Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Quantum cryptography: from theory to practice

Quantum cryptography: from theory to practice Xiongfeng Ma Doctor of Philosophy Thesis Graduate Department of Department of Physics University of Toronto 2008 Quantum cryptography or quantum key distribution (QKD) applies fundamental laws of quantum physics to guarantee secure communication. The security of quantum cryptography was proven in the last decade. Many security analyses are based on the assumption that QKD system components are idealized. In practice, inevitable device imperfections may compromise security unless these imperfections are well investigated. A highly attenuated laser pulse which gives a weak coherent state is widely used in QKD experiments. A weak coherent state has multi-photon components, which opens up a security loophole to the sophisticated eavesdropper. With a small adjustment of the hardware, we will prove that the decoy state method can close this loophole and substantially improve the QKD performance. We also propose a few practical decoy state protocols, study statistical fluctuations and perform experimental demonstrations. Moreover, we will apply the methods from entanglement distillation protocols based on two-way classical communication to improve the decoy state QKD performance. Furthermore, we study the decoy state methods for other single photon sources, such as triggering parametric down-conversion (PDC) source. Note that our work, decoy state protocol, has attracted a lot of scientific and media interest. The decoy state QKD becomes a standard technique for prepare-and-measure QKD schemes. Aside from single-photon-based QKD schemes, there is another type of scheme based on entangled photon sources. A PDC source is commonly used as an entangled photon source. We propose a model and post-processing scheme for the entanglement-based QKD with a PDC source. Although the model is proposed to study the entanglementbased QKD, we emphasize that our generic model may also be useful for other non-QKD experiments involving a PDC source. By simulating a real PDC experiment, we show that the entanglement-based QKD can achieve longer maximal secure distance than the single-photon-based QKD schemes.
Assessment of climate‐change impacts on alpine discharge regimes with climate model uncertainty

This study analyses the uncertainty induced by the use of different state‐of‐the‐art climate models on the prediction of climate‐change impacts on the runoff regimes of 11 mountainous catchments in the Swiss Alps having current proportions of glacier cover between 0 and 50%. The climate‐change scenarios analysed are the result of 19 regional climate model (RCM) runs obtained for the period 2070–2099 based on two different greenhouse‐gas emission scenarios (the A2 and B2 scenarios defined by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) and on three different coupled atmosphere‐ocean general circulation models (AOGCMs), namely HadCM3, ECHAM4/OPYC3 and ARPEGE/OPA. The hydrological response of the study catchments to the climate scenarios is simulated through a conceptual reservoir‐based precipitation‐runoff transformation model called GSM‐SOCONT. For the glacierized catchments, the glacier surface corresponding to these future scenarios is updated through a conceptual glacier surface evolution model.
Geochemistry and petrogenesis of the Gasht peraluminous granite, western Alborz Mountains, Iran

The Gasht leucogranite consists of plagioclase, alkali feldspar, quartz, muscovite, tourma- line and apatite, but lacks biotite. This leucogranite is peraluminous having SiO 2 contents of 70.1-75.7 wt%. The TiO2 content is less than 0.06 wt%. Chondrite-normalized REE patterns show overall low REE concentrations with relatively higher light rare earth elements (LREE), and small negative Eu anomalies. Geochemical studies of the Gasht pluton suggest an origin by low degree partial melting of a muscovite-rich metapelite under a low aH 2 O. Partial melting occurred in the mid-levels of the continental crust of the Alborz Range during deformation, shearing and subsequent collapse of the previously thickened crust. The Alborz collision zone of northern Iran is a result of northward sub- duction and consumption of the Paleotethys and subsequent collision between the Gondwana-derived central Iranian block and the Eurasian plate.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MULTIDISCIPLINARY: APPLIED BUSINESS AND EDUCATION RESEARCH

Purpose – This paper aims to contribute to the study of the factors of consumers’ attitudes toward boycott intention. This examines how behavioral beliefs and attitudes are statistically related to boycott intention throug h the modified conceptual framework of Ajzen’s Theories of Reasoned Action and Planned Behavior. Design/methodology/approach – Human behavior concerning boycott intentions is studied using a sequential explanatory research design. Data are obtained from 90 valid respondents through questionnaires and 8 interviewees from focus group discussions. It was
Pharmacogenomic knowledge gaps and educational resource needs among physicians in selected specialties

(unported, v3.0) License. The full terms of the License are available at http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/. Non-commercial uses of the work are permitted without any further permission from Dove Medical Press Limited, provided the work is properly attributed. Permissions beyond the scope of the License are administered by Dove Medical Press Limited. Information on how to request permission may be found at: http://www.dovepress. com/permissions.php Pharmacogenomics and Personalized Medicine 2014:7 145–162 Pharmacogenomics and Personalized Medicine Dovepress
effects of ePhX 1 and cYP 3 a 4 polymorphisms on carbamazepine metabolism in epileptic patients

License. The full terms of the License are available at http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/. Non-commercial uses of the work are permitted without any further permission from Dove Medical Press Limited, provided the work is properly attributed. Permissions beyond the scope of the License are administered by Dove Medical Press Limited. Information on how to request permission may be found at: http://www.dovepress. com/permissions.php Pharmacogenomics and Personalized Medicine 2014:7 117–120 Pharmacogenomics and Personalized Medicine Dovepress
Predicting the Impact of Glacier Loss on Fish, Birds, Floodplains, and Estuaries in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge

In this paper we explore the impacts of shrinking glaciers on downstream ecosystems in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Glaciers here are losing mass at an accelerating rate and will largely disappear in the next 50–100 years if current trends continue. We believe this will have a measureable and possibly important impact on the terrestrial and estuarine ecosystems and the associated bird and fish species within these glaciated watersheds.
Environmental drivers of growth in massive Porites corals over 16 degrees of latitude along Australia's northwest shelf

Sustained calcification is fundamental for maintaining tropical coral reef ecosystems which are under increasing pressure from global and local changes to the marine environment. Annual density bands in massive corals provide a robust means to retrospectively monitor growth and identify the environmental drivers. We present Porites growth characteristics for 60 coral cores from 18 reef sites and five environmental regions off Western Australia (WA) over the period 1950–2008. This remote region encompasses diverse coral reef ecosystems and is an economically important natural resource hub. Despite high variability, average calcification is highest in the offshore shelf reefs and lowest in the most southerly reefs. The primary environmental drivers of these spatial variations are annual and winter minimum sea surface temperature (SST) and annual winter minimum photosynthetically active radiation. Average growth characteristics for WA reefs are comparable to those of Australia's Great Barrier Reef. Calcification rates at the two most southerly WA reefs are anomalously high, which may be due to the unusual environmental conditions generated by the Leeuwin Current. Variable rates of SST warming across the 18 reefs are, however, changing the strength of the relationship between SST and calcification. We found no evidence to support the contention that annual density banding is driven by environmental seasonality. Retrospective monitoring of growth rates provides a critical tool for both assessing coral growth responses to ongoing rapid climate change and possible responses to increasing anthropogenic pressures related to natural resource development in the region.
SAF on Ocean and Sea Ice North Atlantic AVHRR SST matchup data base

A matchup database co-locating NOAA AVHRR data and in-situ ship and buoy measurements of surface temperature and other parameters has been developed as a supplement to the CMS and pathfinder databases. The database covers the Baltic Sea (53°N,8°E to 66°N,30°E) as well as the Atlantic North of 65 °N (from 70°W to 70°E) and spans the period from November 1993 through February 1996 and unfortunately displays a gap, due to malfunction of the archiving system, until October 1997, when the archiving of NOAA AVHRR at DMI was recovered. For generality, the database is in ASCII format and the radiometer data is stored as count values with all necessary calibration information.
Morphological and genetic characterization of mango varieties in Mozambique.

Résumé Research Application Summary Mangoes are economically important for Mozambique because of adequate climatic conditions and international market opportunities. This study compare morphological and AFLP characterisation of 30 mango varieties from the Umbeluzi research station, including some commercial varieties. The total variation was lower using quantitative (89.4% similarity) than qualitative data (60% similarity). The combined quantitative and qualitative dendrogram had a total variation of 63% similarity and clustered varieties in three subgroups based on high fruit weight, high Brix content and low fruit weight. AFLP characterisation used seven primers combinations, generating 207 data points and detecting 74.9% polymorphisms with an average of 30 fragments per primer combination. The total variation was low (72.49% similarity) and the dendrogram showed five subgroups based on low fruit weight, dwarfness and low Brix content, commercial varieties, high fruit weight and roundish fruit shape. The combined morphological and AFLP dendrogram was more accurate in clustering varieties based on geographic origin within the country and from outside.
DEVELOPMENT AND TESTING OF A SEMI-DISTRIBUTED WATERSHED MODEL: CASE STUDIES EXPLORING THE IMPACT OF CLIMATE VARIABILITY AND CHANGE IN THE RíO SALADO

Water supply problems are ever increasing as populations grow and supplies are finite. Policy makers have many tools at their disposal to assist in their management of limited resources. One set of tools that are gaining popularity are hydrologic models of varying levels of complexity. Models allow predictions to be made for remote areas over long time periods using limited input data. In this work, we create a semi-distributed watershed model in the Powersim software environment. The model is applied to the semiarid Rio Salado and tested with varying atmospheric forcing and climate change
Interannual variability of the Korea Strait Bottom Cold Water and its relationship with the upper water temperatures and atmospheric forcing in the Sea of Japan (East Sea)

[1] A 35 yearlong temperature data set is analyzed to investigate the long-term temperature variability in the Korea Strait and its relationship with the temperature variability in the upper layer of the Sea of Japan (East Sea). The second cyclostationary empirical orthogonal function mode of the vertical temperature section in the Korea Strait describes the interannual variability of the Korea Strait Bottom Cold Water (KSBCW). According to the corresponding principal component time series, the strength of the KSBCW fluctuates yearly with a major spectral peak around 3 years. Multiple regression analysis shows that the interannual KSBCW variability is closely linked with the temperature variability in the southwestern region of the Sea of Japan (East Sea) at about 50–100 m depth. Along 40°N, the source of the KSBCW is traced at about 50 m, extending eastward from the east coast of Korea to about 135°E. At 37°N, the source is traced at a deeper level (about 50–100 m), confined more toward the east coast of Korea with a hint of double core characteristics. The interannual KSBCW variability is also related to the southward wind stress along the east coast of Korea. It appears that strong cooling/warming of upper water temperature induced by the basin-scale wind stress results in the interannual KSBCW variability. This connection is verified by showing a reasonable interannual covariability between the KSBCW and the basin-scale wind stress.
Use of Social Network Analysis in Bibliometric Researches 1

The impact of published works is measured and evaluated quantitatively and qualitatively by bibliometric researches. In addition to this, various findings related to scientific communication are also obtained from bibliometric studies by analyzing certain characteristics of documents or publications. In recent years, as a result of increased interest to bibliometric studies, different scientific methods and techniques are observed for bibliometrics. Social network analysis (SNA) has also taken its place in the literature as a method which is frequently used in bibliometric studies, especially in the past few years. SNA can simply be defined as examining the social structure and its impacts. This method comprehends the social structure as a network, which connects the actors and the knots of the relationships between these actor pairs. These actors can be people, as well as groups, institutions and even countries. SNA is frequently used by several disciplines such as sociology, anthropology, social psychology, communications and economics. Using SNA, researchers examine the structure of communities, try to describe the network structures, and model the existing connections by visualizing the relationships between the communities. The aim of this study is to review the use of SNA in bibliometric studies.
Molecular characterization and genetic diversity of Wolbachia endosymbionts in bed bugs (Hemiptera; Cimicidae) collected in Paris

Purpose This study aimed to investigate the genetic diversity of Wolbachia in field-caught bed bug species in Paris areas. Methods The bed bug specimens were captured from various infested localities in Paris and surrounding cities. They belonged to diverse life stages, including egg, nymph, and adult. They were then identified using morphological and molecular approaches. Furthermore, Wolbachia was detected, and its genetic diversity was investigated by conventional PCR of 16S-rRNA and Wolbachia surface protein (wsp) genes. Results A total of 256 bed bug specimens belonging to various life stages [adult (183 specimens), nymph (48), and egg (25)] were captured from seven private apartments, five social apartments, three houses, two immigrant residences, and one retirement home situated in 10 districts of Paris and 8 surrounding cities. They were identified as Cimex lectularius (237 specimens) and C. hemipterus (19) using morphological and molecular approaches. The presence and diversity of Wolbachia were ascertained by targeting 16S-rRNA and wsp genes. Based on molecular analysis, 182 and 148 out of 256 processed specimens were positive by amplifying 16S-rRNA and wsp fragments, respectively. The inferred phylogenetic analysis with 16S-rRNA and wsp sequences displayed monophyletic Wolbachia strains clustering each one in three populations. The median-joining network, including the Wolbachia 16S-rRNA and wsp sequences of C. lectularius and C. hemipterous specimens, indicated a significant genetic differentiation among these populations in Paris areas which was consent with Neighbor-Joining analyses. A phylogenetic analysis of our heterogenic Wolbachia sequences with those reported from other arthropod species confirmed their belonging to supergroup F. Moreover, no difference between Wolbachia sequences from eggs, nymphs, and adults belonging to the same clade and between Wolbachia sequences of C. lectularius and C. hemipterus were observed after sequence alignment. Furthermore, no significant correlation was found between multiple geographical locations (or accomodation type) where bed bugs were collected and the genetic diversity of Wolbachia. Conclusions We highlight a significant heterogeneity within Wolbachia symbionts detected in C. lectularius and C. hemipterus. No correlation between Wolbachia species and bed bug species (C. lectularius versus C. hemipterus), physiological stages (egg, nymph, and adult), and sampling location was recorded in this study.
Evaluation of Collapse Potential over Abandoned Room and Pillar Mines

This paper summarizes the procedure used to evaluate surface subsidence hazards posed by abandoned room and pillar workings beneath a school site. If the workings are deeper than about 150 feet, the expense of providing deep foundations may be prohibitive and filling the mines may be required. However, if it can be demonstrated that the pillars can support the overburden safely, the site may be utilized without such expenses. This was done at the particular site by examining the implications of failure of isolated pillars on the stability of contiguous pillars and the roof. The method used is applicable only if reliable mine maps can be obtained.
MEASUREMENT AND PREDICTION OF KARSTIC SPRING FLOW RATES

This paper deals with prediction of the response of karstic springs by means of artificial neural networks (ANNs). A feed-forward back propagation ANN with three layers has been developed, to predict flow rates of two karstic springs, located at Rouvas area, Crete, Greece, using rainfall data as input. While the number of neurons of the input and output layers was determined by choice of data and desired output respectively, the number of neurons of the hidden layer was decided by means of numerous tests. Data used in ANN training and testing include daily and monthly precipitation depths (from September, 2006 to December, 2010) and measured flow rates of the two springs (from April, 2007 to December, 2010). Results show that the trained artificial neural network performed well, although flow rate measurements were not very regular. Moreover, the possibility of estimating the flow rate of one spring, based on measurements of the other has been investigated. Again the ANN gave satisfactory results. All spring flow rate and rainfall measurements are presented as an appendix, to facilitate further scientific research in the area of ANN application to water resources management.
Unmanned Aerial Systems for Indoor Inspection in Industrial Sites: System Architecture, Sensors, and Simulation Techniques

Corrosion is a major problem in industrial facilities and marine vessels, leading to structural damage, safety risks, and expensive maintenance. Using UAVs for corrosion inspection offers several benefits, including improved operator safety, increased efficiency, and enhanced risk assessment. High-resolution cameras and specialized sensors allow for quick and accurate assessments of hard-to-reach areas, eliminating the need for manual inspections. Additionally, UAVs can capture visual data, including images of irregular surfaces and ultrasonic thickness measurements, which are crucial for comprehensive analysis. This paper discusses a new solution for efficient corrosion inspection and management using Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) equipped with advanced sensors and autonomous flight capabilities. It explores potential methodologies and techniques for visual inspection, localization, and navigation, aiming to implement, simulate, and construct an effective inspection system.
New Insights on the Sequence Stratigraphic Architecture of the Dakota Formation in Kansas–Nebraska–Iowa from a Decade of Sponsored Research Activity

The Cretaceous Dakota Formation in the areas of Kansas, Nebraska, and Iowa contains a rich and well-preserved microflora of fossil palynomorphs. A comprehensive listing of these taxa is presented in this publication as part of a continuing effort to develop a refined biostratigraphic scheme for mid-Cretaceous terrestrial deposits in North America. The Dakota Formation in this region contains four distinctive Albian-Cenomanian palynostratigraphic zones that are used to partition the unit into successive depositional cycles, and each zone records deposition in fluvial-estuarine environments. The late Albian Kiowa-Skull Creek depositional cycle at the base of the Dakota Formation is recognized throughout the study area, and is also recognized in other parts of the Cretaceous North American Western Interior basin. The overlying newly recognized latest Albian "Muddy-Mowry Cycle" is formally defined for the first time in this paper and correlates with depositional cycles recognized by other workers in other parts of the Western Interior basin. The Cenomanian lower Greenhorn Cycle is already widely recognized by many other workers throughout the Western Interior basin. Laterally extensive thin zones of pervasive carbonate mineral cementation are noted in fluvial-estuarine deposits in the Dakota Formation. They are believed to have formed as synsedimentary cements that precipitated below estuarine marine-flooding surfaces in settings related to discharging paleoground waters. The existence of these early diagenetic cementation zones has important implications for the recognition of diagenetic barriers and baffles to modern fluid flow in the Dakota Formation. New stable isotopic data on these authigenic cements are reported in this paper and add to a body of published data on the δ18O of mid-Cretaceous paleoprecipitation in North America.
Based on spatial-temporal multiframe association infrared target detection

Infrared small target detection is difficult due to several aspects, including the low signal-to-clutter ratio of the infrared image, and the small size, lack of shape and texture information of the target. a novel method, which is based on spatial-temporal association, is presented for infrared target detection. The algorithm consists of the three steps: Firstly, 2-dimensional histogram of entropy flow field is computed to estimate the background motion. Secondly, the difference image through background motion compensation is obtained. Finally, the targets are detected by spatial-temporal filter. The experiment results demonstrate that the proposed algorithm is robust to noise, and also fit to detect small targets under moving backgrounds in infrared image sequences.
PERMANENT GENETIC RESOURCES: Isolation and characterization of nine microsatellite loci from the chub mackerel, Scomber japonicus (Perciformes, Scombridae)

The stock abundance of the chub mackerel Scomber japonicus — a very important species for fisheries, particularly in Japan — in the Pacific Ocean off Japan has remained at a low level. For studying the population genetics of the chub mackerel, we isolated nine polymorphic microsatellite loci (12–31 alleles/locus; expected heterozygosity, 0.762–0.983) from this species. Cross‐species amplification indicated that eight of the nine microsatellite loci in the blue mackerel S. australasicus were polymorphic and functional.