Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Reaching the Rural Poor A Rural Development Strategy for the Latin America and Caribbean Region Appendixes

This paper is a contribution to the draft rural development strategy for the World Bank, which is currently pending approval by the Board of Executive Directors. The findings, interpretations, and conclusions are the author's own and should not be attributed to the World Bank, its management, its Board of Executive Directors, or the countries they represent. Some of the numbers quoted are estimates or approximations, and may be revised at a later stage. These are extracts from From Vision to Action: A Sector Strategy, 1997. The approach taken in this action plan is based on this vision. • Rural growth is widely shared, with private and competitive agriculture and agribusiness as the main engine of growth. • Family farms and non-farm enterprises provide ample remunerative employment opportunities to men and women. • Rural people manage the soils, water, forests, grasslands, and fisheries in a sustainable manner. • Rural people are linked to well-functioning markets for products, inputs, and finance. • Rural people have access to medical care, clean water and sanitation, educational opportunities, and sufficient nutritious foods. • Essential legal frameworks, public investment, productive and social services are provided and financed in a pluralistic, decentralized and participatory manner. • Macroeconomic and sectoral policies are stable. The foreign exchange, trade, and taxation regimes do not discriminate against agriculture, but are very similar for the rural and urban sectors. • The growth of private agriculture is encouraged by minimizing distortions among input and output markets and by market development for agricultural and agro-industrial products, both at home and abroad. • Public investment and expenditure programs for economic and social infrastructure, health, nutrition and education do not discriminate against rural populations or the rural poor. • Large farms and large agro-industrial firms do not receive special privileges and are not able to reduce competition in output, input, land or credit markets. • The agrarian structure is dominated by efficient and technologically sophisticated family operators who rely primarily on their own family's labor. The rights and needs of women farmers and wage-laborers are explicitly recognized. • Access to and security of land and water rights is actively promoted. Restricting land rentals hurts the poor. Where land distribution is highly unequal, land reform is needed. Decentralized, participatory, and market-assisted approaches to land reform can achieve this much faster than expropriation by land reform parastatals. • Private and public sectors complement each other in generating and …
High-resolution 2-D imaging using narrowband MIMO sonar

For an underwater 2-D imaging sonar system, to discriminate echoes reflected back in the 3-D space, a rectangular array is necessary. However, to obtain a high cross-range resolution, the physical size and the sensor number of the array will become inevitably large. To avoid this, a high-resolution 2-D imaging approach based on a multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) sonar is proposed in this paper. The MIMO sonar is composed of four uniform linear arrays (ULAs) located on four sides of a rectangle. And narrowband waveforms coded with orthogonal polyphase sequences are employed as transmitting waveforms. By matched filtering the outputs at each receiving sensor, the MIMO sonar is equivalent to a virtual rectangular array with a twice big aperture. With theoretical analysis and computer simulations, we show that the MIMO sonar can save a great number of sensors and double the cross-range resolution simultaneously, when compared to a conventional rectangular array with the same physical size.
Addition of poly (propylene glycol) to multiblock copolymer to optimize siRNA delivery

Previous studies have examined different strategies for siRNA delivery with varying degrees of success. These include use of viral vectors, cationic liposomes, and polymers. Several copolymers were designed and synthesized based on blocks of poly(ethylene glycol) PEG, poly(propylene glycol) PPG, and poly(l-lysine). These were designated as P1, P2, and P3. We studied the copolymer self-assembly, siRNA binding, particle size, surface potential, architecture of the complexes, and siRNA delivery. Silencing of GFP using copolymer P3 to deliver GFP-specific siRNA to Neuro-2a cells expressing GFP was almost as effective as using Lipofectamine 2000, with minimal cytotoxicity. Thus, we have provided a new copolymer platform for siRNA delivery that we can continue to modify for improved delivery of siRNA in vitro and eventually in vivo.
Studies of computing techniques for performing face recognition with a focus in the crowds: A distributed architecture based on cloud computing

Currently, there is a growing need to identify individuals by means of noninvasive security methods, especially in places where there are crowds. Face recognition is one of the appropriate methods, with the objective of recognizing an individual in a crowd by verifying an image of the face. However, the slow response time of face recognition methods, which is caused by high computational resource consumption, has been an obstacle to the development of viable applications for this purpose. Cloud computing, the focus of recent research, allows us to revolutionize the way that new systems can be offered, based on their usage and demand. The current work proposes the architecture, implementation and evaluation of a distributed face recognition system, for an individual approach or monitoring a crowd, through a prototype that is based on a cloud computing infrastructure. The system uses methodologies/techniques for face detection and recognition that are published in the scientific environment and that and for which there is an implementation available.
A decision-theoretic planning approach for multi-robot exploration and event search

Event exploration is the process of exploring a topologically known environment to gather information about dynamic events in this environment. Using multi-robot systems for event exploration brings major challenges such as finding and communicating relevant information. This paper presents a solution to these challenges in the form of a distributed decision-theoretic model called MAPING (Multi-Agent Planning for INformation Gathering), in which each agent computes a communication and an exploration strategy by assessing the relevance of an observation for another agent. The agents use an extended belief state that contains not only their own beliefs but also approximations of other agents' beliefs. MAPING includes a forgetting mechanism to ensure that the event-exploration remains open-ended. To overcome the resolution complexity due to the extended belief state we use a method based on the well-known adopted assumption of variables independence. We evaluate our approach on different event exploration problems with varying complexity. The experimental results on simulation show the effectiveness of MAPING, its ability to scale up and its ability to face real-word applications.
Cardiac Troponins in Dogs and Cats

Cardiac troponins are sensitive and specific markers of myocardial injury. The troponin concentration can be thought of as a quantitative measure of the degree of injury sustained by the heart, however, it provides no information on the cause of injury or the mechanism of troponin release. Conventionally, the cardiac troponins have been used for diagnosis of acute myocardial infarction in humans and have become the gold standard biomarkers for this indication. They have become increasingly recognized as an objective measure of cardiomyocyte status in both cardiac and noncardiac disease, supplying additional information to that provided by echocardiography and ECG. Injury to cardiomyocytes can occur through a variety of mechanisms with subsequent release of troponins. Independent of the underlying disease or the mechanism of troponin release, the presence of myocardial injury is associated with an increased risk of death. As increasingly sensitive assays are introduced, the frequent occurrence of myocardial injury is becoming apparent, and our understanding of its causes and importance is constantly evolving. Presently troponins are valuable for detecting a subgroup of patients with higher risk of death. Future research is needed to clarify whether troponins can serve as monitoring tools guiding treatment, whether administering more aggressive treatment to patients with evidence of myocardial injury is beneficial, and whether normalizing of troponin concentrations in patients presenting with evidence of myocardial injury is associated with reduced risk of death.
Co-learning and co-producing sustainable development: the possibilities of enactive social science

Social science for sustainable development is arguably the handmaiden of science. Technologically driven progress for society is enabled through the extension of science to lay publics and the normalising of commodification and investment practices. On another hand social science for sustainable development can be argued to be about the democratisation of knowledge production, enabling participation in science and policy processes. This framing of social science suggests that through adaptive management and action learning, communities are empowered, science is made relevant and conflicts over investments and resource use are reduced. This dissertation provides an additional framing of social science for sustainable development. Doing so a contribution is made to knowledge about how the social relations of the environment are and can be practiced and the consequences of these enactments (Latour, 2004b). To explore rationalities shaping and constraining the knowing-doing of New Zealand (Le Heron, 2007), discourses of social science for sustainable development are named as ‘knowledge for progress’ and secondly as ‘knowledge for change’. A third framing is presented as ‘knowledge enacting possible worlds’ discussed as enactive social science (after Law and Urry, 2004). This framing reconnects understandings of epistemology and ontology commonly separated through use of the previous two frames (Carolan, 2009; Jasanoff, 2004; Law and Urry, 2004; Gibson-Graham, 2011). Accordingly enactive social science contributes to the re-scripting, re-igniting and re-siting of a refreshed social science in New Zealand (Lewis, 2010). The enactive methodology provides a strongly situated account of knowingly-doing social science for sustainable development. Presenting a shift from co-learning to coproducing knowledge the dissertation provides an embodied, experiential and experimental theorising of contingent practices, institutions and discourses of social science for sustainable development (after Larner, Le Heron & Lewis, 2007; Le Heron & Lewis 2011, Le Heron, 2013). Concepts of trajectories, spaces and traces are deployed in order to read and work out from the fast moving everyday complexities of social science practiced through a New Zealand Crown Research Institute, Manaaki Whenua Landcare Research Ltd.
The Impact of Thermal Degradation on Properties of Electrical Machine Winding Insulation Material

Interturn stator short circuits can develop quickly leading to serious damage of an electric machine. However, degradation mechanisms of winding insulation material are not yet fully understood. Therefore, the main contribution of this paper is the analysis of the impact of thermal ageing on the electrical properties of the thin-film winding insulation. The insulation samples have been aged thermally at 200 °C-275 °C and for 100-1600 h. After ageing, impedance spectroscopy measurements were undertaken on the samples and equivalent-circuit model (ECM) parameters fitted for each measurement. This allows the impact of thermal ageing on ECM parameters to be analyzed, giving insight into the changes in the electrical properties of the insulation. Finally, high voltage was applied to the samples aiming to identify the breakdown-voltage (BV) characteristics of the insulation material.
Genome Sequence of Pandoraea sp. ISTKB, a Lignin-Degrading Betaproteobacterium, Isolated from Rhizospheric Soil

ABSTRACT We report here the genome sequence of Pandoraea sp. ISTKB, a betaproteobacterium isolated from rhizospheric soil in the backwaters of Alappuzha, Kerala, India. The strain is alkalotolerant and grows on medium containing lignin as a sole carbon source. Genes and pathways related to lignin degradation were complemented by genomic analysis.
Aggregation is not the solution: the PPP puzzle strikes back

Recently, Imbs, Mumtaz, Ravn and Rey (2005, hereinafter IMRR) have argued that much of the purchasing power parity (PPP) puzzle is due to upwardly biased estimates of persistence. According to them, the source of the bias is the existence of heterogeneous price adjustment dynamics at the sectoral level that established time series or panel data methods fail to control for. This paper re-examines this claim in two steps. Firstly, we demonstrate that IMRR's measures of sectoral persistence are systematically downwardly biased because they are based on an inaccurate definition of the 'average' impulse response function (IRF). We then show that standard estimates of shock persistence are recovered after this bias is corrected. Secondly, building on the results in Mayoral (2008), which prove that aggregate and micro models induce the same shock persistence behavior, we show that estimates based on aggregate and sectoral exchange rates are, in fact, highly consistent. Thus, aggregation is not the solution to the PPP puzzle. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Where Structure Meets Function

5-Hydroxytryptamine 2 (serotonin 2 , 5-HT 2 )-family receptors are important for mediating many physiological functions, including vascular and nonvascular smooth muscle contraction, platelet aggregation, modulation of perception, mood, anxiety, and feeding behavior. A large number of psychopharmaceuticals, including atypical antipsychotic drugs, antidepressants, anxiolytics, and hallucinogens, mediate their actions, at least in part, via interactions with various 5-HT 2 -family receptors. This review article summarizes information about structure-function aspects of 5-HT 2 -family receptors. Evidence is presented that implies that conserved aromatic and charged residues are essential for ligand binding to 5-HT 2A receptors. Additionally, findings are reviewed that are consistent with the hypothesis that residues located in intracellular loops 2 and 3 (i2 and i3) mediate coupling to specific G a -subunits such as G a q . Studies are reviewed that suggest that 5-HT 2 -family receptors may be down-regulated by both agonists and antagonists, and usually this down-regulation is due to post-transcriptional mechanisms. Finally, a model for regulation of 5-HT 2 -family receptors by receptor-mediated endocytosis is advanced, and the particular structural features responsible for the various endocytotic pathways are emphasized. Taken together, these results suggest that discrete domains of the receptor structure are important for ligand binding, G-protein coupling, and internalization. pharmacol. ther 79(3):231–257, 1998. © 1998 Elsevier Science Inc.
EMSE at TREC 2015 Clinical Decision Support Track

Abstract : This paper describes the participation of the EMSE team at the clinical decision support track of TREC 2015 (Task A). Our team submitted three automatic runs based only on the summary field. The baseline run uses the summary field as a query and the query likelihood retrieval model to match articles. Other runs explore different approaches to expand the summary field: RM3, LSI with pseudo relevant documents, semantic resources of UMLS, and a hybrid approach called SMERA that combines LSI and UMLS based approaches. Only three of our runs were considered for the 2015 campaign: RM3, LSI and SMERA.
Modeling and Application of Multi-Port TSV Networks in 3-D IC

Through-silicon-via (TSV) enables vertical connectivity between stacked chips or interposer and is a key technology for 3-D integrated circuits (ICs). While arrays of TSVs are needed in 3-D IC, there only exists a frequency-dependent resistance, inductance, conductance and capacitance circuit model for a pair of TSVs with coupling between them. In this paper, we develop a simple yet accurate circuit model for a multiport TSV network (e.g., coupled TSV array) by decomposing the network into a number of TSV pairs and then applying circuit models for each of them. We call the new model a pair-based model for the multiport TSV network. It is first verified against a commercial electromagnetic solver for up to 20 GHz and subsequently employed for a variety of examples for signal and power integrity analysis.
Neuromotor noise limits motor performance, but not motor adaptation, in children.

Children do not typically appear to move with the same skill and dexterity as adults, although they can still improve their motor performance in specific tasks with practice. One possible explanation is that their motor performance is limited by an inherently higher level of movement variability, but that their motor adaptive ability is robust to this variability. To test this hypothesis, we examined motor adaptation of 43 children (ages 6-17) and 12 adults as they reached while holding the tip of a lightweight robot. The robot applied either a predictable, velocity-dependent field (the "mean field") or a similar field that incorporated stochastic variation (the "noise field"), thereby further enhancing the variability of the subjects' movements. We found that children exhibited greater initial trial-to-trial variability in their unperturbed movements but were still able to adapt comparably to adults in both the mean and noise fields. Furthermore, the youngest children (ages 6-8) were able to reduce their variability with practice to levels comparable to the remaining children groups although not as low as adults. These results indicate that children as young as age 6 possess adult-like neural systems for motor adaptation and internal model formation that allow them to adapt to novel dynamic environments as well as adults on average despite increased neuromotor or environmental noise. Performance after adaptation is still more variable than adults, however, indicating that movement inconsistency, not motor adaptation inability, ultimately limits motor performance by children and may thus account for their appearance of incoordination and more frequent motor accidents (e.g., spilling, tripping). The results of this study also suggest that movement variability in young children may arise from two sources--a relatively constant, intrinsic source related to fundamental physiological constraints of the developing motor system and a more rapidly modifiable source that is modulated depending on the current motor context.
Tensor sufficient dimension reduction

Tensor is a multiway array. With the rapid development of science and technology in the past decades, large amount of tensor observations are routinely collected, processed, and stored in many scientific researches and commercial activities nowadays. The colorimetric sensor array (CSA) data is such an example. Driven by the need to address data analysis challenges that arise in CSA data, we propose a tensor dimension reduction model, a model assuming the nonlinear dependence between a response and a projection of all the tensor predictors. The tensor dimension reduction models are estimated in a sequential iterative fashion. The proposed method is applied to a CSA data collected for 150 pathogenic bacteria coming from 10 bacterial species and 14 bacteria from one control species. Empirical performance demonstrates that our proposed method can greatly improve the sensitivity and specificity of the CSA technique. WIREs Comput Stat 2015, 7:178–184. doi: 10.1002/wics.1350
Parsing D-tree Grammars 1. Motivation

In this paper we will describe a polynomial time Earley-style predictive parser for D-Tree Grammars (DTG). DTG were designed to share some of the advantages of TAG while overcoming some of its limitations. In developing parsers for TAG it has turned out to be useful to make use of a direct mapping from TAG to Linear Indexed Grammars (LIG) and to develop algorithms that work with the resulting LIG. In the case of DTG we use a similarly direct mapping into what we call Linear Prioritized Multiset Grammar (LPMG). This makes it possible to give a straightforward statement of the parsing algorithm. (1995), we deene a new grammar formalism, called D-Tree Grammars (DTG), which arises from work on Tree-Adjoining Grammars (TAG) (Joshi et al., 1975). A salient feature of TAG is the extended domain of locality it provides. Each elementary structure can be associated with a lexical item (as in Lexicalized TAG (LTAG) (Joshi and Schabes, 1991)). Properties related to the lexical item (such as subcategorization, agreement, certain types of word order variation) can be expressed within the elementary structure (Kroch, 1987; Frank, 1992). In addition, TAG remain tractable, yet their generative capacity is suucient to account for certain syntactic phenomena that, it has been argued, lie beyond Context-Free Grammars (CFG) (Shieber, 1985). TAG, however, has two limitations. The rst problem is that the TAG operations of substitution and adjunction do not map cleanly onto the relations of complementation and modiication. A second problem has to do with the inability of TAG to provide analyses for certain syntactic phenomena. We will discuss the rst issue in some detail here, and refer to Rambow et al. (1995) for a broader discussion of linguistic data that motivates the deenition of DTG. In LTAG, the operations of substitution and adjunction relate two lexical items. It is therefore natural to interpret these operations as establishing a direct linguistic relation between the two lexical items, namely a relation of complementation (predicate-argument relation) or of modiica-tion. In purely CFG-based approaches, these relations are only implicit. However, they represent important linguistic intuition, they provide a uniform interface to semantics, and they are, as Sch-abes and Shieber (1994) argue, important in order to support statistical parameters in stochastic frameworks and appropriate adjunction constraints in TAG. In many frameworks, complementation and modiication are in fact made explicit: LFG (Bresnan and Kaplan, 1982) provides a separate functional (f-) structure, and …
Development and evaluation of a Quadruplex Taq Man real-time PCR assay for simultaneous detection of clinical isolates of Enterococcus faecalis, Enterococcus faecium and their vanA and vanB genotypes

Background and Objectives We developed and evaluated the utility of a quadruplex Taqman real-time PCR assay that allows simultaneous identification of vancomycin-resistant genotypes and clinically relevant enterococci. Materials and Methods The specificity of the assay was tested using reference strains of vancomycin-resistant and susceptible enterococci. In total, 193 clinical isolates were identified and subsequently genotyped using a Quadruplex Taqman real-time PCR assay and melting curve analysis. Representative Quadruplex Taqman real-time PCR amplification curve were obtained for Enterococcus faecium, Enterococcus faecalis, vanA-containing E. faecium, vanB-containing E. faecalis. Results Phenotypic and genotypic analysis of the isolates gave same results for 82 enterococcal isolates, while in 5 isolates, they were inconsistent. We had three mixed strains, which were detected by the TaqMan real-time PCR assay and could not be identified correctly using phenotypic methods. Conclusion Vancomycin resistant enterococci (VRE) genotyping and identification of clinically relevant enterococci were rapidly and correctly performed using TaqMan real-time multiplex real-time PCR assay.