Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Long-Term Effect of Agricultural Reclamation on Soil Chemical Properties of a Coastal Saline Marsh in Bohai Rim, Northern China

Over the past six decades, coastal wetlands in China have experienced rapid and extensive agricultural reclamation. In the context of saline conditions, long-term effect of cultivation after reclamation on soil chemical properties has not been well understood. We studied this issue using a case of approximately 60-years cultivation of a coastal saline marsh in Bohai Rim, northern China. The results showed that long-term reclamation significantly decreased soil organic carbon (SOC) (−42.2%) and total nitrogen (TN) (−25.8%) at surface layer (0–30 cm) as well as their stratification ratios (SRs) (0–5 cm:50–70 cm and 5–10 cm:50–70 cm). However, there was no significant change in total phosphorus (TP) as well as its SRs under cultivation. Cultivation markedly reduced ratios of SOC to TN, SOC to TP and TN to TP at surface layer (0–30 cm) and their SRs (0–5 cm:50–70 cm). After cultivation, electrical conductivity and salinity significantly decreased by 60.1% and 55.3% at 0–100 cm layer, respectively, suggesting a great desalinization. In contrast, soil pH at 20–70 cm horizons notably increased as an effect of reclamation. Cultivation also changed compositions of cations at 0–10 cm layer and anions at 5–100 cm layer, mainly decreasing the proportion of Na+, Cl− and SO4 2−. Furthermore, cultivation significantly reduced the sodium adsorption ratio and exchangeable sodium percentage in plow-layer (0–20 cm) but not residual sodium carbonate, suggesting a reduction in sodium harm.
EFFECT OF AGE AND VISUAL IMPAIRMENT ON DRIVING AND VISION PERFORMANCE

The effects of age and visual impairment on driving and visual performance were investigated for a sample of 46 subjects including 10 young visually normal subjects, 18 elderly visually normal subjects, and 18 elderly subjects with early cataracts. Driving performance was assessed on a closed-road circuit for a series of driving tasks including peripheral awareness, maneuvering, reversing, reaction times, speed estimation, road position, and time to complete the course. Visual performance was assessed using disability glare tests, Pelli-Robson letter contrast sensitivity (CS), a measure of the useful field of view (UFOV), and simple and forced-choice reaction times. The results showed that group (young normals, elderly subjects with normal vision or cataracts) had a significant effect (p < 0.05) on driving and vision. The cataract subjects had poorer driving performance (p < 0.05) than either the elderly or young normal subjects, and the elderly subjects had poorer driving performance (p < 0.05) than the young. Similarly, the visual performance of the elderly subjects (with or without cataracts) was significantly worse (p < 0.05) than that of the young subjects. The elderly subjects had higher disability glare, poorer letter CS, and reduced ability on the UFOV task. These findings indicate that elderly subjects have poorer driving performance than young subjects and those with cataracts have still more difficulties, even though the cataract subjects had visual acuity greater than or equal to 6/12 and were therefore eligible to drive. These changes were reflected by reduced visual performance.
Impact of intrinsic blood flow regulation in cirrhosis: maintenance of hepatic arterial buffer response.

The hepatic arterial buffer response (HABR) effectively controls total blood perfusion in normal livers, but little is known about blood flow regulation in cirrhosis. We therefore studied the impact of HABR on blood perfusion of cirrhotic livers in vivo. After 8-wk CCl(4) treatment to induce cirrhosis, 18 anesthetized rats (and 18 noncirrhotic controls) were used to simultaneously assess portal venous and hepatic arterial inflow with miniaturized ultrasonic flow probes. Stepwise hepatic arterial blood flow (HAF) or portal venous blood flow (PVF) reduction was performed. Cirrhotic livers revealed a significantly reduced total hepatic blood flow (12.3 +/- 0.9 ml/min) due to markedly diminished PVF (7.3 +/- 0.8 ml/min) but slightly increased HAF (5.0 +/- 0.6 ml/min) compared with noncirrhotic controls (19.0 +/- 1.6, 15.2 +/- 1.3, and 3.8 +/- 0.4 ml/min). PVF reduction caused a significant HABR, i.e., increase of HAF, in both normal and cirrhotic livers; however, buffer capacity of cirrhotic livers exceeded that of normal livers (P < 0.05) by 1. 7- to 4.5-fold (PVF 80% and 20% of baseline). Persistent PVF reduction for 1, 2, and 6 h demonstrated constant HABR in both groups. Furthermore, HABR could be repetitively provoked, as analyzed by intermittent PVF reduction. HAF reduction did not induce changes of portal flow in either group. Because PVF is reduced in cirrhosis, the maintenance of HAF and the preserved HABR must be considered as a protective effect on overall hepatic circulation, counteracting impaired nutritive blood supply via the portal vein.
The Dyadic Nature of Self-Evaluations: Self-Esteem and Efficacy Shape and Are Shaped by Support Processes in Relationships

The current research tested an important way one person’s self-evaluations could shape their intimate partner’s self-evaluations. We predicted that greater self-esteem would predict greater efficacy and esteem support when partners needed support, which would facilitate greater efficacy and self-esteem in partners. We examined these processes within discussions in which one partner could provide support (support provider) to the other (support recipient). Study 1 illustrated that self-esteem was specifically associated with esteem support. Study 2 demonstrated that support providers higher in self-esteem experienced greater efficacy during couples’ support discussions and thus delivered greater esteem support to their partners. Greater esteem support, in turn, was associated with recipients experiencing greater efficacy within couples’ discussions and greater self-esteem across time. Analyses of alternative explanations indicated these processes were unique to self-esteem and esteem support. The results provide initial evidence that self-esteem and efficacy shape, and are shaped by, esteem-related support processes within relationships.
A Decoupled Algorithm for Vision Parameter Estimation with Application to the Trifocal Tensor

We consider the problem of estimating parameters of a model described by a system of equations which underlies a wide class of computer vision applications. One method to solve such a problem is the fundamental numerical scheme (FNS) previously proposed by some of the authors. In this paper, a more stable version of FNS is developed, with better convergence properties than the original version. The improvement in performance is achieved by reducing the original estimation problem to a couple of problems of lower dimension. By way of example, the new algorithm has been applied to the problem of estimating the trifocal tensor relating three views of a scene. Experiments carried out with both synthetic and real images reveal the new estimator to be more stable compared to the original FNS method, and commensurate in accuracy with the Gold Standard maximum likelihood estimator.
Easily Programmable Shared Objects For Peer-To-Peer Distributed Applications

This paper presents our experiences in implementing PERSON, a toolkit for adapting single user applications into multi-machine multi-user applications. This is achieved by providing a way to share objects in a peer-topeer model using a programming model that emphasizes values rather than functions and ties the values together with constraints. This encourages a modular and declarative style of program design.
Pumping capacity and reliability of cryogenic micro-pump for micro-satellite applications

In micro-satellites, delicate instruments are compacted into a limited space. This raises concerns of active cooling and remote cooling. Silicon based micro-pump arrays are employed thanks to manufacturing simplicity, a small cryogen charge, etc, and keep the instruments within a narrow cryogenic temperature range. The pumping capacity and reliability of the micro-pump are critical in terms of heat balance calculation and lifetime evaluation. The pumping capacity is associated with the diaphragm deflection while the reliability is associated with stress and fatigue. Both of them heavily depend on the silicon diaphragm, one of the key components. This paper examines the pumping capacity and reliability of the micro-pump under cryogenic temperature for micro-satellite applications. In this work, differential pressure was used for the actuation of a single-crystal silicon diaphragm. Diaphragm deflection and stress distribution were achieved using interferometry and micro-Raman spectroscopy, respectively. As a result, smaller pumping capacity was derived under cryogenic temperature, compared to that under room temperature, indicating a stiffer material. From stress mapping, the edge centers were believed to be the most vulnerable to fracture, which was further validated by analyzing the fracture diaphragm. Moreover, a fatigue testing was conducted for 1.8 million cycles with no damage found, verifying silicon as a viable material for long time operation in a cryogenic environment.
Systematic generation of stochastic diversity as an intrusion barrier in survivable systems software

Survivable systems software must exhibit high resistance to intrusion. A process of stochastic diversification can help increase resistance to intrusion through random obscuration of survivable system properties. Intruders often rely on analysis of source code to identify and exploit vulnerability in software. The ability of intruders to understand and analyze code can be dramatically reduced through a process of stochastic unstructuring to increase software complexity as an intrusion barrier while preserving function and performance. The constructive proof of the Structure Theorem was originally applied as a systematic process for transforming complex, unstructured programs into function-equivalent structured form for improved understandability and maintenance. This process can be reversed to systematically introduce stochastic diversity by transforming structured programs into function-equivalent unstructured programs of arbitrary complexity that are virtually impossible to understand.
How, Why, and When High-Involvement Work Systems Are Related to OCB: A Multilevel Examination of the Mediating Role of POS and of the Moderating Role of Organizational Structures

Drawing on signaling and social exchange theories, we proposed and tested a multilevel model of antecedents of organizational citizenship behavior (OCB). More specifically, this article examines how, why, and when high-involvement work systems (HIWS) are related to employee and team citizenship behaviors. Using a sample of 568 respondents in 46 teams, our results indicate that HIWS are directly and indirectly related to team-level OCB through the team perceived organizational support (POS) climate. Structure was found to act as a significant internal contextual factor. More specifically, we found that decentralization and formalization foster the positive link between HIWS and POS, while the indirect relationship between HIWS and team-level OCB through POS was weaker when the degree of formalization was low, and stronger when this structure element was high. Finally, consistent with Ehrhart and Naumann’s group norms theory of OCB, team-level OCB was positively related to employee OCB, regardless of whether task interdependence is high or low. This study contributes to the understanding of processes and contextual conditions through which teams and employee citizenship behavior are related to HIWS.
Signal Evolution and Infarction Risk for Apparent Diffusion Coefficient Lesions in Acute Ischemic Stroke Are Both Time- and Perfusion-Dependent

Background and Purpose— This study aimed to examine the temporal relationship between tissue perfusion and apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) changes within 6 hours of ischemic stroke onset and how different reperfusion patterns may affect tissue outcome in ADC lesions. Methods— Thirty-one participants were sequentially imaged at 3 hours, 6 hours, and 1 month post-stroke. Three regions of interest (ROIs) were defined within initial ADC lesions: ROI (1)reperf_3hour hyperacute reperfusion (within 3 hours), ROI (2)reperf_6hour acute reperfusion (3 to 6 hours), and ROI (3)nonreperf no reperfusion (by 6 hours). For each ROI, changes in ADC (&Dgr;ADC) from 3 to 6 hours and risks of infarction were examined. Results— The magnitude of initial ADC reduction was similar in all 3 ROIs (P=0.51). &Dgr;ADC was strongly associated with reperfusion (P<0.0001) but not with initial ADC reduction (P=0.83). &Dgr;ADC in ROI (1)reperf_3hour and ROI (2)reperf_6hour was significantly larger than that of ROI (3)nonreperf (P<0.05). Positive &Dgr;ADC was obtained from 3 to 6 hours in ROI (1)reperf_3hour that had restored perfusion before 3 hours, demonstrating a temporal delay between reperfusion and ADC changes. Risks of infarction were significantly higher in ROI (3)nonreperf than those in ROI (1)reperf_3hour and ROI (2)reperf_6hour. Conclusions— Improvement in ADC did not occur coincidently with reperfusion but showed a temporal delay. Regions with similar initial ADC reductions at 3 hours had different evolution of ADC and infarction risks depending on when or if tissue reperfused. These findings provide a physiological basis for the observation that a single ADC measurement at a fixed time after stroke onset may not accurately predict tissue outcome.
Uncertainty Analysis of Middleware Architectures for Streaming Smart Grid Applications

Accuracy and responsiveness are two key properties of emerging cyber-physical energy systems (CPES) that need to incorporate high throughput sensor streams for distributed monitoring and control purposes. The electric power grid, which is a prominent example of such systems, is being integrated with high throughput sensors in order to support stable system dynamics that are provisioned to be utilized in real-time supervisory control applications. The end-to-end performance and overall scalability of cyber-physical energy applications depend on robust middleware that is able to operate with variable resources and multi-source sensor data. This leads to uncertain behavior under highly variable sensor and middleware topologies. We present a parametric approach to modeling middleware for distributed power applications and account for temporal satisfiability of system properties under network resource and data volume uncertainty. We present a heterogeneous modeling framework that combines Monte Carlo simulations of uncertainty parameters within an executable Discrete-Event (DE) middleware model. By employing Monte Carlo simulations followed by regression analysis, we determine system parameters that significantly affect limiting middleware behavior and the achievability of temporal requirements.
Importance Sampling, Large Deviations, and Differential Games

A standard heuristic in the area of importance sampling is that the changes of measure used to prove large deviation lower bounds give good performance when used for importance sampling. Recent work, however, has shown that a naive implementation of the heuristic is incorrect in many situations. The present paper considers the simple setting of sums of independent and identically distributed (iid) random variables, and shows that under mild conditions asymptotically optimal changes of measure can be found if one considers dynamic importance sampling schemes. For such schemes, the change of measure applied to an individual summand can depend on the historical empirical mean of the simulation (i.e. the system state). In analyzing the asymptotic performance of importance sampling, we show that the value function of a differential game characterizes the optimal performance, with player A corresponding to the choice of change of measure and player B arising due to a large deviations analysis. From this perspective, the traditional implementation of the heuristic is shown to correspond to player A choosing a control that is fixed, regardless of the system state or player B's choice of control. This leads to an "open loop" control for player A, which is suboptimal except in special cases. Our final contribution is a method, based on the Isaacs equation associated with the differential game, for constructing dynamic schemes. Numerical examples are presented to illustrate the results.
Towards a Framework for Designing, Deploying and Executing Semantic Web Service-Based Process

Complex service-oriented enterprise application needs compose Web services to satisfy user specific requirements. Several approaches have been proposed to fulfill this need. However, those approaches and their runtime infrastructure are weak in providing flexible features such as dynamism and adaptability, which are needed in mobile networks and wireless scenarios. A semantic programming language - SPL and an integrated framework - SPLDE are proposed. The SPL is designed for integrating and orchestrating Web services, which is equipped with service role to decouple the static binding relation between business process and its participants. The concept of rule is also introduced in SPL to separate business decision from business logic to satisfy varying user requirements in evolving environment. The proposed SPLDE framework is used to design and execute business process based on semantic Web services with SPL language, which tries to offer an effective systematic solution for development and execution of service-oriented software system.
Effects of mountaintop removal mining and valley filling on the occupancy and abundance of stream salamanders

Summary 1. Human-induced land-use changes are among the primary causes of ecosystem degradation and biodiversity loss. Across central Appalachia (USA), mountaintop removal mining and valley filling (MTR/VF) is the prevailing form of land-use change and represents a stressor to stream ecosystems. Salamanders are the dominant vertebrate in Appalachian headwater streams. Thus, we addressed the question: Is salamander occupancy and conditional abundance reduced in streams impacted by MTR/VF? 2. We conducted repeated counts of adult and larval salamanders within 10-m reaches in 11 valley-filled streams and 12 reference streams in south-eastern Kentucky. Relationships between occupancy, conditional abundance, and site type (MTR/VF vs. reference) were modelled using the hurdle model (Ecology, 94, 2013 and 1472), where occupancy is modelled separately from abundance while accounting for differences in per-individual detection probabilities among groups. 3. We found mean occupancy probabilities were >0� 85 for all groups in reference reaches, whereas mean occupancy probabilities were relatively lower in MTR/VF reaches (ranging from 0� 23 to 0� 66). Posterior means of the difference in occupancy between site types were negative across all groups, although MTR/VF stream reaches were at least 95% less likely to be occupied by spring salamander Gyrinophilus porphyriticus, adult southern two-lined salamander Eurycea cirrigera and larval dusky salamanders Desmognathus compared to reference reaches. 4. Posterior means of the difference in conditional abundance between MTR/VF and reference stream reaches were negative across all groups; 95% credible interval for difference in conditional abundance covered zero for only one species (red salamander Pseudotriton ruber). After adjusting for goodness-of-fit, point estimates of differences in occupancy and conditional abundance still remained below zero for most species. Additionally, MTR/VF reaches had higher ion concentrations, total organic carbon and specific conductance compared to reference reaches. 5. Synthesis and applications. Our study concludes that mountaintop removal mining and valley filling (MTR/VF) reduces salamander occupancy and conditional abundance. Although the potential mechanisms responsible for reduction are numerous, our findings suggest a change in the current regulatory framework is needed to offset the impacts of MTR/VF on stream ecosystems and biota. Reclamation techniques that enhance conditions for vegetative succession within catchments may improve habitat on reclaimed surface mines.
3-D model based vehicle recognition

We present a method for recognizing a vehicle's make and model in a video clip taken from an arbitrary viewpoint. This is an improvement over existing methods which require a front view. In addition, we present a Bayesian approach for establishing accurate correspondences in multiple view geometry. We take a model-based, top-down approach to classify vehicles. First, the vehicle pose is estimated in every frame by calculating its 3-D motion on a plane using a structure from motion algorithm. Then, exemplars from a database of 3-D models are rotated to the same pose as the vehicle in the video, and projected to the image. Features in the model images and the vehicle image are matched, and a model matching score is computed. The model with the best score is identified as the model of the vehicle in the video. Results on real video sequences are presented.
CMcloud: Cloud Platform for Cost-Effective Offloading of Mobile Applications

Recent efforts towards mobile cloud propose to offload mobile applications to cloud servers for the improved performance and battery life of mobile devices. However, existing schemes completely ignore the costs of cloud resources by assuming that idle servers are always available for free of charge. These unrealistic assumptions make each server run only a small load to achieve the guaranteed high offload performance. Therefore, these schemes cannot be applied to real-world commercial clouds which aim to minimize the operation costs by maximizing the server throughput, and then charge users for their resource usage. In this paper, we propose CMcloud, a novel cost-effective mobile-to-cloud offloading platform, which works nicely under the real-world cloud environments. CMcloud minimizes both the server costs and the user service fee by offloading as many mobile applications to a single server as possible, while satisfying the target performance of all applications. To achieve such goals, CMcloud exploits novel architecture performance modeling and server migration techniques. Our implementation shows that CMcloud can improve the data enter throughput by 84% over a conventional static light-load scheme (or a 2.7x higher per-socket throughput.) Alternatively, CMcloud reduces the number of service failures by 83% over a static high-load scheme, while even improving the throughput by 31%.