in the case of experimental events in comparison to the UrQMD simulated events indic.
Final report, on-going key comparison BIPM.QM-K1: Ozone at ambient level, comparison with NIM, 2008

As part of the on-going key comparison BIPM.QM-K1, a comparison has been performed between the ozone national standard of the National Institute of Metrology (NIM) and the common reference standard of the key comparison, maintained by the Bureau International des Poids et Mesures (BIPM), via a transfer standard maintained by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). The instruments have been compared over a nominal ozone mole fraction range of 0 nmol/mol to 500 nmol/mol. Main text. To reach the main text of this paper, click on Final Report. Note that this text is that which appears in Appendix B of the BIPM key comparison database kcdb.bipm. org/. The final report has been peer-reviewed and approved for publication by the CCQM, according to the provisions of the CIPM Mutual Recognition Arrangement (MRA).
Examining a Phased Planning Approach to Support Elementary Preservice Teachers in Disciplinary Literacy-Focused Instruction

This study reports qualitative findings related to elementary preservice teachers’ perceptions and use of a six-phased planning approach, titled Planning for Elementary Digitally-Supported Disciplinary Literacy, to integrate digitally supported disciplinary literacy into lesson planning. Preservice teachers in this study were seeking PK-6 licensure and were enrolled in a semester-long graduate-level course focused on disciplinary and content literacy, with an emphasis on the integration of digital tools to support disciplinary literacy. The phased approach considered Core Disciplinary Practices to scaffold preservice teachers’ planning. An inductive qualitative approach was used to collect and analyze data. Thematic results explore preservice teachers’ negotiations of knowledge of print and digital texts and tools to plan for disciplinary literacy, preservice teachers’ perceptions regarding complexities of disciplinary literacy in elementary grades, and the idea of core disciplinary practices as a gateway for a reconsideration of literacy. These results provide implications for how elementary teachers might be supported in integrating disciplinary literacy into their classrooms in a manner that aligns with the goals and constructs of elementary education.
Exploring the Immunoprotective Potential of a Nanocarrier Immersion Vaccine Encoding Sip against Streptococcus Infection in Tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus)

Tilapia, as one of the fish widely cultured around the world, is suffering severe impact from the streptococcus disease with the deterioration of the breeding environment and the increasing of breeding density, which brings serious economic loss to tilapia farming. In this study, the surface immunogenic protein (Sip) of Streptococcus agalactiae (S. agalactiae) was selected as the potential candidate antigen and connected with bacterial nano cellulose (BNC) to construct the nanocarrier subunit vaccine (BNC-rSip), and the immersion immune effects against S. agalactiae and Streptococcus iniae (S. iniae) in Nile tilapia were evaluated on the basis of the serum antibody level, non-specific enzyme activity, the immune-related gene expression and relative percent survival (RPS). The results indicated that Sip possessed the expected immunogenicity according to the immunoinformatic analysis. Compared with the rSip group, BNC-rSip significantly induced serum antibody production and improved the innate immunity level of tilapia. After challenge, the RPS of BNC-rSip groups were 78.95% (S. agalactiae) and 67.86% (S. iniae), which were both higher than those of rSip groups,31.58% (S. agalactiae) and 35.71% (S. iniae), respectively. Our study indicated that BNC-rSip can induce protective immunity for tilapia through immersion immunization and may be an ideal candidate vaccine for controlling tilapia streptococcal disease.
A novel method for generating induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC)-derived alveolar organoids: a comparison of their ability depending on iPSC origin

Background: Alveolar organoids may be useful tools in drug discovery for lung diseases, such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and for studying the effects of respiratory viruses, such as severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2. Induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC)-derived alveolar organoids offer ethical and cost-effective alternatives to animal testing and primary cell-based methods. In this study, we present generating alveolar organoids from iPSCs and compare the efficiency of generating iPSCs from alveolar type 2 (AT2) and umbilical cord blood (UCB) cells.Methods: The protocol started with a two-dimensional culture and transitioned to a three-dimensional culture using Matrigel after the endoderm stage. Organoid cultivation lasted for at least 40 days, and the characteristics of alveolar organoids were assessed using flow cytometry, real-time polymerase chain reaction, and immunostaining.Results: iPSCs derived from AT2 cells showed a better ability to generate alveolar organoids than those derived from UCB cells. This difference in the ability of AT2 iPSCs and UCB iPSCs to generate alveolar organoids appeared during the definitive endoderm differentiation stage. AT2 iPSCs showed higher expression of the anterior foregut endoderm marker SOX2 and lung progenitor gene expression markers, such as NKX2.1 and CPM, which are associated with the lung progenitor differentiation stage.Conclusion: This protocol successfully generated alveolar organoids from AT2 iPSCs; however, the efficiency of differentiation varied depending on the origin of the iPSCs. This study also found differences in gene expression and developmental potential between iPSCs, which may have contributed to the observed differences in differentiation efficiency.
ECG-Based Unsupervised Clustering in Coronary Artery Disease Associates with Ventricular Arrhythmia

Aims: Coronary Artery Disease (CAD) is one of the main causes of life-threatening ventricular arrhythmias (LTVAs) leading to sudden cardiac death. CAD slows ventricular conduction across individuals, manifesting as heterogeneous QRS morphologies. This study aimed to identify distinct clusters of CAD individuals based on QRS morphology using unsupervised learning, and investigate their association with LTVA risk. Methods: An average heartbeat was derived from 10-second electrocardiograms (ECGs, lead I) from 1,458 individuals diagnosed with CAD in the UK Biobank study. An unsupervised clustering algorithm based on 3-nearest neighbours was used to classify each individual, then we evaluated the association of each cluster with LTVA risk. Results: There were a total of 65 LTVA events in the population. The algorithm distinguished 3 distinct clusters of QRS-related morphological features, which significantly differed in terms of LTVA events rate. Cluster 2, characterized by the lowest QRS amplitudes and widest QRS complexes, was strongly associated with LTVA risk. Conclusions: Our analysis has identified CAD individuals at risk of LTVA using the QRS morphology. The identified cluster could be used to tailor care and provide refined risk assessment in CAD individuals to apply specific prevention measures.
A correlation analysis between sentimental comment and numerical response in students' feedback

This paper aims to study a qualitative measuring of students’ comments using sentiment analysis to teacher evaluation and investigate its qualitative analysis. A small dataset of students’ feedbacks was collected from the public website and was utilized in the experimental. We performed the lexicon based sentiment analysis to identify sentiment word and determine overall sentiment polarity of students’ comment into positive and negative classes based on Opinion Lexicon automatically. A comparison between overall sentiment scores and numerical response scores of teacher evaluation aspects were evaluated and plotted into graphs in order to compare the relationship between each pair of two variables. Especially, we applied the statistical techniques using Pearson’s correlation and Spearman’s rank to confirm these visual correlation results. The experimental results suggested that there is a significant correlation between overall sentiment scores from its qualitative analysis and numerical response scores of teacher evaluation aspects. Based on this, it might be possible to convert from qualitative to quantitative type of teacher evaluation by performing lexicon based sentiment analysis.