Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
La vie affective des services écosystémiques : recherche, communication scientifique et protection de la nature.

Habitues a considerer que la science est depourvue d’emotions et a opposer l’emotion a la raison, les scientifiques n'ont pu reconnaitre la place centrale qu'occupent les affects dans leurs pratiques de recherche. Cette these se propose d'apprehender le role joue par de multiples affects et emotions dans la diffusion de la notion scientifique de Services Ecosystemiques (SE) a partir d’une etude multi-sites informee par des entretiens avec des scientifiques et des praticiens de la conservation de la nature ainsi que par des observations participantes de leur travail et de leurs interactions. Emergeant du contexte apocalyptique d'anxiete suscite par la degradation de l'environnement, la notion de SE offre un espoir aux protecteurs de la nature par le fait qu'elle combine l'ecologie et l'economie et souligne la dependance des societes humaines au fonctionnement des ecosystemes. La these montre comment la notion a attire et meme seduit un nombre croissant de scientifiques. Ceux-ci ont elabore des jeux participatifs, des scenarios et des cartes pour communiquer avec des gestionnaires des espaces naturels et des decideurs politiques en creant des atmospheres emotionnelles specifiques. Dans le domaine de la protection de la nature, la notion a touche de nouveaux publics, motives non seulement par un amour de la nature ou par un sens de la responsabilite, mais aussi par de l'espoir et un sens de l’opportunite. Documenter comment la vie affective des SE s'est formee dans les rencontres entre les scientifiques et les praticiens, comment elle a ete ciblee par de multiples formes de pouvoir, et comment elle a interagi avec des conditions affectives collectives, met en evidence l’importance methodologique des affects et des emotions et leurs aptitudes a medier et organiser la vie sociale, y compris dans la science.
STUDIES RELATING TO THE SERUM RESISTANCE OF CERTAIN GRAM-NEGATIVE BACTERIA

Paracolobactrum ballerup, an organism considered completely insusceptible to the bactericidal action of the antibody-complement system, became extremely sensitive to immune serum and even to normal serum, in conjunction with complement, when cultivated at temperatures above 37°C. This conversion to serum sensitivity was associated with the loss of the organism's Vi antigen and its tendency to assume a rough state. It did not result in a genetic change in the organism, however, since reincubation of serum-sensitive P. ballerup at 37°C resulted in a restoration of its resistance. The loss of serum resistance as a result of cultivation temperatures above 37°C may be of significance as an example of the enhancement of host defense mechanisms induced by fever. Special conditions of testing indicated that P. ballerup cultured at 37°C and S. paratyphosa C, organisms considered insusceptible to serum bactericidal action, were not entirely refractory to serum. These conditions included simply a relatively low ratio of the number of test organisms to serum volume and an extended incubation period of the organisms with serum bactericidal substances, or even without these substances, prior to the initiation of bactericidal action. It is likely, therefore, that an absolute distinction between serum-sensitive and serum-resistant Gram-negative organisms does not exist, but rather that there is a very broad distribution of serum sensitivity among these organisms.
Communications Applications of Microelectromechanical Systems

An overview of recent progress in the research and development of microelectromechanical devices for use in wireless communication sub-systems is presented. Among the specific devices described are tunable micromachined capacitors, integrated high- Q inductors, low loss micromechanical switches, and micro-scale vibrating mechanical resonators with Q’s in the tens of thousands. Specific applications are reviewed for each of these components with emphasis on methods for miniaturization and performance enhancement of existing and future wireless transceivers.
SCP 06F6: A CARBON-RICH EXTRAGALACTIC TRANSIENT AT REDSHIFT z ≃ 0.14?

We show that the spectrum of the unusual transient SCP 06F6 is consistent with emission from a cool, optically thick and carbon-rich atmosphere if the transient is located at a redshift of z ≈ 0.14. The implied extragalactic nature of the transient rules out novae, shell flashes, and V838 Mon-like events as causes of the observed brightening. The distance to SCP 06F6 implies a peak magnitude of MI ≃ −18, in the regime of supernovae (SNe). While the morphology of the light curve of SCP 06F6 around the peak in brightness resembles the slowly evolving Type IIn supernovae SN 1994Y and SN 2006gy its spectroscopic appearance differs from all previous observed SNe. We further report the detection of an X-ray source coincident with SCP 06F6 in a target of opportunity XMM-Newton observation made during the declining phase of the transient. The X-ray luminosity of LX ≃ (5 ± 1) × 1042 erg s-1 is 2 orders of magnitude higher than observed to date from SNe. If related to an SN event, SCP 06F6 may define a new class. An alternative, though less likely, scenario is the tidal disruption of a carbon-rich star.
A Model of Open Source Software-Based Product Line Development

Software product line (SPL) and open source software (OSS) have emerged as successful modes of developing software. There is an increased interest in developing suitable approaches for combining the promised advantages of SPL and OSS. Researchers and practitioners have been emphasizing the need of exploiting the ever growing repositories of OSS components for developing SPLs. However, there is no conceptual model for guiding the process of developing OSS-based SPLs. In this paper, we propose a model for developing software product line using open source software. This paper identifies and elaborates the essential phases and activities of the proposed model of developing OSS-based SPLs. This model emphasizes the vital role of software architecture and asserts that software architectures of OSS can be exploited to establish a SPL. To demonstrate this, we have evaluated Eclipse's architecture for its potential to support different flavors of a system.
Finding Meaning in Psychology

In this chapter, I explore several themes in connection with a selective review of some research problems I have pursued over the years. The study of meaning is a major theme along with issues relating to the goals of scientific psychology and the demands of research on applied problems. Finally, I ponder the role of psychology in the broader scientific endeavor, and I propose a candidate for the psychological level of analysis.
Bandwidth-efficient management of DHT routing tables

Today an application developer using a distributed hash table (DHT) with n nodes must choose a DHT protocol from the spectrum between O(1) lookup protocols [9, 18] and O(log n) protocols [20-23, 25, 26]. O(1) protocols achieve low latency lookups on small or low-churn networks because lookups take only a few hops, but incur high maintenance traffic on large or high-churn networks. O(log n) protocols incur less maintenance traffic on large or high-churn networks but require more lookup hops in small networks. Accordion is a new routing protocol that does not force the developer to make this choice: Accordion adjusts itself to provide the best performance across a range of network sizes and churn rates while staying within a bounded bandwidth budget. The key challenges in the design of Accordion are the algorithms that choose the routing table's size and content. Each Accordion node learns of new neighbors opportunistically, in a way that causes the density of its neighbors to be inversely proportional to their distance in ID space from the node. This distribution allows Accordion to vary the table size along a continuum while still guaranteeing at most O(log n) lookup hops. The user-specified bandwidth budget controls the rate at which a node learns about new neighbors. Each node limits its routing table size by evicting neighbors that it judges likely to have failed. High churn (i.e., short node lifetimes) leads to a high eviction rate. The equilibrium between the learning and eviction processes determines the table size. Simulations show that Accordion maintains an efficient lookup latency versus bandwidth tradeoff over a wider range of operating conditions than existing DHTs.
An Investigation into the Effects of Using Dynamic Representation to Reflect Users’ Emotional States During Physical Activity

Many people struggle to maintain exercise routines (Biddle and Fox, 1989). Affective state (emotion, mood and sentiment) plays a key role in supporting or undermining intentions to exercise (Hanin, 2000). Presenting users with representations of their emotions can result in positive adjustments to their behavior (Brave and Nass, 2002). This project aimed to evaluate the impact of running with such a representation on a user’s positivity during a run, and upon its completion. A mobile application, EmotiRun, was iteratively designed to capture user feelings whilst running via self-reporting functionality; using this to dynamically represent inferences made of the positivity of the positivity of a user’s emotional state. A user study with EmotiRun didn’t reveal significant differences in positivity with an ‘emotional’ display present. Participants did however note their awareness of the dynamic representation changing, and its potential as a motivational cue. The design and evaluation context in the physical setting of running are considered in relation to the fields of Affective Computing, and more broadly Human Computer Interaction. Further work is proposed to build upon the study method and design approach, of in-situ real-time self-reporting for physical activities.
Accelerating Interpolants ⋆

We present Counterexample-Guided Accelerated Abstraction Reﬁne-ment (CEGAAR), a new algorithm for verifying inﬁnite-state transition systems. CEGAAR combines interpolation-based predicate discovery in counterexample-guided predicate abstraction with acceleration technique for computing the transitive closure of loops. CEGAAR applies acceleration to dynamically discovered looping patterns in the unfolding of the transition system, and combines over-approximation with underapproximation. It constructs inductive invariants that rule out an inﬁnite family of spurious counterexamples, alleviating the problem of divergence in predicate abstraction without losing its adaptive nature. We present theoretical and experimental justiﬁcation for the effectiveness of CE-GAAR, showing that inductive interpolants can be computed from classical Craig interpolants and transitive closures of loops. We present an implementation of CEGAAR that veriﬁes integer transition systems. We show that the resulting implementation robustly handles a number of difﬁcult transition systems that cannot be handled using interpolation-based predicate abstraction or acceleration alone.
Risk of Birth Defects in Australian Communities with High Levels of Brominated Disinfection By-products

Background By international standards, water supplies in Perth, Western Australia, contain high trihalomethane (THM) levels, particularly the brominated forms. Geographic variability in these levels provided an opportunity to examine cross-city spatial relationships between THM exposure and rates of birth defects (BDs). Objectives Our goal was to examine BD rates by exposure to THMs with a highly brominated fraction in metropolitan locations in Perth, Western Australia. Methods We collected water samples from 47 separate locations and analyzed them for total and individual THM concentrations (micrograms per liter), including separation into brominated forms. We classified collection areas by total THM (TTHM) concentration: low (< 60 μg/L), medium (> 60 to < 130 μg/L), and high (≥ 130 μg/L). We also obtained deidentified registry-based data on total births and BDs (2000–2004 inclusive) from post codes corresponding to water sample collection sites and used binomial logistic regression to compare the frequency of BDs aggregately and separately for the TTHM exposure groups, adjusting for maternal age and socioeconomic status. Results Total THMs ranged from 36 to 190 μg/L. A high proportion of the THMs were brominated (on average, 92%). Women living in high-TTHM areas showed an increased risk of any BD [odds ratio (OR) = 1.22; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.01–1.48] and for the major category of any cardiovascular BD (OR = 1.62; 95% CI, 1.04–2.51), compared with women living in low-TTHM areas. Conclusions Brominated forms constituted the significant fraction of THMs in all areas. Small but statistically significant increases in risks of BDs were associated with residence in areas with high THMs.
Different Clinical Phenotypes in Adams-Oliver Syndrome Conservative Approach to Aplasia Cutis: A Report of Two Cases

Adams-Oliver Syndrome (AOS) is a rare genetic disease characterized by combination of aplasia cutis congenita (ACC) and terminal transverse limb defects (TTLD), often accompanied by defects in scalp and skull ossification. Different clinical phenotypes may be related to variable severity both of aplasia cutis and TTLD, and of minor clinical features as cutis marmorata telangiectatica congenita (CMTC), congenital cardiac defect and vascular anomalies. The treatment is multidisciplinary: dermatologic, orthopedic and surgical consult should be required. It still remains unclear how to treat patients with a large skin defect that can‘t be closed primarly and may require both surgical and conservative management. We report two cases of AOS with typical limb defects and an area of aplasia cutis over vertex of the scalp managed conservatively with two different dermatologic devices.
Correlation analysis of coupled fitness landscapes

In this chapter we present an overview of a statistical analysis to measure and express the correlation structure of fitness landscapes. This correlation analysis is then applied to both static and coupled fitness landscapes as generated by the NK-model and the NKC-model, respectively. An overview of the main results is provided, which shows that this correlation analysis can indeed be applied in a meaningful way to coupled fitness landscapes. This can provide a direct and useful link to the actual search performance of evolutionary algorithms that use a coevolutionary approach.
Small Sample Properties of Panel Time-Series Estimators with I(1) Errors

Monte Carlo simulations are used to explore the small-sample properties of a mean group and two pooled panel estimators of a regression coefficient when the regressor is I(1). We compare and contrast the effect of I(0) and I(1) errors and homogeneous and heterogeneous coefficients in a design based on two typical PPP panels. The results confirm that the asymptotic theory is relevant to practical applications. With I(0) errors and homogeneous coefficients, the estimators are unbiased, dispersion depends on the signal-noise ratio and falls at rate T(rootN) as expected. With I(1) errors and no cointegration, dispersion falls at rate rootN. When heterogeneity is introduced with I(0) errors, the dispersion of the pooled estimators falls at rate root N, but that of the mean group continues to fall at rate T(rootN). Finally, the pooled estimators are likely to lead to distorted inference both in the case of I(1) errors and the case of I(0) errors with heterogeneous coefficients case. The mean group estimators are, however, are generally correctly sized.
TraSH: A Transport Layer Seamless Handover for Mobile Networks

The Internet Engineering Task Force has developed Mobile IP to handle mobility of Internet hosts at the network layer. Mobile IP, however, suffers from a number of drawbacks such as high handover latency, packet loss, and conflict with network security solutions. In this paper, we describe TraSH, a new Transport Layer Seamless Handover solution to mobility. TraSH utilizes multi-homing to achieve a seamless handover of a mobile host, and is designed to solve many of the drawbacks of Mobile IP. Various aspects, such as handover, signalling, location management, data transfer, and security considerations of TraSH are discussed. The Stream Control Transmission Protocol (SCTP), with built-in multi-homing capability, is used to illustrate the concepts of TraSH.
Molecular strategies for detecting chromosomal translocations in soft tissue tumors (Review)

Approximately one third of soft tissue tumors are characterized by chromosomal aberrations, in particular, translocations and amplifications, which appear to be highly specific. The identification of fusion transcripts not only supports the diagnosis, but provides the basis for the development of novel therapeutic strategies aimed at blocking the aberrant activity of chimeric proteins. Molecular biology, and in particular, cytogenetic and qualitative and quantitative polymerase chain reaction technologies, allow with high efficiency and specificity, the determination of specific fusion transcripts resulting from chromosomal translocations, as well as the analysis of gene amplifications. In this review, various molecular techniques that allow the identification of translocations and consequent fusion transcripts generated are discussed in the broad spectrum of soft tissue tumors.
Vehicle tyre parameterisation using binary search thresholding and contour fitting

This paper describes a visual tyre location identification technique using a series of localised edge detection operations coupled with dynamically assigned binary search contrast adjustment to parameterise each of the tyres from a lateral viewpoint image of a vehicle undercarriage. The technique is applied to a data bank of 130 images with an 82% success rate in parameterising the near tyres and 80% success rate in parameterising the far tyres for a given image. The parameters derived from this technique can provide the basis for pose estimation algorithms to perform automatic parking and to aid mobile robots in path planning with respect to motor vehicles.
Elevation of intraocular glutamate levels in rats with partial lesion of the optic nerve.

BACKGROUND Acute partial lesion of the rat optic nerve, although not a model for glaucoma, mimics some of the features of the disease. OBJECTIVE To learn whether degeneration of rat optic nerve fibers and death of their retinal ganglion cells induced by an acute partial lesion are associated with elevated levels of glutamate, known to occur in the eyes of humans and monkeys with glaucoma. MATERIALS AND METHODS Rat optic nerve was subjected to a partial crush injury. Aqueous humor samples were aspirated from the anterior and posterior aqueous chambers at specified times and their amino acid contents were determined by means of high-performance liquid chromatography. RESULTS Three and 7 days after injury, intraocular glutamate and aspartate levels were found to be significantly higher than in normal or sham-operated-on eyes, and returned to normal by day 14. CONCLUSIONS Degeneration of the optic nerve, induced by a mechanical injury of the axons, leads to intraocular elevation of glutamate and aspartate levels. These results illustrate that the model of the partial optic nerve lesion exhibits another feature typical of a long-term optic neuropathy, such as glaucoma.
Dark Chocolate Improves Coronary Vasomotion and Reduces Platelet Reactivity

Background— Dark chocolate has potent antioxidant properties. Coronary atherosclerosis is promoted by impaired endothelial function and increased platelet activation. Traditional risk factors, high oxidative stress, and reduced antioxidant defenses play a crucial role in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis, particularly in transplanted hearts. Thus, flavonoid-rich dark chocolate holds the potential to have a beneficial impact on graft atherosclerosis. Methods and Results— We assessed the effect of flavonoid-rich dark chocolate compared with cocoa-free control chocolate on coronary vascular and platelet function in 22 heart transplant recipients in a double-blind, randomized study. Coronary vasomotion was assessed with quantitative coronary angiography and cold pressor testing before and 2 hours after ingestion of 40 g of dark (70% cocoa) chocolate or control chocolate, respectively. Two hours after ingestion of flavonoid-rich dark chocolate, coronary artery diameter was increased significantly (from 2.36±0.51 to 2.51±0.59 mm, P<0.01), whereas it remained unchanged after control chocolate. Endothelium-dependent coronary vasomotion improved significantly after dark chocolate (4.5±11.4% versus −4.3±11.7% in the placebo group, P=0.01). Platelet adhesion decreased from 4.9±1.1% to 3.8±0.8% (P=0.04) in the dark chocolate group but remained unchanged in the control group. Conclusions— Dark chocolate induces coronary vasodilation, improves coronary vascular function, and decreases platelet adhesion 2 hours after consumption. These immediate beneficial effects were paralleled by a significant reduction of serum oxidative stress and were positively correlated with changes in serum epicatechin concentration.
Comparing Levels of College Student's Communication Ability, Interpersonal Relationship Ability, and Convergence Competency according to Their Field Experiences

Recently, colleges and universities provide programs of field experience for students to improve career development skills. The purpose of this study was to analyze the effects of participating field experience on communication ability, interpersonal relationship ability, and convergence competence. Data were collected from 1,887 college students, and were analyzed using one-way ANOVA. As a result, students who participated field experience program improved their communication ability, interpersonal relationship ability, and convergence competence. This study is expected to be utilized as basic references to promote field experience program in colleges and universities.
Survey on evolvement motivaion and archetypal classification of mixed-use settlements: A study on work-live models in Southeast China

Live-work is a significant form of mixed-use habitation in Southeast China, and in distributed periods it had related paradigms. With the comparison of western and Chinese practice, this thesis explains the essential motivations influencing the process of mixed-use development, and based on analysis and evaluation on main archetypes, regional mixed-use dimensions are given to work-live paradigms. Finally it offers the strategies of index ordinance, live-work synergy and motivation balance as the approaches to mixed-use development.