Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Silent Epistemologies

This article presents a conceptualisation of children’s participation rights based on Miranda Fricker’s epistemic injustice. Drawing on research conducted in a secondary school in the UK, the article applies Fricker’s framework, in particular her concepts of testimonial and hermeneutical injustice, to explain some of the reasons for adults’ disquiet around children’s participation rights. Fricker’s concept of testimonial injustice explains how prejudice about a social group results in deflated attributions of credibility to their views and opinions. Hermeneutical injustice occurs when a social group struggles to make sense of their social experiences because of insufficient interpretive resources in the collective social imagination. By applying these concepts to children, I highlight the role of silence in conceptualising children’s right to be heard and to freedom of expression. I present a conceptual framework of participation, informed by epistemic injustice and based on empirical research, in order to bolster children’s participation rights.
A Case Study Of How An Irish Island School Contributes To Community Sustainability, Viability And Vitality

Island studies have rarely focused on the role of small schools on offshore islands. Island schools are often impacted by the decisions of national, regional and local educational authorities, particularly in todayâ€™s world where diseconomic and disbenefit arguments highlight the non-viability of small schools. Such schools are seen as unable to provide an adequate curriculum, socially disadvantageous and generally inefficient. This raises an important question: How does a small island school promote the participation and engagement of families and the community? This paper reports a bounded case to illustrate the characteristics intrinsic to a single small rural school as a communal hub on one of Irelandâ€™s Atlantic islands. A narrative about the school in past and present times, along with vulnerability mapping, is used to explore the social dynamics of the island school within its community. The findings show how the modern diaspora is different from that of earlier generations. The case also illustrates the differences in vulnerabilities between a perceived attractive environment, supported by a viable school potentially driving in-migration, and communities where the absence of a primary school or the risk of its closure would diminish the attractiveness of an island as a place for young families.
Evaluation of Land-Management Options for Dryland Salinity: The Next Step after Airborne Geophysical Interpretation

Dryland areas affected by salinisation are rapidly expanding in the Murray-Darling Basin. Airborne geophysical methods promise information that is highly valuable to the characterisation of a salinised catchment. This paper presents a modelling approach that is well suited to apply this information. The approach models catchment salt and water balance with land management as an input and thus allows comparison of the effects of different land-management options. A model of vertical soilwater movement and solute transport is coupled with a groundwater model. The approach accounts for the effects of depth to water table and soil salinity on vegetation water use. The groundwater model estimates lateral flow from groundwater recharge areas to discharge areas. The modelling approach is demonstrated using a study area at Kialla East near Shepparton, Victoria. The area has shallow water tables, low aquifer hydraulic conductivity, and an average land surface gradient of 1 m/km. The implications of the results for land salinisation processes are discussed. The results indicate that a location where a net groundwater recharge occurs under annual pasture is likely to become a net groundwater discharge area when trees are planted. In addition, to be effective, the establishment of improved landmanagement options would have to be widespread and would be very expensive in dryland areas where productivity is often low. In future, the use of the modelling approach and airborne geophysical measurements will offer land managers a calibrated evaluation of the effects of different land-management options.
Impact of statistical bias correction on the projected climate change signals of the regional climate model REMO over the Senegal River Basin

We assess the impact of a statistical bias correction method based on histogram equalization functions on the projected climate change signals of regional climate model (RCM) simulations over the Senegal River Basin in West Africa. Focus is given to projected changes in precipitation, temperature, and potential water balance (P − PET) following the RCP4.5 and RCP8.5 emission scenario pathways by the end of the 21st century (2071–2100) compared to the 1971–2000 reference period.
On the mesoscale interaction of lead ice and floes

The plasticity of the Arctic ice pack depends on its granular nature, in particular on the size and distribution of areas of thin ice and open water surrounding multiyear ice floes. The paper begins with construction of a mesoscale (10-100 km) granular model of the central Arctic ice pack. The mesoscale model is based on a dynamic particle simulation in which individual multiyear ice floes and surrounding parcels of first-year ice are explicitly modeled as discrete, convex polygons in a two-dimensional domain. Deformation of the domain produces areas of localized failure and areas of open water. The areas of localized failure are modeled as pressure ridging events using the results of numerical experiments performed with a computer simulation of the ridging process. The paper focuses on the results of numerical experiments performed with the mesoscale model. In the experiments the model ice pack is biaxially deformed at constant strain rates. The principal strain rates are varied to create deformation states ranging from pure shear to uniform compression. The results define the shape and magnitude of the plastic yield surface, the strain rate vectors associated with points on the yield surface, the partition of energy dissipation between ridging and in-plane sliding, and the changes in the ice thickness distribution associated with various deformation states.
A scalable shapelet discovery for time series classification

As time series data become more complex and users expect more sophisticated information, numerous algorithms have been proposed to solve these challenges. Among those algorithms to classify time series data,�shapelet� a discriminative subsequence of time series data  is considered a practical approach due to its accurate and insightful classification. However, previously proposed�shapelet�algorithms still suffer from exceedingly high computational complexity, as a result, limiting its scalability to larger datasets. Therefore, in this work�propose a novel algorithm that speeds up�shapelet�discovery process. The�algorithm so called Dual�Increment�Shapelets�(DIS) is a combination of two-layered incremental neural network and filtering process based on subsequence characteristics. Empirical experiments on forty datasets evidently demonstrate that the�proposed work could achieve large speedup while maintaining its accuracy. Unlike the previous algorithm that mainly emphasizes speedup of the search algorithm, DIS essentially reduces the number of�shapelet�candidates based on subsequence characteristics. As a result, The�DIS algorithm could achieve more than three orders of magnitude speedup, comparing with the baseline algorithms, while preserving the accuracy of the state-of-the-art algorithm. ��
The United Nations' Study on Antarctica, 1984

Abstract In 1983 the UN Secretary-General was requested by the General Assembly to prepare a ‘Study on the question of Antarctica’ for the 1984 meeting of the Assembly. Published in November 1984, the Study provided a foundation for the UN First Committee's discussions of 28–30 November. These demonstrated, as had the discussions of the previous year, the polarization of views among UN member states for and against the Antarctic Treaty System. The UN resolution that followed the discussions similarly represented little advance on that of 1983, merely postponing any decision for a further year. Meanwhile the considerable amount of information marshalled for the Study may help to spread interest in Antarctic affairs and enhance international understanding.
Proceedings of the 3rd annual symposium of the German Society for Paleo Nutrition held in 2015

We present the scientific abstracts of the 3rd Annual Symposium of the German Society for Paleo Nutrition (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Paläoernährung e.V.) which was held on July 26th 2015 in Berlin, Germany. The focus of this year's symposium was on the future challenges of human society including topics such as nutritional sustainability, the paleo-deficit syndrome or frailty of the elderly due to body composition changes
Regulatory Sentiment and Economic Performance †

Regulatory sentiment refers to the market’s subjective evaluation of regulatory reform and is one of the most widely adopted indicators to those charged with implementing and diagnosing regulatory policies. The use of regulatory sentiment in advanced analysis has become universal, albeit it is often limited due to difficulties in articulating consistent and objective quantitative indicators that can meticulously reflect market sentiment overall. Thus, despite ample effort by scholars to read the economic impact of regulatory sentiment in the real economy, causal links are difficult to spot. To fill this gap in the literature, this study analyzes a regulatory sentiment index and economic performance indicators through a text analysis approach and by inspecting diverse tones in media articles. Using different stages of tests, the paper identifies a causal relationship between regulatory sentiment and actual economic activities as measured by private consumption, facility investment, construction investment, gross domestic investment, and employment. Additionally, as a result of analyzing one-unit impulse of regulatory perception, the initial impact on economic growth and private investment was found to be negligible; this was followed by a positive (+) response, after which it converged to zero. Construction investment showed a positive (+) response initially, which then rapidly changed to a negative (-) response and then converged to zero. Gross domestic investment as the initial effect was negligible after showing a positive (+) reaction. Unfortunately, the facility investment outcome was found to be insignificant in the impulse response test. Nevertheless, it can be concluded that it is necessary and important to increase the sensitivity to regulations to promote the economic effectiveness of regulatory reforms. Thus, instead of dealing with policies with the vague goal of merely improving regulatory sentiment, using regulatory sentiment as an indicator of major policies could be an effective approach.
Validation of species-specificity of two commercial antibodies directed against RILP

RILP is one of many effectors of RAB7 which bind to RAB7 in its activated GTP-bound state. The exact mechanism by which RAB7 effectors interact with RAB7 in time and space is not well understood. One of the known functions of RILP is to recruit dynein to RAB7-positive late endosomes. Dynein has been shown to be responsible for retrograde transport of RAB7-positive late endosomes in neuronal dendrites. We thus became interested in studying RILP in cultured neurons. We herein validate two commonly used anti-RILP antibodies which are commercially available. We find that both recognize only human RILP, but not mouse or rat RILP. These antibodies are thus not suitable for experiments carried out in mouse or rat cells. Furthermore, we find an unexpected difference between neurons and HEK293 cells in their ability to recruit overexpressed RILP to endosomes and cluster them in the cell center.
Application of Clustering to Landsat MSS Digital Data for Peatland Inventory

RESUMEUn algorithme de groupement a ete applique a des donnees numeriques ponctuelles et multidate pour la discrimination spectrale des tourbieres dans la region des terres mouillees boreales de l'Alberta. Dans une tentative visant a orienter la classification vers les tourbieres, trois combinaisons de limites de bandes spectrales et de zones de sources ont ete utilisees pour produire des signatures. Quelques-uns des themes resultant des classifications ponctuelles ou multidate etaient particuliers aux tourbieres seules, la plupart etant representatifs tant des tourbieres que des basplateaux. L'heterogeneite et la densite variable des types de couvertures de terrain ont contribue a la confusion entre les categories et les classifications multiples dans les tourbieres de la zone d'etude.
Efficacy of autogenous tooth block for lateral ridge augmentation compared with autogenous bone block: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Background: Autogenous tooth block (ATB) has been used as an alternative material for bone regeneration, but its efficacy compared with autogenous bone block (ABB) remains uncertain. The aim of this systematic review was to investigate and compare the clinical and histological performance of ATB and ABB grafts in lateral alveolar ridge augmentation (LARA). Methods: Electronic retrieval of MEDLINE, Embase, Cochrane Library (CENTRAL), Scopus, Web of Science, China national knowledge infrastructure, Wanfang data, SinoMed, and manual searching until July 2023 were used to identify controlled clinical trials employing ATB grafts in LARA. The identified reports included at least one of the following outcome variables: ridge width gain, graft resorption, postoperative complications, histology, and histomorphometry. Weighted or mean differences (MD), relative risk, and corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CI) were calculated. Descriptive analysis was applied to the qualitative statistics. The protocol followed the preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses statement and was prospectively registered in PROSPERO (CRD42023399611). Results: Four controlled clinical trials with 77 participants each using ATB and ABB grafts were included. Meta-analysis indicated that ATB grafts resulted in greater bone width (MD = 1.31, 95% CI [0.92, 1.71], P < .00001) and less graft resorption (MD = −0.71, 95% CI [−1.22, −0.21], P = .005) than ABB grafts on LARA. There was no statistical difference in postoperative complications between ATB and ABB grafts (relative risk = 0.81, 95% CI [0.32, 2.04], P = .66). Furthermore, the ATB grafts exhibited positive replacement resorption with alveolar bone for favorable signs of new bone activity on histology and histomorphometry. Conclusion: Within the limitations of this study, ATB grafts could serve as an alternative material for ABB to support LARA. Further research with a longer follow-up period is required to verify these findings.
Sinogram restoration of dual focal spot CT data

The raw data generated by a computed tomography (CT) machine are not readily usable for reconstruction. This is the result of various system non-idealities, and although the deterministic nature of corruption effects like crosstalk and afterglow permits removal through deconvolution, there is the drawback that deconvolution increases noise. Methods that perform raw data correction combined with noise suppression are commonly termed sinogram restoration methods. The need for sinogram restoration arises, for example, when photon counts are low and non-statistical reconstruction algorithms like filtered backprojection are used. Many modern CT machines offer a so-called dual focal spot (DFS) mode, which serves the goal of increased radial sampling by switching the focal spot between two positions on the anode plate during the scan. Although the focal spot mode does not play a role with respect to how the data are affected by the above mentioned corruption effects, it needs to be taken into account, if regularized sinogram restoration is to be applied to the data. This work points out the subtle difference in processing that sinogram restoration for DFS requires, how it is correctly employed within the penalized maximum likelihood sinogram restoration algorithm, and what impact that has on image quality.
Environmental Discriminators for Significant Tornadoes and Hail in the U.S. Using Proximity Soundings

ENVIRONMENTAL DISCRIMINATORS FOR SIGNIFICANT TORNADOES AND HAIL IN THE U.S. USING PROXIMITY SOUNDINGS Cody M. Converse, M.S. Department of Geographic and Atmospheric Sciences Northern Illinois University, 2020 Dr. Vittorio (Victor) A. Gensini, Thesis Director Over the last 50 years, the United States has experienced an increase in severe storm events that produced $1 billion in damages or greater. Much of this loss is attributed to significant tornadoes and hail associated with deep, moist convection. Improving forecasts for these significant events assist in mitigating the impacts of these events. Previous work has identified statistically significant environmental parameters associated with severe thunderstorms, but more research is needed in identifying statistically significant ingredients associated with environments that produce significant tornadoes and hail. This thesis aims to answer the following question: “Can diagnostics commonly used to forecast for severe convective storms be used as discriminators between severe and significantsevere tornadoes and hail? ” Observational and reanalysis-derived proximity soundings were examined for the 1996–2018 period. Severe and significant-severe local storm reports gathered by National Weather Service offices and the Storm Prediction Center were used as a proxy for sounding location and associated hazard magnitude. For each sounding, a total of 45 different atmospheric diagnostics were analyzed. Results from statistical testing and Support Vector Classification machine-learning showed that 10– 500m bulk wind difference, 10-m–1-km average mixing ratio, and 10-m–1-km SRH were able to discriminate between significant and non-significant tornadoes with a maximum of approximately 36% more skill over a random forecast. Overall skill for tornadic discrimination was primarily associated with kinematic diagnostics, while discrimination for hail showed higher amounts of variability and generally lower skill scores across all diagnostics tested with the SVC algorithm. NORTHERN ILLINOIS UNIVERSITY DEKALB, ILLINOIS
Ecological Impacts of Major Forest-Use Pesticides

Assessing the potential for ecological impacts of pesticides requires a hierarchical approach with research ranging from simple laboratory to complex field experiments and operational monitoring. While all levels of study provide useful information, higher tier research has inherently greater environmental relevance and inference potential. In this chapter, selected higher tier studies relating to the use of herbicides glyphosate and triclopyr, as well as the insecticides Bacillus thuringiensis var. kurstaki (Btk) and diflubenzuron in the forest sector are reviewed. These case examples illustrate scenarios in which higher tier studies either negate or support the presumptions of risk derived from results of lower tier experiments. Specifically, assessment of the cases for glyphosate and Btk support their continued judicious use as environmentally acceptable components of integrated vegetation and insect pest management strategies. In contrast, higher level studies confirm risk postulates associated with typical forest-sector use patterns for triclopyr ester and diflubenzuron. Mitigation measures are required to ensure that use of these latter compounds do not pose undue risk to sensitive non-target organisms. In a broader context, the ecological implications of pesticide use in the forest sector must be considered in light of the fact that any management action, including the “no intervention” option, carries both economic and ecological risk. Strict adherence to the weight of scientific evidence principle, incorporation of knowledge gained from all levels of investigation, and a balanced assessment of relative risks of all potential options are considered primary requisites of comprehensive risk analysis and effective decision making.
A lattice gas study of retardation and dispersion in fractures: Assessment of errors from desorption kinetics and buoyancy

Lattice gas automata (LGA) were used to estimate errors in transport coefficients, as measured in laboratory experiments with Peclet numbers from 0 to 27.6 (defined relative to channel width), Damköhler numbers from 0.18 to ∞, Grashof numbers of 0 or 75, and length/width up to 180. Low Damköhler numbers yield long, low‐amplitude elution tails, which contain much of the total solute. As a consequence, at Da ≈ 0.18 and KD = 8, the solute peak travels at the same speed as the carrier fluid, yielding an apparent KD ≈ 0 after five characteristic diffusion times. Such conditions correspond, for example, to a meter‐long path through a 0.5‐cm‐wide, gas‐filled fracture. Buoyancyenhanced dispersion, found in experiments with horizontal tubes, is confirmed by the LGA analysis; however, a different mechanism is suggested for the enhancement in horizontal fractures. Both kinetic and buoyancy errors can be greatly reduced, or experiments made much smaller, if the first and second moments of a tracer pulse can be measured as functions of time.
Risk-Aware Path Planning For Autonomous Vehicles

RISK-AWARE PATH PLANNING FOR AUTONOMOUS VEHICLES Shaghayegh Gaeini, M.S. Department of Electrical Engineering Northern Illinois University, 2022 Hasan Ferdowsi, Director Autonomous vehicles have been the subject of intense research leading to great improvements in safety, comfort, accessibility, efficiency, etc. Path planning, which provides the autonomous vehicle with a smooth, collision-free, and safe path towards its destination, is a crucial part of autonomous vehicles (AVs). Various path planning techniques have been developed in the past decades that can successfully plan a smooth and safe path in various driving scenarios. Nevertheless, these algorithms perform poorly in critical situations where the vehicle needs to quickly make a decision. To address this issue, a couple of algorithms have been proposed to replace the AV’s conventional path planning algorithm in situations with a high risk of collision, as none of the current algorithms are efficient enough to perform the complete path planning for the vehicle. This study proposes a novel risk-aware planning method based on trajectory generation in the Frenet framework which is capable of planning a smooth, safe, and collision-free path for the AV in normal and critical driving situations. This algorithm works based on generating and evaluating a set of potential trajectories using a proposed cost function based on the lateral deviation, time, speed limit, and risk of trajectories. This is determined using a novel risk assessment method based on fuzzy logic algorithms. Achieving a reliable path planning method that performs efficiently in complex environments such as highways is a key factor. Therefore, a prediction algorithm has been developed in this study to estimate the position, velocity, and trajectory of obstacles in the surrounding environment of the ego vehicle. This thesis concludes that the proposed risk-aware path planning method builds safe, smooth, and efficient trajectories that follow the desired path, estimate the position and velocity of surrounding vehicles, and avoid collisions in various normal or high-risk scenarios. NORTHERN ILLINOIS UNIVERSITY DEKALB, ILLINOIS