Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
An analysis of the physical properties of recovered CCA-treated wood from residential decks

A large volume of CCA-treated wood removed from residential decks is disposed of in landfills every year, and better environmentally conscious alternatives are needed. Recycling CCA-treated wood from the decks could be a feasible alternative, but there is a lack of knowledge regarding the physical properties of the material. This research analyzed the chemical and mechanical properties of spent CCA-treated wood from residential decks to evaluate the material for reuse in other applications. Several of the joists and the decking of removed decks were found to be below the originally stated retention level. The joists had higher retention levels, and length of service was not a factor in level of chemical retention in the decking or joists. The spent decking had similar stiffness properties, but the bending strength was lower than recently treated material. As with the chemical properties, the mechanical properties were not affected by the amount of time the deck was in service. Overall, it was found that the preservative retention properties were lower than expected, the stiffness was equal to, and the strength was lower than, recently CCA-treated wood. This does not indicate that the material is unusable, but aids in determining suitable applications where recycled CCA-treated wood can be used.
AdOn: an intelligent overlay video advertising system

This paper presents a new video advertising system, called AdOn, which supports intelligent overlay video ads. Unlike most current ad-networks such as Youtube that overlay the ads at fixed positions in the videos (e.g., on the bottom fifth of videos 15 seconds in), AdOn is able to automatically detect a set of spatio-temporal nonintrusive positions and associate the contextually relevant ads with these positions. The overlay positions are obtained on the basis of video structuring, face and text detection, as well as visual saliency analysis, so that the intrusiveness to the users can be minimized. The ads are selected according to content-based multimodal relevance so that advertising relevance can be maximized. AdOn represents one of the first attempts towards intelligent overlay video advertising by leveraging video content analysis techniques.
Selection for Loss of p53 Function in T-Cell Lymphomagenesis Is Alleviated by Moloney Murine Leukemia Virus Infection in myc Transgenic Mice

ABSTRACT Thymic lymphomas induced by Moloney murine leukemia virus (MMLV) have provided many examples of oncogene activation, but the role of tumor suppressor pathways in these tumors is less clear. These tumors display little evidence of loss of heterozygosity, and MMLV is only weakly synergistic with the Trp53 null genotype, suggesting that viral lymphomagenesis involves mechanisms which do not require mutational loss of Trp53function. To explore this relationship in greater depth, we infected CD2-myc transgenic mice with MMLV and examined the role of Trp53 in the genesis of these tumors. Most (19 of 27) of the tumors from MMLV-infected, CD2-myc Trp53+/− mice retained the wild-typeTrp53 allele in vivo while tumors of uninfected CD2-myc Trp53 +/− mice invariably showed allele loss from a significant fraction of primary tumor cells. The functional integrity of the Trp53gene in these tumors was indicated by ongoing allele loss or selection for mutational stabilization during in vitro propagation and by the radiosensitivity of selected Trp53 +/−tumor cell lines. An inverse correlation was noted between retention of the wild-type Trp53 allele and expression of p19ARF, providing further evidence of negative-feedback control of the latter by p53. However, expression of p19ARFdoes not appear to be counterselected in the absence of p53, and its integrity in Trp53 +/− tumors was indicated by its transcriptional upregulation on Trp53 wild-type allele loss in vitro in selected tumor cell lines. The role of MMLV was investigated further by analysis of proviral insertion sites in tumors of CD2-myc transgenic mice sorted forTrp53 genotype. A proportion of tumors showed insertions at Runx2, an oncogene which has been shown to collaborate independently with CD2-myc and with theTrp53 null genotype, and at a novel common integration site (ptl-1) on chromosome 8. Genotypic analysis of the panel of tumors suggested that neither of these integrations is functionally redundant with loss of p53, but it appears that the combination of the MMLV oncogenic program with the CD2-myc oncogene relegates p53 loss to a late step in tumor progression or in vitro culture. While the means by which these tumors preempt the p53 tumor suppressor response remains to be established, this study provides further evidence that irreversible inactivation of this pathway is not a prerequisite for tumor development in vivo.
Agroecology as a territory in dispute: between institutionality and social movements

Agroecology is in fashion, and now constitutes a territory in dispute between social movements and institutionality. This new conjuncture offers a constellation of opportunities that social movements can avail themselves of to promote changes in the food system. Yet there is an enormous risk that agroecology will be co-opted, institutionalized, colonized and stripped of its political content. In this paper, we analyze this quandary in terms of political ecology: will agroecology end up as merely offering a few more tools for the toolbox of industrial agriculture, to fine tune an agribusiness system that is being restructured in the midst of a civilizational crisis or, alternatively, will it be strengthened as a politically mobilizing option for building alternatives to development? We interpret the contemporary dispute over agroecology through the lenses of contested material and immaterial territories, political ecology, and the first and second contradictions of capital.
Energy efficient multi-level tiling for dense matrix multiplication on many-core architecture

With computing systems marching to exascale and big data era, power consumption has become more and more important for the system design. Energy efficiency is becoming one of the critical dimensions in the computer system design space and has been considered from the hardware architecture to software algorithm design. In this paper, we proposed an energy efficient multi-level tiling for dense matrix multiplication on many-core architecture with software-managed memory hierarchy. Based on our energy model, we integrated the two level tiling from off-chip memory to on-chip SRAM and from on-chip SRAM to register into one unified formulation and obtained the optimal tiling sizes of each level for energy efficiency. The experimental results showed that our optimal tiling improved energy cost by 17.9% compared to non-optimal solution and achieved 87.5% perk performance.
The Educational Functions of Peer Groups in the Residential College

This paper focuses on the peer groups in the university residential colleges and their educational functions on the resident students. Residential colleges are different from traditional dormitories, offering more comprehensive services as well as social opportunities for students. The research method authentic interview surveys are utilized to collect information. Moreover, previous studies and reliable theories are borrowed as supports for the research discoveries in this paper. Peers, as the closest companions in the university life, play a crucial role in students’ improvement on information input, identity formation, psychological development and interpersonal skills. Though peer groups’ educational functions undoubtedly exist in diverse aspects, potential disadvantages are also critically discussed at the end of the paper in order to avoid unilateral analysis on this topic.
Simulation of Anti-malware User Support System Using Queuing Network Model

With the increasing number of new malware programs, traditional malware detection approaches depending on signature files have been less effective, as it is quite difficult for anti-virus vendors to keep up with the frequent appearance of new malware programs. To address this problem, a system called Anti-malware User Support System, which detects malware files using dynamic analysis and remove them from user PCs, is developed. In this paper, we model this system as a queuing network model. Then, using this model, we evaluate the performance of Anti-malware User Support System against the large scale malware epidemics.
Performance of the Delsarte-Goethals Frame on Clustered Sparse Vectors

The Delsarte-Goethals frame (DGF) has been proposed for deterministic compressive sensing of sparse and compressible signals. Results in compressive sensing theory show that the DGF enables successful recovery of an overwhelming majority of sufficiently sparse signals. However, these results do not give a characterization of the sparse vectors for which the recovery procedure fails. In this paper, we present a formal analysis of the DGF that highlights the presence of clustered sparse vectors within its null space. This in turn implies that sparse recovery performance is diminished for sparse vectors that have their nonzero entries clustered together. Such clustered structure is present in compressive imaging applications, where commonly-used raster scannings of 2-D discrete wavelet transform representations yield clustered sparse representations for natural images. Prior work leverages this structure by proposing specially tailored sparse recovery algorithms that partition the recovery of the input vector into known clustered and unclustered portions. Alternatively, we propose new randomized and deterministic raster scannings for clustered coefficient vectors that improve recovery performance. Experimental results verify the aforementioned analysis and confirm the predicted improvements for both noiseless and noisy measurement regimes.
Symposium on Amartya Sen's philosophy: 2 Unstrapping the straitjacket of ‘preference’: a comment on Amartya Sen's contributions to philosophy and economics

The concept of preference dominates economic theory today. It performs a triple duty for economists, grounding their theories of individual behavior, welfare, and rationality. Microeconomic theory assumes that individuals act so as to maximize their utility – that is, to maximize the degree to which their preferences are satisfied. Welfare economics defines individual welfare in terms of preference satisfaction or utility, and social welfare as a function of individual preferences. Finally, economists assume that the rational act is the act that maximally satisfies an individual's preferences. The habit of framing problems in terms of the concept of preference is now so entrenched that economists rarely entertain alternatives.
Commutator of the quark mass matrices in the standard electroweak model and a measure of maximal CP nonconservation.

The structure of the quark mass matrices in the standard electroweak model is investigated. The commutator of the quark mass matrices is found to provide a convention independent measure of CP nonconservation. The question of maximal CP nonconservation is discussed. The present experimental data indicate that CP is nowhere maximally nonconserved.
SELECTIVE ATTENTION OF CROATIAN RAILROAD ENGINEERS FROM 25 TO 59 YEARS OF AGE: EMPIRICAL FINDINGS AND IMPLICATIONS

The findings on selective attention (SA) aging decline, although depending on the specific SA test, have significant implications for the population of professional drivers, in particular given their role in traffic safety. For this reason, we found it vital to examine the effects of aging on SA in railroad engineers and its’ relation to different measures of SA interference. A study was conducted by using 2 forms of the Stroop test: the 1st - verbal uncoloured and the 2nd - verbal coloured paper-and-pencil form. Both forms consisted of two parts: with incongruent stimuli (measured SA and processing speed, i.e. PS) and with neutral stimuli (measured PS). The subjects were male drivers of the Croatian Railways, ages 25-59, non-evenly distributed into 4 age groups distinguished by specific functional characteristics of professional drivers. 50 subjects completed the 1st and 52 completed the 2nd form. The subjects’ task was to cross out as many of the target words in the context of distractors during 60 seconds (with distraction more intensive at incongruent stimuli). Descriptive statistics for both forms of the SA interference (SA time – PS time) indicates expected mean scores, with normal distributions. The interference variability across age groups was homogenous at the 1st Stroop form, but not at the 2nd one. The mean number of errors in the 1st Stroop form is as expected, very low with positive asymmetric distributions and homogenous variability, while in the 2nd one, errors are evident only for the 30-39 age group. For the 1st Stroop form, a significant difference in SA interference time was found between the 40-49 and 50-59 age groups, the latter showing a higher interference. For the 2nd Stroop form, no significant effects of age on SA interference were found. The effect of specific experience of railroad engineers with colours (red-green) is indicated by the results. The findings are discussed in relation to the theory of cognitive aging and empirical findings in the general population, with the implications on railroad engineers aging process.
Evaluative Properties of Critical Thinking Tests: Change Scores From Students in Physical Therapy and Other Health Care Professions

ABSTRACT: This study examined the reliability, responsiveness, and concurrent validity of three commercially available tests of critical thinking. Fifty‐four students in a graduate professional education program for physical therapists volunteered to participate in this prospective pretestretest‐posttest design. Pretest data were collected within 2 weeks of matriculation, and subjects were retested 3 weeks later to establish stability of critical thinking scores. Posttest data were gathered following two semesters of study, which included instruction on evidence‐based practice and clinical decision making. Test‐retest reliability and responsiveness statistics for the California Critical Thinking Skills Test (CCTST) and the California Critical Thinking Dispositions Inventory (CCTDI) were calculated from the data. Reliability data supplied in the test manual were used to calculate responsiveness statistics for the Watson‐Glaser Critical Thinking Appraisal (WGCTA). Intraclass correlation coefficients were found to be . 74 for the CCTST and. 79 for the CCTDI. Test‐retest reliability for the WGCTA was reported as . 73. Critical values (P<.05) for minimum reliable change were calculated to be 4 points for both the CCTST and WGCTA and 19 points for the CCTDI. These criteria were applied to data from this study and to results published by previous investigators to determine whether reported critical thinking gains actually represented meaningful change. Scores produced by the CCTST, CCTDI, and WGCTA in this study and in previous studies failed to achieve threshold values for meaningful improvement. Commercially available critical thinking tests designed for a general population do not appear to be useful for assessing critical thinking gains made by health care professions students.
The Effects of Uncertainty on Currency Substitution and Inflation: Evidence from Emerging Economies

This paper examines the effects of inflation and currency substitution volatility on the average rates of inflation and currency substitution for twelve emerging market economies. Using a bivariate GARCH-in-Mean model, which accommodates for asymmetric and spillover effects of inflation and currency substitution innovations on their volatilities, we find that for the majority of the countries in the sample the variability of inflation exerts a positive influence on both the average rates of inflation and currency substitution. Similarly, higher uncertainty in currency substitution displays enhancing effects on inflation and currency substitution. These results indicate an alternative avenue that stresses the importance of currency substitution for the conduct of monetary policy in terms of price stability, and provide an additional explanation to the phenomenon of dollarization hysteresis.
Effect of Cognitive Strategies in Improving Comprehension of Students with Mathematical Disability

ABSTRACT The present study’s objective was to ascertain the impact of cognitive intervention strategy on the numerical ability of the students with mathematical disability. Sample consisted of 80 third grade students with 40 in experimental and 40 in control group. Schema based strategy instruction was used to help the students to find, organize, plan and solve the problem. GLAD (Grade Level Assessment Device) was used to assess the impact of cognitive intervention. The pretest score were same for the experimental and control group. A significant difference was found in the post GLAD test score of experimental and control group. From the results of the study it can be concluded that cognitive intervention has positive impact on the numerical abilities of students with mathematical disability.
The Ketchup Market Place : Retailer, Manufacturers and Individual Consumers

A system for multiplexing multiple information channels adjacent to the video spectrum on a TV microwave or cable unit by frequency modulating a high frequency subcarrier at wide deviation with one or composite information signals, translating the modulated subcarrier to a frequency adjacent to and above the video spectrum, and then bridging it into the video circuit at a level 20 dB or more below the peak video signal of the video spectrum. The system recovers the transmitted subcarrier from the video spectrum, synthesizes the subcarrier frequencies exclusive of most of the video interference in a limited bandwidth, and then detects the modulation of the synthesized subcarrier frequency.
Effects of smoking cessation and female sex hormones on food intake in postmenopausal women

Following smoking cessation, individuals increase their food intake. Women experience greater postcessation hyperphagia than men, and older women may increase their food intake more than younger women. Some research has suggested that postcessation increases in food intake may be macronutrient specific. However, previous investigations of macronutrient specific changes in food intake following smoking cessation have had significant methodological problems. The current study assessed changes in total food intake and macronutrient selection using the Macronutrient Self-Selection Paradigm (MSSP), a direct, laboratory based measure of food intake that is valid and reliable with respect to macronutrient intake. Fifty-five postmenopausal females completed the MSSP at baseline and within one month of smoking cessation. ANOVAs revealed that following smoking cessation women significantly increased their intake of total kcals, high fat food kcals, and high sugar food kcals. Further analysis indicated that the postcessation hyperphagia was primarily due to an increase in intake of kcals of foods high in both fat and sugar. To investigate the relationship between female sex hormones and postcessation hyperphagia, multiple regression analyses were conducted using estrone sulfate and estradiol to predict changes from baseline to postcessation for total kcals, high fat food kcals, high sugar food kcals, and high fat/high sugar food kcals. Estradiol levels did not enter the regression equation as a significant predictor for any of the dependent variables. Estrone sulfate levels predicted postcessation increases in intake of high sugar food kcals and high fat/high sugar food kcals. However, the relationship was in the opposite direction as hypothesized. To explore this unexpected finding, women who selfselected to use Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) and women who did not use
Power analysis of bipartition and dual-encoding architecture for pipelined circuits

In this paper we propose a bipartition dual-encoding architecture for low power pipelined circuit. Pipelined circuits consist of combinational logic blocks separated by registers which usually consume a large amount of power Although the clock gated technique is a promising approach to reduce switching activities of the pipelined registers, this approach is restricted by the placement of the registers and the additional control signals that must be generated. Thus, we propose a technique for optimizing power dissipation of a pipelined circuit addressing registers and combinational logic blocks at the same time. Our approach modifies the registers using bipartition and encoding techniques. In our experiments power consumption were reduced by 72.9% for pipelined registers and 30.4% for the total pipelined stage on average.
Developing an integrated trust and reputation model for open multi-agent systems

Trust and reputation are central to effective interactions in open multi-agent systems in which agents, that are owned by a variety of stakeholders, can enter and leave the system at any time. This openness means existing trust and reputation models cannot readily be used. To this end, we present FIRE, a trust and reputation model that integrates a number of information sources to produce a comprehensive assessment of an agent’s likely performance. Specifically, FIRE incorporates interaction trust, role-based trust, witness reputation, and certified reputation to provide a trust metric in most circumstances. FIRE is empirically benchmarked and is shown to help agents effectively select appropriate interaction partners.
The 2005 July Superoutburst of the Dwarf Nova 2QZ J021927.9−304545: the SU UMa Nature Confirmed

We report on the time-resolved photometry of the 2005 July superoutburst of a dwarf nova, 2QZ J021927.9−304545. The resultant light curves showed conspicuous superhumps with a period of 0.081113(19) days, confirming the SU UMa nature of the object. Although we missed the maximum phase of the outburst, the amplitude of the superoutburst well exceeded 5mag. This value is slightly larger than that of typical SU UMa-type dwarf novae. The superhump period decreased as the time elapsed, as can be seen in most SU UMa-type dwarf novae. Based on the archive of ASAS-3, the recurrence time of a superoutburst of the variable turned out to be about 400 days. This value is typical of well-known SU UMa stars. The distance to this system was roughly estimated as 370(+20, −60)pc using an empirical relation.
Minimum distance properties of multiple-serially concatenated codes

In this paper minimum distance properties of multiple-serial turbo codes, obtained by coupling an outer code with a cascade of m rate-1 recursive convolutional encoders through uniform random interleavers, are studied. The parameters that make the ensemble asymptotically good are identified. In particular, it is shown that, if m = 2 and the free distance of the outer encoder dfo ≥ 3, or if m ≥ 3 and dfo ≥ 2, then the minimum distance scales linearly in the interleaver length with high probability. Through the analysis of the asymptotic spectral functions, a lower bound for the asymptotic growth rate coefficient is provided. Finally, under a weak algebraic condition on the outer encoder, it is proved that the sequence of normalized minimum distances of these concatenated coding schemes converges to the Gilbert-Varshamov (GV) distance when m goes to infinity.