Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Reassessing the cultural distance between China and the United States as perceived by students from the Sino-American 1+2+1 dual degree program

As a result of the exponential growth of international commerce and academic exchange between Mainland China and the United States, this thesis examines the present-day validity of those Chinese and American cultural characteristics, such as practices and values, historically understood as defining cultural differences. Using Babiker's Cultural Distance Index (Babiker, Cox, & Miller, 1980) questionnaire (an institutionally established instrument since 1980), 45 Mainland Chinese student-sojourners conveyed their perceptions of cultural differences found in daily living. Chinese participants identified many cultural attributes that still affect the migrant's perceptions of difference. These attributes are language, food, education costs, and leisure activities. Participants found the CDI attributes, climate, modernity, elder esteem, and social dating conventions, of no definable difference between cultures. Participants also identified new cultural attributes pertinent to present-day comparisons of China and the United States. These are lifestyle, the significance of education, transportation, sexuality, and politics. The outcome of a follow-up, open-ended questionnaire elaborated these findings. The thesis discusses returnees' perceptions and attitudes of cultural differences as established in the Cultural Distance Index and how present-day changes in cultural relations require a modified instrument for measuring distance. Also addressed are other issues related to the difficulty of measuring cultural distance today such as changes in migrant student's perception and identification of its own culture after studying abroad—understood as transculturation. The study concludes with suggested areas of focus for future development in intercultural competency within the context of Sino-American student REASSESSING CULTURAL DISTANCE v
Assessing pain objectively: the use of physiological markers

Pain diagnosis and management would benefit from the development of objective markers of nociception and pain. Current research addressing this issue has focused on five main strategies, each with its own advantages and disadvantages. These encompass: (i) monitoring changes in the autonomic nervous system; (ii) biopotentials; (iii) neuroimaging; (iv) biological (bio‐) markers; and (v) composite algorithms. Although each strategy has shown areas of promise, there are currently no validated objective markers of nociception or pain that can be recommended for clinical use. This article introduces the most important developments in the field and highlights shortcomings, with the aim of allowing the reader to make informed decisions about what trends to watch in the future.
Practical off-line authentication

This paper shows our approach for the secure and practical authentication system for the printed data. It is based on the new watermarking technique, which is robust to printer/scanner (ps) distortions and transformation techniques. Ps distortions are random, so it interferes with the self-alignment of the scanned data of a printed image. Therefore, most of conventional watermarking methods are not robust to ps distortions. However, in our system, detection of the watermark is possible by using the correlation between the scanned material of a printed image and the original cover-image. The retrieval of this watermark is fragile to copy and printing distortions more than two times. The documents in which watermarks are embedded can be used as an off-line authentical documents, thus, people had no sooner applied for issuing of a document via internet than they received it in their house or office by using printers. This printed document can be authenticated using our system whether they are genuine or not. We expect our proposed watermarking technology to have wide applications in real life.
Uncertainty evaluation of the caesium fountain clock PTB-CSF2

The uncertainty evaluation of CSF2, the second caesium fountain primary frequency standard at PTB, is presented. The fountain uses optical molasses to cool atoms down to 0.6 µK. The atoms are launched vertically in a moving optical molasses, and state selected in the |F = 3, mF = 0⟩ hyperfine ground state. During their ballistic flight, the atoms interact twice with a microwave field, thus completing the Ramsey interaction. With a launch height of 36.5 cm above the cavity centre, the central Ramsey fringe has a width of 0.9 Hz. About 3 × 104 atoms, 30% of the initial number in the |F = 3, mF = 0⟩ state, are detected after their second interaction with the microwave field. Stabilizing the microwave frequency to the centre of the central Ramsey fringe, a typical relative frequency instability of 2.5 × 10−13(τ/s)−1/2 is obtained. The CSF2 systematic uncertainty for realizing the SI second is estimated as 0.80 × 10−15. First comparisons with the fountain CSF1 at the Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt and other fountain frequency standards worldwide demonstrate agreement within the stated uncertainties.
Optimal control and stability analysis of an epidemic model with education campaign and treatment

In this paper we investigated a SIR epidemic model in which education campaign and treatment are both important for the disease management. Optimal control theory was used on the system of differential equations to achieve the goal of minimizing the infected population and slow down the epidemic outbreak. Stability analysis of the disease free equilibrium of the system was completed. Numerical results with education campaign levels and treatment rates as controls are illustrated.
Carbon cycle review of the permafrost in Qinghai-Tibet Plateau

The permafrost in Qinghai-Tibet Plateau is the biggest thickness and the broadest area in middle and low latitude in the present world, the permafrost ecosystem is one of main ecosystem, the carbon cycle of permafrost ecosystems plays an important role in the global carbon cycle. Firstly, reviewed research progress of the permafrost and temperature changes and reasons for the differences, and subsequently summarized permafrost carbon emissions and sinks, but so far it is still unclear how the rising temperature and changes in permafrost influences soil organic carbon dynamically there, thus, we must study the Tibetan Plateau on the entire region avoiding inconsistencies in the local area of permafrost distribution, and long-term observations and experiments should be conducted in order to explain the relationship of climate changes and permafrost and soil organic carbon cyclical.
High cardiorespiratory fitness is an independent predictor of the reduction in liver fat during a lifestyle intervention in non-alcoholic fatty liver disease

Objective: Lifestyle intervention with diet modification and increase in physical activity is effective for reducing hepatic steatosis in patients with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). However, for a similar weight loss, there is a large variability in the change in liver fat. We hypothesised that cardiorespiratory fitness may predict the response to the intervention. Design: Longitudinal study with increase in physical activity and diet modification. Setting: University teaching hospital. Patients: 50 adults with NAFLD and 120 controls at risk for metabolic diseases. Main outcome measures: Total-, subcutaneous abdominal- and visceral adipose tissue by magnetic resonance tomography, liver fat by 1HMR spectroscopy and cardiorespiratory fitness (VO2,max) by a maximal cycle exercise test at baseline and after 9 months of follow-up. Results: In all subjects total-, subcutaneous abdominal- and visceral adipose tissue decreased and fitness increased (all p<0.0001) during the intervention. The most pronounced changes were found for liver fat (−31%, p<0.0001). Among the parameters predicting the change in liver fat, fitness at baseline emerged as the strongest factor, independently of total- and visceral adipose tissue as well as exercise intensity (p = 0.005). In the group of subjects with NAFLD at baseline, a resolution of NAFLD was found in 20 individuals. For 1 standard deviation increase in VO2,max at baseline the odds ratio for resolution of NAFLD was 2.79 (95% confidence interval, 1.43–6.33). Conclusions: Cardiorespiratory fitness, independently of total adiposity, body fat distribution and exercise intensity, determines liver fat content in humans, suggesting that fitness and liver fat are causally related to each other. Moreover, measurement of fitness at baseline predicts the effectiveness of a lifestyle intervention in reducing hepatic steatosis in patients with NAFLD.
The effect of divided attention on memory for items and their context.

Memory for context, in comparison to memory for items, is a more demanding task and requires more attentional resources. We examined differences between item and context memory using divided attention at encoding and retrieval. Participants were presented with word lists and were instructed to learn the items (i.e., words), the intrinsic context (i.e., the colour of the cards on which each word was presented), and the extrinsic context (i.e., the temporal order of the words). Among 72 young adults, in comparison to conditions of full attention, divided attention applied at encoding only or retrieval only resulted in equally lower performance on all memory tasks; in contrast, divided attention applied at both encoding and retrieval resulted in lower performance only on memory for temporal order. The findings support the idea that memory for temporal order requires greater attentional resources and strategic processing than memory for items.
PATRIOT-a boundary-scan test and diagnosis system

A boundary-scan test and diagnosis system (PATRIOT) for detecting and locating defective chips and interconnects on printed-circuit boards is presented. These printed-circuit boards must be designed with boundary-scan chips conforming to the IEEE 1149.1 Standard. The PATRIOT system consists of interconnect test generation software, protocol interface firmware, X-window user interface, and a hardware test controller. It can be linked to any workstation or PC computer which has a SCSI-bus interface. PATRIOT uses the hardware test controller to coordinate data transfer between the computer and the printed-circuit boards. Up to four boards can be tested and diagnosed simultaneously. <<ETX>>
Discriminant Analysis of Ribotype Profiles of Escherichia coli for Differentiating Human and Nonhuman Sources of Fecal Pollution

ABSTRACT Estuarine waters receive fecal pollution from a variety of sources, including humans and wildlife. Escherichia coli is a ubiquitous bacterium in the intestines of warm-blooded animals and is used as an indicator of fecal pollution. However, its presence does not specifically differentiate sources of pollution. A total of 238E. coli isolates from human sources (HS) and nonhuman sources (NHS) were collected from the Apalachicola National Estuarine Research Reserve, from associated sewage treatment plants, and directly from animals and tested for ribotype (RT) profile. HS and NHS isolates showed 41 and 61 RT profiles, respectively. At a similarity index of ca. 50%, HS and NHS isolates demonstrated four clusters, with the majority of HS and NHS isolates located in clusters C and D; isolates obtained directly from human and animal feces also could be grouped within these clusters. Discriminant analysis (DA) of RT profiles showed that 97% of the NHS isolates and 100% of the animal fecal isolates were correctly classified. The average rate of correct classification for HS and NHS isolates was 82%. We conclude that DA of RT profiles may be a useful method for identifying HS and NHS fecal pollution and may potentially facilitate management practices.
Identification and evaluation on diabetic foot injury by computer vision

The diabetic foot is one of the most devastating complications related to diabetic. Its significant transcendence is related to a higher incidence and amputation percentage as well as deaths. Given the fact that laboratory diagnoses trials are both limited and expensive, the most typical alternative is still based on the disease's signs and symptoms. Therefore, the attending physician fills out a questionnaire based on its support instrumental measurements and its own observation (it could be method but not so sure). The aforementioned questionnaire will provide the foundation for the diagnose that also depends on the criteria and the consultant's experience. However, for some variables such as the laceration (injury or wound) and-or-location the previous dependency is not acceptable. This paper aims to become the first link to optimize the diabetic's foot evaluation through the introduction of digital image processing techniques. Because of the use of advanced object segmentation techniques and a parameter that adjusts the system's sensibility until obtaining the desired results it was possible to apply an algorithm to a series of trial images provided positive results for wound and location detection.
The Earnings Expectations Life Cycle

Earnings surprise, earnings torpedo and earnings estimate revision are some of the expectational strategies that have become part of the portfolio manager's tool kit during the last decade. Although there has been much written on individual investment strategies relating to earnings expectations and stock performance, there appears to have been little written on how these various expectational topics fit together. This paper attempts to combine expectational equity factors within one graphic framework. The result may be helpful for stock selection, as well as lending insight into manager style, performance and transaction costs. The Earnings Expectations Life Cycle The Earnings Expectations Life Cycle illustrated in Figure A depicts how expectations for a stock change through time. ' Most stocks probably travel such a path, although they don't necessarily stop at each point on the cycle. Each stock hypothetically travels at its own speed, and some might bounce repeatedly between two or three points before continuing around the cycle. In addition, stocks may not repeat the cycle because of merger, acquisition or bankruptcy. The different stages on the Earnings Expectations Life Cycle are discussed below.
Microneedle-array patches loaded with hypoxia-sensitive vesicles provide fast glucose-responsive insulin delivery

Significance For exploiting synthetic glucose-responsive insulin delivery systems, challenges remain to demonstrate a strategy that would combine (i) fast responsiveness, (ii) ease of administration, and (iii) excellent biocompatibility. We have developed a novel glucose-responsive insulin delivery device using a painless microneedle-array patch containing hypoxia-sensitive hyaluronic acid-based vesicles. The vesicles quickly dissociate and release encapsulated insulin under the local hypoxic environment, caused by the enzymatic oxidation of glucose in the hyperglycemic state. This “smart insulin patch” with a new enzyme-based glucose-responsive mechanism can regulate the blood glucose of type 1 diabetic mice to achieve normal levels, with faster responsiveness compared with the commonly used pH-sensitive formulations, and can avoid the risk of hypoglycemia. A glucose-responsive “closed-loop” insulin delivery system mimicking the function of pancreatic cells has tremendous potential to improve quality of life and health in diabetics. Here, we report a novel glucose-responsive insulin delivery device using a painless microneedle-array patch (“smart insulin patch”) containing glucose-responsive vesicles (GRVs; with an average diameter of 118 nm), which are loaded with insulin and glucose oxidase (GOx) enzyme. The GRVs are self-assembled from hypoxia-sensitive hyaluronic acid (HS-HA) conjugated with 2-nitroimidazole (NI), a hydrophobic component that can be converted to hydrophilic 2-aminoimidazoles through bioreduction under hypoxic conditions. The local hypoxic microenvironment caused by the enzymatic oxidation of glucose in the hyperglycemic state promotes the reduction of HS-HA, which rapidly triggers the dissociation of vesicles and subsequent release of insulin. The smart insulin patch effectively regulated the blood glucose in a mouse model of chemically induced type 1 diabetes. The described work is the first demonstration, to our knowledge, of a synthetic glucose-responsive device using a hypoxia trigger for regulation of insulin release. The faster responsiveness of this approach holds promise in avoiding hyperglycemia and hypoglycemia if translated for human therapy.
Automated Evaluation of Choroidal Thickness and Minimum Rim Width Thickness in Nonarteritic Anterior Ischemic Optic Neuropathy

Background: The aim of this study was to evaluate and compare peripapillary choroidal thickness (pCT) and macular choroidal thickness (CT), Bruch membrane opening-minimum rim width (BMO-MRW), retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) thickness, and optic disc area among nonarteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy (NAION) eyes, the contralateral unaffected eyes, and healthy control eyes. Methods: Twenty-six patients diagnosed with NAION (29 affected and 21 unaffected eyes) and 29 healthy matched control individuals (29 eyes) were analyzed by swept-source optical coherence tomography. All participants underwent scanning by Spectralis optical coherence tomography to analyze BMO-MRW, RNFL thickness, and optic disc area. Results: Mean pCT in the NAION eyes, unaffected fellow eyes, and the control group was 130.5 ± 72.1 &mgr;m, 149.6 ± 75.7 &mgr;m, and 103.7 ± 36.7 &mgr;m, respectively (analysis of variance [ANOVA], P = 0.04). Mean macular CT in the NAION eyes, unaffected fellow eyes, and the control group was 226.1 ± 79.8 &mgr;m, 244.6 ± 81.4 &mgr;m, and 189.9 ± 56.4 &mgr;m, respectively (ANOVA, P = 0.03). Mean and all sectorial RNFL and BMO-MRW thickness values were significantly thinner in the NAION eyes vs the unaffected fellow and control eyes (P ⩽ 0.00). The unaffected fellow eyes in NAION patients showed a significantly thicker average and sectorial BMO-MRW values than control eyes (P ⩽ 0.02) except for the nasal sector (P = 0.09). Mean optic disc area derived from BMO analysis was not significantly different among groups (ANOVA, P = 0.86). Conclusions: The fellow unaffected eyes in patients with NAION showed significantly thicker mean peripapillary and macular choroidal and BMO-MRW thicknesses than disease-free control eyes. No differences in the mean optic disc area were found. Both a thick peripapillary choroid and a thick neuroretinal rim might contribute to the development of NAION or possibly be a secondary phenomenon.
On Price Recognition and Competition with Boundedly Rational Consumers

We study an extension of the model of Rubinstein (1993) to two firms, competing in a market with consumers who are boundedly rational with respect to processing information. The cognitive bound forces customers to partition the price space. Rubinstein shows that a monopolist is able to earn a higher profit by exploiting consumers’ lack of processing ability. We extend his model to a duopoly, and show the Nash and Correlated equilibria of the game. We prove that in competition, whether firms choose their strategies independently or dependently, firms joint profit is lower than in a monopoly but does not vanish completely. The uncertainty regarding the consumers’ cutoff point and differences across firms’ prices impel firms to set their prices equal to the marginal cost.
Awareness, Adaptation, and Alienation: Challenges of the First-Generation American College Experience

As more and more American jobs require postsecondary degrees, the importance of college enrollment has increased. In 2018, approximately 63 percent of jobs in the United States are projected to require postsecondary education (Carnevale et al. 2010). This is up from 28 percent in 1974. Currently, almost 70 percent of high school graduates enroll in college within two years of completing high school (U.S. Department of Education 2009). Roughly 30 percent of entering freshmen are first-generation college students (USA Today 2010). Many students who are potential first-generation college grads, especially those who also come from lower income homes, face unique challenges both in successfully enrolling in college and persisting in college. The percentage of these students beginning college immediately after high school is 55 percent, compared to 84 percent of those from high-income families (Aud and Hannes 2011). One reported finding has shown the baccalaureate attainment rate for firstgeneration, low socioeconomic status students is only 12 percent, as compared to 73 percent of those from high income homes (Mortenson 2007). There are several reasons for this disparity. Beyond the obvious challenges posed by financial constraints which cause student employment to consume study time, students coming from families where their parents did not attend college also must learn to navigate a new cultural arena. First, they need to become more aware of the basic logistics of college, including entrance requirements, course expectations, choices of major, and financial aid application procedures. Second, they will have to adapt to a new, typically, “middle class” cultural setting. Even more daunting, many first-generation students must complete both of these tasks with little family support. Worse than receiving little support, students may find that the process of adaptation results in rifts between family members.
Factors Limiting Organic Carbon Degradation by Antibiotic-Resistant Heterotrophic Microorganisms in Wastewater Contaminated Sediments

This study aims to assess the interactions between antibiotic resistance and the ability of heterotrophs effected by highly polluted environments to remediate antibiotics from soil via biodegradation. These findings would reveal whether a self-cleaning process is occurring in the waters of Western NY. Water and sediment heterotrophs were obtained from wastewater contaminated environments to understand the factors influencing metabolism. A total of 113 isolates from Charlotte, Durand, and Payne Beaches, the Genesee River, and Hemlock Lake were cultured and detected for antibiotic resistance to 24 different antibiotics. Of these, seven robust bacteria from sediments were considered for their ability to use a single antibiotic as their sole carbon source — available carbon limited substrate utilization. Microbes were able to remediate antibiotic substrates from soil between 18.1-42.1% at one-times the concentration, whereas two and three times the original concentration was impotently degraded by 13.4-24.0% and 5.7-18.2%, separately. Heterotrophs also demonstrated unique substrate binding affinity for alternative substrates, which were discovered to be degraded between 1.05% to 72.96%. We found the best alternative substrates with enzyme activity to be tetracycline (70.26-72.96%), chloramphenicol (49.28-66.78%), and trimethoprim (54.51-57.22%). An assessment of antimicrobial susceptibility revealed that the highest resistance was observed to aminoglycoside antibiotics, followed by cephalosporins, beta-lactams, and fluoroquinolones. A robust isolate from Durand Beach was resistant to 19 out of the 24 antibiotics under evaluation. We posit that heterotrophs of highly polluted environments are restricted by carbon-availability, have unique binding affinity for alternative substrates, and are multidrug-resistant.