Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Noise-assisted energy transfer in quantum networks and light-harvesting complexes

We provide physically intuitive mechanisms for the effect of noise on excitation energy transfer (EET) in networks. Using these mechanisms of dephasing-assisted transport (DAT) in a hybrid basis of both excitons and sites, we develop a detailed picture of how noise enables energy transfer with efficiencies well above 90% across the Fenna–Matthew–Olson (FMO) complex, a type of light-harvesting molecule. We demonstrate explicitly how noise alters the pathways of energy transfer across the complex, suppressing ineffective pathways and facilitating direct ones to the reaction centre. We explain that the fundamental mechanisms underpinning DAT are expected to be robust with respect to the considered noise model but show that the specific details of the exciton–phonon coupling, which remain largely unknown in these type of complexes, and in particular the impact of non-Markovian effects, result in variations of dynamical features that should be amenable to experimental verification with current or planned technology. A detailed understanding of DAT in natural compounds could open up a new paradigm of ‘noise-engineering’ by which EET can be optimized in artificial light-harvesting structures.
The contribution of socio-economic position to health differentials between ethnic groups

A logic system for sequentially testing the states of a system of contacts: It is characterized in that it comprises: 2n p contacts to be tested, n and p being integers greater than 1, the contacts being tested by groups of 2m contacts, m being an integer less than n; a diode matrix comprising 2n columns and 2p rows wherein each diode is in series with one of the contacts to be tested, each column is embodied by a bus bar having one end connected via a load resistance to one pole of a battery whose other pole is earthed, and each row is earthed via a switching transistor called a "row transistor"; 2m contact position reading circuits each comprising a diode logic or-circuit having 2n m inputs, each of the 2n bus bars being connected to just one of the latter inputs, the output of each logic or-circuit being connected via two diodes in series to the base of a transistor called "reading transistor" whose emitter is earthed and whose collector is connected to an amplifier for detecting whether the reading transistor is in the conductive or non-conductive state, each such state corresponding to one of the positions of the tested contact; and an address counter having 2n p m addresses which are decoded through the agency of the matrix and of a selector circuit comprising diode logic or-circuits having their outputs earthed via a switching transistor called "selecting transistor" and their inputs connected to the bus bars, so that during the decoding of an address the selecting circuit earths every input but one of each reading circuit and only one of the row transistors is in the conductive state.
Infrared image saliency detection based on human vision and information theory

Robust image saliency detection can process the image correctly without any prior knowledge and additional assumptions. Therefore, the saliency detection is still one of the important steps in the field of computer vision including object recognition and tracking, image and video encoding and image segmentation. Although infrared imaging has extensive applications, there is few saliency extraction algorithms based on infrared spectroscopy. We propose an infrared image-based saliency extraction algorithm based on human vision and information theory. The proposed algorithm uses both human visual attention mechanism and theory of information, and it can also produce a saliency image with full resolution. The detection results of the proposed algorithm get a higher accuracy and better recall rate, when tested on one of the largest infrared data sets which is publicly now and a data set created by ourselves.
Should Monetary Policy Use Long-Term Rates?

This paper studies two roles that long-term nominal interest rates can play in the conduct of monetary policy in a New Keynesian model. The first allows long-term rates to enter the reaction function of the monetary authority. The second considers the possibility of using long-term rates as instruments of policy. In both cases a unique rational expectations equilibrium exists. Reacting to movements in long yields does not improve macroeconomic performance as measured by the loss function. Long-term rates, however, turn out to be better instruments of monetary policy than short-term rates when the concern for inflation volatility is high.
Conditional Posterior Cramér-Rao lower bounds for nonlinear recursive filtering

Posterior Cramér Rao lower bounds (PCRLBs) [1] for sequential Bayesian estimators provide performance bounds for general nonlinear filtering problems and have been used widely for sensor management in tracking and fusion systems. However, the unconditional PCRLB [1] is an off-line bound that is obtained by taking the expectation of the Fisher information matrix (FIM) with respect to the measurement and the state to be estimated. In this paper, we introduce a new concept of conditional PCRLB, which is dependent on the observation data up to the current time, and adaptive to a particular realization of the system state. Therefore, it is expected to provide a more accurate and effective performance evaluation than the conventional unconditional PCRLB. However, analytical computation of this new bound is, in general, intractable except when the system is linear and Gaussian. In this paper, we present a sequential Monte Carlo solution to compute the conditional PCRLB for nonlinear non-Gaussian sequential Bayesian estimation problems.
The role of annual reports in a system of accountability for public fundraising charities

Charities are important in modern Australian society because they provide a substantial proportion of the health, community welfare, education and religious services available in the community (Australian Bureau of Statistics 2002). Yet despite their social and economic importance, charities are often characterised in the media as being less accountable than either for-profit entities or government sector organisations. Annual reports are widely regarded as an important means of acquitting accountability in the corporate and government sectors and may be one of the means by which charities can improve stakeholders' perceptions of their accountability. Yet little is known of the annual reporting behaviours of charities or whether annual reports have the potential for improving perceptions of accountability among their stakeholders and the wider community. This research focuses on a class of charities termed &quotpublic fundraising charities" (those that raise funds from the public rather than just their members), and the role that annual reports play in acquitting accountability and improving perceptions. The research uses a new combination of theories that have previously been used separately to explain accountability and annual reports in other sectors, and using the insights from these theories, examines the role of annual reports in a population of public fundraising charities in Queensland. The major findings of this research are that annual reports have both functional and symbolic roles in the system of accountability of public fundraising charities. Functionally, annual reports are a useful and generally valued means by which public fundraising charities communicate a wide range of types of information about their activities and their performance to interested parties. Symbolically, annual reports also serve as an important signal of assurance to those who receive them. For those who prepare them, annual reports serve as useful signals of managerial and governance competence to those whose opinion is salient to preparers. Annual reports also have a role in the system of accountability for the maintenance of the mission of these organisations, in ways that statutory reports and returns do not. This research makes three original contributions to the literature. First, it provides for the first time a detailed analysis of the role of annual reports in a system of accountability for public fundraising charities in Australia. Second, a new theoretical lens is proposed and tested for its descriptive and explanatory power in the examination the accountability of nonprofit organisations. Third, it makes an original contribution to accountability theory by identifying the importance of the annual report as a quality signaling device. The results of this research will be of use to public fundraising charities, regulators and policy makers, as they respond to the calls for charities to demonstrate that they are accountable.
Molecular Epidemiology of Malaria

SUMMARY Malaria persists as an undiminished global problem, but the resources available to address it have increased. Many tools for understanding its biology and epidemiology are well developed, with a particular richness of comparative genome sequences. Targeted genetic manipulation is now effectively combined with in vitro culture assays on the most important human parasite, Plasmodium falciparum, and with in vivo analysis of rodent and monkey malaria parasites in their laboratory hosts. Studies of the epidemiology, prevention, and treatment of human malaria have already been influenced by the availability of molecular methods, and analyses of parasite polymorphisms have long had useful and highly informative applications. However, the molecular epidemiology of malaria is currently undergoing its most substantial revolution as a result of the genomic information and technologies that are available in well-resourced centers. It is a challenge for research agendas to face the real needs presented by a disease that largely exists in extremely resource-poor settings, but it is one that there appears to be an increased willingness to undertake. To this end, developments in the molecular epidemiology of malaria are reviewed here, emphasizing aspects that may be current and future priorities.
Trypanosoma vivax – out of Africa

§The Centre for Tropical Medicine, Nuffield Dept of Clinical Medicine, University of Oxford, John Radcliffe Hospital, Headington, Oxford, UK OX3 9DS. A long-held approach to dealing with spatial complexity in malaria epidemiology has been to classify malarious zones along a stable–unstable gradient1,2. Stable malaria exists where the basic reproductive rate or number of malaria (R0) regularly exceeds unity. R0 is described by Eqn 1:
Developing a standard for TV white space coexistence: technical challenges and solution approaches

TV white space refers to TV channels that are not used by any licensed services at a particular location and at a particular time. To exploit this unused TVWS spectrum for improved spectrum efficiency, regulatory agencies have begun developing regulations to permit its use this TVWS by unlicensed wireless devices as long as they do not interfere with any licensed services. In the future many heterogeneous, and independently operated, wireless networks may utilize the TVWS. Coexistence between these networks is essential in order to provide a high level of QoS to end users. Consequently, the IEEE 802 LAN/MAN standards committee has approved the P802.19. 1 standardization project to specify radio-technology-independent methods for coexistence among dissimilar or independently operated wireless devices and networks. In this article we provide a detailed overview of the regulatory status of TVWS in the United States and Europe, analyze the coexistence problem in TVWS, and summarize existing coexisting mechanisms to improve coexistence in TVWS. The main focus of the article is the IEEE P802.19. 1 standardization project, including its requirements and system design, and the major technical challenges ahead.
Enhanced semi-supervised local fisher discriminant analysis for gene expression data classification

An improved manifold learning method, called enhanced semi-supervised local fisher discriminant analysis (ESELF), for gene expression data classification is proposed. Motivated by the fact that semi-supervised and parameter-free are two desirable and promising characteristics for dimension reduction, a new difference-based optimization objective function with unlabeled samples has been designed. The proposed method preserves the global structure of unlabeled samples in addition to separating labeled samples in different classes from each other. The semi-supervised method has an analytic form of the globally optimal solution and it can be computed based on eigen decompositions. The experimental results and comparisons on synthetic data and two DNA micro array datasets demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method.
Identification and quantification of organic aerosol from cooking and other sources in Barcelona using aerosol mass spectrometer data

PM1 (particulate matter with an aerodynamic di- ameter <1 µm) non-refractory components and black car- bon were measured continuously together with additional air quality and atmospheric parameters at an urban back- ground site in Barcelona, Spain, during March 2009 (cam- paign DAURE, Determination of the sources of atmospheric Aerosols in Urban and Rural Environments in the western Mediterranean). Positive matrix factorization (PMF) was conducted on the organic aerosol (OA) data matrix mea- sured by an aerosol mass spectrometer, on both unit mass (UMR) and high resolution (HR) data. Five factors or sources could be identified: LV-OOA (low-volatility oxy- genated OA), related to regional, aged secondary OA; SV- OOA (semi-volatile oxygenated OA), a fresher oxygenated OA; HOA (hydrocarbon-like OA, related to traffic emis- sions); BBOA (biomass burning OA) from domestic heating or agricultural biomass burning activities; and COA (cook- ing OA). LV-OOA contributed 28 % to OA, SV-OOA 27 %, COA 17 %, HOA 16 %, and BBOA 11 %. The COA HR spectrum contained substantial signal from oxygenated ions (O:C: 0.21) whereas the HR HOA spectrum had almost ex-
Satiation attenuates BOLD activity in brain regions involved in reward and increases activity in dorsolateral prefrontal cortex: an fMRI study in healthy volunteers.

BACKGROUND Neural responses to rewarding food cues are significantly different in the fed vs. fasted (>8 h food-deprived) state. However, the effect of eating to satiety after a shorter (more natural) intermeal interval on neural responses to both rewarding and aversive cues has not been examined. OBJECTIVE With the use of a novel functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) task, we investigated the effect of satiation on neural responses to both rewarding and aversive food tastes and pictures. DESIGN Sixteen healthy participants (8 men, 8 women) were scanned on 2 separate test days, before and after eating a meal to satiation or after not eating for 4 h (satiated vs. premeal). fMRI blood oxygen level-dependent (BOLD) signals to the sight and/or taste of the stimuli were recorded. RESULTS A whole-brain cluster-corrected analysis (P < 0.05) showed that satiation attenuated the BOLD response to both stimulus types in the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC), orbitofrontal cortex, nucleus accumbens, hypothalamus, and insula but increased BOLD activity in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC; local maxima corrected to P ≤ 0.001). A psychophysiological interaction analysis showed that the vmPFC was more highly connected to the dlPFC when individuals were exposed to food stimuli when satiated than when not satiated. CONCLUSIONS These results suggest that natural satiation attenuates activity in reward-related brain regions and increases activity in the dlPFC, which may reflect a "top down" cognitive influence on satiation. This trial was registered at clinicaltrials.gov as NCT02298049.
Overcoming Barriers in Oncolytic Virotherapy with HDAC Inhibitors and Immune Checkpoint Blockade

Oncolytic viruses (OVs) target and destroy cancer cells while sparing their normal counterparts. These viruses have been evaluated in numerous studies at both pre-clinical and clinical levels and the recent Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval of an oncolytic herpesvirus-based treatment raises optimism that OVs will become a therapeutic option for cancer patients. However, to improve clinical outcome, there is a need to increase OV efficacy. In addition to killing cancer cells directly through lysis, OVs can stimulate the induction of anti-tumour immune responses. The host immune system thus represents a “double-edged sword” for oncolytic virotherapy: on the one hand, a robust anti-viral response will limit OV replication and spread; on the other hand, the immune-mediated component of OV therapy may be its most important anti-cancer mechanism. Although the relative contribution of direct viral oncolysis and indirect, immune-mediated oncosuppression to overall OV efficacy is unclear, it is likely that an initial period of vigorous OV multiplication and lytic activity will most optimally set the stage for subsequent adaptive anti-tumour immunity. In this review, we consider the use of histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitors as a means of boosting virus replication and lessening the negative impact of innate immunity on the direct oncolytic effect. We also discuss an alternative approach, aimed at potentiating OV-elicited anti-tumour immunity through the blockade of immune checkpoints. We conclude by proposing a two-phase combinatorial strategy in which initial OV replication and spread is maximised through transient HDAC inhibition, with anti-tumour immune responses subsequently enhanced by immune checkpoint blockade.
Glacier Monitoring From ASTER Imagery: Accuracy and Applications

The optical sensor ASTER (Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer) on board the Terra satellite offers new possibilities for worldwide glacier monitoring. In this paper, its capability and accuracy for selected glaciological applications is evaluated. (a) ASTER’s along-track stereo sensor allows for photogrammetric DEM generation. Here, we apply PCI Geomatica Orthoengine for that purpose. A vertical DEM accuracy of approximately ±60 m RMS was found for complex high-mountain topography with maximum errors of up to 500 m. For smoother terrain an accuracy of roughly 15 m can be expected. (b) Automatic glacier mapping using the ASTER bands 3 (15 m resolution) and 4 (30 m resolution) revealed no significant differences to corresponding work based on Landsat TM bands 4 and 5. (c) The flow field for Tasman glacier, New Zealand, was successfully derived from repeated ASTER orthoimages. The striking results suggest that ASTER data might help to include ice flow into global glacier monitoring from space. (d) Combining above approaches of exploiting ASTER data with GIS-models represents a valuable tool for integrated hazard assessments from space: the outburst flood from the moraine lake Dig Tsho, Khumbu Himal, of 1985 was reconstructed from an ASTER DEM with good agreement to the actual flood.
An eye tracking approach to image search activities using RSVP display techniques

Rapid Serial Visual Presentation (RSVP) is now a well-established category of image display methods. In this paper we compare four RSVP techniques when applied to very large collections of images (thousands), in order to extract the highest quantity of items that match a textual description. We report on experiments with more than 30 testers, in which we exploit an eye tracking system to perform the selection of images, thus obtaining quantitative and qualitative data about the efficacy of each presentation mode with respect to this task. Our study aims at confirming the feasibility and convenience of an eye tracking approach for effective image selection in RSVP techniques, compared to the mouse-click "traditional" selection method, in view of a future where eye trackers might become nearly as common as LCD displays are now. We propose an interpretation of the experimental data and provide short considerations on technical issues.
CCCloud: Context-Aware and Credible Cloud Service Selection Based on Subjective Assessment and Objective Assessment

Due to the diversity and dynamic nature of cloud services, it is usually hard for potential cloud consumers to select the most suitable cloud service. This paper proposes CCCloud: a context-aware and credible cloud service selection model based on the comparison and aggregation of subjective assessments extracted from ordinary cloud consumers and objective assessments from quantitative performance testing parties. We propose a novel approach to evaluate cloud users' credibility, which not only can accurately evaluate how truthfully they assess cloud services, but also resist user collusion. In addition, in our model, objective assessments are used as benchmarks to filter out potentially biased subjective assessments, and then objective assessments and subjective assessments are aggregated to evaluate the overall performance of a cloud service. Furthermore, our model takes the contexts of objective assessments and subjective assessments into account. By calculating the similarity between different contexts, the benchmark level of objective assessments is dynamically adjusted according to context similarity, and the aggregated final scores of alternative cloud services are weighted by the similarity between the contexts of a potential cloud consumer and every testing party. This makes our cloud service selection model reflect potential cloud consumers' customized requirements more effectively. Finally, our proposed model is evaluated through the experiments conducted under different conditions. The experimental results demonstrate that our model significantly outperforms the existing work, especially in the resistance of user collusion.
Color Distribution Index (CDI) for Evaluating the Display Image Quality

In this research, we proposed a new image quality evaluation index Color Distribution Index (CDI). It considers color gamut, contrastratio,� maximum luminance, electro-optical characteristics such as gamma, bit depth and JND as human visual system to evaluate the ability for reproducing visually smooth gradation. When the CDI cell was defined, we verified JND from fundamental matter such as JND in luminance and chromaticity using the latest TV sets. According to our investigations, luminance JND was �˚L/L=0.01, chromaticity JND was �˚ u'v'=0.001. We used these values for a unit CDI cell and evaluated bit depth needed for high image quality without any visible false contour. We clarified 12 bit is needed as necessary and sufficient condition to reproduce high image quality with latest LCD TV set designed based on BT.709. And we clarified that maximum luminance, contrast ratio, gamma characteristics and bit depth should be balanced to achieve TV sets of high image quality from the viewpoint of the total image quality improvement. Yoshida (7) conducted the subjective evaluations under various conditions of adaptation luminance using LCD TV to reveal the bit depth needed for high image quality with smooth gradation. Then in the case of severe condition like observing low Average Picture Level (APL) images in dark room, some visible contour appeared even if �˚ Eab* was under 1. These results originated from the fact that L*a*b* color space assumed that observer evaluated under enough daylight and should set 100% white as reference. So Yoshida indicated that it was difficult to apply the result based on L*a*b* to the case of severe condition like observing low APL pictures in dark room and the evaluation of display should use the luminance JND based on absolute luminance.