Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The European Forest Fire Information System : A European strategy towards forest fire management

Natural fires are an integral part of Mediterranean ecosystems. However, in Europe, the extensive use of natural and forest regions as recreational areas has increased the number of human caused fires. Additionally, the decrease of rural population and abandonment of agricultural regions has led to the build up of fire fuels on these areas and the consequent increase in the number and the damage of forest fires. On average, fires in Europe burn 0.5 million hectares of forest areas every year. Although the number of fires has been steadily increasing in the last decade, the area burnt by fires has not increased. This increase in the number of fires has been accompanied by a decrease in the mean burnt area due to the improvements in infrastructure and means to extinguish them. Traditionally, fire fighting was carried out by local administrations, which extinguished fires in the surrounding areas. However, as limited and expensive resources became available, these were often administered by the National forest fire services. This scaling factor has evolved with time and national forest fire risks maps are currently available in many European countries. However, the regional (supra-national) evaluation of forest fire risk was a task that was not tackled until recently by the European Union. This was probably due to the lack of regional datasets for the estimation of forest fire risk and the lack of regional information of forest fires that would necessarily be used for the calibration and validation of fire risk indices. The European Commission (EC) Civil Protection Unit, at the EC Directorate for Environment, aware of the strong impact of forest fires in Europe, established a research group at the EC – Joint Research Centre (JRC) to work specifically on developing and implementing methods for the evaluation of forest fire risk at the European scale. This group has been working closely with the national forest fire administrations towards the development a European Forest Fire Information System (EFFIS) that will provide up-to-date and harmonized information to all the services in charge of forest fire prevention and management. EFFIS, which is available at http://natural-hazards.jrc. it/fires, includes a system for the delivery of forest fire risk forecast during peak of the fire campaign (6 months), and the yearly evaluation of fire damages through the analysis of satellite imagery.
Radiation exposure from Chest CT: Issues and Strategies

Concerns have been raised over alleged overuse of CT scanning and inappropriate selection of scanning methods, all of which expose patients to unnecessary radiation. Thus, it is important to identify clinical situations in which techniques with lower radiation dose such as plain radiography or no radiation such as MRI and occasionally ultrasonography can be chosen over CT scanning. This article proposes the arguments for radiation dose reduction in CT scanning of the chest and discusses recommended practices and studies that address means of reducing radiation exposure associated with CT scanning of the chest.
A note on instanton counting for N=2 gauge theories with classical gauge groups

We study the prepotential of = 2 gauge theories using the instanton counting techniques introduced by Nekrasov. For the SO theories without matter we find a closed expression for the full prepotential and its string theory gravitational corrections. For the more subtle case of Sp theories without matter we discuss general features and compute the prepotential up to instanton number three. We also briefly discuss SU theories with matter in the symmetric and antisymmetric representations. We check all our results against the predictions of the corresponding Seiberg-Witten geometries.
Security constrained optimal power flow incorporating preventive and corrective control

This paper proposes an approach for optimal power flow with incorporation of preventive and corrective control. The approach is useful for operation planning to guarantee secure operation under both normal and contingency states. Therefore, the approach consists of main problem and sub problem representing normal and contingency states, respectively. In normal state, preventive control is used to secure the system while in contingency state, corrective control is employed to satisfy system constraints. The objective of main problem is to minimize operation cost while the sub problem is aimed to minimize power generation deviation in order to avoid ramp rate violation. The approach uses iterative process involving normal and contingency states. At contingency state, power redispatch is conducted as corrective control to avoid system violation. If power redispatch violates ramp rate of generator unit, the exceeding power will be fed back to normal state to recalculate the generator output in the normal state. This calculation in normal state is called as preventive control. To show the effectiveness of the proposed approach, IEEE 9 bus system and modified Jawa Bali 25 Bus system is used. The result shows that the proposed approach is able to secure the operation under both normal and contingency states.
N=31 is not IIB

We adapt the spinorial geometry method to investigate supergravity backgrounds with near maximal number of supersymmetries. We then apply the formalism to show that the IIB supergravity backgrounds with 31 supersymmetries preserve an additional supersymmetry and so they are maximally supersymmetric. This rules out the existence of IIB supergravity preons.
WORKING PAPER SERIES The Working Paper Series of the Czech

This paper studies the determinants of house prices in eight transition economies of Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) and 19 OECD countries. The main question addressed is whether the conventional fundamental determinants of house prices, such as GDP per capita, real interest rates, housing credit and demographic factors, have driven observed house prices in CEE. We show that house prices in CEE are determined to a large extent by the underlying conventional fundamentals and some transition-specific factors, in particular institutional development of housing markets and housing finance and quality effects. JEL Codes: E20, E39, P25, R21, R31.
Semen Abnormalities, Sperm DNA Damage and Global Hypermethylation in Health Workers Occupationally Exposed to Ionizing Radiation

Background Cytogenetic studies have demonstrated that low levels of chronic radiation exposure can potentially increase the frequency of chromosomal aberrations and aneuploidy in somatic cells. Epidemiological studies have shown that health workers occupationally exposed to ionizing radiation bear an increased risk of hematological malignancies. Objectives To find the influence of occupational radiation exposure on semen characteristics, including genetic and epigenetic integrity of spermatozoa in a chronically exposed population. Methods This cross sectional study included 134 male volunteers of which 83 were occupationally exposed to ionizing radiation and 51 were non-exposed control subjects. Semen characteristics, sperm DNA fragmentation, aneuploidy and incidence of global hypermethylation in the spermatozoa were determined and compared between the non-exposed and the exposed group. Results Direct comparison of the semen characteristics between the non-exposed and the exposed population revealed significant differences in motility characteristics, viability, and morphological abnormalities (P<0.05–0.0001). Although, the level of sperm DNA fragmentation was significantly higher in the exposed group as compared to the non-exposed group (P<0.05–0.0001), the incidence of sperm aneuploidy was not statistically different between the two groups. However, a significant number of hypermethylated spermatozoa were observed in the exposed group in comparison to non-exposed group (P<0.05). Conclusions We provide the first evidence on the detrimental effects of occupational radiation exposure on functional, genetic and epigenetic integrity of sperm in health workers. However, further studies are required to confirm the potential detrimental effects of ionizing radiation in these subjects.
Do teleoperated androids take tele-embodiment too far?

Maretta Morovitz Tufts University 200 Boston Avenue Medford, MA 02155 USA maretta.morovitz@tufts.edu Abstract We explore the theoretical motivations for and empirically-assessed perceptions of teleoperated androids for telepresence. In particular, we consider the affordances of their physical embodiment, as well as the adverse effects (owing to the uncanny valley) of such highly humanlike robots. Via analysis of several exemplars, we conclude with a few implications regarding the design of anthropomorphic embodied proxies for telepresence.
Next generation sequencing technologies and the changing landscape of phage genomics

The dawn of next generation sequencing technologies has opened up exciting possibilities for whole genome sequencing of a plethora of organisms. The 2nd and 3rd generation sequencing technologies, based on cloning-free, massively parallel sequencing, have enabled the generation of a deluge of genomic sequences of both prokaryotic and eukaryotic origin in the last seven years. However, whole genome sequencing of bacterial viruses has not kept pace with this revolution, despite the fact that their genomes are orders of magnitude smaller in size compared with bacteria and other organisms. Sequencing phage genomes poses several challenges; (1) obtaining pure phage genomic material, (2) PCR amplification biases and (3) complex nature of their genetic material due to features such as methylated bases and repeats that are inherently difficult to sequence and assemble. Here we describe conclusions drawn from our efforts in sequencing hundreds of bacteriophage genomes from a variety of Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria using Sanger, 454, Illumina and PacBio technologies. Based on our experience we propose several general considerations regarding sample quality, the choice of technology and a “blended approach” for generating reliable whole genome sequences of phages.
Modeling the influences of upper-elementary school students’ digital reading literacy, socioeconomic factors, and self-regulated learning strategies

Abstract Background: Reading is an interactive and constructive process of making meaning by engaging a variety of materials and sources and by participating in reading communities at school or in daily life. Aim: The purpose of this study was to explore the factors affecting digital reading literacy among upper-elementary school students. Method: A 3-stage stratified cluster sampling was implemented that resulted in a sample of 592 upper-elementary students from 29 classes in 7 schools. Self-Regulated Learning Strategies Assessment (S-RLSA), Digital Reading Literacy Assessment (DRLA), and student reports of their parents’ education backgrounds were used to collect data on the outcome and predictor variables. Interpretation of these data involved two highly regarded statistical techniques. First, structural equation modeling was used to explore relationships amongst the constructs. Second, multi-group invariance (MI) analyses were used to assess the influence of parental education and self-regulated learning strategies on students’ digital reading literacy. Results: Enriching students’ family learning resources and strengthening their self-regulated learning abilities could have very important influences on promoting upper-elementary school students' digital reading literacy -webpage information retrieval, reading and communication abilities. Conclusions: This study also provides information on how teachers can address student resources to improve digital reading literacy and self-regulated strategies.
Searching objects in large-scale indoor environments: A decision-theoretic approach

Many of today's mobile robots are supposed to perform everyday manipulation tasks autonomously. However, in large-scale environments, a task-related object might be out of the robot's reach. Hence, the robot first has to search for the object in its environment before it can perform the task. In this paper, we present a decision-theoretic approach for searching objects in large-scale environments using probabilistic environment models and utilities associated with object locations. We demonstrate the feasibility of our approach by integrating it into a robot system and by conducting experiments where the robot is supposed to search different objects with various strategies in the context of fetch-and-delivery tasks within a multi-level building.
The magnetic field in the star-forming region Cepheus A. from H_2O maser polarization observations

We present linear and circular polarization observations of the H 2 O masers in 4 distinct regions spread over 1 $\times$ 2 arcsec around the HW2 high-mass young stellar object in the Cepheus A star-forming region. We find magnetic fields between 100–600 mG in the central maser region, which has been argued to trace a circumstellar disk. The masers further from HW2 have field strengths between 30–100 mG. In all cases the magnetic field pressure is found to be similar to the dynamic pressure, indicating that the magnetic field is capable of controlling the outflow dynamics around HW2. In addition to several H 2 O maser complexes observed before, we also detect a new maser filament, $\simeq$1″ ($\simeq$690 AU) East of HW2, which we interpret as a shocked region between the HW2 outflow and the surrounding medium. We detect a linear polarization gradient along the filament as well as a reversal of the magnetic field direction. This is thought to mark the transition between the magnetic field associated with the outflow and that found in the surrounding molecular cloud. In addition to the magnetic field we determine several other physical properties of the maser region, including density and temperatures as well as the maser beaming angles.
Detecting and repairing network partition in wireless sensor networks

In a Wireless Sensor Network, sensor nodes may fail for several reasons and the network may split into two or more disconnected partitions. This may deteriorate or even nullify the usefulness and effectiveness of the network. Therefore, repairing partitions is a priority. In this paper we present a method to detect and, repair□ network partitions by using mobile nodes. By reasoning upon the degree of connectivity with neighbors, a mobile node finds the proper position where to stop in order to re-establish connectivity. Factors influencing the method performance are singled out and criteria for their selection are discussed. Simulations show that the proposed method is effective and efficient notwithstanding packet loss.
WCL2R: A Benchmark Collection for Learning to Rank Research with Clickthrough Data

In this paper we present WCL2R, a benchmark collection for supporting research in learning to rank (L2R) algorithms which exploit clickthrough features. Differently from other L2R benchmark collections, such as LETOR and the recently released Yahoo! 's collection for a L2R competition, in WCL2R we focus on defining a significant (and new) set of features over clickthrough data extracted from the logs of a real-world search engine. In this paper, we describe the WCL2R collection by providing details about how the corpora, queries and relevance judgments were obtained, how the learning features were constructed and how the process of splitting the collection in folds for representative learning was performed. We also analyze the discriminative power of the WCL2R collection using traditional feature selection algorithms and show that the most discriminative features are, in fact, those based on clickthrough data. We then compare several L2R algorithms on WCL2R, showing that all of them obtain significant gains by exploiting clickthrough information over using traditional ranking approaches.
Investigating of Internal Consistency and Confirmatory Factor Analysis of Prospective and Retrospective Memory in an Iranian Sample

Objectives: The Prospective and Retrospective Memory Questionnaire (PRMQ) developed by Smith (2000) and consists of a series of questions about memory weakness that can be encountered anyone in everyday life. The self-reported questionnaire has 16 items that assessing of prospective and retrospective memory problems in everyday life and the aim of the present research was to examine the investigating of reliability and confirmatory factor analysis in sample of Iranian students. Method: The method of this study was standardization. The questionnaire translated into Persian, and its final form was carried out on 500 subjects who were selected by available sampling among students of Tehran University. To determine the reliability and validity of questionnaire, Cronbach's alpha test and Confirmatory Factor Analysis were used. Results: The range of Cronbach’s alpha for PRMQ (subscales Prospective and Retrospective Memory) was from 0.64 through 0.73, and the Cronbach’s alpha for total PRMQ was 0.80. Confirmatory factor analysis by the maximum likelihood values showed that the Eigen value of four factors was considered that generally explained 28.29% of the total variance. Discussion: The Prospective and Retrospective Memory Questionnaire has satisfactory reliability and validity in the sample of Iranian students.
Asymptotics of Stochastic Protein Assembly Models

Protein polymerization is involved in many important biological phenomena and gives rise to spontaneous formation of amyloid fibrils or, more generally, polymers. The starting point of this process, called nucleation, exhibits an important variability among replicated experiments. To analyze the stochastic nature of this phenomenon, one of the simplest models considers two populations of chemical components: free monomers and polymerized monomers. Initially there are only monomers. There are two reactions for the polymerization of a monomer: either two monomers collide to combine into two polymerized monomers or a monomer is polymerized after the encounter of a polymerized monomer. It turns out that this simple model does not explain completely the variability observed in the experiments. This paper investigates extensions of this model to take into account other mechanisms of the polymerization process that may have an impact on fluctuations. The first variant consists in introducing a preliminary conformation step to take into account the biological fact that, before being polymerized, a monomer has two states, regular or misfolded. Only misfolded monomers can be polymerized so that the fluctuations of the number of misfolded monomers can also be a source of variability of the number of polymerized monomers. For the second variant, based on numerical considerations, the reaction rate $\alpha$ of spontaneous formation of a polymer is of the order of $N^{-\nu}$ for some large scaling variable $N$ representing the reaction volume and $\nu$ some positive constant. Asymptotic results involving different time scales are obtained for the corresponding Markov processes. First and second order results for the starting instant of nucleation are derived from these limit theorems. The proofs of the results rely on a study of a stochastic averaging principle for a model related to an Ehrenfest urn model, and also on a scaling analysis of a population model.
Mechanising theoretical upper bounds in planning

We examine the problem of computing upper bounds on the lengths of plans. Tractable approaches to calculating such bounds are based on a decomposition of state-variable dependency graphs (causal graphs). Our contribution follows an existing formalisation of concepts in that setting, reporting our efforts to mechanise bounding inequalities in HOL. Our first contribution is to identify and repair an important error in the original formalisation of bounds. More importantly, we also develop novel theoretical bounding results and compare them analytically with existing bounds.
The Magic Square and Symmetric Compositions II

The construction of Freudenthal's Magic Square, which contains the exceptional simple Lie algebras, in terms of symmetric composition algebras is further developed here. The para-Hurwitz algebras, which form a subclass of the symmetric composition algebras, will be defined, in the split case, in terms of the natural two dimensional module for the simple Lie algebra sl(2). As a consequence, it will be shown how all the Lie algebras in Freudenthal's Magic Square can be constructed, in a unified way, using copies of sl(2) and of its natural module.
Detection of brown dwarfs by the micro-lensing of unresolved stars.

The presence of brown dwarfs in the dark galactic halo could be detected through their gravitational lensing effect and experiments under way monitor about one million stars to observe a few lensing events per year. We show that if the photon flux from a galaxy is measured with a good precision, it is not necessary to resolve the stars and besides more events could be observed
High Resolution Wide Swath SAR Imaging with Digital Beamforming - Performance Analysis, Optimization, System Design

Multi-aperture synthetic aperture radar (SAR) systems in combination with an appropriate coherent processing of the individual aperture signals enable high resolution wide swath (HRWS) SAR imaging. An innovative reconstruction algorithm for such a digital beamforming on receive was presented that allows for HRWS even in case of a non-uniformly sampled data array in azimuth. This paper will compare this algorithm to different azimuth processing strate­gies regarding their performance in dependency of the overall sampling. Further, the algorithm is characterized theoretically regarding aliasing and residual ambiguities. In this context, optimization strategies are discussed to maximize the system’s performance by pattern tapering on transmit and “Pre-Beamshaping on Receive” networks that adaptively adjust the virtual sample positions.
Efficient and effective cellular technology: Femtocells

Around 70% of the mobile calls and 90% of the data service requests are generated inside the buildings. Therefore resources are being utilized by indoor subscribers in large quantity and this promotes operators will to provide satisfactory indoor services. High data rates for the data services to indoor consumers. Information Communication & Technologies (ICT) community has significantly increased the energy requirement and toxics like Carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide emissions, which are altering the environmental conditions and causing energy loss. Femtocells came into existence to resolve these problems in indoors. This paper has detailed description on Femtocells. The wide range of applications of femtocells in homes and enterprises shows that these provide efficient coverage and speed to provide better network capacity in indoors. The deployment cost of such kind of devices is very less. Telecom companies have offered femtocells to approach these problems in the form of cellular technology. Femtocells facilitate better indoor mobile call coverage and high speed facility. In this work, the architecture of femtocells and other technical matters related to Femtocells and their management system are described.
Performance of bilayer-lengthened LDPC codes under joint decoding

This paper presents an LDPC code design for decode-and-forward (DF) relay systems. Our design is based on the graphical family of the bilayer-lengthened LDPC codes (BL-LDPC) when joint decoding is performed over the overall expanded graph. To design the BL-LDPC codes under joint decoding, we use the framework of the multi-edge type LDPC (MET-LDPC) codes to represent and optimize the codes. The optimum overall expanded graph of the BL-LDPC codes is found using differential evolution. We demonstrate that a properly designed expanded BL-LDPC code performs asymptotically within 0.1222 dB and 0.10775 dB from the theoretical limits.