Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Reputation and Reward: Two Sides of the Same Bitcoin

In Mobile Crowd Sensing (MCS), the power of the crowd, jointly with the sensing capabilities of the smartphones they wear, provides a new paradigm for data sensing. Scenarios involving user behavior or those that rely on user mobility are examples where standard sensor networks may not be suitable, and MCS provides an interesting solution. However, including human participation in sensing tasks presents numerous and unique research challenges. In this paper, we analyze three of the most important: user participation, data sensing quality and user anonymity. We tackle the three as a whole, since all of them are strongly correlated. As a result, we present PaySense, a general framework that incentivizes user participation and provides a mechanism to validate the quality of collected data based on the users’ reputation. All such features are performed in a privacy-preserving way by using the Bitcoin cryptocurrency. Rather than a theoretical one, our framework has been implemented, and it is ready to be deployed and complement any existing MCS system.
Concentration and Size Distribution of Ultrafine Particles Near a Major Highway

Abstract Motor vehicle emissions usually constitute the most significant source of ultrafine particles (diameter <0.1 μm) in an urban environment, yet little is known about the concentration and size distribution of ultrafine particles in the vicinity of major highways. In the present study, particle number concentration and size distribution in the size range from 6 to 220 nm were measured by a condensation particle counter (CPC) and a scanning mobility particle sizer (SMPS), respectively. Measurements were taken 30, 60, 90, 150, and 300 m downwind, and 300 m upwind, from Interstate 405 at the Los Angeles National Cemetery. At each sampling location, concentrations of CO, black carbon (BC), and particle mass were also measured by a Dasibi CO monitor, an aethalometer, and a DataRam, respectively. The range of average concentration of CO, BC, total particle number, and mass concentration at 30 m was 1.7−2.2 ppm, 3.4−10.0 μg/m3, 1.3−2.0 × 105/cm3, and 30.2−64.6 μ/m3, respectively. For the conditions of these measurements, relative concentrations of CO, BC, and particle number tracked each other well as distance from the freeway increased. Particle number concentration (6–220 nm) decreased exponentially with downwind distance from the freeway. Data showed that both atmospheric dispersion and coagulation contributed to the rapid decrease in particle number concentration and change in particle size distribution with increasing distance from the freeway. Average traffic flow during the sampling periods was 13,900 vehicles/hr. Ninety-three percent of vehicles were gasoline-powered cars or light trucks. The measured number concentration tracked traffic flow well. Thirty meters downwind from the freeway, three distinct ultrafine modes were observed with geometric mean diameters of 13, 27, and 65 nm. The smallest mode, with a peak concentration of 1.6 × 105/cm3, disappeared at distances greater than 90 m from the freeway. Ultrafine particle number concentration measured 300 m downwind from the freeway was indistinguishable from upwind background concentration. These data may be used to estimate exposure to ultrafine particles in the vicinity of major highways.
Efficient Supply Chain Management at the U.S. Coast Guard Using Part-Age Dependent Supply Replenishment Policies

The United States Coast Guard (USCG), now part of the Department of Homeland Security, has the mission to secure the U.S. coastline using a combination of air and sea capabilities. This paper focuses on an application of operations research techniques at the USCG to improve the performance of its aircraft service parts supply chain. We focused on evaluating the supply chain benefits from linking the aircraft maintenance database with the aircraft parts inventory database. This required us to (a) develop an approach to link the databases and (b) use aircraft maintenance information to improve the inventory management of service parts at the USCG. We first used mathematical programming tools to merge the maintenance database with the demand database. We then developed state-dependent supply replenishment policies that use part-age information to manage the service parts supply chain. We show that one of the proposed policies permits analytic estimation of the benefits of linking the data sets. The impact of these inventory policies was evaluated using empirical demand data for 41 critical parts over a five-year period. Computational results suggest that our proposed policies can lead to significant reductions in inventory cost over the current system, as high as 70% for some parts. Based on the insights from this study, the USCG is currently contracting with commercial vendors to develop an operational database and decision-support implementation across all parts.
The Realities and Effectiveness of Ecotourism Operations on Moreton Island

Ecotourism is the fastest growing sector of the tourism industry, but there has been a lack of studies assessing the tour operators’ views on the environment of the area of their operation, and of the effectiveness of their interpretation methods. This study focuses on Moreton Island for its relatively undisturbed environment and restricted accessibility. Interviews with a former Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) employee, representative of a local conservation group, and multiple tour operators were conducted to assess the knowledge of tour operators on the environmental issues of Moreton Island, while pre-visit and post-visit surveys were conducted with Moreton Island visitors onboard the ferry to assess the effects of participation in tours on the island. Surveys of environmental volunteers were also taken in search of insight into potentially effective interpretation methods. The results showed that awareness of environmental issues greatly varied across the different tour operators, but that all parties agreed on the minimal impacts the tour operations cause on the island. Effectiveness of tour operations in affecting their customers’ attitude towards the natural environment was inconclusive. However, it was found that the labeling of tours as an ecotour is minimally important in Moreton Island tourists’ decision in choosing a tour, while indications of tourists desiring tour guides to relate the experiences back to the home region of the tourists were found. Further research is needed to clarify the findings of this study. Topic Codes: 526, 232, 536
Complementary and alternative medical practices: training, experience, and attitudes of a primary care medical school faculty.

BACKGROUND Interest in alternative and complementary medical practices has grown considerably in recent years. Previous surveys have examined attitudes of the general public and practicing physicians. This study examined the training, experience, and attitudes of medical school faculty, who have the primary responsibility for the education of future family physicians. METHODS A 24-item, self-administered questionnaire was distributed to all 200 faculty at a medical school with a mission of training primary care physicians. RESULTS Of 30 therapies listed, 5 were considered legitimate medical practices by more than 70% of the faculty. Eighty-five percent of the respondents reported some training in alternative medical therapies, and 62% were interested in additional training. Eighty-three percent of the faculty reported personal experience with alternative therapies and most rated these as effective. Eighty-five percent of the respondents indicated that their general attitude toward alternative medicine is positive. CONCLUSIONS The results indicate that respondents have had substantial exposure to complementary therapies, are interested in learning more about these therapies, and have generally positive attitudes toward alternative medical practices and their use. Because of the role of these therapies in prevention, the positive attitudes might reflect the mission of this medical school to train primary care physicians.
A collaborative environment for users of advanced scientific instruments

The paper proposes a different solution for a virtual collaborative environment for scientific research. The solution is the outcome of a project by Dutch, Swiss and English students, using brainstorms, idea generation, research, engineering skills and communication skills in a product development project in close co-operation with industry. Sharing data, sharing scientific instruments and the communication between diverse users are embedded in this virtual collaborative environment for scientific research. Instead of using the traditional desktop and mouse pointer a different solution is proposed to make it easier to fulfill complicated tasks at the same time.
Visualizing live software systems in 3D

The analysis of the runtime behavior of a software system yields vast amounts of information, making accurate interpretations difficult. Filtering or compression techniques are often applied to reduce the volume of data without loss of key information vital for a specific analysis goal. Alternatively, visualization is generally accepted as a means of effectively representing large amounts of data. The challenge lies in creating effective and expressive visual representations that not only allows for a global picture, but also enables us to inspect the details of the large data sets. We define the focus of our analysis to be the runtime behavior of features. Static structural visualizations of a system are typically represented in two dimensions. We exploit a third dimension to visually represent the dynamic information, namely object instantiations and message sends. We introduce a novel 3D visualization technique that supports animation of feature behavior and integrates zooming, panning, rotating and on-demand details. As proof of concept, we apply our visualization technique to feature execution traces of an example system.
Crustal evolution, intra-cratonic architecture and the metallogeny of an Archaean craton

Abstract The generation of the Earth's continental crust modified the composition of the mantle and provided a stable, buoyant reservoir capable of capturing mantle material and ultimately preserving ore deposits. Within the continental crust, lithospheric architecture and associated cratonic margins are a first-order control on camp-scale mineralization. Here we show that the evolving crustal architecture of the Archaean Yilgarn Craton, Western Australia, played a key role in controlling the localization of camp-scale gold, iron and nickel mineralized systems. The age and source characteristics of Archaean lithosphere are heterogeneous in both space and time and are recorded by the varying Nd isotopic signature of crustal rocks. Spatial and temporal variations in isotopic character document the evolution of an intra-cratonic architecture through time, and in doing so map transient lithospheric discontinuities where gold, nickel and iron mineral systems were concentrated. Komatiite-hosted nickel deposits cluster into camps localized within young, juvenile crust at the isotopic margin with older lithosphere; orogenic gold systems are typically localized along major structures within juvenile crust; and banded iron formation (BIF)-hosted iron deposits are localized at the edge of, and within, older lithospheric blocks. Furthermore, this work shows that crustal evolution plays an important role in the development and localization of favourable sources of nickel, gold and iron by controlling the occurrence of thick BIFs, ultramafic lavas and fertile (juvenile) crust, respectively. Fundamentally, this study demonstrates that the lithospheric architecture of a craton can be effectively imaged by isotopic techniques and used to identify regions prospective for camp-scale mineralization.
Biosynthesis of Amino Sugars by Pseudomonas saccharophila

Pseudomonas saccharophila growing on specifically labeled glucose incorporated isotope into cell wall glucosamine and muramic acid with less than 5% randomization of carbons. Glucosamine contained isotope in both the 1 and 6 positions when cells were grown on either galactose-6-14C or gluconate-6-14C. With galactose-1-14C, only muramic acid was labeled. Specific activities of the carboxyl group of muramic acid obtained from the glucose-grown cells did not indicate whether the origin of the side chain of muramic acid is pyruvate or phosphoenolpyruvate. However, the high specific activity obtained from galactose-1-14C suggested that induced cells preferentially incorporate C-1 of galactose into the side chain of muramic acid. Addition of unlabeled glucosamine to growing cultures repressed incorporation of substrate isotope into glucosamine, but muramic acid contained activity in the lactyl side chain.
The Analysis of Arabidopsis Nicotianamine Synthase Mutants Reveals Functions for Nicotianamine in Seed Iron Loading and Iron Deficiency Responses1[C][W][OA]

Nicotianamine chelates and transports micronutrient metal ions in plants. It has been speculated that nicotianamine is involved in seed loading with micronutrients. A tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) mutant (chloronerva) and a tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum) transgenic line have been utilized to analyze the effects of nicotianamine loss. These mutants showed early leaf chlorosis and had sterile flowers. Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) has four NICOTIANAMINE SYNTHASE (NAS) genes. We constructed two quadruple nas mutants: one had full loss of NAS function, was sterile, and showed a chloronerva-like phenotype (nas4x-2); another mutant, with intermediate phenotype (nas4x-1), developed chlorotic leaves, which became severe upon transition from the vegetative to the reproductive phase and upon iron (Fe) deficiency. Residual nicotianamine levels were sufficient to sustain the life cycle. Therefore, the nas4x-1 mutant enabled us to study late nicotianamine functions. This mutant had no detectable nicotianamine in rosette leaves of the reproductive stage but low nicotianamine levels in vegetative rosette leaves and seeds. Fe accumulated in the rosette leaves, while less Fe was present in flowers and seeds. Leaves, roots, and flowers showed symptoms of Fe deficiency, whereas leaves also showed signs of sufficient Fe supply, as revealed by molecular-physiological analysis. The mutant was not able to fully mobilize Fe to sustain Fe supply of flowers and seeds in the normal way. Thus, nicotianamine is needed for correct supply of seeds with Fe. These results are fundamental for plant manipulation approaches to modify Fe homeostasis regulation through alterations of NAS genes.
The Effect of User Generated Video Reviews on Consumer Purchase Intention

The objective of this study was to explore the effect of user generated video review on customer purchase intention in Indonesia and Taiwan to see how they use YouTube.com website as platform of electronic word of mouth (eWOM) source. The study examines the adoption of eWOM on user generated video platform and also testing which factor encourages information adoption on user-generated video site platform. The survey questionnaire collected the primary data in Indonesia and Taiwan with a stratified random sampling method. A total of 500 respondents completed and returned useable questionnaires to the researcher. Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) is the main analytical tool in this research. SmartPLS software was used to analyze all the data and compared the results between Indonesian and Taiwanese. This research result showed that eWOM adoption in user generated video context largely depends on source credibility of the people that post or make video reviews on YouTube.com, and source credibility is closely related with source expertise and source trustworthiness. This study results have implications for marketing division of the company, and then suggests some ways to enhance performance for the marketing strategy to promote their product on user generated video website.
Double Markov random fields and Bayesian image segmentation

Markov random fields are used extensively in model-based approaches to image segmentation and, under the Bayesian paradigm, are implemented through Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) methods. We describe a class of such models (the double Markov random field) for images composed of several textures, which we consider to be the natural hierarchical model for such a task. We show how several of the Bayesian approaches in the literature can be viewed as modifications of this model, made in order to make MCMC implementation possible. From a simulation study, conclusions are made concerning the performance of these modified models.
Antimicrobial Growth Promoter Ban and Resistance to Macrolides and Vancomycin in Enterococci from Pigs

ABSTRACT Ninety-six enterococcus isolates from fecal samples of pigs receiving tylosin as an antimicrobial growth promoter and 59 isolates obtained in the same farms 5 to 6 months after the ban of antimicrobial growth promoters in Switzerland were tested for susceptibility to nine antimicrobial agents. A clear decrease in resistance to macrolides, lincosamides, and tetracycline was visible after the ban. Vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecium belonged to the same clonal lineage as vancomycin-resistant isolates previously isolated from Danish pigs.
Climatic‐scale vegetation—cloud interactions during drought using satellite data

Land-surface-atmosphere interactions for the 1988 summer drought in the Mid-west USA are studied at climatic scales (104 km2; >5 days) using polar orbiter satellite radiance information on vegetation activity and cloud conditions. The emphasis is on documenting the occurrences of ‘organized’ land-cover types and cumulus convection, and evaluating their mutual associations. For purpose of comparison, similar analyses are performed for the more moisture sufficient (non-drought) summer of 1987. The satellite retrievals and analysis methods are calibrated using station meteorological data on precipitation and surface moisture, and also land-cover maps. In early summer (June) 1988, Mid-west USA land surfaces were generally highly stressed (high shortwave reflectance, high surface temperatures), particularly for the Corn Belt. Moreover, the spatial variation of the land-cover signal was greater than in June 1987, and also when compared with later that summer (August 1988). Statistical analysis suggests a significant role for the land surface conditions of early summer in the spatial patterns of deep convection over the remainder of the season. This involves generally higher (lower) frequencies of convective cloud days for surfaces having a high relative density of forest vegetation (crops). Because broadly similar results are obtained for the summer of 1987, the possibility exists that the vegetation-convective-cloud interaction may be a feature of Mid-west USA summer climate. The diurnal dependence of cloud-forming processes for agricultural and natural vegetation regions is assessed using GOES cloud imagery at high temporal resolution for a “typical” convective day in early summer 1988. Associations with station radiosonde data support the hypothesis that spatial differences in land cover influence the generation and timing of convective cloudiness for the Mid-west region.
Capital psicolÃ³gico como predictor del comportamiento organizacional ciudadano en el ambiente universitario / Psychological Capital as predictor of Organizational Citizenship Behaviors in university setting

Resumen Luego de presentar el significado del Comportamiento Organizacional Positivo (COP) y del constructo Capital Psicologico (CapPsi), se analiza el efecto que tiene el CapPsi sobre el Comportamiento Organizacional Ciudadano (COC) en el ambiente universitario. Se aplicaron los instrumentos en una muestra (n= 54) de profesores pertenecientes a una de las sedes de una universidad publica venezolana. Los resultados obtenidos sugieren que si existe una influencia del CapPsi sobre el COC (R2 = .383). Otras variables medidas, como la antiguedad y el genero, no presentaron correlacion significativa con COC, solo la edad presento una correlacion baja, por lo que no fueron incluidas en el modelo. La principal hipotesis del estudio: el CapPsi debe tener una influencia positiva en COC fue soportada, encontrandose que 38% de la varianza total del COC esta explicada por el CapPsi. El articulo concluye con las implicaciones de estos hallazgos, senalando la importancia del CapPsi como un constructo en el que pueden invertir las organizaciones para desarrollar su recurso humano, al probarse que propicia actitudes y conductas como el COC, que ha demostrado su relacion con rendimientos excepcionales. Abstract After presenting the meaning of Positive Organizational Behavior (POB) and Psychological Capital (PsyCap) a study analyzing the impact of PsyCap on Organizational Citizenship Behavior (OCB) was carried out in university setting. The instruments were applied on a sample (n=54) of university professors belonging to a public Venezuelan university. Results suggest an impact of PsyCap on OCB (R2= .383). Other variables measured such as experience and gender presented a no significant correlation with OCB. Only age showed low correlation, therefore they were not included in the model. Main hypothesis that PsyCap should have a positive impact on COB was supported, finding that 38% of OCB total variance was explained by PsyCap. Article concludes with this implication, stating that PsyCap is a construct in which organizations can invest to develop their human resources. PsyCap may influence attitudes and behavior such as OCB which in turn is related with exceptional performance in organizations.
Evaluation of the hydrologic effects of stock ponds on a prairie watershed

ing Box Elder’s parameters was completed after terrain preprocessing and subbasin delineation since these steps provided the necessary input layers to describe watershed characteristics. Parameter abstraction was completed through HEC-HMS since the program contains several tools that quickly determine average basin slopes, stream segment slopes, areas, subbasin centroids, and longest flow paths. Slope values were taken from the unaltered DEM so that answers were not influenced by surface reconditioning. Besides calculating basic physical characteristics for Box Elder, HECGeoHMS was also utilized to generate a shape file that showed location points of flow 47 transitioning from overland flow to channel flow, information required for time to concentration calculations. This file required some modification since the program had trouble picking up water flow paths near the edges of subbasins due to the flat terrain. All parameters derived by HEC-GeoHMS were automatically stored in easy-to-manage attribute tables and were revised as necessary.